Happy Holidays.....we will see you all next year!

Happy Holidays HBB!  Please enjoy the break and we will see you all next year!

Staff High Five

We do not only recognize students for doing a great job, we also recognize staff!  This week we gave out a Staff High Five Award to a different teacher each day.  Through our High Five Program staff members nominate other staff members who best exemplify the Burkland's Best and we award them with a Dunkin Donuts gift Card.  Congratulations to Mrs. Lombardi, Mrs. Enos, Mrs. Crawford, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Connolly!

I would especially like to congratulate Mrs. Connolly and I would like to thank Mrs. Connolly for all her years of service and dedication to the children of HBB.  Today is Mrs. Connolly's last day as she is going to be spending more time watching her boys play baseball.  Mrs. Connolly will most definitelly be missed but she has assured us that she will still be coming in to volunteer wherever she is needed.

Thank you Mrs. Connolly....we
will miss you!

Thank you Mrs. Johnson!

Thank you Mrs. Lombardi!

Thank you Mrs. Crawford!

Thank you Mrs. Enos!

PE Winter Newsletter

Kickball for BOXTOPS

We FINALLY had the chance to have our kickball games contests for the classes who collected the most BOXTOPS.  We had a great time.....enjoy the pics.

Character Word of the Week Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the Character Word of the Week Award.......great job guys and keep up the good work!

Have a great vacation!

Invitation and Character Word of the Week Winners

Are you interested in learning more about Envisions, our new math program?  If so please read the invitation below from Mrs. Rodriguez.

Congratulations to this week's winners of the Character Word of the Week Award!

Wrapping up the week

Report Cards

Report Cards are coming home this week!

As you get ready to look at your child’s report card we would again like to remind all parents about some of the changes to our new report card.

This year, because of the fact that there are new expectations in regards to what we need to teach at each grade level, our report card has changed to better reflect those new expectations and standards.

It is important to understand that many of the standards listed on the report card describe what we expect students to know and able to do by the end of the year. As a result, teachers will be reporting on your child’s current progress towards meeting those expectations. As such, it is perfectly normal, and in fact expected, for many students to be earning 2’s at this point in the year. A 2 simply indicates that your child is approaching the grade level standard and they are making progress. They are not expected to achieve the grade level standard until the end of the year. That being said, there are certainly going to be instances where students will have already achieved or even mastered certain standards and expectations earlier than others and would earn a 3 or 4.

We share this information in the hopes that you will clearly understand that there is no correlation between the traditional letter grade system of A, B, C, D and F and the current system. We also want you to understand our reporting system so that you may have productive and meaningful conversations with your child in regards to their strengths and areas of need.

So remember…..a 2 does not mean your child is not doing well or that they are not working hard! It simply means they have not yet mastered an end of the year expectation.

As with anything, should you have any question or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us!

A note from Nurse Garanito

Just a reminder, as we enter the season of celebrations many of our students have food related health issues which include severe food allergies and Diabetes.  Please review our wellness policy located on the school website for guidance and opt for non-food related items instead.  Thank you for helping keep the children at HBB safe and healthy.

Happy Holidays!

- Nurse Garanito

Earth View

Today we had the folks from Bridgewater State College here with the Earth View Exhibit and our 2nd grade students had a chance to participate.  Thank you to the PTA for making this happen and thank you to the folks at Bridgewater State for the great program!

MassPass

WOW, what a fundraiser!  Thank you to everyone who participated, bought books, helped out and everything in between!  The final total raised through the MassPass Fundraiser is $7438.50!  We had 5 classes with 100% participation (Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Lazarovich, Mrs. Card, Mrs. Crawford and Mr. Cardoza)  The winner of the basketball game is Mr. Cardoza's class....Congrats!  We also had one lucky 1st grade student in Mrs. Mastropietro's class who was the winner of the new Kindle Fire!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this fundraiser such a great success!

Half Day Hat Day

Last call for Christmas Wishes

As you may have heard the staff at HBB are once again supporting the Christmas Wishes Program of Middleboro which helps families of Middleboro in need during the holiday season.  We will continue to accept donations of new pairs of socks (all sizes), toothbrushes and toothpaste up until December 13th.  There are donation boxes in the main lobby at HBB.  Thank you to all who have helped so far!

Happy Thanksgiving.........and other stuff

Before we get to all the odds and ends we would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Please enjoy the break and enjoy your time with family and friends!

Winter Wear

We have extended the opportunity to purchase Winter Wear until Monday December 2nd.  Please remember too that we will have 2 parent pickup nights in case you are purchasing Burkland's Best gear for a gift.  If you need an order form just let us know in the main office.

Animal Adaptations

We had the Museum of Science here today doing a presentation on animal adaptations for our grade 4 students.  The presentation was great and the students really enjoyed seeing all the different creatures.

MassPass Books

While the final tally is not in yet it looks like he PTA has raised somewhere in the ballpark of  $7000 through the MassPass fundraiser.  We will post the final tally when we get the results.  Thank you to everyone who got out there and sold books.  If you have not returned your books please send them back in.  Classes who return all their books will be entered in drawings for prizes.

Most importantly, thank you once again to our PTA for all your hard word and dedication to the students!

