Postponed Flynn Olympics!!! Too rainy and sloppy today for field games. TOMORROW is the rain date - let's hope for sunnier skies on Tuesday... If you volunteered and can come back tomorrow, Flynn school needs you! Let Lida know at ldvorak@bsdvt.org. Free on Tuesday and can now volunteer?? Contact Lida above and she will find you a fun station to help at! Either way, wear your rain boots or wettable sandals!!!
St. Joseph's Tour Hello 3,4 and 5 Grade parents,
Many of you were able to partake in the tour of St.Joesphs that took place Wed.May 30, but for those of you who were unable to attend, here is the short and skinny: St. Joes is an absolutely beautiful school. It has great tall ceilings and wonderful woodworking throughout the building. The classrooms are all huge with tons of windows bringing in lots of natural light. Most classrooms have a nice space built in for coats and backpacks. The childcare for the 6:30 tour was in the Gym and the children seemed to love it! The cafeteria is in the lowest level of the school. It has nice brick walls and is a big space with plenty of room for everyone! It looks like a school that is straight out of a movie! Out back there is a playground, not as extensive as Flynn's but decent, and a large grassy area for playing as well. There will be another tour, potluck dinner and open house on August 27th. (all Flynn families are invited and encouraged to re-connect at St. Joes. This tour will be geared toward the children as by then they will know their teachers and will be able to see exactly where they will be. Have a great summer and we'll see you at St. Joes in the Fall:) Thanks Tammy for the blow by blow - felt like I was there!
Free Perennials During construction, all of our perennial flowers will be removed and discarded to make room for construction equipment. Feel free to pop by the school this week with pots and a shovel and pick up some plants. There are irisis and day lilies and daisies on the Starr Farm side of the school and some astilbe and bleeding hearts right out front. Let's not let these beauties go to waste! The PTO has put aside several thousand dollars from our two plant sales to help replace the landscaping once construction is complete. All we ask is that you clean up after yourself! Enjoy!
Sundae Scoopers! Sundaes for lunch is being moved to Wednesday to accommodate the Flynn Olympics. Volunteer scoopers should contact Edith Ducharme if they are not available to scoop on wednesday (educharm@bsdvt.org)
Narnia DVD's will come home with your child before the end of the week - keep an eye out in the backpack... HUGE thank you to Rich Nadworny for volunteering countless hours taping, editing, trouble-shooting and copying all the DVD's. His effort is greatly appreciated!
FREE Stuff, LOST stuff There are huge bins of lost and found clothes in the front entry, a box of items for free and unclaimed dishes in the office. If you are missing anything or just want some things new to you, COME ON IN! All unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the school year.
PTO Meeting this Thursday! Join us in the library at 6:30 to wrap up the school year. The agenda is included at the end of this post. School Board Reps from Ward 4 will be around during the last half of the meeting to hear feedback from Flynn parents concerning the June School Board meeting and vote to extend or sever the contract for Superintendent, Jeanne Collins.
Flynn Archives If you have a digital scanner, some free time and an interest in things from the past, Flynn school has an opportunity for you! There are a few boxes of old photos, yearbooks and other Flynn school memorabilia that need to be scanned/saved. Walk down memory lane aqnd see pics and info about Flynn in the past 20 years. Take you time, this project has no deadline... Intested? Contact Karen Carr and she will hook you up! kcarr@bsdvt.org
Just released Diversity Plan for BSD. Click on the link below to view the 13 page document.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=1zkZpdotE92n8w96BG98_RIzVAsQ0PblvxI0Ov71yuerNTz4o58kGRmvvm--D
OP ED by Armando Villesesca, VT Comissioner of Education-- Speaks up on the diversity and equity issues in Burlington Schools- for unknown reasons, the Burlington Free Press has not run this...
Monday May 28, 2012
Vermont is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, bringing perspectives and benefits that strengthen our state. As an immigrant resettlement destination, we are home to many people from around the world, making Vermont finally reflect the diversity found across the country.
As a refugee from another country myself, I understand well the challenges that being a new American brings to families as well as to communities and schools. Learning a new language and adapting to the social and cultural differences can be daunting to new Americans who are also often struggling financially.
