BBA Bullhorn

June 2009

June 1, 2009

Calendar

1 Performing Arts Showcase, 6:30 pm, Riley Center for the Arts
2 Scholarship Awards Night, 7 pm, Riley Center for the Arts
3-5 Senior exams
9 End of marking period
10-12 Underclassmen exams
12 Commencement, 5:30 pm
13 Alumni Reunion, 6 pm
15 Faculty meeting and make-up exams

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,
Thanksgiving in schools comes in June. This is a time for appreciation, reflection, and celebration of the collective accomplishments of this community. I ask that you take a moment to contemplate the many areas that students find success at Burr and Burton—in the classrooms, on the sports field, on stage, in the art studios, in our technology labs, performing community service, in leadership positions—and consider the many adults dedicated to the growth and success of your sons and daughters. A simple note of thanks to that special teacher, coach, advisor, or mentor can be very meaningful.

This completes my first year at Burr and Burton Academy, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your warm welcome throughout. I look forward to celebrating in earnest on June 12, when we bring the year to its official close and bid farewell to the Class of 2009. I look forward to many more years of working at this great school.

Happy Thanksgiving, and have a great summer.

Sincerely,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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From the Arts Department

Performing Arts Department Presents
You are invited to a celebratory evening of theater, film, and music brought to you by the drama and music students, Monday, June 1, on the Riley Center for the Arts stage. Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts at 6:30 pm. Admission is free. Come enjoy an evening of comedies, dramas, short films, and awesome singing—a great way to end the year! Come one, come all!

A Chorus Line
After three months of intensive rehearsal, A Chorus Line played to sold-out, standing-ovation audiences. Thank you to everyone who helped with this season’s production The cast, crew, musicians, and staff raised $3,000 for Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids from donations and poster sales.

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From the Athletic Department

Girls Lacrosse Alumnae Game on Sunday June 14, 10:30 am on the Upper Field. All former players are welcome. E-mail RSVP to Dave Miceli: dmiceli@burrburton.org.

IMPORTANT FALL SPORTS INFORMATION
August 16 Mandatory Fall Sports Parent and Athlete Information Night 6 pm in the following locations:
Football: cafeteria
Boys Soccer: gymnasium
Field Hockey: Dave Miceli’s classroom, Seminary Building (room # 34)
Cross-Country: Wellness classroom off the gym lobby
Girls Soccer: Riley Center for the Arts

August 17 All fall sports begin practice.

You should receive information in the mail in late July from the coaches.
Football: Jason Thomas
Girls Soccer: Dan DeForest
Boys Soccer: Peter Mull
Field Hockey: Julie Fifield
Cross-Country: Dave Curtis

All incoming freshmen and transfer students will need a physical exam prior to participating; all returning students must have had a physical exam within the last two years.

Physical forms and permission forms can be downloaded from the schools web site: www.burrburton.org. These completed forms must be brought to the meeting on August 16 or mailed (attn. Kathi Bierwirth) to the school before August 17.
Returning Burr and Burton students must be in attendance at the first day of practice and all juniors must attend the varsity tryouts.

All returning Burr and Burton students must have the required number of Service Learning projects completed before the first practice.
Sophomores: 2 Service Learning projects completed.
Juniors: 4 Service Learning projects completed.
Seniors: 5 Service Learning projects completed.

If you have any questions, please call Director of Athletics Kathi Bierwirth at 549-8119.

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Lunch Accounts

School policy regarding money in lunch accounts at the end of the school year is as follows:
• If the student is a senior and has no siblings at Burr and Burton, a check will be sent to the parents.
• If a student is a senior and has siblings at Burr and Burton, the money will be transferred to the siblings account.
• If a student is not a senior, the money will remain in their accounts.
Any questions please call Mrs. Harvey @ 549-8139.

You can now visit mymealtime.com and set up an account to view your student’s lunch account. You can check balances, see what your student has purchased and add funds to the account by debit or credit card. You will need a unique ID number in order to establish the account. Please email mharvey@burrburton.org to obtain the ID number.

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From the Advancement Office

Burr and Burton would not be what it is without the loyal support of our parents and friends. All one needs to do is attend an athletic event or a performing arts production to see the passion and energy our students pour into their work. Or visit a language, math or science class and see the intensity and dedication that our faculty and students put into their teaching and studies. What a great place to work, especially for those of us involved in the fundraising end of things. While most people would shy away from this job – we embrace it because we see the results of our efforts day in and day out in the accomplishments of our Burr and Burton students.

So we want to say a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who have also embraced this learning community through your financial support and volunteer efforts. You have helped make this year a fantastic year for our students and for Mark Tashjian in his first year as the new headmaster.

We recently sent out a “Close the Books” campaign letter and we are still working toward our goal. If you’ve forgotten to make a gift to the Annual Giving Campaign, there is still time. Send your gift in before June 30 and join the 160 plus parents who have supported the school this year. It’s not too late and the size of your gift doesn’t matter – it’s the participation that is key. If everyone does something, it adds up.

You can send your gift directly the Advancement Office or make a gift online at www.burrburton.org/advancement and click on the ONLINE GIVING button. Help us reach our goal – we’re getting close and need your help.

Thank you again for all of your support this past year. Involved parents are so important in carrying out our mission and encouraging our students to reach their full potential with a focus on responsibility, integrity and service.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Gubb
Director of Advancement

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Summer Camps 2009

We have some exciting new camp offerings this year including tennis, music, techsploration, softball and gamers. We will continue to offer all the camps from last year: lacrosse, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and dance. For your convenience, there is a link to our new camp website at www.burrburton.org (click on Summer Camps 2009 in the left column) where you will find more information about all of our camps.

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From the Library

What goes together like shorts and flip flops, sunshine and suntans, hot dogs and baseball? Summer and reading! Grab a few titles by your favorite author or try someone new, explore new genres and read… read… read.

If you are looking for book suggestions we have added links on the library home page to a variety of 2009 award winners including 2009 Best Books for Young Adults, Coretta Scott King Award winners, Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, National Book Award winners, Schneider Family Book Award 2009, Robert F. Sibert Award and the Alex Awards.

In addition, you can find a resource list in our online catalog of 50 recommended titles from our own Lisa B Tuttle Memorial Library collection that represent a variety of genres, some recent titles, a few older titles, a bit of fiction, a half dozen biographies, lots of history, and even some humor. http://northshirelibraries.com Here are five examples:
•   Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins takes place in a future North America where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people against one another and sixteen-year-old Katriss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.
•   Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill is the story of Aminata Diallo who was abducted from Africa as a child and enslaved in South Carolina. Aminata thinks only of freedom and of the knowledge she needs to get home. Her captivating story spans six decades and three continents and brings to life a crucial chapter in world history.
•   Seven Fires: The Urban Infernos That Reshaped America by Peter Charles Hoffer is the inspiring history of seven devastating but pivotal city fires, and how the men and women who fought them heroically rebuilt a new America from their ashes.
•   Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez tells the story of the beauty school she founds in the middle of the Afghan city of Kabul, and lifts the veil of secrecy about the vibrant women who were her students there.
•   Three Little Words: a Memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter recounts her years growing up in the foster care system, revealing painful memories but also her determination to discover the power of her own voice and her refusal to fall through the cracks.

Although our Library is closed beginning June 15 for the summer, our book collection remains available through the Mark Skinner Library and the Northshire Libraries Media Consortium

Library website: http://northshirelibraries.com

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College and Career Counseling

Summer Homework for Rising Seniors
o   Request a college recommendation from a teacher before summer vacation and use the College Recommendation Request Form (available in the School & College Counseling Office)
o   Visit college campuses and enter your observations in your Naviance journal
o   Update your on-line resume (http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton)
o   Save your best writing from your classes for possible enclosure in applications
o   Complete all summer work required for your fall classes
o   Remind your parents to send in the Senior Parent College Questionnaire
o   Draft a sample college essay – see www.commonapp.org for topics (the new version of the Common Application will be available on July 1, 2009)
o   Work on Service Learning projects
o   Learn something new through work, summer programs, or self-study
o   Set a personal goal and achieve it; think about how you want to challenge yourself in your senior year.
o   Put SAT/ACT dates on your fall calendar. Register in August / early September
o   Mark your calendar for the Senior College Workshops. Plan to attend one of the following sessions: Thursday, August 20 (10:00 -12:30 am) or Monday, August 24 (1:00-2:30 or 6:30-8:00 pm).

Summer Homework for All
Students need to budget time over the summer for any required academic work. All students will have a summer reading requirement and assignment from the Social Studies department. Students enrolled in AP English 11 or 12, AP US History, AP Biology, and AP Psychology will have course specific summer work. Assignments will be posted on the Burr and Burton website and available in hard copy in the School and College Counseling Office.

Attention Class of 2011
All rising juniors must report to school on Wednesday, August 26, for the Junior Jump Start Program. They’ve reached an important milestone and we’ll mark this special day with activities to kick off the second half of high school! Students will be introduced to career and college information, standardized testing options, and more. They’ll also meet new students and have some time to reconnect with classmates and advisors.

School Counseling News
The School and College counselors do not work throughout the summer but we will be available to meet with students and parents at various times; please refer to the schedule that will be enclosed in the final report card mailing. We will also periodically check and respond to e-mail. Please keep in touch with your questions and updates.

As advisory groups, sophomores will shift counselors from Phil Anton to Andrea Hogan, Melissa Michaud, or Cristin Rose. Juniors and seniors will retain their current counselor for consistency. Phil Anton will continue to be the counselor for incoming freshmen. School and College counselor assignments will also be noted in the end-of-the-year mailing.

Senior Plans
While picking up their caps and gowns, members of the Class of 2009 completed surveys about their various plans for life after BBA. We will automatically send final transcripts for seniors who indicated they are enrolling in a college. (There is no need for a special request or form!) Students who later change their enrollment decision should let us know so we can follow up appropriately.

We wish graduates good luck in their different ventures. Please know that we look forward to hearing from you. We’ll miss you!

Scholarship and Loan Information
Rizio-Wood Memorial Golf Scholarship
Eligibility: Graduating senior or current college student intending to pursue a career related to golf and/or agronomy as related to golf. (Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science.)
Award: not specified. Deadline: June 2

AES Engineers Scholarship
Eligibility: Graduating senior or current college student regardless of course of study. Must write an essay of no more than 1,000 words on topic listed on the website
Award: $500. Deadline: October 6
Info Online at: http://aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm

The Cooper Kelly Educational Fund
Eligibility: Senior planning to attend college.Dependable, responsible, and diligent with definite goals in mind. 2.0 average and references required.

Interest free LOAN. No specified amount ($25 application fee)
Application and information in the School and College Counseling Office

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May 2009

May 1, 2009

Calendar

2 SATs
4-15 AP exams
5 College Admission Program, 7-9 pm, Rowland Center
7-9 All-State Music Festival
20-24 A Chorus Line, 7 pm, Riley Center for the Arts
20-22 NECAP tests for juniors
22 Awards Assembly
25 Memorial Day. No school.
28 Showcase, Southern Vermont Arts Center
29 Jazz from the Schools, Southern Vermont Arts Center

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,
We are entering the home stretch of the school year. In these last six weeks, we will have myriad of special events, including the spring musical, A Chorus Line, NECAP testing, sporting events, papers, tests, and final exams. I ask that you as parents do everything you can to help your sons and daughters stay on track as spring bursts around us and the excitement of summer looms. If we can finish the year as smoothly as it has gone so far, we will be able to proclaim it a resounding success.

It is also Prom season, and with it comes opportunities for experimentation with substances and the always-dangerous mix of impaired judgment and driving. Yesterday, we had a “Ghost Out” assembly to highlight the dangers of drinking and driving, and I highly recommend that you have a follow up conversation at home. The assembly generated some powerful emotions among all of us—students and faculty alike—and my hope is that the emotions unearthed through this simulation will help keep our young people safer in the months ahead. I suggest you ask about the assembly and talk about “What if,” namely, what if someone is going to get behind the wheel while intoxicated? What will you do? How will you handle it? I suggest you reassure your son or daughter that they can call you at any time for help, and demonstrate to them that you will be able to handle the situation in the moment and discuss it later.

Students typically fear that their parents “can’t handle it,” so they avoid sharing information and seeking help when they might need it. The onus, therefore, falls on us adults to demonstrate ability to handle these discussions and situations. Most of all, I want to be sure all of our students make decisions that protect each other as well as themselves.
So, with that, I wish us all an exciting, productive, and safe end to the school year. I look forward to seeing all of you at the many events in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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From the Health Clinic

Dear Parents,
In an effort to keep you well informed regarding the international outbreak of a novel strain of swine influenza in humans, we share with you the following information:

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to seasonal influenza and include:
Fever
•    Lethargy
•    Lack of appetite
•    Coughing
•    Occasionally: runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

Precautions you can take to stop the spread of ANY germs:
•    Wash your hands often and well
•    Use alcohol-based hand wipes and sanitizers (if soap and water are not available)
•    Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
•    Cough and sneeze into a tissue and throw it away
•    Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth – ALL germs are spread this way
•    Stay home from work or school if you are sick

If you feel you may have symptoms of ANY influenza strain you should call your health care provider for further advice and assistanc

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Lunch Accounts Online

You can now visit mymealtime.com and setup an account to view your student’s lunch account. You can check balances, see what your student has purchased and add funds to the account by debit or credit card. You will need a unique ID number in order to establish the account. You can email mharvey@burrburton.org to obtain the ID number.

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2009 Yearbooks

Attention Students and Families Wanting 2009 Yearbooks
…now is the time to buy your yearbooks! The Burtonian staff is currently accepting checks, or you can place your order through www.jostensyearbooks.com. Look forward to a new, fresh, and memorable 2009 yearbook.

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From the Advancement Office

Celebrate Your Graduate
Parent of seniors – if you’re struggling to figure out what to give your graduate, please consider making a gift in their honor to our endowment fund. A gift to Burr and Burton’s endowment is a thoughtful, meaningful way to mark this wonderful milestone in your son’s or daughter’s life. Your gift provides continuing support for a dynamic curriculum, challenging educational programs and a wide-range of offerings and opportunities for students from all backgrounds and walks of life. What better way to honor your student’s achievements?

In addition, you will be recognizing the faculty and school that helped your child transition from youth to adulthood and launch them onto their next endeavor, whether college, the military, a technical program or the workforce. And best of all, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by the Rowland Challenge!

Your graduate will be notified of the gift and recognized in our Annual Appreciation Report published in September. Please include the graduate’s name and “Class of 2009” with your gift. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at 802-549-8110.

There’s Still Time to Support the Annual Campaign
The school year is just starting to wind down, but we’re still hard at work to meet our goal for the Annual Giving Campaign. Gifts can be made for this year until June 30, 2009. So if you’ve set aside our request thinking you’ll get to it later, please consider doing something now. We still have a ways to go to meet our goal of $450,000 and parent support is extremely important to our success as a school. Remember, the beneficiary is YOUR student, not the school. The annual fund supports many diverse programs at Burr and Burton Academy, in addition to academics, athletics and the arts. Gifts can be made online at www.burrburton.org/advancement/onlinegiving or by check.

And a heartfelt THANK YOU to all parents who have already supported the Annual Giving Campaign this year! We deeply appreciate your gift.

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From the Arts Department

Performing Arts Department Presents A Chorus Line May 20-24
A Chorus Line, the musical for everyone who’s ever had a dream and put it all on the line! Winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for drama, this singular sensation is the longest-running American Broadway musical ever. Don’t miss Burr and Burton Performing Arts Department’s production of A Chorus Line, Wednesday, May 20 through Saturday May 23, at 6:30 pm with 2:00 pm matinees on Saturday May 23, and Sunday, May 24 in the Riley Center for The Arts.

For tickets and more information go to bba.ticketjunior.com or call the 24-hour information line at 802-549-8224. The box office will open one hour prior to the show. Some material may be inappropriate for younger audiences.

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Summer Camps 2009

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From the Library

We the People Bookshelf Grant Received
Thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association we recently received the We the People Bookshelf collection of 22 hardcover titles, all of which explore themes in American History and supplement the Picturing America poster set received earlier in the year.

We the People Bookshelf Titles
Here are 5 of the 22 titles received:
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
Across America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy
Founding Brothers by Joseph S. Ellis
1776: the Illustrated Edition by David McCullough

Visual Thesaurus
For a fabulous online thesaurus, check out http://www.visualthesaurus.com “which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words.”

