Pumpkin Fair

FANTASTIC PUMPKIN FAIR ... Friday night, October 19, 2012, from 6-9 pm at the Fox Hill School. Come join in the fun of our annual fall tradition. Great games, fall crafts, fabulous prizes and a few good scares. The ever popular Haunted Hallway will be sure to fright, along with many old favorites: Moon Bounce, Cake Walk, Pumpkin Painting, Spin Art, Face Painting, Duck Pond, Pizza, Hot dogs, Cupcake Decorating, Popcorn, Cotton Candy, Raffles, plus lots more games and activities. Admission is free; tickets for each activity/game can be purchased at the door. Open to the public. For additional information, contact Julie Quinn at quinns@rcn.com.

BHS Boosters Club

CRAFT FAIR Press Release

The Burlington High School Athletic Boosters Club will host their annual Craft Fair, Saturday, October 20th.  The fair will be at the BHS cafeterias from 10 - 3. 

This year, 100 crafters will offer lovely jewelry, holiday items, doll clothes, home decorations, cards, books, and more.  Our new cafe section will feature unique sauces, jellies, chocolates, and other gourmet items.  Our bake sale table will feature delicious snacks.  Enter the HUGE raffle including a wide variety of our crafters creations.  Enjoy lunch at our concession stand and dining area.  Visitors are encourage to park in the Student Lot and ride the shuttle to the cafeteria-entrance.

Admission is only $2, and includes a FREE raffle ticket.  This event is a major fundraiser to help our club support all of the BHS sports teams.

Common Core

On my Blog in the lower right hand corner under the category Favorite Links and Great Parent Resources is a link to the Common Core.   Forty five states and three U.S. territories have adopted the Common Core Curriculum.   Massachusetts was one of the states that adopted the Common Core.  

The Progress Reports sent home last year in our pilot year and being sent home this year again to parents are aligned with the National Common Core Curriculum.   The Common Core Standards outline knowledge and skills that students will learn in school.  

Note from PAC

Dear Burlington Parents and school staff,
 The PAC meeting scheduled for Monday October 1 at 6:30 has been moved once again. Thanks to the cooperation of the PTO Chairs, we now have the use of the School Committee Room at Burlington High School. I sincerely apologize for the confusion. So, here we go, for anyone interested in special education in Burlington, the Burlington PAC is holding a meet and greet with Louise D'Amato and staff members. This will be Monday October 1, 2012 in the School Committee Room at Burlington High School. The room opens at 6:30 P.M. for social networking for parents with the meeting beginning at 7:00 P.M.
 For more information on the Burlington PAC or this location contact Dennis McCarron atdandmmccarron@hotmail.com or via phone at 781-273-5663.

Music

Today I saw our music teacher Mrs. Agati instructing first grade students about rhythm.

Art Class

Today I saw fifth graders in Ms. Fallon's Art Class learning about the artist Andy Warhol.

Notice from PAC

Dear Burlington Parents,
 Are you wondering what services are available to help your child succeed in school? Would you like to meet the new Director of Special Education in town as well as the staff who work with your children? Come out on Monday evening October 1, 2012 at 6:30 P.M to the Burlington High School Lower Library. This is a change in location due to a scheduling conflict.
 The Burlington PAC is hosting a meet and greet event to introduce Louise D'Amato our new Director of Special Education. Ms. D'Amato will present staff members and will be able to address questions about Burlington's Special Education programs.
 For more information about this event or any other PAC sponsored events, or questions about how to advocate on your child's behalf, please contact Dennis McCarron atdandmmccarron@hotmail.com or at 781-273-5663.

PAC Meeting

When: Monday, October 1^st

^{Time: 7 to 9}

Where: School Committee Room (Burlington High School)

What: Meet and Greet Special Education staff

Come meet Louise D’Amato, our new special Education Director!

This year brings many changes to the Burlington special education staff.  Louise, along with Team Chairs from each schools will discuss the various special education programs available in Burlington.

