| Mark your Calendar |
February 8-16
BOOYA Pajama Drive
March 4
3pm - Burr Ice Skating Event at Daly Rink
March 24
Burr World Cultures Festival
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From Ms. Johal's Desk
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 Dear Families,
According to Punxsutawney Phil, we have an extended winter! I think I can handle it this year. The odds are increasing that we may not need the extra snow days that are built into the school calendar. As we head towards February vacation, children across the grade levels are engaged in wonderfully rich units of study.
Last week we passed the 100th day of school and our kindergarten students celebrated in style. They all donned necklaces and clothing decorated with one hundred items. We clearly have a creative bunch of kindergarten parents and teachers helping the students complete some very ambitious projects. Grouping, counting, and sorting activities are so engaging when you get to wear the results.
Fifth graders have their own meaningful projects. One of these is the persuasive writing unit for which each of them selected something they are passionate about to research and write about. Many of them elected to write letters persuading adults (including myself) to consider some changes that they think are necessary. I love the passion and purpose the students feel as they work on their essays. Writing to persuade is a complex form of writing as the writer considers communicating an idea to an audience who may or may not agree with them. Children are thinking critically and problem solving as they craft their arguments and learn that they can use writing to extend their ideas to influence others and affect change. I am looking forward to hearing and/or reading their essays. I am sure they are going to force me to explain many policies and procedures that we have in our schools. We have some skilled politicians and lawyers in the making!
Here are a few updates:
Technology
Last week's PTO meeting was dedicated to technology. Leo Brehm, NPS Director of Technology, Eileen Keane, our technology specialist, and Erin Broderick, one of our librarians at Burr, were very informative. I'd like to thank t hem for taking the time to attend the evening meeting and for the excellent presentations they each prepared. Thanks also to Laura Mayer, Burr librarian, for her attendance at the meeting. Leo provided an overview of his district vision for technology and answered questions around funding. He shared some great news: Burr will be getting 15 new laptop computers thanks to some funds from Boston College. We are hopeful that they will be ready for students to use soon after vacation week.
Eileen Keane shared current practice at Burr and what our needs are in the coming years to ensure that our students have access to technology that supports and boosts their learning. The new laptops will bring us closer to our goal, but we continue to rely heavily on parent donations to help us purchase new technology and upgrade and replace equipment that is outdated. We are hopeful that the PTO Gift for Burr fundraising efforts are fruitful this year and thank you for your generosity. The teachers at Burr are integrating technology into the curriculum in some really innovative ways. Student creativity is sparked as they use critical problem solving skills to prepare presentations, synthesize new learning, and then share it beyond the classroom. Some teachers use technology tools to help students practice skills such as reading fluency and math facts. We continue to explore the ways that technology can increase and improve student access to learning.
Along with the increased use of technology in our lives comes the essential need to educate ourselves and our children about cyber safety. Here at Burr, the students in grades 3, 4, and 5 have lessons in cyber safety during library class, which are reinforced by the teachers. Erin Broderick shared an outline of this curriculum at the PTO meeting and answered parents' questions. Her presentation will be posted on the Burr home page. Erin also recommended some parents resources which can be found on her website: http://www2.newton.k12.ma.us/~erin_broderick
Traffic Safety
Tricia Bombara shared information in last weeks Burr Bulletin about our visit to the Traffic Council requesting a review of traffic safety around the school. This week we have had a policeman outside the school at arrival and dismissal times. Overall, he has been impressed with how effectively the school community gets children safely to and from school. Unfortunately, a few people have received tickets. Some of the unsafe practices we are working to eliminate are double-parking, letting children out of cars while stopped in traffic, jaywalking, reversing direction in the school zone, "waiting" in no parking areas, blocking neighbors' driveways. Entering the teachers' parking lot is also prohibited because large numbers of students and families walk across the entrance to the lot.
