Burroughs Community School

Did you read about the Burroughs courtyard in the Burroughs Bulletin today? Check out Shabana Hameed's full article on the new Grant Committee blog.

By now, we hope you've heard about the Rally at the Capitol for Public Education scheduled for this afternoon at 5:00.

Free bus transportation is being provided by the MPS Bargaining Units--the closest bus stops for most Burroughs families are Kenny Community School (5720 Emerson Ave S.) or Windom School (5821 Wentworth). Buses will leave those schools between 3:45 and 4:00. Plan on arriving back at school between 6:30 and 6:45.

If you're driving yourself, be aware that due to the large number of buses coming from around the state, John Ireland (between 12th Street and University) and Martin Luther King Boulevard are being closed to accomodate bus parking. Parking is available in the Sears lot (west of the State Office Building) and at the St. Paul Technical College upper lot. Click here to see a map of all available surface parking.

This is an outdoor rally on the snow-covered mall, so be sure to dress warm, including boots. See you there!

During the next three weeks, Burroughs 2nd through 5th graders will be taking the Northwest Achievement Levels Test (NALT). This is a two-part test (math and reading) that is used by Burroughs and Minneapolis Public Schools to determine whether students are making progress toward MPS standards. The NALT is not used to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the school.

The district has more information on the NALT and other MPS tests on their Web site.

Some classroom teachers have more information about testing as it applies to their classrooms on their blogs. If the classroom listed below is a hyperlink, click it to see the teacher's blog.

Testing this week:

• Monday: Room 330 (Ms. Spooner)
• Tuesday: Room 329 (Mr. Sherburne)
• Wednesday: Room 322 (Mr. Gentle)
• Thursday: Room 301 (Ms. Severson)
  

Please visit Auntie Em's, on Diamond Lake Rd near the Nicollet intersection, for their book fair on Friday and Saturday. 20% of all sales will go to Burroughs!

Thursday is the last day to stop into the Great Harvest Bakery in Linden Hills (4314 Upton) and vote for Anthony School to be "Bakers for the Day". If Anthony wins, they would receive 100% of the profits on March 13.

YES, YOU CAN VOTE MORE THAN ONCE!

Allie P., Broden J., and Sam C. took top honors today in the Burroughs Fifth Grade spelling bee! The first place winner from each school advances to the district 5th-8th Grade Spelling Bee at Sheridan Elementary School on February 16, with the second and third place winners acting as alternates.

Good luck, Allie, and congratulations to all who participated!

Also, special thanks to Tony Fix, Gifted and Talented teacher during Ms. Bechtel's maternity leave, for volunteering his time to organize the spelling bee.

Thursday, February 10, is another late start day. Buses run 2 hours later than usual, and school starts at 10:40.

We received the following from Minnesota PTA:

Greetings Supporter of Public Education:

We are writing to offer you an opportunity to make your voice heard in support of public education.

Our public schools have always been the best, but now they are at risk. Inadequate funding from the Minnesota Legislature has forced schools throughout the state to lay off staff and cut programs.

We cannot let this continue. Now is the time to make our voices heard.

A STATEWIDE RALLY for PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING is planned for 5 p.m., Monday, February 28, at the State Capitol Building.

As a supporter of public education, you can play a valuable role in helping us let legislators know that FULLY FUNDING PUBLIC EDUCATION MUST
BE A PRIORITY.

Please plan to attend the rally and ask others from your community to do the same.

Minnesota PTA also included details about the rally itself, information about education funding, and tips on contacting your legislator:
Rally flyer
DOs and DON'Ts
Funding Facts
Contacting Your Legislator

Another great source of information on school funding is Parents United Network. Their Little Book of Big Important Stuff provides a valuable summary of where we are and how we got here. It's also available in Spanish.

Have you heard about Accelerated Reader? Burroughs students are beginning to read books and take quizzes to demonstrate their comprehension and earn AR points. In the Media Center, it's easy to tell which books are "AR" books because they have a transparent color-coded sticker on the spine. But what about books your child reads at home? To help you find out which books your child can read for AR points, we've just added a list of all the Burroughs Accelerated Reader quizzes to the Web site.

Click here to see the list now, or in the future go to Media and click the link at the top of the page.

Want more information on AR? Be sure to attend Tuesday's PTA meeting. Mrs. Hennen will be on hand to talk about the Media curriculum in general and give us details about Accelerated Reader as well.