Note from BHS Music Boosters

The BHS Music Boosters will present their annual Gala Benefit Concert and Silent Auction featuring The New England Tenors and showcasing performances by BHS musical alumni on Saturday, November 5, at 7:30 pm in the Fogelberg Performing Arts Center at the high school. Tix are $10 for students/sr citizens, $15 for adults. Visit www.burlingtontickets.org. Info: 781-A-FUN-TIC.

Note from BEF

The Big Top! Trivia, costumes, friends and laughter! Running, jogging, walking! Web site design! Event planning! Writing! If you enjoy any of these things, this could be your year!! Come discover what you can do with the BEF. Join our next meeting Monday, November 9, 2011, at 7PM in the BHS Lower Library or contact us at any time. We cherish your unique ideas, talents, contributions, and capable hands! No need to RSVP. Just show up! Check us out at www.burlingtonedfoundation.org or contact Paula Boermeester at 617-974-1110 or paulaboermeester@comcast.net.

Note from Fox Hill PTO

SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA ’11 – Fox Hill’s annual shopping event is Thursday, November 3, 6 – 9 pm at Fox Hill School, Fox Hill Road, Burlington, MA. Over 40 vendors including ornaments, crafts, jewelry, toys, hair accessories, children’s gifts, candles, food and accessories, and more. Bring in your broken, old jewelry and get a check on the spot. Gold is at an all time high, come cash it in! Join us to conquer some of your holiday shopping. Here’s your chance to get out and browse, find some fabulous gifts, enjoy some fun company and support the students of Fox Hill. Great raffle table and light refreshments also. Admission is free and open to the public. Vendor spaces still available. For more information, contact Julie Quinn at quinns@rcn.com or go to www.foxhillpto.org

Note from BEF

THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN! Save the date! BEF is hosting Cirque Du Jour on Saturday, November 19, 2011. Three show times: 11, 1:30 and 4. Entertainment for all. Former Ringling Bros. performers, BMX bike team, acrobats and more. Tickets are $10 each, or a 4-pack for $30. Purchase at TIX.com. Stay tuned for more details! SAVE THE DATE!

Note from Burlington Fire Department

The Burlington Fire Department will be hosting an Open House on Saturday, October 29th, from 11am-2pm at Burlington Fire Headquarters, scheduled activities include:

Interactive hose stream demonstrations

Vehicle extrication

Search and Rescue exercises

Interactive demonstrations using our "Hazard House"

Blood pressure screenings

Stop by with the entire family to meet the firefighters and learn more about your local fire department.

Mass. may opt out of No Child Left Behind law – Boston.com

The link (Boston.com) below is to a recent article talking about Massachusetts seeking a waiver from No Child Left Behind.

Boston.com

Join the Pine Glen Library Birthday Book Club!

“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” –Marcel Proust

I am happy to introduce you to the Pine Glen Birthday Book Club, a wonderful way to celebrate our students and their enjoyment of reading. Your participation not only enriches the Library, but also allows you to be personally involved in its growth.

If you would like to contribute to the Birthday Book Club, a donation amount of $15.00 is greatly appreciated. Please complete and return the application below to the Library along with your check payable to Pine Glen LTC. Your child will be invited to the Library to select a book from the new acquisitions. A special bookplate with your child’s name and your name(s) as the donor will be placed inside the front cover. Your child’s photo with the birthday book will be added to the Birthday Book Club Wall outside the Library and on the Pine Glen Library & Technology Center web site (unless Pine Glen has on record that you do not wish for us to publicly use your child’s image.)

When you join the Birthday Book Club, your child will:

• receive a birthday bookmark from the Librarian 
• be recognized as the donor of the chosen book with a commemorative bookplate 
• be the first to check out the new book 

Thank you for your support! Birthday Book Club Revised

Food Allergy Awareness Team Of Burlington

Does your child have food allergies? Get informed & be aware! Meet with other parents who share your concerns. Join the Food Allergy Awareness Team of Burlington on Wednesday November 2nd at 7pm. The meeting will be held at the Burlington Fire Department. Please email Lisa Hovasse at faatob@gmail.com with any questions.

Treats for Troops

Pine Glen School is once again joining other Burlington schools in collecting Halloween Candy for our troops overseas. Over the last few years we have been able to send over 4000lbs of candy to troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Please join in again and donate some of your Halloween candy or pick up and extra bag at the store and help us send a little Halloween cheer overseas! Soldiers love getting cards and letters from kids back home. If you would like to send a special message to a soldier overseas, please put your letter in the Orange Collection box along with your candy and we will make sure it gets to a soldier! If you know of a soldier stationed overseas who would like to receive a box, please email their info to treatsforourtroops@gmail.com Thank you!

Note from BECC

Burlington Early Childhood Center

The Burlington Public Schools is opening a new preschool classroom.

