When students are able to enter school before 8:30, hang up their coats, unpack their back packs, greet their teacher and classmates and begin their morning routine, they are relaxed and focused, and their day is off to a good start.  Students who rush in at 8:35 often feel hurried, late, and unsettled for the morning. In addition, there are safety issues for students who are late. Our crossing guard has strict instructions to leave her post at 8:35, and the school is instructed to lock all outside doors, except the front door, at 8:35.  When students are later than 8:35, they must cross Pine Street without a crossing guard, and they must know to enter the school by the front door to sign in. 

Speaking of early morning, the school system is considering offering families the option of having an early morning drop off at the elementary schools next year.  The drop off would be available at 7:30 AM and would cost $8.00 a day.  Please call or email the school if this is an option that you would use.

And speaking of safety....thank you to all of the families who are using the Blue Zone correctly.  There is an important request for those who use the small Blue Zone on the opposite side of the street. When leaving that Blue Zone, please do NOT back up into the crosswalk. Our crossing guard and small children have almost been hit by vehicles that have backed up into the crosswalk. 

Upcoming MCAS testing

1. Testing date change:  Please note that our grade 5 March-April MCAS testing dates have changed. They were originally scheduled for March 22 and 24. We have needed to change the grade 5 March-April testing dates to April 5 and 6. The March-April testing dates for grade 3 and 4 have not changed.
2. Long day-short  day switch:  Please remember that Tuesday, March 23 is a 3:00 day for ALL Newton elementary school students, and that Wednesday, March 24 is a 12:30 day for ALL Newton elementary students.  This is to accommodate MCAS testing for 4th grades on Tuesday, March 23.
3. Change in MCAS snack plan:  We are changing our MCAS snack plan.  Rather than having room parents provide snacks for all of the students in the class on MCAS testing days, we ask that families send in a second (MCAS) snack for their children, only.  This is more in keeping with Newton's food allergy policy. If students eat a healthy breakfast and bring in a small, healthy snack to eat before testing, they should be fine. After the testing time in the morning, students often have their regular snack and recess time, thus the suggestion for bringing in two snacks on testing days.

I hope to see many of you at this Wednesday night's discussion of the book So Sexy, So Soon by Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne. What an important book for teachers, parents and grandparents to read and discuss together... for the sake of all of the boys and girls we care about.   
                                                                                                      

This Week--Burr Principal Finalist Visits
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

We are very excited to meet the three Burr principal finalists this week: Mr. Mark Chitty, Ms. Susan Gilbert, and Dr. John Mara.  Faculty/staff and parents will each have their own visiting time with the three candidates who were "the favorites" selected by our group of Burr parents and teachers who served on the principal selection advisory committee. The on-site visits provide a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase what a terrific school Burr is to our finalists.  We are certain that Mr. Chitty, Ms. Gilbert, and Dr. Mara will enjoy meeting the Burr community--thanks to everyone in advance for providing a warm welcome to our visitors!

If you would like to contribute refreshments for the visits or assist with set-up and/or cleanup, please contact Dana Hanson danakhanson@gmail.com.

Schedule for Finalists' Visits to Burr:

Wednesday, February 24 in the cafeteria -- John Mara
Thursday, February 25 in the library -- Susan Gilbert
Friday, February 26 in the cafeteria -- Mark Chitty

7:30 am                    Arrival
7:45 am - 8:15 am     Finalists meet with faculty and staff
8:30 am - 9:00 am     Finalists meet with parents
9:15 am                    Tour of school, visit classrooms

Again, here are the bios for each of the finalists:

Mark Chitty is currently the Principal at South Elementary School and Jones Early Childhood Center in Stoughton, MA. Prior to Stoughton, he was a grade five teacher and Director of K-12 Summer Programs in the Westwood Public Schools. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Trevecca Nazarene College in Tennessee, a Masters in Education from Lesley University and an anticipated C.A.G.S. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Boston University in May, 2010.
 
Susan Gilbert has been the Principal of the Siwanoy Elementary School in Pelham, New York for the past six years.  She also  served as an elementary teacher, a literacy specilist and an assistant principal in the Lexington, Massachusetts school district.  She has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Vermont, a Master's Degree from Lesley College and a C.A.G.S. in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
 
John Mara is the current principal at the Memorial school in the Manchester Essex Regional School District.  He also served as a principal, Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent in Maine.  He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Fairfield University, a Masters in Elementary Education from Connecticut College and a Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Dr. Marini has charged me with setting up a task force to review the feasibility of full day Kindergarten for Newton Public Schools.

Currently Kindergarten students attend two full days (8:20 to 3:00) and three half days (8:20 to 12:30) each week. The task force will review cost, scheduling, space issues, and need.  We will research the benefits of full day and our present configuration and explore other configurations. We will also research the need in the Newton community.

If you are interested in being a part of this task force, please email Dr. Patricia Kelly at patricia_kelly@newton.k12.ma.us. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, March 9 from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm. At that time, we will determine work groups, a time line, and next meetings.

  Haiti - The Land and The People