Dear Families,  
 

It was great to see so many of you last week on Curriculum Night. We had an excellent turn out as usual. Thank you for making the time to join us for this important evening when teachers begin to 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. Most importantly, I know you come to get a glimpse of your child's classroom and the teachers with whom he/she is going to be spending so much time. I hope we met your high expectations and that the information you received was clear and helpful.
 

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, Jaye Schneider, Sloane Goldhagen, and Marlene Gibson, or with any of our School Council members.
 

The 2014-15 School Council members are:
 

Barbara Brousal - Parent (Grade 2)

Rachael McCarthy - Parent (Grades 4 & 3)

Laura Acosta - Parent (Grade 2 & K)

Christine Carey - Parent (Grade 3)

Lynn Slobodin - Community Member

Katie Collins - Grade Three Teacher

Annalee Harris - Grade Five Teacher

Nicki Eastburn - Burr Team Specialist & Social Worker

Mindy Johal - Principal

School Council meetings are open to all members of the community. Dates and time of meetings will be posted on our website, once they have been determined.
 

Now that students have made their initial adjustment into the new school year, I am asking that parents of students in grades 1-5 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. All parents should be out of the classrooms by 8:35 AM because instruction begins.
 

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, Nick Telles and Ashley Saccoach.
 

In these opening weeks of school I have had the pleasure of visiting each classroom to see how children are settling in and to share some information about any whole school projects in which they will be involved. This year, we will be working together to write new core values for our school. We started this work last year by asking the students and teachers at Burr what conditions they felt were needed to support their learning and social well-being. Three teachers (Ms. Canning, Mrs. Harrington, and Ms. Lawton), our school psychologist, Dr. Juarez, and I took these ideas and compiled a draft for us to work with this year. Parent contributions will be solicited during PTO meetings and Parent Principal Coffees.

I hope to see many of you on Monday, September 29th for the Parent Principal Coffee where our specialists (library, PE, art, music) will share their curriculum and on Thursday, October 2rd at the PTO meeting.
 

I would like to wish our families who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah this week a Happy New Year.
 

Sincerely,

Mindy
 

Take a Field Trip to your child's classroom by volunteering for Creative Arts and Sciences!

Get inspired with your children at Burr and volunteer for a Creative Arts and Science program.  Each year CASC brings scientists, naturalists, poets, author illustrators--even live animals--into Burr classrooms for a hands-on extension of what our kids are learning.  Second graders get writing tips from author/illustrator Brian Lies, who created the New York Times best selling book Bats at the Library, andfifth graders learn mathematical concepts from internationally renowned origami master Michael LaFosse.  These engaging programs bring the curriculum to life for your children.   The Creative Arts and Science program, which was started 20 years ago, is run solely by volunteers and funded entirely by the PTO.  Help keep this wonderful program going at Burr!!

For more information contact Beth Tierney at bethtierney@comcast.net or Audrey Gallo at audreykgallo@gmail.com. 

• Robinson
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