Babysitting Night

Let's Talk About Cyberbullying

This post was originally posted at http://www.bpsedtech.org/2018/01/29/lets-talk-about-cyberbullying/.

In order to be proactive and because we care about our students, and want them to be safe, I will teach cyberbully lessons to fourth and fifth grade students.

I will follow the What’s Cyberbullying? lesson from Common Sense Education.

Below are the learning objectives and key vocabulary.

Students will be able to...

• empathize with the targets of cyberbullying.
• recognize some of the key similarities and differences between in-person bullying and cyberbullying.
• identify strategies for dealing responsibility with cyberbullying.

Key Vocabulary:

• cyberbullying: using the Internet or cell phones to upset someone else on purpose, often over and over again
• target: the person being cyberbullied
• empathize: to imagine the feelings that someone else is experiencing.
• bystander: someone who sees cyberbullying happening but does nothing to help
• upstander: someone who helps when they see cyberbullying occur

Students will also watch a BrainPop Cyberbullying video. (Students can access our BrainPop username and password if they’re logged onto their BPS gMail account and go to the Pine Glen Databases Google Doc found here or at www.BPSedtech.org.)

Here is a Family Tip Sheet on Cyberbullying from Common Sense Education.

This cyberbullying discussion at Pine Glen will be a continuous process; it will not end after these lessons.

Music and Ukuleles

Today during my walkthrough's I saw Mrs. Agati teaching students how to play the ukulele.

Officer Sheppard

Today during my walkthrough's I saw Officer Sheppard, our School Resource Officer, doing a lesson with fifth graders on the importance of making good choices and being good digital citizens.

Kindergarten

I had a wonderful time reading to kindergarten students in Mrs. Hoyt's classroom today.

Students of the Week

Congratulations to Frankie, Isabel, Aubrey, Zoe, Mia, and Kayleigh 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

Grade 3 Guided Reading

Today during my walkthrough's I saw Mrs. Hayes teaching a third grade guided reading group. The students were responding to what they were reading through writing.

Grade Three Math

Today during my walkthrough's I saw Ms. Kavlakian working with students in third grade on math. Ms. Kavlakian is currently working as a RTI tutor at Pine Glen.

New Staff

Daryn Starkey joined our staff today as a new permanent substitute. We are very excited to have Ms. Starkey at Pine Glen Elementary School.

BHS Student Council upcoming fundraiser

Math Night 2018

Guidlines for Sickness

Burlington Public Schools

Below please find a few guidelines for you to follow when your child becomes sick.  These guidelines can be helpful when deciding whether or not to keep your child home from school.  They have been put in place to ensure the health and well being of all Burlington students and staff.

Red Light Symptoms: Children don’t attend school!  Fever (100.0 or higher), diarrhea, vomiting, or sore throat (sore throats could be strep, which is highly contagious).  Children need to be free from these symptoms for 24 hours before returning to school.  If a child is taking an antibiotic they need to be on it for a full 24 hours before returning to school.  Also, red or pink itchy eyes with crusty and/or green/yellow drainage should be evaluated by a physician -- child may return to school the day after he/she is examined by a physician and treatment has begun.  If your child has any type of flu symptoms (fever, chills, body aches, low energy) please keep them home from school.  The nurse also has the discretion to send a student home with a rash of unknown cause that needs physician evaluation and clearance to return to school.

Yellow Light Symptoms: Children could or could not attend school; you need to use your best judgment.  If your child has cold symptoms and you feel they should go to the doctor, please keep them home from school. If your child has a runny nose that is green and thick or a severe/hacking cough, they should stay home.  If your child has a bad cold, has no energy or requires any type of medicine to get through the day, they should probably stay home.  Remember, children are not available to learn if they aren’t feeling well.

Green Light Symptoms: Children can attend school. Your child has allergies and has a clear runny nose or mild cough. Your child has been sick but is feeling better and has been fever-free for 24 hours (not taking fever-reducing medication).  If your child has been sick and has been put on an antibiotic, they must be on the antibiotic for a full 24 hours plus fever-free for 24 hours (not taking fever-reducing medication).

We request that you call your child in sick if they are going to miss school.  Please include in your message what is wrong with your child.  This is helpful for us to track different types of colds, viruses and infections going around.  If your child has had a fever or is contagious, i.e. strep, please call your Nurse’s office

       Fox Hill Elementary School

Suzy Shields, RN, BSN 781-270-1792

Absentee Line 781-273-7638

Francis Wyman Elementary School

Jennifer Hazen, RN, BSN 781-270-1702

Absentee Line 781-270-1707

Memorial Elementary School

Lynn Sakey, RN, BSN 781-270-1724

Absentee Line 781-273-7647

Pine Glen Elementary School

Joanne Ferrick, RN, BSN 781-270-1713

Absentee Line 781-273-7644

Burlington Early Childhood Center

Jessica Gearin, MEd., BSN, RN 781-273-7622

Absentee Line 781-270-1808

Marshall Simonds Middle School

Tracy Nicholas, MSN, RN 781-270-1779

Absentee Line 781-273-7657

Burlington High School

Mary Sullivan, RN, BSN 781-270-1862

Absentee Line-Freshmen and Juniors

781-270-1838
Absentee Line-Sophomores and Seniors

781-270-1839

REV 9/17 BC/CW

Meditation in the Learning Commons

This was originally posted at http://www.bpsedtech.org/2018/01/19/meditation-in-the-pine-glen-learning-commons/.

