| Mark your Calendar |
International Walk to School Day
Oct. 11
No School
Columbus Day
Oct. 12
Traffic Safety Week
Oct. 13BOOYA Ambassadors Meeting, 8am Oct. 15
Parent/Principal Coffee
Oct. 23
Halloween Family Fun Night
Oct. 28
Early Release Thursday, 12:30 |
 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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| From Ms. Johal's Desk | | 
Dear Families,
It was wonderful to see everyone at Curriculum Night. 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. Our School Improvement Plan is posted on the Burr School Website for your information. At Curriculum Night, I also mentioned the Burr staff's work to become a Professional Learning Community and shared the goals that each team aspired towards last year. I am sure you were as impressed as I was with the results of their collaborative work and the improvement in student achievement that was accomplished. We will continue to build upon this success. This year's schedule has been designed with a weekly common planning time where teachers can meet with their grade level colleagues and specialists. Together they will look at the needs of the students across the grade and sets goals to work towards. Building strong teams at each grade level is essential to the success of a Professional Learning Community. We are fortunate to have strong and skilled staff members at Burr. Teachers share their knowledge and expertise within, and across, grade levels to ensure continuous improvement for themselves and their colleagues. Their professional conversations help them determine what and how to teach so that all students will learn. As the principal, my goal is to help each teacher improve his/her practice each year by providing the time and resources to support their learning whenever possible. If you would like to know more about the philosophy and practices of Professional Learning Communities, you can visit allthingsplc.com Plans for celebrating Halloween at school: Halloween is on a Sunday this year, so on the Friday before Halloween, kindergarten classes only will take part in a costume parade. I hear that Halloween Family Fun Night, on October 23, is a big, popular, well-attended annual celebration for the whole school community. I am looking forward to attending and hope to see many of you there. Please remember that Thursday, October 28 is an early-release day (12:30 p.m.) for all students. I look forward to seeing you at the Parent-Principal coffee on October 15. |
| Gift for Burr is Underway! | |
By now, every family should have received their red envelope announcing the launch of Gift for Burr 2010. Inside you'll find information detailing all of the many ways your donation is so important to our school. Help us get this year's campaign off to a roaring start! Send in your Gift for Burr in your child's backpack today, or visit the Gift for Burr website https://sites.google.com/site/giftforburr/ and click the yellow "Donate" button to contribute online. On the website be sure to check out an updated slide show of Burr kids putting our donations to great use!
And remember - if your employer has a matching gift program, you can double your gift. Our Tax ID # is 043574938. Please e-mail GiftforBurr@gmail.com with any questions, and thank you! |
| Buy Your Groceries - And Give to Burr! Program starts today! | |
 The Stop & Shop A+ school rewards program for this year begins today, Monday, October 4th! The program allows a portion of every purchase to be sent right to Burr School but we need to get people enrolled and matched with Burr asap! There are 2 Stop & Shops nearby, one on Pleasant St (off North St.) and one on Watertown St. near Watertown Square. But you can shop at any Stop & Shop to accumulate points. To join is simple: 1) request a Stop & Shop rewards card if you don't have one. 2)Just email your Stop & Shop rewards card number to Margaret Crook at gmcrook@rcn.com and she can sign you up, or click here to learn more. Do your grandparents, parents, aunts, or uncles shop at Stop & Shop? Send their rewards card number too! Their purchases can also benefit Burr! PLEASE NOTE: even if you registered last year you need to re-register! Stop & Shop requires that everyone register for every program year.
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| International Walk to School Day, October 6 | |  This Wednesday October 6th is International Walk to School Day. Make plans to leave the car at home and walk with friends and neighbors! If you can't walk with your kids and they are not ready to walk alone, arrange for them to walk with another family in your neighborhood or with a classmate. (Taking the bus also reduces the number of cars on the road and in the Blue Zone, so kids riding the bus are participating too!) If you have any questions please email BurrSafeRoutes@gmail.com and for more information please visit Burr Safe Routes to School. |
| Traffic Safety Week, October 12 | | Next week (October 12th) is "Traffic 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. Our goal for Safety Week is to demonstrate how smoothly and safely pick-up and drop-off works when people follow the rules, in the hopes that it will inspire everyone to continue to do so after Safety Week is over. And, as an added bonus, it may prevent real orange tickets from landing on your windshield in the future! All it takes is one person not following the rules to create a potentially dangerous situation - and add a great deal of frustration to every one's day.
The 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. Their presence demonstrates that the City of Newton takes this issue seriously. We have been notified that the police will take action (by ticketing) if the schools are not successful in eliminating unsafe and illegal practices through education.
We need parents to help by volunteering to take a shift at drop-off or pick-up. It only takes a few minutes and 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 email: BurrSafeRoutes@gmail.com |
| Recycled Items Needed for Burr's Choice-Based Art Program | | |
Burr School's choice-based art program needs recycled items! Please send in newspaper, boxes (Kleenex size or smaller), paper towel/ toilet paper rolls, small plastic objects (bottle caps, buttons, beads, etc.), ribbon, small pieces of fabric, keyboards, small pieces of wood, kitchen gadgets (for clay work), and any other odds and ends. Thank you from Ms. J. and the fabulous Burr artists! |
| B.O.O.Y.A. Ambassadors | | |
The Burr Organization of Youth Action is looking for fifth grade ambassadors. These ambassadors will participate in monthly morning meetings, help organize community service events, and be part of a team that makes a difference.
