THE BURR BUZZ

BURR SCHOOL COUNCIL

Burr School Council Needs 2 New Members

School Council: The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 mandated the establishment of a School Council at each public school in Massachusetts. This group advises and assists the Principal in such matters as the school budget, the school improvement plan, the identification of educational needs of the student body, and the adoption of educational goals. (More details on Mass.gov) At Burr this group consists of four parent representatives, four teachers, community members, and the Principal. The Council meets roughly once a month. All Council meetings are open to the Burr community. We will elect two parent representatives to the Burr School Council for a 2-year term spanning the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years.

In order to be eligible, the parents must have a child at Burr for the entire time they will serve on the council. Please think about this opportunity to be involved in your child’s school. You will serve an important advisory function while getting to know the teachers on the Council and Principal Johal. Consider running yourself, or nominating another parent. (In the past, candidates have usually nominated themselves; don’t hesitate to express your interest!)

If you would like to run for one of the open School Council positions, please write a brief statement (125 words or less) about yourself and why you would like to serve on the School Council. Please submit the statement either by mail to the school office (171 Pine Street, Auburndale, MA 02466), via your child’s Folder (write “School Council” on the envelope), or via an email to the PTO Communications Coordinator, by Wednesday, May 23. If more candidates than we require step forward, an election will be conducted during the week of May 31. If only two candidates step forward, those candidates will be granted the parent representative positions and will be announced the same week.

If you have questions about the School Council and/or would like to know more about serving as a parent representative, feel free to contact any of the current parent representatives, below, or Ms. Johal, Burr School Principal (617-559-9360).

Current Burr School Council parent representatives:

Jess Engel - Outgoing

Dan Finkelstein - Outgoing

Christine Kwan - Continuing

Linda Ma - Continuing

BABYSITTING FOR PTO MEETING

Babysitting At Next PTO Meeting—Thursday, May 31, 2018

Mark your calendars for May 31 at 7 PM for the final PTO meeting of the school year!

No childcare? No problem! We will have babysitters coming from Newton North to babysit. Note: babysitting is for Burr students only and you must signup in advance. Signup here - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d45aeae2ca5ff2-ptomeeting

This month's PTO meeting will feature Amanda Bressler, a youth librarian from the Newton Free Library. She will be presenting all that the Newton Free Library has to offer, including their summer reading program! Come learn about all of the fun happenings at the Newton Free Library. The meeting will also include a presentation of the proposed PTO Budget for 2018-19 and election of new PTO officers.

THE BURR PTO PRESENTS

PTO Meeting—Thursday, May 31, 2018

The last Burr PTO meeting of this school year will start at 7 pm on Thursday, May 31. Amanda Bressler, supervisor of Youth Service, from the Newton Free Library, will make a presentation about all the that the Newton Free Library has to offer, including the summer reading program. The meeting will also include a presentation of the proposed PTO Budget for 2018-19 and election of new PTO officers.

Last Burr PTO Meeting: May 31

The last Burr PTO meeting will start at 7 pm on Thursday, May 31 at Burr School. Amanda Bressler, a youth librarian from the Newton Free Library, will make a presentation about all that the Newton Free Library has to offer, including the summer reading program.

The meeting will also include a presentation of the proposed PTO Budget for 2018-19 and election of new PTO officers.

Burr School Council Needs Two Members for Next Year

School Council: The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 mandated the establishment of a School Council at each public schoolin Massachusetts. This group advises and assists the Principal in such matters as the school budget, the school improvement plan, the identification of educational needs of the student body, and the adoption of educational goals. (More details on Mass.gov) At Burr this group consists of four parent representatives, four teachers, community members, and the Principal. The Council meets roughly once a month. All Council meetings are open to the Burr community. We will elect two parent representatives to the Burr School Council for a two-year term spanning the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years.

In order to be eligible, the parents must have a child at Burr for the entire time they will serve on the council. Please think about this opportunity to be involved in your child’s school. You will serve an important advisory function while getting to know the teachers on the Council and Principal Johal. Consider running yourself, or nominating another parent. (In the past, candidates have usually nominated themselves; don’t hesitate to express your interest!)

