Orange Cone at Drop-Off

This morning I woke-up to hear a newscaster report the next upcoming storm will be a "Monster."    In anticipation of the new storm the Department of Public Works has several vehicles on site today at Pine Glen clearing snow out of the parking lots.   Another change that will be implemented is that we will put an orange cone outside in the morning during drop-off.    At 8:35 A.M. when teachers need to leave the drop-off area to teach a teacher will bring  the orange cone inside.   (We utilize cell phones for the most accurate and consistent time.)  Removal of the cone will be a visual signal that the time is 8:35 A.M.   After 8:35 A.M., parents must park their cars and bring students into the building to sign students in.  Students entering the building after 8:35 A.M. are tardy.   Thank you all for your assistance and support! 

Important Notice From PTO - Carnival

Hi Everyone, 

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  After all of this snow – I think it would be a good idea to focus on SPRING!  The Pine Glen Carnival is coming in March.  This is an exceptional event that is fun for the entire family as well as a vital fundraiser for the school.  We need your ideas, creativity, and input – which is what the upcoming meeting is all about.  The first meeting will be held on 1/31 (weather permitting) at Panera in Burlington @ 7 pm.

This is an amazing event & we need you!  Warm up with a cup of soup – while we plan for spring!  

 Looking forward to seeing you!

Michelle Grossman, Deb Murphy, & Jolene Fogarty

Carnival Co-Chairs

 Please email us & RSVP – so we can plan on how many seats we need to reserve.

Community Service Project

My name is Meghan Groom, and I am a sophomore at Burlington High School.  I will be running a soup drive called the Souperbowl to benefit the Burlington Food Pantry at Pine Glen School.  The collection will run from Monday January 24^th to Friday February 4^th.  There will be a labeled box in the main lobby where donations can be left.  I understand that these are hard economic times for everyone, but any donation will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your support. 

Safety

          Thank you very much to everyone who has and continues to follow the safety guidelines for drop-off and pick-up.   These guidelines where developed in conjunction between myself, the Burlington Police and the Burlington Fire Departments.    Past weather conditions have presented us with high snowdrifts and unfriendly road conditions.  We have all recently experienced challenging commutes in our corner of the world.  

The daily safety of students makes it critical that no one drops off or picks up students in areas of the parking lot other than the official spot.   It is critical that cars stay to the perimeter of the parking lot when picking up or dropping off students.  This allows for the greatest volume of vehicles to proceed through a limited area at a time.   At 8:35 A.M. teachers need to leave the drop-off area to teach.   After 8:35 A.M.,  parents must park their cars and bring students into the building to sign students in.  Students entering the building after 8:35 A.M. are tardy.    

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Registration of children entering Kindergarten in September, 2011 will be held at the Fox Hill, Memorial, Pine Glen and Francis Wyman Schools on Monday through Friday, February 7, 2011 through February 11, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. each day.  A child entering kindergarten must have attained the age of five by August 31, 2011. 

At the time of registration, parents are required to bring:

1. Birth certificate for child.

2  Proof of residency in the Town of Burlington.  This requirement can be satisfied with the presentation

of a lease or a recent utility bill.

3. Medical form must be completed by your family physician, and returned to school two (2) days prior

to the opening of school.  Children will not be able to attend school in September of 2011 unless a

complete medical form is provided.   Your family physician must detail that your child has been given

the following immunizations and also indicate the dates the immunizations were given:

5 doses Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus (DTaP)

4 doses Polio

3 doses Hepatitis B

2 doses Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)

1 dose of Varicella Vaccine or Chicken Pox disease

Proof of having Lead Screening

Vision and Hearing Screening

4.  Pre-school form will need to be completed by the pre-school provider and returned at the time of your child’s scheduled kindergarten screening in the spring of 2011.

