Dear Families;

It was great to see so many of you at Burr for Newton Serves. The school playground and surrounding flowerbeds look great. The mounds of mulch that were delivered by the city looked daunting, but many student and adult hands helped make the job fun and easier to accomplish. Of course, the beautiful weather helped and made the time outside enjoyable for us all. Many thanks to the parents who helped organize the efforts and for those who came and volunteered time and muscle!

The weeks of May are packed with activities and we are trying hard to avoid conflicts as we schedule them. We will try to keep the calendars on both the PTO website and the Burr School website updated. Please refer to these for the most accurate information.

On Tuesday, May 7th we will practice our site evacuation procedures. This, like the fire and lockdown drills, will be explained to the students as a safety procedure that we need to practice in case we ever need to leave the building. At approximately 10:00 AM we will pull the fire alarm and children and teachers will exit the building quietly and calmly. The teachers will complete a head count, so all students are accounted for, and begin walking to Franklin School. We have two routes for our walk, one for K-2 students and one for 3-5 students. Each class will have two or more staff members with them during the walk. At Franklin School we will gather outside, and after a short break, turn around and walk back to Burr. If you anticipate this to be a difficult walk for your child, please let his/her teacher know. We will have two staff members driving the route to ensure we are able to help should any child or adult have any difficulty.

In the past few newsletters, I have highlighted the ways technology is being used to enhance student learning at Burr. Parent contributions to the Gift for Burr fund have allowed me to increase student access to these tools. The first, second, and third grade teachers have shared their work for this newsletter.

Grade One:

In first grade, technology has helped enhance the presentation of lessons. The ELMO (document camera) and projector have been valuable tools that the teachers use in the classroom. Teachers use these tools everyday to model math games, read books, and project writing onto the screen. The projector is also used to share and project images from the computer: videos/photos/websites for whole class viewing.

First grade teachers are also excited about using iPads for literacy and math with their students. They work closely with the literacy and technology specialists to review different apps that support teaching and learning goals.  The first grade teachers are working towards having iPad centers in their classrooms where students can work independently and collaboratively on different projects. With the additional iPads purchased this year, this work is now possible.

In addition, first graders are learning to use laptops and desktops. These are used for research projects and some online applications that help students with reading and math. Some examples include: Tumble Books, Pebble Go, Brain Pop, Xtra math, Lexia and RazKids. The work done in the classrooms help support the goals for technology that are outlined in the Common Core State Standards and in the Newton Benchmarks.

Grade Two:

In second grade teachers also use the ELMO and LCD projector on a regular basis across the curriculum. The ELMO (document camera) is beneficial for sharing text with students, as well as looking at seeds, plants, butterflies and moths. It is especially useful in daily math lessons to help demonstrate math concepts through the use of visual representation such as drawing and manipulatives, and to model math games. The LCD projector allows teachers to show PowerPoint presentations related to social studies units on Mexico, China and Ghana.   Brain Pop Jr. videos are used to support and enhance studies across the curriculum. Second graders also use laptops for writing. Each student has the opportunity to publish a piece of writing using Microsoft Word. The students have also benefited from using iPads apps during their literacy block to support work in phonics and reading. Learning can be differentiated as children engage in activities that are appropriate for their skill level.

Grade Three:

Each third grade classroom is rich and alive with technology integration. Here is a small window into some of the projects that students participate in throughout the year:  

In the fall students worked with a partner to create a document that showed how they could be "Bucket Fillers."  As part of this project, students learned how to use the drawing tool to create a graphic organizer showing different ways to "fill someone's bucket" i.e. be kind to someone. This project that combined community building, student collaboration, and technology, helped students get off to a great start!

Some students accessed research databases to collaboratively create a project focusing on Black History Month.  Students researched questions about famous African Americans and turned what they learned into a drawing using GoogleDocs.  Students then created a script synthesizing the most important and interesting facts about the person they researched and recorded this information using iMovie.  Finally, students' voices from iMovie and their GoogleDoc drawings were put into a Vimeo (online presentation tool) and shared with classmates.

Some students created book trailers using an online presentation program called Animoto.  Students picked a favorite picture book with a partner and gathered images from the internet that were representative of their book choices.  They learned to cite their images based on copyright laws and created a quick book trailer to show their kindergarten reading buddies.

Most recently third graders have been working on writing Pilgrim journal entries. These will be brought to life using technology.  After researching the lives of specific Pilgrims, students will record a video clip using iMovie.  These clips are then edited and compiled to create a video diary of the Pilgrims' journey to the New World.

As you can see, technology is integrated throughout the day and is an essential part of learning in each of the classrooms at Burr. Often when we see the finished projects that are shared at the end of a unit, we miss the vital learning that goes on as children work through the process. I encourage you to ask your children to share what they have learned and have them think critically about the real world application of the skills they are developing.

Thank you for reading. I hope to see many of you at the next Parent  Principal Coffee on May 10th at 8:45 AM.  

Sincerely,

Mindy 

   Get a Sitter  

and Rock!!
Current and former Burr dads  

David Herilhy

& Dave Ingham (formerly from  

O Positive ), w/  

Jack Morefield and their band  

The Frogs

are starting our  

rock n' roll night, followed by Burr dad Tom  Dallaire and his band Scattershot.   

Where:  Skellig - Moody Street, Waltham
When:  Friday May 10th, starting at 7:00pm  

and going until the closing lights  

are turned on.

$10.00 per person in advance / $15.00 per person at the door
Everyone is welcome - bring your family, neighbors, friends
email Jean Giglio for further information