We are very thankful to the 93 Burr families who have helped us raise $16,690 so far for the Gift for Burr. There's still time to make a tax-deductible donation before the end of the year. Does your company have a matching gift program? If so, you can double your gift. Get your matching gift forms in before December 31. Our Tax ID # is 043574938. 

Please send in your check in your child's folder today or click HERE to donate by credit card online. How much should you give? If every family contributes $150, we will easily meet our $35,000 goal. Still, we wish to emphasize that our greatest desire is to have every Burr family make a contribution. Whether you can give $1 or $1000, we ask you to participate to help us meet our goal of EVERY family at Burr making a contribution.  Not a good time of year to make a donation? Please consider making a "pledge" instead and send in your check in the new year. Please email our committee at giftforburr@burrpto.org with any questions.

Remember: Gift for Burr is the ONLY major fundraiser each year for the PTO's annual operating budget. Every child benefits from all that the Gift for Burr makes possible. We need every family to contribute to make this campaign a success.

Thank you from the GFB Committee  

Thank you to all of the many helpers and shoppers who made the 2013 Burr Book Fair a huge success! The teachers received many wonderful donations and we collected nearly $200 for books for the Burr Library. If you missed the fair or your child couldn't find the titles they most wanted, you can still shop the Burr Online Book Fair through December 18. As with the regular fair, 25% of all purchases benefit Burr!  Happy Holidays!  

As we head into winter, more families will be driving to school when the weather is bad, and traffic around Burr will inevitably increase. Be patient, and follow all traffic and parking regulations so everyone can have a safe trip to and from school.  Please remember that 

Blue Zones are not a "Burr thing"; they are established by a City of Newton ordinance, enforceable by the Newton Police, which states:

City of Newton Ordinance #19-179: No person shall park a vehicle upon any street within a school drop-off zone except while engaged in dropping off or picking up passengers, which shall not be permitted for a period of time longer than one minute.

This means that a car may only be in a Blue Zone long enough to drop off or pick up a child - one minute. Be ready to go before you enter the Blue Zone. It is not the place for kids to finish breakfast, put on jackets, or find gloves, and it is not the place for parents to go through folders, write notes, or sign forms. Once your child has been dropped off, you must pull forward and exit the Blue Zone. It is not the place to make a phone call, send a text, or check your calendar. You cannot wait while your child uses the crosswalk or walks to the school door. This prevents other parents from using the Blue Zone to safely drop off their children, and creates frustrating and dangerous backups. (For more information, instructions, and school zone maps, please see Driving to School.) 

THE BLUE ZONE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! If the Blue Zone regulations don't work for you or your child, please make plans to walk to school or to park in a legal spot and walk them to the building.  If you have any questions, please speak with Ms. Johal or email SafeRoutes@burrpto.org.

The Mass Audubon/Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary will present Adaptable Animals in the 1st grade classrooms:  

Ms. Espinal's class 9:45-10:30
Mr. Gaita's class 10:45-11:30
(In the classrooms)

The Understanding Our Differences Program is looking for parent volunteers to help present an upcoming program at Burr. The goal of this citywide program is to increase information, understanding, and acceptance of people with disabilities and individual differences in our community.  These programs are brought to Burr by parent volunteers and take place on Thursday afternoons from 12:45 - 3:00. For this unit, the guest speaker will be presenting at the beginning of the unit, so volunteers would be needed by 1:30.  The kids will be learning about blindness and low vision.  Volunteers do not need to have children in a specific grade, teaching experience, or a medical background.  The dates for the next program at Burr School are as follows:

The Catalog Canceling Challenge is in full swing. The 5th graders are counting catalog results as we speak. We have found a wonderful new app to make this process much easier ... paperkarma.com Go to the site or app store to download the app. Take a pic, post and it's gone! It's that easy and kids have a blast doing it. Did you know that each year 19 BILLION catalogs are mailed in the USA? 53 million trees and 53 billion gallons of water are used making these catalogs? Producing these trillions of pounds of catalog paper requires the same amount of energy as 1.2 million homes a year and creates the same amount of CO2 global warming pollution as 2 million cars annually. You and your children can make a big difference and help protect the environment and animal habitats by participating in this challenge.

IT'S EASY. JUST THREE SIMPLE STEPS!

1. Collect catalogs that you want to cancel

2. Cancel the catalogs by calling the 1-800 number on the back or use the website www.catalogchoice.org or use the app from paperkarma.com

3. Bring the catalogs to Burr and put them in the collection bins just inside the upper school entrance

Keep an eye out for our tracking chart in your child's back-pack to get a "Save-a-Tree" patch after cancelling 60 catalogs! 

Brought to you by the 5th Grade Green Team! Go BLOP! 

As we approach the holiday season, please remember the Newton School Committee Policy:  "No teacher in the performance of regular duties shall receive presents from the pupils under his or her direction."  It is wonderful that families wish to acknowledge the hard work of our dedicated staff.  The staff would be delighted to receive notes, pictures, or poems to thank them for their service. You may also honor a teacher through a donation to the PTO or by fulfilling a 'Wish List' request for classroom supplies. I have suggested that each classroom teacher and specialist prepare a wish list of things that he/she could use in the classroom. 

The NewtonPAC (Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education) will hold an evening presentation on December 10, 2013 on the topic of Stepping Up: What Parents Need to Know to Prepare for the Transition from Elementary to Middle School and Middle to High School. Networking and refreshments will begin at 7:15 pm., and the meeting will begin with the Elementary to Middle School portion from 7:30-8:15.  The Middle to High School portion will follow from 8:15-9pm.  Representatives from Bigelow and Brown Middle Schools and Newton North and Newton South High Schools will present on the issues involved in transitions, from the first planning IEP meetings to navigating the new social environment.  The meeting is free and open to all, and will be held in Room 210 of the Education Center at 100 Walnut Street, Newtonville.   If you have any questions, please contact Eileen Sandberg.