Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Hunt PTO Update 11/27/12 (Tuesday)


Welcome Back from Thanksgiving Break!
Here's the latest on what's happening 
at Hunt Middle School.   

If you have items to be included in a future blog, please send them on to asdonegan@aol.com

**  Hunt Dialog Night, originally scheduled for Thursday, November 29th has been postponed.  **


 HUNT MIDDLE SCHOOL
FOOD DRIVE
December 3rd to 14th
Please bring your 
non-perishable food items 
to help our community.

YARD SALE FUNDRAISER 
coming soon!

In April of this school year Hunt will be bringing a group of  students to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.  This 5 day trip will be hosted, organized and supervised by the Close Up Foundation. 

http://www.closeup.org/ 


The trip will include informational tours of many of the culturally and historically significant sites located in these two cities.  Mr. Gagnon, the  Social Studies teacher on Team Solstice, is the school coordinator for this trip.  

Participating students, teachers and families are hoping to have a yard sale fundraiser sometime in the next few weeks.  They are looking for high quality, gently used items to sell.  If you have household items, games, toys, furniture, kitchen supplies, camping gear, sporting equipment or any other good quality sell-able items, please let us know.  We would also be happy to pick up the items the day before.  

 If you have items to donate, would like items to be picked up or would like to help with the yard sale when it happens, please be in touch with Siobhan Donegan at asdonegan@aol.com or 864-0984.

Are you a Health Care Professional?


Hunt Middle School is looking for speakers 
in the following areas:


                      Neurology

                      Digestion

                      Respiration and circulation

                      Reproduction


 Contact Jennifer Sutton, Hunt Middle School Outreach Coordinator, if you might be interested in presenting to a class. Phone:  310-4998 or jsutton@bsdvt.org




 HUNT MIDDLE SCHOOL 
WINTER ONE-ACT
The Hunt/EMS/Very Merry Theatre winter One Act Festival is Jan 11-12. Hunt Middle School 6th, 7th and 8th graders will be performing a yet TBD show (announced early next week) to be directed by Trish Denton. They'll rehearse 3:30-4:45 on Mondays and 2:25-3:45 on Wednesdays.

There's a $50 participation fee payable to Hunt Drama but, as always, no student will be turned away so scholarships will be provided on request. Contact Don at 355-1461 or donwrightvt@yahoo.com with questions.





Hunt Middle School is partnering with Shoe Box Recycling to recycle paired, wearable shoes. The shoes will be reused for individuals here in the U.S. and throughout the world.
This program provides affordable shoes to those in need such as those suffering from Hurricane Sandy and many others. This will keep used shoes out of the landfill, creating a cleaner and greener planet. Recycling shoes also creates micro-enterprises for individuals throughout the world, fueling local economies here and abroad.  


Shoes We Accept:
* All paired men’s, women’s and kids shoes that are still usable. That means no holes in the soles and no wet or mildewed pairs. This includes athletic shoes, dress shoes, timberland type work boots, sandals, heels, flats

Shoes We Don’t Accept:
* Heavy Winter Boots, Skates, Blades, Flip-Flops, Slippers, Singles, Unusable, and Thrift Store Shoes.

Where to bring your reused shoes?
Place your reused shoes in the specially marked box ShoeBox Recycling found in the main lobby of Hunt School. 
Questions or for larger pick-ups, contact Susan Rutherford at 951-2571 or susanrutherford@hotmail.com
 “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”
Want an easy way to support your PTO that doesn’t require volunteering and won’t cost you a dime? 

Save Box Tops for Education! 

Here’s how to help:

**Box Tops for Education are on the packages of hundreds of participating products that you probably use every day. All you need to do is cut them off the box they are on, stick them in a baggie, and send them to school with your child. There is a container for the Box Tops in the main office. 


**Did you know that Box Tops are dated and cannot be used if they are past this expiration date?? 

Make yourself a note on your home or electronic calendar to send in those Box Tops!! Saving them is the first step. Sending them in before they expire is the next.

