Dear Families,

It was great to see so many of you on Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID).  You are welcome at Burns Park every day of the year!  Whenever you come to visit, just sign in at the office and get a visitor’s pass.

 A special thanks goes to the PTO for providing coffee and snacks and sponsoring the assembly by Gemini.  We hope that during your visit you all were able to see the terrific focus and effort shown by our children.  We are so proud of them all.   

University Musical Society - School of the Year Award

UMS is honoring Burns Park with the 2010 UMS “School of the Year” award!  They give this award each year to a school that has not only demonstrated a commitment to UMS K-12 programs, but to making arts education a priority for all children that come through its doors.  This award recognizes that Burns Park demonstrates this commitment, through not only its participation in UMS programs (with special thanks to Cynthia Page Bogen for her long standing participation and advocacy), but the entire school’s commitment to celebrating the arts and cultures of the world throughout curricular and extracurricular efforts … valuing the impact that the arts has on the holistic development of our students!

The award will be formally announced at the Ann Arbor Board of Education Meeting on March 10th, where UMS will thank the students, staff, admin and parents of Burns Park for their commitment to Arts Education.  You are welcome to join me.  The board meets in the downtown library.  The formal presentation of the UMS School of the Year Award will be held at the Ford Honors Program on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Michigan League.

March Is Reading Month

“March Is Reading Month” is in progress.  Ms. Erdstein and the Friends of the Library volunteers kicked it off with a great program that introduced our students to this year’s theme “Reading is Magic”.  

School Messenger

             I’m excited to tell you about School Messenger.  The district is rolling out School Messenger as I write.  We still have much to learn about it, but it is a system that allows the school to communicate with each of you via, phone, text and/or email.  We’ve been fortunate that our PTO has provided a way to communicate by email, but this technology will make even that effort much easier to get up and running.  It is a computerized program that links our school’s database of students phone numbers and emails to a mass communication system.  In order to make sure you receive the communication that comes from this tool, you’ll need to make sure that your contact information on your child’s emergency card is always kept up-to-date.  Just call the office when ever you need to up-date this information.

Lice

            Anytime children come together cases of head lice can occur.  Our school has not seen any more cases of head lice this year than it has in the previous five years.  Yet, I know when it happens to your family it feels like it.   Debita Graham our school nurse has included some information about head lice in this newsletter.  I encourage you to read it.  Although we can’t eliminate lice infestations anymore than we can wipe out the mosquito population, if we work together we can reduce the occurrence.  Thanks for keeping a close eye on your child.

SIT

Our School Improvement team and the staff have completed the Ed Yes and School Improvement Framework Action Portfolio.  A copy is available in the office if you would like to view it.

No School Monday March 8^th

Remember that Monday, March 8^th there will be no school for students.  Teachers will be busy writing student report letters on that day.

Report Letters

            Report Letters will be sent home with students on Monday, March 15^th.  Although we do not automatically schedule Parent/Teacher conferences with this reporting period, we welcome hearing from you.  If you have any questions or would like to meet with your child’s teacher, please call. We will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Not planning to return to Burns Park in the fall?

If you know that your child(ren) will not be attending Burns Park next fall, please let the office know as soon as possible. This information will be very useful as we project our enrollment for the fall.

Class Placements for 2010-2011

It is once again the time of year that we begin to determine class placements for students returning in the fall.  Our goal is to bring staff and students together in such a way that student achievement can be the focus of every classroom. 

The staff spends considerable time building classrooms that reflect a variety of abilities and personalities. As we place students, we take the following factors into consideration: gender, race/ethnicity, academic achievement strengths, group dynamics, social/emotional issues, and learning styles.

Most parents feel comfortable leaving the class placement of their children up to the judgment of the Burns Park staff.   Parents with specific concerns regarding placement should put them in writing and get them to me by Monday,  May 3rd. We carefully consider all information parents share, including interests, friendships, energy, learning styles, etc.   We will use this information, along with what we already know, to help us develop well-rounded classrooms for all students.  It is our goal to make good placements for all of the children and to include parental input in the process.  Please understand that parental requests for a specific teacher cannot be guaranteed but will be carefully considered as part of the process that builds an optimal learning environment for every child. 

Sorry, No Space Available Transfers

            Our school enrollment is again at its maximum so, Burns Park will not be a Space Available school.  That means that we cannot accept students that live within the Ann Arbor district, but not within the Burns Park attendance area.

Fondly,

Kathy