| Mark your Calendar |
May 18, 8:30am
Grade 3 Instrumental Music Program Presentation
Cafetorium
May 19, 7:00pm
Final PTO Meeting of the Year
May 20-21
Garden Classroom
May 26, 10:00am
Burr Spring Concert, Cafetorium
May 26, 7:45pm
Burr Spring Concert, Day Middle School Auditorium
June 1
Color Day
June 2
Color Day rain date
June 4
Retirement Party for Cindy Bencal
June 18, 9:00am
Grade 5 graduation
June 19
Parents Night out at the Skellig
June 21
Last day of school
12:00 dismissal |
 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 |
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| Final PTO Meeting of the Year - Wednesday May 19: Update on Nominations | | |
It's transition time on the Burr PTO board. This Wednesday at our PTO meeting, we'll vote in our new board for the 2010-2011 school year. We are very excited to share some "interested candidates" with you below, but please note that all of these positions are still formally open until we hold our vote at the school wide PTO meeting this Wednesday evening.
We encourage you to contact members of this year's Nominating Committee if you have questions or comments about the nominating process (Steve DeJesus, Nancy Caulfield, or Kelly Brown).
Here are the job descriptions of this year's available positions. All are two year terms (next spring, Fundraising, Treasurer, and Co-President slots become available).
PTO Co-President
The two co-presidents serve on the PTO board and oversee general operations of the PTO. Specific duties include: organizing and running school-wide PTO meetings, representing Burr on the citywide PTO Council, meeting regularly with the principal to plan and coordinate events/programs, writing monthly Burr Bulletin communications, and generally assisting Burr teachers and staff to make Burr the best it can be.
Steve DeJesus will be continuing his two year term as co-president next year and we have identified an interested candidate, Tracy Carter, to replace Dana Hanson. However, the position is open to anyone who is willing and interested in it. Please feel free to email Steve or Dana if you would like more information about being a PTO co-president at Burr.
Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for developing agendas for PTO meetings, and coordinating any required AV or other equipment needs for the meetings. The Secretary takes minutes at the PTO meetings and ensures they are posted on the website by our PTO webmaster. The Secretary also maintains a current copy of the Burr PTO Operating Policies and related documents and ensures that all necessary documents are filed with the Secretary of State (such as newly elected Board officers). Please email Kelly Brown if you have questions about the Secretary position.
Diana Fisher-Gomberg has agreed to be an interested candidate to continue on the PTO board for a 1-year term to help "even" the turnover rate of three versus five folks entering/exiting the board every other year. (However, Diana is more than happy to hand off the spot to another person if an interested party comes forward before Wednesday's meeting...) Communications Coordinator The Communications Coordinator oversees the Burr Bulletin and other PTO emails, the www.burrpto.org website, and the Burr directory. Specific tasks include finalizing the email distribution lists, assisting the Bulletin and Directory coordinators as necessary, and helping to recruit additional volunteers in these areas as needed. The Communications Coordinator is also responsible for running the School Council elections each spring. Please email Allison Sharma if you would like to learn more about the Communications position. Colette Burke is an interested candidate for Communications Coordinator. Colette has a daughter currently in kindergarten. Community Building and Academic Support Coordinators
The Community Building and Academic Support Coordinators have similar responsibilities, but in different "tracks" of PTO activities. Community Building includes things like: new family pair-ups, Halloween Night, World Cultures, May Fair, etc. Academic Support includes things like Creative Arts and Sciences, library volunteers, Color Day, Art Show, etc. Each Coordinator is in regular communication with the 5-10 chairs of committees under their area of focus, and assists the coordinators with things like Burr Bulletin updates, recruiting additional volunteers as needed, and communicating issues and concerns to the PTO co-presidents. Please email Lizbeth Heyer if you have questions about the Academic Support or Diana Fisher-Gomberg if you have questions about Community Building.
Jason Wong is an interested candidate for Academic Support Coordinator. Jason has a daughter currently in second grade and a son entering kindergarten next fall.
Maren Oslund is an interested candidate for Community Building Coordinator. Maren has a son currently in kindergarten and a younger daughter who is a pre-schooler.
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| Reminder Grade 3 Parents:
Instrumental Music Program Presentation - Tomorrow, Tuesday, 8:30am in Cafetorium | |
 Grade three parents are invited to a presentation on the Instrumental Music Program that begins in grade 4 on Tuesday, May 18, at 8:30 AM in the cafetorium. The presentation will last 45 minutes to an hour. Mr. Richard King, Newton's K-8 Fine Arts Coordinator will be the presenter. |
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Last Chance! A few tickets left for Red Sox! Friday, May 28 at 7:10pm | |
 As of the deadline for this Burr Bulletin, there were a few Red Sox tickets left for the Burr "Take me out to the Ballgame" fundraiser. The game is against the Royals and each ticket costs $52. If you are interested, please contact Joanmarie Lee ASAP to learn more. |
| Garden Classroom
Reminder: Planting This Week and
Summer Garden Club | |
 Weather permitting, the kids will plant their gardens this coming Thursday and Friday. Please contact Dana Hanson if you would like to stop in to help. The schedule is below:
Thursday, May 20 (raindate Thurs May 27)
8:45-9:20 3-Rendulich 9:30-10:05 3-Lawton 10:15-10:50 K-Frail 11:00-11:35 3-Canning 12:30-1:00 2-Littlejohn 1:05-1:40 4-Dunn & 4-Robinson 1:45-2:20 4-Robinson & 4-Cohen 2:25-3:00 2-Creeden
Friday, May 21 (raindate Fri May 28)
8:45-9:20 5-Cooley
9:30-10:05 K-McMahon
10:15-10:50 5-Moran
11:00-11:35 K-Fitch/Kelly
11:50-12:25 1-Gaita
12:30-1:00 2-Roberts
1:45-2:20 1-Golden
2:25-3:00 1-Espinal
Once the gardens are planted, the fun has only just begun...we have an entire growing season ahead of us and we need help to keep our beloved garden growing all spring and summer long. We are looking for our annual team of Burr Family Garden Club Members to help us keep an eye on the garden and make sure it gets plenty of WATER throughout the weeks and months ahead.