We will be collecting Box Tops all year long, so start saving and sending in your Box Tops today! The collection box will be located in the main office.

Thanks for choosing to support our school by collecting Box Tops!
Sincerely,
Susan Rutherford
Volunteer Coordinator for Box Tops for Education
Hunt Middle School PTO

Save the Date.... 
  • December 3 -14 - Hunt Food Drive
  • December 5 -  Chorus Concert
  • December 12 - Early Release
  • December 12 - Strings Concert
  • December 19 - Band Concert
  • December 24 - January 1st - No School
  • February 2nd, 2013 - Jr. Iron Chef
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Sunday, November 18, 2012

Hunt PTO Update 11/18/12

       Wishing all of our Hunt families a wonderful holiday...


There is no school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week.  School starts up again on Monday, November 26th.  Have a restful break. 



Help needed Sunday, 11/25 
delivering holiday wreaths!!

The PTO Fundraiser Wreaths will be delivered on Sunday, November 25th (yup, that's the Sunday right after Thanksgiving!!) and help will be needed with distribution.


Over 300 wreaths were sold by our dedicated volunteer parents but they will need help delivering them to the homes of the persons who purchased them. Please contact Gabi Baumann at 660-9189 or gamabaumann@burlingtontelecom.net if you can help. 

Let's help to get these wreaths out of Gabi's garage and out to the generous community who supported our fundraiser!! 

The PTO is pleased to announce that Michael Scott of 
"Restless Native" has completed his work on our 
school's new Herb Spiral!


We are looking forward to planting many wonderful herbs in the spring of 2013.  Michael is also the stone mason who created Hunt's beautiful new stone circle. Mr. Scott donated some of the rocks used in the herb spiral.  Other rocks were donated by 8th grader Paul Truman's parents, Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur and School Commissioner Ben Truman. We want to thank both Michael Scott and the Truman-Wallace Brodeur family or their generosity. 





                                         November PTO Meeting  

 Many thanks to the Hunt parents who were able to attend the November PTO meeting last week.  Special thanks to Ms. Hevey and Ms. Roussel for their attendance and teacher perspective.   We had a guest speaker - Henri Sparks, Director of the BSD Equity office.  Mr. Sparks updated families about how the district is training staff to fuse equity into their curriculum and to be responsive to students' need to be safe at school.  Mr. Amato and Ms. Selles are the Hunt staff charged with reporting around issues of equity at HMS.

 The PTO has rec'd approx 125 online and paper responses to our survey.  During the Thanksgiving break, all the responses will be reviewed  and the PTO will share our findings with you, Hunt Administration, the Hunt Family school Partnership and the school District.  Many families have given suggestions around Honor Roll celebrations.  We will take your suggestions to Hunt for dialogue around the issue.  In the meantime, the Student Council is soliciting student input.

 Mr. Amato spoke about athletic communication at Hunt.  The PTO has been working on this issue since last Fall.  The Handbook has been updated, the website is building an athletics page similar to the one at Edmunds and a dedicated sports hotline has been set up to allow parents to call in for last minute information.  The number is 864-8505  After the break, there will be a winter sports meeting held by Mr. Pecor.  No dates set yet, if you don't hear anything, contact Mr. Pecor at wpecor@bsdvt.org.

 Mr. Amato also spoke to parent concerns about thefts at Hunt.  Officer Berti agreed with the PTO suggestion of installing security cameras to cut down on thefts/vandalism of bicycles.  We will be looking into costs for a surveillance system.  Officer Berti suggests that all bikers ahve their bikes registered at the Police Department.  We are looking into offering some registration days at HMS. 

Mr. Amato also spoke about the Halligan assembly.  There were some parents that came to see the presentation.  The PTO suggested that Hunt be clear about how many seats are available for parents for future assemblies and to let parents know that they are encouraged to participate.