“For thousands of years people have used meditation to move beyond the mind’s stress-inducing thoughts and emotional upsets into the peace and clarity of present moment awareness.” (From this article found on the Chopra Center Website.)

Every time a class comes into the learning commons, we commence our time with meditation. The amount of time we meditate corresponds to the age of the students, as suggested by the Headspace app, which we use to guide our meditations.

After we meditate, I ask the same reflective questions: What went well? What didn’t go well? What can we do to improve?

Upon reflection of what did not go well, a kindergarten student recently said, “I have trouble stopping my mind from thinking about stuff.”

I asked her what she can do to improve this difficulty. She replied, “Practice more!”

Thank you, Melissa Parnell, for the photo!

Truancy Letter

Students of the Week

Congratulations to Luke, Jayden, Cadence, Vivianna, Ava, and Rania 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

Grade 2 English Language Arts

Today during my walkthrough's I saw Mrs. Beaulieu teaching Fundations. Fundations is a researched based, multi-sensory, structured program. It provides explicit instruction in phonics to K-3 classrooms.

Chickens in Grade 4

Mrs. Pavlicek worked with fourth graders today. Students are currently studying the lifecycle of a chicken.

January Reading Connection Newsletters

Beginning Edition

Intermediate Edition

Students of the Week

Congratulations to Charlotte, Charles, Christian, Liam, Ryan, and Megan 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

Kindergarten Information Night

Burlington Early Childhood Center

Fall Art Club Canvas Paintings in the New Learning Commons

This post was originally published at http://www.bpsedtech.org/2018/01/11/pine-glen-art-club/.

Ms. Fallon and Ms. Mills orchestrated this past fall art club. For six weeks, each fourth or fifth grade art club member painted a canvas that corresponds to a collection of books found in the Pine Glen Learning Commons. The paintings look wonderful and brighten up our new space. Please come check them out!

Physical Education

Students had a great time yesterday snowshoeing during physical education class.

Homework

There have been recent discussions surrounding the topic of homework.  The Pine Glen Handbook references homework on page 25.  The handbook states the following:  

Homework

The purpose of homework is to review and reinforce skills and lessons taught during the school day, to develop organizational skills and to develop and increase independence and responsibility.  Each teacher has created a classroom procedure that reinforces and supports a child’s ability to pass in and take down homework assignments.  

Students require parental support at home in order to be successful with homework.  It is recommended and strongly encouraged that parents identify a quiet “homework spot” supplied with student materials.  Also, setting time each day for students to complete homework has proven to be an effective strategy to ensure more success.  Often students are tired at the end of the day and require parent support and encouragement to complete homework.  Homework assignments and time may vary depending on the child’s grade level.  Generally, 10 minutes per night per grade (e.g., grade 2 = 20 minutes, grade 5 = 50 minutes) is assigned.  Any student who excessively struggles with homework for long periods of time, the parent is encouraged to call their child’s teacher.  An overview of each teacher’s expectations is given at Back to School Night in September.  Homework is an essential and important component of the educational experience and requires a strong home/school partnership in order for students to be successful.

Elementary age students brains are developing and they are beginning to learn and grasp the concept of time and planning.  Students at this age don’t have the hindsight and foresight from years of experience to draw upon when approaching tasks.   As a result, they might be inclined to procrastinate or be drawn to a more appealing or recreational item they are familiar with (i.e. playing with their toys) in lieu of homework.  Also, some students might be overwhelmed and want to stop the task altogether.  Often, helping students initiate a task or breaking down the task into smaller manageable units is key.  Choosing a public spot in the home as a place to complete homework is another useful strategy.  In addition, a monthly calendar with assignments, tests, quizzes and extracurricular activities and events ( i.e. hockey practice, dance recital) planned out or “chunked” can be very helpful in making homework less intimidating.  Please don’t be afraid to help your child.   Daily incentives or motivators sometimes help too.

Another resource that can help with homework is your child’s teacher.  In fact, one of the best sources of factual information about your child’s education and development is their classroom teacher.  If a parent has a concern with homework, please contact your child’s teacher.   Teachers do not want to see students struggling with homework and want to be made aware if this is the case.  If a student does not do his or homework, it is not an automatic disciplinary consequence.  Often if there is a problem, a teacher will contact home to communicate this observation.  It is through this home/school partnership and communication that the shared goal of students review and reinforcement of skills will be accomplished.   All school work- be it academic or social/emotional learning - is a collaborative effort amongst the teacher, parent and child.

Pine Glen School Family Math Night