Burbank Bulletin

Dear Luther Burbank Families,

I hope that everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday and that you were able to spend time with friends and family. I was grateful to be able to welcome my extended family to our house for Thanksgiving dinner after spending last year's holiday apart. Resuming our holiday traditions has felt pretty great, but being back together has felt even better.

December promises to be a busy month at Luther Burbank. This Thursday, we will implement the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program with our 7th grade students. This program helps our students learn about the signs of depression and how they can get help for themselves or a friend. Friday will mark the end of the term and the closing of grades for the first trimester. Next week, two popular extra-curricular activities will begin, interscholastic basketball and middle school drama. Both activities were on hiatus last year, so we are incredibly excited about their upcoming return. Best of luck to our student athletes and rising thespians!

Mark your calendars for another much-anticipated event this December, our Winter Concert.

The Winter Concert will take place on Tuesday, December 14th, at 6:30 pm at the Nashoba Regional High School Auditorium. The Winter Concert will feature the Grade 6 Concert Band, Grade 7/8 Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Chorus, and Honors Wind Ensemble. We can't wait!

Next Friday, December 10th, will be an early release for professional development. On the afternoon of the 10th, staff will engage in professional development on the integration of academics and social emotional learning.

With much gratitude during this holiday season,

Laura

December 2: SOS Program, 7th Grade Students

December 3: Trimester 1 Grades Close

December 6th & 7th: Basketball Tryouts (Time TBA)

December 6th: Drama Auditions for 6th Grade Students, 6:00-8:00 PM

December 7th: Drama Auditions for 7th & 8th Grade Students, 6:00-8:00 PM

December 10: Early Release Professional Development, 11:30 Dismissal

December 13: Drama Call Backs (if needed)

December 14: LBMS Winter Concert, NRHS Auditorium, 6:30 PM

December 16: LBMS School Council, 3:00

December 17: Trimester 1 Report Cards Issued

December 23-31: Winter Break, No School

Link to NRSD 2021-2022 School Calendar

This Wednesday, December 1st, we will begin Routine COVID Safety Check Testing at Mary Rowlandson and Luther Burbank. Students at Nashoba Regional High School began this program before Thanksgiving. This opt-in pooled testing program adds another layer of protection for our school community. Routine COVID safety checks minimize disruption to learning by helping us catch potential spread of the virus before it starts.

Please refer to the email sent to families earlier today for more information about the program and to provide consent for your child to participate.

Interested students are encouraged to become involved with LBMS Drama! This year's performance will be Seussical, Jr.! Seussical Jr. is a fun and whimsical play, and we are looking forward to making it come alive on the stage. Along with students who love to sing, dance, and perform, our drama program is looking for students with all kinds of interests. So if your child isn't necessarily a performer, but they are creative, love art, or are really into electronics and technology, we have a place for them, too! Audition sign up form.

Email Stacy Kramer, Director, lbmsdramaclub@gmail.com with any additional questions.

Save the Date:

Auditions: December 6th (Grade 6) - 6:00-8:00 PM

Auditions: December 7th (Grades 7 & 8) - 6:00-8:00 PM

Call Backs (if necessary): December 13th - 6:00-8:00 PM

We are pleased to announce this year's coaches for the upcoming basketball season. Melissa Hourihan will serve as the coach for our girls team, and John Ramos will serve as the coach for our boys team. Both Coach Hourihan and Coach Ramos have prior experience coaching middle school teams in different venues, and we are incredibly grateful that they have stepped forward to help us out this season.

All student athletes interested in participating in middle school basketball for the upcoming season must be registered using this link. Tryouts for the winter season will begin the week of December 6th. Please be aware that this online registration form MUST be completed prior to tryouts.

During these times, it has never been more important for our students and staff to be able to get outside for fresh air. With the weather becoming increasingly colder and inclement, it is critical that students come to school with the proper winter apparel. Families, I ask for your help in ensuring that your child arrives to school with a jacket, hat, and gloves/mittens. Layers are perfect.

This year we have continued with our longer recess blocks so that students can benefit from the fresh air and activity. During the winter months, students may elect to play in the snow. In this case, students MUST wear snow boots and snow pants. Thank you for your support with ensuring your child is adequately prepared. We know that sometimes it is tricky to wrangle a middle schooler when it comes to attire, and we appreciate your support from the homefront.

