Dear Burr Families,
We have a short school week with two half days on Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday. Please note that dismissal on Wednesday is at 12:00 PM and make arrangements accordingly. All staff will be leaving the building as soon as students have been picked up. I wish you all a restful break and look forward to teachers, students, and parents returning on Monday recharged and ready to take on the many projects and great learning opportunities that we have lined up. Here is a quick update:

Burr Family Quilt
I'd like to thank parent volunteer, Tracy Carter and art teacher, Erin Cotton, for taking on the huge project of updating and refreshing the Family Quilt in the front lobby of our school. Many of you have already returned your newly decorated quilt pieces, and I would like to remind others who are still working on them to be sure to return them as soon as possible. I still have to do mine! The family quilt is a focal point in our school and we want to be sure that all members of our community are represented.

Parent Principal Coffee
The topic at our last meeting was student assessment. Kalpana Guttman, our literacy specialist, and Jen Ortega, our math coach, helped me provide an overview of K-5 assessment practices and answered parent questions.The key takeaways from the discussion were:  

• Assessment begins in kindergarten and is always done in a developmentally appropriate way. For example, games and fun activities are used in the earlier grades and formal test taking is introduced as children get older.
• Multiple data points are used to assess student progress in ELA and mathematics.
• All grade levels use assessment data to form flexible groups for targeted teaching.
• The social and emotional development of children is a critical factor in student achievement and always considered as we design interventions.
• Student learning information is always passed on from one teacher to the other as children progress through the grades at Burr.

Social and Emotional Learning at Burr
Last week, I attended the Responsive Classroom Leadership Conference in Cambridge and came away motivated and inspired. As many of you know, the teachers at Burr use Responsive Classroom practices to help students develop social skills and learn strategies for successful learning. They start each school day with a Morning Meeting that welcomes children to school and sets the tone for a successful day of learning. They weave the Responsive Classroom philosophy throughout the day as they teach children to navigate social and academic situations. This links to a short video that provides an overview of Responsive Classroom and the impact it can have on a school. Much of it will look familiar because you have probably seen these practices in the classrooms at Burr. This summer, the teachers all read Rules in Schools, a Responsive Classroom book, and during monthly staff meetings we are evaluating our current practices and exploring way to make
improvements. After watching the video, you may have some suggestions for us. I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Thank you for reading. I hope to see many of you at our next PTO meeting on December 3rd. Have a lovely week.

Mindy  

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Friends, December 1 is this week! We intend to wrap the campaign up as soon as we meet our goal of $35,000.

Don't put it off another day. Please send your Gift for Burr check in your child's folder today, or click here  to make a secure credit card donation online. You can also help the campaign by circulating our special email to grandparents, aunts/uncles, and friends this holiday season. Instead of buying giftwrap or cookie dough this year, ask them to consider making a Gift for Burr! Please email us at GiftForBurr@burrpto.org with any questions.

Congratulations to the family of kindergartner Samantha Shu! They won our latest Gift for Burr raffle prize - a free one-hour massage at Elements in West Newton!

Happy Thanksgiving!  

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An annual Burr School tradition!  The cafeteria will be converted to a top-notch bookstore for three days the week after Thanksgiving.  It's a convenient, low stress way to get an early jump on your holiday shopping...and all purchases support Burr School!  Book prices are typical for paperbacks and hardcovers.

CLASS BOOK FAIR SCHEDULE:

Celebrate the diversity of our Burr School Families.  Submit your quilt square this week!  Some of you have submitted squares in the past, but over time they have become faded, torn, or water damaged.  We invite you to take this opportunity to update! 

Colored 5.5" by 5.5" squares were sent home.  Please use the one you received because they are color coded by child in the youngest grade (there is only one square per family.  Need a new one?  Just send me an e-mail).  Decorate the square to represent your family.  Please make sure that you stay within the boundaries of the square and make sure that it will safely hang on the wall, as it will be in a busy hallway.  Also, please mark the full names of all your children on the back so we know who it belongs to.

Squares can be:

-Hand drawn pictures with pencils, markers or crayons

-A photo(s)  

-A collage 

-Or fashion your own unique idea!

Questions? :  Contact Tracy Carter, tgunrud@hotmail.com

Return the squares in your child's folder by: Wednesday, Nov. 27th. Find your quilt square on display this December!

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Our own local Just Next Door at 327 Auburn Street is sponsoring a 'Burr Shopping Day' all day Wednesday December 4.  This is a great way to do your holiday shopping AND support Burr at the same time!! 

·         20% of your purchase will be donated to Burr.  

·         Offer is good all day 9AM-7PM; just tell the cashier, "I'm shopping for Burr School". 

·         Spread the word to  family and friends!  Every purchase, whether a card or two or wrapping paper, will help.

Just Next Door has a great selection of cards, jewelry, home and children's gifts and incredibly helpful service.   Please contact Krista Busnach with any questions.

Thank you and hope to see you there.

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Kids are naturally curious - help feed that curiosity! Come share your enthusiasm or expertise while teaching the kids during Burr's 9th annual Science and Engineering Discovery Week!!!

Burr's Science and Engineering Discovery Week is an annual event where parents give a short (30 minutes or so) science/engineering related presentation to a class. In just 30 minutes you can ignite that passion for science or engineering in a young child. Here's an opportunity to be a "cool" parent, don't pass it up. Make your child proud!

Interested, but not sure what to present... here are some examples:

"How it works" are great presentations for kids.

* Engines or motors 

* Thermometer - mercury or digital

* Blood pressure cuff 

* Electrical circuits

* Why are there different length/loft golf clubs

* rising dough 

* sense of smell   

* making ice cream / butter / whipping cream

More ideas:

http://www.scienceofeverydaylife.com

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com

You don't have to be a polished presenter - but please make sure the content is age appropriate.

We would LOVE to have two presentations per grade. Please help us make that happen!

For more information please contact Ted Vahey.

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Before and during the Book Fair (Dec 3-6) we will be collecting change for Scholastic's "All for Books" campaign. The amount collected buys books directly for the Burr library, raises our total earnings (which gets us even more free books!) and contributes to a fund matched by Scholastic to get books to kids in need. Send in your loose change with your child at any time before the fair in an envelope marked "All for Books," or drop it in the big yellow box at the front desk at school, OR bring it to us once the fair starts! Thank you!  

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A beloved Burr school tradition!  Please mark your calendars now for the annual Burr World Cultures Festival on the afternoon of Saturday, March 22nd, 2014. Burr school families will work together to transform our school into a bustling international  

festival. If you are from another country or your family continues to celebrate a tradition of your ancestors, we'll look forward to working with you in the upcoming months to make this year's festival a success!

We will set a meeting time to begin planning the World Cultures 

Festival in January, but we thought we'd put the date out there now.  If you would like to be involved in the planning of this year's 

World Cultures Festival, please contact Dana Hanson or Ann Langenfeld. 

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November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. The combined efforts of the Jordan Bennett Weiss Fund and the City of Newton Health and Human Services Department are working to educate the community about the warning signs of diabetes.

Knowledge of the warning signs is the greatest weapon against this disease. Sometimes the symptoms may be obvious and sometimes they are not. Symptoms which might appear to be unrelated, when viewed in the context of the list of warning signs, may suggest intervention. Please familiarize yourself with the warning signs/symptoms of diabetes.

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