Media Literacy
If you haven’t seen Dove’s powerful videos about the beauty industry, be sure to watch Dove’s Evolution and Onslaught. Both can be found at the Dove website: www.dove.us/#/features/videos/videogallery.aspx/
Evolution will make you question reality in a digital world and Onslaught tugs at your heartstrings using many video techniques.

Library website: http://northshirelibraries.com

Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7 am – 4 pm
Friday 7 am – 1 pm

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College and Career Counseling

Spring College Admission Program
On Tuesday, May 5, from 7 – 9 pm in the Rowland Center, Burr and Burton Academy will host an hour-long panel presentation on the college admission process followed by a variety of topical workshops as part of its annual spring College Admission Program. Panelists from Boston University, Hobart and William Smith College, Castleton State College, and the University at Albany will later discuss the college search, essay writing, campus visits, college athletics, and the admission process at selective colleges in breakout sessions at 8 pm. Another workshop option is the special talk on financial planning (see next item). Sophomores, juniors and their parents are encouraged to attend the entire program.

Financial Planning for College-Bound Students
Graduating seniors and their parents will want to come to the Rowland Center on Tuesday, May 5, at 8 pm for a special presentation by Dr. Karen Gross, president of Southern Vermont College, on “What You and Your College-Bound Student Should Know about Finances.” Currently a Visiting Professor of Law at New York Law School and an expert in the areas of consumer finance and over-indebtedness, Dr. Gross is co-authoring a new book on how Americans handle (or mishandle) money. Her mission is to financially empower students as they move on to college and careers. We are most appreciative that Dr. Gross is sharing her knowledge with the Burr and Burton community.

Standardized Testing Registration
Juniors should have already taken or signed up to take the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT with writing at some point this spring. If necessary, juniors may still register for the June administration of these tests with an additional late fee or on a stand-by basis. The next testing opportunity for both tests comes in October. Information is available at www.collegeboard.com and www.actstudent.org.

Junior Papers
Juniors should save copies of their current best papers to submit to colleges next year. Increasingly, colleges are requesting that students provide graded writing samples in addition to their applications and essays.

Visit, Visit, Visit
Our college counseling mantra is “visit, visit, visit.” Juniors should make plans to make the trip to some college campuses in the upcoming months. College visits are legitimate absences for juniors but they need to let their counselor and their teachers know their visit plans in advance. Students are responsible for all work that they miss. Please contact your counselor if you need assistance in setting up tours, information sessions and interviews.

Advanced Placement Exams
AP exams run from May 4- May 15 this year. Please note that all Advanced Placement students taking morning exams will be released from school at the conclusion of the exam. Students taking exams that begin at noon are required to attend the first two morning classes, but are released at 11 am in order to have lunch and prepare.

Senior College Notifications
May 1 is the National Candidates’ Reply Date. Seniors should be sure to send in their deposit to the ONE college of their choice by May 1 in order to hold their place in the class. Families who have not received financial aid packages may want to request an extension for the deposit but all students should communicate with their college by May 1. At the same time, seniors should notify other colleges that they have decided to enroll elsewhere.

Attention Male Seniors
Don’t forget to register for the U.S. Selective Service when you turn 18 years old. Neglecting to register can prevent you from receiving college financial aid. Pick up a selective service form at any U.S. Post Office.

Upcoming Scholarships and Deadlines

For full listing please go to: connection.naviance.com/burrburton

Southern Vermont Arts Center Scholarships

Harriet Miller Memorial Scholarship

Thomas Reilly Dibble Memorial Scholarship

Churchill Ettinger Memorial Scholarship

Eva Mathiasen Memorial Scholarship

H. Thomas Clarke Memorial Scholarship

Eligibility: graduating senior accepted to an art program or art institution. Must be nominated by the BBA Art faculty member and have a comprehensive portfolio for review. Awarded to the artist who best shows a firm grasp on the principles of aesthetics and design. Award: $500; Deadline: May 1

Bill Muench Basketball Camp Scholarship
Eligibility: graduating senior (one boy and one girl) who participated in or worked as a counselor at Bill Muench’s Basketball Camp. Recognizes attitude, academic achievement and effort, involvement in sports, community or other extra-curricular activity)
Award: not specified; Deadline: May 1

Stephen Phillips Scholarship
Eligibility: Financial need, academic excellence, and exemplary citizenship, character and serious-mindedness. Extensive application form. Start early! (See if you qualify financial BEFORE filling out the application.)
Award: $3,000 to $10,000. Deadline: May 1. Application online at www.phillips-scholarship.org

BBA Wadsworth Art Scholarship
Eligibility: must be planning to major or double major in studio art. Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 1

Ray Pellegrini “Reach for the Stars” Scholarship
(sponsored by the Vermont Principals’ Association)
Eligibility: graduating senior, first generation college student, attending a college in VT, with the intention of remaining in VT after college. Community service and/or volunteer work will be given strong consideration.
Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 1. Applications also online at www.vpaonline.org.

Rutland Regional Medical Center Auxiliary Scholarship
Eligibility: must be accepted at an accredited college or university and plan to study in the field of health care. Award: $1,000, $1,500, or $2,000; Deadline: May 4

St. Andrew’s Society of Vermont Cultural Grants
Eligibility: Vermont residents who plan to enroll or are already enrolled in studying Scottish History language, arts, literature, dance and/or music. Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 5. Application also online at http://www.standrewssocietyofvermont.org

BBA Booster Club Athletic Award
Eligibility: outstanding accomplishments and participation in the area of athletics. 100-word essay required. Awarded to one male and one female athlete. Award: $500 each; Deadline: May 5

BBA Teachers’ Association Scholarship
Eligibility: Seniors, based on personal integrity and commitment to learning. Brief essay required. Award: not specified; Deadline: May 5.

Rizio-Wood Memorial Golf Scholarship
Eligibility: graduating senior or current college student intending to pursue a career related to golf and/or agronomy as related to golf. (Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science.) Award: not specified; Deadline: June 2.

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April 2009

April 1, 2009

Calendar

3 Calliope Café, 6:30 pm, Rowland Center
7 Booster Club meeting, 5 pm, classroom off gym lobby
8-9 Parent and Teacher Conferences (see below)
13-17 Spring Break
29 Evening Open Parent Association meeting, 5 pm, Rowland Center

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,
As you may have read in the newspapers, Burr and Burton recently underwent the first layoffs in many years. Four non-teaching positions were eliminated due to challenges of the global economy and our need to streamline administrative costs. Layoffs are a difficult task, but these and other cost-containment measures are necessary so our budget will balance next year.

In determining how to address the budget issues, we have taken great care to ensure that we continue to be able to nourish the academic, athletic and artistic programs of this school. To give you a flavor for the philosophy behind our decisions, please find below two basic points that not only guided the current decisions, but will lead us through these difficult times:

• We will protect, above all else, great teaching and passionate learning, and we will do everything we can to support the work of educators in the classroom. We will continue to be a leader in education and educational innovation. We will continue to be a school that attracts and retains the best teachers in the land.

• We will resist calls to strip down to the so-called “essentials” and, instead, will continue to recognize that education is an endeavor of the mind, body and spirit. The vibrancy of this school is in large part due to the many ways that students can find personal success, and the expansiveness of the Burr and Burton opportunity must continue.

In short, we will continue Burr and Burton’s long tradition of excellence, we will continue to provide the full range of opportunities for students to explore their passions and talents, and we will unabashedly seek to fill this school with great educators. You can consider these statements to be a commitment to you as parent, taxpayer, tuition-payer, and caring citizen.

The importance of education is enhanced in tough times. Thank you for your support for this great school.

Sincerely,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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Parent and Teacher Conferences

Parent and teacher conferences are scheduled this semester for Wednesday, April 8, from 1 pm-5 pm and Thursday, April 9, from 1 pm-8 pm with a break from 5:00-5:45 pm. All students will be dismissed at 12:35 pm on both days.

Scheduling can be done again this year online at: https://www.pickatime.com/client?ven=11601183

We encourage all parents to schedule appointments. If you have any questions or are having problems scheduling appointments, please call Sue Towslee in the main office at Burr and Burton Academy at 549-8102.

Helpful Hints: The pick-a-time software is VERY sensitive to both case and punctuation. Please follow the examples exactly in order to register. The most common problem when trying to set up appointments is not entering your student’s birth date correctly. It needs to be entered exactly as the example is shown: mm-dd-yyyy. Also, if you are a split family, and another parent has already made appointments, you will need to contact me so I can help set up appointments for you.

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Lunch Accounts Now Online

To Use MealTime Online log on to the Burr and Burton web site www.burrburton.org/parents/index and click on “Lunch Accounts” which will take you to MealTime Online.
Step 1: Create a MealTime Online parent account. Click on the “Create new account” link and enter a username and password that you will use to login to MealTime Online. The username and password must be at least 6 characters. For example, username: jsmith password: pty845.
Step 2: Add your student. Login to your MealTime Online account (using the username and password that you created in Step 1), click on the “Add New Student” link, and add your student by entering their first name and ID number. The ID number is NOT your student’s school PIN/ID#. You will receive an email from MealTime Point of Sale that will inform you of your student’s unique identifying number.
Step 3: Make a deposit. Click on the “Make Deposit” link to make a deposit into your student’s account. There is a transaction fee of 4.9 percent for making deposits. If you do not want to incur a transaction fee, you may continue to send a check into the school with your student and have them deposit it in the lockbox located in the cafeteria next to the cashier stations.

There is no charge to view your student’s cafeteria balance and purchase history. Click on the “View Details” link next to your student’s name to view their cafeteria account balance and purchase history. The purchase history starts on Thursday March 19, 2009, the date the new system was activated. If you need a purchase history prior to this date, please contact Maureen Harvey at 802-849-8139 or mharvey@burrburton.org.

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Summer Driver Education Program Begins June 17

The Driver Education Course begins on Wednesday, June 17, at 8 am in the Smith Center. This course is free of charge to Burr and Burton students. Driving permits are required at the first class. There are no exceptions.

The course runs from June 22 through July 10. Students are in the classroom from 8 -10 am (excluding weekends and July 4) and in-the-car driving sessions take place from 10 am – 12 noon or 12:15 – 2:15 pm.

The above schedule is for the first 3 weeks only. Classroom instruction ends on and includes July 10. Driving instruction continues until each student completes the required hours on the road, as outlined below:

July 11 through July 31 (or sooner depending on when 6 hours are completed; some students will finish their 6 hours of driving before others): 7 – 10 am, 10 am – 12 noon, 12:15 – 2:15 pm.

Each student must complete 30 hours of classroom time, 6 hours of driving, and 6 hours of observation. These requirements are mandated by the Vermont Department of Education. The course will include 3 separate classrooms, 3 instructors, and 3 vehicles. Typically we have about 75 students participating.

Students drive on a rotating basis, not every day. Copies of the driving schedule will be made available to students. We will accommodate students within limits as to what block of driving time suits them. Other than the 15 two-hour classroom blocks, students need NOT be at school except when they are scheduled to drive. Those times will be determined once the course begins.

Attendance is mandatory with no exceptions. If you have a conflict with work/vacation/camp activities, you must make a choice before the course starts.

Absences cannot be made up. In order to successfully complete this course, a grade of 70 percent must be achieved.

We recognize that a driver education course offered in the summer can be a challenge for some families. However, Burr and Burton has chosen this option as it allows for more academic offerings during the regular school year. Please feel free to contact Stan Blicharz, Director at 775-2827 (home) or 775-0566 ext. 2005 (work) if you have any questions.
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From the Advancement Office

It’s hard to believe spring is here and midterms have happened; the school year certainly is speeding by. The spring athletic season is underway with the track and field team running through town with pink cheeks from the cold and Dana Thompson Park is coming alive as tennis, lacrosse, baseball and softball prepare for their home opening games and matches. The buzz has begun as play practice begins for our spring musical A Chorus Line; everyone is looking forward to experiencing this next great production.

As we move closer to our goal of $450,000 we stay focused on our other goal of continuing to provide endless extracurricular programs and resources in the classroom. We also continue to be conscious of our expenses to ensure that every dollar donated is being used to provide the most necessary tools for our students. The support of our parents, alumni, grandparents, local businesses and friends has been phenomenal in this challenging economy.

We count on our parents to help support the needs of the school – please consider a gift of $25, $50, $100 or more. It’s not the amount but the participation that’s important. Burr and Burton Academy isn’t the beneficiary of your gift, YOUR student is! Make an investment in your student’s future today. For more information please contact Amy Comar, Annual Giving Campaign coordinator, at 549-8281 or by e-mail acomar@burrburton.org.

The Advancement Office will host a second Open Parent Association Meeting on April 29 at 5 pm in the Rowland Center. If you were not able to attend the first meeting at the beginning of March, we hope you can join us for this one. There will be a discussion with Headmaster Mark Tashjian for about an hour and some break- out groups afterward. An e-mail announcement will follow with further details.

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From the Arts Department

Please join us for Calliope Café on Friday, April 3, at 6:30 pm in the Rowland Center. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.

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From the Athletic Department

Do you have unused sports equipment sitting in your closet? We’d love to have it for our international students! We have several students who would like to try a sport every year who decide not to because they have to buy equipment that they will never use again. Please contact Director of Athletics Kathi Bierwirth at 549-8119 or by e-mail kbierwirth@burrburton.org if you have equipment you would like to donate.

Booster Club Needs Your Support
The Burr and Burton Booster Club is dying. A dramatic statement, perhaps, but definitely not an overstatement. At present, the core of the Booster Club consists of about seven volunteers. Within the next two years, we will most likely lose three of those members as their children graduate from BBA. In the almost three years that I have been involved with the Booster Club, I have seen several other members leave but I have not seen one additional person come on board. Without additional members we will see our efforts slowly die away. Already we have seen the end of our ski sale and this year we have been forced to cancel our annual golf tournament. The loss of these events will have a substantial impact on our fundraising efforts, and in times like these fundraising is more important than ever. I am sure by now that most of you have seen Mark Tashjian’s letter outlining the financial pressures that Burr and Burton is experiencing. We would be naive to think that this will not have some impact on BBA’s sports programs.

The parent and student involvement in staffing some of our efforts has been tremendous. The times that we have had trouble getting people to run the concessions or handle the 50/50 raffle have been very, very few. Last year when we hosted the Harlem Rockets, I sent out an e-mail asking for help and within minutes had more than enough people to get us through the evening.

However, we still need people who are willing to make the commitment to help organize and run these events. Without those events our fundraising efforts will fall short of the total needed to support the commitments we have made in the past, let alone fund those things that need to be done in the future. So far this year, BBA has won seven state championships. The banners that will hang in the gym celebrating those championships will cost approximately $2,000 and are paid for by the Booster Club. The Booster Club has spent over $1,000 this year on travel money for our student athletes going to state playoffs. In addition, the club in the past has awarded an annual scholarship of $1,000 to a male and female Burr and Burton senior. This year we committed $1,000 to help pay for an indoor batting cage for the baseball and softball teams (a necessity for teams that are lucky if they see any outdoor practice before their first game). There are also the monies raised through the 50/50 raffles that have gone to help support the hockey teams. Through our golf tournament, we were able to pay for an outstanding weight room and exercise facility. However, without future fundraising events, maintaining that facility will be very difficult.

I know all of us are faced with numerous other commitments and demands for our time, but I also know that sometimes all that it takes is to ask someone to help out. Unfortunately, I can’t ask you all one by one, so I am asking you now through this letter to help. Please attend our meetings. They are held the first Wednesday of the month at 5:30 pm in Julie Fifield’s classroom, off the gym lobby. Please call me if you have any questions.

Thank you,
John Conlon
(James ’10 and Marjean ’12)
President
Burr and Burton Booster Club
802-362-1873
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From the Library

New additions to our nonfiction collection include:
•    We Are the Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
•    John Steinbeck : a Twentieth-Century Life by Milton Meltzer
•    Blue Clay People : Seasons on Africa’s Fragile Edge by William Powers
•    Custom Kicks: Personalized Footwear by Maki
•    Outliers : The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
•    Nothing to Fear : FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America by Adam Cohen
•    The Tyranny of Oil : The World’s Most Powerful Industry—and What We Must Do To Stop It by Antonia Juhasz
•    Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin
•    Mrs. Lincoln: a Life by Catherine Clinton
•    The Soloist : a Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez

New additions to our fiction collection include:
•    Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
•    The Watchmen by Alan Moore
•    The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
•    Sovay by Celia Rees
•    The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
•    The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B. Parker
•    Bonechiller by Graham McNamee
•    Diamond Willow by Helen Frost
•    Child of Dandelions by Shehaaz Nanji
•    Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Library website: http://northshirelibraries.com

Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7 am – 4 pm
Friday 7 am – 1 pm

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Summer Camps 2009

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College and Career Counseling

Mock Interviews for Juniors
Our annual Mock Interview Program takes place on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 8. Juniors will have an opportunity to test their interviewing skills while meeting one on one with visiting college admission counselors. Students will receive direct feedback from the admission professionals that they can put to use when they schedule college visits in the upcoming months. As previously announced, this is a first-come first-served program. nterested juniors who haven’t yet signed up should check with Lynne Welsh to inquire if there are any remaining spots.