Please join us for this informative meeting.

New Resource TumbleBook

During my walk through I saw Mrs Hayes showing her first graders a new resource we have added called TumbleBook.  Please feel free to learn more about at TumbleBook at this link TumbleBook Library.  The Pine Glen Library and Technology Center link, Library and Technology Center (LTC), also has more information on other great resources for students at Pine Glen Elementary School.

Area

Today when I stopped by Ms. Marcus room I saw students learning about the math concept area. Mr. Musselman, our science specialist, from the Burlington Science Center, was assisting as the students were doing hands on experiments to grasp the concept of area.

5th Grade

Mrs. Fitzpatrick was teaching her fifth grade students about rounding and place value on the day I walked through her room.

Back to School Night for Grown-Ups

Back to School Night for Grown-Ups is scheduled for this Thursday, September 27th from 6:00 to 7:30.  The night will begin in the cafeteria at 6:00 with opening remarks from the principal.  At 6:10 we are going to ask 4th and 5th grade parents to stay for a quick presentation.  We will leave the back doors of the cafeteria open to parents in order that they can enter and exit the building through the cafe.  At 6:10 parents are free to proceed to classrooms.  We will continue to have two informational sessions.  The first session will be held from 6:20-6:50.  The second session will run from 7:00-7:30.   Parents are welcome to attend either session.

This is a great evening when teachers and parents can discuss expectations, curriculum, classroom procedures and establish a partnerships between home and school.   We regret that we are unable to provide child care.  We appreciate parents making arrangements with their children in order to attend this important evening.

One of My New Favorite Apps

One of my new favorite apps for the iPad and for my iPhone is Star Walk.  This app is a Parent's Choice Gold Award Winner, 2012 Webbie Award Nominee, and winner of the Apple Design Award for 2012.  Mr. Musselman, our science specialist, from the Burlington Science Center introduced me to it this summer as the two of us were talking about our love of astronomy.   When I was teaching fifth grade, one of my favorite units to teach was the solar system.   The touch-screen control on it allows the viewer to identify constellations, planets and stars.   My daughters (now in third grade and preschool) greatly enjoyed using this app during the summer to learn the names objects in the night sky.    

Music Class

In this picture, Mrs. Agati, our music teacher, is instructing fifth grade students in reading music and playing instruments.

Kindergarten

In this picture, Mrs. Parnell is working with her kindergarten students.

Reading Specialist

Mrs. Salvador, our Pine Glen Reading Specialist, takes a very active role with students.  Also visible in this picture is one of the new iPad Cases being piloted with first grade.

Guided Reading

Ms. Parziale, an RTI Tutor, is instructing first grade students in a guided reading lesson. RTI tutors greatly help provide more opportunities to have small group instruction.

iMovie

Mrs. Finn's classroom is using the app iMovie as an engaging tool. This is very different from when I was in school and we used poster board for our presentations.

Camp Bournedale

Attention Fifth Grade Families!

The NEW Camp Bournedale dates have been chosen.

Pine Glen and Francis Wyman students will be going on

Wednesday November 14 - Thursday November 15

•         If your child was already signed-up you will NOT need to sign up again.

•         If your child WILL NOT be attending the rescheduled trip please contact Mrs. Fitzpatrick ASAP.  You will be able to receive a refund.

•      All chaperones were already chosen. If chosen chaperones cannot attend this rescheduled trip please let Mrs. Fitzpatrick know ASAP.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding throughout this process. Please contact Mrs. Fitzpatrick by email with any questions or concerns.

      

                                        Mrs. Fitzpatrick and the 5th grade team

                                        Pine Glen School

                                        dfitzpatrick@bpsk12.org

P.S - All cabins are heated!!!

Handwriting Instruction

I was in Ms. Smith's first grade classroom this morning. I witnessed Ms. Smith using the interactive white board as a tool to demonstrate proper technique for handwriting.