Principal's Desk
Burr Elementary School
February 14, 2020
Dear Burr Families,
One Book, One School continues. I hope your child is loving the book - A Boy Called Bat. We are through chapter 10 thus far. If you could read chapters 11 and 12 with your child this weekend, that would be great! The theme of the story that we chose for our school is - You are made better by helping others. Enjoy.
Chapter 11
Apartment 2A
Bat and Janie are picked up by Dad after school to spend the weekend at Dad’s apartment.
- What did we learn about Bat’s name and nickname? What is the story of how you were named?
- How does Bat feel about weekends at Dad’s apartment?
- How does Bat’s dad try or not try to make weekends together easier for Bat and Janie?
Chapter 12
Finally
Bat is excited to get home Monday after school, but mom picks him up a little late.
Coupe p. 75, Audition p. 76, Enclosure p. 76
- How does Bat handle situations when he feels nervous or anxious? How do you?
- In what ways does Mr. Grayson help Bat in this chapter?
- Think about the chapter titles used so far. How are they helping us understand the book and the main character?
Also, send in a photograph of you and your child reading the book at home. Please send in photos to the office, and we will hang them up as part of a PTA bulletin board celebrating the book.
Have a great long weekend.
Jason
principal's coffee
Save the date: Please join me and a panel of Burr teachers for the next Principal's Coffee on Friday, February 28th at 2:30. The topic is: What every teacher wished parents knew. It will be a great opportunity to ask questions and learn insights from school.
kindness challenge
Our Kindness Challenge has begun. Please encourage your child to complete it and return it to the office by February 28th. There are directions on the top of it - which include students having their teacher or parent sign off on each challenge as they get completed. We will hold a special drawing at the end of February for students who turn in completed forms. Here is a link to the form. (Your child also brought one home in hard copy.) Kindness Challenge
Writing work
Current and Upcoming Writing Units of Study
K- Writing for Readers
1- Writing Narrative Fiction
2- Writing Narrative Nonfiction
3- Changing the World - Opinion Writing
4-Literary Essay (Argument Writing)
5- Memoir
Branches - We are looking for a parent to help us put together our Branches Literary Magazine this year. Every year, students in grades 3-5 submit a favorite piece of writing to be published in Branches. The PTA then publishes this writing as part of a school wide literary magazine that also includes art work. It is truly a gift and a wonderful showcase for our student's writing. The magazine (it's more like a book) is distributed to students and teachers in grades 3-5 in late May/June.
You do not need to be a writer or editor to help us. In fact, the skills that would be most helpful is someone strong at design and layout. We could even have some of our students work with you to help design the layout of the magazine. If you are interested, please e-mail me at jbluestein@fairfieldschools.org This is a great opportunity to support our school.
Family Handbook
I have included a link to our family handbook. It contains practical information about our school as well as links to many district resources.
Behavior handbook
Below is a link to our Behavior handbook. Please reference it for more information about our expectations for students at school.
Upcoming Dates
Friday, February 14 and Monday, February 17 - No School, President's Weekend
Friday, February 28th at 2:30 - Principal's Coffee - What Every Teacher Wished Parents Knew