| Mark your Calendars |
Mar 30:
Child Assault Prevention Program, 7:00-8:30pm
Mar 31:
All students dismissed 3pm
Apr 1:
All students dismissed 12:30pm
Apr. 4:
Boston/Newton FriendTrip, BU Swim Party, 1:45-4:00pm
Apr 10:
Good Friday
No school
Apr 20-24:
Spring Vacation
Apr 26:
NewtonServes at Burr, 12:30 -3:00pm
Apr 30:
Guys Read Book Group, 6:00-7:00pm, Mr. Gaita's room
June 2:
Color Day
June 3:
Color Day Raindate |
Volunteer
Opportunities |
The Library Gift Book Sale needs volunteers to help run the Library Gift Book Sale between May 9th and May 15th. Help students and parents select books, complete order forms, collect payments and enter data into a database. Shifts are approximately 30 minutes long; 8:15 - 8:45 AM Monday through Friday morning, 2:45 - 3:15 PM on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons and 12:15 - 12:45 PM on Tuesday afternoon. Some of the database work can be done at your home at a time convientent to you. This is wonderful way to volunteer a small portion of your time at the end of the year. If you are interested, please email Jill Greblick or call 617-916-5057
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From Ms. Bencal's Desk
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 Dear Families,
I am happy to report that we had a very successful lock down drill at school last Friday. The children knew just what to do for the drill, and they carried out the steps very well. Newton Police officers joined us, monitored the drill and gave us feedback afterwards. We will have one more lockdown drill this spring.
As I write this, we are all looking forward to our first Burr School International Potluck Dinner on Sunday afternoon. It will be great to see everyone, to have our World Cultures spirit rekindled and to share delicious food from many different cultures.
I hope to see many parents from grades K, 2 and 5 this evening for the CAP Program (the Child Assault Prevention Program) parent informational meeting in our cafeteria. This is a very informative meeting for parents with plenty of time for questions and answers. April is the month that we have the CAP Program at Burr. We share the schedule with you because parents often like to talk with their children before and after the children have had the CAP Program to follow up and reinforce strategies that the children have learned. The schedule for the CAP Program is as follows:
Kindergarten classes: April 8 and April 15 (K has 2 sessions)
Grade 2Cr and 2L: April 15
Grade 2Ca: April 29
Grade 5C and 5T: April 3
Grade 5M: April 7
Reminder: MCAS English Language Arts testing takes place between March 30 and April 13:
Grade 5 tests on March 30, April 1, and April 6
Grade 4 tests on March 31, April 3, April 7 and April 13
Grade 3 tests on April 3, April 7 and April 13
Please remember that Tuesday, March 31 is a 3:00 day and Wednesday, April 1 is a 12:30 day because of MCAS testing requirements. Happy Spring to all!
Sincerely,
Cindy Bencal |
| PTO Meeting Monday, April 6
All About MATH at Burr! |
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 We are looking forward to our yearly PTO meeting in Boston! Our speaker will be Robin Moriarty, our Burr Math Coach. Join us for a lively discussion and slide show about what your children are learning in math at Burr, how they are learning it, and why. You will also find out how you can support your children at home to strengthen their mathematics skills. The meeting will be held at the Yawkey Club of Roxbury (Boys and Girls Club), a state-of-the-art recreational and educational facility. We will have pizza and childcare available at the meeting--kids love the "games room" at the club! Many thanks to Lori Wheeler for reserving the space and arranging childcare for us. In order to ensure the appropriate quantity of pizza and childcare, kindly RSVP as soon as you can to Dana Hanson. PTO Meeting--Math at Burr Elementary School
Monday, April 6
Yawkey Club of Roxbury (directions to be included in future e-mail blast) 6 p.m.: pizza dinner 7-8:30 p.m.: meeting while kids are accompanied by child caregivers in the games room
RSVP to Dana Hanson so we can ensure adequate pizza and childcare coverage! |
| Slip! Slap! Slop! - A Message from the Newton Health Department |
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 The days are getting longer and the warmer sun is encouraging outside playtime. April is a great time to reinforce the importance of protecting your child's skin and your own from the sun to prevent skin cancer. While skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, it is the most preventable, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Almost half of all Americans who live to age 65 will be diagnosed with skin cancer at some point in their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute. Early childhood sunburns increase a child's risk for cancer later in life. Fair skin, lots of moles, and a family history of skin cancer are additional risk factors.
But whether you have these risk factors or not, anyone can get skin cancer. Slip! Slap! Slop! Is a great way for parents and children to remember three great skin cancer prevention tips:
- Slip on a t-shirt: A t-shirt over a bathing suit or other sleeveless shirt is a great way to help block some of the sun's rays
- Slap on a hat & sunglasses: A brimmed hat and sunglasses help protect the face and eyes
- Slop on sunscreen: Apply SPF 15 or higher sunscreen before going outside, and reapply at least every two hours, even if it is cloudy.
For more information, contact your School Nurse or visit http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/skin .
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Library Gift Book Sale is Returning
May 9 - May 15 |
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 Want to show your appreciation for our great Burr faculty and staff? Want to help the Burr Library continue to stock new books? The answer to these questions is coming between May 9th - May 15th - the Burr School Library Gift Book Sale!
