Burnham Newsletter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with joy and cherished moments with loved ones!

Thank you for joining us at Burnham School for Parent Visitation Day! It was wonderful to see so many of you spend time with your child, engaging in their school day and experiencing the learning happening in our classrooms. For those who attended the reading workshop on Parent Visitation Day, we hope you found it insightful and informative. If you were unable to attend but would like a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, and I’ll be happy to share it with you.

We also want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our PTO and volunteers for organizing and hosting the annual Harvest Gathering. This cherished tradition brings our school community together, and we’re so grateful for their efforts. A special thank you also goes out to our dedicated teachers for preparing our students to share their beautiful poems, songs, and artwork with senior citizens and family members. The creativity and enthusiasm of our students truly shine during these moments.

As we head into the final weeks of December, we look forward to enjoying some exciting activities and special moments before Christmas recess begins on December 21st. This is always a magical time of year at Burnham School, and we are excited to celebrate the season together. Thank you for your continued support, and we wish everyone a joyful and peaceful holiday season!

Dr. Rhew

First graders had a fun Halloween visiting different stops in town to get treats! Thank you to the Bridgewater Fire Department, Town Hall, Library, Village Store/Bistro, and Post Office for the wonderful treats!

This month, first graders will be learning about animal adaptations in science lessons. We have learned about different bird beaks and which makes the best beak for different types of bird food. We have also learned about camouflage through a fun moth hiding activity. We will continue to learn about land and marine animal adaptations and how they help the animals survive. Our unit will conclude with a culminating activity of designing a human traveler with the adaptations needed to survive in a specific habitat.

Third graders have been working hard and having fun! Students have been learning strategies to make adding and subtracting big numbers more efficient. For example, they can make a problem like 247 + 298 into mental math by moving 2 ones from the 247 to make the problem 245 + 300. Students are also learning to use the standard algorithm to add and subtract numbers into the thousands. Third grade writers are so excited to be putting the finishing touches on their very own Magic Tree House stories! We can’t wait to share them! We have also made time for some fun and created our very own parade balloons and haiku poems for Thanksgiving! Our hallway looks great!

The Burnham 5th Graders have been hard at work mastering their understanding of fractions in math, developing their knowledge of ecosystems through our ARC program, and pairing that learning with our Web of Life science unit. We have elected our class representative, Carolina, for The Burnham School Kid Governor. She ran on the platform of homework support for students with busy after school schedules. We are so proud of her, and all of our contestants, for their hard work!

Our class has been practicing patriotic songs in Music for Veteran’s Day, making self-portraits in Art, and basketball skills in PE. We will be having another visit from the American Reading Company this month where we will be developing our skills on student conferences and small group work. I have been so proud of my students and all of their dedication to learning in and out of the classroom!

I heard a bird sing,

In the dark of December,

A magical thing,

And sweet to remember:

“We are nearer to spring

Than we were in September.”

~Oliver Herford, “Hope”

Winter Break is just around the corner, and I hope that Burnham students will spend some cozy nights by the fire reading with their families. We have seasonal classics such as The Polar Express and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe available for check out and enjoy. Fantasy lovers...have you checked out the Keeper of the Lost Cities series yet? If not, why not see what the hype is all about!

Kindergarten~ Our Kindergarten students are still enjoying a new read-aloud each week. In addition to some of the silly fiction titles we’ve been enjoying, I am also adding some exciting nonfiction titles to the mix of read-alouds.

First Grade~ First graders are deep in the world of Roscoe Riley. We are on our third Roscoe Riley book, Never Swipe a Bully’s Bear, and the students just can’t get enough of Roscoe’s hilarious antics!

Second Grade~ Our second graders are still engrossed in Gooney Bird Greene and her impossible, yet all completely true stories. The students are learning a lot about multiple meaning words, words that can make a story sound outrageous and fantastic but often have a very mundane meaning as well.

Third Grade- Our third graders are just delving into the heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking story of The One and Only Ivan, a silverback gorilla living in captivity.

Fourth Grade~ Our fourth graders are nearing the end of the BFG, and we’ve made lots of predictions about how Sophie and the BFG are going to stop those horrible giants once and for all.

Fifth Grade~ We are getting to the end of Superfudge, and the students are wondering if Peter and his family are ever going back to New York City, or if they’ll be stuck in the country forever!

Read Across America

For December, the National Education Association has chosen books that encourage students to Foster Confidence. For primary grades, the featured book is Piper Chen Sings by Phillipa Soo and Maris Pasquale Doran. For middle grades, the book is Simon B. Rhymin’ by Dwayne Reed.

Do you or your child have a book request? Please feel free to email me at turneys@region-12.org

The snow has arrived along with some cold temperatures!! Please know that we continue to have outdoor recess if the temperature is above 20 degrees and our grounds are not too wet. Please be sure to send your child with the appropriate outdoor clothing for the weather. The students must have snow pants and snow boots to put on in order for them to play in the snow. This prevents them being wet for the remainder of the school day. It is recommended that students pack extra socks and a spare set of clothes to keep in the nurse's office to prevent any unnecessary calls home requesting dry clothes. If your child receives wet/soiled clothes from the nurse’s office, please wash and return them to my office. Thank you for your cooperation and stay warm!!

12/6 Report Cards Distributed

12/6 Kindergarten Field Trip to School House in Woodbury

12/11 PTO's Family Movie and Pizza Night, 5:30 p.m.

12/12 Early Dismissal, 12:45 p.m. - Professional Development

12/13 Connecticut's Children Hospital PJ Day for the Kids

12/18 Cultures Around the World

12/19 PTO Meeting, 6 p.m.

12/23-1/2 Winter Break - School Closed