02.10.2016
PTO CORNER  
Stay connected! Visit pierceschoolbrookline.org

FIRST SPRING FUNDRAISER PLANNING MEETING
Fri., 2/26th, 8am @ cafeteria
Pierce's annual spring fundraiser will take place on Saturday May, 14th, and we need help planning both the fundraiser and the event. Please come to our first planning meeting to help make this event a success! Coffee provided! Questions? Please contact pierce.pto@gmail.com.
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BOOGIE FEVER: PTO KID'S DANCE NIGHT 
Thurs., 2/25, 5:30-7:30pm
Come out and dance away the winter blahs! This dance night is meant to get kids moving in the middle of winter. We'll have a DJ playing fun music and engaging the kids in hula hoop battles and conga lines! Pizza will be available for the first ½ hour. Dance Night is intended for kids in grades 1-5 and is not a drop-off event. More details to come. Interested in helping or have ideas to make it an amazing event? Please contact us at pierce.pto@gmail.com. 

Kid's Dance Night is also seeking parent volunteers to help out the night of the event.  Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c49a5a92aab9-ptokids 
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WANTED: YOUR USED BOOKS
Now through April @ Pierce main entrance
Pierce's annual book fair will be held 4/11-4/14. Please consider donating your gently used books for kids and adults in the gray bin outside of the front office. Thanks so much for the book donations so far!
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SHOP AMAZON AND BENEFIT PIERCE SCHOOL
When you shop Amazon through the school website, Pierce PTO receives a percentage of your purchases at no extra cost to you. Each time you shop at Amazon, remember to go to the Pierce homepage first, and click on the icon below: 

 
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SCHOOL CORNER   
Stay connected! Visit pierceschoolbrookline.org

GIVE CEREAL AND CHOCOLATE TO THE PINE STREET INN
Fri., 2/12: collection deadline
Support Pierce School 6th graders in their 2nd annual cereal and chocolate drive for the Pine Street Inn! 
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TALK: INTRODUCING INNOVATION AT BROOKLINE HIGH SCHOOL
Mon., 2/29 @ the VineRipe Grill
Parents are invited to join BHS teacher Sam Dickerman at the VineRipe Grill to hear him talk about his special projects as the 21st Century Fund's first ever Innovation Fellow. He will then lead a workshop on how parents can use technology tools like Naviance and Canvas to help interface with the high school. Visit www.bhs21stcenturyfund.org for more information, or contact Stacey Zelbow (stacey_zelbow@brookline.k12.ma.us). 
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YOUTH CLIMATE ADAPTATION CHALLENGE 
Sat., 4/2, 11-2pm @ Pierce School Cafeteria
Tues., 3/1: registration deadline
In celebration of Brookline Climate Week March 28 - April 4, participate in this unique environmental science fair! Examine an environmental issue and present your solution! Think BIG! Be creative, practical or outrageous! Judging starts at 11:30 am. Certificates awarded 1:30 pm.
 
Guidelines:
* Address current climate change adaptation challenges.
* Present a new idea, concept, theory, experiment or drawing that addresses a topic such as energy, transportation, air, water, ocean, land, waste, biodiversity, food supply, eco-friendly fashion, or other environmental issue you are passionate about. 
* For beginners, intermediate and advanced science students.
* Spend less than $20 on materials.
* Grade categories: K/1st, 2nd/3rd , 4th/5th, 6th - 8th, and 9th - 12th.
 
Register as an individual, group (with friends), class or school. Registration is free and open until March 1, 2016. Limited space.
 