The medical forms can be picked up at registration or by clicking the following link:

http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/com_health/school/health_record_form.pdf

http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/cdc/immunization/record_certificate_of_immunization.pdf

Notice from the Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus along with the Burlington Recreation Department is sponsoring a free throw shooting contest for girls and boys ages 10-14.  The event will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at Marshall Simonds Middle School from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.  The event is free.   Times are:  13 and 14 yrs. - 1:00 p.m., 12 yrs. - 1:30 p.m., 11 yrs - 2:00 p.m. and 10 yrs. - 2:30 p.m.  If you can't make the designated time just come between 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.  For more info. please contact Knights of Columbus Representative Bill Breen 781 2720-2493 or David Grubb from the Recreation Dept. at 781 270-1694

Burlington Integrated Preschool

The Burlington Integrated Preschool and the LABBB Early Childhood Program will be hosting an Open House on Friday, January 21, 2010 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Burlington High School - where the programs are located.  This Open House provides families with an opportunity to view the programs, meet the teachers and pickup registration packets to enroll their children for next year.  Students must be 3 years old by August 31, 2011.  For more information call Laura at 781-270-1808.  

Bank Robbery

     I have consistently informed the community that the safety and security of the students at Pine Glen School is our number one priority.    On Wednesday, January 5, 2011 a suspect robbed Central Bank at 85 Wilmington Rd. at around 9:30 Wednesday morning.  Dr. Conti, school superintendent, was in communication with the police and it was decided as a precautionary measure that we would have a partial lockdown at Pine Glen School and Fox Hill School.   A partial lockdown means that people are not allowed to enter or leave the building.   Students do not leave the building for recess or physical education until the police inform us that the lockdown is lifted.  Students are allowed during this period to make transitions to specialists with teacher supervision, and can use the hallway restrooms.  In addition, the superintendent’s office made a ConnectEd call before and after the event to inform parents of the situation. 

     I would like to thank parents and staff for their assistance and cooperation yesterday.   It was through our great continued and consistent communication with public safety as well as the dedicated professional staff at Pine Glen School that yesterday was a safe day.   With the exception of a few announcements over the public announcement system, i.e. students would have indoor recess; high quality instruction went on like any other typical day. 

     Sometimes an event that happens in a community even though it does not directly involve a child can be frightening.  Even this morning, my daughter overheard on the news that a fire was taking place at a home in Weymouth, and she immediately became scared wondering if our home could ever catch on fire.  If your child is nervous or needs to discuss the situation, please know staff will always be available to meet with your child and discuss concerns.  In addition to your child’s teacher, Ms. May (School Guidance Counselor), Mrs. Ferrick (School Nurse), and I love to help children and are more than happy to talk with your child about the event.   The best thing a parent can do if questions are brought up is reinforce that Pine Glen School is a safe place and if they don’t feel safe there is always someone they can talk too.   

School Pictures

Picture re-takes will be on January 13th.  Please notify the office if you would like a re-take: gosselin@burlingtonmec.edu.

Grant from Burlington Education Foundation

This summer I had the opportunity to study at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.   A component of that program was Project Adventure (a group confidence building program).  Project Adventure allowed for great intrapersonal thinking and team building ideas.   It was wonderful to bring the knowledge gained from my time this summer to Pine Glen School.  I related my experiences with Project Adventure to Ms. May, Ms. Govoni and Mrs. Nicholas in the fall of 2010.   They agreed that this would be a fantastic program for the students at Pine Glen School.

I am pleased to announce that the Burlington Education Fund (BEF) has awarded Ms. May (Guidance Counselor), Ms. Govoni (Physical Education Teachers) and Mrs. Nicholas (Physical Education Teacher) a grant to implement Project Adventure.  This grant will allow collaboration between the guidance and physical education departments to empower students and develop strategies for conflict resolution.

Note from the PTO

Happy 2011!  Just a friendly reminder that this Thursday, January 6th at 7 p.m. will be the first PTO meeting of the new year.  Guest speaker Marilyn Belmonte plans to discuss recent progress made by the Burlington Drug and Alcohol Task Force.

*****Also, Principal John Lyons will give a tour of the school building highlighting recent improvements and future plans for Pine Glen.   This should be a real treat!*****

We hope to see many of you there.  Thank you.