Burr Elementary School in Auburndale is one of fifteen public elementary schools in the City of Newton, Massachusetts.

All parents and guardians of students at Burr are members of the Burr PTO. You are invited to participate in PTO meetings and activities throughout the year. Parent involvement in the school is a fundamental part of what makes the school community at Burr rich and fulfilling.

Your volunteer time and financial support are invited and encouraged. Volunteer commitments can be as much or as little as you can manage. To see the full list of what sorts of things go on, look here. For a quick list of specific ideas of where you can lend a hand, check out the list below.

Burr Principal Update

Please welcome to our new Burr Principal, Mindy Johal, to our community!

Ms. Johal comes to us from the Wayland Public Schools where she is the Curriculum Director, K-5 English Language Arts and Social Studies. Mindy is respected by her colleagues and recognized as an outstanding and empathetic educator, a team player and a caring and thoughtful person. She has a collaborative style, cares deeply about students and has the energy, desire and commitment to provide excellent leadership to the Burr School.

Please thank your representatives to the Selection Advisory Committee (staff members David Gaita, Robin Cooley, and Kalpana Guttman and parents Marni Caputo, Junko Shibuya and Rachel Freed) who served endless hours working with our administrative team in order to find the best principal for Burr.

To recognize and thank Cindy Bencal for the leadership she has provided to Burr the past 19 years and wish her well in retirement, the Burr community will be sending her off on Friday, June 4th from 4pm to 6pm in the Burr School Garden. Contact Mary Lewis for more information.

In other principal news, Interim Superintendent Jim Marini is pleased to announce that Brian Turner has accepted the position of principal of F.A. Day Middle School beginning July 1, 2010.

Please Contribute to the Gift for Burr Campaign. . .

Make your gift to Burr today!

Click here to learn more. . .

Can you lend a hand with any of these activities!?

Library Gift Book Sale is Going on now!

At the end of the school year, many parents and students want to show their appreciation for our Burr teachers, specialists and staff members. The Library Gift Book Sale was developed to help families show their thanks while complying with the Newton Schools "No Gift" policy. This way, you and your child and help the Burr School Library and at the same time tell the Burr teachers, specialists, staff, students, class, partents or anyone what a great job they have done by participating in the Library Gift book Sale.

Please visit the cart to browse and purchase books. It will be located in front of the school before and after school during the week of May 3 thru May 7.

Or place your order on line here and drop off payments in the Library Gift Book Sale box located in the Main office.

PTO Board Nominations for 2010-2011

It's transition time on the Burr PTO board. In a couple of weeks, we'll vote in our new board for the 2010-2011 school year (please note date change to Wednesday, May 19 - hope to see you all there).

We need some fresh faces for 2010-2011! Some folks find their way onto the board because they're already heavily involved in all things at the school, but others jump in with no particular involvement whatsoever. We really need both types to make the machine run. But, it is a bit of a challenge for us to find new people because we might not know you yet! If you are interested in meeting other parents, making a statement to your kids about your investment in their school, and having FUN, we want you. Now. The board meets monthly and works closely with our principal (yes, this is a great year to join the board because you will be on the first board to work with Mindy Johal!).

Remember, ANY parent who is interested in shaping the way events are run next year at Burr is more than welcome to throw his or her hat in the ring. Let's face it, a lot of times we don't feel comfortable nominating ourselves. We really rely on the entire school community to provide us with some leads on prospects. Do you feel that there's some untapped talent lurking around? Do you know a parent with a professional skill set that seems in sync with our needs? Has your kid attended a birthday party that was well-organized by a parent and a lot of fun for the kids? Is your child on a team with a coach who is a great communicator? Let the nominating committee know and we'll follow up.

Have someone(s) in mind? If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please get in touch with members of this year's Nominating Committee (Steve DeJesus, Nancy Caulfield, or Kelly Brown) by this Friday, May 7.