Character Word of the Week Winners

Congratulations to the winners this week.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Character Word Winners and NCLB Report Cards

MassPass Books
Please do not forget to either send in your $25 for your MassPass books Monday or please send in the unsold books.  Classes with 100% of books either returned or sold will be eligible for some great prizes.  Thank you to all who have done your best to sell the MassPass books.  We will keep you posted on who wins the prizes and how much money is raised for the students at HBB.

NCLB Report Card
The report card for HBB based on MCAS performance for last year is now available on our website.  If you are interested in accessing this information click the link titled 2013 school report card or go to

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/reportcard/ReportCard2013.aspx?linkid=37&orgcode=01820008&fycode=2013&orgtypecode=6&

Turkey Visit
This week the classes from Mrs. Mastropietro and Mrs. Burke received a suprise visit from a turkey!  Thank you to Mrs. and Mr. LaCroix for bringing in a turkey from their farm!  The kids had a blast!

Miss. Massachusetts
Ms. Holmgren's class had a guest visitor this week.  Miss. Massachusetts came by to read to students and the students really enjoyed her visit.  Thank you Miss. Massachusetts for taking the time to read to our kids!

Character Word of the Week Winners
Congratulations to this week's winners.....great job guys!

Odds and Ends

Masspass Reminder

Who will win the Kindle Fire?

Which class will play basketball with Mr. Thompson & Mr. Gobeil?

How many prizes will you win?

The Masspass fundraiser is coming to a close next Friday, so this weekend is a great time to sell those books!
Remember:
· Any student who buys/sells 5 MASSPASS books will get an entry to win a KINDLE FIRE!! For each book sold beyond that first 5, you’ll get an additional entry!
· Any students who buys/sells 2 or more books will get a really cool prize!
· Every class that has 100% participation (buy, sell or return the book!) will be entered into a drawing to win a Basketball game with Mr. Thompson & Mr. Gobeil!

And if that weren't enough incentive... Any child who buys/sells 5 or more books will get 1 book FREE!

All unsold Masspass books MUST BE RETURNED no later than Friday, November 22nd. Thank you for all of your efforts in supporting the children of HBB.

Candy Donations

Thank you to everyone who sent in their Halloween Candy!  Together along with MKG we collected over 327 pounds of candy!  That is a lot of money that will be saved on dentist bills!  I would also like to thank Mrs. Derby for arranging the candy drive!

Christmas Wishes Program

During this holiday season the staff at HBB will once again be supporting the local Christmas Wishes Program which provides holiday assistance for local families.  We will be collecting new pairs of socks (all sizes) as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste to donate to the program.  Collection boxes will be located in the front lobby of the school and we will be collecting donations right up until December 13^th. 

Please consider joining us in supporting this wonderful organization and your support is greatly appreciated!

Tea with Ms. Lee

I love wrapping up the week on a Friday with a fun visit to one of our 1st grade classes.  I had a chance today to visit Ms. Lee's as she had visitors come in for tea while having a chance to listen to her first grade students read their stories they have worked on over the past few weeks.  The kids did a great job!

Parent Teacher Conference Reminder and the Character Word of the Week Winners

Don't forget that we have Parent Teacher Conferences this week!  We hope to see you all there.

Here are the winners of the Character Word of the Week awards this week.  The word for last week was Gratitude.  Great job guys!

Who will win a Kindle Fire? and some other things!

Who will win the Kindle Fire? Will it be you?
The HBB PTA will officially kick off this year’s MASSPASS fundraiser on Wednesday, November 6th. Please look for the book in your child’s backpack. The MASSPASS books are $25 each and they are full of family friendly coupons to local stores, restaurants and activities. We hope that you will consider purchasing the book sent home and selling at least 1 additional book. If we reach our goal of 2 books per student, we will earn $15,000 for our school! So please show the books to family, friends and co-workers. With over $6000 in local savings from places like Edaville Railroad, The Fireside Grille, Dick's Sporting Goods and hundreds more, these books practically sell themselves!

To help motivate our students to show this great savings book to friends and family, we’ve come up with some really great incentives:

· Every class that has 100% participation will be entered into a drawing to win a Basketball game with Mr. Thompson & Mr. Gobeil!

· Any students who buys/sells 2 or more books will get a really cool prize! Get a prize for every additional book sold!

· Any student who buys/sells 5 MASSPASS books will get an entry to win a KINDLE FIRE!! For each book sold beyond that first 5, you’ll get an additional entry!

Please note the book being sent home is not free. It is being sent home to allow you to preview all of the great discounts the book has to offer. If you choose not to purchase or sell the book, it must be returned in it's original condition no later than November 19th. 100% participation is vital to the success of this fundraiser. Participation is defined as buying, selling or returning the original book. All proceeds (50% of all book sales!) from the MASSPASS fundraiser go right back to the kids in the form of fantastic enrichment programs, assemblies and field trips. We thank you in advance for supporting the children of HBB!

Important information from Mrs. Garanito

Character Word of the Week Winners

The word of the week for last week was honor.  The following students are being recognized by their teachers by best demonstrating the Character Word of the Week.  Congratulations!  

Some more Big Blast Pictures