 Gabi Baumann reported that the wreath sale has gone quite well this year thanks to a handful of super sellers - Wreaths will be distributed right after Thanksgiving.  Formal thank yous to come.  The election day bake sale brought in ~$500 -thank you to families for donating goodies and working the table!

 Hunt parent, Tanner Trombly will contact Officer Berti (school resource officer) and the climate committee to discuss the problem of theft inside the school and during sports practices.  Information to gather includes theft statistics at Hunt, personal stories and solution oriented ideas.  If you have any insight to share or want to be involved in this discussion, send and email to huntmiddleschool@gmail.com and we will pass it along.

 Kim Hunt and Sarah Smith spoke about the upcoming play, Pajama Game.  The Hunt Theatre committee has a small balance which will allow us to order the script/score.  Please keep in mind that both Production managers will no longer be at Hunt next year - it is time to groom some new leadership around the play - we could use your help for this opportunity to continue at Hunt... The first planning meeting will take place at Hunt on 11/27 at 7pm.  Contact Kim at kimberlyannhunt@msn.com for more info.



HUNT MIDDLE SCHOOL
FOOD DRIVE
December 3rd to 14th
Please bring your non-perishable food items to help our community.




Are you a Health Care Professional?



Hunt Middle School is looking for speakers in the following areas:

                      Neurology

                      Digestion

                      Respiration and circulation
                      Reproduction
Contact Jennifer Sutton, Hunt Middle School Outreach Coordinator, if you might be interested in presenting to a class. Phone:  310-4998 or jsutton@bsdvt.org



Hunt Middle School is partnering with Shoe Box Recycling to recycle paired, wearable shoes. The shoes will be reused for individuals here in the U.S. and throughout the world.
This program provides affordable shoes to those in need such as those suffering from Hurricane Sandy and many others. This will keep used shoes out of the landfill, creating a cleaner and greener planet. Recycling shoes also creates micro-enterprises for individuals throughout the world, fueling local economies here and abroad.  
Shoes We Accept:
* All paired men’s, women’s and kids shoes that are still usable. That means no holes in the soles and no wet or mildewed pairs. This includes athletic shoes, dress shoes, timberland type work boots, sandals, heels, flats

 Shoes We Don’t Accept:
* Heavy Winter Boots, Skates, Blades, Flip-Flops, Slippers, Singles, Unusable, and Thrift Store Shoes.

 Where to bring your reused shoes?
Place your reused shoes in the specially marked box ShoeBox Recycling found in the main lobby of Hunt School.
Questions or for larger pick-ups, contact Susan Rutherford at 951-2571 or susanrutherford@hotmail.com
 “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”
Want an easy way to support your PTO that doesn’t require volunteering and won’t cost you a dime? 

Save Box Tops for Education! 

Here’s how to help:

**Box Tops for Education are on the packages of hundreds of participating products that you probably use every day. All you need to do is cut them off the box they are on, stick them in a baggie, and send them to school with your child. There is a container for the Box Tops in the main office. 


**Did you know that Box Tops are dated and cannot be used if they are past this expiration date?? 

Make yourself a note on your home or electronic calendar to send in those Box Tops!! Saving them is the first step. Sending them in before they expire is the next.

We will be collecting Box Tops all year long, so start saving and sending in your Box Tops today! The collection box will be located in the main office.

Thanks for choosing to support our school by collecting Box Tops!
Sincerely,
Susan Rutherford
Volunteer Coordinator for Box Tops for Education
Hunt Middle School PTO

 Save the Date.... 
  • November 21, 22, and 23 - No School
  • November 25 - Wreath delivery!
  • November 29 - Dialog Night
  • December 3-14 - Hunt Food Drive
  • December 5-  Chorus Concert
  • December 12 - Early Release
  • December 12 - Band Concert
  • December 19 - Strings concert
  • February 2nd, 2013 - Jr. Iron Chef

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Hunt PTO Update 11/11/12




THANK YOU to the brave men and women  in our own 
school community who have served their country.  



