Friday, September 29, 2017


Burlington Special Education Department & SEPAC Invite Parents and
Caregivers to a Meet-and-Greet

Hosted by Burlington Parent Advisory Council
Place: Grandview Farm/Marion Tavern
Doors open 6:45 pm, presentation to begin at 7 pm

The Special Education Department and Burlington SEPAC invite parents and caregivers to a meet-and-greet
on October 4th from 6:45 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.at Grandview Farm/Marion Tavern's Conference Room (2nd floor).
Meet with SEPAC co-chairs and Special Education staff from each school.  Topics will include the array
of special education programming and how special education is being implemented into the district.  
Questions, please contact burlingtonspedpac@gmail.com.

We hope to see you there!

Monday, September 25, 2017

W.I.S.E. Reward Day Friday

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Our students were WISE and earned a school-wide reward!
What: PJ Day - Wear your pajamas to school!

When: Friday 9/29/17

Ms. Fallon

Who is it greeting art students at the door?

Ms. Fallon greeted her students today all dressed up in a costume.  The costume activated her student's thinking and engaged them in the lesson before they even stepped in the door. The students loved it too.

Bournedale Parent Information Meeting

Bournedale Parent Information Meeting


When: Wednesday, September 27th @ 6:00 pm
Where: Francis Wyman Auditorium


Mr. Lisano, Fox Hill teacher, will be showing a PowerPoint presentation discussing the educational programs and facilities provided to all students who attend Camp Bournedale. Teachers will be available to answer any questions and address any concerns that you may have.


************************************************************

In September, the fifth grade is going to Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, MA!! Francis Wyman and Pine Glen are going November 6-7.
 

Camp Bournedale is an overnight, nature-based camp committed to providing schools with exciting, enriching and rewarding educational and social experiences.  The unparalleled opportunities for hands-on science, social studies, health, and physical education provide tangible learning experiences for every student.  

Over the last several years, we’ve had a great turnout and we hope that the word continues to spread on how beneficial this experience is for all fifth grade students.  We really urge all fifth grade parents in Burlington to attend this informational meeting!!!

Please help support the People Helping People Food Pantry by purchasing a pumpkin at the 5th Annual People Helping People Pumpkin Patch from October 1st through October 31st. The Pumpkin Patch is located at St. Mark's Church, 10 St. Mark Road in Burlington. The patch is open Monday through Friday from noon until 6 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 100% of the profits benefits People Helping People and the Food Pantry.



Friday, September 22, 2017

Re-posted from Burlington Superintendent's Blog September 22, 2017


Proposed Start Times for 2018-2019

Below are the proposed start times for all of the Burlington Schools next year if we go to a later start time at Burlington High School.
As a reminder, we will hold community forums at the following times:
Community Forums:
Tuesday, October 3, 8:30 a.m. in the Francis Wyman Elementary School Auditorium
Tuesday, October 3, 7:00 p.m. in the Francis Wyman Elementary School Auditorium
Thursday, October 5, 8:30 a.m. in the Burlington High School Auditorium
Thursday, October 5, 7:00 p.m. in the Burlington High School Auditorium
Proposed-Bus-Schedule-start-times

Everyone Matters








At Pine Glen Elementary School everyone matters. This morning every student at Pine Glen Elementary School arrived and saw a note above their cubby from their teacher. The teacher's note to each student communicated why they were special and unique.

Make W.I.S.E. Choices

Work to be appropriate
Important to be safe
Strive to be Kind
Everyone matters

Students of the Week


Congratulations to Hannah Steffan, Anjali Patel, Addie McWhinnie, Noah Melo, and Maxwell Harkins for making W.I.S.E. choices and being our Students of the Week. Thank you for being role models!

Make W.I.S.E. Choices

Work to be appropriate
Important to be safe
Strive to be Kind
Everyone matters

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Morning Meeting / Responsive Classroom

In the attached pictures, you can see Mrs. Bourgeois and Ms. Jackson staring their first graders day with a morning meeting. Morning meeting is a component of Responsive Classroom. The morning meeting prepares students to learn, grow socially/emotionally, and build a culture of respect.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Patriots Day Fundraiser Image result for new england patriots
This Friday, September 22nd

Help Pine Glen support students who were affected by hurricanes in recent weeks.  On Friday, September 22, wear your best Patriots gear and bring in a dollar or more to help give back to a school in need.  

Proceeds from the donations will go toward purchasing books for Berry Elementary School in Houston, Texas.  Together we can make a difference!



