| Mark your Calendar |
Sept 23:
School Picture Day
Sept. 23 7pm:
Curriculum Night
Sept 28:
Yom Kippur - no school
Oct 5 - 9:
Blue Zone Safety Week |
Volunteer
Opportunities |
The Burr Bulletin Needs You! We are looking for an additional editor to join our team this year. You will collect information to be included in the bulletin from various committees and then create an electonic bulletin. This job can be done at your convenience on your scheduled weekend. For more information please contact us at bulletin@burrpto.org
The Hospitality Committee wants to spread the word!
If you want to join the PTO's hospitality team - let us know! We help organize food and drink for the parent - principal coffee hours, PTO meetings, teacher appreciation week breakfast, and teacher luncheons We welcome newcomers.
|
|
|
|
PTO Letter |
|
Dear Burr School Parents,
Hello again! We hope that you are coping with the hectic pace of the
first few weeks of the new school year and the waves of paperwork
pouring out of your child's back pack. The PTO year has gotten off to
a great start with our Welcome Back Coffee, Back to School Picnic, and
the first monthly PTO meeting. These and many more upcoming fun and
informative events are discussed below, but first we would like to take
a moment to introduce ourselves.
The two Burr PTO co-presidents each serve a two year term with one year
of overlap, so we have a 1 year veteran and a newbie serving at all
times. This year, our veteran co-president is Dana Hanson. Dana has a
background in environmental consulting and is currently home full time
with the kids (Bruce--grade 1 and Theo--grade 3). She and her husband,
Brian Burba, have been Newton residents since 1999. In her non-PTO
time, Dana enjoys volunteering with youth (from teens to tiny tots) in
various capacities, working with fellow community activists to reopen
and run the Auburndale Community Library, and channeling her inner
"domestic diva" via crafts, cooking, and gardening. Our new
co-president this year is Steve DeJesus. Steve is a graduate of Boston University where he studied Physics and Biomedical Engineering,
and is currently employed by Infraredx, developing cardiology
diagnostic equipment. Steve's interests include metal sculpture and
playing in a rock band. Steve is the father of one girl, Emily, in
third grade. He and his wife, Chris Turner, have lived in Newton since
1990.
We both share an interest in making the Burr school community a
vibrant, exciting, and inclusive place where all parents and students
can learn, grow and have fun together while supporting the schools
goals for development and enrichment. We invite all Burr parents (and
you are all automatically members of our PTO!) to join us in our
mission this year. In only our first two weeks of school, several
other members of the Burr PTO have already made significant
contributions:
Many thanks to all of the parents who joined us for the Welcome Back
Coffee on the second morning of school. It was a treat to meet new
folks and reconnect with old friends while helping Ms. Bencal and Ms.
Albano assemble the back-to-school student folder materials.
Kudos to Vicky Gifford and her large group of parent volunteers for
making the annual Back to School Picnic a great success this year. A
beautiful fall evening made for a terrific turn out of Burr family's to
eat, play and socialize. Families new to Burr got a chance to meet and
mingle with our large and varied community, and returning families got
a chance to see old friends and meet some new ones.
Drop-off and dismissal times in the Blue Zone have been running
smoothly thanks to all of our parents learning and following our
guidelines. In particular, we are most appreciative of Tricia
Bombara's efforts in working vigilantly to prepare the several Blue
Zone communications we've seen over the past couple of weeks.
Coordination of Room Parents and Library Volunteers have been handled
by Pam McVey and Jan Shoyer. Many thanks to them and all of the
volunteers who have signed up so quickly to help support our Burr staff
in the earliest days of back-to-school.
Finally, thank you to all the parents who attended our first PTO
meeting of the year last Thursday evening. Many thanks in particular
to Tracy Carter and Amanda Loftus for the lovely refreshments and to
Burr PTO treasurer Weiqun Shi, who provided a terrific summary of our
then-proposed (but now approved!) PTO budget for the '09-'10 year. For
those who missed our PTO meeting, check our website www.burrpto.org
periodically for updates and/or past meeting minutes (we try to keep
all of our online materials up-to-date, but...you know...sometimes it
takes a little while to refresh the contents).
Our next events are just around the bend...
Wed 9/23 School Picture Day (remember your order forms!)
Wed 9/23 Curriculum Night (7:00 pm at Burr School)
Mon 9/28 No School Yom Kippur
Week of 10/5-10/9 Blue Zone Safety week; Walk to School day on Wed 10/7
Remember, all Burr parents are automatically members of the Burr PTO.
