Free Flu Clinic This Saturday At Memorial School

The Burlington Board of Health will hold a public walk-in flu clinic on Saturday, October 25, 2014 from 12pm-3pm at Memorial School, 125 Winn Street, Burlington.  No appointment is necessary.  All flu vaccines are free, but if you have health insurance please bring your information.  All children and adults are eligible for free vaccine regardless of insurance status.  Children under age 18 must be accompanied by parent/guardian.  If possible, please wear a loose-fitting short sleeve shirt.

For the most current information, please call the BOH Flu Clinic Line at 781 238-5353, or visit the webpage linked here.

 

Great Opportunity For Burlington Youth Soccer Players To Connect With BHS Varsity Teams

This Sunday, 9/28 at Marshall Simonds Middle School, the Burlington High School Boys and Girls Soccer Programs will be presenting their second annual Varsity Day event.

 

This program provides Burlington Youth Soccer players the opportunity to train and be coached by our high school Varsity teams, in an attempt to build a relationship based on support, positive reinforcement, and player development. 

 

This program is free of cost and will take place at Marshall Simonds Middle School.  U8 and U10 players will participate from 1-3pm, and U12 and U14 players will be participating from 3-5pm.  This fun and informative training session will include free t-shirts, competitions, and give aways. This is a great opportunity not just for Burlington Youth Soccer, but also for our high schoolers to see the positive impact they can have on their community using athletics.

 

We hope to see you on the field on Sunday. 

Remembrance and Thanks, A 9/11 Tradition in BPS

As has been the case each year since the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the Burlington Public Schools has taken pause on 9/11 to reflect on the events of that day, to remember those who we lost, and to thank those who served and continue to do so.

One of the places in our district for which this day holds extra meaning is Pine Glen Elementary School, the school that American Airline Flight 11 pilot Thomas McGuinness attended.  We are honored annually by the presence of the McGuinness family at our Heroes Assembly at Pine Glen as well as our local first responders from the Burlington Police and Fire Department. In the video below our Pine Glen Chorus sings a special song just for our local first responders.

The following is an excerpt from Principal Sullivan’s Blog at BHS discussing 9/11.

It is tradition at Burlington High School to mark the anniversary of September 11, 2001. Time will go on for everyone who was affected by this tragedy, but we paused this morning to remember – so we never forget this horrific tragedy and the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives. Here, in our school community, we also remember several members of the Burlington Community who lost their lives on 9/11:

Robert J. Hayes
Burlington High School Class of 1981

Thomas McGuinnes
Co-Pilot of America Airlines Flight 11 and 1977 BHS graduate

Jim & Mary Trentini
Retired Burlington High School Teacher and Coach and his wife

In addition to a moment of silence and the singing of the National Anthem (video below), a vase with four roses is placed in the lobby on September 11 – it sits in front of the plaque in memory of the four members of the BHS community we lost – and will never forget.

 

Parent Technology Survey

Our Technology Advisory Committee has developed a short parent survey for parents. We would appreciate if parents took a few minutes to provide some feedback on our 1:1 Technology Initiative.  Here is the link to the survey. 

Walking Through The PARCC – Our Week One Experience

As we conclude week one of field-testing the PARCC online assessments with students across our district we would like to share some thoughts from the experience. Before getting into the actual test itself, we need to reiterate a point that we make quite often regarding our phenomenal staff and students. The professionalism of our staff and patience and determination of our students during the glitches that were encountered as we began this new process were second to none.  In addition, we are thankful for our amazingly talented IT staff which put in countless hours in the weeks leading up to testing and at the end of each day to ensure that things would go as smooth as possible for our teachers and students.

Tweet from the MA DESE regarding our efforts

In regards to how many students we tested this week, we conducted about 3,500 sessions involving over 1,800 students in grades 3 thru 7 and grades 9 and 10.  In many cases, students took multiple test sessions this week, completing two math sessions and at least one of the three ELA sessions. During this process, we had students complete PARCC field testing on iPads, Chromebooks, and in computer labs on desktop computers.