Safety Drills
As you know, we have frequent fire drills so that students can learn to efficiently evacuate the building in a quick and calm manner. This familiarity with the routine should result in a safe evacuation should there ever be a real emergency requiring our students to leave the school quickly. In a similar manner we are planning to have a 'shelter in place' practice some time this month. While it is very unlikely that we would ever need to go into a shelter in place mode at Burr, we do want our students to be prepared. Shelter in place requires students to remain in the classroom with their teacher, with the doors locked, window shades drawn, sitting together away from windows or doors. When we have our practice, we will be telling our students that sometimes there is a problem outside or in another part of the building, and we need to stay in our classrooms to be safe. Older students will ask pointed questions at this time, and teachers will respond to all questions in a developmentally appropriate way. Our goal is to explain lockdowns in a way that does not frighten students. I will let you know the exact day and time of our practice lockdown in advance of it actually happening, but feel free to discuss this with your children before it happens if you feel it would be appropriate to do so.
School Attendance
Last week letters were sent home to many parents whose children have a record of excessive school absence or tardiness. Timely and consistent school attendance is an important factor in a student's achievement as well as his/her social integration. When students are able to enter school before 8:30 AM, 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 AM often feel hurried, late, and unsettled for the morning. Excessive absences leave a student constantly trying to catch up with classmates and he/she misses important shared experiences. It is a parent's responsibility to get elementary aged children to school regularly and on time. I am available to meet with parents who would like some support in this area.
Please also know that taking children out of school to extend vacations is not advised. If this is unavoidable, teachers are not required to provide make-up work for the missed days. Continued reading during the missed time in school is important and you can always have your child record his/her experience in a journal.
Earlier I mentioned that the district has days built into the school calendar to account for missed days due to inclement weather. Recently a new kindergarten parent informed me that some families were unaware of this and were surprised that their child(ren) may actually be out of school on June 15. My apologies for not making this clear. The district calendar reflects 5 added school days and we ask that you plan to have your children in school until June 22. Although the odds are fairly good that we will not use all 5 days, I have learned that in New England you never know when the last snowfall will be! Please also be aware that the last day of school will be a ˝ day. In future years, we will do a better job of communicating this information to new families.
I hope everyone has a restful February vacation.
Sincerely,
Mindy
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BOOYA Pajama Drive Continues
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 Keep those PJs coming! BOOYA is continuing its collection of new pairs of pajamas to donate to the Boston Bruins 5th Annual PJ Drive this week until Thursday February 16. Cradles to Crayons will then distribute the PJs to children in need. We will accept new PJs for babies to pre-teens. Please leave the PJs in the hamper in the Burr lobby.
Don't have time to buy the PJs? You can donate $10 during the PJ Drive and we will buy the PJs for you! Or you can make out a check to "Cradles to Crayons". In either case, put the money or check in an envelope with PJ Drive written on the back that students can hand in to their teachers at school. Questions? Contact Jeff Zabel.
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Traffic Safety Update
| |  A Newton police officer has been present at Burr most mornings and afternoons for the past week to enforce parking and traffic regulations (with actual parking tickets and moving violations instead of the friendly "reminder" tickets many have become accustomed to.) As a result, there has been much greater compliance with existing regulations, providing a clear demonstration of how much better and safer drop-off and pick-up can be when everyone is patient and follows the rules. This enforcement will continue indefinitely, on a periodic basis, to help ensure the safety of our children. If you have any questions, please email BurrSafeRoutes@gmail.com or contact Ms. Johal.
Very Important! In just 3 days last week, at least 5 drivers were issued tickets for passing the school bus while students were getting on or off the bus. If a school bus (or any school pupil transport vehicle) has its lights flashing and a stop sign extended, you must stop. It is the law. It does not matter which side of the road you are traveling on. Remain stopped until the lights stop flashing and the stop sign folds back. A first violation of this law is a $250 fine and points on your license, and can cause a license suspension. (Even if a police officer is not present, a violation can be issued based on a bus driver's report, and the police have instructed drivers to alert them to any violations.)
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Seen Kids with BLOP On Their Shirt?
| | It's the new Burr Green Team logo that the 5th graders
came up with - Burr Loves Our Planet - BLOP!
We have ordered more youth size shirts including some for younger sisters and brothers ( our future Burr students) We hope to have more in by wednesday so that the 5th grade green team can sell them at "the store" outside Ms Moran's room, stay tuned.
