Samuel Smith School Receives a Garden Grant

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1 Our Schools City of Burlington Samuel Smith School Receives a Garden Grant Volume 36, Issue 4 Summer 2014 During the month of April Samuel Smith School was awarded a grant from the Whole Foods Corporation. The grant has made it possible for classrooms to sow seeds in greenhouses. Some vegetable seeds planted include green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers. Classrooms began planting vegetables the first week of May. BCHS JROTC, parents, teachers, staff, and community members volunteered on April 12th to begin the initial stages of the garden. Burlington City Schools Receive Target Grant Target Corporation offers educational grants for education in literacy and the arts. Over the last few years Burlington City Schools have been the recipient of such grants that have provided enriching district-wide events in addition to the dynamic lessons taught in the classroom. This year, Robin Affrime, first grade teacher at Elias Boudinot School successfully applied for the Target Education Grant and won. She used the money awarded to invite authors Jerry Pallotta, Carmin Rubin, and a visiting artist Deborah Pey. Deborah Pey lead an art education class in which first grade students listened to the story Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and made wild things with construction paper. Projects from the lesson were displayed during the Annual Spring Celebration of the Arts. Jerry Pallotta, author of the series Who Would Win? visited Burlington City elementary schools to speak to students about factual information regarding animals featured in his books. The last event of the year supported by the Target Grant was featured as a Literary Evening with Carmin Rubin who has written books incorporating music and stories passed down throughout her family. Ms. Rubin read from her latest book and even issued a free autographed copy of The Gifted Guitar to students and their families.

2 Page 2 Our Schools Parents and Students Working Together Parenting Partners Program Graduates It was such a pleasure working with our parents and staff members during our inaugural Parenting Partners Program at Wilbur Watts. Graduation was especially touching when we shared how we learned and grew as parents during our six week stint, and what our next steps are moving forward. Robert Shappell, WWIS Principal My experiences with Parenting Partners have been amazing. From the two day intensive facilitators training to the graduation ceremony for our very first group of parents, I have grown, both as an parent and an educator. The beauty of the program is the way the meetings encourage meaningful dialogue within the group. In short, I very much look forward to our next session in the fall. Paul Magoon, WWIS Language Arts Teacher 2014 Celebration of the Arts During the week of May 19th Burlington City School District participated in the annual Celebration of the Arts Week. Everyone enjoyed seeing all of the wonderfully creative two and three dimensional works of art. This year s theme was Decades of Diversity. Celebration of the Arts promotes the importance of the visual arts in education. Parents, students, teachers, and members of the community come together to celebrate the accomplishments of our students in the fine arts programs. Debbie Lynch WWIS Art Teacher NJASK Family Fun Night To prepare for the NJASK teachers worked hard to rev students and parents up for the state assessment with the NJASK Family Fun Night. Burlington City High School students taking the NJASK this past April worked hard for weeks to earn academic points that would go toward accumulating tickets. Each teacher kept a log of tickets each student earned based on the completion of academic activities, such as homework, class timeliness, NJASK Challenge questions, Math Academy attendance, and class participation. Tickets earned could then be used to enter various raffle contests for an array of prizes such as a Kindle Fire, or tickets to Regal Cinemas. Students at Wilbur Watts Intermediate School were engaged in a friendly and collaborative version of Jeopardy. Fifth grade students worked as team coaches to third and fourth grade teams who competed to answer math problems.

3 Volume 36, Issue 4 Page 3 Parents- Be Sure to Help Your Elementary Students With Their Summer Reading!! Over summer break your child will be expected to complete a summer reading book report. This means your child is responsible for: Reading a new book Completing the book report assigned and following its directions Summer Reading Turning the project in on time Returning the book at the beginning of the school year WWIS WILDCATS: BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING CHANGES TO YOUR SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT NEW this year: Barnes and Noble Imagination Destination Reading Journal If you read eight books, you earn one free book from Barnes and Noble. The Library Company of Burlington- Fizz, Boom, Read Be sure to check out your child s school website. Parent Check In As the school year comes to a close, you can never be too ready for the upcoming school year. Check out the school supply lists below! Burlington City Elementary Schools Crayons Glue Sticks Pencil Box Pencils Colored Pencils Dry Erase Markers Two Pocket Folder Backpack Baby Wipes /Facial Tissues 1 Inch Three Ring Binder Change of Clothes Wilbur Watts Intermediate School Backpack without wheels 3 One subject spiral notebooks 1-Three ring binder Hand-Held Pencil Sharpener Pencils Pens Erasers Composition Book Colored Pencils or Crayons Glue Sticks Save the Dates June 12th Summer the Children s History Center/ 6pm June 17th Lawrence and Boudinot Schools 2nd Grade Advancement June 19th 6th Grade Advancement June 19th & 20th Early Dismissal Students June 20th Samuel Smith Elementary Advancement BCHS Graduation June 23rd Staff In-service Burlington City School District School Dress Code Update For more information check the district website and click on your child s school. Preschool Registration Must be 3 or 4 on or before October 1, 2014 Please bring the following documentation with you at the time of registration: Child s birth certificate (original with raised seal). Current immunization record. Current proof of residency some examples include: voter registration card, lease or mortgage statement, utility bill, driver s license or identification card, property tax bills, military documents, financial account information, etc. Refer to N.J.A.C 6A: for a listing of acceptable documents to demonstrate proof of residency. Website: (If applicable) Affidavit of property owner/residence. Forms can be obtained from the Office of Early Childhood. If you have any questions, please contact The Office of Early Childhood at Burlington City students are required to follow the student dress code to create an overall positive school environment of unity and pride. Therefore students must be dressed in uniform attire while in school for instructional purposes. The administration retains the authority to determine if a clothing item or accessory not specifically covered in the dress code is appropriate for school attire. Please visit to view the BCSD dress code for all students.

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5 Burlington City Board of Education Administration Building 518 Locust Avenue Burlington, NJ NONPROFIT U.S. Postage Paid Permit #292 Cinnaminson, NJ Postal Customer ***ECRWSS*** City of Burlington Board of Education Darryl S. Thompson Sr., President Jennifer M. Montone, Vice-President Jonathan R. Bachofen Maxcine Borden-Hendricks Patricia Buehrig Patricia Dasher-Williams Arthur L. Diggs Toni M. Kauffman Frank Storm Dr. Gerald Gares, Edgewater Park Representative Craig H. Wilkie Board Secretary/Business Administrator Dr. Patricia T. Doloughty Superintendent of Schools We re on the Web Aboard the AJ Meerwald Students from AP Biology and US History II classes at BCHS sailed aboard the AJ Meerwald, a restored oyster schooner, to learn about the natural, historic and cultural resources of the Delaware River and Burlington Island. While aboard the ship, students hoisted sails and gained insight about the oyster industry that helped establish the community of Burlington City. Water quality tests were conducted and students learned about methods to preserve and protect a local ecosystem. Burlington Island was a focal point of the sail as an inquiry activity about the history of the island was explored. The trip is scheduled to be featured on an episode of NJEA Classroom CloseUp in the fall of 2014.