To register, email the following to CrystalJohnsonISES@gmail.com
* Youth name(s)
* Grade and school
* Brief description of the project idea
* Individual, group, class or school entry
Sponsored by the Town of Brookline Department of Public Health and Climate Action Brookline.
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PROBLEM OF THE WEEK 
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PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #10: PAINTED FACES
Due Thurs., 02/11
Ron and Rebecca work in a cube factory. Each cube has six faces. Ron lines 6 cubes in a row and pushes them along a table and Rebecca sprays paint on the cubes. The faces of the cubes that are touching the table and each other won't get painted. What is the total number of faces that will get painted? 
Look for POW#10 on the board this Thursday and visit the POW page on the Pierce website.
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MATHLETES PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #10: STAIR MASTER
Due Thurs., 02/11
Every day at school, Jo has to go up a staircase with 7 steps. As she is going up the staircase, she can take the steps 1 or 2 at a time. How many different ways are there for Jo to climb the stairs?
Copies of the Mathletes Problem of the Week are available in the front lobby and on the Pierce website. Please put solutions in the green Solution Box next to the first floor library entrance. 
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COMMUNITY CORNER
Occasionally, the Bridge features a selection of community news and events in the weekly PTO newsletter. For a full listing, click on over to Community Corner. 
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PARENT NETWORK FOR BROOKLINE LGBTQ STUDENTS
Tues., 3/1 7-8:30pm @ Brookline Public Health Department, Denny Room
B-PEN hosts its second Parent Network meeting for parents whose students identify as LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning). This meeting will feature guest speaker Dr. Greg Fenton, a Brookline parent of two who specializes in primary care for adolescents, LGBT Health, and HIV/AIDS Care at Fenway Health. If you are unable to attend and would like to be part of the network, contact Hope Schroy at 617-713-5155 or hope_schroy@brookline.k12.ma.us. If your child would like to speak to someone, they or you can contact Jorge Membreño in BHS Room 149 or 617-713-5149 or jorge_membreno@brookline.k12.ma.us.
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BHS TUTORS SEEK TUTEES
The Brookline Tutor Mentor Program (BTMP) connects high school to middle school students for tutoring and mentorship. It currently has 40 student-tutor pairs, but with a wait list of qualified and eager high school students, BTMP is looking to expand. BTMP serves both those struggling academically and in need of one-on-one help, as well as those who would benefit from a strong role model. Funded by a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation, tutoring generally takes place on Sundays from 12:30-2:00 at the Brookline Teen Center, is completely free and welcomes students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Learn more at www.brooklinetm.tk.
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VOLUNTEER CORNER
Want to get involved? Here is a sampling of the ways that you can help the Pierce community. 
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UNDERSTANDING OUR DIFFERENCES (& SIMILARITIES): 
A CALL FOR PARENT VOLUNTEERS
Brookline schools have a long tradition of offering an annual parent-run disability & inclusion awareness program, using curriculum provided by Understanding Our Differences in Newton, MA. Every year at Pierce, 4th graders are introduced to four units using interactive materials, small group workshops, engaging guest speakers and organized group discussion. We do this in collaboration with the 4th grade teachers and with the essential support of parent volunteers, as well as our school and town administrators. 

Our Pierce 2016 UOD program begins THIS WEEK. We cannot continue this important program without more parent volunteers to help lead our workshops! 

Pierce 2016 UOD dates and units are:
Thurs., 2/11 -- Deafness and Hard of Hearing (Training 2/10 @ 7pm)
Thurs., 3/17 -- Blindness and Low Vision (Training 3/15 @ 7pm)
Wed., 4/13 -- Physical Disabilities (Training 4/11th @ 7pm)
Thurs., June TBD -- Intellectual Disabilities (Training 6/6 @ 7pm)

Volunteers are needed for 8:00 - 10:30 AM. the day of each unit. We schedule a training meeting at 7pm one evening the week of each unit. (If you cannot make the training meeting, there is a brief on-line training video that you may use.)
To volunteer, please follow the link below to a Google document to sign-up:
If you have volunteered in the past or have knowledge of/experience with a disability, we would especially appreciate your help. Please e-mail or call Ann with any questions: annkamensky@gmail.com or (617) 835-9586.
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SUPPORT THE PIERCE LIBRARY
Donate a book from Ms. Kretschmar's Amazon Wish List
There are two ways you can help support the wonderful Pierce Library and our great librarian, Amanda Krestschmar. Ms. Kretschmar uses money from the Town and the Pierce PTO to keep the shelves stocked with lots of great books. She does not have money to buy all the books she knows the kids will love, so she has created an Amazon "wish list" of books she would like to purchase. Click here to see the wish list and order as many books as you like. The books will be shipped to the school and available to students right away. -- THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS SO FAR! Please include your name with the books so we can send you a thank you card!

Donate an hour of your time
Can you spare one hour of your time per week? With so many students taking out so many books, we need parents to help with reshelving! After a short orientation to the library, you will be on your way to helping keep the shelves stocked and neat.  Volunteer hours are between 8-9am, and an hour before school ends all they way up until 8pm! Please contact Carol Jennings at carol.jennings@gmx.com if you can help, or visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/141F0I7jIafPLq_mtXUO5aXov04lkTzTliK1CVb6GDUk/edit?pli=1#gid=2 
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SUPERVISE K-4 RECESS AND LUNCH
Be an additional supportive adult in the playground to foster a safe, inclusive, and fun recess for our students. Walk around, play games and music, hula hoop, jump rope, throw a frisbee and generally help us supervise the kids. Commitment is a small as one 20-minute session per month. Sign up here. Volunteers need to meet with a staff member for guidelines before their first session, and should register for a different time than their own children's recess. Questions? Please email the Recess Revamp Team.
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CLASSIFIEDS
Want to see your ad here? Send an email to piercebridge@gmail.com.

APARTMENT FOR RENT
Apartment for rent starting March 1st. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, LR-DR, modern kitchen, play room or studio, 1 car parking central A/C, W/D in unit. Pierce school district, $3500 no utilities, email julie@cormanbag.com or 617-470-9493. 
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phone: (617) 730-2580