Volunteer Opportunities
To Fit Any Schedule
Volunteering with the Burr PTO is an important way to support your child's educational experience and become an active part of the Burr community. If you've never volunteered before, please commit to doing your part this year to support the Burr School staff, students and community! No experience is necessary for ANY of our volunteer teams!
Whether you only have an hour or two to spare on a random Saturday or want to be involved on a more regular basis, we have volunteer opportunities to fit any schedule. Please click the blue button below to learn more about all of the volunteer opportunities at Burr, or click the green button to view available roles and sign up!
VOLUNTEER-RUN
PTO EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
Creative Arts & Sciences
Committee
Creative Arts & Sciences works with Burr staff to bring fun, educational, and inspirational programs to Burr. These curriculum-aligned programs include scientists, authors, engineers, artists, dancers, and even live animals and provide a real-life extension of what kids are learning in the classroom.
Each year, we bring in three programs for each grade, plus a school-wide concert. Kindergarteners take an imaginary trip to the beach and hold starfish, second graders receive writing tips from New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Brian Lies, and fifth graders learn mathematical concepts from internationally renowned origami master Michael LaFosse.
Come to a presentation and witness the magic yourself. Parents are always welcome.
May Fair
The May Fair started in the 60’s as a community building event led by some dedicated parents. Back then, it was a swap meet with simple games and a BBQ. The tradition lives on each year, but nowadays we bring in food trucks, bounce houses and dunk machines to round out the fun. It is one of the biggest and most anticipated community events of the year at Burr School.
Burr Boo Fest
From the Haunted Hallway and the Mad Scientist's Lab to the Witch's Corner and the costume parade, the Halloween Family Fun Night is a Burr favorite among students and families alike.
World Cultures Festival /
International Potluck Dinner
A beloved Burr school tradition that is such an extravaganza that we only hold it once every two years! Burr school families will work together to transform our school into a bustling international festival. Burr has so much cultural pride and diversity – in past years, we’ve had 25-30 different countries represented at the event!
The World Cultures Festival alternates years with an International Potluck Dinner. At the Potluck Dinner families bring amazing home-cooked (and store-bought!) food to share, while enjoying games from around the world, making crafts, watching international film clips, and dancing to world music tunes!
Other Important PTO Events and Programs:
Room Parents
Back to School Picnic
Book Fair
Book Swap
Safe Routes to School
Room Parents
Pie Sale
Burr Buzz/PTO Website (communications)
Playground
Safe Routes
Green Team
Move-A-Thon
Commemorative Bricks
DONATE
MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT BURR STUDENTS
Every child in every grade benefits
from PTO programs and funds
The Wolf Fund
The Burr Wolf Fund is the PTO’s annual fundraiser that raises a significant portion of our budget and helps pay for the PTO’s two largest and most important line items: Creative Arts & Sciences and technology.
Creative Arts & Sciences (CAS) provides multiple curriculum-aligned programs at each grade level. CAS is fully funded by the PTO. The PTO purchases technology, like interactive projectors, for use in classrooms. The PTO also funds other curriculum and enrichment programs, community building events, teacher supplies, the 5th grade fund and more.
You can contribute to the Wolf Fund by sending a check (made payable to "Burr PTO") in your child’s folder or you can make an online donation by clicking the button below. .
Where does the money go?
The Burr PTO raises and distributes approximately $40,000 annually into our school. These funds provide additional educational programs, classroom technology, supplies, teacher support, and events to create a welcoming and supportive community at our school. Additionally, this year, the PTO will be allocating over $30,000 of money that was raised in previous school years for playground and technology improvements.
The Burr Wolf Fund campaign is the primary source of funds for the PTO’s annual budget, and every dollar raised through the Wolf Fund goes directly to the school. The remainder of the annual budget is fundraised through other events such as the annual online auction, book fair, picture day and indirect fundraisers like selecting Burr School PTO as your Amazon Smile organization.
The PTO fully funds the Creative Arts & Sciences program at Burr, a mandate from Newton Public Schools, which supplements the curriculum at Burr. This program enhances and enriches students’ academic experience with a variety of in-depth subjects and many interactive learning sessions. The Creative Arts & Sciences programs include opportunities like writing and illustrating stories and poems with published authors, experimenting with electromagnetism, dancing with trained performers, and holding ocean creatures. These programs are chosen with the teachers to integrate with each grade-level curriculum.
Overview of Major Expenses in 2021–2022:
Playground: Much-needed updates to the grounds are planned for Fall 2021. The timbers around the Burr playground will be replaced, and a rubberized mesh will be laid to make the playground accessible to more students. Drainage issues will be corrected, so there will be fewer puddles under the swings on rainy days. We are also looking forward to new picnic tables! These adjustments to our playground will improve access to the playground equipment for all students.
Education: There are many curriculum-enhancing programs funded by the PTO. The PTO provides funding for Creative Arts & Sciences (CAS), Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ), Understanding Our Differences, Garden Classroom, and many other educational programs. While we are still in flux for the upcoming year, we have budgeted for three CAS programs at each grade level. We are excited for these programs to begin!
Community Building: Even though we are still contending with the pandemic, we are prioritizing community for the 21–22 school year! Throughout the year, there will be opportunities to build our Burr community through events like BooFest (Halloween), World Cultures Day, and May Fair. These events may look different than in past years, depending on health and safety guidance, but we are committed to our Burr community!
Technology: Using funding from past years, the Burr PTO will make purchases to replace and upgrade older equipment used by the school administration and classroom teachers.
Teacher Supplies: Burr PTO provides each full-time classroom teacher with a $175 gift card, which enables them to purchase classroom supplies. Part-time teachers and specialists will also receive gift cards for supplies funded by the PTO.
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