Harwood Middle School Update, February 1, 2019

The temps might be below zero, but the morning greeting/breakfast time feels like
summer...  

Curious about what all matter is made of? 
8th-grade scientist working on this question using hands-on/minds-on tasks.  
Ask them what they are discovering.  

Outright Vermont visited our school this past week.   Students met with Outright representatives during the school day.   Outright has been coming to HUMS over the past several years.  They specialize in training, LGBTQ+ and other definitions, gender vs. sex education, all while allowing time for questions and concerns to be communicated. Outright Vermont is a QSA which supports QSAs (queer straight alliances) in schools throughout Vermont (including ours at HUMS which is advised by Kendra Renz).  Pictured above, Mara Urban our Student Assistance Counselor, and Jen Dreimiller (not pictured) supported dialogue with our 8th grades about these topics.  

Since 1989, Outright Vermont has worked statewide to provide advocacy, education, and leadership development alongside queer and trans youth, and the adults in their lives. Their organizational model is built on:

Ensuring Vermont is a state where all queer and trans youth have access to resources they need to live brave, healthy, and authentic lives.
Commitment to anti-oppression the necessity for intersectional analysis across social identities beyond gender and sexuality.
Fostering healthy youth-adult partnerships to create mutual opportunities for growth, learning, and skill development.
Building queer, trans, and allied community who invest in our mission.

Curious about the US Civil War? These two 8th grade historians are
creating a "Rap Battle" between the ideals of
Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln...
Pictures are great - but sometimes do not tell the whole story.   

7th Grade mathematicians collecting data on which they construct
fractions as
numerical representations.   

Parent Career Fair Help: Wednesday, April 3
Part of planning for high school is getting students forward thinking. We would love your help in exposing students to a range of career opportunities. Here is the link to some details regarding this event Career Fair 2019
Sign up to participate here

CALENDAR UPDATE

February  2019

Feb 22- March 6	Winter/Town Meeting Break
Feb 15	Proposed Fun Night at HUMS More information to come

HUUSD School Board Meeting Update: January 23, 2019Dear members of our six town community,

At our last meeting on January  23, 2018, the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD) Board took action on the four (4) items below (listed in order of the time in the meeting when the vote occurred):

1. Approved the following items as part of the consent agenda: Approve Minutes of 1/16/18, Accepted board warrants/voucher #1159 for $91,775.48
2. Approved the warning of questions to put before voters on town meeting day, including the school district expenditure of 38,600,862 and the allocation of $1,000,000 from FY2018’s fund balance to the district’s maintenance reserve fund.
3. Agreed to distribute two optional questions to all board members for information to include in a board manual (in a Google form).
4. Agreed to the vision committee communicating with Sue McCormack to discuss the formation of a visioning plan and timeline.

At this meeting, we also heard the first report from the Student Reps, and received updates from the following committees: Policy, Personnel, Asset Management, EPC (Harwood Bond), Vision.    

Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 13 at 7:00 pm and will be held in the Harwood Union High School library. Duration will depend on the agenda, which will be set by the Monday before the meeting. There will be committee meetings immediately prior, also in the library, starting at 6:00 pm. Committees generally alternate meeting times and meet every other board meeting. For more information on the SMART goals that drive these committees, check the HUUSD board web page.

Please visit www.wwsu.org/huusd-board for board agendas (including committees that are meeting), detailed minutes, HUUSD Smart Goals for the 2018-2019 school year, 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), Hannah Clark (Student Rep, class of 2019), Carlton Cummisky (Student Rep, class of 2021), Jill Ellis (Fayston), Gabe Gilman (Moretown), Linda Hazard (Moretown), Jake Lynn (Student Rep, Class of 2020), Garett MacCurtain (Duxbury), Maureen McCracken (Waterbury), Theresa Membrino (Fayston), Melissa Phillips (Waterbury), Torrey Smith (Duxbury), Alexandra Thomsen  (Waterbury), Rosemarie White (Warren), Rob Williams (Waitsfield)

 HUUSD School Board Meeting Update:  January 16, 2019

Dear members of our six town community,
Below please find the votes and key agenda items from the HUUSD board meeting on January 16, 2019.

1. Approved the following items as part of the consent agenda for December 19, 2018:  Approve 12/19/2018 meeting minutes; Accept board warrants totaling $708,085.77, approve board buddies for student representatives, authorize reporting in one segment for grade for grades 7-12, confirm announced FY 2020 tuition rate, approve Winooski Valley High School Choice agreement.

2. Engaged in in-depth discussion about HUUSD budget.

3. Moved to ask HUUSD administration to provide specific STEM amounts for CBMS and HUMS, so BOD will have details on time students spend in STEM classes at CMBS and HUMS, respectively.

4. Moved to accept EPC committee’s recommendation to direct HUUSD administration to determine if CBMS can “house” all 7/8 graders, as well as W/D 5th and 6th graders. Accepted the recommendation with an amendment to ask the superintendent to put initial calculations of what the administration already knows in writing to help the EPC determine next steps. BOD also directed EPC to determine list of variables to consider in determining operational expenses and/or cost savings.
Our next HUUSD board meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019 at the HUHS library.

Please note this meeting follows our recently adopted HUUSD board agenda format, with the first hour spent with committees meeting individually from 6:00 - 7:00 pm.  The full board will come back together at 7:00 pm.
Please visit HUUSD for board packets, 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

Note from the Harwood Union

February 1, 2019

Greetings students and parents,

With the fall semester finished, we thought it was a perfect time to remind families of the academic support opportunities that are available for students.  Every course, grade 7-11, students have a non-negotiable expectation that all summative assessments listed in course syllabi are completed, and that all 9-10th grade students must obtain a minimum course score that falls within the Emerging range  (1.8 - 2.5), and 11th grade students course score that falls within the Proficient range (2.6 - 3.3). In order to support these achievement expectations, we are continuing to further develop our support/recovery offerings grades 7 - 12 including:

• Extended Learning Opportunity s (ELO) every other day on B days.
• After-school support on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:00 - 4:45 pm
• Summer Support Session (more info forthcoming on this summer’s offerings)
• ELO-X, this is an opportunity for recovery and enrichment sessions within a regular school day (Feb 4,5).  

In these new ELO-X days, teachers will be offering recovery as well as a variety of enrichment choices.  Some are based on a current content area enrollment and others will be open to any student.  Students are encouraged to look for something they love and take the chance to do more of it.  Or, look for something to stretch them out of their comfort zone and give it a try. Students with missing work from a course will be assigned to specific recovery blocks and have a chance to be re-assessed and work toward meeting course requirements. A few important expectations about ELO-X:

• Students must sign up for all 4 blocks; they will be signing up in TA.  
• Active student engagement during this time is expected
• Attendance will be treated just like a class

Proficiency-Based Learning is based on clearly communicated expectations, in conjunction with the opportunity to revise and have additional time to demonstrate skill mastery in transferrable skills needed to succeed in post-secondary endeavors.  As always, we welcome ideas and feedback concerning our support system. Thank you for supporting Harwood student learning.

Duane Pierson

Lisa Atwood

Sam Krotinger