EARTH DAY 

Community News


For Earth Day (and several other days!), 3rd grader Dylan chose to pick up trash in public spaces. This is him in action at a sidewalk near the Cove!  If you are looking for ideas on actions YOU can take, check out our Earth Day flyer!

 


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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 


Burr FORJ Book Club  - Part 2



Session 3: 8:00 PM, Thursday, April 29, 2021
Book Club: So You Want to Talk About Race
Part 2: Chapters 7-17

For more info and to register, click here
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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 


Teacher Appreciation Week is Coming! May 3-7



As you know we have all had such a crazy crazy year. This includes our beloved teachers who despite so many unknowns have been super committed to teaching our kids despite so many uncertainties. We are so GRATEFUL for them and their hard work and we hope that you will join us to rally our parent community behind making them feel super special. The hospitality team is working hard to set up a breakfast and a luncheon and deliver mini bundt cakes that week and so we ask that you work with your classrooms  (look for an upcoming email from your Room Parent) to do  daily activities for your teachers. The goal is to shower them with encouragement every day that week so they feel our collective appreciation. 

Also, please use this  link to the sign up genius in case you want to contribute to the grab and go breakfast and luncheon:

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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 


NewtonSERVES Day of Community Service

Newton Community Pride, in partnership with the City of Newton, is pleased to announce the return of NewtonSERVES in a limited capacity this year.

Sunday May 2, 2021  10 am – 2 pm Rain or Shine | Burr Elementary School

Please join your Auburndale and West Newton neighbors from 10AM to 2PM to help beautify the Burr Elementary School grounds as part of NewtonSERVES. Come for as little or as much time as you can make available. We will be weeding, raking, picking up litter and pruning. As the city will not be providing garden supplies, please bring water and whatever garden tools you have available (shovels, rakes, clippers, wheelbarrows, gloves, trash bags, leaf bags, etc). Families are welcome.



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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 



Auction Update!


We did it!  The Burr Auction exceeded our $5,000 goal  by $781!

Thank you ALL who generously donated items and those that bid on items!!   

A special thank you to the Auction team: Amie Butler, Leah Schwartz, Jenna Poras, Jenn Reale, Alison Kelley, and  Elizabeth Wall. 

A MESSAGE TO AUCTION ITEM WINNERS:

Next steps:

1) If you have yet to pay for your item, please do so online (you probably received reminders from site): https://www.32auctions.com/BurrAuction2021

If you plan to send a check, please send to:

Burr PTO
 171 Pine St
Auburndale, MA 02466
Please put "Burr Auction" in memo

2) Please give us a few weeks to execute as school vacation week is this week,and a lot of the auction committee members and item winners may be away.

3) For winners of multiple items - note that you will likely hear from multiple Auction committee members.  We split up the items for distribution to make it more manageable.  Expect emails from different people for each of your items.

4) If there are any questions, please email Jon Spack (jbspack@gmail.com)  and thank you so much again!
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Earth Day - April 22



Happy Earth Day Burr School! We hope you will celebrate with some Burr Earth Day Challenges. Also check out the Green Newton School Connections Newsletter for some fun Earth Day events.




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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 


PTO 21-22 Board Elections are Coming!


Join us Wednesday April 14 at 7:30pm or Friday April 16 at 8:45am for a zoom info session about the PTO. We will talk about open board positions for the next school year and upcoming elections in May. Current board members will be online to answer any questions and generally talk about the experience. 

We look forward to talking to you! Open positions include: Co-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Fundraising Chair, Community Events Chair, Communications Chair
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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 



Burr Online Auction 2021 is Live!


The Burr Auction launched April 8th and will last until Thursday, April 15th at 9:00 pm EST.

We have over 73 items with a total value of over $8,500! Our goal is to raise $5,000 for the Burr PTO and our work to support the Burr Teachers, Students, Staff, and larger community

Thank you to all of the generous families who have donated items!

Please see our great items already secured https://www.32auctions.com/BurrAuction2021 and create a login!

Items include:
  • GIFT CARDS:  Target, Wegman’s, Starbucks, New Balance, Eataly, Soul Cycle and more! 
  • LOCAL BUSINESSES: Greentail Table, Just Next Door, Wally’s Ice Cream, Hipstitch, and more!
  • UNIQUE EXPERIENCES: Photo shoots, video shoots, BBQ party for 10, Virtual BDay parties and more!
  • FOOD!: Homemade Indian dinner, Desserts/Pies delivered, Cadbury Chocolates Basket, and more!
  • FITNESS: Fit 4 Newton, LYMBR Stretching, YMCA Family Membership, and more!
  • KIDS ACTIVITIES: Central Rock Climbing, Goldfish Swim, Creative Steps Dance, Exxcel Gymnastics, and more! 
  • MISCELLANEOUS:  Dart Board, Boda Borg, Bird Watching Tour, Newton Fire Station visit, Old Sturbridge Village passes, Mathnasium classes, and more!
Please share with friends and family!
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Burr School Celebrates Earth Day—April 22







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Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Solidarity Night—April 14, 7pm




Register here

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Principal's Newsletter: 4-5-21


Dear Burr Families, 

It was wonderful to have full classrooms at Burr today! The children and teachers were all happy and excited to see each other.