If you would like to run for one of the open School Council positions, please write a brief statement (125 words or less) about yourself and why you would like to serve on the School Council. Please submit the statement either by mail to the school office (171 Pine Street, Auburndale, MA 02466), via your child’s Folder (write “School Council” on the envelope), or via an email to the PTO Communications Coordinator, by Wednesday, May 23. If more candidates than we require step forward, an election will be conducted during the week of May 31. If only two candidates step forward, those candidates will be granted the parent representative positions and will be announced the same week.

If you have questions about the School Council and/or would like to know more about serving as a parent representative, feel free to contact any of the current parent representatives, below, or Ms. Johal, Burr School Principal (617-559-9360).

Current Burr School Council parent representatives:

Jess Engel - Outgoing

Dan Finkelstein - Outgoing

Christine Kwan - Continuing

Linda Ma - Continuing

The Burr Garden is HAPPENING on May 23 and May 24

Look out for a schedule in the Bulletin next week that will show when your child will be visiting the garden.

Also, we are hoping to expand the Burr Garden team. The current garden crew is inching its way toward graduating from Burr and it would be lovely if one or two parents wanted to work with us for a while before officially taking over.

The garden is such a special part of Burr! What does being on the garden crew entail? FUN! SUN! PLANTS! KIDS! Please consider joining our team so this fabulous tradition can continue!

If you are interested, please email Marni Caputo at mgolds2@yahoo.com.

A Note of Gratitude from the PTO Hospitality Committee

The Hospitality Committee would like to thank all Burr families for their monetary as well as food donations and help in making Teacher Appreciation a success! Burr teachers had a hearty, healthy and delicious breakfast on Thursday morning! The teachers were SO happy to enjoy breakfast, and the food and flower arrangements definitely made them feel special.

A huge special mention of thanks goes to the following people who brought in everything for the breakfast and helped prepare for this week:

Penelope Thal-Nir, Justine Fialkosky, Sloane Goldhagen, Jenna Poras, Hema Rao, Michelle Frayman, Cristal Balis, Jenn Reale, Louisa Hunt, Lisa Parker, Lisa Pagana, Julie Engel, Stephanie McNeil, Marni Caputo, Emily Lopiccolo, Christine Dutt, Betsey James, Carina Sanchez, Dina Hajjaj-Saouli, Ken’s Flowers, Judy Vasselin, Barbara Brousal-Glaser, Lorenz Glaser, Fredrick Andermann, Tamika and Al Olszewski

A very big thanks to Finagle A Bagel for their generous donation of two huge boxes of bagels!

All this couldn’t have been possible without the help of so many of you! The Hospitality Committee is eternally grateful for all your help, and in order to continue this tradition we need more team partners starting next year! If you would like to sign up to volunteer for the Hospitality Committee, please reach out to Ruchi Bhasin via rusona@gmail.com and you can learn more about it.

Thank you, everyone!

THE BURR PTO PRESENTS

Creative Arts and Sciences Voci Angelica Trio (5th Grade): May 15

Creative Arts and Sciences Welcomes the Voci Angelica Trio’s presentation of Passages: Exploring the Migration of Music for fifth graders.

Passages: Exploring the Migration of Music is an interactive educational performance of world folk music from nine countries and six continents. Through dialogue, colorful maps, and songs, the trio traces the migration of early humans across the globe using the cello, djembe, claves, cuatro, maracas, shell shaker, tambourine stick, finger cymbals, doumbek and their voices. Students become part of the experience by accompanying the trio with sound effects, clapping, movement and answering quiz show geography questions.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

10:00-10:45

Presentation will take place in the Cafetorium.

Join us! Parents are encouraged to attend!

This program was fully funded by your generous donations to the Burr PTO and the Burr Wolf Fund. To donate, go to Burr PTO.org and click on "Donate."

Thank you!

Creative Arts and Sciences programs are fully funded by the Burr School PTO.

Parents are welcome to attend, but no younger siblings please.

THE BURR PTO PRESENTS

Teacher and Staff Appreciation

Message by Hospitality

We have started receiving donations and contributions for teachers’ breakfast and luncheon events. Thank you very much to all those who already contributed ! There is still time to send money in for those who haven’t been able to! The luncheons are catered and we are proud to be able to serve a delicious and luxurious spread to teachers, all this is made possible due to generosity of Burr Families!