Here's how the sale works: Ms. Mayer, our school librarian, has already purchased a great selection of new books for our library. You and your child choose one of these books and write a dedication to the Burr teacher, specialist, staff member, friend, neighbor, or student, who you want to honor. A bookplate with your dedication will be printed and permanently placed in the book for your special person - and the whole school - to see and enjoy. This money will go towards more new books for our library. Remember - help our library and show your appreciation at the same time! We will kick off the sale on May 9th during the May Fair. Also, remember to stop by the library corridor before school or outside by the flagpole (weather permitting) after school between May 11-May 15 , where the sale during the school week will be taking place. Of, course you can purchase a book 24/7 on a website and pay through paypal. Be on the lookout for further notices and a list of books available for purchase along with instructions on how to make purchases in person, by order form, or on-line. |
| Working with Challenging Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach
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Parent Presentation by Dr. Ross Greene
Location: Williams Elementary School Auditorium
Date: Tuesday, March 31st
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 P.M.
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author of the acclaimed book The Explosive Child and the recently released Lost at School, and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach. In addition to providing outpatient care, Dr. Greene consults to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. Dr. Greene's research focuses on the classification and treatment of children with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, long-term outcomes in socially-impaired children with ADHD, and student-teacher compatibility. He lectures throughout the world, and lives in Newton with his wife and two children.
Join us for a presentation and discussion of ways to deal with a range of challenging issues with challenging children in these challenging times.
Co-sponsored by: Title I Safe Schools Healthy Students, Elementary Counseling Grant
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| April Boston/Newton FriendTrip |
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 Join METCO and Newton families at the annual BU Swim Party! Join us as we drift along the "lazy river" and have a potluck snack together.
BU Swim Party
Saturday April 4
1:45-4:00 pm
$5 per swimmer
For more information or to sign up for this event, please contact Lori Wheeler. |
Spring Cleaning at Burr
Sunday, April 26, 12:30 - 3:00pm |
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 Burr Needs You!
Please come and help with our annual Spring Cleaning. We plan to clean up the front yard, turn over the garden, trim trees, weed, rake,sweep, and put in some annuals. Inside, we have requests from teachers to paint bookshelves, fix wobbly table legs, put wheels on bookcases etc... We need a general handyman/woman with a can of screws, nails, a cordless drill, and a hammer.
ALL ARE WELCOME
This is a family Community Service Day for NewtonServes.
Cold drinks and treats will be provided!All participants are also invited back to City Hall at the end of the day for an ice-cream social. RSVP to Kelly Brown so we can register the team with the City to score shirts and other stuff. Questions? Please contact Kelly Brown or Bill Hoch . Can't make it that day but still want to help? Please contact us ....we need paint, drop cloths, food and drink, screws, nails and other miscellaneous supplies. |
| Thanks For A Great Book Swap! |
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| A special thanks to all the parent helpers and the students and teachers whose efforts were key to making this year's Book Swap a success. Also, thanks to Jack Tobin and the Aftercare Crew for their help and patience with us as we flooded the cafetorium with books last week. See you next year!
The Book Swap Crew |
International Potluck--Thanks to All!
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 Many thanks to all of the families who participated in last night's first ever Burr International Potluck dinner. What a delicious feast and great company for all of the 150 or so of us who attended! We enjoyed crafts, music, ping pong, singing with Ms. Bencal, and Zumba dancing with a professional instructor. We are grateful to the following members of the planning committee: Ann Langenfeld, Ellen Chu, Donna Davis, Jackie Gelb, Dana Hanson, Shohreh Harris, Jody Klein, Pam Marin, Allison Sharma, Junko Shibuya, and Jan Shoyer. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year at our World Cultures Festival! |
| School Store Raffe is Almost Over! |
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Tomorrow is the last day to purchase tickets for the Burr School Store Raffle. Don't miss out on your chance to win a Burr sweatshirt, Burr fleece hat, erasers, keychains, crayons, and more. Tickets are 50 cents each and there is a 6 ticket limit per student. Raffle forms can be downloaded from the Burr PTO website at www.burrpto.org. The winner will be chosen during April's All-School-Meeting. |
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 Spring is here and so are pretzels. They're big, soft, delicious and available every Friday afternoon after school. Blue-zoners - you can have a pretzel too, but you'll need to park legally first. Bus-riders - we'll be inside selling to you. |
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Change Your Body Boot Camp |
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Guaranteed results for busy people. Fun, results-oriented fitness classes. May 4 - May 29 (4 weeks). 6:00am, M / W / F @ Boys & Girls Club 9:30am, M / W / Th @ Mackenzie Center 6:30pm, M / T / Th @ Newton Community Service Center $20/class; $180 for new participants (includes free week). Visit www.mikealves.com/change.html to learn more. Special Offer
A $5 donation will be made for every person who sign up because of the Burr PTO. Just write Burr PTO when answering, "How did you hear about CYBBC?" on the registration form. If 5 people sign up, that's $25. There's a limit of 20 people oer class. Donations will be paid out at the completion of the boot camp by all participants. | |
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