Thursday, August 18, 2011

New District Domain




There will be many changes in the district this coming year. One important change is that the district moved to gmail. Our new domain name is bpsk12.org. In other words, everyone’s email address is changing from (last name)@burlington.mec.edu to (last name)@bpsk12.org. If there are two individuals with the same name, then add the first initial to the last name (ksmith)@bpsk12.org.

Preschool new email addresses:

Louise D'amato@bpsk12.org (Director)
Andrea ahayes@bpsk12.org (Friendly Frogs)
Tiffany dabbraccio@bpsk12.org (Puppy Pals)
Lisa bottigllo@bpsk12.org (Cub Cadets)
Shannon conroy@bpsk12.org (Barnyard Buddies)
Courtney stratton@bpsk12.org (Busy Bees)
Naomi abbleson@bpsk12.org (Lucky Ducks)
Heidi wall@bpsk12.org (Speech)
Jen lenoardo@bpsk12.org (Speech)
Laura impemba@bpsk12.org (OT)
Kim russell@bpsk12.org (PT)

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Transition to preschool

In the next week or so you will be receiving a letter from your child’s teacher introducing themselves and letting you know about open house on Thursday September 8th. Open house provides your child the opportunity to meet their teacher, classmates and become familiar with their new school environment. It will also provide you the opportunity to learn about what your child’s day will look like, the activities they will participate in and most importantly meet their teacher’s. The following are some suggestions to help with the transition to preschool.

Talk about it

Begin talking with your child about preschool. Share with them all of the fun things they will have the opportunity to explore. Mention several times through out the day different fun activities that they will participate in during their preschool day. For example, when you go to preschool you will paint at the easel. In preschool there will be blocks, a sensory table and a fun dramatic play area. Etc

Read books about preschool

Visit the Burlington Public Library and ask the Liberian to assist you on finding books about preschool. There are lots of different book out that share with young children what preschool is all about. Reading books about preschool will provide you with more opportunities to talk about the positive things your child will learn while at school. Reading and discussing books will also provide the opportunity for your child to ask questions. Make sure when answering questions about school you are always positive and excited for them to attend school.

Let him or her help with the shopping

Go shopping together to pick out a backpack and lunch bag. When food shopping help your child pick out nutritious snack that you will pack for them daily.

Visit the classroom

Make sure you attend open house on Thursday September 8th. This will provide your child the opportunity to become familiar with what happens in school.

Good-bye is no big deal

On your child’s first day, you will drop your child off outside with their classroom teachers. There will be tears and the initial transition into preschool can be a tricky one. Some children will cry for 2 minutes other children will cry for two weeks. This is harder on you then it is on anyone else. The preschool teachers are masters at helping children transition. As soon as the routine becomes familiar and predictable the crying stops and the smiling and learning begins.

A child’s first day of preschool is a big deal. Because it is such a huge change to their life and schedule it can be very scary for them. But by following the above tips, you will make your child’s first day of school a smooth and happy transition.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Burlington PAC

Dear Parents,
School year 2011-2012 is almost on top of us. Who is helping parents learn how to help their children who may be struggling in school or in life? When a child struggles, the whole family struggles too. The Burlington PAC can help parents learn how to advocate for their children in a positive manner with outstanding results. Simply put, the PAC wants to help you cope with difficulties by sharing our experience so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel every time there is a problem.
The Burlington Special Education Parents Advisory Council (PAC) is looking to kick off the year by building a strong membership. We look forward to continuing our work with the Burlington School Department, with whom we have built a great working relationship. The PAC, along with the Burlington schools has been successful in rebuilding the way services are provided in our town and we look forward to the continuance of this relationship.
To keep a strong PAC and to keep Burlington's educational supports moving forward, we need parents to be involved for their children. Please consider the benefit to your children of getting involved. Your involvement may be the one thing that helps your child understand themselves and learn where their talents and strengths lie so that they may build their confidence and succeed in life.

Please contact Dennis McCarron, PAC Chairman for more information and to be added to our email list. We are currently working on ideas for this year's meetings and how to build a better parent's group. Any ideas are welcome, the time commitment is minimal, the benefit to your child is tremendous.

Sincerely,
Dennis McCarron
Chairman, Burlington PAC
phone 781-273-5663