Dear Burr Families,
It was nice to see many of you at the Back to School Picnic last week. It’s always a nice time to catch up after the summer and for families to meet staff members in a casual and fun setting.
As you know, we have had two key staff positions to fill at Burr – senior custodian and music teacher. A committee of Burr staff members joined me in interviewing qualified candidates and we feel confident that both of our newly hired staff members will be great additions to Burr.
Dan Diaz will be the Burr Senior Custodian. Dan graduated from West Roxbury High School and attended the Franklin Institute of Technology. He worked as an electrician before coming to work for Newton Public Schools in 2007. Dan has worked at Newton North, Newton South, Franklin and Williams. He is very active in his community and has coached youth football for many years. As a coach he has been a positive role model for many inner city young men. During his interview at Burr he impressed us with his commitment to keeping his buildings in the best condition possible (just like Jack!) and to maintaining good relationships with others. Dan is also looking forward to getting to know the Burr students.
Emma Barker will be the Burr music teacher. Emma completed a Bachelors of Music in Music Education at Berkley College of Music in Boston. She completed her student teaching last year in Newton at the middle and elementary levels. Emma has also done a fine job as the substitute in music classes at Burr these past two weeks. I look forward to working with Emma and supporting her as she develops the Burr music program. Please join me in welcome both Dan and Emma to Burr.
This year Curriculum Night is on Thursday, September 29, from 6:30-8:30 PM. You will have a chance to meet all the Burr classroom teachers, specialists, special educators and curriculum specialists. This is a particularly important evening because it gives parents the opportunity to learn about their child’s teachers’ philosophies, goals, expectations, curriculum, and classroom procedures. We have found that Curriculum Night is our most effective means of communicating relevant and valuable information concerning your children’s overall program for the year; we strongly encourage all parents to attend this informative evening. Participating in Curriculum Night is one of the most important ways that you can come to understand, and thus support, your child’s education this year.
Please remember that this is an evening for parents and teachers, not students. In addition, please remember that there is not enough time during this evening to have individual conferences with teachers; parent-teacher conferences will take place in October and November.
The schedule for Curriculum Night is:
6:30-7:15 pm Grades K-2 classroom teachers present
Specialists present to gr. 3-5 parents
7:20-7:40 pm All meet in the cafetorium
7:45-8:30 pm Grades 3-5 classroom teachers present
Specialists present to gr. K-2 parents
*Please note – Specialist will present in the Burr library.
Lastly, I’d like to ask you all to look over the BLUE ZONE rules for arrival and dismissal (http://burrpto.org/saferoutes/using-the-blue-zone/). These rules are in place for the safety of all our children and families. Recently, I have seen parents making dangerous U turns in front of the school during drop-off and pick-up times. I realize it is the beginning of the school year and we have many new families at Burr who are just learning the new routines. Please don’t take offense if another parent or teacher shares a safety rule with you. I ask for your patience with each other as we work together to get things running smoothly.
I look forward to seeing you all next week.
Sincerely,
Mindy Johal