The Winter Concert will take place on Tuesday, December 14th, at 6:30 pm at the Nashoba Regional High School Auditorium. There is no fee for admission, and we are very excited to finally welcome back our in-person audience. Masks are required for all audience members and performing students for the duration of the event. The Winter Concert will feature the Grade 6 Concert Band, Grade 7/8 Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Chorus, and Honors Wind Ensemble. You can look forward to selections of Irish folk music, Elton John, Marvin Gaye, Tchaikovsky, and music from the musical "Dear Evan Hansen."

Time to get in the holiday spirit! Come enjoy some fun musical selections at the Nashoba Regional High School in December! The NRHS Bands and Choral groups will perform a Holiday Concert on Wednesday, December 15th at 7 pm in the NRHS auditorium (12 Green Road, Bolton, MA). Admission is $5 per person (seniors and students are free), payable at the door. NRSD concerts are family friendly...younger musicians are especially encouraged to attend. Masks for attendees are required. Come and enjoy music at Nashoba Regional High School!

The cold days ahead offer the perfect time to read a good book, right? Our Luther Burbank faculty is very excited to announce this year's Parent/Teacher Book Club title, How to Talk so Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.

Written by best-selling authors, Faber and Mazlish, this book offers a practical resource with easy-to-implement suggestions to help us tackle the tough issues teens and families face today.

Our Book Club will include three virtual meetings scheduled for January 5th, February 2nd, and March 30th from 6:00-7:00 PM via Zoom. The meetings will be informal - simply an opportunity for us to gather together with parents to discuss strategies presented in a very good book.

If you are interested in joining our Book Study, please complete this short survey and we will be in touch. The survey will close on Friday, December 17th.

Please be reminded that we request that you notify the school if your child is going to be late or absent. You can do so easily by emailing LBMSattendance@nrsd.net Please remember to include any/all symptoms that your child is experiencing. We continue to monitor for symptoms of Covid-19 and this communication is essential to maintaining the health and safety of our community. Please feel free to call Darlene Perkins at 978-365-5629 if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

The Nashoba Regional School District began using the SOS: Signs of Suicide Program over 12 years ago as a tool to teach our students about mental health. The program helps our 7th grade students learn about the signs of depression and how they can get help for themselves or a friend. This program is more important than ever with the increasing mental health needs due to the pandemic. The message of the program is ACT: Acknowledge, Care, Tell. Acknowledge that you are seeing signs of depression, self-injury or suicide in a friend and that it is serious. Care by letting your friend know that you care about him or her and that you are concerned that he or she needs help you cannot provide. Tell a trusted adult. Take your friend with you or go alone if you need to. The program starts with students viewing a video that is followed by a discussion led by a nurse, guidance counselor, social worker or health educator. Students may elect to speak with any of this team if they have questions or concerns privately at any time after the presentation.

A letter was emailed to the parents/guardians of all 7th grade students informing them of the student presentation on Thursday, December 2nd. While we hope that all students will participate, parents do have the right to opt their student out without penalty. To help parents understand the scope of the program, as well as to know what to look for in their own child, we encourage you to visit www.sossignsofsuicide.org/parent If you would like to opt your child out of this program, please contact Darlene Perkins no later than Tuesday, November 30 by calling 978-365-5629 or emailing her at dperkins@nrsd.net.

Next meeting: December 8, 2021 at 6:30 PM. Zoom link to follow.

December 1, 2021 - 7:00 PM - Virtual

Mediation and Appeals

Presentation by the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA)

Join Us: Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 875 0078 8651

Passcode: CcZKN9

Clear Path for Veterans needs your help this holiday season! We are looking for unused hats, gloves, mittens and scarves for those in need. If you would like to donate, please have your child donate items in the labeled bins in the LBMS lobby between Monday, November 29 and Thursday, December 9th. Thank you so much for your support!

Substitute teaching offers flexibility and a direct interface with our awesome students. It also offers interested community members a way to contribute to our school. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a substitute teacher and/or are interested in applying to become a substitute teacher, please email Laura Friend at lfriend@nrsd.net or call our main office at 978-365-4558. Substitute teaching offers flexibility and a direct interface with our awesome students. It also offers interested community members a way to contribute to our school.

Email: lfriend@nrsd.net
Website: burbank.nrsd.net
Location: 1 Hollywood Drive, Lancaster, MA, USA
Phone: 978-365-4558
Twitter: @LBMSPrincipal