We look forward to working with you on various PTO activities this
year! Again, we can never stress this enough: we can use ALL parents'
gifts and talents on the PTO. Whether you have 15 minutes to help make
photocopies or do data entry at home late at night or whether you would
like to "dive in" to help a committee chair help run an event or
program, we need YOU. Not sure how to get started? Please just send
an email saying you'd like to get involved, but aren't sure just how to
pto-board@burrpto.org. We PTO board members are great matchmakers and can find you just the right activity to help out with!
See you around school,
Steve & Dana
|
| Un.BOO.lievable! |
|
 School barely started and we are already planning a party! So mark your calendars for October 24th (and for set up Friday evening the 23rd).
That's right! The annual Halloween Family Fun Night is coming next month. Join us for a fun-filled night of Halloween games & crafts, music, and treats. EVERYONE is invited and EVERYONE is encouraged to wear a costume (no scary masks please). For those of you new to the Burr community this is a FREE event sponsored by the PTO.
Halloween Family Fun Night is run entirely by parent volunteers. So, keep your eyes peeled for sign up sheets in your child's folder. Consider donating your time to help decorate the school Friday night (10/23/09) or run a game or craft, or contribute a snack or drink for the treat table on the night of the event (10/24/09). There are many ways to get involved.
We are always on the prowl for parents who really get into the spirit of the night to do some behind the scenes prep and prop making as well as role play a few key characters the night of the event (fortune tellers, mad scientists, oracles etc).
For more information about how you can get involved, give a scream to any of us on the Boo Crew: Lizette Eastman, Hope Kellman, Stephanie Mamis, Pam McVey, Carey Ranta, or Ellen Regan
|
|
Gift For Burr 2009... |
|
|
|
|
School Picture Order Forms |
|
 Please remember to return order forms by photo day, Wednesday, September 23. Questions? Please contact Johanne Campbell: johanne.campbell@gmail.com. |
Cool it, Teachers
|
|
The refrigerator in the Teacher's
Lounge, a tribute to mid-20th century appliance engineering, has been
running steadily for literally 30 years, but looks to be ready for
retirement. If you or someone you know will be replacing a
refrigerator any time soon, we would very much like to have your old
one to replace this really old one. If you have or know of a suitable
candidate fridge available any time in the next couple of months please
let us know by dropping an email to Steve DeJesus Thanks for your help!
|
|
Explore and More Learning |
|
Located in Newton. Small group after school tutoring program for K, 1 and 2 students beginning September 22, 2009. 4-to-1 ratio; 8 students work with 2 teachers with Master's Degrees. Also, morning preschool play group for 18 months through 4 years with adult. Classes offered several days a week. Visit www.exploreandmorelearning.com for registration and more information. Contact Mary Beth DeNucci with any questions 1-800-360-1821.
|
|
Volunteers Needed at The Second Step |
|
| The Second Step, a comprehensive domestic violence agency in Newton, has a variety of volunteer opportunities including weekly administrative work, project development, donations coordination and volunteer coordination. Hours are generally flexible and range from 3 to 10 hours/week. Most require excellent computer and people skills. Training provided. Please contact volunteer@thesecondstep.org for application. |
|
Youth pro Musica's Open Rehearsals |
|
Love to Sing? Join Youth pro Musica for our 40th year with Director Robert Barney. Celebrating 40 years of excellence in choral training, YpM has appeared with many renowned groups including the American Boychoir and regional symphony orchestras. YpM recent appearances include Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall. Auditions for Boys and Girls 8-18 are in September by appointment. Come to our Open Rehearsals to learn more on September 15 and 22nd. For more information visit www.youthpromusica.org. More questions? Contact us at: (617) 666-6087. Join us for our exciting 2009-2010 season. |
|
Newton Girl Scouts Registration |
|
Newton Girl Scouts announces drop-in registration for new members on Thursday, September 24 between 2 and 8 pm at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton Centre.
Girl Scouting is open to girls in grades K-12 and adult volunteers.
Parent or guardian signature required for registration. For more
information, contact Newton Girl Scouts at newtongs@gmail.com or leave message at 617-671-1223. |
| A Pumkin Patch, Right Here in Newton! |
|
The United Parish of Auburndale is hosting its third annual Pumpkin Patch, from October 4th through October 31st. Pumpkins large and small, gourds and baked goods will be for sale. The proceeds help the UPA support a number of programs in the New England area. Don't miss this fun family outing! Pumpkin Patch hours are: M-F, 10am-6pm; Sat, 9am-5pm; and Sun, 11am-6pm.
The UPA is located at the corner of Woodland Road and Grove Street near Williams Elementary in Auburndale. For more information, please contact the UPA at 617-964-8516. | |
|
|
|