Balsam Pine Vermont Wreaths 
order forms and payment now due!


Reminder that all holiday wreath orders and payment for  orders are due TOMORROW, 
Monday, November 12th. 

Additional order forms can be found in the main office at Hunt or can
be printed off from the Hunt website: 

http://hunt.bsdvt.org/

 (Look for "Click here for the order form.")

Hey There Hunt families - The link below takes you to a quick, 10 question survey.  The reason the PTO has put out this survey is to help identify how families are receiving information from Hunt Middle School and to help gather information about thefts and property destruction at school.  The PTO has been discussing these issues over the past few months and we are working hard to help find solutions and how we can better work with students, families and the school community. 
 
We need your input.  We hope you will take several minutes to complete the survey.  Many, many thanks. 
 
 
Have a great weekend,
Kate Belluche
HMS PTO President

The November Hunt newsletter is now online!  
Please check it out at 

Scroll down to "Check out our latest edition of the newsletter!"


 



        As part of the Partnership for Change, Voices for Vermont's Children and Vermont Interfaith Action have been supporting New American parents in Burlington to organize this event.  I hope that you will join us, and help spread the word throughout your networks.  




PARENTS FOR CHANGE
invite you to our

New American Action to Improve
the Student Placement Process
Monday, November 12th, 2012
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Cathedral Church of St. Paul
2 Cherry Street, Burlington

 Special guests:
Jeanne Collins, Superintendent of Burlington Schools
Amy Mellencamp, Principal of Burlington High School
Henri Sparks, Equity Director, Burlington Schools
Linda Walsleban, English Language Learner Director
Join Parents for Change as we seek to enhance opportunities for
New American students in Burlington by improving the student placement process and communications with parents and multi-cultural liaisons.
By bus: The church is 2 blocks from the Cherry St. bus station.
By car: Parking on Cherry or Pearl St. (free after 6 pm), or 
Cherry St. garage 
(free for 2 hours).
Child care is available – please call to request.
For more information about the event, call (802) 318-5892.

 Voices for Vermont’s Children and Vermont Interfaith Action support Parents for Change networks. We are part of theWinooski-Burlington Partnership for Change working to reshape our schools and strengthen our communities by better preparing all students for the future.  Voices independent community-organizing helps new parent leaders build relationships, develop leadership skills and identify solutions to improve educational opportunities.

November PTO Meeting
Thursday, 11/15/12, 7 pm

AGENDA
  • Welcome and Introductions– Kate Belluche
UPDATES
  • Guest Speaker – Henri Sparks, BSD Director of Equity – 20 minutes
  • Treasurer’s report - 5 min -Board
  • Principal’s Corner – 10 min - Rich Amato
  • Fundraising Update - 5 min - Gabi Baumann/Susan Rutherford
  • Play Update – 5 minutes – Kim Hunt/Sarah Smith
  • Thefts at HMS – 5 minutes – Gabi Baumann
Tabled Business
  • Magazines Sale
  • Sports Communication – Kate B.
  • Vacant Position: Secretary
December Agenda Items:
Next Meeting:  Thursday, 12/20/12,  7-8pm

BHS Drama presents "Legally Blonde", 
November 15-17 at 7:30 pm, at Burlington High School. 

 Elle Woods can handle anything. So when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her she decides to follow him to Harvard Law School and win him back. With some help from new-found friends Paulette, Emmett and her chihuahua Bruiser, she learns that it’s so much better to be smart.

Hunt School students are invited to attend FREE of charge thanks to a generous support from the Burlington Students Foundation. http://www.bsfvt.org/

Ticket prices for others: Adults: $8, Students & Seniors: $5

New this year at BHS!!!  
YEAR END STUDIES (YES) SESSION
(thought parents might want to see what amazing things 
are coming down the pike)

The BHS Year End Studies session concludes each school year by offering all students of the BHS community exciting alternatives for learning. These non-traditional courses expand student understanding and inspire new student interests. Intensive, interest-driven opportunities enhance enthusiasm for learning and strengthen relationships within BHS and the Burlington community.