Standardized Testing Registration Information for Juniors
Test: ACT
Registration Deadlines: February 27 and May 8
Test Dates: April 4 and June 13
Place: BBA and Other

Test: SAT or Subject
Registration Deadlines: March 31 and May 5
Test Dates: May 2 and June 6
Place: BBA and Other

Students can register for the SAT online at www.collegeboard.com. Please be aware that the June testing date may conflict with post-season athletic contests. The SAT Reasoning Test is the regular SAT (the previous SAT I) required by most colleges. The SAT Subject Tests are the old SAT IIs or even older Achievement Tests; all but a handful of the most selective colleges do not require Subject Tests.

The ACT is a nice alternative to the SAT; nearly every college accepts either test and some colleges accept the ACT in lieu of SAT subject tests. To register online, go to www.actstudent.org. Paper registration forms for both the SAT and ACT are also available in the School and College Counseling Office.

SAT Prep Class
There are still spaces remaining in the SAT Prep class coming to Burr and Burton on April 25 and 26. Bruce Hammond, an editor of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and national speaker and presenter will lead the class. Please sign up in the School and College Counseling Office asap.

College Planning To-Do List for Juniors
The School and College counselors have been meeting with juniors for the past two months. Please ask your student to check out their college list on the Naviance program: http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton. We’ll be sending you a more extensive to-do list in the upcoming midterm report mailing, but here are some of the highlights:
•   Sign up for SAT or ACT (see above).
•   Research colleges and make college visits (during April break or take an excused absence on another day).
•   Make journal notes in Naviance. Keep track of what you learn about each college and share your impressions with us.
•   Let us know when you’re ready to meet again.
•   Attend relevant programs like the Burr and Burton College Night on Tuesday, May 5.
•   Stay in regular communication with your counselor so we can assist you.

Local College Fair
Representatives from primarily Northeastern colleges will gather on Wednesday, April 8, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at Castleton State College to speak with families about their programs. The list of participating colleges is posted in the School and College Counseling Office.

Graduation Information for Senior Families
Watch your mail for a booklet with comprehensive graduation information; it should arrive by the end of this month.

Senior College Notifications
May 1 is the National Candidates’ Reply Date. Seniors should be sure to send in their deposit to the ONE college of their choice by May 1 in order to hold their place in the class. Families who have not received financial aid packages may want to request an extension for the deposit but all students should communicate with their college by May 1. At the same time, seniors should notify other colleges that they have decided to enroll elsewhere.

Financial Aid Packages
Families of seniors who are receiving financial aid award letters may find the different presentations to be confusing. Use the “Award Letter Comparison Tool” available on the “Pay for College” page at www.vsac.org to better understand what different colleges are offering. The friendly folks at VSAC are available to answer questions about loans and other parts of the financial aid process; feel free to contact them at 1-800-642-3177.

Scholarships
Forms for all of the scholarships listed below are available in the School and College Counseling Office. This scholarship information is also listed on the Naviance website at: http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton.

The Order of the Eastern Star College Scholarship
Eligibility: High school senior planning to attend 2-4 year college or university full-time; academic achievement; community involvement; financial need.
Award: $500; Deadline: April 1

Nelson E. & Marie Williams Scholarship
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors who live within the borders of the area served by Currier Memorial School. This includes the towns of Danby ad Mt. Tabor. The student must have been a graduate of Currier Memorial School; strong character, strong academics, financial need.
Award: Not specified; Deadline: April 1

Sons of American Legion – Denis Comai Scholarship
Eligibility: Senior planning to attend trade school or technical college. Must have an immediate family member who is a member of the American Legion Family
Award: $1,000; Deadline: April 1

American Legion of Vermont Scholarship
Eligibility: seniors accepted at approved or accredited school or college,
Award: $1,500; $1,000; or $500; Deadline: April 1

Stephen Wood Carman and Sean Stephen Wood Cornell Memorial Scholarship
Eligibility: Senior planning to attend college in fall 2009. Based on overall academic record, extra-curricular activities and community service
Award: not specified; Deadline: April 10
For further information contact Jackie Sargood, SVAC, 362-1405

Wantastiquet Rotary Club Scholarship
Eligibility: Senior planning to further education through vocational course of study or 2- or 4-year college; academic potential, participation and involvement in school and home communities.
Award: $150; Deadline: April 11

Vermont Space Grant Scholarship
Eligibility: graduating high school senior or current undergraduate at VT College or University. GPA 3.0 or above. Planning to pursue career with direct relevance to US aerospace industry and NASA.
Award: $2,500; Deadline: April 13
Application also online at: www.vtspacegrant.org/scholarship.htm

Manchester Lions Club Scholarship
Eligibility: graduating senior needing financial assistance with college, trade school, conservatory, AA degree program or other non-traditional training program. Also for a recent past graduate who may just now be moving ahead with their education.
Award: not specified; Deadline: April 15

VFW – Phil Kelleher and John West Scholarship
Eligibility: High school senior planning to enroll in college. Award based on academic record, personal achievement, community service
Award: not specified; Deadline: April 20 must be hand-delivered

Vermont Golf Association Scholarship
Eligibility: Senior, in top 40% of class, GPA of 80, minimum combined SAT of 1500; connection to golf through play, caddying, or working at a club or golf course. Demonstration of financial need.
Award: $1,000/year for 4 years; Deadline: April 20
Application also online at: www.vtga.org

Manchester Masons of VT Scholarship
Eligibility: senior planning to enroll in college; award based on leadership, community service and extra-curricular activities and financial need
Award: $500.00; Deadline: April 22

Vermont Grocer’s Scholarship
Eligibility: senior affiliated with VGA via family or as an employee: financial need
Award: $1,500 to $2,500; Deadline: April 24

Winona Smith Scholarship
Eligibility: senior who has demonstrated an interest in civic participation and community service, financial need. Must have a teacher recommendation specific to this scholarship
Award: $50; Deadline: April 28

Southern Vermont Arts Center Scholarships
Harriet Miller Memorial Scholarship
Thomas Reilly Dibble Memorial Scholarship
Churchill Ettinger Memorial Scholarship
Eva Mathiasen Memorial Scholarship
H. Thomas Clarke Memorial Scholarship
Eligibility: graduating senior accepted to an art program or art institution. Must be nominated by the BBA Art Faculty and have a comprehensive portfolio for review. Awarded to the artist who best shows a firm grasp on the principles of aesthetics and design.
Award: $500; Deadline: May 1

Stephen Phillips Scholarship
Eligibility: Financial need, academic excellence, and exemplary citizenship, character and serious-mindedness. Extensive application form. Start early! (See if you qualify financial BEFORE filling out the application.)
Award: $3,000 to $10,000
Deadline: May 1
Application online at www.phillips-scholarship.org

BBA Wadsworth Art Scholarship
Eligibility: must be planning to major or double major in studio art.
Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 1

St. Andrew’s Society of VT, Cultural Grants
Eligibility: VT residents who plan to enroll or are already enrolled in studying Scottish History language, arts, literature, dance and/or music
Award: $1,000; Deadline: May 5
Application also online at http://www.standrewssocietyofvermont.org

BBA Teachers’ Association Scholarship
Eligibility: Seniors, based on personal integrity and commitment to learning. Brief essay required.
Award: not specified; Deadline: May 5

COMING SOON: The Reverend Canon Robert L. Clayton Scholarship Program
Eligibility: graduating senior, strong academic record, financial need, extra-curricular involvement, community involvement, character, goals
Award: $4,000/year for four years; Deadline: TBA (Probably early to mid-May)

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March 2009

March 1, 2009

Calendar

5 Mandatory Spring Sports Parent and Athlete meetings, 6 pm (see below)
11 & 12 Prisms Concert, Riley Center, 6:30 pm
13 Green Mountain Choral Festival
16 Spring sports season begins
23 End of the marking period
24-26 Midterm exams
30 Full-day faculty in-service. No school for students.

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,

In like a lion, out like a lamb? Burr and Burton is roaring through the winter, with two state championships under our belt—the dance team and girls’ ice hockey—a second place for boys’ ice hockey, and the snowboarding and ski teams as well as and our undefeated girls’ basketball team concluding their seasons this week. Also on the sports front, our Access students will compete in the Special Olympics against Bennington on Tuesday night. Then there are the many activities that do not involve points and referees and competitors—one of which took place this past Saturday: the One-Act Symposium in the Riley Center for the Arts. Students acted in and directed a series of “skits,” a term that does not do justice to the quality of the performances. I can only say that the audience witnessed performances that result when talent, passion and hard work converge. It was a special evening.

In the midst of all of this activity, the work of academic learning guided by our talented teaching staff continues. That is, of course, our core purpose, the foundation that gives substance and strength to everything else. At Burr and Burton Academy, I am happy to report that winter is going out like a lion!

Please take a look at what’s ahead for March. I know we have a ways to go until flowers bloom on our hillsides, but there is much to see and enjoy at Burr and Burton Academy.

Sincerely yours,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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From the Athletic Director

The Mandatory Spring Sports Parent and Athlete meetings will take place Thursday, March 5 at 6 pm for the following spring sports: baseball, softball, track, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls golf and boys and girls tennis. The individual meeting locations:

Baseball: Hunter Seminar Room in the library
Boys lacrosse: Rowland Center in cafeteria
Softball: Cory Herrington’s room, third floor of Seminary Building
Track: gymnasium
Boys tennis: Dave Miceli’s room, third floor of Seminary Building
Girls tennis: John Graf’s room, third floor of Seminary Building
Girls lacrosse: John Wright’s room, third floor of Seminary Building
Boys and girls golf : Wellness classroom off of the gym lobby

Spring Sports Start Dates
Monday, March 9 Baseball pitchers and catchers.
Monday, March 16 All spring sports begin.

REMINDERS: Community Service hours and Service Learning projects must be up to date. Sophomores need 2 Service Learning projects completed and juniors need 4 Service Learning projects completed. Seniors need to have completed their 50 hours of community service. All athletes must have had a physical exam within the last two years; any athlete who had a physical prior to July 2007 you must have a current form on file before the season opens.

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From the Health Clinic
Students need healthy meals to learn. Hunger pains are a distraction to learning. Burr and Burton Academy strongly believes that every student should be well fed and ready to embrace the school day with a full belly. Therefore, we have partnered with the State of Vermont to administer the National School Lunch program. Depending on a family’s household income your child may be eligible for free and reduced priced lunches. Please feel free to call Dennis Filippi in the Business Office 549-8213 or Meg Burns in the Health Clinic 549-8132 for more information or with any questions you may have.

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From the Advancement Office

As we head into March, we continue to work on raising funds for the Annual Giving Campaign. As we all know, Burr and Burton is making every effort to continue to provide the very best programs. At the same time, we are looking at every expense in the budget to trim costs and be more efficient. Every dollar we raise through the annual fund is spent responsibly, knowing how challenging it has been this year for some parents to make their gift.

We would like to thank all of our parents, businesses, and friends that have already supported the Annual Giving Campaign. Your support and partnership in the face of the current economic situation sends a strong message to our students that we care about the quality of their education and will do everything we can to make it happen for them.

We count on our parents to help support the needs of the school – please consider a gift of $25, $50, $100 or more. It’s not the amount but the participation that’s important. Burr and Burton Academy isn’t the beneficiary of your gift, YOUR student is! Make an investment in your student’s future, today.
Thank you,
Amy Comar
Annual Giving Coordinator
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From the Arts Department

The annual “Art from the Schools” student show will take place March 14 through April 9 at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester. All are welcome to attend the complimentary opening March 14, from 2 pm to 4 pm, as well as the Young Picasso’s Pizza Party on March 25 from 3 pm to 6 pm.This show will feature Burr and Burton Academy student work from the visual arts classes, including paintings, drawings, ceramics, photography, and woodworking.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
The opening reception for Arts Department Chair Betsy Byrne Hubner’s showing of her Irish-inspired paintings and photographs will take place Tuesday, March 17, from 5-7 pm at the Manchester Artists Guild on Route 11/30. All are welcome!

Performing Arts Department Events

The Prisms Concert will take place March 11 and 12 at 6:30 pm in the Riley Center for the Arts. For tickets please go to www.bba.ticketjunior.com.

On March 13 the Green Mountain Choral Festival will be held at Green Mountain College in Poultney.

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College and Career Counseling

Course Registration for 2009-2010
Juniors, sophomores and freshmen will be registering for classes at the beginning of April. Please keep an eye out for the new Course of Study book and take the time to discuss appropriate course choices with your son or daughter. Parents need to sign off on course registration forms for the requests to be processed. Please call your student’s counselor if you have any questions.

Mock College Interviews
Juniors will have the chance to participate in individual practice college interviews with college admission officers on the afternoons of April 8 and/or 9. Details will be forthcoming and registration for this program will begin on March 23 in the School and College Counseling Office. Students will be accommodated on a first-come -first-served basis until spots are filled.

College Fair
Castleton State College will host a College Fair on Wednesday, April 8, from 6:30 to 8 pm. Admission representatives from a variety of Northeastern colleges will be available to speak with students and parents.

Burr and Burton’s Spring College Program
Juniors, sophomores, and their parents are invited to attend our Annual Spring College Program on Tuesday, May 5, at 7 pm, in the Rowland Center. The evening will begin with an hour-long discussion by a panel of college admission professionals, followed by a variety of related workshops. In addition, Dr. Karen Gross, president of Southern Vermont College, will be a featured speaker at 8 pm. Her talk, “What College-bound Students Should Know about Finances,” is also appropriate for the parents of seniors and members of the current graduating class.

VSAC Admission Programs
VSAC is also organizing a series of workshops on college admission. These Saturday programs take place on March 14 at St. Michael’s College; March 28 at Castleton State College; and April 4 at Lyndon State College. Find more information and register for VSAC’s College Pathways workshops on-line at www.vsac.org/pathways or by calling 1-800-798-8722.

Standardized Testing Registration Deadlines
All juniors who plan to attend college at some point in the future should register to take at least one standardized test this spring. Please confer with your counselor for advice. Registration deadlines and test dates are as follows:

Test: ACT
Registration Deadlines: February 27 and May 8
Test Dates: April 4 and June 13
Place: BBA and Other

Test: SAT or Subject
Registration Deadlines: March 31 and May 5
Test Dates: May 2 and June 6
Place: BBA and Other

We recommend that students register on-line; for the SAT at www.collegeboard.com and for the ACT at www.actstudent.org. Paper registration forms are also available in the School and College Counseling Office. Please see counselors with any questions.

Juniors interested in area test-prep opportunities should review the February mailing sent to their homes. Please see Lynne Welsh in our office for additional copies. She is also accepting registrations and fees for the Bruce Hammond SAT Prep Workshop at Burr and Burton on April 25 and 26. To sign up for other programs, students need to contact the providers directly.

Summer Opportunities
The School and College Counseling Office has information about various types of summer programs for students. Please stop by to check out our collection of materials.

All students are eligible for the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont which include week-long sessions organized around the following topics: Arts, Asian Cultures, Current Events and Issues, Engineering, Information Technology, Mathematics, and Science and Technology, and. These last three programs are available to girls at half-tuition, thanks to special grants. Applications are due in the School and College Counseling Office by March 15.

Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in a health-care career may want to attend one of the week-long MedQuest programs offered in June in Bennington and in August in Brattleboro. The School and College Counseling Office has applications available for pick-up. The application deadline is March14.

Financial Aid Alert
Seniors need to complete and submit their financial aid forms (FAFSA and VSAC Grant Application) this month if they have not already done so. Contact VSAC at 1-800-642-3177 for assistance in filling out the forms. Don’t delay!