Pine Glen Student Council

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SAVE THE DATE Saturday October 21, 2017
8:00am - 12:45pm Burlington High School
Burlington Public Schools are proud to host our 2nd Parent University!  Parents of students grades PreK-12 will have the opportunity at this free event to attend workshops and interact with education and health professionals regarding a variety of topics related to your child’s learning and development.
Our keynote speaker will be Jon Mattleman, who will be sharing his “Secret Life of Teens” presentation.  "The Secret Lives of Teens" is a high-energy presentation that actively focuses on what teens are really thinking, what they fear, why they do not share more, and how adults can effectively support the teens in their lives. This presentation covers areas such as depression, suicide, 'acting out' behaviors, drug and alcohol use, and more. Parents of students k-12 will gain valuable insight into adolescent behaviors and the decision making of our students. More information on Jon and his presentation can be found at:  https://www.jonmattleman.com/
Additionally, to better serve our parents, BPS will be providing free childcare for this event (pending child registration).  Please keep an eye out for follow up materials including the release of our updated website and event schedule.
Mark your calendar – more details to follow!    

Friday, September 15, 2017

Fun in Second Grade

Ms. Anderson's second grade class had a lot of fun doing an author study of Kevin Henkes' books. As you can tell by the picture the characters in Kevin Henkes' books are mice.

Welcome!


We are thrilled to have Mrs. Shaikh joining us at Pine Glen Elementary School! Mrs. Shaikh and Mrs. Gosselin will be our school secretaries.

Proposed School Start Times For 2018-2019 School Year

Monday, September 11, 2017

Hero Assembly 2017

We had our Hero Assembly at Pine Glen Elementary School this afternoon. During the assembly we said thank you to the police officers, firefighters, first responders, and members of our different military branches that help keep our community and country safe. In addition, we remembered Lieutenant Commander Thomas McGuiness, a pilot in the Navy, and alumni of Pine Glen Elementary School.

Adopt a Class

In support of the current 5th Grade Class (Adopt a Class- 2025) our sponsor Newtowne Grille is hosting a Golf Tournament Monday, September 25, 2017 (rain or shine).  Windham Country Club, Windham, NH Check-In Time: 8:00 AM Shot Gun Start: 8:30 AM  Fee is $125 per player.  Spots are filling up!  Luncheon, Awards, and Raffle will be held at Newtowne Grille, Billerica beginning @ 2:30 PM.  To make a donation to this event, to register or for more information please contact joanmtremblay@gmail.com.

Friday, September 8, 2017

Back to School Night for Grown-Ups 2017

Back to School Night for Grown-Ups is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 13th from 6:00 to 7:30.  The night will begin in the cafeteria at 6:00 with opening remarks from the principal.  We will leave the back doors of the cafeteria open to parents in order that they can enter and exit the building through the cafe.  At 6:15 parents are free to proceed to classrooms.  We will continue to have two informational sessions.  The first session will be held from 6:15-6:45.  The second session will run from 6:55-7:25.   Parents are welcome to attend either session.


This is a great evening when teachers and parents can discuss expectations, curriculum, classroom
procedures and establish partnerships between home and school.  We regret that we are unable to
provide child care.  We appreciate parents making arrangements for the care of their children in order to attend this important evening.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Thank You BEF

I would like to thank the Burlington Education Foundation for the grant which allowed us to purchase at friendship bench! Students were introduced to the bench today and how to use it.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Welcome Back 2017

September 1, 2017
Dear Pine Glen Community:
It has been a wonderful summer and I am sure everyone has enjoyed this time with family and friends.  This summer my family made its annual trip to Cape Cod for a week.  We took the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for a day trip where my daughters enjoyed jumping off the “Jaws Bridge” as one of their summer highlights.   I also had fun watching both of them swim in their various swim meets. My youngest daughter will be in fourth grade and older daughter in eighth grade this fall.  I also had a blast playing tennis with my wife and enjoying some golf.  Throughout the summer I greatly missed seeing all the students.  I have to thank our Pine Glen community for the incredible privilege you provide me with to educate your children and see them grow.  
We will commence the 2017-2018 school year at Pine Glen Elementary School on September 5th for students in grades 1-5.  Kindergarten student’s first day is September 11th.  Students can be dropped off starting at 8:20 am.  Instruction starts at 8:35 am.  Students who arrive at 8:35 or later will be recorded as tardy.  Students will dismissed at 2:40 pm.    Kindergarten hours are 8:35am-1:00 pm.


We currently have 312 students enrolled for the start of the school year. We have a very diverse school population that makes our school community even stronger.  This fall 17.63% of our students first language is not English and 6.41% of our students were born outside the United States. We look forward to the knowledge and experiences all of our students bring to Pine Glen!


This summer new floors were  installed on the second floor and hallway.  We also had a new floor placed in the music room.  This involved packing up the entire second floor and music room.  After the tile portion of the project was complete, teachers unpacked and then put classrooms together.    This was a big undertaking.  I must commend Barbara and the rest of our custodial staff for their stellar work in making the school a clean and safe environment for students to learn.   Also, I must commend the teachers who have spent many hours this summer preparing their classrooms to be clean, warm, safe, and inviting places to learn.  The new floors look fantastic!