Please Sign Up or Donate
Celebrating Our Teachers And Staff

Help us dish out some appreciation as we host our Spring Breakfast!

The end of the school year is quickly approaching and our plans for the Teacher and Staff Appreciation Breakfast, End-Of-Year Luncheon and Back-to-School Luncheon have begun. These events provide Burr Families an opportunity to thank the staff for their hard work and dedication. This year, National Teacher Appreciation Week will be celebrated from May 7 to May 11 2018.

For several years, we have been able to serve a homemade breakfast and cater two luncheons with the donations from you! The two luncheons alone cost about $1200. We are planning for these events right NOW and are looking for your help in one of the following ways:

Contribute $10-$15 toward the 3 meals we will prepare- any amount is most appreciated. Cash or check signed to BURR PTO can be sent in with your child’s folder by Friday, May 4, 2018. Contribute a Breakfast Item of your choice. Deliver the morning of Thursday, May 10 (Before 7:30 AM, or contact Hema Rao at hrao23@gmail.com to make other arrangements). Link to the sign up is below. Examples of items families can donate are Egg dishes, Fruit, Bagels or Hot and Cold Drinks. Please list the ingredients with item.

LINK TO SIGN UP : http://bit.ly/BurrTeacherAppreciation

Help in another way of your choosing! Flowers? Decorating Teachers Room? Special Ethnic Dish? Set-up? Clean Up? Just let us know by April 30th. More info on the luncheons will follow.

Burr PTO appreciates and thanks you for all your support!

Contact: Ruchi Bhasin at rusona@gmail.com with any questions.

Thank You!

Burr Hospitality Committee

Burr Garden Classroom

The Burr Garden Classroom will once again be in full swing this spring and we are hoping to expand the Burr Garden team. The current garden crew is inching its way toward graduating from Burr and it would be lovely if one or two parents wanted to work with us for a while before officially taking over. The garden is such a special part of Burr! What does being on the garden crew entail? FUN! SUN! PLANTS! KIDS! And... planning the garden curriculum (usually fairly close to the same year to year), shopping for garden materials (a quick excursion), 2-ish days at the Burr garden working with each classroom for about a half hour, and making a schedule for families to care for the garden during the summer. Please consider joining our team so this fabulous tradition can continue!

Contact Marni at mgolds2@yahoo.com

Burr Parents of Kids in SPARK or FOCUS

I am hosting a meeting for parents of students recommended for Spark or Focus at my home (64 Hatfield Road, West Newton) on Thursday, May 10th at 7pm. I would like to invite parents of current or recently graduated students from both Spark and Focus to attend as well - we would appreciate your information and insight! Please email me at jdschulz2@verizon.net if you would like to attend.

Joan Schulz, SEPAC Board Member

Caterpillar Lab, Grade 2

The Caterpillar Lab showcases the complexity and beauty of local Northeastern caterpillars. Students act out the metamorphosis from egg to moth or butterfly and then observe a diverse sampling of New England caterpillars to learn about survival and adaptation methods.

Monday, May 7, 2018
Ms. Roberts (in the Caf): 9:15-10:15am
Ms. Field (in the Caf): 10:20-11:20am
Mr. Gaita (in the classroom): 12:20-1:10pm

Parents are welcome to attend, but no younger siblings please.

This program was fully funded by your generous contributions to the Burr PTO and the Burr Wolf Fund. To donate, go to Burrpto.org and click on “Donate.”

May Fair—Saturday, May 19, 2018

WHAT IS MAY FAIR?? The May Fair started in the 60’s as a community-building event led by some dedicated parents. Back then; it was a swap meet with some simple games and grill. Times have changed, but it’s still a fun community event.

Families enjoy a variety of activities for children and adults including: games of chance and skill, face painting, inflatable games and bounce house, arts and crafts… and weather-permitting, a Teacher Dunk Tank! We’ll also hold our famous Cake Decorating contest and plenty of great food and treats for sale.

In order for the May Fair to be a success, we need support from the Burr Community. See link below to sign up for a shift during the May Fair. We also have a bake sale, see link to sign up to contribute an item.

SHIFT SIGN UP
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49aaab23a0f94-2018

BAKE SALE CONTRIBUTION
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49aaab23a0f94-20181