| Mark your Calendar |
Oct 5 - 9:
Blue Zone Safety Week
Oct 7:
International Walk to School Day
Oct 12:
Columbus Day, no school
Oct 16:
Parent - Principal Coffee
Oct. 21:
PTO Meeting, 7 p.m.
Oct. 22:
Early Release Day; 12:30 p.m. dismissal
Oct. 24:
Halloween Family
Fun Night
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Volunteer
Opportunities |
The Burr Bulletin Needs YOU !!!
Think it would be cool to know how to create these snazzy emails? Join the Burr Bulletin editor team and you can do just that! Volunteers will be responsible for creating the bulletin about once a month, and the work can be done at home at whatever time is convenient for you. If you are interested and/or would like 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. Contact Amanda Loftus or Tracy Carter. |
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From the Desk of Ms. Bencal
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Dear Parents,
As we enter our fifth full week of school, I am happy to report students are settling in to their new classes and routines quite well. I have visited all of the classes to welcome students to their new grade and class and to talk with them about our Core Values of Academic Excellence, The Effort and Joy of Learning, A Strong Sense of Community, and Individual Growth and Expression. You may want to ask your children about these talks to see what they understand about our Core Values and the ways that they can work toward these in school.
Because students are settling in nicely, I am asking that parents of students in grades 1-5 say goodbye to their children in the morning either at the outside door or at the first double door by the kindergarten classes. Of course, if you need to speak to the teacher or if you are volunteering, it is fine to walk to the class in the morning. (If you are volunteering, please make sure to sign in and get a visitors' badge in the office.) Helping students follow morning routines independently is one of our goals, so letting the children enter the classrooms themselves is important.
It was wonderful to see everyone at Curriculum Night--I believe that it was the largest number of parents attending ever! I hope the information you received from the teachers was clear and helpful, and that you can see the close connections between our school goals and the teachers' curriculum and instructional plans for our students. As I said at Curriculum Night, our staff and school council members created a three-year School Improvement Plan for the school years 2007-2010, which is on the Burr School Web site. At Curriculum Night I also mentioned Newton Public Schools new strategic plan, Vision 2020. That plan is on the NPS Web site at Newton.k12.ma.us. In addition, I talked about the Burr staff's work to become a Professional Learning Community. If you would like to know more about the philosophy and practices of Professional Learning Communities, you might like to visit allthingsplc.com.
As you know, we have large class sizes this year. Our class sizes are:
K= 23, 23, 23 3= 25, 24, 23
1= 23, 23, 22 4 = 18, 17, 17
2 = 22, 22, 21 5 = 28, 26
And, we are expecting two new kindergarten students in October and one new fifth grade student. The good news is that the School Committee approved of our hiring three 18-19 hour per week class size aides for our school. We found three great aides, and they started last week. They are working in grades K, 1, 2, 3 and 5 during math, writing, reading or activity time. One of my goals for this year is to make sure that the school system is not only aware of our overcrowded situation at Burr but that they have a feasible plan for dealing with the situation next year and in the future.
Plans for celebrating Halloween at school: Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so on the day before Halloween, kindergarten classes only will take part in a costume parade. Our Halloween Family Fun Night, held at school on October 24, the Saturday evening before Halloween, has become a big, popular, well-attended annual celebration for the whole school community. We hope that you are looking forward to celebrating at our Halloween Family Fun Night.
Please remember that Thursday, October 22 is an early-release day (12:30 p.m.) for all students. I look forward to seeing you at our first Parent-Principal coffee on October 16 or at our next PTO meeting on October 21.
Sincerely,
Cindy Bencal
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Walk to School on Wednesday!
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 Don't forget to walk (or ride the bus) on Wednesday! Burr School will once again be joining children and adults around the world to celebrate the benefits of walking on International Walk to School Day this Wednesday Oct. 7. On this day, children and families at all the Newton Elementary Schools are asked to make every effort to leave the car behind and walk to school or ride the school bus.
Walk with neighbors and friends - the kids will love it! We'd love to have a few "Walking School Buses" from different neighborhoods - if you'd like to lead one please let us know as soon as possible! If you can't walk with your kids, arrange for them to walk with other families in your neighborhood, or to be dropped off at the house of a friend who is walking. There will be a small celebration and some special guests to greet the kids at school.
