Burke Bulletin #11
January 5th, 2025
Happy 2025 to all the Burke Town School community! This new year has blown in on some chilly winds and temperatures dipping down to match. Despite this, our BTS students continue to enjoy all our amazing surroundings have to offer: sledding, snowshoeing, skating, skiing and snowboarding are all on deck! This week marks the start of Winter Activities, one of the most beloved part of the BTS experience. Since I started here in 2012, these special days are always ones filled with joy, hard work, triumphs and pride. Teachers get to spend time with students they don't usually see, building relationships across grade levels and strengthening our bonds. Students who may not feel successful every day in a classroom get the opportunity to shine and lead by example on the slopes or in the rink. I am looking forward to this Wednesday, but it will be a chilly one, so make sure to bundle those kids up and let us know if they are in need of any extra warmth!
This month also brings us to our second iReady diagnostic window. This diagnostic gives us a look at student learning, and all the growth they have made since the first window in September. It is important that students understand that it's important to give it their all, and not to rush, as we use this data in a myriad of ways. Teachers use this information to create small groups for instruction, plan for their next steps, and better understand the impact of their teaching and student growth. I use this data to allocate resources and support teachers. While this is absolutely not the only piece of information we use, and it does not tell us everything about a student, it is a key part of our reflecting process, and it will be happening slowly over the coming weeks. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to me or your child's teacher.
Finally, I would like to ask families to take the survey linked below. This year, BTS staff is focusing our professional work on universal practices that, when done well, help our students, families and staff grow, feel connected, and build trust. As a staff, we will look at the results of this survey, a survey given to staff, and a survey that students took (that looks much like the one linked here), and then use that data to make decisions, plan and improve our practices. Please let me know if you have questions about this, and I look forward to your feedback.
With warmth and gratitude,
Sophie Branson Gill
Principal
Robotics Team Headed to States!
Our amazing robotics team, the Chunky Capybaras, are head to states on January 18th in Essex, VT. They are lead by the phenomenal Brittney Hubacz, our Library, Media Specialist. This group is hard at work, finding any and all time they can to practice in order to bring the best of Burke to Essex. The team includes Boston Moore, Jonah Matte, Grace Bentley, Crosby Sourbeer, Suiri He, Cosimo Franklin, Larry Golden, Owen Tyburski, Sophia Tomassoni, and Holden He. Way to go, Chunky Capybaras!