Dear Families,

I hope that many of you can join me at our Parent-Principal Coffee today, Monday, March 9, in the library at 8:35 AM.  (We usually meet in the cafeteria, but there is a Creative Arts and Sciences program in the cafeteria this morning).  Although there is no set agenda for this coffee, we will spend some time talking about the Superintendent's Proposed Budget for the school system for next year and possible implications for Burr School.  You may want to look at the proposed budget on line.  Go to www.newton.k12.ma.us and click on the School Committee link to see the entire budget proposal as well as the FY10 Budget Meeting Schedule.

We have a new part-time Inclusion Facilitator at Burr, Stacey Crocker.  From now through June, Ms. Crocker will work at Burr on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Jessica Minahan will work at Burr on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  They will share the Inclusion caseload.  Most recently Stacey has been a learning center teacher in the Stoneham Public Schools.  Before that she worked in the Inclusion program at Williams Elementary School.

Emergency Preparedness:  Thank you to the PTO for organizing the collection of gently used backpacks for our teachers to use to carry supplies in case we ever need to evacuate to our off site location at Corpus Christi Church.   We are also in the process of planning a drill for a "lockdown" situation at Burr.  This would occur if there was ever an intruder in the building.  The school would be directed to "lockdown."  Teachers would lock their classroom doors with all students, teachers, and assistants inside, pull the window shades down, direct their students to sit in the safest part of the classroom, and notify the office, via email, if all students were present and in the classroom.

Teachers will be practicing this with their classes starting this week, and on Friday, March 20, several Newton Police officers will come to Burr to practice this with the whole school.  I am letting you know in advance, because we don't want students to be frightened of this drill, and I know that parents and teachers together will be able to reassure students.  We will be telling students that this drill is similar to a fire drill.  We practice a fire drill in case we have to leave the building because of a fire or smoke.  We will practice a lockdown in case there is an intruder in the building and we know that the safest place for our students is right in their classrooms.

You may know that Newton has been the recipient of money through the Safe Schools grant.  We are hoping that grant money will be used this summer to replace locks on all classroom doors and to provide shades for the classroom windows that look out onto the hallways.  Even though we don't have the complete lockdown equipment in place yet, we feel the need to practice this drill this spring.

March is a time during which we both concentrate on the current school year and begin looking toward next year as well.  We are in the process of registering 60+ incoming kindergarten students for next year.  In order to plan successfully for next year, we need to have an accurate picture of the number of K-4 families who are planning to move their children out of Burr School at the end of this school year.  We know that some new families will be moving in, but having exit numbers is critical for our planning right now.  Please contact your children's teachers or the office directly if you will not be at Burr next year.

Well, March certainly came in like a lion.  Let's hope that March's lamb-like qualities visit us soon!  

Sincerely,
Cindy Bencal