Burr Bulletin - March 15, 2010

Dear Families,

I am writing this letter on the eve of our fifth annual World Cultures Festival. The day promises to be rich, full and exciting for students and adults alike. Our next issue of the Burr Bulletin will include reflections on this year's festival and celebration.

March is a time during which we both concentrate on the current school year and begin looking toward next year as well. We are in the process of registering 66 incoming kindergarten students for next year. In order to plan successfully for next year, we need to have an accurate picture of the number of K-4 families who are planning to move their children out of Burr School at the end of this school year. We know that some new families will be moving in, but having exit numbers is critical for our planning right now. Please contact your children's teachers or the office directly if you will not be at Burr next year.

MCAS testing in English Language Arts for grades 3, 4, and 5 takes place between March 22 and April 12. Please remember that in order to accommodate the state's testing requirements, Tuesday, March 23 will be a 3:00 day, and Wednesday, March 24 will be a 12:30 release day for all students. If any student is absent on the testing days, he/she must make up the test during the testing period.

      Grade 3 tests: March 26 and March 31
      Grade 4 tests: March 23, March 26, and March 31
      Grade 5 tests: April 5 and April 6

The CAP Program: I hope that many parents from grades K, 2, and 5 will be able to attend the CAP Program (the Child Assault Prevention Program) parent information meeting on March 23 from 8:45-9:45 AM in the music room. This is a very informative meeting for parents with 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 6 and 13 (Fitch/Kelly's and Mc Mahon's classes)
April 9 and 16 (Frail's class)
Grade 2:

April 5 (Littlejohn's and Creeden's classes)
April 15 (Roberts' class)
Grade 5:

April 12 (both classes)

Blue Zone and Traffic information: This is for families who use the Blue Zone in front of the school. When you are waiting in the Blue Zone line, please do not wait in front of the neighbors' driveways. The Presti family lives in the house right beside the driveway to the teachers' parking lot. Often they are returning home near our dismissal time, and they wish to pull into their own driveway. Drivers waiting in the Blue Zone have not been letting them in. Please be respectful of all of our neighbors!

In addition, we have received ongoing complaints of drivers using their cell phones while they are waiting in the Blue Zone. There have been close calls with these drivers almost hitting children and other cars because talking on the phone has distracted them. Please remember that we all are concerned with making sure our students are safe at arrival and dismissal time. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Cindy Bencal