Visitors

Today educators from Derby Academy came to Pine Glen Elementary School to see some of the great institution and learning taking place in our school.

MCAS Schedule Change

In anticipation of the serve weather tomorrow and the possibility of school closings and delayed openings the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has postponed the administration of the Grade 4 MCAS ELA Long Composition test until Monday, March 25th.  All schools must administer the test on this new date.

The long composition is when students are required to write a narrative, persuasive or informative essay depending on the writing prompt presented on the exam.  The long composition requires a big invest in time from our fourth graders.  Teachers and staff have worked diligently to prepare students for this assessment.

This change will result in an additional change to the previous MCAS Administration Schedule.  The Grade 5 ELA MCAS Session 1 which was scheduled for March 25th will now be administered on Friday, March 22nd.

Parents can help in many ways to prepare their children for not only the long composition but other MCAS Exams by being present in school everyday unless they are sick.  Also, arriving at school on time reduces stress and gives students an opportunity to connect with their friends and teacher prior to instruction and testing.  A good night sleep is also critical to not only success on MCAS but, a typical school day.  Most pediatricians recommend between 10-12 hours of sleep per day for 3-6 year olds and 10 to 11 hours per day for 7-12 year olds.  In addition, providing children with time to play and a healthy diet are also fundamental to success.

Several students find that MCAS testing requires a substantial amount of energy and they are usually hungrier than on a typical school day.  Parents might want to consider sending in an additional snack on a MCAS testing day.  

Best of luck to everyone with the weather tomorrow!  

School Connect App Going Live Monday!!!

We are excited to offer a new way for Burlington families and staff to get updates from Burlington Public Schools! The School Connect App will go live on Monday and it will allow users to get updates on school closings and other important news sent directly to their smart devices.

In addition, there is a web-based service that also allows for users to get the same information. As we move forward, this will also allow individual schools, individual teachers, and clubs and activities to send out updates to interested parties.

Please feel free to see the brief video on how to get the School Connect App (Video on School Connect). 

Remember that Burlington will not be live until Monday, so you will not see it as an option until then. 

(Blog post content forwarded from Learning In Burlington Blog Thursday, March 14, 2013) 

Message from Cub Scouts Pack 105

Pack 105 Den 2 Wolf Cub Scouts

Project Smile community service project.  Stuffed animal donations.  Collection dates March 25 - April 5.  The donations will be given to local police and fire departments to give out to traumatized children.  Collection boxes will be located in the school lobby.  For stuffed toy donation guidelines go towww.projectsmile.org/drop.htm.

BHS Musicals

Hi all, this is the 50^th anniversary of BHS musicals. There will be a reunion and reception following the performance on the 22^nd and they're trying to reach as many of the former cast and crew members as we can. 

Please post the announcement below in your bulletin and on the school websites.

50^th anniversary of BHS Musicals is looking for alums from past 50 years. Join past cast/crew members immediately following March 22^nd performance of Hairspray at a reunion/reception in the lobby of BHS. Former directors will be in attendance, too! For show tickets:www.BurlingtonTickets.com or 781-A-FUN-TIC.

Harlem Superstars

NEW Harlem Superstars Flyer 2013 (2) by jlyons863

Hair Spray

Today students from Burlington High School who are in the cast of Hair Spray visited Pine Glen Elementary School.   The actors performed some of the songs from the play.  Many former Pine Glen Students were in the cast.  After the performance, some of the cast said hello to former teachers, siblings, and in one case a proud parent.  The students and staff greatly enjoyed the performance!

 

Favorite Book Character Day

Today Harry Potter showed up for school instead of Mr. Lyons.  Several book characters  also showed up instead of students and teachers.

Bookapalooza Extended!

posted by the Library & Technology Center

Bookapalooza Events Rescheduled!

Monday, March 11 

"Dress Up As Your Favorite Book Character" Day

It must be a BOOK character. 

Characters from TV shows or movies don't count unless it was a book first!

Costumes should be appropriate for school; no weapons, swords, sticks, etc.

Costumes should not get in the way of learning.

Students can still bring their change in on Monday for the 

"Make a Change with Your Change" Fundraiser.

Buddy Reading

Mrs. Cunha and Ms. Smith are looking on as third grade students read with first grade students. Buddy reading is a best practice to promote literacy.

Math Guests

Math Visit

Library

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the MSLA (Massachusetts School Library Association) Conference. I watched our own Instructional Technology Specialist, Dan Callahan and Library Media Specialist, Laura D'Elia do a presentation talking about our Library and Technology Center, our 1:1 4th and 5th Grade iPad initiative, and student progress at Pine Glen Elementary School.

Dennis Villano, Burlington Director of Technology Integration and I were asked to be on a panel discussion for the conference titled "Why Invest In Your School Library."

We are so fortunate to have a full time librarian at Pine Glen. A library media specialist is key to matching nonfiction books for students to read to the Common Core Curriculum. Also, with so many digital sources to gather information a library media specialist is vital to help guide students in doing research and being good digital citizens in our community.

Burlington PAC

Dear Friends,
The Burlington PAC would like to invite everyone to our annual Basic Rights presentation. Monday March 4 at 7:00 P.M. in the School Committee Room at Burlington High School. The room will open at 6:30 to allow parents to network, Maureen Ryan will present for the Federation for Children with Special Needs. Here is a little more information from the Federation:
 Basic Rights in Special Education: This workshop provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Massachusetts Special Education Law and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It is designed to help parents learn how to be effective partners with their child’s school to decide the child’s eligibility for special education, and to plan, make decisions and monitor their child’s progress in school.
 For more information on this event or the Burlington PAC please contact Dennis McCarron atdandmmccarron@hotmail.com or 781-273-5663 or Lisa DeRosa at lmderosa@yahoo.com or 781-365-0124.

   Sincerely,
Dennis McCarron, Chairman Burlington PAC

BBSA Registration

The BBSA registration date is quickly approaching.  To avoid a late fee, please register your child for baseball or softball by midnight on March 4th.  We are still looking for managers and coaches at all levels.

You can register your child at bbsaonline.org

If you have any questions, please contact Laura Vittum, BBSA Secretary at vitt_maple@mac.com

Thank you all in advance!!

Laura

Dr. Seuss

Today at Pine Glen Mrs. Salvador, our Reading Specialist, mysteriously disappeared and the Cat in the Hat read to first grade.

Also noticeable today was Mr. Lyons wearing his Dr. Seuss tie, our friends from the Bridges Program coming in to read books written by Dr. Seuss, and the cafe serving green eggs and ham.

Why did this all happen? It was to recognize Theodor Geisel's (AKA Dr. Seuss) birthday which is March 2 (Saturday) but was celebrated today by Pine Glen and schools across our country.