$10.00 a shirt
Remember BLOP fridays and the 4 R's:
- Reduce
- Repurpose
- Reuse
- Recycle
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World Cultures Festival Update
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 We have been thrilled by the early response for this year's World Cultures Festival!
Many thanks to everyone who attended our organizational meeting and/or have contacted us about hosting a room this year.
So far, we are pleased to report that the following countries/cultures are confirmed for this year:
Argentina, Canada, China, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, S. Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Japan, Russia, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad, USA/American Indian
We are still working to add more countries! Would you like to see your culture added to this list?Please email Ann Langenfeld if you think you might be interested-we can give you more information about what it's all about.
We happen to have couple of confirmed country hosts who are looking for helpers: Iran and Russia.Please let Ann know if you are available to assist.Also, we're hoping that we can find some families to host rooms for these countries: Brazil, Greece and Italy.
Any takers? Once again, contact Ann!
Do you have general questions about the Festival? Contact Dana Hanson, Ann Langenfeld, or Jackie Gelb.
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Understanding Our Differences - February 28
Volunteers Needed
| | The Understanding Our Differences Program is looking for parent volunteers. The goal of this citywide program is to increase information, understanding, and acceptance of people with disabilities and individual differences in our community.
This program is enabled by parent volunteers and takes place on Tuesday February 28, from 11-12:30. Parents can leave at 12 noon or stay to see the guest speaker. Volunteers do not need to have children in a specific grade, teaching experience, or a medical background. (Note: this is the TUESDAY right after vacation)
Chronic Medical Conditions
February 28, 2012 (4th Grade)
Can you help out?
We are also looking for volunteers to play a bigger role in running this program next year. If you have been inspired by your exposure to this program or your child's excitement after one of these units please consider helping out in the scheduling and organization at Burr.
Carey Ranta: branta1@comcast.net
Stephanie Mamis: stephanie.mamis@verizon.net
Or contact our Program Director
Maren Oslund: Maren_Oslund@newton.k12.ma.us
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Poet, Lyn Littlefield Hoopes at Burr Today
| | 4th Grade, Lyn Littlefield Hoopes, Poet, Monday, February 13th
Poet, Lyn Littlefield Hoopes will present the second of her two-day
poetry workshop for fourth graders today, Monday, February 13th.
Students will explore the power of metaphor, rhythm, voice and
pattern. In the process, they will learn about using strategies for
creating poetry including imagination, line breaks, similes, the five
senses, as well as action and vivid verbs.
Ms. Hoopes is the author of a number of picture books including The
Unbeatable Bread, Wing a Ding and Freefall.
The schedule for today will be:
Ms. Taylor - 9:30-10:45
Mr. Glode - 11:00-12:15
Ms. Robinson - 12:30-1:00, then 1:45-2:30
Due to the nature of the program, we ask for no visitors.
Creative Arts and Sciences Programs are fully funded by the Burr PTO and are made possible by your generous donations. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact:
Felicia Falchuk, felicia.falchuk@gmail.com
Beth Tierney, bethtierney@comcast.net
Pam McVey, s.richard@verizon.net
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Native American Perspectives - This Friday
| |  3rd Grade, Native American Perspectives, Friday, February 17th
This program is about the land, the animals and the native peoples of North America. Using a teepee as a classroom, certified teachers dressed in clothing of the western plains of the 1800s will present a hands-on learning experience about Native American history. Native American Perspectives is neither an assembly program nor a stage show. Rather, it is an interactive learning experience. Following the experience in the teepee, the program will then continue in the classrooms. The schedule will be as follows:
In the teepee in the Cafetorium:
8:45-9:30 Ms. Canning
9:30-10:15 Ms. Crowley
10:15-11:00 Ms. Lawton
In the Classrooms:
12:30-1:00 Ms. Canning
1:00-1:30 Ms. Lawton
1:30-2:00 Ms. Crowley
Please join us for this wonderful presentation!
This is also a Creative Arts and Sciences program, and if you have any questions or comments, you can use the same contact information detailed above for Ms. Hoopes' visit.