 Ten days of classes are followed by an 11th day for student Presentations of Learning.Take a peek at what is being offered this Spring:
http://bhs.bsd.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/2383201/File/YES%20Course%20Descriptions.pdf?sessionid=b7f79b2d4946219ba467a6fd8324b085




Did you know that our District Superintendent, 
Jeanne Collins, has a blog?  

 You can subscribe to her blog at  http://collinsj.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/north-avenue-news-november-superintendents-message/   On the right hand side of the page is the sign-up.  Just FYI, part of the November Superintendant's Message is below

 Greetings Burlington,
Have you hugged your computer today? At Burlington High School, our 9th graders do just that. The iPads that each 9th grader received in September are changing the way of learning and connecting with material in the classroom and beyond. Students can look up what they don’t know right on the spot, collaborate with peers creatively on projects, and organize their homework and notes without lugging a huge backpack. I even saw a student shoot video at a recent soccer game and have the parents around him ask for an instant replay. The iPads are changing the depth and breadth of curriculum. Check it out for yourselves at WCAX with the video “Bringing iPads to the Classroom”: http://www.wcax.com/video?clipId=7758855&autostart=true.

 This summer, to get teachers ready to use the iPads productively in their classrooms, we offered a School Development Institute for a week in partnership with Winooski teachers. We had students attend and share their thoughts with teachers as well. To get a glimpse of that sharing, you can watch a short video at: http://partnershipforchangevt.org/ called “Student Consultants Visit SDI”.

Hunt Middle School now has BOTH a Facebook and a Twitter account!  Interested Hunt community members or school supporters can go to the school website and link to either/both of these accounts:  http://hunt.bsdvt.org/

If you "like" these pages, you will get notifications of events happening at the school, such as early closures, no school, sports cancellations, etc.  The Hunt middle school team is very excited to offer these new communication tools.  Their success depends upon families using them -- Please "like" these pages today to stay connected!  This is a GREAT way to get regular updates from your child's school.  


Save the Date.... 
  • November 12 - Deadline for getting wreath orders in
  • November 12 - New American Action to Improve Student Placement Process
  • November 15 - PTO meeting in the library, 7 pm
  • November 15-17 - Legally Blonde at BHS
  • November 16 - School Dance - 7-9pm
  • November 21, 22, and 23 - No School
  • November 29 - Dialog Night
  • February 2nd, 2013 - Jr. Iron Chef
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Monday, November 5, 2012

Hunt PTO Update 11/4/12



Hope everyone is enjoying the changing seasons.
Here's what's going on at YOUR Hunt Middle School...


Balsam Pine Vermont Wreaths 
for sale
Reminder that all holiday wreath orders and payment for orders are due Monday, November 12th. 

Additional order forms can be found in the main office at Hunt or can be emailed to you directly by contacting Gabi or Susan
 (see contact information below). 

These gorgeous wreaths are locally sourced from the North East Kingdom of Vermont. They are full and bushy, smell wonderful, last for months, and make great holiday gifts.

All proceeds from this sale go directly to your PTO to be used for the popular community dinner, important school-wide assemblies, Jr. Iron Chef teams, 8th Grade graduation ceremony, and many other valuable PTO activities for our kids. This fundraiser is one of the PTO's most important fundraisers for the year! Your order matters!! 

Contact Gabi Baumann at 660-9189 or gamabaumann@burlingtontelecom.net or Susan Rutherford at 
951-2571 or susanrutherford@hotmail.com 
to place your order now! Don't delay!!

Please let Gabi or Susan know if you can leave an order form at your place of business or are willing to sell wreaths door to door in your neighborhood.

Thanks!


The November Hunt newsletter is now online!  
Please check it out at 
http://hunt.bsdvt.org/


Tuesday, November 6th is an Early Release Day and 
students will be dismissed at 12 noon.  