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From the Library

We have added sixty-five eBooks to our library’s electronic catalog. From Shakespeare’s As You Like It to Jack London’s Call of the Wild, these eBooks are accessible right from our catalog and include a built-in keyword search function making them great for research and reference. Follett eBooks are single books that can only be checked out to one user at a time. You will need to access your Destiny account to check out a Follett eBooks. The book will be downloaded onto your computer using Adobe Acrobat Reader. After the download is complete you can save a copy of the book to your computer for easy access. The book will automatically open each time at the page where you left off.

Headlines and Sidelines is a large three-ring binder containing clippings of all the articles about Burr and Burton and its students that have appeared in the Rutland Herald, the Bennington Banner and the Manchester Journal since school began last August. This wonderful book of media coverage celebrates student accomplishments in sports, in academics, in community activities and in community service. The book is updated daily and kept at the circulation desk in the library. We are glad to be able to honor the talents of Burr and Burton students by sharing the Headlines and Sidelines book with everyone so stop by and take a look.

Library website: http://northshirelibraries.com

Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7 am – 4 pm
Friday 7 am – 1 pm

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February 2009

February 2, 2009

Calendar

5 Open House for Parents, 6:15 pm

6 Green Mountain Instrumental Music Festival

7 ACTs

16-20 Winter Break

28 One Act Drama Festival Workshop [see below under Performing Arts]

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,

Out with the old, in with the new. No, I am not talking about the Inauguration; there has been plenty written already, and I don’t need to add to that dialogue in this forum. Rather, I am talking about the new semester, what we refer to as the “spring” semester, something of a misnomer with more snow on the ground than anyone can remember. But here we are: the second semester has begun.

Next week, we will have the Parents Open House (February 5, 6:15 pm). This past fall, we had well over 500 attendees at the Open House in early October, and I hope to exceed this figure next week. As you contemplate whether or not to attend, I’d like to share some thoughts on its importance:

#1 Study after study shows that student performance in school is directly connected with parent involvement. By coming to the Parent Open House, you are demonstrating an interest in—and commitment to—a Burr and Burton education. You send a message that you care about your child’s education. You send a message that you value Burr and Burton Academy and the opportunities that this school presents.
#2 If you know the teachers, the teachers know you. We all communicate better with those we know, and strong communication is essential to any partnership.
#3 By attending Parents Open House, you are recognizing and appreciating the efforts of our teachers. Teachers work very hard all year long, and there are too few opportunities simply to say “Thank you.” This is one of them.

So we invite you to come to the Open House, and we also ASK that you attend. Your attendance will help make us a better school.

Sincerely,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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Parents Open House February 5

All parents and guardians are encouraged to return to campus for our second semester Parent Open House on Thursday, February 5, 2009. This is your opportunity to meet your student’s teachers, to understand curricular expectations and grading policies, and to gain a better sense of how your son or daughter spends their day at Burr and Burton Academy. We look forward to seeing you on February 5 starting in the cafeteria in the Rowland Center.

Schedule
6:15 pm – 6:45 pm
Registration, pick up schedules, and socialize with other parents

6:45 pm
Welcoming remarks: Headmaster Mark Tashjian

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Class rotation for A, B and C blocks

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From the Advancement Office

Considering the economic challenges we have been facing in the past six months, as a nation, as families and as individuals, we are making good progress on the Annual Giving Campaign for Burr and Burton. To those parents who have already stepped forward and made a gift we are most grateful. To date, about 20 percent of our parents have given.

While we’ve made progress, we still have over $100,000 left to go to reach our goal. Participation is key to the success of this effort, so if you haven’t made a gift please consider making one. The size of your gift doesn’t matter – if all you can do at this time is $25 that is OKAY! If your personal circumstances allow you to do more, we would appreciate your support. But please do something.

In his letter to parents, Mark Tashjian stated, “Parent giving sends a powerful message to others in this community.” We’re asking you to respond to his appeal and show your strong support for this school and Mark in his first year as headmaster of this amazing institution. Thank you!

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We’re Looking for Host Families!

Every year Burr and Burton welcomes students from Asia, Europe and South America to study for one or both semesters. These students come to Burr and Burton hoping to perfect their English skills and to learn more about American culture by living with a host family in Manchester. Many go on to study at American universities before returning home.

We invite community members to experience the joy of hosting a young person and giving them a chance to know our country. A host family may consist of a traditional nuclear family, a single-parent household, “empty nesters” whose children are grown, a family with young children, or any variation thereon.

“Our participation in the International Program at Burr and Burton Academy has been fun, rewarding, and very surprising,” says Mary Kayhart. “My only regret is that we did not participate in the International
Program as a host family sooner.”

There are only two requirements: students must have their own bedrooms and families must have a willingness to share their lives and hearts with a student from a different culture. A stipend is provided to cover the host’s costs. Contact Andrea Thulin at 549-8133 or e-mail a athulin@burrburton.org.

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Performing Arts Department

February 1 Scotland trip meeting and dance demonstration 12:00-2:00
February 6 Green Mountain Instrumental Music Festival
February 28 One Act Drama Festival Workshop

Performing Arts Department Hosts Actors Symposium
February 27-28
Burr and Burton Academy’s Performing Arts Department is sponsoring a new initiative this winter for aspiring student actors and directors. The Actors Symposium, to be held on February 27 and 28, will provide students with the opportunity to study with professional actors and directors during this two-day event. These professionals draw from a diverse range of experience on and off Broadway, reaching from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York to international experience in Europe, Denmark, and Australia.

In preparation for this event, several one-act performances are currently in rehearsal under student direction. Faculty mentors are working with these student directors on advanced directorial techniques. In the spirit of collaboration, the Performing Arts Department has invited the Varsity Players from Arlington High School to join the symposium.
During the symposium, students will share their one-act performances with the professionals who will in turn provide constructive feedback, workshops, and mentorship for all participants. At the conclusion of the event, these one-acts will be performed for the public on Saturday February 28, at 6:30 pm in the school’s Riley Center for the Arts. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Doors will open at 5:45 pm.

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College and Career Counseling

Meetings with Juniors
Individual meetings with juniors are now underway as we help them shape their futures in college, gap programs, employment, military service, and other options. All students will have a scheduled appointment with their counselor sometime in the next few months when they will complete a resume of activities and explore opportunities with us.

For students who don’t have college in their sights at this time, we will discuss ways for students to determine possible career and job interests. Field Study, elective courses and part-time jobs are good avenues for students to prepare for employment after high school.

We assist college-bound students with the college search process, discuss academic preparation, review PSAT scores and plan for standardized testing. We look forward to continued contact with juniors throughout the next year as we work together to find good college matches.

Parents often wonder how they can help. We meet with students and help them compile an appropriate college list, but families need to take the next step. Please facilitate some college visits during the spring semester. In our experience, we have found that students who have visited a few campuses prior to applying find the process more meaningful, directed and manageable. With advanced notice to teachers and the Dean of Students, college visits are excused absences from school. Plan a trip to see a campus or two and take advantage of information sessions and tours. Then be sure to let us know your family’s impressions.

Another way that we coordinate efforts with students and families is through the Naviance Program (http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton). This on-line program has multiple resources and also serves as a communication tool. We demonstrated various program functions during our evening College Program for Junior Parents in October. Individual account access codes were also mailed home earlier this year. If you have misplaced your access code or need to reset your password, please email Lynne Welsh, office assistant, by e-mail at lwelsh@burrburton.org.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns. We are eager to partner with parents in the college and career planning process.

Andrea Hogan, 549-8145; ahogan@burrburton.org
Melissa Michaud, 549-8130; mmichaud@burburton.org
Cristin Rose, 549-8126; crose@burrburton.org

Standardized Testing Registration
Most juniors should sign up to take either the SAT Reasoning Test (the regular SAT) on May 2 or the ACT (with writing) on April 4 since they are given here at the school and students are generally more comfortable in a familiar testing environment. Some highly selective colleges also require SAT Subject Tests so some students should also plan to take these on June 6 at another site. Although this is the traditional junior testing schedule, individual students do choose alternative plans. For example, students anticipating athletic championship contests during the first weekend in June need to be aware of a potential conflict.

Information on the SAT and ACT, registration forms and free practice booklets are available in the School and College Counseling Office and at www.collegeboard.com and www.actstudent.org, respectively. The table below outlines spring testing options. Additional testing opportunities will come next fall. Please contact us if you have questions.

Test: ACT
Registration Deadlines: February 27 and May 8
Test Dates: April 4 and June 13
Place: BBA and Other

Test: SAT or Subject
Registration Deadlines: March 31 and May 5
Test Dates: May 2 and June 6
Place: BBA and Other

Prep for Standardized Testing
SAT prep classes are currently forming for the spring semester. The Manchester Tutorial Center offers two courses at a moderate fee. Please call 362-0222 for information and to register for classes beginning in mid March. High-End Test Prep offers an intensive and pricier course beginning in mid February (call 802-233-7732 or email highendtestprep@yahoo.com). A best value SAT prep option will take place on the weekend of April 25-26 when Bruce Hammond, former managing editor of the Fiske Guide to Colleges, will offer a two-day workshop for approximately $100. Details on that course are forthcoming.

Financial Aid
Financial aid information was distributed to all seniors in advisory in December. All Vermont students applying for need-based financial aid must submit the FAFSA and VSAC forms. Pay close attention to individual college financial aid deadlines; many colleges require students to file the FAFSA in February and March.

To file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and VSAC grant application, go the these websites: www.fafsa.ed.gov and www.vsac.org. Families are urged to file on-line as soon as possible and you are welcome to use our office computers if you need internet access. If you have questions about the FAFSA or other financial aid forms, don’t hesitate to contact the helpful folks at VSAC’s toll-free help line: 800-642-3177.

In addition, some private colleges require students to file the CSS Profile form. You will need to check your individual college financial aid requirements. Information about the CSS Profile can be found in the financial aid section at www.collegeboard.com.

Scholarships
Students can pick forms for individual scholarships in the School and College Counseling Office. For a current list of scholarships available please go to www.burrburton.org/parents. VSAC coordinates applications for multiple Vermont-based scholarships through its VSAC Scholarship Booklet and Unified Scholarship Application (due March1). This publication is available for pick-up in our office; information and forms are also available on the VSAC website.

Summer Programs / Study Abroad
The School and College Counseling Office has collected information about a variety of summer programs, including two Vermont-based programs: MedQuest (for health-related careers; www.southernvermontahec.org) and Governor’s Institutes (topical sessions: www.giv.org). See websites for details and deadlines.

Students planning to spend a semester abroad or in an alternative educational setting in 2009-10 should meet with their counselor to plan an appropriate academic schedule. Students need to submit a Burr and Burton Off-Campus Study application for approval.

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Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning
Cabin Fever Classes

The Green mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning is offering some great Cabin Fever classes, several taught by Burr and Burton faculty. For complete information visit their website at www.gmall.org.

The Joy of the Recorder with Julie Freebern
Session 1 (Getting Started/Restarted)
4 Wednesdays, Feb. 4, 11, 25; March 4
Session 2 (Experienced and Beyond)
4 Wednesdays, Apr. 1, 8, 22, 29
Secrets to Making a Great Soup with Sissy Hicks
Thursday, February 12
Hot Topics & Current Events: A Great Conversations Discussion Group
6 Thursdays, February 12, 26; March 12, 26; April 9, 23
Duplicate Bridge: An Introduction with Andy Avery
4 Mondays, February 16, 23; March 2, 9
Building Brain-Power with Math’s Hottest Technologies with Michael Caraco
4 Tuesdays, March 3, 10, 17, 24
(Almost) Everything You Need to Know about Practical Psychology with Bill Muench
4 Wednesdays, March 4, 11, 18, 25
Astronomy: From Stargazers to Moon-Walkers with Bill Muench
4 Thursdays, March 5, 12, 19, 26
A “Taste” of Spring: Beekeeping for Gardening
and Farming Success with Maddie Sobel
Tuesday, March 10

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School Club Roundup Announcement
The School Club Roundup is an annual ham radio contest with the purpose of promoting amateur radio communications in schools. During the week of February 9-13, Burr and Burton Academy’s ham radio station (K1BBS) will participate for the eleventh consecutive year. Over the past decade, 277 Burr and Burton students have made 2,342 contacts with individuals, clubs, and schools. K1BBS has ranked nationally between third and ninth for the high school division with nine of the ten years producing the Vermont state champion. Worldwide, depending on the year, K1BBS ranked between fourth and thirtieth. Come 20:00 UTC on Monday, 2-9-09, K1BBS keys the microphone to defend BBA’s state, national, and international honor. For previous year’s statistics, pictures, etc. go to: http://bba-kochenour-chemistry.wikispaces.com/Ham+Radio

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From the Library
Come Join Us for a 200th Birthday Party for Abraham Lincoln, Thursday February 12. Books, Photos, Trivia Contest and Birthday Cake!

With more than fifty Lincoln titles in our collection, there is much to read and enjoy and many works will be on display all month for borrowing. Here are just three suggestions: The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage by Daniel Epstein, Abraham Lincoln the Writer, compiled and edited by Harold Holzer and Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President by Harold Holzer. In addition to books we have other formats such as DVDs, photographs and CDs that focus on Lincoln.

We are featuring a presidential trivia contest during February – just five correct answers results in a “sweet” reward!

Library website: http://northshirelibraries.com

Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7 am – 4 pm
Friday 7 am – 1 pm

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New Club in Town Holds Food Drive February 21
The Manchester Lions Club’s new Leo Club, under the direction of Pam Nichols, is having a Stuff-a-Bus food drive on Saturday, February 21, at Shaw’s supermarket from 8 am to 2 pm. Stop by and help them fill the mini-bus. All food donated will go to the Manchester Food Cupboard. The Leo Club, a youth version of the Lions, is an international community service club and is open to all local high-school students. Burr and Burton junior Mary Kate Hancock is the current president of the club. Please call Pam for more information: 362-3504.

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January 2009

January 4, 2009

Calendar

5 Classes resume

13 End of marking period

14 – 16 Final exams. Dismissal at 12:35 pm.

17 All-State Music Festival auditions

19 Martin Luther King Day. No school.

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From the Headmaster

Dear Burr and Burton Community,

I hope you all have enjoyed a restful break after a whirlwind December that featured many highlights: rousing performances by the orchestra, jazz ensemble, chorus, dancers, and, of course, the dramatic production, The Diviners. Winter sports teams are off to strong starts, with special kudos to the still-undefeated girls varsity basketball team (with hopes that my mention does not jinx them!). Final exams are on the horizon, and then, miraculously, we take the turn into the second semester and the second half of the year. With Burr and Burton’s strengths as a backdrop, I want to talk a little bit about the dramatic changes in our nation’s economic outlook and how this affects our school.

As a school that serves eleven sending towns, we are acutely aware that our tuition is paid via taxes. In the coming months, we will be presenting next year’s tuition at local town meetings, and I thought it might be worthwhile to share certain aspects of our financial situation in anticipation of those discussions.

First, what we charge in tuition does not cover the cost of providing the rich array of opportunities, the small class sizes, the extraordinary facilities and the dedicated teachers at Burr and Burton. In recent years, there has been an annual shortfall of roughly $1 million that is paid for privately via extensive fundraising efforts and draw on the endowment. In fact, last year, we experienced a deficit of $357,000 despite all those fundraising efforts. Obviously, we cannot experience deficits indefinitely, so this year we have looked closely at our cost structure and enacted a range of measures, including installation of energy-efficient electric fixtures and bulbs funded by Efficiency Vermont, projected to yield annual savings of $20,000; double-sealing of all windows during the winter months; lowering of thermostats; deferring certain capital expenditures; and looking carefully at the entire operating budget to insure that we are operating as efficiently as possible. Efforts to improve efficiency are ongoing.

Second, but really most important, we will not compromise the quality of education in the interest of so-called “efficiency.” In fact, we must continue to grow and strengthen ourselves as an educational institution even as we challenge ourselves to do more with less. In the global economy, Burr and Burton students must be prepared to compete with the best and the brightest not only from this region and this country, but globally. We simply cannot meet our educational mission, we simply cannot responsibly prepare students for the challenges they will face if we focus solely on cost-cutting; we must always keep in mind our aspirations for the future as a way of inspiring our present.

The Board of Trustees has set the 2009-2010 per student tuition rate at $13,350, a number which is still projected to result in a deficit of $280,000. This is an increase of $750, roughly 6 percent, from last year’s tuition. The trustees approved this figure, citing their desire for tuition to remain affordable to the towns, the school’s responsibility to maintain high quality academic programs, and trustee responsibility to manage the fiscal health of the school. Through enhanced fundraising efforts and efficiency improvements, we will strive to balance the budget despite the current deficit projection.

