School Council - 2 Open Positions for 2017-19

There is still one open spot for a parent representative to Burr School Council! If you are interested, please send an email to the PTO Communications Coordinator, by Wednesday, May 31.

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 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 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 backpack (write “School Council” on the envelope), or via an email to the PTO Communications Coordinator, by Wednesday, May 31.  If more candidates than we require step forward, an election will be conducted during the week of June 5. If only two candidates step forward, those candidates will be granted the parent representative positions and will be announced the same week.

Meet the New PTO Co-Presidents — June 3, 2017

Come get to know the incoming PTO Co-Presidents!  The new PTO Co-Presidents will be at Finagle-a-Bagel (77 Rowe Street) from 11 am until noon on Saturday, June 3 and hoping you will join them for some conversation!   Grab a bagel or a cup of coffee and get to know the new co-presidents.

If you can't make it on June 3, you are welcome to email any questions or concerns to the PTO at burrschoolptonewton@gmail.com.

 PTO BOARD ELECTIONS 

Nominations are in!

New members of the PTO board will be elected at the June 1 PTO meeting. Christine Dutt will be continuing her term as Co-President. Cristal Balis and Kristine Munroe are changing their positions on the Board and there will be 5 new Board members. 

The proposed slate follows.

 Cristal Balis (nominated for Co-President) is finishing up her first year on the PTO Board as its community building coordinator and has co-chaired Halloween Family Fun Night for the past two years. Her background is mostly in marketing communications, but she also holds a Master’s in Education and spent some time teaching in Chicago Public Schools. She and her wife, Jill, are the proud parents of two soon-to-be second graders at Burr. 

Ruchi Bhasin (nominated for Communications Coordinator) is a mother to two daughters, Aria a current fourth grader at Burr, and Riva, an incoming kindergartner in September 2017. Ruchi holds a Bachelor in Arts with major in Sociology and an associate's degree in Teacher Aide and would like to teach preschool kids in future. Presently, Ruchi is enjoying spending time with her family, watching her children grow and loves to volunteer at Burr. Her current volunteer commitments include Hospitality, May Fair, Understanding Our Differences Program, helping out in the library and being a room parent for both Burr and Riva's preschool. Ruchi is looking forward to learning more about Burr, as well as helping promote academic and social progress for the school. 

Renee Krikorian (nominated for Secretary) is mom to two first graders at Burr, Henry and Scarlett. She also has a 4 year old, Eliza who will be entering Burr in the fall of 2018. Renee is currently a pediatric occupational therapist working in a local public school system. Prior to her work as a school-based OT, Renee worked for two years in an early intervention program, and for 10 years in a private clinic specializing in sensory processing disorder. When her twins were in preschool, Renee served on the Board of Directors for Bowen Cooperative Nursery School in Newtonville where she was responsible for enrollment of their five day program. 

Jeremy Lew (nominated for Treasurer) is the father of Burr students Anna (3rd grade) and Beatrice (1st grade) and husband to Aimee Lambert.  He grew up in Needham and does software architecture and consulting for a living.  Previously, Jeremy served as the treasurer for the Parents Advisory Council at Family Access Early Education.

Kristine Munroe (nominated for Co-President) is currently enjoying her first year on the PTO board.  She has a background in online communications and she's been living in West Newton since 2005.  Kristine lives with her husband, Matt, and first grader Isaac.  You can usually see her walking Isaac to school every morning on Webster Street, moving at a verrrry slow pace. 

Tamika Olszewski (nominated for Community Building Coordinator) practiced law in Baltimore for several years prior to moving to Newton with her husband and children in 2013. Tamika is the mother of twins, Morgan and Dean, who are currently in first grade at Burr. Tamika serves as a room parent for Ms. Golden and enjoys volunteering in the library. Her volunteer commitments also include Creative Arts and Sciences, Halloween Family Fun Night and Burr's International Potluck. This year, Tamika assisted the Burr Water Parent Liaisons in collaborating with Newton city officials to remediate elevated lead levels in Burr's drinking water supply. She is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusivity and will champion these issues both at Burr and across the larger Newton community. 

Leah Schwartz (nominated for Education Support Coordinator) bio to follow

PTO Meeting - Thursday, June 1, 2017

The next PTO meeting will be on Thursday, June 1 at 7 pm in the cafetorium. The agenda will include review of the proposed PTO budget for 2017-18 and election of new members of the PTO Board. Please come hear about the budget priorities for your PTO next year  - this is the time for your input! If you cannot attend the meeting but have a question or concern, please email the PTO Board at burrschoolptonewton@gmail.com. We hope to see you on June 1!

 CREATIVE ARTS & SCIENCES AND THE BURR PTO PRESENT 

New England Aquarium's Tidepools Alive!—May 30, 2017

Students take an imaginary trip to the beach and a tidepool! They will use their five senses to bring alive a beach scene, including the sound of the waves and seagulls. Then students will explore and interact with sea stars, snails, mussels, clams and hermit crabs while learning about basic biology and anatomy.

Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2017

9:00-9:45       Ms McMahon
10:00-10:45    Ms Russo
11:00-11:45    Ms. Frail


Presentations will take place in the Cafetorium

Join us! Parents are encouraged to attend, but no younger siblings, please. Thank you for your cooperation.

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 "Support Us."

 THE BURR PTO PRESENTS 

Book Drive to Help Local School

Burr Community, we need your help!

