Volume 6 No. 13 February 19, 2014 Greetings All, I hope you were all safe and enjoyed the unexpected snow day on Valentine's Day last week. For a bit of fun, watch how J.J. Flynn was closed by Lego Batman on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show! tinyurl.com/oqrm39t. As we move toward school vacation, I want to wish each of you a wonderful vacation and chance to rest and reflect. Please remember to vote on Town Meeting Day or before! Our Annual Report is now live on our website and worth a couple of hours of looking it over. We do phenomenal things in BSD and I am proud to work alongside you. Along with the Annual Report, view the eLearning site on the BHS website for awesome work by students and teachers. http://bhselearning.blogspot.com/. In addition, check out the Storify about the EMS Digital Learning Day: http://storify.com/TarrantInstitut/digital-learning-dayedmunds-middle-school. And...watch students at C.P. Smith learn to code (at that young age???) at Math Coach Karyn Vogel's Blogspot: http://karynvogel.blogspot.com/. These are just a few of the great things happening in our schools on a daily basis. The budget that is proposed includes a 3.9% increase in expenditures. This includes continued support for technology, facilities planning, meeting the needs of increased enrollment and does, unfortunately, include a few reductions as well, such as elementary Spanish. Specific reductions will be made once we know revenue streams later this spring. 3.9% expenditure increase equates to an anticipated 9.9% tax increase. This is very confusing to many as the school budget increase and tax increase are not aligned. The reality is that the Tax Commissioner has proposed a 5% tax increase and our own Common Level of Appraisal is up by 2% as our houses are worth more. Thus, our budget decisions impact only 1.9% of the tax increase. This is hard to understand, but if we do not pass a budget, we will need to reduce spending by up to $1.5M more and will still have an 8% increase in school taxes. Send people to the website who have questions on the budget or email me directly at [email protected]. Enjoy vacation. Remember to vote! Jeanné Teacher Feature Claire Noble (Flynn) Mrs. Noble knew she wanted to be a teacher when her daughter was in kindergarten and she volunteered in her classroom. She has been teaching for 14 years. Story time, when Mrs. Noble sparks students’ imagination by reading books aloud, is one of her favorite times of day… http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/News/TeacherStories/ flynn_noble_snickenberger.pdf Jane Lavigne (EMS) The students explained to me that a “usual day” includes a deep book discussion where students bounce ideas off each other. As students speak, Ms. Lavigne circles their names and draws lines between them, to ensure that every student is connected. She explained to me that, “A good discussion looks like a spider web.”... http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/News/TeacherStories/ ems_lavigne_desiderio.pdf Kellie Smith (SA) The previous school day, students had made a list of what was important for a healthy community. Ms. Smith reviewed key concepts of sustainability, including the economy, environment and improving the quality of life for all. I was amazed by how engrossed the students were in her lesson... http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/News/TeacherStories/ sa_smith_knockenhauer.pdf BSD 2012-2013 Annual Report Now Available at www.bsdvt.org Learn more about what is happening in the Burlington Schools! See how we are doing, what we are delivering. Burlington School District's 2012-2013 Annual Report includes the comprehensive budget for 2014-15, comparative data on school spending between Burlington and other Vermont communities, and a review of school accomplishments and assessments for the 2012-13 school year. Hard copies available upon request (call 846-3736.) Health Matters! February is Heart Month Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. Heart disease causes 1 in 4 deaths in the United States – more than all types of cancer combined. Implementation Team Meeting Tomorrow Tips to prevent heart disease: Join us for our next Implementation Team Meeting tomorrow, February 20th from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at Burlington High School. Our Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke. I-Teams work in five areas to create more student-centered Control your cholesterol and blood pressure. schools: Teaching and Learning Environments, Family-School Drink alcohol only in moderation. This means no more than Partnerships, Youth Engagement and Leadership, Community one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a Based Learning, and Personalized and Proficiency Based day for men. Learning. Eat healthy and get active. Aim for two and a half hours of moderate aerobic activity every week. We'll kick off this month's meeting as a large group so that each Aim for a healthy weight. If you are overweight, losing even team can share an update about their work and learning since 10 pounds can lower your risk of heart disease. September. After this report out, we'll break out into individual Remember to utilize your health care benefits. Schedule your annual checkup today! Regular health care can aid with preventative healthcare and establishes a baseline for your overall health and wellness. Tech Byte EMS Digital Learning Day (February 11th) The day was an enormous success as parents, community members, and educators from all over Chittenden County visited EMS to see what transformation looks like. Visitors had a chance to spend time in classrooms and see the 1:1 program in action. They also had an opportunity to take part in a student-run “speed geeking” activity. The speed geeking put students in the driver’s seat to share the exciting projects and the innovation happening everyday at Edmunds Middle School. WPTZ News coverage at: http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/ Students-go-Speed-Geeking/24425112. Learn more at: http://bsdmiddleelearning.blogspot.com/. teams and cross-team task forces to continue work on various projects related to school change. When you arrive at BHS tomorrow, please come to the cafeteria to enjoy light refreshments before we get started. To take advantage of free child care, drop off your kids in the library before heading to the cafeteria. To learn more about what our I-Teams are working on, visit http://partnershipvt.org/progress/minutes. Welcome to the District! Amy Dickson / Partnership for Change Fellow / District Melissa Cleary / Prevention Coordinator / BHS Adam Provost / Partnership for Change Tech. Integ. Spec. / BHS Melanie Leavitt / Paraeducator / EES Milly Mulcahy / SLP Assistant / BHS Paw Kbo / Burmese Mutilingual Liasion / District Donald MacDonald / Student Transportation Monitor / District Rachel Wisdom / Long-Term Substitute / HMS Sarah Austin / BAS Asst. Site Director / Champlain Stephanie Elliston / BAS Asst. Site Director/ EES Julia Johnson / Paraeducator / EES James Calder / Driver’s Ed. Instructor / District Glenn Cannon / Driver’s Ed. Instructor / District Elaine Martin / Discrete Trial Instructor / EEE Avianti Castro / Paraeducator / BHS David Besserer / Paraeducator / HMS Getting Real About Race (excerpted from The Burlington Free Press, Molly Walsh) "The entire freshmen class at Burlington High School left campus (last) Wednesday to talk about race, labels and fairness. The “Getting Real About Race Event” brought roughly 270 students to Fletcher Free Library on College Street and Burlington City Hall on Church Street for workshops and conversations with community members and BHS alumni." Eric Schoembs sharing EMS’ new 3-D printer. To view powerful image reflections from students, visit: http://gettingrealaboutrace2014.blogspot.com/.