Having recently visited Winooski schools I was very impressed by the dedication and efforts being made to support and educate these students. My experiences with the Burlington School District (BSD) are similar. Having visited the Integrated Arts Academy and the Sustainability Academy, I am moved by the dedication and supports made available to all students.
However, BSD has faced criticism that it has not been supportive of our new American students, and that some of these new Americans have been treated badly by the school staff and fellow students. BSD has an Equity Coordinator that works directly with the district on these issues. I know that as much as the district does to support all students, including the many programs and systems they have in place to support new American students, there is always more work to be done.
One of the issues of concern is the federal requirement that English Language Learners (ELLs) must take annual standardized content assessments before they've had a chance to develop sufficient English language proficiency. Vermont has appealed to the U.S. Department of Education to change this requirement, but without success. Although these assessments may not accurately reflect everything these students know or can do, they do serve as one source of baseline information about students' current level of functioning in English in the core academic curriculum. In the long term, districts are held accountable through these annual assessments for showing that their instructional programs help ELLs as a group to make progress in content subjects and attain proficiency.
Federal civil rights and equal access laws, policies, and court decisions also require school districts to provide ELLs with specialized language and academic support services until they have attained the level of academic English proficiency necessary to participate meaningfully in their academic courses and on content assessments. While these support services should never replace students' participation in more academically rigorous grade-level classes, these programs seek to provide ELLs with greater access to content instruction in English while they are at the same time learning a new language.
Over the years, both the Burlington and Winooski School Districts and their communities have demonstrated steadily growing recognition, support, and resource allocation for creating the kinds of extra services needed to meet the educational needs of an increasingly diverse population of students and families. The schools have faculty and staff who are dedicated to supporting all students, and continue to work with staff on becoming more culturally and ethnically sensitive. The data shows that the group of students receiving ELL services during their Burlington High School career graduate and continue their education at virtually the same rate as their peers across the state.
At the same time, the district needs to be clear that harassment will not be tolerated. All schools need to address the challenges that students bring to schools in a way that is respectful and productive. I believe the statements made by the superintendent and the way the community has come together to address concerns and supports for students is a move in the right direction.
Armando Vilaseca, Commissioner of Education, lives in Westford.
Check your Calendar...
- June 5 - Flynn Olympics - Parent help needed! e-mail Lida at ldvorak@bsdvt.org
- June 6th - Sundaes for lunch - Thanks Edith and parent scoopers!
- June 6 - 5th Grade Bridging Ceremony, 6:30 pm
- June 7 - Last PTO meeting of the School Year - 6:30 pm in the library, childcare provided. Let's wrap up the year and vote in our 2012-13 PTO Board.
- June 8 - Early Release @11:30
- June 11 - Last Day for Flynn!!!! Early release w/ parade out back at 11:30
- June 19 - Support the Burlington Schools Foundation by dining at American Flatbread. $4 from each pizza goes to the foundation and back to our schools!
- August 27 - Flynn Back to School Potluck and Tour of St. Josephs - 5:30pm at St. Joseph's school on North Street.
- August 29 - 1st Day of School!
June PTO Meeting, 6/7/12, 6:30 pm
AGENDA
- Welcome– Kate Belluche
- Thanks to departing PTO superstars: Brad, Kim, Bella…
UPDATES
- Treasurer’s report- John Boone (line item for playground help? Toys,
towards new equipment? Also Mr. Ding a Ling)
- Principal’s Corner – Graham Clarke
- Enrichment Update -Sarah Smith
- Fundraising Update- Tammy Kuypers – Spring Fest
and beyond
- School/Family Partnership Update– Shanta Eastman
- K Orientation/Lunch
- Playground Update– Mary Mitchell
- Sign-ups for 2012-13 Events
- 1st Day Coffee – Lisa T. to help coordinate – in library?
- Babysitting – guidelines for kids/sitters – vol to draft a 1 pager? – maybe it can be handed out at PTO meetings for parents to review with kids and sign? Mary?
- VOTE PTO Officers for 2012-13… President, V President/Communications, Fundraising
- Back to school potluck – August 27, 5:30
- 7:15 – Ward 4 Reps
