Hunt PTO Update 1/23/14

Hunt PTO Update

January 23, 2014

Breaking News- Please Read!!!

Important date changes in the Principal Search for Hunt Middle School on the Hunt website. http://ow.ly/sSjVS  

(scroll down a little bit)

The Latest information about the 2014-15 School Budget:  Burlington School District Budget Process FY 2014-2015

BSD is presenting a budget that increases local spending by 3.9%. With our growing enrollment, the increase is only 3.1% per equalized pupil, which is a better   measure of the increase that directly affects the homestead tax rate. These numbers are directly in line or even below our understanding of what is happening across the State with local budgets.

• This is a budget that meets the goal of a long-term locally sustainable District.

• The proposed budget keeps us at a spending level that remains near the middle of spending for the entire State ofVermont, even though Burlington has unique characteristics that most districts and supervisory unions across the State don't have, such as increasing enrollment, a multi-lingual and multi-cultural student body, and a multiple number of aging school buildings.

• The State is proposing a 5 cent tax increase and our Grand List changes add 2 cents regardless of what we spend. With the State portion and our local school portion of education taxes, we anticipate a 9.9% tax increase. This exact increase cannot be known until the legislature takes action later this spring. 

• The budget presented maintains the priorities as identified by the Board and community: 

• academic excellence; 
• music, art, athletics and drama; 
• comprehensive technology learning environments through 1:1 devices grades 6-12; 
• commitment to diversity and equity with opportunities for all students;
• facilities planning and upkeep; 
• continued innovation through magnet schools and middle/high school focus on real world, student-centered learning; and
• differentiated instruction and interventions for students not meeting the standard.

• This budget is redesigned to meet priorities within resources available and does require some programs being eliminated or done differently. Details on what programs are changed or eliminated will be provided shortly and will be amended as revenue sources change.

We encourage you to share this information with anyone who has questions leading up to the vote on March 4^th. 

Supporting Documents:

(January 14 Full Board Meeting)

FY15 Budget Draft 4.0

FY15 Budget Summary Draft 4.0FY15 Budget Revenue Draft 4.0FY15 Budget Program Goals Draft 4.0FY15 Tax Impact Draft 4.0

West Side Story Auditions start on Tuesday, January 28th and will finish on the 30th.  Student sign-ups are located in the front lobby along with permission slips and information about the vocal auditions (see below) Permission slips must be returned prior to 1/28. Questions? Contact Shirin@shirin.com

Songs for West Side Story Auditions

**You may learn your song in advance, or you may learn it during the singing audition. It is NOT necessary to memorize the song.**

For girls: I Feel Pretty (from the beginning until the line, “for I’m loved by a pretty wonderful boy

For boys: Something’s Coming (from the beginning until the line, “come on deliver to me”)

**Performances of both songs can be found on YouTube or iTunes

9th Grade Parent Orientation coming up this week. Amy Mellencamp spoke to parents several weeks ago to inform them about changes in the high school that would affect incoming 9th graders. An overview is below and there is a link to the BHS website.

The Ninth Grade Experience is designed to support Burlington High School’s commitment to high standards and equitable outcomes.  Guided by teachers, and in collaboration with parents, students:

• gain strong foundational academic skills and content knowledge,
• apply this learning in creative and interdisciplinary high school-level projects,  
• interact with students from a variety of backgrounds and middle schools,
• develop and practice organizational, study, technology, and social skills
• develop and practice the habits of mind essential for 21st century learners, including perseverance, risk-taking, and responsibility
• receive academic support, and
• are known well by a core group of teachers

The ninth-grade core curriculum…. read more by clicking here

Principal’s Notes from the January PTO meeting:

1) Budget Update-

I will update the Hunt Community on budget developments as they become more firm. I would like to dispel a rumor regarding cuts to music. There are no cuts planned for music at Hunt! Our program is a strong and vital part of the Hunt education community.

2) Projected Increase of Student’s at Hunt-

2014/15 school year will see an increase in the enrollment of students at Hunt. The incoming 6th grade class is projected to be approx. 150 students. Our current 6th grade class has 123 students. We are looking at an increase of about 27 students which increases individual class sizes to about 25 students per class. This is a trend that is projected to repeat for the next four years.