Burr and Burton’s high-quality programs and its reputation for excellence in academics, the arts, and athletics continue to draw families to the Manchester community. In fact, the notion that a private school could serve the public—that, in fact, the public deserves the quality of education that wealthy families pay $20,000 or more to experience—is what attracted me to the Manchester community. Burr and Burton has the highest scores on state-mandated assessment tests administered to juniors, as well as the highest graduation rate and the lowest drop-out rate in the state. And we will continue to strive for improvement.

I hope you find this information to be useful. Let’s hope for health, education, and an economic rebound in 2009. Happy New Year.

Sincerely yours,
Mark H. Tashjian

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From the School and College Counseling Office

College and Career Planning for Juniors
The School and College counselors will meet with all juniors in individual student appointments to be scheduled in late January, February, and March. We will discuss the student’s academic record, extracurricular and work experiences, and other positive factors that will contribute to a successful college application process or transition to work or other opportunities. Our goal with all students is to help them create a successful plan for life after Burr and Burton. We will assist college-bound students in developing an appropriate college list, answer questions and provide support for the college search. We welcome parental contact and feedback at any time.

Standardized Testing for Juniors
All students who took the PSAT in October should have received results through the mail in mid December. We also enclosed a testing calendar and prep information in the packet for your reference. Students have many options about which tests to take and when to take them. Please contact your counselor if you have questions.

Upcoming Test Dates and Deadlines

ACT Saturday, Feb. 7
Register by Jan. 6 at www.actstudent.org
Sign up for ACT with writing!
Test is offered at Burr and Burton

SAT Saturday, March 14
Register by Feb. 10 at www.collegeboard.com
SAT Critical Reasoning Test only (no subject tests)
NOT offered at Burr and Burton
If student has potential athletic or other conflict for May or June test date, he /she may want to consider taking this one.

ACT Saturday, April 4
Register by Feb. 27 at www.actstudent.org
Sign up for ACT with writing!
Test is offered at BBA

College Application Update
Congratulations to the many seniors who have already been admitted to college (more than 40 percent of the class)! Most of the rest have applied and are now waiting for responses from colleges that don’t report decisions as quickly. We are working with the small percentage of seniors who are still in the process of applying and aim to get their applications off by the end of the month.

Mid-Year Grades for Seniors
Many colleges request the mid-year or first semester grades of their applicants. Rest assured that the registrar will process grades as soon as possible following exams. We’ll then forward an updated transcript to all colleges listed on students’ transcript request forms. Because we use a universal mid-year report form, there is no need to provide us with college-specific forms.

Financial Aid
January 1 is opening day for 2009-2010 Financial Aid Season! All students applying for need-based aid should be ready to submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and the VSAC (Vermont Student Assistance Corp.) grant application in the next month or so.

Parents should begin gathering financial statements and information in anticipation of filing financial aid forms. Be careful to meet individual college financial aid deadlines. Please remember that you can estimate on your forms and revise them later. Many colleges distribute financial aid on a first-come, first-served basis.

Families are encouraged to apply online whenever possible: www.fafsa.ed.gov and www.vsac.org

Some private colleges also require a form called the CSS Financial Aid Profile Form. This process should be started immediately so as not to delay funding: https://profileonline.collegeboard.com.

Families who have specific questions about how to complete portions of the financial aid forms may want to take advantage of scheduling an individual appointment with Rick Bernasconi, Burr and Burton’s VSAC Outreach counselor, on Wednesday, January 14, beginning at 3 pm. Families who want to participate should call Lynne Welsh in the School and College Counseling Office as soon as possible to put their names on an appointment list. Other VSAC counselors are on call and available to answer questions families have about any aspect of applying for financial at their toll-free number: 1-800-798-8722.

Scholarships/ Contests
The VSAC Unified Scholarship application and information is available on the VSAC website and as a booklet in the School and College Counseling Office. The deadline for all scholarships in this application is March 1.

Additional Scholarships:

Elks Most Valuable Student Scholarship
Eligibility: senior, employment, community service, leadership, financial need
Deadline: January 9
Application in School and College Counseling Office and online at: www.elks.org/enf/scholars

Vermont JCI Senate Foundation Scholarship
Eligibility: Seniors continuing their education at college, university or vocational school
Deadline: January 19
Application online: www.usjcisenate.org

Discover Scholarship Program
Eligibility: High School junior with at least a 2.75 GPA for 9th and 10th grades who demonstrates accomplishments in community service and leadership and has faced a significant roadblock or challenge.
Deadline: January 31Online Application: www.applyists.net (Access key DISC)

VERMONT-NEA Maida F. Townsend Scholarship
Eligibility: Seniors who are sons or daughters of VT NEA members, must submit a 400-word essay
Deadline: February 2
Cover sheet at www.vtnea.org

Burger King Scholars Program
Eligibility: GPA 2.5 or higher, work 15 hours/week, 40 wks/year; community service; financial need; enrolling in 2 or 4 year college or voc/tech school. Do NOT need to be employed by Burger King.
Deadline: February 15
Application Online: www.bk.com/scholars

Knights of Columbus 2009 Scholastic Achievement Scholarship
Eligibility: high school senior who is a son or daughter of a Knight of Columbus; four scholarships based on merit, four based on merit/need.
Deadline: February 15

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From the Advancement Office

We greatly appreciate the support from our parents to date of the Annual Giving Campaign. Thanks for helping us get halfway to our goal of $450,000! We can only reach this goal through the help of many different friends of the school – not just our parents. Businesses, alumni, grandparents, faculty, staff, Board of Trustee members and many other friends help make this happen.

After the holidays, we will be continuing our efforts to encourage each and every parent to participate in this year’s campaign. We need parent volunteers to help with our phon-a-thons – it’s only a time commitment of one or two evenings. This is an important way to build strong relationships with all parents, peer to peer. To sign up, call or email Amy Comar at 549-8281 or acomar@burrburton.org.

Again, our most sincere thanks to all parents who have supported this year’s campaign with a gift. We hope 2009 will be a successful and joyous year for all of our Burr and Burton families.

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Purchase Your 2009 Yearbook Now!

Many students were disappointed last year that they could not purchase a yearbook when they were delivered in May. We cannot order more copies than we have sold so it is very important that you order your yearbooks now. In order to make this convenient for you, we are offering two methods for ordering. We’re sure you won’t want to risk not having one for your son or daughter. If you’d like to pay by check, just print out an order form (available under the Parents section on the Burr and Burton website) and mail it in along with your payment to the school. If you’d like to pay by credit card, go to www.jostensyearbooks.com and order your book that way. If you have questions, please email Brook Bull at bbull@burrburton.org

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From the Library

Where to Go When Google Doesn’t Know
Tapping into the “Hidden Web” can help students make the grade

With the help of sites such as Google and Clusty, students have become savvy online searchers. But even the most agile Internet searchers find that some questions just don’t produce the right results, leaving them unable to adequately complete their assignments.

The problem may not be that the answer isn’t out there, but that the usual search engines just can’t get at it. General search engines search what’s free on the Web, but often the most accurate, educational information resides in what insiders call the “Hidden Web”— password-protected subscription websites typically not open to Web search engines.

Free search engines are great for finding simple answers to simple questions, but when the answers really matter — like a student’s homework— we recommend using something more authoritative. Using more authoritative resources doesn’t mean more work or paying extra, you just need to add the school library’s homepage found online at http://northshirelibraries.com to your “Favorites” or “Bookmarks” list. The Lisa B. Tuttle Memorial Library makes these resources available free to every student and faculty at Burr and Burton Academy. Tapping in through the library’s website can be done from school, at home, or at any other Internet-enabled computer.

Once logged on, students can find information that can help with assignments and homework at any grade level, and access a wealth of resources in the Biography, Gale and SIRS databases.

We offer tutorials on the use of any of our databases!

Library Hours:
M-Th 7 am – 4 pm
Fri 7 am – 1 pm

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December 2008

December 1, 2008

Calendar

4 National Honor Society Induction. Scranton Room in the Rowland Center, 6:30 pm.

6 SAT examinations.

11 Winter Concert, Riley Center for the Arts, 7:30 pm

15 Winter Showcase, Riley Center for the Arts, 6:30 pm

13 Chamber Choir Christmas Concert, First Congregational Church, 7 pm

22-31 Holiday Break

January 5 Classes resume

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,
In every good way it feels like my family and I have been at Burr and Burton Academy and in Manchester longer than the five months that is the reality. Everywhere we go, people know about Burr and Burton, and I have been struck by the pride in the school expressed by so many, including those with no apparent connection to the school. This school reaches deep into this community, and simply by association, our family has experienced an extraordinarily warm welcome.

Since officially starting my duties this summer, I have embarked on a crash course on the school and the community. Here are some snippets of what I have experienced: Inspired teaching and learning: Peter Mull led a terrific English class using the Harkness Method discussion; Dave Micelli brought in his four-year-old son to give his psychology class a real-life lesson on Piaget; and Beth McCoy led a group of Access students in a “me thinking” and “you thinking” exercise. Dave Curtis, along with coaching the girls cross-country team to a state championship, brings science to life on a daily basis. John Wright’s quadrennial Elections class took this fall’s many races and turned them into a real-time social studies lesson. Jeff Houghton and the Target teachers take on some of our most challenging students and, through will, determination, and deep care, bring them down the path to a high school education.

Student leadership: The international students organized “Olympic” games and a potluck dinner featuring food from their home countries. The Freshmen Mentors—twenty seniors—meet weekly with 9th graders in small groups to guide them through that all-important first year of high school. The student government is leading efforts to reduce our carbon footprint (and, as a nice byproduct, reduce our costs). The girls’ field hockey team decided to use two hours of practice time to clean up the campus in advance of Grandparents’ Day. Students sit on a number of community boards—Lions Club, Rotary Club, Recreation Center, Select Board, among others—and lead campus tours for prospective families.

Developing passions: On the sports field, on the stage, in the chorus, competing in Scholars Bowl, in the art and music studios, and in the woodshop, there are myriad opportunities for students to explore their talents and develop their passions. The latest drama production, The Diviners, is only one example of students finding tremendous educational opportunities outside the academic classroom.

Parents who care: Over 500 parents were present for Parents’ Open House to meet teachers, learn about the curriculum, and demonstrate your support for the education of your sons and daughters. A similar number attended parent conferences a couple of weeks ago. Parents are essential partners in their children’s educational success, and I was delighted to see this turnout.

A faculty accountable to each other: As we implement an enhanced professional evaluation program and engage in regular departmental and school-wide discussions, we are gaining clarity regarding our own definition of excellence, and we are instilling an increased sense of accountability to the standards we are setting.

A school that is busy, productive, proud, and ambitious: Every day, good things happen within the walls of the school. Every evening, teachers and students prepare for the next day. The cycle continues, the weeks fly by, and the magical process of learning takes place.

Financially, this country is in the midst of the worst economic crisis in any of our lifetimes. Here in school, we are taking appropriate actions to eliminate waste and insure that every dollar we spend is spent wisely. (Some examples: we are reviewing health insurance providers, sealing windows, minimizing travel, and imbuing all employees with an ethos of “sensible spending.”) In addition, we need your help.

I ask that, along with the many other ways you contribute as a community member, you find a way to provide your strongest statement of financial support for Burr and Burton during this Annual Giving Campaign. We are striving for 100 percent participation among parents, and no donation is too small to be appreciated.

The decision to hire me, while entrusted in the Board of Trustees, was really a community decision. Collectively, I hope this community feels as good about that decision as I feel about my decision to accept. As with the best decisions in life, this one felt right as soon as we made it, and the work so far has been absolutely a labor of love. It is an honor and a pleasure to serve this school and this community.

I look forward to seeing you during this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

Please click here to donate $10 or more to the Burr and Burton Annual Giving Campaign.

Checks may be sent to:
Mark Tashjian
Headmaster
Burr and Burton Academy
57 Seminary Avenue
Manchester, VT 05254

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From the Performing Arts Department

The Performing Arts Department presents its Winter Concert on Thursday, December 11, at 7:30 pm in the Riley Center for the Arts. The evening’s performance under the direction of Neil and Julie Freebern will showcase movements of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” Enjoy an evening of choir, orchestra, percussion ensembles, and more. Tickets are $4 and will be available at www.bba.ticketjunior.com.

On Monday, December 15, at 6:30 pm the Burr and Burton Drama and Dance program will showcase an evening of theater and dance in the Riley Center for the Arts. Traditional and contemporary works will be featured including the wonderful choreography of the Triple Threat extracurricular program. Donations are appreciated.

On Saturday, December 13, the Chamber Choir Christmas Concert will take place in the First Congregational Church at 7 pm.

Burr and Burton Academy had a record number of students accepted to the Green Mountain Music Festival this year. Auditions were held in early November and for the first time, every one of the Burr and Burton students who tried out was accepted. The Green Mountain Music Festival District Five concerts will take place in February and March. Front row: Charlotte Hogan, Claire Kaiser, Rachel Murphy, Rebecca Murphy, Laura Amatruto. Middle row: John Marino, Amy Hammond, Hilary Fox, Savannah Lewis, Sydney Beck, Talon Birns. Back row: Devin Johnson, Charles Richards, Dan Boston, Ian McNaughton, Mariette Aborn, Julie Freebern

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2009 Burtonian Yearbooks

Order your 2009 yearbooks at www.jostensyearbooks.com. Just select BBA and enter a major credit card. Books are $55. You must pre-order your yearbook; they will not be available for sale in the spring, so order now!

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College and Career Information

On-the-Spot Admission to Castleton State College
Seniors wanting to receive an immediate decision on their application to Castleton can do so on December 9 at Burr and Burton. Students must submit a completed application to their counselor by December 3 and then interview with a Castleton admission officer on the 9th. The application fee is waived for this program. Students should sign up with their School and College Counselor ASAP to take advantage of this program.

Applications
Seniors should be finalizing the college process – be sure to connect with your school counselor. We need to plan ahead for deadlines that fall over the holiday period; therefore, Monday, December 15, is the last day to request transcripts and records until January 5.

Once you receive a decision letter, please bring it in so we can photocopy your letter to keep an accurate record of our students’ successes. We’ll also announce your happy news at Monday assemblies!

Standardized Testing Information for Juniors
PSAT results are due to arrive later this month. We will distribute results to students as soon as they arrive and discuss future testing options with them.

SAT prep courses will be available this spring. Watch your mailbox in January for details and registration information.

Burr and Burton will be a testing site for the ACT on February 7. Students wishing to register for this exam need to sign up at www.actstudent.org by January 6.

Financial Aid
If you missed the VSAC Financial Aid Night here on October 15, an online version of its popular Paying for College presentation is available at www.vsaccollegepays.org. The online presentation takes about a half-hour, but can easily be viewed in smaller segments. There are also helpful handouts available at the site to download.

It’s important to pay attention in individual college financial aid deadlines that are different from admission deadlines. Please check each college’s website for information.

Some private colleges also require a form called the CSS Financial Aid Profile Form. This two-part process should be started immediately so as not to delay funding. Forms are available on-line at www.collegeboard.com or via the VSAC website: www.vsac.org.

All families of students applying for need-based financial aid will submit the FAFSA. Be aware that it can take 4-6 weeks for the paper FAFSA forms to be processed and forwarded to your colleges. Please remember that you can estimate on your forms and revise them later. Many colleges distribute financial aid on a first-come, first-served basis. The FAFSA form may be submitted beginning January 1 by completing it at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Families can register at this site in advance of January 1 to receive the necessary separate pin numbers for students and parents. (Beware of another website—www.fafsa.com—which charges people to complete the forms. FAFSA is a FREE form!)

All students applying for need-based aid will also submit the VSAC Financial Aid form after January 1. It is available on-line at www.vsac.org.

All seniors will receive VSAC folders to early December that contain a booklet of scholarship opportunities in Vermont; the booklet is also available on the VSAC website. Other local scholarships are posted in our office and will be announced as they come in.

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From the Advancement Office

We just came off a great fall sports season and we’re now beginning our winter season. The fall play, “The Diviners,” was a huge success and incredibly well produced and performed. Our choral group has been selected to participate in the Green Mountain Music Festival, which is a great honor. Our ACCESS students have done very well in statewide Special Olympics events. Twenty-seven students recently received Bromley Mountain passes for academic achievement. This list of successes goes on and on, and helps highlights the reason for our Annual Giving Campaign. These funds support our students in many diverse programs, both in academics, athletics and in the arts.

