We are excited about representing the Burr parent community on the principal Search Advisory Committee (SAC) and we officially began the process this past week.

We attended our first meeting on Wednesday, January 13. In
attendance were parent and teacher representatives from all three schools searching for new principals (Burr, Horace Mann and Peirce) and administrative representatives from the Newton Ed Center as well as several other at-large committee members.

Together we are a group of 25 individuals who are committed to finding three principals for three different schools. So far we have discussed the timeline for the process and learned about the procedural guidelines in place to ensure we find the very best candidates for our schools. We feel that the group got off to a
great start and is proceeding with an upbeat, positive attitude and faith in the process.  

One thing that we want to remind everyone about early on is that we have vowed to maintain strict confidentiality during the search process -- please understand that we will do our very best to give you all the information we are allowed to share, but there are likely going to be innocent questions that we cannot answer. Sometimes things that do not seem like they should be confidential actually are confidential in the principal search business. Thanks in advance for understanding.

Thanks to everyone who attended our casual gathering on Friday, January 15 and who completed the online survey. We look forward to updating you after our next meeting on January 26. See you around school!

Junko, Marni, & Rachel
SAC Burr parent representatives and ELL representative

Please join Burr Friendtrips for a swim party at BU on January 30th from 1:45 - 4:00 pm. Burr Friendtrips is a group of Burr families from Boston and Newton who get together for various fun activities in the Boston area. Space is limited for the pool party so please email Judy Hogan (jrhnewton@gmail.com) for a flyer and more information.

The Burr School Store is THE PLACE for fun pens and pencils, unique erasers, other school supplies and some neat novelty items. It's a fun and convenient way for children to purchase supplies while supporting the 5th grade class! Prices range from $.25 to $2.00. The store is open every Tuesday before school from 8:20 - 8:35 a.m.

On Tuesday January 19th, we will have a limited supply of mood rings ($2.00 each) as well as some new items for 2010. Our merchandise is always changing - so be sure to check us out each week.

Thanks for supporting the 5th grade class! Proceeds from the store will help fund their graduation party and class gift to the school. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Diana Londono at susanainny@hotmail.com

With the advent of Single-Stream Recycling, the Burr Green Team is gearing up for a Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle initiative to start in February.  The cafeteria will be included in this program and we will need help from everyone in the community to reduce the tremendous volume of trash that is generated each day. We have a planning meeting Tuesday January 19th at 3pm in Ms. Moran's room.  Volunteers are invited. Look for more details in next week's Bulletin.
 
Green volunteers needed for the Re-cycling program, Capri-Sun, Eco-teams and Walk/Bike to School. See volunteer section for contact details.

Trying to remember something you read about in a past bulletin, but don't have them all saved in your email?  No worries!  Past Burr Bulletins are available online on the Burr PTO website, www.burrpto.org.

From the homepage, click the Burr Bulletin link on the left, and when prompted, enter user name burr, password 171pine.