This summer I had the privilege to work with staff on our Positive Behavior Incentive System (PBIS) called Hoot.  We have decided to use a different acronym moving from Appropriate, Safe and Kind (ASK) to WISE and OWL.  


NEW ACRONYMS:

“Make WISE Choices”
  • Work to be APPROPRIATE
  • Important to be SAFE
  • Strive to be KIND
  • Everyone Matters!


Teachers are like OWLS:


  • Observant
  • Wise
  • Listening


Hoot cards are given out by any staff members in common areas (i.e., hallway, cafeteria ect.) to any student making WISE Choices.  The Hoot cards will be collected at the end of each day.  On Thursday afternoon, a student will be randomly chosen from each grade.  The students chosen will be announced on Friday morning over the loudspeaker, they will be called down to the office, to receive a pencil and have their picture taken.  


We have also chosen Monthly Themes for the school year.  


Monthly Themes:

September- Appropriate
October- Safety
November & December- Kindness
January & February- Determination
March & April- Acceptance/Empathy
May & June- Community


This summer several staff also participated in a course called Responsive Classroom.  A large number of the staff have taken this training in the past.  There is a strong connection between social-emotional learning (SEL) and academic success.  Research has shown that cognitive growth occurs largely through social interactions. A program like Responsive Classroom is a key ingredient in helping students with peer interactions in order to grow not only socially but, academically too.  We have also made changes to the master schedule and allocated a designated time in the morning for a Morning Meeting to provide for social-emotional learning (SEL).   


We were fortunate to receive a grant from the Burlington Educational Foundation I had written for friendship bench and friendship table.  A friendship bench and friendship table are both special places on a school playground where a child can go when they want someone to talk to.  These tools will further help us promote social-emotional learning (SEL) for students.
We continue to utilize a best practice and highly researched Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) often referred to as Response to Intervention (RtI) with staffing.  A MTSS/RtI approach has allowed us the capacity to best draw upon our staff to address individual student needs.   Please continue to be mindful of the fact that in utilizing this approach a student’s classroom teacher might be different than their reading or math teacher.  This affords teachers the opportunity to work with a narrower teachable range, provide interventions, and maximize efficiency.  This is not leveled instruction.  We are providing flexibly grouped reading instruction that changes based on data.  We continue to use an online universal screening to become aware of where to focus our instruction and provide interventions for students.


As you may be aware there are many students in the Burlington School System with allergies and some of these students may be in your child’s classroom this year.  Please remember that SNACK TIME IN THE CLASSROOMS IS PEANUT AND TREE NUT FREE.  Please read ALL labels on any food items that you send in for your child’s snacks.


For further information, the allergy policy is posted on the Burlington Public Schools website.  Please take the time to review our allergy policy at www.burlington.org under the school link.


If there are any questions regarding appropriate snack items to send into school or if you have any other food concerns, do not hesitate to email our school nurse, Mrs. Ferrick (ferrick@bpsk12.org).
We are pleased to welcome new staff members to our Pine Glen Community.  I am incredibly thankful to the all the residents of Burlington for continuing to provide us with the financial means to attract and retain the highest caliber of teachers.  Although not new to Pine Glen, Lindsey Bourgault, is returning to Pine Glen as a speech language pathologist.   Lindsey Tigges, who started her career at Pine Glen Elementary School, will also be returning to Pine Glen in the role of a special education teacher.  We also enthusiastically welcome Jessica Hilton and Melissa Murphy who are joining our staff as special needs instructional assistants.   


I am also thrilled to announce some name changes for this Fall.  Two of our staff had beautiful weddings this summer. Ms.Zanotti has changed her name and will now be Mrs. Tilton.  Ms.Lane has also changed her name and will now be Mrs. Hanafin.  Congratulations to both Mrs Tilton and Mrs. Hanafin!


I am incredibly grateful to the Burlington community for the investment they make in students Resources such as Response to Intervention tutors, a school psychologist, class size, reading specialist, librarian, technology intervention specialist, social-emotional (SEL) coach, and interventions, as well as technology on which to run them, have provided us with the means to see our students make great growth.
I wish to thank the PTO for all their assistance.   They have done tremendous work in providing student enrichment, organizing school social events, community outreach, and assistance to the teachers.  The Halloween Dance and the Winter Carnival, and Turkey Trot/Walk-a-Thon are just a few examples of some of the great the PTO sponsors.  The PTO continues to serve as the best vehicle in which to volunteer and be active in our school community.  
Thank you very much for the opportunity you entrust us with everyday in providing instruction to your children!  It is an absolute joy to see students grow and mature throughout the years at Pine Glen.  It is because of this support and partnership we can continue to create a lifelong love of learning for everyone in our Pine Glen community.  In the Pine Glen community everyone matters.
If you have any questions or have great stories to share of your children’s learning journey, please do not hesitate to contact me at jlyons@bpsk12.org.


Sincerely,
John Lyons, M.S. Ed.
Principal

Pine Glen Elementary School