By now, all parents have received Headmaster Mark Tashjian’s letter asking for support of our Annual Giving Campaign. With the holiday season before us, we hope you will be compelled to support Burr and Burton Academy in its mission to educate all students, help them reach their full potential, and find individual success in many different ways.

Thank you to all of the 91 parents (out of 700 total) who have already sent in their gift. We’re looking for increased parent participation this year, so if you haven’t given, please consider a gift to the Annual Giving Campaign.

P. S. Parent phon-a-thons will be starting shortly and we need volunteers. And if you’ve given already, we won’t call you! To volunteer please contact Amy Comar, acomar@burrburton.org or 549-8281.

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From the Athletic Department

Winter schedules are posted on the school’s web site. For a complete list of ticket prices for winter basketball and ice hockey games, please see our website at www.burrburton.org/athletics.

Burr and Burton has signed up with the website LeagueMinder to give you free, real-time, public access to information on sports events at BBA. You can sign up for the e-mail distribution list for a specific sport or just go to www.viewmyschedule.com to view sports information. To sign up for the e-mail distribution list and have automatic e-mails sent directly to you when events change (i.e. date, time, venue) complete the following steps:

Go to www.viewmyschedule.com
Search for school town: Manchester
Click the circle next to Burr and Burton’s name
Under your choices click sign me up for emails

You can also visit the school’s Daily Announcements blog on our website to get weekly sports schedules and any daily changes.

Plan to join us for the Booster Club’s Chili Challenge on December 18.

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From the Library

As a Picturing America Award recipient, we recently received the Picturing America Materials and have introduced the Social Studies Department to these great resources. The National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the American Library Association is responsible for this wonderful program which seeks to introduce Americans to their artistic heritage and inspire them to become informed citizens. Forty large, high-quality reproductions of selected masterpieces serve as a starting point for learning about our nation’s history and artistic legacy. An in-depth resource book along with a dynamic online resource accompany the reproductions.

Season’s Readings

Here are some great new titles added this month:
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram by Dang Thuy Tram; translated by Andrew X. Pham
Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How it Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth
Thin by Lauren Greenfield
American Shaolin by Matthew Polly
Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story by Ann Kirschner
Tales From the Farm by Jeff Lemire
Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite With His Mother by Sonia Nazario
Lisa B. Tuttle Memorial Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 1:00 pm

Online catalogue: http://northshirelibraries.com

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From the Business Office

Burr and Burton will be partnering with the State of Vermont to administer the National School Lunch Program. Depending on a family’s household income, your child may be eligible for free and reduced priced lunches. If you have any questions or need help, please call Dennis Filippi, Burr and Burton’s Free and Reduced Lunch coordinator at 802-549-8213

Here are some frequently asked questions about free or reduced price meals:
1. Do I need to fill out an application for each child? No. Complete the application to apply for free or reduced price meals. Use one Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application for all students in your household.

2. Who can receive free meals? Children in households receiving Food Stamps or Reach Up and most foster children can receive free meals regardless of your income. Also, your children can receive free meals if your household income is within the free income limits on the Federal Income Guidelines. See page 2 of the application.

3. Who can receive reduced price meals? Your children can receive low cost meals if your household income is within the reduced price limits on the Federal Income Chart, shown on the back of the application.

4. Will the information I give be checked? Yes, we may ask you to send written proof.

5. If I don’t qualify now, may I apply later? Yes. You may apply at any time during the school year if your household size goes up, income goes down, or if you start receiving Food Stamps, Reach Up or other benefits. If you lose your job, your children may be able to receive free or reduced price meals.

6. Who should I include as members of my household? You must include all people living in your household, related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives, or friends). You must include yourself and all children who live with you.

7. What if I disagree with the school’s decision about my application? You should talk to school officials. You also may ask for a hearing by calling or writing to Mary Blair, Director of Finance, Burr and Burton Academy, P.O. Box 498 Manchester, VT 05254 Tele: 802.549.8112

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November 2008

November 1, 2008

Calendar

1 Halloween Dance, Rowland Center, 8:30 pm to 11 pm. Admission is $3 if you are wearing a costume and $5 if you are not.
3 School photo retakes
6 Winter Sports Mandatory Parent and Athlete meeting [see below]
11 Full Day Faculty In-service. No school for students.
17 Winter Sports begin
19-20 Parent-Teacher Conferences [see below]
19-22 “The Diviners,” Riley Center for the Arts, 6:30 pm
26-28 Thanksgiving Break

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From the Headmaster

Dear Burr and Burton Community,
What do you think of the Mountain Semester? That’s the question I have been asked again and again by parents, community members, teachers, Burr and Burton friends, and opponents of this project. For those of you who don’t know, the Mountain Semester will be a wilderness study program located on 100 acres in Peru. Burr and Burton students will have the opportunity to spend one semester away from our main campus in this unique learning environment.

When I was considering joining Burr and Burton, I found the Mountain Semester to be one of the most impressive, visionary projects I had ever seen. I thought it spoke volumes about the school itself that in this age of “drill, drill, drill” (for high-stakes tests, not oil), a school that served the public had the vision to think about creating educational experiences that can change the way students view the world. It was, and is, inspiring, and I am fully committed to seeing this vision come to fruition. My rationale is as follows:

It will make Burr and Burton Academy an even better school. The Mountain Semester will be a rigorous program academically, experientially, emotionally, and spiritually. It will provide a challenging curriculum that will go beyond the textbook in order to bring to life the very real environmental issues facing the world. It will challenge students to think in different ways, to assume responsibilities in a small community, and to take on authentic scientific research that can be built upon from semester to semester. This program has the potential to transform the way students think about themselves, their responsibilities as global citizens, and their hopes and dreams for the future. Elsewhere in the country, this type of opportunity is limited to a select few privileged students, yet ANY Burr and Burton student will have the chance to participate in this program.
It is in an ideal location. To create a powerful wilderness study program, we need a setting that is away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, and we need a property on which we can implement a true research-based curriculum. The Mountain Semester will be situated on 100 pristine acres encompassing wetlands, streams, meadows and forest. It is surrounded by thousands of acres of national forest. It is close enough to be accessible, yet far enough away so that students will be transported into another world. In this setting, students can study habitat, conduct stream studies, understand forestry economics, create environmental art, listen to the language of nature, and marvel at the natural beauty that surrounds them. To walk the property is to appreciate its beauty, and generations of Burr and Burton students and faculty will develop a sense of ownership for the program that is built upon this land.
It will be built entirely with private dollars. As with every other building at Burr and Burton, Mountain Semester buildings will be constructed entirely through private fundraising efforts. (For those who might think otherwise, the simple fact is that tuition dollars do not even cover the annual operating expenses of this school, so there is no money left over to divert from our programs on the main campus.)
It will provide needed space for additional students. As I write this, I am acutely aware that we are filled to capacity on the main campus. To continue our historic mission of serving ALL students from sending towns, we will need additional space in the event of continued growth. We could build another building here on our main campus and offer more of the same—and there is nothing wrong with that—or we can create a program that adds to the richness of the Burr and Burton experience. In spite of demographic trends elsewhere in Vermont, this year, we have set yet another record for enrollment: 741 students arrived on Day One, despite projections that our enrollment would be closer to 700.
We will be a good neighbor in Landgrove and Peru. The buildings and parking areas have been thoughtfully sited so as to be visible only from the very top of Bromley Mountain. We will abide by the limits placed on the use of the facility in order to preserve the very special character of the Landgrove and Peru communities. We will offer our facility as a community resource, just as we do on the main campus. For 175 years, Burr and Burton has endeavored to be a model member of this community, a partner with other organizations, and a point of civic pride. That tradition will continue.
It will make us an even better school (see point #1). Yes, I am repeating myself, but education is what we are all about. Burr and Burton is an educational institution; the creation of this program will make us better at everything we do, and it will provide yet another avenue for success for our students.

I share these thoughts because I am convinced the more you learn about the Mountain Semester, the more quickly you will want it available for the sons and daughters of our sending towns.
Yes, I am an idealist at heart, but that is why I became a teacher.

Respectfully yours,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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Election 2008

Results of the Mock Election are in! Barack Obama ousted John McCain 333-67 for the presidency, while Ralph Nader piled in 26 votes. In the race for US House of Representatives, Peter Welch won in a landslide with 220 votes with the next highest being Mike Bethel with 49. Jim Douglas captured 210 votes for governor, while Gaye Symington brought and 94 and Anthony Pollina 59. With the slimmest margin of victory for the BBA Election, Thomas Costello edged out Brian Dubie 203-132 for the position of Lt. Governor. Jeb Spaulding won the race for state treasurer, Deb Markowitz won for secretary of state, Thomas Salmon won the position of auditor of accounts, and Bill Sorrell remained in office as the attorney general. Thank you to all of those who participated!

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Cross-country champs with Coach Dave Curtis

Congratulations to the Girls and Boys Cross Country Teams
Girls team earned State Championship for the third year in a row!
Boys team were runners-up
Kelsey Kelleher ‘10 was Individual State Champion for the second year in a row.

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Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled this semester for Wednesday, November 19 from 1 pm – 5 pm and Thursday, November 20, from 1 pm – 8 pm with a break from 5:00-5:45 for dinner. Students will be dismissed at 12:35 on both days. Scheduling is done again this year online at:
https://www.pickatime.com/client?ven=11601183. This link will also be available on our web site: www.burrburton.org in the Parents Center.

All parents are encouraged to schedule appointments with teachers. If you have any questions or are having problems scheduling appointments, please email us at ptc@burrburton.org.

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Student and Parent Telephone Directory
The 2008-2009 Student and Parent Telephone Directory is now available. Students will receive them in their advisories and have been asked to bring them home. Additional copies may be requested from the School and College Counseling Office.

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College and Career Information
Seniors
Keep those applications coming! Let us help you brainstorm essays, review applications, and consider good matches. Many seniors have already submitted one application; other students are still working through the initial process. A good rule of thumb is to apply before the December break. Remember to have your test scores sent directly to the colleges from the College Board or ACT. We’re here to assist and support you.

If you still need to schedule some campus visits, consider taking advantage of days and times when there are no classes: Tuesday, November 11, is an in-service day for teachers only; there are also two early release days (for parent conferences) on Wednesday, November 19, and Thursday, November 20.

Update re Juniors
College-bound juniors took the PSAT on October 15 and those results are due in December. We are also in the process of organizing college planning and transition workshops for all juniors to take place during the school day in the upcoming months.

Beginning in late January, when we will have completed our most intense period of work with the current seniors, we will conduct individual meetings with juniors.

Gap Year Fair
Hanover High School is hosting a Gap Year Fair for students considering a year off between high school and college on Wednesday, November 12, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Representatives from organizations offering opportunities for internships, volunteering, traveling, and studying will be present to share information about their programs.

Castleton On-The-Spot Admission Program
Students with completed applications have an opportunity to interview with Castleton Admission counselors here at Burr and Burton and immediately receive their admission decision. Sign up in the School and College Counseling Office if you’d like to participate in this program that will take place in early December.

Upcoming College Visits
Juniors and seniors may be excused from class, with teacher permission, to attend college meetings. Students and parents can find our most up-to-date list at http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton. We post a paper calendar inside the School and College Counseling Office and we also remind students through daily announcements. Although the travel season is winding down, fifteen colleges have made appointments for the month of November.

College Athletics
Seniors interested in playing intercollegiate athletics next year need to register at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net. Stop in the Guidance Office for assistance or computer access.

Selective Service Registration
Eighteen-year-old males need to register with the U.S. Selective Service at www.sss.gov. Male students need to do so in order to be eligible for federal financial aid.

Last Chance for December SAT
Seniors: November 5 is the regular registration deadline for the SAT on December 6 at Burr and Burton. Go to www.collegeboard.com.

ACT Registration Deadline
Seniors who want to take the December 13 ACT (in Bennington, Springfield or Castleton) should register by the November 7 deadline at www.actstudent.org.

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2009 Burtonian
Online Yearbook Ordering
Beginning November 1, all students, parents, and employees can go to www.JostensYearbooks.com to purchase the yearbook with a major credit card. The price is $55. Questions can be directed to bbull@burrburton.org.

Parents of Seniors: The Burtonian yearbook staff is still accepting Family Message ads until November 15. The cost is $35 (payable by check to BBA) for a quarter page ad. Send checks, photos (optional), and messages to Brooke Bull to reserve your spot today. Questions can be directed to bbull@burrburton.org.

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From the Business Office
Please be sure to check your student’s cafeteria account balance periodically. A lock-box is located next to the cash registers in the cafeteria for the deposit of cash or checks to replenish accounts. Students can check their balance any day at the register or you can call the Business Office at 549-8213 or email us at dfilippi@burrburton.org.

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From the Performing Arts Department
Burr and Burton Presents “The Diviners” November 19-22

Seniors Taylor Dear and Robert Leonard with junior Lauren Charnow

The Burr and Burton Academy Performing Arts Department will present “The Diviners” Wednesday through Saturday, November 19-22, at 6:30 pm in the school’s Riley Center for the Arts.

This powerful play, written by Jim Leonard, Jr., tells the fable-like story of a disturbed yet gifted boy and his unlikely friendship with a disenchanted ex-preacher who has wandered into town. Marvelously theatrical, funny, earthy and touching, the play is set in rural southern Indiana during the Great Depression and affectionately examines the people of the American heartland whose need for a real preacher pushes the community toward inadvertent violence. It is the story of what happens when people’s best intentions tragically collide.

Tickets are $6 for Burr and Burton faculty, staff and students and $10 for the community. For 24-hour ticket information call 549-8144. Tickets may be ordered online at http://bba.ticketjunior.com. The box office will be open one hour prior to all shows.

Music students: Green Mountain Music Festival auditions will be held at Proctor High School on November 5.

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From the Advancement Office
Our Annual Giving Campaign is Underway
We have just launched our 2008 – 2009 Annual Giving Campaign! A message from members of the Board of Trustees was e-mailed to all of our friends and family encouraging support. The Annual Giving Campaign brochures were recently sent out highlighting the importance of education and those special individuals who dedicate themselves day in and day out to each student here at Burr and Burton.

We are looking to you to support our dedicated faculty and high-quality education by making a gift to the Annual Giving Campaign. Your support goes to purchase essential items our teachers need in the classroom, technological advances for education, innovative programs and extracurricular activities. Please help us reach our ambitious goal of $450,000. We are looking for 100 percent parent participation – each and every gift is appreciated.

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From the Athletic Department
Important Winter Sports Information
The mandatory Winter Sports Parent and Athlete Information Night
Will be held Thursday, November 6, at 6 p.m. in the following locations:
Boys Basketball: cafeteria
Alpine Skiing: John Wright’s room (#31 in the Seminary Building)
Nordic Skiing: Wellness classroom (off of the gym lobby)
Girls Basketball: gym
Snowboarding: gym
Dance: Hunter Seminar Room in the library

All winter sports begin practice on November 17.

All freshmen and transfer students will need a physical exam prior to participating if they did not play a fall sport, and all returning students must have had a physical exam within the last two years. Physical forms and permission forms can be downloaded from the school’s web site, www.burrburton.org. These completed forms must be brought to the meeting on November 6 or mailed (attn. Tammy Shields) to the school before November 6 (please identify the sport on the form).

All returning Burr and Burton students must have the required number of community service hours or Service Learning projects complete before the first practice.
Sophomores: 2 Service Learning projects completed.
Juniors: 4 Service Learning projects completed.
Seniors: 37.5 hours
If you have any questions, please feel free to call Director of Athletics Kathi Bierwirth at 549-8119.

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From the Booster Club
On behalf of the Burr and Burton Booster Club, I would like to thank everyone who helped with Burr and Burton’s recent Homecoming celebration. Homecoming kicked off with the cross-country team’s only home meet and ended with a dance sponsored by the Student Council. Events include a School Spirit Parade, Powder Puff Football, a cookout and bonfire, and all the sports’ teams hosting games over the weekend. All of this happened because of a combined effort of the Burr and Burton community. Parents, students, faculty and staff, and local businesses all contributed time, money, and food to make this a great event. I apologize for not naming specific people or businesses, but the list would be way too long and I know that I would unintentionally miss someone. Thank you all though—this could not have happened without you.

John A. Conlon
President
Burr and Burton Booster Club

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From the Health Clinic
The Burr and Burton school-based health clinic participates in the Vermont Department of Health’s Vaccine for Children program. Congress created the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program to help prevent certain vaccine-preventable diseases by providing immunization services at no cost.