Where: The program is located around the back of Burlington High School

When: The classroom will open on Monday November 8^th 2011.

Days: The program will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Time: 8:30 to 11:30

Cost: The cost is $232.00 per month.

For more information please feel free to contact Louise D’Amato, program director, at 781-273-7632 or d’amato@bpsk12.org

For more information visit us our web site at:

www.burlington.mec.edu scroll down to integrated preschool and read our FAQ’s or frequently asked questions, http://www.burlington.mec.edu/ips/commonquestionsfaq.pdf

Principal Notes: Universal Screen

As a mentioned at Back to School Night early this fall we will continue to use a universal screen at Pine Glen School. The universal screen we are using is iReady (http://www.i-ready.com/product.asp). Last week on Thursday staff were trained in not only using the iReady diagnostic screen but the math and literacy intervention tools that come with it as well.

The purpose of doing a diagnostic universal screen is to assess individual student‘s skills across multiple grade levels. I often think of this like taking 303 student’s temperatures at the same time.

We use a universal screen for the reason that reading for meaning is the most complex of tasks we do. It is not just a natural process. If a child never had lessons in talking, he or she will still learn to talk from exposure to other adults and children in particular. However, if a child just picked up a book and saw others reading he or she wouldn’t learn.

What makes reading so challenging is that it is based on six specific skills working in conjunction with each other. Those skills areas are the building blocks of successful reading.The six skill areas are comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonics, phonemic awareness, and oral language.

(Graphic courtesy of Sally Grimes.)

Typically if a student is having difficulty with reading it can be the result of a need for additional exposure to more instruction in one or more of these skill areas. These skill areas have a direct link to particular parts of the brain.

Language-Processing Areas of the Brain

(Graphic courtesy of Sally Grimes.)

An added benefit of iReady is that is comes with an instructional intervention tool that works to address the areas that need additional instruction and progress monitors the student’s performance.

We will be administering the iReady Diagnostic Screen in the next couple of weeks. Pine Glen is so fortunate to have such great products like iReady. I wish to thank the School Committee and the people of Burlington for their continued support in providing top quality assessment tools, instructional materials, and the technology to utilize these tools.

Note from PTO

DOUBLE OUR POINTS!!!

My Coke Rewards will match every point you donate to our school from

October 18th - 20th!

That means, the more points you donate in these three days, the more points our school can earn - and we can get rewards like sports equipment, art supplies, educational tools and more even faster.

Send in bottle caps or donate points directly by logging onto www.mycokerewards.com. Products include: Dasani Water, Powerade, Minute Maid Orange Juice, Nestea, Coke-brand sodas and more. By entering codes found under caps or inside carton boxes, Pine Glen will redeem points for art supplies. You may send in the caps/carton codes to school or log on yourself and enter the codes. Simply log onto the website, click right-hand tab "Donate to Your School", enter 01803 zip code, tab down to "Pine Glen", register and enter codes. Contact Laura Kaye at LLKayenc@yahoo.com with any questions.

Truancy Letter to Parents 2011

Truancy Letter to Parents 2011 - Flattened

Note from PTO

The Burlington Food Pantry has notified us that their shelves are bare.

The Pantry is in need of shelf stable milk, tuna in water, peanut butter, brownie mix, canned vegetables, bottled juice, spaghetti sauce, and instant oatmeal. Drop off items to the donation bin in the Pine Glen School lobby. Donations go to the Burlington People Helping People Pantry which serves people weekly. Food is distributed to the elderly, the handicapped and economic struggling families. Please consider helping out this great community organization.

Box Tops

We are collecting all box tops for the fall drive. Please send in all your box tops by next Friday, Oct. 14th. We are looking forward to new books for the library this fall. Thank you for your support.

Note From PTO

Hi Members,

The Pine Glen PTO membership list is being updated. If you haven't done so already, please send in your dues by Friday so you will continue to receive email updates and membership perks including a copy of the student directory and new school magnet.

Also, the Genevieve Fall Fundraiser has been extended through the Columbus Day weekend. Please send in your order form and payment by October 11th so items can be delivered before Veteran's Day. If you do not wish to participate in the catalog fundraiser but would rather make a donation, please make checks payable to the Pine Glen PTO.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

The Pine Glen PTO Board

NOTE FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE and Principal on Head Lice

There has been a positive case of head lice identified at school today. Please check your child for head lice as a precautionary measure. One of the most common signs of head lice is itching. Lice are transmitted through close contact with another infected person or through shared combs, hats, and other personal items.

Please call me Mrs. Ferrick at 781-270-1713, if you do find head lice on your child and/or if you have any questions. Also, please remind your child not to share Halloween costumes, especially masks and hats--prevention of head lice is the best approach to eliminating them.

Burlington Public Schools Head Lice Protocol is posted below and it can also be located under the Burlington Public Schools website www.burlington.mec.edu -- go to Pupil Services.

