Dear Families,  

It was wonderful to see so many of you on Curriculum Night. It is an important evening when teachers begin to develop partnerships with parents and set the stage for a successful year ahead. The goal of the evening is to give you an overview of the curriculum and to prepare you to support your child throughout the year.

I hope the information you received was clear and helpful. The teachers enjoyed meeting everyone and having the time to share their plans for the year with you. As a school, we are always looking for ways to make things even better. If you have any suggestions to improve upon the events planned for the opening weeks of school, please share them with me, our PTO Co-Presidents, Jason Wong and Jaye Schneider, or with any of our School Council members.

The 2013-14 School Council members are:

Lisa Holahan - parent (grade 5, 3, & 1)

Sarah Sian - parent (grade 3 & 2)

Barbara Brousal - parent (grade 1)

Rachael McCarthy - parent (gr. 3 & 2)

Lynn Slobodin - community member

Samantha Bracy - grade 4 teacher

Katie Collins - grade 3 teacher

Annalee Harris - grade 5 teacher

Mindy Johal - principal

Our first School Council meeting this year will be on October 9th at 4:30 PM. These meetings are open and anyone can attend. During our first meeting we will be setting the meeting dates for the rest of the school year and these will posted on the Burr calendar for your information.

Now that students have made their initial adjustment into the new school year, I am asking that parents of students in grades 1-5 to say goodbye to their children in the morning either at the outside door, or at the first double door by the kindergarten classes. This has been a successful past practice at Burr. Helping students follow morning routines independently is one of our goals, so letting your child enter the classroom with peers and practicing these skills is important. The early morning is an important time for teachers to welcome all the students and get them off to a good start for the day. This is not possible when parents are stopping by to check in or want to have a conversation about their child. Communication is important, so I encourage you to send in a note with your child or email the teacher and he/she can call you at a convenient time.

Please also remember that the school doors do not open until 8:20 AM and children should come to school as close to that time as possible, especially as we head into the colder months and waiting outside for more that a few minutes becomes difficult. This will also hold true on rainy days so it is important for children to dress appropriately for the weather. If your child needs to come to school early, a supervised Early Morning Program is available for your convenience. It begins at 7:30 AM and you can register by calling the Office of Elementary Education at 617 559 6105. This program is staffed by two Burr staff members, Kaylan Finn and Pam Buccitelli.

In these opening weeks of school I have had the pleasure of visiting each classroom to discuss our school's Core Values of Academic Excellence, the Effort and Joy of Learning, a Strong Sense of Community, and Individual Growth and Expression. Children shared excellent age appropriate examples of actions that employ each value and how it connected to the rules for success they have established in their classrooms. I encourage you to have a conversation with your child to see what he/she understands about our Core Values and the ways that they can work toward these in school. I am sure your personal family values will be mirrored in what we expect at school. Our collective reinforcement and support will demonstrate to the children that these are important principles for us all to uphold. Our work at school is enhanced ten-fold with your support and a strong home/school partnership makes anything possible.

I hope to see many of you on Thursday, October 3rd at the first PTO meeting of the year.  

Sincerely,

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Dear Burr School Parents and Guardians, 

What an exciting school year it's been already!  The PTO has been busy in the first month of school with our Kindergarten and Back-to-School Picnics, Teacher Appreciation Luncheon, and Back-to-School Coffee.  We welcomed a number of Kindergarten families over the summer with our Kindergarten play-dates.  It was great to see many familiar faces last Thursday at Curriculum night as well as welcome a number of new families joining us at Burr! Our first PTO Meeting of the  year is this Thursday, October 3 at 7pm (6:30 for new families.) Check the "Mark Your Calendars" box (above left) in this bulletin as well as the PTO website for important upcoming dates in October.

The Blue Zone was certainly bustling during the first weeks of school. Thank you to all the parents who followed the rules during what always turns out to be a busy time.  With enrollment over 400 students this year at Burr it is critical that ALL families and caretakers utilizing the The Blue Zone follow the guidelines.  Please check out  Safe Routes to School for more ideas on how to keep our children safe and our Blue Zone working efficiently.

We know everyone is looking forward to the 2012-2013 version of the Burr School Directory - a critical tool for organizing playdates and birthday parties.  Emails were sent to all families in September to confirm contact information. If you did not receive an email from the Directory Editor, Cecelia Kwartler, please contact her immediately at cecelia.kwartler@gmail.com so that you can be sure to have your most up-to-date information in the directory. Hard copies of the directory are due out in October.  

We would like to take a brief moment to introduce ourselves.  Our new board members this year include Jaye Schneider (Co-President), Greg Thompson (Fundraising Coordinator), and Judy O'Neil (Treasurer).  They join standing members Jason Wong (Co-Presidents), Beth Tierney (Education Support Coordinator), and Bijal Dalal (Community Building Coordinator).  We would like to thank our outgoing members Ted Vahey, Jessica Avery, Kim Susko, and Rachael McCarthy for their invaluable contributions and efforts.  We, the PTO Board, all share an interest in making the Burr community a vibrant and inclusive place for parents and students. We want everyone to support the school's goals for development and enrichment while developing camaraderie among Burr families. You can lend a helping hand, whether you stay at home or work full time.  With over 300 volunteer opportunities over the course of the year, there are a variety of ways one can contribute at school or remotely. While some events are during school, other events and event preparation can be done in the evenings and on the weekends. Contact a board member or visit the Burr PTO website to find out how you can help.

Lastly, thank you to Vicky Gifford and the many volunteers who helped make the Back-to-School Picnic a success! Also, thank you to Sloane Goldhagen and the rest of the hospitality crew for hosting a wonderful Welcome Back Teacher Appreciation luncheon. Nicely done!

We look forward to seeing you on October 3rd!  See you around The Burr!

Jaye Schneider and Jason Wong

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