Harwood Middle School Update, Nov. 2, 2018

HUMS students connecting with others about
the environment at the Annual YES conference.
Curious about what these students learned? 
Ask them two things they found out that they did not know prior to going.

The Youth Environmental Summit (YES) is an annual conference for middle and high school students. YES is an opportunity to learn about environmental issues and get involved in local communities. The mission of YES is to inspire, encourage, and prepare youth for a life of environmental responsibility, service and leadership by increasing awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and fostering leadership skills. 

Harwood Middle School will host our first evening of 

conferences this coming week beginning Thursday evening from 3:00 - 7:00pm   

Please note:   

Our HUMS student led conferences will be hosted within your child's perspective grade level teams this year as opposed to their TA's (as we have done in the past).   

Our conferences will follow a "Arena" style format where students will act as the host/guide for their learning, while core teachers will be available to assist with questions or assistance with understanding their presentation.  Conferences will occur within a shared space large enough to accommodate 2 - 6 student meetings at once.   If parents/guardians require a specific teacher meeting, we will have the opportunity to indicate this within the team area.  We look forward to seeing you next week.  Questions regarding scheduling should be referred to Liz Hepp at 882 -1127 or lhepp@wwsu.org.  

World Language Students show off their dance moves for the final competition of their
World Language Festival.  It was heard that some teachers have some amazing moves, but this may be only a rumor.  

Open Gyms for 7/8 Basketball Players, next week in the CBMS gym, as follows:

7/8 Girls- Monday and Wednesday from 2:35-5:00

7/8 Boys- Tuesday and Thursday from 2:35-5:00

Optional- come for as little or as much as you want.  No coaching- just shooting and small games as you wish.  Formal practices will begin the week of November 12th- more information on details coming next week. 

 HUUSD School Board Meeting Updates:Oct 10 & 24

Dear members of our six town community:

Below please find the votes and key agenda items from the last two HUUSD board meetings on October 10 and Oct 24.
October 10 Actions and Key Agenda Items

1. Approved our consent agenda including meeting minutes, board warrants, and financial report.
2. Approved our FY 2020 budget goals.
3. Approved requests for the Superintendent and the HUUSD administrative team to submit both a level funded budget (based on Per Pupil Expenditure) and level service budget.
4. Approved motion to acknowledge Open Meeting Law violation and approve solution moving forward - that the BOD will not use anonymous feedback methods in the board room or among board members.

October 24 Votes and Key agenda items

1. Approved SMART Goals related to Developing Process for Monitoring District Performance (2.1 and 2.2)
2. Various motions related to voting weights for each HUUSD board representative following the discovery of incorrect population data:  1) Unanimously approved a motion finding that the matrix appearing in Article 7 is/was in error; 2) Unanimously approved a motion to substitute a corrected matrix for the one found in Article 7; 3) Approved a motion (using the newly adopted matrix) to confirm and ratify all actions taken by the Board from July 1, 2017 to the present date (10/24/18). Note the policy on voting patterns will also be updated.
3. Other:  Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French attended the meeting and answered questions from the board for an informative and interesting conversation
4. A representative from the auditor RH Smith attended the meeting and gave information/answered questions from the board.

Our next HUUSD board meeting is scheduled for 6 pm on Wednesday, November 7 at the Harwood Union High School library. On November 12, the board will have legal training with Attorney Pietro Lynn, On Tuesday November 13 we hope a variety of stakeholders will attend our community engagement workshop (look for more information on this soon).
      For more information, please visit wwsu.org for board agendas and minutes and to find the link to watch board meetings. The direct link to watch this and past meetings is: https://mrvtv.com/category/school-board-meetings/
Thank you for your continued support and engagement.

Respectfully,   The HUUSD Board
Christine Sullivan (Waitsfield)  *Chair
Caitlin Hollister (Waterbury)  *Vice Chair
Alycia Biondo (Warren)
Jill Ellis (Fayston)
Gabe Gilman (Moretown)
Linda Hazard (Moretown)
Garett MacCurtain (Duxbury)
Maureen McCracken (Waterbury)
Theresa Membrino (Fayston)
Melissa Phillips (Waterbury)
Torrey Smith (Duxbury)
Alexandra Thomsen  (Waterbury)
Rosemarie White (Warren)
Rob Williams (Waitsfield)

A HUMS 7th Grade Engineer shows off her landing device to
safety land an egg from a drop of 30 feet.
It was a very successful design!  

CALENDAR UPDATE

October 2018

Nov 8 and 14	Student led conferences
Nov 24, 25, 26	Thanksgiving Break

Community Announcements

Please note that the opportunities/events listed below are not specifically endorsed or screened by school staff. As always, families should use their own standards and review processes to determine appropriate activities.
 Mountainfilm on Tour is coming back to the Valley! This event brings a selection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and incredibly inspiring documentary films curated from the Mountainfilm festival held every Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, Colorado. The tour will soon visit Waitsfield at the Big Picture Theater on November 3, 2018 with films that will explore the themes connected to Mountainfilm's mission: using the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. A Mountainfilm presenter will guide the audience through the program providing insight on the films, filmmakers and subjects.
Doors open at 6:00 pm and the show kicks off at 6:30 pm. Tickets for Mountainfilm on Tour can be reserved by calling The Waitsfield Children's Center at (802) 496-3372. Tickets will also be available the day of the event at The Big Picture. The cost is $20.00 per adult and $12.00 per child or student, or $60.00 per family (limit 4). Recommended for ages 9 and up; please note the show runs until about 10PM. See the complete playlist at www.mountainfilm.org/tour/schedule.
Mountainfilm on Tour in Waitsfield is hosted by The Waitsfield Children's Center in partnership with local Valley businesses.