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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