Our first BOOYA meeting with ambassadors will be on Wednesday, October 13th at 8:00am in Mr. Gaita's classroom. At this meeting we will discuss upcoming events as well as talk about ideas from you!!
We look forward to meeting and getting BOOYA started. If you have any questions you can e-mail Mr. Gaita at david_gaita@newton.k12.ma.us
BOOYA Team |
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GUYS READ Father/Son Book Group | | |
 On Thursday, November 4th from 6:00- 6:45pm we will be hosting a father/son book group. The group started last year and was extremely successful and fun. We had about 40 families come to the group last year. This year, our first book will be Magic Pickle and the Garden of Evil by Scott Morse. You can find this book on Amazon.com or New England Mobile Book Fair.
We welcome grandfathers, uncles, and brothers. For those families where there are no GUYS please talk to Mr. Gaita. If you are interested in joining the group please e-mail Mr. Gaita at david_gaita@newton.k12.ma.us If you have already joined the group there is no need to e-mail Mr. Gaita. Happy reading Guys!! |
| Cyber Safety Letter From NPS Office of Information Technology | | |
Dear Parents,
The use of the Internet and World Wide Web has become an integral and routine part of instruction in our classrooms and school libraries throughout the school day. We find that students use these resources at home as well. In order to teach students about the appropriate and ethical uses of the Internet, library teachers and instructional technology specialists are partnering with classroom teachers to instruct students about CyberSafety. These lessons were developed by Information Technology Department staff members who have been trained to use the I-Safe curriculum, a nationwide program to instruct students in Internet safety.
At some point during the months of October through March, students in grades 3 through 5 will participate in a CyberSafety lesson. In grade 3, the lesson will outline student responsibility for using the Internet and how to stay safe within a "Cyber Community." In grade 4, students will explore the responsible use of the Internet by discussing scenarios, such as bullying on the Internet or inappropriate use of Internet resources. Fifth-grade students will be focusing on Cyber Bullying, which is using hurtful or inappropriate comments in an electronic format. By co-teaching the lesson with the classroom teacher, our knowledgeable staff of library teachers and instructional technology specialists will be available to respond to children's questions.
If you have the opportunity to talk about this topic at home, it will help reinforce the message about personal safety and ethical use of the Internet. I suggest you ask your children what they have learned about CyberSafety and remind them to confide in you or another trusted adult if they have any concerns.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Shelley_Chamberlain@newton.k12.ma.us or 617-559-6190.
Shelley B. Chamberlain |
| NewtonPAC | |
Please join the NewtonPAC at our Kick-off to Planning for Inclusive Schools Week (ISW) 2010 Meeting!
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 from 7:30pm to 9:00pm
Room 210, Education Center, 100 Walnut St, Newtonville
Join parents, administrators and staff members from across NPS to brainstorm and plan for the annual celebration of Newton's ongoing commitment to an inclusive community.
ISW 2010 will take place from December 6th-10th and will focus on this year's national theme, Awareness to Action: Celebrating Ten Years of Inclusive Schools.
This event is sponsored by the Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education. NewtonPAC meetings are free and open to all people interested in learning more about special education in Newton. For more information email info@newtonpac.org or visit our website at www.newtonpac.org |
| A Pumpkin Patch, right here in Newton! | | |
The United Parish of Auburndale is hosting its fourth annual Pumpkin Patch, from Sunday, October 10th through Sunday, October 31st. Pumpkins large and small, gourds, and baked goods will be for sale. The proceeds help the UPA support a number of programs in the New England area. Don't miss this fun family outing! Pumpkin Patch hours are 10am-6pm daily.
The UPA is located at the corner of Woodland Road and Grove Street near Williams Elementary in Auburndale. For more information, please contact the UPA at 617-964-8516. |
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Newton West Little League
Player Evaluations | |
On Saturday, October 23, player evaluations for the Newton West Little League Spring 2011 Season will take place at Lyons Field in Auburndale. These evaluations help the league place players in the appropriate levels, and make the teams as fair as possible, so it is important your child attend if he or she would like to play next season! Who: All players 8 - 12 years old as of April 30, 2011. (If you played in the NWLL Majors in Spring, 2010, you DO NOT have to attend!!) When: Saturday, October 23, Rain Date is Sunday, October 24 Where: Lyons Field, Auburndale Bring: Glove, cleats, hat, water. TIMES: (Age is player's age as of April 30, 2011) 8yr olds & 7 yr olds who are in second grade -- 3:00PM 9yr olds -- 3:45PM 10yr olds -- 4:30PM 11 & 12 yr olds -- 5:15 PM Pre-registration is not necessary. For more information, email info@newtonwestll.org |
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