BHS Drama presents "Legally Blonde", 
November 15-17 at 7:30 pm, at Burlington High School. 

 Elle Woods can handle anything. So when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her she decides to follow him to Harvard Law School and win him back. With some help from new-found friends Paulette, Emmett and her chihuahua Bruiser, she learns that it’s so much better to be smart.

Hunt School students are invited to attend FREE of charge thanks to a generous support from the Burlington Students Foundation. http://www.bsfvt.org/

Ticket prices for others: Adults: $8, Students & Seniors: $5


Hunt Middle School now has BOTH a Facebook and a Twitter account!  Interested Hunt community members or school supporters can go to the school website and link to either/both of these accounts:  http://hunt.bsdvt.org/

If you "like" these pages, you will get notifications of events happening at the school, such as early closures, no school, sports cancellations, etc.  The Hunt middle school team is very excited to offer these new communication tools.  Their success depends upon families using them -- Please "like" these pages today to stay connected!  This is a GREAT way to get regular updates from your child's school.  



 November 6th, 2012
Anti-Bullying assembly

We have invited Mr. John Halligan to speak to all Hunt students at an assembly.  He will relay his own tragic experience as a dad whose 13 year old son took his own life in 2003, after incessant bullying by peers since the 5th grade, both in school and online.  His story is riveting and powerful, and reminds students that there is a face, a person, a heart on the other end of a computer screen.  

His presentation will begin with a short video collection of home movie clips and still pictures of Ryan.  John will then begin to tell the story of Ryan and the factors that led up to his son's suicide.  The students will gain a perspective from inside a family of a child who is a victim of bullying and cyber bullying.  They will also gain awareness about the signs and risk of teenage suicide and how best to help a friend.  As part of Mr. Halligan's presentation, students will have the chance to ask him questions.  We encourage you to visit http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/ for more information.

November 8th, 2012
Cyber Bulling and Digital Citizenship

presented by Rene Berti, our School Resource Officer
in the Hunt library

A discussion with parents to follow-up on the bullying assembly for students on Nov. 6th with Mr. John Halligan.


 From the Burlington School Food Project:

 Learn More about Burlington's Food Services  October 31, 2012

 All schools in the Burlington School District offer a full fruit and vegetable bar that is included with every lunch served. On average, 6-8 vegetables and 3-5 fruits are featured. Students may take unlimited amounts of fruit and vegetables along with their entrée choice. Beans and legumes such as garbanzos, black bean and sweet potato salad, or lentils with roasted roots are also available on a daily basis.

 Vegetarian and vegan students may take unlimited amounts of these items to meet their daily protein needs. Students may also choose from vegetarian sandwiches including peanut butter and jelly, cheese and vegetables, or hummus wraps. At the K-8 level, hot entrées such as pizza and vegetable pasta are offered several times each month, while at the high school students may choose from hot vegetarian dishes daily.

 We feel that it is vitally important to offer a diverse menu to our increasingly diverse student body. Many students are new to this country, and it is important that they are offered food that is respectful of their religious and dietary customs. We believe that better food leads to better learning, and we want all students to go to class well fed and ready to learn. It is important to note that our schools have thousands of students and adults that are not vegetarian or vegan and they too need to have a culturally appropriate and varied menu.

 It is equally important that as a dairy and agricultural state, we continue to support our farmers, our food system and maintain our working landscapes. We do this through local food purchases, farm and culinary programs for students, and ultimately the creation
of a new school food culture. Food unites us all. Hunger affects us all. For more information, visit http://www.burlingtonschoolfoodproject.org/.
Save the Date.... 

  • November 6 - Early Release Day
  • November 6 - Bullying Assembly
  • November 8 - Cyber Bullying and Digital Citizenship discussion 
  • November 12 - Deadline for getting wreath orders in
  • November 15 - PTO meeting in the library, 7 pm
  • November 21, 22, and 23 - No School
  • November 29 - Dialog Night
  • February 2nd, 2013 - Jr. Iron Chef



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