In collaboration with the school health clinic’s medical director, Dr. Robert Schwartz, we will be offering all students the opportunity to receive the Tdap or the HPV vaccine beginning November 1. Parents must sign two forms of consent in order for their student to receive either the Tdap or the HPV vaccine.

No student will receive either vaccination without both forms of parental consent on file. The vaccine parental consent forms may be downloaded from the school’s website in the Parent center (www.burrburton.org/parents). Students should bring the completed paperwork to the health clinic.

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
Your student is required by Vermont law to have a current Td/Tdap vaccine in order to remain in school. Most students are in need of this vaccine booster at 14-15 years old. You may have already received a letter from our health clinic stating that your child is in need of a current vaccine, please contact our office so that we may bring their immunizations up to date. This vaccine is available for your student at no cost (usual cost $36.26).

HPV (Human Papillomavirus)
The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and women 13-26 years of age who did not receive it when they were younger. It protects against genital human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. HPV can cause cervical cancer in women. Every year in the U.S. about 10,000 women get cervical cancer and 3,700 die from it. There is no treatment for HPV only to be vaccinated against it. This vaccine is given in a 3-dose series. This vaccine series is available for your student at no cost (usual cost $359.25).

Please call the health clinic if you have questions about our new immunization program: Meg Burns 549-8132 or Heidi Welch 549-8238.

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BBA Dancers Turning Up the Heat
The Burr and Burton Varsity Dance team has been invited to compete in the National Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Florida, at the end of January where the team will compete in the Hip Hop and Pom divisions.

To help them meet their expenses, members of the Dance team will hold a “Hike for Heat” fund-raiser on Saturday, November 8. The girls will be collecting pledges, and then the team will hike Mount Equinox together. Thirty percent of the funds they raise will be donated to the Interfaith Council’s Emergency Needs Fund to help local families with heating needs this winter, with the balance going to help the team fund the trip to the Nationals.

If you would like more information about this event, or if you are interested in making a donation, contact coach Barb Miceli by phone 549-8190 or e-mail

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BBA Hosts Soccer Camp for Tots
Burr and Burton Academy Service Learning students are hosting a Tiny Tots Soccer Program for boys and girls 3-5 yr olds on five Saturdays this fall on October 4, 18, 25, and November 1 and 8. The program will run from 11-11:45 am on the Burr and Burton soccer field. The pre-schoolers will have the full attention of twenty-five Burr and Burton students playing games, practicing skills, singing songs and most of all having fun! The entry fee is non-perishable donations each week for the local Food Cupboard. For more information please contact Heidi Welch at 549-8238.

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From the Library

Here is just a glimpse at what’s new on our shelves:

The Bondwoman’s Narrative by Hannah Crafts and edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Authenticated as a manuscript written by an escaped Civil War slave, this autobiographical novel follows her from a North Carolina plantation to her flight to freedom in the North.

How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein. This book tackles why our state lines are where they are. Here are the stories behind the stories, right down to the tiny northward jog at the eastern end of Tennessee and the teeny-tiny (and little known) parts of Delaware that are not attached to Delaware but to New Jersey.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan. This wordless graphic novel evokes universal aspects of an immigrant’s experience through brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. When her former owner breaks his promise to set her free and sends her to live with a loyalist family at the start of the Revolutionary War, Isabel is heartbroken and determined to do whatever is necessary to win her freedom including becoming a spy.

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas. Once luxury was available only to old money and royalty. Today luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising and profits. This fascinating book is a blend of history, culture and investigative journalism.

Other great titles to add to your reading “to do” list include:
Golden Legacy by Leonard S. Marcus … What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro … Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz … The Clarks of Cooperstown by Nicholas Fox Weber … Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter … Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital by Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft … The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross … A Hatred for Tulips by Richard Lourie … UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of [Disinformation] by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson.

Lisa B. Tuttle Memorial Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 1:00 pm

Online catalogue: http://northshirelibraries.com

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October 2008

October 1, 2008

Calendar

4 SATs
7 Junior Parent College Night, 7 pm
13 Columbus Day. No school. Senior College Visit Day.
15 ACT Plan and PSAT 8:00 am-11:30 am
15 VSAC Financial Aid Night, 6:30 pm, Rowland Center
17 Grandparents Day [see below for details]
23 Eighth Grade Parent Orientation, 7 pm, Riley Center for the Arts
27 End of the Marking Period
28-30 Midterm Exams

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From the Headmaster

Dear Families,
Just last week, we hosted our Open House for Parents evening. By all accounts, this was the largest turnout in anyone’s memory (and certain of our faculty members go WAY back!). Roughly 500 parents attended, testament to this community’s commitment to support great education. To those who attended, thank you for making the teachers feel appreciated in their efforts to educate your daughters and sons.

Now, the school year really catches stride: teachers and students have gotten to know each other, sports teams are in their respective play-off hunts, seniors are deep into the college admissions process, and various stage performances are coming into view on the horizon. While Congress contemplates a $700 billion bailout and two Presidential candidates continue to trade blows, there is something magical about the insulation to world events afforded by these high school years, even as we prepare students to be active in the global community. These are times to be cherished and appreciated.

Personally, it is exciting to watch the leaves change and to hear the wonder in the voices of even those who have watched this natural spectacle their whole lives. With a colorful Mount Equinox as a backdrop, I am happy to report that Burr and Burton Academy is filled with productive activity.

Sincerely yours,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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Telephone Emergency Notification

Dear Parents,
Keeping you informed is a top priority at Burr and Burton Academy. That is why we have adopted the ALERTNOW Notification Service which will allow us to send a telephone message to you providing important information about school emergencies. We would only use ALERTNOW in the event of an emergency such as a lockdown, relocation or evacuation of students.

The successful delivery of information is dependent upon accurate contact information for each student, so please make certain that we have your most current phone numbers. If this information changes during the year, let us know immediately.

PLEASE NOTE: We are currently using the information you provided to our School and College Counseling Office; if that information has changed please contact Tammy Shields by e-mail tshields@burrburton.org or call 362-1775.

What you need to know about receiving calls sent through ALERTNOW

• Emergency Notification: Your caller ID will display 411 anytime an emergency call is coming from the school.
• Be sure to say “Hello” when you answer the phone. The technology must hear a voice to deliver.
• ALERTNOW will leave a message on any answering machine or voicemail. If for any reason you need to replay the message, you may press ANY key on your phone, at any point in the message and it will replay the message from the beginning.

• If you have such things as Telemarketer Zapper or Privacy Director on your telephone lines, you may not receive the call.

• ALERTNOW does not call extensions. If you have a direct dial number at work, you should provide that to us.

Obviously we hope never to have to use this but are pleased to have ALERTNOW as a tool to improve emergency parent communication.

Sincerely,
Steven L. Houghton
Assistant Headmaster

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From the Athletic Department

Homecoming Weekend October 10-11
Homecoming weekend will take place October 10-11, but events begin on Tuesday, October 7, when the boys and girls cross-country teams will be hosting their only home meet of the season We hope many of you will come out and cheer them on. The race begins at 4:30 with the start and finish line located at the red gate on the Equinox trails behind the field hockey field.

The schedule for the weekend is as follows:
Tuesday, October 7
Cross-Country meet, 4:30

Thursday, October 9
Powder Puff football game, 4:30, on the main field
Green & Gold Parade, 5:30, in the front circle by the gym
Cookout sponsored by the Booster Club, 6:00, in the upper parking lot
Bonfire & Pep Rally sponsored by Freshmen Mentors, 7:00-9:00 in the upper parking lot

Friday, October 10
JV Gold Boys Soccer, 4:00, at the Rec
Varsity Boys Soccer 6:00, Applejack Field

Saturday, October 11
JV Gold Girls Soccer, 10:00, at the Rec
Varsity Girls Soccer, 10:00, BBA main field
Varsity Field Hockey, 12:00, upper field
JV Field Hockey, 1:15, upper field
Varsity Football, 2:00, BBA main field
Dance sponsored by the Student Council, 8 pm – 11 pm. Location on campus to be announced. Admission will be charged.

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Service Learning

Tiny Tots Soccer Program
Burr and Burton Academy Service Learning students are hosting a Tiny Tots Soccer Program for boys and girls 3-5 yr olds on five Saturdays this fall on October 4, 18, 25, and November 1 and 8. The program will run from 11-11:45 am on the Burr and Burton soccer field. The pre-schoolers will have the full attention of twenty-five Burr and Burton students playing games, practicing skills, singing songs and most of all having fun!. The entry fee is non-perishable donations each week for the local Food Cupboard. For more information please contact Heidi Welch at 549-8238

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In the News

Gubernatorial Debate at Burr and Burton October 10

All three major candidates for Governor of Vermont – James Douglas, Gaye Symington and Anthony Pollina – will meet in Manchester for a live debate on the major issues facing our state on Friday, October 10, at Burr and Burton Academy’s Riley Center for the Arts at 7 pm. Read more.

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The 2008 Burtonian Yearbook

Attention Seniors: Senior write-ups and class wills are due October 1. Please email all submissions to yearbook@burrburton.org. Also, any senior who has not turned in a yearbook Photo must do so as soon as possible. If we don’t receive anything from you in the coming days, we will use last year’s photo or any candid we have of you. If we don’t have a photo on file for you, you will not be included in the yearbook! Please take action to make sure this doesn’t happen. Contact Ms. Bull with questions.

The Burtonian yearbook staff is offering a discounted rate for the parents of seniors who purchase early. We will discount the book by $10 if you send in your order form by November 1. That brings the price down to $45. If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, fill out an order form (which was mailed to you last week and can also be downloaded from the school’s website under the Parents center) and return to us with payment by November 1. The discount is only applicable to the first book you buy. Questions can be directed to Brooke Bull at bbull@burrburton.org.

Yearbook order forms and Senior Family Message order forms can be found on the BBA website under the section entitled Parents. Any questions should be directed to Ms. Bull at bbull@burrburton.org.

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From the Performing Arts Department

Calliope Café Concert Series October 30
Celebrate Halloween while enjoying an evening of live entertainment. Music, dance, theater and poetry at 6:30 pm in the Rowland Center on Thursday, October 30 [please note change of date].

Fall Play Underway!
The cast has been selected and the rehearsals have begun for the progressive production entitled “The Diviners” by Jim Leonard, Jr. Winner of the American College Theatre Festival, “The Diviners” is the story of a disturbed young man and his unlikely friendship with a disenchanted preacher who wanders into town. Marvelously theatrical, funny, earthy and touching, the play is set in rural southern Indiana in the early 1930s and affectionately examines the people of the American heartland whose needs for a real preacher push the community toward inadvertent violence. It is the story of what happens when people’s best intentions tragically collide. Opening night is November 19 Tickets are $6 for Burr and Burton faculty, staff and students and $10 for the community. For 24-hour ticket information call 549-8144. Tickets may be ordered online at http://bba.ticketjunior.com. The box office will be open one hour prior to all shows.

Burr and Burton Jazz Combo
Jazz is alive and well at BBA. This year’s combo lead by the talented Devin Johnson on vocals has been performing jazz standards, blues and contemporary selections throughout the Northshire. The combo will be heard at the Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester Country Club and at several private parties throughout town this fall. To retain the services of the Combo, contact Neil Freebern in the Performing Arts Department at Burr and Burton 549-8118.

Instrumental Music Ensemble Travels to UMass October 17
The continuously expanding Instrumental Music Ensemble, complimented by the largest tuba section in school history, heads to Amherst, Massachusetts, for the annual Multibands performance, sponsored by the Department of Music and Dance at the university. The Mulitbands event will feature a wide variety of performance ensembles available for university students. This eclectic performance will feature the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensembles, Percussion Ensembles, Dance, Orchestra and the award-winning UMass Minuteman Marching Band. Marching this year with the band is former BBA clarinetist and international student Jaimie Son ’08.

String Power October 22
The string section of the Instrumental Music Ensemble will be attending “String Power” presented by the Manchester Music Festival. Conductor Ariel Rudiakov has chosen music from a powerful and diverse group of composers. He will present a historical perspective on each selection and will perform the works of Hayden, Elgar, Arensky and Wiren. These concerts are sponsored by Berskshire Bank and the Vermont Country Store.

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From the Advancement Office

Welcome Back To School!
First, we want to say thank you to all of the parents and community members who attended Fall Fest on September 12. It was a wonderful way to welcome Mark and Erin Tashjian to our Burr and Burton community and it was a huge success because of your enthusiastic support.

As we embark on a new year we take on new challenges. We have an ambitious goal of $450,000 for this year’s Annual Giving Campaign and we will need the help of many to reach it. More important than the dollar value of your gift to the annual fund is the participation of every community member in supporting the campaign. Burr and Burton encourages excellence in education and sets high expectations for both students and faculty. This can only be achieved with your financial support.

There is something here for every student, and your student in particular. So what is it that inspires you to support Burr and Burton? With that thought in mind, when you receive our 2008 – 2009 Annual Giving Campaign brochure shortly, please give as generously as you can.

Thank You!
Amy R. Comar ‘03
Annual Giving Campaign Coordinator

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is Friday, October 17, 2008. Please let your grandparents and special friends know of this day. Invitations will be sent shortly but if you think we do not have a grandparent’s address, please feel free to extend the invitation to attend and please RSVP by October 10 to Nancy Brown 549.8110 or nbrown@burrburton.org.

Free Estate and Retirement Planning Symposium October 8 Is your will outdated or don’t have a will? Concerned about your financial future and retirement? Join us for a free Estate Planning Symposium on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, from 9:30 am to 3 pm at Equinox Village in Manchester Center, Vermont. The program, “Charting a Secure and Vibrant Future,” includes continental breakfast and lunch and will feature financial and estate planning experts Lee Spivey, Matthew Samuelson, Nick Strom-Olsen and Rolf Sternberg.

The day will feature three segments: Estate Planning – Which is best for you, a will or a trust; session two focuses on Are your retirement and estate plans recession proof?; and the third session is Healthy habits for financial well being in retirement. The day will end with a question and answer period. Each participant receives a folder of valuable resources and tips to help take the next step toward a more secure financial future.

The program is free but space is limited and reservations are required. Contact Lisa Fairley at Equinox Village to reserve a space at (802) 362-4061 or e-mail at lfairley@equinoxvillage.com. For more information contact Rich Thompson-Tucker, Director of Major Gifts (and proud parent of two alums!) at Burr and Burton at (802) 549-8135 or by e-mail at rthompson@burrburton.org. Co-sponsored by Equinox Village and Burr and Burton.

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From the Library

Banned Books Week 2008 is the 27th annual celebration of the freedom to read and this year’s theme is “Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas.” This freedom, not only to choose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities is featured in our annual display for Banned Books Week. This year’s dates are September 27- October 4, 2008.

Having received a fabulous gift of 54 art books, we have put many of them on display. Here are just five titles from this wonderful new collection: Frank Lloyd Wright: a Visual Encyclopedia by Iain Thomson; Ukiyo-E: 250 Years of Japanese Art by Roni Neuer & Herbert Libertson; The Illustrated History of Art: Art Through the Ages, including Medieval and Early Renaissance Art, the Sixteenth Century, The Baroque Era, Eastern Art by David Piper; and Key Monuments of the History of Architecture by Henry A. Millon and Alfred Frazer.

New titles for our history collection include: Shady Ladies: Nineteen Surprising and Rebellious American Women by Suzann Ledbetter; Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement by Sally McMillen; Abigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober and Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton.

Library Hours
Monday – Thursday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 1:00 pm

Visit us on the web
http://northshirelibraries.com

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College and Career Information

VSAC Financial Aid Night
The annual Vermont Student Assistance Corporation Financial Aid road show comes to Burr and Burton on Wednesday, October 15. Parents of juniors and seniors will especially benefit from attendance. The VSAC representative will present the principles and basic steps of the financial aid process and review the different parts of the various financial aid forms. Come to the Rowland Center at 6:30 pm.

Testing Day for Sophomores and Juniors
Sophomores will take the PLAN on the morning of Wednesday, October 15. The PLAN helps students measure their current academic development and explore career training options. It is a test that has value for students planning to enter college as well as those entering the workforce. The charge for this test is $10 and students should bring the fee to their advisors by October 6.

Most juniors will take the PSAT (a preliminary, or practice, SAT) on Wednesday, October 15, during school hours. Students need to bring the $15 registration fee (checks should be made out to BBA) to Mrs. Welsh in the School and College Counseling Office by October 6. The PSAT is a wonderful opportunity for students who have completed geometry to assess their testing skills. Juniors who don’t wish to take the PSAT can instead register for the PLAN.

