Bobcat Bulletin 11/15/19

School News:

• MECA Clothes swap is tomorrow 11/16 from 9:00-2:00... come grab armfuls of clothes for your growing kids for a reasonable price....

• Please come join us for a Thanksgiving dinner at Moretown School
• We welcome families to come enjoy a delicious lunch provided by HUUSD food services.  
• We have vegetarian and gluten free options as well!
• Your child's lunch time is listed on the form below by grade, as you can see kindergarten will do a little shift in lunch times for the day to make sure we all have time/space to enjoy our lunch.
• Today is the last day to sign up: 
• Click here to sign up https://forms.gle/c9qXSZG8dkCAkVoj9

• If you haven't signed up for conferences yet, there's still time:
• Follow this link to go directly to the scheduler. https://www.canyoncreeksoftware.com/scheduler/vt/wwsu/index.cfm
• From the Online Scheduler Home Page
• Choose your student’s school from the drop down list and click “GO”
• Enter the school password: 3742
• Enter your student’s “Student ID”. If you do not know their Student ID, use the LOOKUP STUDENT ID button to access the system.
• Verify the student’s birth date
• A list of your student’s teachers will be displayed. Check the box next to the name of each teacher(s) you would like to meet with.
• If you have more than one student in the school you can see all of your students’ teachers’ schedules at one time by answering YES to this question “Do you want to schedule conferences for another student?” then repeat the steps above for your other students. If you only have one student, answer NO to that question.
• You will then see the available time slots for each teacher you selected.
• Select the times that work best for your schedule.
• Enter your email address (recommended) if you would like an email reminder sent to you. (Your email address is kept private.)
• Once you have finished you can confirm your appointment details and print your conference schedule.
• Write down the Confirmation Number (you will need this number to cancel your appointment).

Library Happenings

• Mrs. Willard is talking all about the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award List. 
• check out the list here:  https://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/DCFChecklist19-20.pdf

PTO News

Ski and ride season is coming... look for packets soon!!

Follow this link for more info on registration and lease packages.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KcTAAUh0UJvFsX-SZ3uMuDi-297_Ihu_y2Iij-ux7-s/edit?usp=sharing

Community News/Opportunities

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.

Bill Koch League Nordic Ski Program: With stick season and daylight savings under our belts it is now time to register for the upcoming BKL season!   We are excited by the early snow and cold temps for a fun nordic (aka cross-country) after-school ski program kick-off on December 3rd.

Registration and payments are due by November 30th.  Please don't wait until the deadline to register, as early registration helps us in the planning process for lining up coaches and gear for the season.  For more information and registration materials, email Chris Badger (csbadger@gmail.com).



Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Bethany Church, Main Street, Montpelier, November 28, 11:30-2pm. If you would like to volunteer at the dinner, please call 802-339-9151.

School Board Updates

Dear members of our six town community,

At our last meeting on November 13, 2019, the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD): 

• Board had an extended Q&A and Public Comment session to address the public’s questions on the Board’s PreK - 12 planning. Information on the PreK-12 planning work and process can be found here: https://huusd.org/prek-12-bond-plan
• Ron Smith and Miranda McDonald from RHR Smith & Company presented their auditor’s report and answered questions from board members.
• Board postponed discussion and decision on this proposed motion to the 11/20 meeting: Move to accept the administrative team’s recommendation to move all 7th and 8th grade students to Crossett Brook Middle School for the 2020-21 school year.

The Board took action on the six (6) items below:

1. Approved the following items as part of the consent agenda: Approve: Minutes of 11/5/19; Approve: Policy Committee Minutes of 11/4/19; Accept: Voucher 1103 for $276,070.84; Accept: FY2019 Audited Financial Report and Management Letter from RHR Smith & Company; Approve: Harwood Union overnight field trip to Hubbard Outdoor Center in Fairlee, VT on 12/5/19.

2. Adopted (after discussion for about 1.5 hours and a proposed amendment that failed): Move to continue exploration and development of a preK-12 plan, in accordance with the Articles of Agreement, that includes closing Fayston Elementary School, combining all 7th and 8th graders at CBMS, and moving Moretown's 5th and 6th graders to CBMS.

3. Adopted: Appoint Garett MacCurtain and James Grace to the Harwood Union principal search committee.

4. Adopted: Approve admin team to engage with our architect and construction management company for up to 40 hours in order to start planning and beginning work on the bond. (Note that these consultants were previously engaged through the requisite bidding and approval process and this motion allows the district to resume bond work that was put on pause during the summer/fall 2019).

5. Adopted: Add an additional board meeting on December 4 from 6-8:30pm.

6. Adopted: The administration to develop a recommendation as to minimum pupil count at Harwood Union Middle School for HUMS to operate effectively.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, November 20th at 6:00 pm in the Harwood Union School library. Please visit https://huusd.org/huusd-board to confirm time and place of meetings. 

You’ll also find all board and committee agendas, packets and minutes, and the link to board meeting videos. The direct link to watch this and other recent meetings is: https://mrvtv.com/category/school-board-meetings/. An archive of older meetings can be found here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=Harwood+Unified+Union+School+Board&sort=-date 

Thank you for your continued support and engagement.

Respectfully,

The HUUSD Board