3) 1:1 Computing update-

We have had a successful “roll out” of chromebooks and netbooks on all of our teams. We are now about to have our students bring their devices with them to all classes! We are also planning to invite parents to Hunt for some 1:1 trainings and discussions regarding netbooks and chromebooks in the spring. Stay tuned for more updates!

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS -

BEST FRIEND OR WORST ENEMY

How do we keep ourselves and our children safe in the emerging world of electronic communication and social media?

Join Detective Nash of the Burlington Police Department for an evening of discussion in the Hunt Library on February 26th from 6-7:30 PM.

Coming Soon to Lyman C. Hunt Middle School

Family Book Discussion Evening -

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

 The Hunt Family School Partnership invites you and your

middle-schooler to choose a free book

and gather for an evening of discussion and dinner.

1.     January 6 - 24 – select a book and register on the Hunt Homepage http://hunt.bsdvt.org. Registration forms may also be picked up in the main office or the library. Child care will be provided, please note this on the registration.

2.     January 26 – 31 - Hunt students can pick up the books and discussion questions during the school day or after school until 4:00 in the library.

3.     February – March 10 – read the book of your choice together or separately and discuss it at home prior to 3/11.

4.     March 11 – come to the Hunt Library for an evening of pizza and small group discussion with other families who have read the same book. Hunt staff will facilitate the discussions

The books we have chosen for discussion are the following:

The Golden-Threaded Dress

The Gold Threaded Dress by Carolyn Marsden – 73 pages.  When Oy and her Thai American family move to a new neighborhood, her third-grade classmates tease and exclude her because she is different. Oy, has to decide what she will give up to fit in. What would you do if the most popular girl demanded that you bring your special dress to school, or else?

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper – 295 pages. Eleven year – old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there’s no delete button. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school – but NO ONE knows it.
Most people – her teachers and doctors included don’t think she’s capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows. But she can’t. She can’t talk. She can’t walk. She can’t write.

Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind – that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice…but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – 552 pages. Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist, books. With the help of her accordion–playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the library 865-4164 or email me at:  dpawlusi@bsdvt.org

Diane Pawlusiak

Teacher Librarian

Lyman C. Hunt Middle School

1364 North Avenue

Burlington, Vermont 05408

**Save the date for Hunt's Annual Dance Party!! 

February 15th**

Dance party at St. John's Club on Sat., February 15th, 7-11pm to benefit the Hunt Middle School Drama Club --  Adults Only! 

Suggested donation $20 per person/$30 per couple and includes delicious appetizers and desserts. Cash bar with great prices, 50/50 raffle, and terrific silent auction. All proceeds benefit the middle school production of West Side Story in April. This dance party is a blast and ALL adults are welcome, not just parents of students in the play!! Contact Susan Rutherford at 951-2571 for ticket purchase, to make a donation, or for more information. Come support the arts!

An invite from the Hunt administration to YOU...

Parent Coffee

YOU ARE INVITED! 

Principal/Parent Coffee

Friday, January 31st, 2014, 8:10am to 8:55am

Have coffee or tea with our Principals. Tell us what's on your mind. Let us know what's working or what's not working. Ask questions or just chat and relax with us in our library. Friday. January 31st, morning at 8:10am.

Save the Date!

• January 26st - 31st- HMS students pick up books and discussion questions for FBDE
• January 27th - 2nd Quarter Report Cards Go Home
• January 28 - Auditions start for West Side Story
• January 30th - 8th Grade Orientation @ BHS - 7pm
• January 31st - Coffee with the Principal, 8:10 am
• January 31, February 1 - District Music Festival at BHS
• February - March 10th - Read the FBDE book of your choice and discuss at home prior to March 11th
• February 14 - Hunt Dance
• February 15th - Annual Dance Party @ St. John's Club (adults only)
• February 26 - Electronics Communications talk
• Tuesday, March 11th - Family Book Discussion Evening