Holiday Note to Parents and Staff

Dear Parents and Staff,

This past weekend I again watched the students’ Holiday Performance via my Blog.  While watching the videos, a quote from the movie Elf kept replaying in my brain, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”    I don’t just think of it as Christmas cheer but holiday cheer for one and all.

Elf is one of my favorite movies to watch during the holiday season.  It speaks to the joy one can experience as an adult when he/she tries to see the world through the eyes of a child.   Over the holiday break please take time to be a kid again.   If we get snow, go sledding, throw snowballs, or make a snowman.   Locate your old toys or play with children’s, nephews, nieces, or friend’s kid’s dolls, action figures or board games.   Enjoy a favorite holiday movie or one from when you were little.   Make a play-date to get together with family, friends, or call someone you haven’t talked to in a long time.   Dance around the house singing 1980’s music or any other fun music that reminds you of your childhood.    Get a group of friends together and play touch football.   Most importantly, take some time to have fun.  I truly believe that when everyone on earth begins to look at the world through the eyes of a child we will have peace on earth and goodwill towards all.  

I would like to wish everyone a fun, safe and most joyful holiday break!   

Yours Truly,

John Lyons

Principal

Pine Glen School

P.S. I would not suggest showing the movie Elf to your own children prior to viewing it yourself to see if you deem it appropriate to show to your children.

Note from the PTO

Hi Fellow PTO Members,

We would like to thank all PTO members for their constant, steadfast support of the Pine Glen PTO and its mission to provide educational enrichment for all our students. Since the beginning of the new school year, we have been able to make a variety of contributions.  The PTO purchased new iPods, splicers, and headphones that will be used by all students  in classroom reading centers.  To provide books on tape, the PTO also purchased iTunes gift cards to be used at the staff's discretion.  The PTO also bought the new Town of Burlington flag for the school building and paid for the publication of handbook/calendars for all families, as well as student directories for PTO members.  We would like to thank Julie Gosselin for all her help with these publications.

There were a couple of successful fall fundraisers as well.  The Genevieve catalog and the Scrip Gift Card Fundraisers.  We would like to thank everyone who participated in any way.  Especially, Maria Woods, and Kathleen MacMunn who chaired these committees and Jolene Fogarty for the extra Treasurer's work involved.  The funds raised will be used to continue to fulfill the PTO mission.

We also would like to thank everyone who participated in the 50/50 raffles held during the holiday concerts.  The monies raised will be deposited into the Pine Glen PTO Family Fund that assists Pine Glen families in need.  The two raffles, including an generous anonymous donation by member(s) of the staff, raised $396 for this fund.  A special thanks to Robin Hurley, Jolene Fogarty, Michelle Grossman, and Nicole Woods for helping to run these raffles.  Congratulations to Allison Theirrien who won the evening concert raffle.  A special thanks to Bill Withycombe who won the day concert raffle and then generously donated his winnings back to the Family Fund.  

Please mark your new 2011 calendar:  Thursday, January 6th at 7 p.m. will be the first PTO meeting of the New Year.  Principal John Lyons plans to conduct a school tour for all in attendance.  He will highlight recent improvements and plans for the building.

We hope you and your families all enjoy a wonderful holiday season and we hope to see many of you at the January meeting.

Thank you,

The Pine Glen PTO Board

Video: First, Second, and Third Grade Winter Concert

Earlier today we had the Winter Concert done by the first, second, and third grades. Ms. Agati and Ms. Rzasa helped put together a very active performance by the students. Thanks to all the parents who could attend!

Video: Fourth and Fifth Grade Winter Concert

Pine Glen held its annual Fourth and Fifth Grade Winter Concert on the evening of December 14. Thanks to the parents for their great performances; Ms. Agati, Ms. Rzasa, and Mr. Napierkowski for getting the students ready for the show, and all of the parents who attended.

The video is in 3 parts, embedded below. Part 1 features the band, and parts 2 and 3 feature the chorus.

PTO News

PTO News-  Gift Cards have arrived

Thank you Pine Glen Families and Friends!  We sold a total of $ 15,713.10 worth of gift cards and earned a profit of $ 1,129.14!!!  Your gift cards have arrived and were delivered to the school, on Wednesday, December 15th!  Please watch for your gift cards in your child's backpack.  Please review your order for accuracy and contact me rmacmunn@msn.com with any questions. 

For those parents requesting a pick-up at school --- if you wish, you can pick them up at the Grade 1,2 & 3 Concert on Friday, December 17th at 9:00 a.m.

A Special thanks to Katie Capobianco, Nicole Hillis, Deb Murphy and Lauren Terranova for assemblying and distributing the gift cards!  I could not have done it without them!  Also, thank you Allison Theirrien and Julie Gosselin for the copies.  Don't forget our devoted PTO members Maria Woods and Jolene Fogarty.  

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Kathleen MacMunn

Scrip Coordinator - Pine Glen PTO/Volunteer

Flag Dedication

Last month Pine Glen dedicated our new Burlington flag.