Burlington Public Schools

No-Nit Pediculosis

(Head Lice Protocol)

The School Nurses will:

• inform parents of students in the same classroom of a positive pediculosis case, when there are 2 or more cases of head lice in the student's classroom.

• inspect the heads of students in a classroom that has 2 or more identified cases of head lice.

• notify the parent/guardian once a student has been identified as having an active infestation of head lice at school.

• give parents/guardians information regarding standard treatment and follow-up procedures and encourage parents to contact their physician/pharmacist for further questions or information. The parent should pick the student up from school to allow the school nurse to show the parent the evidence of infestation, and at the same time, provide assurance and guidance. The student will be dismissed from school.

• identify siblings attending other Burlington Schools, and immediately notify that School Nurse to asses those siblings for head lice. Also, if a student is positive with a case of pediculosis, any after school programs they attend will be notified.

• follow-up the day after treatment by checking the student's head to assure that proper practices were used for treatment of head lice in the presence of the parent. The parent brings the student to school to meet with the school nurse for the follow-up evaluation. If it is determined that the child still has an active infestation, the school nurse will dismiss the student from school.

• provide additional instruction to the parent on standard head lice management, treatment, and follow-up. Continued follow-up and assurance will be given to the family.

• provide privacy and confidentiality when dealing with head lice issues.

Click here for up-to-date information in the control of head lice http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/factsheets/head_lice.pdf.

A recent article in Medical News Today Dermatology News, “What Are Head Lice? What Are Nits?” shares some good information on this topic. The article can be found at the following web page:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164492.php

Note from PTO

Hi Members,

The Ice Cream Social/ Game Night held last Thursday was a big success again. All the children and their families seemed to enjoy their sundaes or Italian Ice while they played board games and socialized.

We would like to thank the volunteers who helped serve the ice cream and Joanna DeFrancesco for chairing this event. It was a team effort and couldn't have taken place without the many volunteers. Also, this was the first time an online registration was used to help determine possible attendance for planning purposes. We plan to use this again so stay tuned.

We would like to congratulate Dori Boodakian, Marie Grinnell, and Rajesh Patel for winning VIP seating to a Pine Glen event. Their names were drawn during the Ice Cream Social from the many who submitted their PTO Volunteer Forms by September 23rd. Thank you to everyone for completing the volunteer forms and for helping the PTO accomplish its mission.

The next PTO event will be the annual Halloween Dance scheduled for Saturday, October 29th from 6-8 p.m. Children and their families are invited to dress in costume and enjoy games, the Haunted House, and music with DJ Jack Ferren.

Our next PTO meeting will be held Thursday, November 3rd at 7 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

Maria Woods and the Pine Glen PTO Board

Note from BEF

Building Exciting Friendships. Blending Expert Faculties. Beautifying Existing Fundamentals. Blissful Entertaining Forums. Benefiting from the Experience of a Few. Blossoming Every Fall. Budding Eager Forethoughts. Any way you look at it, this is theBEF. Burlington Education Foundation. We’re more than just volunteers for a great cause. Come and see what we’re all about at our next meeting on Monday, October 17 at 7pm in the BHS Lower Library. You just might Bond with us Energetic Folks.

Principal Notes: Dancing in Class a.k.a Motoric Memory

This past summer my family took a week long vacation to Cape Cod. One of the highlights of the vacation was my daughter learning to ride her bike without training wheels. The first day we attempted it was at sunrise with the long even parking lot lightly populated by a few people going for a morning run or walk. While my daughter was practicing a nice older couple stopped, and the gentlemen told my daughter, “This might be hard at first but the great thing is that you will never forget learning how to ride a bike - even when you get to my age!” I could see the joy in their eyes as they were recalling teaching their own children.

Brain research has shown us in recent years that taking in information through motor or touch sense is one of the best ways to store information in our long and short term memory. This is why if you learned to ride a bike when you were young you could still get on a bike after years of not riding and know what to do.

This instructional practice is frequently called dancing or getting up and moving around by students. It is also utilized greatly by the Fundations (http://www.fundations.com) Phonics program which is incorporated in grades kindergarten through third. On my recent walk-thorugh I happened to catch two teachers using this well researched pedagogical practice. Below are pictures of Mrs. Babajtis’ kindergarten class using motoric memory to learn and retain in their long term memory vowel and consonant sounds. Also featured below is Mrs. Gover’s class likewise using motoric memory to learn how to find range and other related math vocabulary and processes.

An additional benefit that is evident to the viewer in these pictures is that the students are having fun. My daughter had a heightened sense of independence from riding her bike just like the students in the pictures have more confidence with letters and math. It is so exciting to see students having fun and learning particularly as they are beginning their journey to become life long learners.

School Pictures

School Pictures will be taken on Thursday October 13, 2011. Order forms for pictures will be going home this week.