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| Community Meeting with Mayor Setti D. Warren & Superintendent of Schools David Fleishman | |
Wednesday February 15th 7:00 PM
Oak Hill Middle School Café
130 Wheeler Rd Newton MA
Join Mayor Warren and Superintendent of Schools, David Fleishman to discuss our capital and financial needs. Our finances are back on track because of our zero base budgeting approach and the 100 million dollars we will save over the next 5 years thanks to our recently negotiated union contracts. For the first time in our city's history we have a capital assessment of all of our infrastructure needs- aided by revolutionary software that allows us to evaluate our needs on a risked based assessment. Although we have done tremendous work there is still more we need to do. We will discuss ways to address our capital needs, growth in the schools and continuing to make Newton one of the safest cities to live. The Mayor and Superintendent want to hear from you on the decisions we need to make going forward. We hope you can join us for this very important meeting.
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| Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education Meeting February 16, 7:30 p.m. | |
(New Date - meeting was rescheduled)
SPED Review and Trend Report: Follow-up and Next Steps
Superintendent David Fleishman and Judy Levin-Charns, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, are hosting an evening meeting for discussion of special education in Newton with NewtonPAC. Also attending will be Dorsey Yearley, the consultant helping to implement the changes at Newton South HS and who will be working with staff to make changes to middle school sped programing. The evening will provide an opportunity to share and discuss special education planning by NPS in light of the release of new information available in the sped review, the trends report, and the ongoing work at South and the middle schools by Dorsey Yearley and NPS staff. Room 210 at 100 Walnut Street, Newtonville. Networking and light refreshments beginning at 7:15 pm. Please plan to attend! Questions, contact Sandy and Jo-Louise at info@newtonpac.org. NewtonPAC for Special Education meetings are free and open to all people interested in learning more about special education in Newton. See www.newtonpac.org for more information. |
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Kindergarten Soccer Registration
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Newton Kindergarten Soccer Registration is open for Spring 2012!
Kindergarten Soccer is a fun and non-competitive soccer program for all Newton boys and girls of kindergarten age and has been a program of the Zervas Elementary PTO since 1993. Games are held on Saturday mornings at Richardson Field in Waban. Join us and meet other Kindergarten families in your neighborhood. Late Registrations are accepted on a space available basis.
Register by March 1st for the Spring Season!
www.KindergartenSoccer.org
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WCT's "Cinderella"
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Watertown Children's Theatre presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, a blend of fairy tale, musical comedy and of course, magic! WCT's production features a cast of 4th through 8th graders, along with 1st and 2nd grade Junior Players, including Newton's own Charlie Booth, Caroline Hoban, Nadia Huber, Amelia Kane, Ava Lyons, Rachel Manning, Sara Manning, Brenai Rosa, Katrina Secinaro, and Anna Weylman-Farwell, directed by Meghan Kenny.
Performances are March 16, 7 p.m., March 17, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and March 18, 2 p.m., in the Charles Mosesian Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown. Tickets are $12 and will be available beginning February 14th through WCT's website at www.watertownchildrenstheatre.org or at 1-800-838-3006. For more information, visit WCT's website or call 617-926-ARTS.
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The Massachusetts 54th
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 Did you know that Massachusetts raised one of the first black regiments of the Civil War, led by a man who grew up in Newton?
Come learn about their stories, and make a popular Civil-War era toy. Join us at the Jackson Homestead - 527 Washington Street, Newton for this family friendly event sponsored by
Historic Newton.
Cost: $20 per family ($15 for members) includes museum admission, snack, and materials. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call (617) 796-1450 to register.
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February Vacation Program at
Rhythmic Dreams
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Rhythmic Dreams, a quality afterschool rhythmic gymnastics program for girls hosted in the West Newton Armory for the past 10 years and located just one mile from Cabot School, is offering three days of fun, challenge and learning for girls ages 5 to 12 during the February vacation. The daily 9-1 p.m. schedule will include ballet, dance, flexibility and strength instruction, and lots of fun with ribbons, hoops, balls and ropes! You can choose one, two or three days. The cost is $40 per day or $100 for all three days. For more information or to register, please call 617-233-4493 or email info@rhythmicdreams.com. Don't wait, space is limited!
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