Turkey Trot

Right before Thanksgiving, Pine Glen had its annual Turkey Trot.

Note from the Principal

This week on my drive into school I questioned myself as to whether process is as important as content.  It didn’t take long for me to find my answer.  I simply walked into a classroom and arrived at the answer within five minutes.

When I am in classrooms in the morning, I will occasionally join in on the morning meeting.  During the morning meeting teachers use an independent, evidence researched based approach called the Responsive Classroom.   This approach helps students to be successful academically and socially.  It helps students gain social skills such as cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. The Responsive Classroom also helps create learning environments where children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.  It is a very productive instructional practice to help implement our Pine Glen School Mission of being a school that creates life-long learners. 

The fourth grade morning meeting I joined was fantastic.  Much like a house will not stand without a foundation, a student still will not learn if she or he does not take intellectual risks.  During the meeting, I witnessed a strong sense of community where students felt and knew they were safe.  In addition, students were learning from each other by noticing and internalizing expected behaviors through modeling.  The great positive language by the teacher and her kind tone were not only establishing a sense of community but promoting active learning and self-discipline.  Students had a means by which they were allowed and knew how to fix and learn from their mistakes in a dignified way.  Students were being creative and responsible.  The wonderful interactions amongst students in an organized structure promoted social and academic growth.  During a 15 minute time period, I saw students learning geography, math multiples, pragmatic language, oral expression, problem solving skills and written expression while simultaneously having a sense that they were part of a community that cared about them.  

This exemplar continued to reaffirm in my mind that Pine Glen School is a special place to learn.  It also confirmed that the greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction and providing academic choice.  Leading me to think that ultimately, process is just as crucial as content. 

Note from School Nurse

Puberty Information Night for Parents of 4th and 5th grade students will be presented by Anne Azarian RN, BSN, Supervisor of Nurses, at the Burlington High School, School Committee Room on Tuesday January 11, 2011.  (Snow Date is January 12, 2011)  Grade 4 Parents' Night will be held from 6:30pm--7:30pm.  Grade 5 Parents' Night will be held from 7:30pm--8:30pm.  Please call Anne Azarian at 781-270-1702 or the Pine Glen Nurse at 781-270-1713, if you have any questions.  Subsequently, the grade 4 and grade 5 students' puberty classes will be held at school on Friday January 14, 2011.

Note from Music Teachers

Winter Concert Reminders

 

Here are the dates and times to remember:

4th and 5th Grade Chorus and Band Concert: Tuesday December 14th @ 7 p.m.

Students should arrive at 6:45 p.m. wearing black and white.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Concert: Friday December 17th @ 9 a.m.

Students should come to school wearing their dress-up outfit for the concert.

Additional information is available on the Pine Glen Music Blog:

www.pineglenmusic.wordpress.com

We are looking forward to seeing you all there!

  

Mrs. Jennifer Agati

Mrs. Jennifer Rzasa

Music Specialists

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE BOOTH SALE

Troop # 77231 will be at Shaw's Supermarket this Saturday 12/11 from 10:00 - 4:00 p.m. kicking off the cookie selling season, so come on by and support Troop # 77231 and get your girl scout cookies early.  Troop # 77231 will also be collecting donations for "Cookies for a Cause" which they will deliver to Hanscom Air Force Base in March for our troops. 

Principal Notes: Creating a Science Zone

Students, particularly in the primary years, are fascinated by sea life such as lobsters, crabs, and barnacles that live in our New England coastal zone (tide-pools).  This rich curriculum provides wonderful opportunities for higher order thinking skills like compare and contrast as well as categorization.  When walking down the stairs to enter first floor where the majority of the kindergarten and first grade classrooms are located, one encounters unused space.  It is my hope to make this area a science zone.  The theme in this area would be the different marine life zones in the rocky shore located in New England.  We are hoping to put a mural up that the students would draw illustrating these different zones.  Likewise, we are hoping to fill the area with artifacts related to the ocean.  We are looking for donations such as lobster traps, buoys, or a small boat.  The boat could not be bigger than 6 feet wide by 10 feet long and would need to be fiberglass.  If you would like to make a donation, please feel free to contact me at jlyons@burlington.mec.edu.

PTO NEWS: Pine Glen PTO Scrip Fundraiser

Have you placed your scrip/gift card order?  Time is running out!  The deadline is next TUESDAY, December 7th.  Don't forget no school on Monday!   All orders must be received on this date, so they can be processed!  Unfortunately, any orders received after this date will be returned to your child's classroom unprocessed.  

Enjoy your long weekend and let your fingers do the shopping!  Any questions, need forms via email or instructions to shop on line contact Kathleen at rmacmunn@msn.com or 781-229-1805.  

Happy Holidays!  Thanks for your support. 

NOTE FROM TOYS FOR TOTS

•  Pine Glen will be collecting Toys for Tots.  Any unwrapped toy can be dropped off outside the main office.  The boxes will be collected on December 12, 2010.