Dear Burr Families,
This month is flying by and as usual, there is a lot going on at Burr. Here are a few updates.
Math Fluency Week
This week we are celebrating math at Burr with Math Fluency Week! In class, children are exploring a wide variety of ways to become more math fluent. This exploration of numbers, allows students the opportunity to discover strategies that work best for them, while increasing their confidence, math skills and number sense. You have probably seen some activities that teachers have sent home for homework, and hopefully, you are playing the game and engaging in the activities with your child(ren) to help develop confidence and enjoyment in math. BCAP is also partnering with us to emphasize math fluency during the week.
Parent Conferences
It’s time for parent-teacher conferences. I hope you have signed up for a time to meet with your child’s classroom teacher. The fall conferences are a time to discuss initial progress, set goals for the first half of the year, and to talk about anything that is specific to your child’s education. Below are some suggestions for you to think about as you prepare for the conference. They were taken from publications of the National PTA and National Education Association.
Getting Ready: Talk to your child before the conference. Find out what he/she thinks is going well; find out what he/she thinks are areas for improvement, and why. Ask your child if there is anything he/she would like you to talk about with the teachers. Make sure your child doesn't worry about the meeting and that he/she knows that this is a typical expectation that the school has to facilitate good communication between parents and teachers. Help him/her understand that you and the teacher are meeting together to share information and support learning.
Before you come to school, write notes to yourself about:
- your child's life at home, any significant changes or information you feel is important for the teacher to know
- your observations and questions about this year's curriculum
- questions about your child's progress
- ways that you and the school can work together to help your child
The Conference: Some good questions to ask are:
- What are my child's strengths and weaknesses as a learner?
- Is my child working up to his or her ability? How is his/her effort?
- Does my child participate successfully in class discussions and activities?
- How well does my child get along with others?
- How do you evaluate my child's progress? What standards will he/she be evaluated on for the January report card?
If the teacher says something you don't quite understand, be sure to ask for an explanation. Ask the teacher for specific suggestions for ways to help your child to improve. This is the most important part of the meeting. It will become your action plan. It's a good idea to end the conference by summing up decisions you have made together. If needed, ask to meet again.
After the Conference: Start immediately on the action plan you and the teacher have worked out together. Discuss the plan with your child; make sure that he or she knows that you and the teacher care. To see if the action plan is working, watch your child's behavior and check your child's class work and homework. (Young children need an adult to oversee their homework. It's important to look in their backpack every night!) Stay in regular touch with the teacher to discuss the progress your child is making. Meeting with your child's teacher should help build strong parent-teacher partnerships - partnerships that are needed if you and your child's teachers are to reach your common goal: helping your child get the best education possible.
Burr Student Council
The Burr Student Council met this month to brainstorm ideas for school improvement and community involvement. We already have two of the initiatives up and running, Litter Patrol and Socktober.
Anyone can be on Litter Patrol. All interested Burr students are invited to join Student Council members to help clean up the school grounds each Monday. A teacher or parent volunteer will meet students at 8 am by the flagpole at the front of the school each week. Litter Patrol will continue until it gets too cold to be outside or until the grounds becomes covered with snow. It will resume in the spring.
Socktober is a donation drive to benefit the local homeless population. Student Council is collecting socks, and any other new clothing (hats, gloves, underwear) and toiletries. There is a large box in the school lobby where donations can be deposited. This drive will continue through the month on October.
The Student Council Members represent the students in their own classroom and their buddy classroom. Here are the Student Council members for the first half of the school year:
Grade 3 & Kindergarten
Ms. Canning & Ms. Frail
Clyde Walcott-Thomas & Evin Otero
Ms. MacNeill & Ms. Russo
Dayana DiBiaso and Ari Cohen
Ms. Oh & Ms. Mc Mahon
Liam Carmichael and Naya Billick
Ms.Tice & Ms.Mc Mahon/Ms. Frail
Sisi Reilly & Abe Carey
Grade 4 & 1
Ms. McLean & Ms. Espinal
Isabella Acosta and Gabino Talisayon.
Ms. Collins & Ms. Fitch
Lorelai Steiner & Ajay Wadwani
Ms. Miller & Ms. Golden
Sawyer Gallivan & Paul Nelson
Grade 5 & 2
Ms. Cooley & Mr. Gaita
Miles Goddard, Lydia Pelis, & Lillie Salgado
Ms. Harris/Ms. Sorensen & Ms. Field
Grace Currid, CeCe Gonzalez, &Thomas McCarthy
Ms. Robinson & Ms. Roberts
Hailey Quatromini-Thompson, Sashwat Patcha, & Eva Skelding
The teacher leaders for Student Council this year are Ms. Schechner, Ms. McKenzie, Ms. Foreman, Mr. Gaita, and Ms. Johal. If you have any ideas that you would like the Student Council to consider, you can email one of us or encourage your child to talk to their classroom representatives.
Best,
Mindy
Thanks to All You Spooktacular Folk, Halloween Family Fun Night was Fangtastic! Folks enjoyed the new Haunted Hallway, danced, played games, made crafts and more! 
Thank you so much to everyone who brought in socks for our homeless neighbors. We have emptied the big box in the lobby twice now. We'd love to fill it up one more time - with your help!
