THE BURR PTO PRESENTS
BURR BOOK FAIR IN TWO WEEKS!
Get your picture taken with a couple of turkeys
(think Ms. Michna and Mr. Gaita!) from 4-5pm!
4pm - Turkey photos with Ms. Michna and Mr. Gaita
5pm - Carol Gordon Ekster’s storytime (for younger grades)
6pm – Rob Vlock reading and Q&A (for older grades)
WHERE: Barnes & Noble Framingham Shoppers World
(1 Worcester Rd., Framingham)
THE EVENT: The Burr Book Fair will feature two local children's book authors, Carol Gordon Ekster ("Ruth the Sleuth and the Messy Room") and Rob Vlock ("Sven Carter and the Trashmouth Effect"), who will read from their new books and visit with our students. The event will also feature several Thanksgiving craft tables for the kids, raffle prizes and more! Purchase a book from our teachers’ wish lists for their classrooms! Get some book recommendations from the school librarian, as well as from our own Burr students! Don't forget to get there early to get your photo with two ADORABLE turkeys!!
A percentage of your purchases from the entire store will be donated to the Burr PTO. This includes books for kids and adults, music, Nooks, videos, toys and games, calendars, stationary and much more. It’s a great way to support Burr while getting a jump start on your holiday shopping!
ONLINE BOOK FAIR: Can’t make it to the event? The Burr Book Fair will also take place online at the Barnes & Noble website for the week following the event. Friends and family nationwide can participate! We’ll be distributing a unique code they can use to make sure their purchases benefit Burr School.
VOLUNTEER: Want to help us with our craft stations? Sign up here: http://bit.ly/burrbookfairsignup
STUDENT PICKS: Does your child have a favorite book they’d like to recommend to their fellow Burr students? Send an email with the book title, the author, and a sentence or two in your child's own words about why they like it to Cristal Balis at cbalis@me.com, and we’ll showcase it in our “student picks” section at the book fair.
SEE YOU AT THE BOOK FAIR!
Parent Principal Coffee
Friday, November 17
4th Grade UOD - Learning Disabilities Unit
November 8, 2017
Dear Parents,
Using a computer analogy, we will discuss the ways the brain takes in, processes, stores and shares information. Students recognize that learning can be impacted when someone has a learning disability that affects one or more of these areas.
Through hands-on activities, students will explore that we all have strengths and challenges and need to develop strategies for difficult tasks. It will be emphasized that everyone develops strategies to learn, but it is particularly important for someone with a learning disability.
For many students, the high point of each unit is the speakers who share their personal experiences and answer the students' thoughtful questions about living with a disability.
The Understanding Our Differences program is presented by parent volunteers. Many parents find the experience of helping to implement the program to be very rewarding. Please contact Sharon Reilly at slreillyfamily@gmail.com if you would like to join the volunteer team or if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jenni Acosta, Program Director
Families Organizing with Racial Justice (FORJ)
Meeting on November 9th!
Families Organizing with Racial Justice (FORJ) Meeting on Nov 9th!
Dear Elementary School Families,
Everyone is welcome, even if you were not able to come to the first meeting in October. This meeting will offer parents and guardians an opportunity to meet with others from their children’s schools who want to work on strengthening our communities and increasing conversations about race and racism in our society.
Please RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/mBywU1jHcSyCW8PE2
If you have questions, please email Amy Behrens, the parent coach and diversity educator who is coordinating these efforts, at amy@amybehrens.com.
We look forward to seeing you!
Save the Date for The Burr STEM Fair!!
Friday, January 26th, 2018, 6:30-8pm Burr School Cafetorium
REGISTRATION forms and all the details will be sent out before winter break.
EXCITING FOR KIDS: The fun is in the tinkering! Perform an experiment or construct a gadget. Kids can work with their friends, siblings, or on their own.
EASY ON PARENTS: Each project should fit on a 2’ x 3’ table space and should have a kid-quality poster to explain it. The main thing here: kid-quality!
FUN FOR EVERYONE: Any student can display a project (grades K-5). Participation is optional. There is no fee to participate. Everyone is welcome to come see the projects at the Science Fair.
KID QUALITY PROJECTS ONLY! Parent support is great (and probably necessary for younger students), but let the kids take the lead. Projects do not have to work perfectly. The idea is more important than the final product and this is NOT a competition.
PARENT DEMONSTRATIONS: Parents, are you in a STEM career field or do you have a fun demonstration you would like to do during the science fair? Sign up to host a demonstration on the stage!
REVERSE ENGINEERING TABLE WILL BE BACK – SAVE YOUR ELECTRONICS! Last year’s reverse engineering table was a success. Save your old electronics and bring them to the STEM fair so the kids can take them apart and see what’s inside!
QUESTIONS? E-mail Laura Sexton at laurasexton1@hotmail.com
Thank You from the Burr PTO!
November is National Diabetes Month
On January 19, 2003, Jordan Weiss, a fourth grade student at Mason-Rice School in Newton, Massachusetts passed away in his sleep from complications of undiagnosed diabetes.
To honor Jordan's memory, the JBW Fund was established by his family, friends and community to foster awareness and education of the warning signs of diabetes.
Sometimes the signs are obvious and sometimes the signs are subtle, limited and attributed to another illness. The latter was the case for Jordan.
Become familiar with the warning signs of diabetes Knowledge is an important weapon against this disease and its complications.
WARNING SIGNS OF DIABETES
Type 1 Diabetes:
These symptoms can occur suddenly and must receive immediate medical attention.
- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination, sometimes exhibited by bedwetting (in large quantities)
- Blurry vision
- Sugar in the urine
- Sweet, fruity odor on breath
- Increased hunger
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Drowsiness, lethargy
- Irritability and mood changes
- Heavy, labored breathing
- Confusion, Stupor, Unconsciousness
Type 2 Diabetes:
These symptoms occur gradually and must receive immediate medical attention.
- Blurred vision
- Tingling or numbness in the legs, feet or fingers
- Darker patches of skin usually in neck folds
- Drowsiness
- Slow healing sores or frequent infections
- Any of the symptoms listed under Type 1 diabetes
Many of these symptoms can be related to illnesses that are not associated with diabetes. This should be discussed with a health care provider.
For more information, talk to your school nurse or visit: www.cdc.gov/diabetes or www.jdrf.org
Last Call for Kindness Quilt
The PTO will select artwork at random to display on the Kindness Quilt Bulletin Board (the Bulletin Board behind the Main Office). The Kindness Quilt will be revealed at the Parent Principal Coffee on November 17. If enough artwork is submitted, the Kindness Quilt Bulletin Board will be a rotating exhibit throughout the school year.
Why a Kindness Quilt? Burr has a school-wide focus on kindness this year. To kick this off, Principal Johal read the book What Does It Mean to Be Kind? to each class and started a discussion about how each of us can work to create a caring environment at Burr, where everyone feels welcomed and valued.
Participation in the Kindness Quilt is optional but we hope that every child will chose to participate!