As we expected, Burlington’s technology performed extremely well. Our most common hangups were frozen screens which needed a reset of the device. In instances where there were bigger issues, we were able to get in contact with both Pearson and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and maintain an ongoing dialogue with them about issues and improvements. These conversations led to testing environments that saw far fewer technological problems with each passing day.

Tweet from Director of Technology Integration at the conclusion of week one testing.

 

PARCC field-testing will continue at most schools through next week and we will continue to provide updates as we proceed through the schedule.  Please remember that our intentions for taking on this endeavor are two-fold. First, we would like to provide our students with an online experience that will help them prepare for the future which will certainly include some form of online, high-stakes testing. Second, we are able to provide first-hand feedback to the Massachusetts DESE, PARCC, and Pearson that will help improve future versions of these assessments which will eventually be given to every student in the state.

 

MEFA’s Early College Planning Seminar for Parents March 27th

An Important Assembly for Parents Coming to BHS – Behind Closed Doors

From Principal Sullivan’s Blog at BHS

Burlington High School is happy to announce a special presentation for parents and community members:  Behind Closed Doors“Hidden in Plain Sight” Household items that transcend into every day drug use by teens.

During the Behind Closed Doors presentation, adult attendees are encouraged to explore and interact with the display designed to resemble a teenager’s bedroom.  Throughout the exhibit are items that may indicate a teen is involved in some high-risk behaviors such as substance abuse, underage drinking, eating disorders, sexual activity and more.

There will be a 60 minute presentation by Traci Wojciechoski of the Caron Treatment Centers reviewing the latest drug and alcohol trends with an overview of slang terms, highlighting the ‘synthetic highs’ that are readily available to youth.  Participants will be enlightened, educated and possibly astonished.

Behind Closed Doors“Hidden in Plain Sight”

Household items that transcend into every day drug use by teens

At Burlington High School’s Fogelberg Auditorium

April 15, 2014 6:30pm (display open at 5:30)

Guest Post on the Burlington Community Scholarship Foundation by Jack Ferren

Are you or your child entering or reentering college? Click here for information about Burlington’s Chapter of Dollars for Scholars

In 2013, the Burlington Community Scholarship Foundation (BCSF) awarded 38 scholarships to high school graduates for a total of $80,000. In addition, the Adopt-a-Class program sponsored by Northern Bank & Trust awarded 28 scholars for a total of $22,500. Finally, the BCSF also awarded 6 scholarships, totaling $12,000, to Burlington Adults who either returned or started taking college courses.

Additionally, Burlington High School awarded $ 205,000 under the BCSF umbrella for a grand total of 397 individual scholarships totaling $315,000 in 2013.  

Whether you are entering college, returning to college, or continuing in graduate school, scholarships are available to you. Help is just a click away! For further information, you can also contact me at jferren@bcsfds.org.

This Month’s Parent Technology Night – Parenting In The Digital Age

Don’t miss this great opportunity for parents to learn more about the online tools that students are using!

Twitter? Instagram? Snapchat? Vine? Parenting in the digital age brings with it many challenges. Our January Parent Tech Night will provide parents with information on the latest digital tools students may be using to connect and interact with others. Parents will walk away from this session with a better understanding of what they can do to help guide their children towards responsible digital citizenship and keep them safe online. Strategies on how to get the conversation started with students about their online activities will be provided.

Assistant Superintendent Patrick Larkin and Burlington High School Instructional Technology Specialist Jenn Scheffer will offer advice on how students can use social media to their advantage as they begin the college admission process. Mrs. Scheffer is also a former assistant director of admission. She will provide a unique insight into how colleges look at the digital behavior of our students.

Time during every Parent Tech Night session is also dedicated to technology related questions and support.

 

Parent Technology Night – Tuesday, November 5 – Foundational Apps and iOS7

The Burlington Public Schools EdTech Team will be hosting a Parent Technology Night on Tuesday, November 5 at Marshall Simonds Middle School. Please join us for information about the BPS Foundational Apps and the new iOS7 for iPads. The session will provide an opportunity to learn about the core apps that we are using in our 1:1 programs. These apps include Google Drive, Notability, Explain Everything, and Evernote. We will also provide support if you are looking for guidance using iOS7 on your own iPad or iPhone.

Time during every Parent Tech Night session is also dedicated to other technology related questions and support.