It's fun to splash around with the hose on those hot summer days/evenings--we hope to have lots of signups for our Watering Team! We ask that families sign up for a one-week commitment (if we have lots of families volunteer, we'd love to have two families per week to share the load). We need families beginning the week of May 24 right through mid-September.
Email Jessica Avery at jvavery@yahoo.com to let her know which week(s) you are available. Once we have enough volunteers to make a schedule, Jessica will get back in touch with you with your assignment. |
| Burr Spring Concert: 4th & 5th Grades Wednesday , May 26 -- Two Performances | |
The 4th and 5th grade music concert is almost here. All Fourth and Fifth graders, choruses, band, string ensemble and beginning instrumentalists will perform in two concerts on Wednesday, May 26.
May 26, 2010 at 10 AM in the Burr Cafetorium
May 26, 2010 at 7:45 PM in the Day Middle School Auditorium
Please bring your instrument, music, accessories, and wear black and white. Any questions about the concerts should be directed to Ms. Denney. |
| Pretzels for sale Fridays after school! Just $1. | |
 Find us right after school at the Flagpole! To help selling go smoothly, Blue Zoners should park legally while your riders make their purchase or plan to arrive five to ten minutes after 3 to give kids a chance to get their pretzels and be waiting for you. Ms. Bencal stays outside until 3:15, so no one will be left alone. Pretzels will be available to bus riders and BCAPers, too. Proceeds help to support the 5th grade end of the year activities and class gift to the school. |
| Newton Public Schools - Early Morning Program | |
Starting in September 2010, the Newton Public Schools will be offering an Early Morning Program for students in grades K through 5 in each of the schools from 7:30 to 8:20 A.M. Parents will need to register their child(ren) and sign up for the specific days needed. The cost will be $8.00 per day. The program will be staffed with Newton personnel and include activities such as games, reading time and homework check and completion. In June there will be additional information and an application form available. |
| New Principal Announcement for Day Middle School | |
A message from Joe Russo, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources:
Interim Superintendent Jim Marini is pleased to announce that Brian Turner has accepted the position of principal of F.A. Day Middle School beginning July 1, 2010.
Mr. Turner comes to Newton from the Randolph Public Schools where he currently serves as Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at Randolph Middle School. His past experiences have included the Founding Principal of the Excel Academy Charter School in Boston; English and History teacher at the Boston Collegiate Charter School and St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Bethesda, Maryland. Earlier in his career Mr. Turner taught English for two years to Chinese undergraduates at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China and Fuzhou University in Fuzhou, China. Mr. Turner received a Masters in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in English at Hamiliton College in Clinton, New York. He is a demonstrated leader with a focus on student achievement and a reputation for leading change and community engagement. |
| Meet the Robots! | | | Join the Newton High School LigerBots for an afternoon of fun science and technology activities on Saturday June 12th from 1:00 to 4:00PM in the Hyde Community Center at 90 Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands. See science and technology in action. Learn about FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and their robotics programs for students aged 6 - high school. Take a turn driving the LigerBots' robot. Build and program Lego Mindstorms robots. Get information about joining a team or starting a new team. JOIN THE EXCITEMENT! Check out the LigerBots website or the FIRST website. For more information call Evan Nitkin at 617-332-3808. |
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First Annual Newton Plant Exchange Saturday, May 22, 9am-3pm | |
Ferns creeping out of bounds? Hostas growing like weeds? Lily of the Valley taking over your side yard? May is the month to divide and thin your garden plants. Why put those beautiful iris divisions in the compost bin? Share them with your Newton neighbors at the 1st Annual Newton Plant Exchange. Now's the time to save old flower pots, milk cartons, coffee cans, large yoghurt containers, even plastic bags to pot up those divisions. If you can't dig them up the day of or the day before, just keep them moist and in the shade until this Saturday, May 22nd, 9am-3pm, rain or shine. Bring what you don't want and find something new for your garden at 27 George Street just off Centre Street in Newton Corner. (One block north of the light where Sargent/Cabot Street crosses Centre Street). All exchanges are free, but please consider making a donation in any amount to the box marked 'METCO Community Scholarship Fund' which helps Newton METCO graduates attend college. For more information or to drop off plants early, email: BHoward617@aol.com . (This is a Bigelow Middle School Student's Community Service Project.) |
| Burr Dad (and Author!) Derek Gentry at the Auburndale Community Library: "Crashing the Book Party" - Thursday, May 20th, 7pm |
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First
grad  e parent, Derek Gentry, will host a discussion "Crashing the Book
Party" at the Auburndale Community Library on Thursday, May 20th at 7
pm. Derek will speak about writing and self-publishing his new novel Here Comes Your Man, confronting tough literary questions including:
"Isn't that a Pixies song?",
"Can you really do that with Froot Loops?", and
"Two hundred rejections? Seriously?"
Derek will also read selections from Here Comes Your Man
(or someone else's book, if you prefer) and bake chocolate-chip cookies
for everyone. To learn more about Derek, visit his website at www.derekgentry.com . The Auburndale Community Library ( www.auburndalelibrary.org ) is located at 375 Auburn Street and has copies of Derek's book available for borrowing. |
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