"Let's give students learning tasks that tell them, "You can be as smart as you want to be."

Dear Families,

The above quote is from the article, Even Geniuses Work Hard by Stanford University professor of psychology, Carol Dweck.  Burr teachers read this article in preparation for a discussion around improving students' mindset about learning which has been our focus for 'in house' professional development this year. Earlier, I shared with you that all Burr teachers read the book Opening Minds: Using language to Change Lives by Peter Johnston and a few of you decided to read it also. Johnston's work is based on Carol Dweck's research. In the spirit of our continued collaboration and learning together, I share this article with you. I hope you will take the time to read it and that it will spark some interesting conversations.

Here are a few updates:

I'd like to thank all the families who contribute annually to the Gift for Burr fundraising campaign. Your contributions provide much needed and valuable enhancements to the experience of each and every child at Burr School. In recent years $8,000 of the PTO funds have been set aside for technology. This amount along with some funds allocated by the district, have allowed me to purchase 20 iPads, 5 laptops, and two desktop computers this year, and to send five Burr teachers to the MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) conference in Foxboro. The teachers all came back excited to incorporate what they had learned into their teaching and the additional equipment has allowed them to put into practice some of what they learned.

Many of you have asked me about technology use in the Burr classrooms.  One of the questions I often get is, "Why do we need to use technology at school?" The best way to answer that question is to go right to the work the students and teachers are doing daily in their classrooms.

The focus in this newsletter is grade four where teachers, Sonja Robinson, Trevor Glode, and Amy Peca, use technology to enhance student learning and build 21st century skills.  The fourth graders regularly use GoogleDocs to type final drafts of their writing, which enables them to instantly share their work directly with their teacher. This allows them to get timely feedback and teachers to track students' revisions and progress. Fourth graders also have the opportunity to create Voicethreads for a wide variety of topics.  In a similar vein, students use Animoto to create videos that showcase as well as deepen their learning.  Students have made Voicethreads and Animotos for science, social studies and English Language Arts.  Fourth graders also incorporate iMovie as well as paper-slide videos throughout the curriculum and have the opportunity to work with GooglePresentation to enhance presentation skills.

This fourth grade team is incredibly excited about the educational possibilities that the iPad offers. They plan to expose children to applications such as PuppetPals, Explain Everything, Drawing Pad, and Show Me. These programs allow students to display and deepen their learning in a multitude of ways.  These tools give students the chance to practice the 21st century skills as they learn to collaborate, think critically, and synthesize their learning.

If you have not done so already, please take a few minutes to check out Technology in the Classrooms, a document that the teachers at Burr put together last year to help us plan for our technology needs. The teachers at each grade level are integrating technology into the curriculum in some really innovative ways and I look forward to sharing more with you in upcoming newsletters.

School Safety

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 'lock down' practice within the next few weeks. While it is very unlikely that we would ever need to go into a lock down mode at Burr, we do want our students to be prepared. A lock down requires students to remain in the classroom with their teacher, with the doors locked, window shades drawn, and 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. Considering the terrible shooting in Newtown, some students may ask pointed questions at this time, and teachers will respond to all questions in a developmentally appropriate way. Our goal is to explain lock downs 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.

In our efforts to ensure the safety of staff and students at Burr, we are diligent about securely locking all doors, except our front entrance, at 8:35 AM. This procedure has reflected in a large increase in the amount of students who are tardy each day. 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 tardiness leaves 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.

As you are aware, we are moving as quickly as possible to install a security system at our school.  It will include a buzzer system and a camera.  The contractors for the security system have visited our building.  They also examined our doors to ensure that they are appropriate for a security system.  Formal quotes for the project were due Feb 13.  Once those are evaluated, the city will give the direction to proceed immediately.  We expect these systems to be installed by the April vacation.  I will continue to keep you informed.

Staff News

Please join me in welcoming back our first grade teacher, Ms. Espinal, and our math coach, Ms. Ortega. They are both returning after taking maternity leave.  I would like to thank the long-term substitutes, Steve Griffin and Jen Miller, who covered for them during their absence. Steve and Jen both did a wonderful job of making the transitions seamless and contributed greatly to the learning and development of the children and teachers they worked with during their assignments. Steve moves on to Cabot School to cover another maternity leave, and Jen will resume her work in Ms. Espinal's first grade classroom as an inclusion aide.  We are fortunate to have such wonderful professionals working with the students at Burr.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Burr International Potluck Dinner on March 10th.

Sincerely,

Mindy

MCAS: Families with students in Grades 3-5, please note the following dates for MCAS test administration and avoid these dates when planning appointments: 

March English language arts tests:
Grade 3:  April 1, April 3
Grade 4:  March 19 (full day writing), April 1, April 3
Grade 5:  March 18, March 22
May math tests (and science for grade 5):
Grade 3:  May 13, May 15
Grade 4:  May 13, May 15
Grade 5:  May 6, May 8, May 17, May 20

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Tom Wahle, a former science and technology teacher, will help 3rd graders understand basic building principles in an interactive presentation where student help build a ten foot truss bridge, a suspension bridge, and a large block arch.

Parents of 3rd graders are invited to join their children at the scheduled presentations.

CASC is fully funded by the BURR PTO

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Dressed in a traditional costume, Chiao Bin Huang presents the visually stunning Chinese Ribbon Dance. She then teaches students the rich history of the dance and its significance in Chinese culture.  At the end everyone is given a chance to dance with a ribbon.

Parents of 2nd graders are invited to join their children at the scheduled presentations.CASC is fully funded by the BURR PTO.

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