Instead of holding our annual Book Swap this year, the Burr PTO has decided to hold a children's book drive in order to help P.A. Shaw Elementary School in Dorchester build a library. A school of its size should have a collection of 7,000 books but, with precious few resources, Shaw's library has only 2,000. Many of the kids at this school don't have any books at home. All of the students at Shaw receive free breakfast and lunch, some are homeless and many are in foster situations. In short, this school needs our help. 

Do you have books your family is ready to pass on? Make a real difference and donate them to Shaw Elementary. We will be collecting books in the Burr parking lot on Sunday, June 4th from 3-5pm. Please forward this message to as many people as you can (including outside the Burr community) and ask them to help us build a library for the children at Shaw Elementary. 

Hope to see you at the book drop-off next Sunday!

The Burr Garden Classroom is ready to sprout again this May! 

Please see the schedule below for when your child's classroom will come to the garden. We are planning some great lessons that dovetail with your child's curriculum and help them learn about planting while they enjoy time in one of the coolest places on the Burr campus! Think 3 sisters, sun & moon, Ghana/China/Mexico, sunflowers and more! All parents are welcome - and even encouraged - to come to the garden when their child's class is there. It's so helpful to have the extra hands (especially in the younger grades). Hope to see you soon in the garden!

Tuesday 5/23
8:45-9:15 am Julie Canning
9:25-9:55 am - Briana Russo
10:05-10:35 am - Annalee Harris
10:45-11:15 am - Kelly Young
11:25-11:55 am - Sonja Robinson

Friday 5/26
8:45-9:15 am - Robin Cooley
9:25-9:55 am - Vanessa McMahon
10:05-10:35 am - Catalina Frail
10:45-11:15 am - Sydney Tice
11:25-11:55 am - Nancy Fitch
12:20-12:50 pm - Helen Oh
1:00-1:30 pm - David Gaita
1:40-2:10 pm - Elizabeth McLean
2:20-2:50 pm - Kara McNeill

Tuesday 5/30
9:25-9:55 am - Amy Roberts
10:05-10:35 am - Sarah Field
10:45-11:15 am - Jen Miller
11:25-11:55 am - Nicole Golden
11:55 am- 12:25 pm - Natalia Espinal

Thanks, Your Burr Garden Volunteers (Kim Tulimieri, Denine Ledyard & Marni Goldstein Caputo)

 PTO BOARD ELECTIONS 

Nominations Are (Mostly) In! 

New members of the PTO board will be elected at the June 1 PTO meeting. Christine Dutt will be continuing her term as Co-President. Cristal Balis and Kristine Munroe are changing their positions on the Board, and there will be five new Board members. 

The proposed slate follows.

Cristal Balis (nominated for Co-President) is finishing up her first year on the PTO Board as its community building coordinator and has co-chaired Halloween Family Fun Night for the past two years. Her background is mostly in marketing communications, but she also holds a Master’s in Education and spent some time teaching in Chicago Public Schools. She and her wife, Jill, are the proud parents of two soon-to-be second graders at Burr. 

Ruchi Bhasin (nominated for Communications Coordinator) is a mother to two daughters, Aria a current fourth grader at Burr, and Riva, an incoming kindergartner in September 2017. Ruchi holds a Bachelor in Arts with major in Sociology and an associate's degree in Teacher Aide and would like to teach preschool kids in future. Presently, Ruchi is enjoying spending time with her family, watching her children grow and loves to volunteer at Burr. Her current volunteer commitments include Hospitality, May Fair, Understanding Our Differences Program, helping out in the library and being a room parent for both Burr and Riva's preschool. Ruchi is looking forward to learning more about Burr, as well as helping promote academic and social progress for the school. 

Renee Krikorian (nominated for Education Support Coordinator) is mom to two first graders at Burr, Henry and Scarlett. She also has a 4 year old, Eliza who will be entering Burr in the fall of 2018. Renee is currently a pediatric occupational therapist working in a local public school system. Prior to her work as a school-based OT, Renee worked for two years in an early intervention program, and for 10 years in a private clinic specializing in sensory processing disorder. When her twins were in preschool, Renee served on the Board of Directors for Bowen Cooperative Nursery School in Newtonville where she was responsible for enrollment of their five day program. 

Jeremy Lew (Nominated for Treasurer) bio forthcoming

Kristine Munroe (nominated for Co-President) is currently enjoying her first year on the PTO board.  She has a background in online communications and she's been living in West Newton since 2005.  Kristine lives with her husband, Matt, and first grader Isaac.  You can usually see her walking Isaac to school every morning on Webster Street, moving at a verrrry slow pace. 

Tamika Olszewski (nominated for Community Building Coordinator) practiced law in Baltimore for several years prior to moving to Newton with her husband and children in 2013. Tamika is the mother of twins, Morgan and Dean, who are currently in first grade at Burr. Tamika serves as a room parent for Ms. Golden and enjoys volunteering in the library. Her volunteer commitments also include Creative Arts and Sciences, Halloween Family Fun Night and Burr's International Potluck. This year, Tamika assisted the Burr Water Parent Liaisons in collaborating with Newton city officials to remediate elevated lead levels in Burr's drinking water supply. She is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusivity and will champion these issues both at Burr and across the larger Newton community. 

PTO MEETING

Thursday, June 1, 2017

The next PTO meeting will be on Thursday, June 1 at 7 pm in the cafetorium. The agenda will include review of the proposed PTO budget for 2017-18 and election of new members of the PTO Board. Please come hear about the budget priorities for your PTO next year  - this is the time for your input! If you cannot attend the meeting but have a question or concern, please email the PTO Board at burrschoolptonewton@gmail.com. 

We hope to see you on June 1st!