Our wonderful PTO supplied delicious cupcakes for the Burr staff and had decorations and a wolf mascot outside welcoming everyone!  

Many thanks to those of you who followed the Blue Zone rules making school arrival and dismissal safe and efficient for everyone.  We will continue to have staff outside reminding people about our Blue Zone rules so that we can all get used to them. Please remember these rules are the same at every elementary school in Newton.  

This is a busy week, so I have a few reminders for everyone: 

The JCM Analytics Pooled Testing at Burr will include students starting tomorrow. If you have signed up to participate, your child was given a nasal collection kit to bring home today. You must collect the sample at home tomorrow morning and send it to school in his/her backpack. Staff will be visiting each classroom to collect the samples from students and staff. 

Wednesday, April 7, is a 1:00 PM dismissal

Thursday, April 8, is a 12:30 PM dismissal

I realized the multiple early dismissal days and different times can be confusing, but we will get to a consistent schedule next week. This week, our parent-teacher conference schedules has required time adjustments.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email or call the school at the number listed below. 

Best, 

Mindy

johalm@newton.k12.ma.us

617 559 9360


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SEPAC Meeting—April 14



Please join the SEPAC community on Wednesday, April 14th from 7-8pm for a presentation and Q&A on the Extended School Year (ESY) with Beth Fitzmaurice, Asst. Superintendent for Student Services, and Paula Black, Asst. Director for Student Services. The event will be an opportunity to hear more about what ESY will look like this year, and answer your questions. 

To maintain confidentiality, please know we will not be able to address individual situations, but rather general questions, thoughts, and concerns. If possible to send questions in advance to SEPAC Treasurer, Eliza Spaulding at: elizaspaulding@gmail.com would be great, though they also are most welcome at the event. We look forward to our time together on April 14th!

Zoom link and information:
Meeting ID: 842 9056 0573
Passcode: 059237



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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 


Family Trivia Night!


Sunday, April 11th
6:30pm

Local trivia host James Marohn will challenge us with dozens of questions (lots of visual clues and audio clips!) in a variety of subjects: movies, music, sports, TV, geography, history, literature, science, pop culture, etc.  This is a fun and relaxing way to socialize with other Burr families, while you show off some of your random, obscure knowledge!” 

Play with your family as a team, or pair up with another family as a trivia team and we will use breakout rooms on zoom.  If you chose to play with another family, please use same team name when registering both families so we can group you accordingly.

Open to all families, donations encouraged but not mandatory to attend. 

For more information and to sign up click here!
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 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 


Picture Retake Day - 4/9


Picture Retake Day is this Friday !If any parents have questions – please direct contact Coffee Pond Customer Service Dept.  // PHONE: 1-800-632-2323 ext "0" // EMAIL: Lifeguards@coffeepond.com
Please note you will need to return the original package to receive the retake photos. 

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Principal's Newsletter 4/1


Dear Burr Families, 

We’re ready for Monday! I hope you are too. Below are a few reminders: 

Walking, Biking, and Cycling to School

The full return to school will mean increased traffic around the school. To help mitigate traffic congestion and improve safety, the City’s Safe Routes to School Teams have been working hard to identify safe and efficient ways for students to walk and bike to school. They have even identified spots for families to park a few blocks away from the school building and walk the rest of the way. 

Below are links to information and resources available on the NPS website:

         Walking and Biking: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3320

         Safety Information and Maps: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3426

         Safe Routes to Schools website: https://sites.google.com/view/newtonsaferoutes

Blue Zone
Please make sure you review the Blue Zone rules. There will be staff outside supervising the Blue Zone so please be kind if they need to redirect or remind you of a rule. We’re all trying to get things running smoothly. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is important. With the great weather, you can even skip the Blue Zone and walk or bike. 

School Playground Use
Starting April 5, school playgrounds will be open to the public at 2:15 pm on long days and at 1:00 pm on early release Wednesdays. It will be a great time for children to connect with friends in other classrooms or DLA friends who they haven’t been able to see much. 

COVID-19 Testing
As NPS prepares for a full in-person return to school for students at all levels, we strongly encourage families to enroll their student (s) in our COVID-19 testing program. Testing is one of the best ways we have to quickly identify infection and reduce the possibility of in school transmission. 

Here are 3 reasons to enroll:

It’s easy! Complete the opt-in in Aspen (here’s the link!) High school students then create an account at JCM (do it here!) for access to a QR code they use to check in their sample. Pre-K - 8th grade students will receive their QR code from school staff.

It’s painless! This is NOT the “touch your brain” swab! This is a sample taken from the front of your nose with a Q-tip like swab. It’s super-fast and painless. 

It makes a difference! The more students who participate, the better data we have on infection rates in our community. This means we can quickly identify infection, reduce the risk of in school transmission, limit quarantines, and keep our schools open in person. 

We ask all families to strongly consider enrolling your student today. We thank you in advance for doing your part to keep our schools safer.

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and a Happy Easter to those celebrating. 

Best, 

Mindy
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