We still need help planning and coordinating this exciting event - we need folks to be "Walking School Bus" leaders, to help organize the celebration at school, to help get the word out, and TO WALK! To get involved, or for more information, e-mail BurrSafeRoutes@gmail.com.
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| Blue Zone Buzz
This is Blue Zone Safety Week!
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Remember, this week is Blue Zone Safety Week at Burr. Parent volunteers (in orange safety vests) will be in the Blue Zones and No Parking areas at drop-off and pick-up to help keep the Blue Zone moving and the "No Parking" areas clear. We will have friendly orange "reminder" tickets with the Blue Zone Rules to hand out to those needing a refresher.
Please remember that these volunteers are parents like you who are giving up their time to help keep all of our children safe!
Newton Police and other city officials will be dropping in as part of a joint effort between the Newton Safe Routes Task Force and the Newton Police Traffic Division (including the crossing guards) to reduce unsafe and illegal driver and pedestrian behavior in the school zones.
Please refer to your Burr Blue Zone Guide for complete information on using the Blue Zone and traffic safety around Burr, and click this link: Burr Traffic Map to print out a color map of the area.
We still need volunteers to help with our efforts to increase the number of families who walk to school and improve the traffic safety around Burr. It's a great way to meet lots of new people (not to mention the cool orange vests!) If you can help with Safety Week or want to get involved in another way, please e-mail: BurrSafeRoutes@gmail.com.
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Fifth Grade Gift
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Every year our 5th grade families work very hard at fundraising to support 5th grade activities. These fundraising efforts include Friday afternoon pretzel sales at school dismissal, running the Burr School Store, selling Candy-Grams at Halloween Family Fun Night, as well as several other fundraising projects and events. These efforts not only support 5th grade activities like yearbooks and graduation parties, but also include a parting "gift" to Burr School. Last year's graduating 5th grade class raised enough money to provide Burr with 1 ELMO and cart, 1 Proscope, 2 TVs, 2 DVD/VCR combo units and an Art Display Case.
A big thank you to last year's 5th grade families for their generous gifts to Burr!
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Gift For Burr 2009 is Underway!
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 By now every family should have received a red envelope with the Gift for Burr brochure and reply card. Help us kick off the campaign with a bang! Send in your Gift for Burr in your child's backpack today. Or, go to www.burrpto.org and click the Donate button. And don't forget to let us know if your family has a creative way to raise your contribution. Want to double your gift? If your employer has a matching gift program, you can double your gift to Burr! Our Tax ID # is 043574938. If you have any questions about the Gift for Burr campaign, please e-mail GiftforBurr@gmail.com. Thank you!! |
Special Education News
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The Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education serves as a resource for parents and as a liaison between parents and the school administration. All parents, teachers, specialists and others with an interest in education are welcome.
Meetings are held at 100 Walnut St, Newtonville.
The next meeting is Mon., Oct. 5 from 7:30-9 p.m., with light refreshments at 7:15. The topic is: Overview of Newton 's Preschool and Elementary School Special Education Programs. Judy Levin-Charns, Ed.D., assistant superintendent of student services will present an overview of Newton 's integrated classrooms and specialized programs for preschoolers and elementary school students in the 2009-2010 school year. Come with questions about your child's program and for information about other offerings. The discussion will be devoted exclusively to programs for younger children.
Upcoming PAC meetings:
Wednesday, Oct. 21 - Kickoff meeting for Inclusive Schools Week, 7:30 -9 p.m., light refreshments at 7:15.
Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event that is celebrated during the first week of December. This year the dates are Dec. 7 - 11, 2009, and the theme is Inclusive Technology. The 2008 theme was Mathematics, and in 2007, was Inclusive Schools for Everyone. (For more information about the 2009 celebration, visit http://www.inclusiveschools.org/node/1767)
Thursday, November 5th - Basic Rights Workshop with Dan Ahearn, Esquire (7:30-9 p.m., light refreshments at 7:15)
Back by popular demand, this user friendly, comprehensive presentation on basic rights is one meeting not to be missed. Dan Ahearn is the head of school at Landmark School, and is a practicing attorney specializing in child and family law, and special education law. Dan presents the rights and regulations of the Massachusetts laws on special education in terms that are easy to understand.
Thursday, Dec. 17th - Ask the Superintendent, Jim Marini and holiday cheer
Our December meeting will be a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with the interim superintendent, Jim Marini. In addition, we will celebrate the holiday season with refreshments.
