Weekly Bulletin, April 15, 2015

Blizzard Bag Announcement - 

The snow is finally behind us, but as a result, Burlington Public Schools missed 5 school days. The Massachusetts Department of Education has granted permission to the Burlington Public Schools to pilot a "Blizzard Bag" program giving our students some at-home work to make up for two days of school.  As a result, the last day of school will be June 23, 2015.  Blizzard Bag homework packets went home in student backpacks this week and are due June 1.  Some grades will be completing a homework packet and others will have access to the entire assignment on-line.  The following is a letter from our Assistant Superintendent, Patrick Larkin, further explaining this pilot program.  Please call the main office or your child's teacher if you have any questions.

We are excited to have the opportunity to pilot learning projects for school day cancellations. We will be the first district in the state of Massachusetts to try this with the assigned “Blizzard Bag” work that is available on this BPS Blizzard Bag site. As with any pilot, we expect that there will be a lot of questions and that not everything will proceed exactly as planned. However, we are committed to offering multiple methods to support students so that they can complete their work successfully.

Questions will be answered live on our Blizzard Bag phone line at 1 (512) SNOWDAY (1-512-766-9329) on Tuesday, April 28 from 4-7 p.m. Voice messages and texts can also be sent to this number during the duration of the assignment and will be responded to daily. In the meantime, we have also created an e-mail address where you can send questions (blizzardbags@bpsk12.org). We will share all of the questions asked on a “Frequently Asked Questions” section that will be added on this Blizzard Bag site.

Of course, your student’s classroom teachers are also a great resource for questions and we will be adding support opportunities that are available at individual schools in the days ahead as well on the website. Teachers will be checking in with their students during the week of May 4, which is the midpoint of the projects, to make sure that students are making progress. It is our hope that at least half of the assignment will be completed at this time. If students have any questions about expectations or length of assignments, they should ask their teachers.

Our final due date for the assignments is June 1, 2015. If students complete their work prior to that date, they are welcome to turn them in early to their teachers. Since the work is meant to be substituted for two days of school, all students who do not complete the work will be marked absent for two days. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we work through this pilot. We look forward to your feedback along the way.

Please visit this site for information and details about student work that must be completed to ensure learning goals are met. Student assignments are posted by grade levels at the top of the Blizzard Bag Website. High school teachers will be giving students their assignments this week. 

Mrs. McDonald greets Kindergarten students

Calling all children entering kindergarten at Francis Wyman this fall!  Join us on Sunday, April 26th from 4 - 5pm  for a laid-back, friendly play-date at the Francis Wyman school playground as part of monthly Pre-K socials being organized by Burlington Mother-to-Mother.  The socials are free and open to all incoming kindergarteners.  This is a great way for kids (and parents) to get to know each other and the school environment. Please rsvp with both your name and your child's name to Sharleen Davis at sharleendavis@hotmail.com.  Hope you can join us!