Contact the School and College counselors if you have any questions or need to request a fee waiver for either the PSAT or the PLAN.

Non-Testing Day for Freshmen and Seniors
While the sophomores and juniors are testing on the morning of October 15, freshmen will report to school for alternative activities. Seniors will not be required to attend school on this day. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will attend regular classes in the afternoon.

Standardized Testing for Seniors
Seniors taking the SAT on October 4 should report to the Rowland Center between 7:45 and 8:00 am. Test room doors will close at 8:15 am. Scientific or graphing calculators are recommended for the regular SAT and required for the Math Subject Test. The most important hint with calculators is to bring the one you are accustomed to using. Please do not bring cell phones into the test room. In addition to a calculator, students should also bring #2 pencils.

Students can expect to be finished with the standard SAT between 12:45 and 1:15 pm. Students who have accommodations will finish between 2:30 and 3:00 pm. Because this is such a long test, students should consider bringing small, nutritious snacks to eat during the brief scheduled testing breaks outside the testing room. It’s also a smart idea to dress in layers to be comfortable regardless of the room temperature.

The SAT will also be administered November 1 (September 26 regular registration deadline); the ACT is on October 25 (deadline passed) and December 13 (November 7 registration deadline). The SAT is back at BBA on December 6 (registration deadline of November 5).

NOTE: Burr and Burton does not collect the fees for the SAT or ACT; you must register directly with these organizations at www.collegeboard.com or www.actstudent.org. Paper forms are also available in the School and College Counseling Office.

Application Reminders for Seniors
Refer to your son or daughter’s BBA College Application Guide for upcoming deadlines. Seniors should have already submitted requests for teacher recommendations. Students who plan to complete their applications during the month of November need to have their essays and applications to their school and college counselor by October 15 for a final review. Students with December applications should have a first draft ready for their counselor on November 1.

Is your student experiencing a roadblock? Please contact your student’s school and college counselor regarding your concerns. We are regularly meeting with seniors throughout the fall to brainstorm essays, discuss college prospects, review applications and more.

Students planning to apply to the University of Vermont should apply by November 1 to take advantage of an automatic application fee waiver. Students who apply to this non-binding early action program also receive a reply by the December vacation break! Students who decide to apply to UVM after November 1 will need to pay an application fee and must patiently wait until late February to learn the admission decision.

Junior Parent College Night Come to the Rowland Center for a parent discussion about the college admission process on Tuesday, October 7, at 7:00 pm. Following a brief presentation on the college search, standardized testing, and related topics we’ll open the floor for questions. Please join us to learn how to explore the opportunities for your student. We will begin scheduling individual family appointments for juniors in January once we have completed the fall application season where we devote considerable time to helping seniors. The Class of 2010 — your turn is coming fast!

October College Visits
Despite the high fuel prices, college representatives are continuing to visit Burr and Burton. In fact, at press time, we have a record 73 colleges coming to meet with our students this fall. Juniors and seniors may be excused from class, with teacher permission, to attend college meetings. Students and parents can find our most up-to-date list at http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton. We post a paper calendar inside the School and College Counseling Office and we also remind students through daily announcements. College visits provide students with a great opportunity to ask questions and learn the most current campus information.

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September

August 29, 2008

Calendar
1 Labor Day. No School.
3 Headmaster’s Reception, 5 pm – 6:30, Rowland Center
5 Headmaster’s Reception, 7:30 am – 9 am, Rowland Center
9 School Photos
12 Parent Association Fall Fest at the Equinox, 6 pm
16 Senior Parent College Night, 7 pm
19 Saint Michael’s College Fair, 7:15 am – 3:00 pm
24 Open House for Parents

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From the Headmaster

Dear Parents,
The new year has begun. This morning, we welcomed a record number of students onto the Burr and Burton campus: 737 students strong! This is the largest enrollment in the history of this school and it defies the demographic downturn in this state, proving that families will do whatever it takes to find great education for their children. The breakdown is as follows: 174 freshmen, 155 sophomores, 226 juniors, and 182 seniors. Included in these numbers are 51 international students representing 12 countries: Germany, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Mexico, South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Sweden.

At the opening assembly, I shared with students a deeply held belief: teachers have a right to teach, and students have a right to learn. I also urged students to get off to a good start to this school year by focusing on three things:

1. Work hard—because nobody reaches their full potential in anything without putting forth effort.
2. Stick together—those who work as a team will go farther and accomplish more.
3. Find the inner beauty in each subject—I encouraged students to dig deeply into each subject. The more you explore a subject, the more interesting it becomes.

With our size comes a rich array of opportunities, the vibrancy of a diverse community, and a place where every student should find someone with whom to connect. Our size also challenges the Burr and Burton faculty to bring to each student the attention and care that he or she deserves and that are the hallmarks of this school. We as a faculty are committed to continuing Burr and Burton’s tradition of excellence and utilizing our size as a strength rather than a weakness.

There is terrific energy in the air around here that comes with the start of a year filled with possibilities. On behalf of the entire faculty, I want to welcome your sons and daughters back to school.

Sincerely yours,
Mark H. Tashjian
Headmaster

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Fall Fest 2008
Headmaster Mark Tashjian and the Parent Association cordially invite you to celebrate Fall Fest on Friday, September 12, at 6 pm in Equinox’s Rockwell Room in Manchester Village. A sumptuous Harvest Buffet will start the evening off, followed by a live auction. Later in the evening, guests will be dancing to the music of one of Manchester’s most sought-after bands, the Knee Jerks. A silent auction will also be held and a cash bar will be available. Committee members are delighted to offer outstanding auction items including a two houses for one week in ‘Sconset, Nantucket; a one-week stay in San Francisco with a trip to Napa Valley; tickets to a Yankees game; dinner at the Reluctant Panther with Headmaster and Mrs. Mark Tashjian; reserved seats for Burr and Burton’s 2009 graduation ceremonies, and many priceless and unique opportunities to support Burr and Burton students. All proceeds will go to the Annual Giving Campaign which supports all students and school programs. Tickets are $50. For more information please call Advancement Coordinator Nancy Brown at 549-8110 or e-mail nbrown@burrburton.org.

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New Faculty and Staff

Burr and Burton welcomes new faculty and staff members:

http://bbanewsandevents.blogspot.com/

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From the Arts Department
The Arts Department would be very grateful for your donation of clear plastic 3-way egg cartons. You may leave them with Betsy Hubner in the lower level of the Rowland Center.

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From the Performing Arts Department
Music teachers Neil and Julie Freebern will be leading a Music Department trip to Scotland during the Spring Break next April. An informational meeting will take place Thursday, September 25, at 7 pm in the music room (located in the lower level of the Riley Center for the Arts). For more information contact Julie Freebern: jfreebern@burrburton.org.

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From the Business Office

Please be aware that some changes have been made to the way the student lunch accounts are refilled. We have temporarily suspended the credit card option that was used in the past. If you would like to place money in your student’s lunch account, please have your student bring in a check made payable to Burr and Burton Academy and have them place it in the lock box located in the cafeteria next to the cash registers. Checks will be posted to your students account the following business day.

We are currently working on a payment system that you will be able to access through the parent’s web page and that will allow you to make deposits directly into your student’s lunch account. Once the system is available we will let you know

If you have any questions regarding your student’s lunch account you may call Dennis Filippi at 549-8213.

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From the English Department
The English Department has adopted the following policy: Late papers will receive a zero grade. The student has one day to complete the paper in order to receive a failing grade. The failing grade could be anything from a 59 to a zero depending on the quality of the paper. If the paper is not turned in after one day, the zero will stay in the gradebook.

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From the Library
Returning students will quickly discover our 26 new Apple computers that are running the Mac platform instead of Windows! Be sure to turn in your purple Acceptable Use Policy Signature Form so you don’t experience any interruption in computer access.

New fiction and nonfiction books are on display throughout the library and if you are looking for a title from one of the extra-credit Social Studies reading lists you will find copies of all the titles in your library.

For great reading suggestions try these reading blogs:
Reading Rants http://readingrants.org/
Educating Alice http://medinger.wordpress.com/
YA Books Central http://yabookscentral.blogspot.com/
Alternative Teen Services http://yalibrarian.com/

Or try these online reading lists:
2008 Summer Movies: http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Read-alikes_for_Summer_2008_Movies
Graphic Novels: http://www.noflyingnotights.com/index2.html
Titles by Genre: http://www.genrefluent.com/
Grade-level Suggestions: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/resources/booksR4teens/grade.html

We are always looking for ways to serve you better. If you have any suggestions or comments we would love to hear them. Just stop by the library and tell us!

Library website: http://northshirelibraries.com

Library hours:
Monday-Thursday 7 am – 4 pm
Friday 7 am – 1 pm

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College and Career Information

MAKE-UP SENIOR COLLEGE WORKSHOP
Seniors who missed attending one of the three mandatory college workshops offered in late August need to attend an evening session on Tuesday, September 16, at 7 pm in the Rowland Center. This will be the only make-up session.

COLLEGE APPLICATION WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS OF SENIORS
Mark your calendar for BBA’s College Application Workshops for Parents on Tuesday, September 16, at 7 pm. This program will take place in the Rowland Center and will recap details of the college process, application tips and other information we will have shared with seniors during their senior college workshops in August.

COLLEGE FAIR FIELD TRIP
Burr and Burton will sponsor a trip for interested juniors and seniors to the NEACAC College Fair at St. Michael’s College on Friday, September 19. The bus will leave promptly at 7:15 am and return to Manchester by 3:00 pm. Approximately 250 college representatives will be in attendance to meet with you and answer your questions. To sign up, bring a completed college fair worksheet, permission slip and $5 to the School and College Counseling Office. Bus seats are limited, and will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis until full. No reservations will be accepted after Wednesday, September 17.

Students and families may instead opt to attend the evening session of the college fair on Thursday, September 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. Students will not be permitted to drive separately to the daytime portion of the college fair.

STANDARDIZED TESTING REGISTRATION FOR SENIORS
Burr and Burton will be the host site for both the SAT and ACT this October. Seniors take note: September 9 is the registration deadline for the October 4 SAT and September 19 is the registration deadline for the October 25 ACT. September 26 is the deadline for the SAT on November 1. Pick up these forms outside the School and College Counseling Office or register on-line at www.collegeboard.com and www.actstudent.org. Please note that Burr and Burton does not collect the fees for the SAT or ACT; you must register directly with these organizations.

COLLEGE WORKSHOP FOR PARENTS OF JUNIORS
Juniors had a jump-start on the college process during on their special first day in August. Now it’s time for their parents to join the action. Mark your calendar for 7 pm on Tuesday, October 7, for a college workshop in the Rowland Center when BBA School and College counselors will present an overview of the college process.

SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR TESTING
Sophomores will take the PLAN on the morning of Wednesday, October 15. The PLAN helps students measure their current academic development and explore career-training options. It is a test that has value for students planning to enter college as well as those entering the workforce. The charge for this test is $10 and students should bring the fee to their advisors by October 5.

Most juniors will take the PSAT (a preliminary, or practice, SAT) on Wednesday, October 15, during school hours. Students need bring the $15 registration fee (checks should be made out to Burr and Burton Academy) to their advisors by October 5. The PSAT is a wonderful opportunity for students who have completed geometry to assess their testing skills. Juniors who don’t wish to take the PSAT can instead register for the PLAN.

Contact the School and College counselors if you have any questions or need to request a fee waiver for either the PSAT or the PLAN.

The Assistant Headmaster is currently putting together the schedule for NECAP tests that juniors will take place over 3-4 days during the month of October. The final dates will be announced shortly. We ask that you keep this in mind when scheduling doctor and dentist appointments during this period.

VSAC FINANCIAL AID NIGHT
The annual Vermont Student Assistance Corporation Financial Aid road show comes to Burr and Burton on Wednesday, October 15. Parents of juniors and seniors will especially benefit from attendance. The VSAC representative will present the principles and basic steps of the financial aid process and review the different parts of the various financial aid forms. Come to the Rowland Center at 6:30 pm.

CAMPUS VISITS
Seniors who haven’t yet visited colleges are strongly advised to make plans to do so as soon as possible. While scheduling college visits during vacations and on weekends is preferable, we understand that it is sometimes necessary for students to miss school. Campus visits are excused absences. Tuesday, November 11, is a particularly good day to visit colleges because it is a faculty in-service day at Burr and Burton.

COLLEGE VISITORS
Juniors and seniors may be excused from class, with teacher permission, to meet with college representatives visiting Burr and Burton this fall. At press time, more than 20 colleges have scheduled appointments for the month of September. Please check the college visit list on Naviance (http://connection.naviance.com/burrburton) or the College Planning Calendar in the School and College Counseling Office for the most up-to-date list of visitors and meeting locations. Daily announcements will also serve as a reminder of these appointments. College visits provide students with a great opportunity to ask questions and learn the most current campus information.

School and College Counseling Office Contact Information

Don’t hesitate to call us if you have a question, a concern or feedback. We welcome all contact and the opportunity to work with you to assure the quality of your student’s experience at Burr and Burton.

Phil Anton, Director of Admission and Guidance, counselor for all freshmen
549-8125; panton@burrburton.org.
Andrea Hogan, Guidance and College Counselor for sophomores, juniors,
and seniors.; 549-8145; ahogan@burrburton.org
Melissa Michaud, Guidance and College Counselor for sophomores, juniors,
and seniors 549-8130; mmichaud@burrburton.org
Cristin Rose, Guidance and College Counselor for sophomores, juniors, and
seniors; 549-8126; crose@burrburton.org

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From the Booster Club

Dear Parents,
As the new school year gets underway and our athletic teams begin their seasons, the Burr and Burton Booster Club is putting out its regular call for volunteers. The Booster Club is a group of parents who, because of their belief that athletics represent an important part of a child’s education and development, just as academics and the arts, work to provide both moral and financial support of the sports programs at Burr and Burton Academy.

Probably one of the most recognizable of our efforts is the weight room, where the Booster Club was one of the primary financial contributors. In the past few years, the Booster Club has provided the Athletics Department and BBA teams with items such as a portable sound system for the athletic fields, electronic scoreboards, championship banners, and athletic scholarships.

Obviously none of this happens by itself, it takes the efforts of the parents and students of BBA and the extended BBA community. To insure that the Booster Club will be able to continue support our teams we need the further support of the BBA community such as the parents of BBA’s athletes. We urge you to become an active member of the Booster Club by attending our meetings (the first Tuesday evening of every month) or by volunteering to help with our various fund raising activities.

During the fall sports’ season we will need help with concession sales during the games at Applejack Field. We also will need help over Homecoming Weekend with some of the events that will take place on campus and concession sales both at Applejack Filed and the Burr and Burton campus and at the Peru Fair September 27.

Hopefully, the great support the Booster Club has received in the past will continue. Once again, I urge you to become an active member of the Booster Club by attending our meetings or by volunteering to help with one of our events. Our next club meeting is scheduled for September 2, Tuesday, at 5 PM.

John Conlon
President
Burr and Burton Booster Club

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From the Health Clinic

Dear Families and Students,
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the Burr and Burton community as the new Health Clinic counselor. Having worked in independent schools for almost nine years in a variety of capacities, I consider myself not only a mental health clinician, but also, an educator. I began my career teaching at NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School) and soon realized my lifelong passion is linked to inspiring young people in their journey through adolescence.

I most recently worked at Bromley Brook School as a therapist for adolescent girls and their families. In this position, I provided individual therapy, family therapy and facilitated many topic-focused groups including: substance use/abuse, mindfulness, the use of yoga and aerobic exercise to overcome feelings of anxiety and depression and process groups to explore ways to cope with just being a teenager in today’s world.

In my capacity as a full-time counselor in the Heath Clinic here at Burr and Burton, I will be working with a variety of students on a weekly basis, but will also have time allotted for drop-ins and be a resource to anyone in the community. I will also be facilitating parent informational meetings throughout the year to explore some of the challenges our young people face today, including cyber-bullying, eating disorders, substance use and teenage depression, just to name a few. I welcome any input you have for these sessions and any questions you may have at any time.

I also have the pleasure of working with and supervising an additional Health Clinic counselor, Rebecca Morse, whom many of you know from last year. Rebecca is currently completing a master’s degree in clinical psychology and will be available Monday through Thursday to counsel students, work with families and serve as an additional resource.

I look forward to meeting you soon.
Sandy Birch, MSW

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