Contact Erika Drezner, PTO liason to Burr at egdrezne@yahoo.com with questions about special education. All inquiries are confidential. More information is available at www.newtonpac.org.
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Act Up! Join the Drama Class!
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The drama class organized by Newton Community Education is launching the new session at Burr this fall Monday afternoons from 3-4:15 p.m. As of right now, the class is still under the minimum number of kids needed. Spread the word and let friends know there's still a chance to join this fun program. For more information, visit www.newtoncommunityed.org or call 617-559-6999. |
| Upcoming CAS Programs
Irene Smalls, African American Author |
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Beloved African American author Irene Smalls will visit the 1st grade on Tuesday, October 6th at 10 a.m. in the Cafetorium. Using games, songs, movement, costumes and slides, Ms. Smalls is known to captivate her audience creating an engaging and dramatic presentation of her books. Don't miss this 1st grade favorite. |
Newton Schools Foundation
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The Newton Schools Foundation is a registered not for profit organization focused on excellence in public education in Newton. Since its inception in 1985, the Newton Schools Foundation has funded almost $2.4 million in grants. These grants have gone to teachers and educators in all 21 Newton schools and have seeded such programs as the - computer based learning aids in elementary schools
- the Robotic lab program in technology for the middle schools
- SIMMS math program in the high schools
Specific grants Burr has received include: - Funding to create our Garden Classroom
- Dr. Mel Levine's "Developing Minds" that provided a workshop with instructional videos on how to better understand students with learning disabilities and specific special needs
- "Bullyproofing the Playground" that trained lunch attendants in techniques that would enhance their management of students during their supervision of lunch/recess programs
Systemwide grants that have benefited Burr: - Professional development for library teachers to develop lesson plans for multi-media software in the library so classroom teachers get maximum benefit of this resource
- Balanced Literacy Online which creates a cross-referenced online database of books and lesson plans for reading material for grades 3-5
- Windows for Technology Camp for Teachers, which trains teachers in use of technology to transform teaching methods
The Newton Schools Foundation Web site is www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org. Thank you to the many Burr families who have contributed to the Newton Schools Foundation and have "honored" Burr teachers by participating in the "Honor Thy Teacher" campaign in recent years. Please continue to support the Newton Schools Foundation! |
Touch-a-Truck!
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The first ever Newton Touch-a-Truck will be held  Sunday, Oct. 18, from 12-4 p.m. at Newton South High School. Proceeds from the suggested donation of $7 per family/carload for this family fun day will go to support nonprofit programming for young children and their families in Newton. More than 30 trucks will be available for kids to climb on and explore. Visits from the Newton North and South mascots, free snacks, and opportunities for families to have their children fingerprinted are just part of what's in store. Noon to 1 will be a special "horn-free hour" for kids who may be sensitive to loud noises.
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Hans Christian Andersen Event
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All elementary school children are invited to a free, fun event featuring games based on Hans Christian Andersen stories (including "The Little Mermaid," "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Emperor's New Clothes" on Oct. 25 from 2-4 p.m. at the Scandinavian Living Center, Waltham St, West Newton.
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"A Streetcar Named Desire"
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This classic Tennessee Williams play, best for mature audiences, will be performed at the Newton North High School Little Theatre Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 15, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7. For more information, call 617-559-6406 or visit www.theatreink.net. |
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Community Preservation Committee
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The CPC will meet on October 21 at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Cafeteria. The agenda includes a possible new process for considering supplemental funding requests; distribution (but not substantive discussion) of new proposals; supplemental funding requests for two projects at the Newton History Museum; and a working session on the proposal for the old Charles River railroad bridge and approaches in Newton Lower Falls. For details, contact Alice Ingerson at aingerson@newtonma.gov, 617.796.1144, or visit www.ci.newton.ma.us/cpa. |
Newton One to One
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Could your child, ages 6 to 11, benefit from the consistent, caring friendship of a Newton teenager? Newton's One to One Program has an enthusiastic new group of high school seniors from Newton North and Newton South High Schools. If you would like the opportunity to have your child matched this academic year with a "Big Brother/Sister," please call Nancy Holczer, program director, at 617.559.9063 by the end of October. Please leave a message on the answering machine, which includes your name, address, and phone number.
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