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| Mark your Calendar |
January 10
Parent-Principal Coffee
January 13-17
Burr Science & Engineering Discovery Week
January 20
Martin Luther King Day - No School
January 23
7pm 5th Grade Winter Concert
January 24
7pm Movie Night Playground Fundraiser
February 5
12:30 Early Release
February 17 - 23
February Vacation - School Closed
March 13
12:30 Early Release
March 17
MCAS Week
March 18
3:00pm Release
(MCAS Switch)
March 19
12:30 Early Release
(MCAS Switch)
March 22
World Cultures Festival
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From Ms. Johal's Desk
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 Dear Burr Families,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a relaxing vacation and enjoyed some quality time with family and friends. It was wonderful to welcome the students and teachers back on Thursday. Everyone looked refreshed and ready to teach, learn, and enjoy being together.
January is a great time for reflection and goal setting for the rest of the school year. Children are well settled in their classroom communities, and are very familiar with the routines and structure that their teachers have put in place to scaffold and extend their learning. Teachers have developed solid relationships with the students and their parents, and can forge ahead with exciting projects and activities. We can all capitalize on foundations that have been developed during the first half of the school year.
At home, you can help your children prepare for a successful transition back into school routines by reminding them of school rules and behavior expectations. It is our collective responsibility to help students develop solid study skills and habits that will enhance their
learning and interactions with others. I urge you to sit with your child and encourage him/her to set some goals and priorities for his/her academic and social growth during the coming months.
Dressing for the Winter Weather: Please be sure to send your child to school with appropriate clothing because we will go outside for recess everyday unless the temperature drops into the teens and/or if the wind chill makes the conditions unsafe. Students should have hats, mittens/gloves, and jackets to be comfortable outside. When it
snows they will also need snow pants and boots. Children will not be allowed to play in the snow without boots. Do remember to label everything with your child's name so that lost-and-found items can be returned.
Morning Arrival: During December many parents were walking their children to their classrooms for various reasons. I would like to encourage everyone to get back to the practice of dropping off their children outside the school or at the double doors by the
kindergarten rooms. Even the majority of our kindergarten children are able to come into their classrooms and settle in for the day independently. Remember, the teachers are there to help out if needed and very good at coaching the children towards increased
independence. Most importantly, the instructional day cannot begin if parents are having mini conferences with teachers. This takes the teachers attention away from the children when they should be making connections and checking in with them. A quick email or
note in your child's folder is the best way to communicate important information.
Dismissal Reminder: All dismissal plans should be made prior to your child coming to school and a notice MUST be sent to your child's teacher informing him/her of any changes. We realize that there are occasional times when a change needs to be made during the school day, but please keep these to a minimum and make sure you call the
office to inform us of the change. Sending an email in the middle of the day to your child's teacher is not an effective way to communicate such changes because teachers often do not get time to check their email once school is in session.
Baby News: Two of our classroom teachers are expecting babies on 2014! Ms. Procaccini, second grade teacher, is expecting her first child in April, and Ms. Bracy, fourth grade teacher, is expecting her second child in May. I am in the process of hiring substitute teachers and will share information with families as decisions are made. Please join me in wishing them well during this exciting time in their lives.
I am looking forward to the second half of the school year with hopes that 2014 is a prosperous and healthy year for the whole Burr School Community. Please join me on Friday, January 10th for a Parent Principal Coffee with a special guest, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Fleishman.
Sincerely,
Mindy Johal
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Save the Date!
Friday, January 24, 7pm
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Movie Night at Burr to help support the Burr School Playground!
Friday, January 24th at 7:00 p.m.
Look for a flyer in your child's folder this week!!
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NewtonPAC Panel Discussion -
Talking to Your Child About Their Disabilities
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Dr. David Gotthelf, Coordinator for Therapeutic Services and Head School Psychologist, Dan Almeida,Coordinator for BCBA services and Miriam Kornitzer--Assistant principal for student services at Day Middle School, will lead a discussion of how to talk with your child about his or her disabilities. Topics will include the developmental readiness of kids to discuss and understand different issues, as well as parent communication of expectations and limit setting, sharing of feelings, and the use of resources such as therapists to help facilitate communication. The panel will be open to questions and shared experiences from parents.
January 14, 2014 at 7:30 pm. in room 210 of the Education Center, 100 Walnut Street. Networking and light refreshments will begin at 7:15 pm.
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Shop at Green Planet Kids - 5% of Every Sale Donated to Burr
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Green Planet Kids, a fabulous toy store in Newton Highlands, is donating 5% of every sale to a local school, now through the end of January. When you shop there, they will hand you a duplicate receipt on which you can indicate Burr School as the recipient. GPK has been serving Newton families since 1990. They have a carefully chosen and very unique selection of quality toys, books, games and art supplies. Please consider doing you holiday shopping at Green Planet Kids and please encourage family, friends, and colleagues to participate. You will be supporting a very local business and they will be supporting Burr School!
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For more announcements about Newton community events, enrichment programs, sports programs, summer and school vacation camps, and other resources, please visit the Community section of the Burr PTO website:
Additional information can be found at:
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