In this issue:

School Announcements

• Math and Science Night: April 1st
• Movie Night: April 3rd, “Ratatouille”
• Eyeglass donations
• Burns Park Bucks Orders Due, April 1
• Burns Park Run volunteers needed
• 5th Grade Graduation photos needed

Community Announcements

• Village Fund Initiative
• Burns Park Green Energy Association meeting, April 9

School Announcements:

Math & Science Family Night – Burns Park PTO Math and Science Family Night is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 from 6 PM to 8 PM in the Burns Park auditorium. Burns Park families are invited to an evening of fantastic, science based fun. Educators and families love this casual, self directed evening of fun. Children of all ages are welcome with a parent. PTO chairperson Steven Swaney (steveswaney at gmail.com) .

Please join us for Burns Park Movie Night featuring “Ratatouille.” – We look forward to seeing you at the first-ever Burns Park movie night on Friday, April 3, in the Burns Park auditorium. We’ll be showing Disney’s “Ratatouille,” the funny and family-friendly animated movie about a rat who dreams of becoming a great chef. Doors open at 7 pm and the movie will start at approximately 7:15. We’re suggesting a $1 per person donation at the door to benefit 5th grade graduation, and our fabulous 5th graders will also be selling concessions. Feel free to bring a blanket or pillow and join us for an evening of fun! (Parents, please make sure your kids will be supervised by an adult during the movie. Unfortunately, we can’t provide supervision for drop-offs.) Hope to see you there!

Recycle Your Eyeglasses for Sight: As spring cleaning gets under way, the Burns Park Penguins Care Club and the Multicultural Committee are asking people to look through dresser drawers and closets for used eyeglasses and donate them to the Lions Recycle For Sight program. From March 30 to April 9, we will be collecting used prescription eyeglasses and prescription and non-prescription sunglasses as part of a unique recycling program. The collected glasses will be cleaned, categorized by prescription, and prepared for distribution; they will then be sent to the U.S. military in Arizona who will ship them to Iraq, where eye care is often unaffordable and inaccessible. To donate used glasses (including sunglasses and reading glasses), send them to school with your child or place them in the specially marked Lions Recycle For Sight collection boxes located in the Burns Park office or in the lobby outside the office. Thank you for your participation in this special program!!

Burns Park Bucks – Orders for this month’s Burns Park Buck$ scrip are due by midnight on Wednesday, April 1st, and will be ready for pick-up/delivery on Wednesday, April 8th. You can place your order conveniently at and pay by check or credit card. Thanks to all of you who help support this great program and raise funds for our school!

Burns Park Run Volunteers Needed! The run is coming up on Sunday, May 3rd. We would welcome family members, high school volunteers, etc. This is one of our biggest events, and fundraisers, so please help if you can. To volunteer for the run, most volunteer ROLES allow people to still participate in the run, so nearly all volunteers can run – but there are two ROLES, chip cutters and data entry support, for which volunteers really can’t participate in the race.  To learn more and and sign up with an online form, people can contact Jackie OR go to http://www.burnsparkrun.org and follow the "volunteer" navigation link to find the position descriptions and signup form online.  http://www.burnsparkrun.org/volunteer.html 

We hope people get excited about the Burns Park Run early this year, and about our special guests – Cheryl Haworth and Cara Heads.  Check out http://www.BurnsParkRun.org to learn more about them – and be sure to read this story:  (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2041) Registration IS turned on, and online registration is cheaper than registration (even early registration) by form for kids or families, even including the processing fees (these have been reduced significantly from last year by negotiating a group processing fee – a whole family can register together for just $1.50 processing fee rather than $3 per person extra fee that is typical.)
Please contact Jackie Dalton at if you have questions.

Burns Park 5th grade graduation photos from previous years wanted – This year’s 5th grade graduation committee would love to see your photos from past graduations, particularly if they show how the auditorium and brunch tables were decorated. If you have photos you’re willing to share, please either e-mail them to me at nkhmass at selectivityinc.com or drop them in the PTO mailbox at school in an envelope marked “Graduation photos for Kim Mass.” I’ll be sure to get your hard-copy photos back to you. Thanks so much! Kim Mass, 5th grade graduation co-chair, 213-5255.

Community Announcements:

Did you know that 20% of AAPS students receive free and reduced lunch? It is likely that these families cannot afford for their children to participate in the daily social and academic activities of school, for example: pictures, yearbook, birthday celebrations, field trips, school projects, book orders, etc. The Village Fund Initiative of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation exists to ensure that no AAPS student is excluded from the daily activities of school because of financial need. With your help we can make this a reality! For more information about our initiative and/or to donate on-line please visit http://www.aapsef.org or contact Helen Starman (hstarman at comcast.net or 994-8553); you can also donate to the fund by sending a check to AAPSEF, 2555 S. State, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104. Please indicate that your donation is for the Village Fund.

Burns Park Green Energy Association meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 9th at 7 PM @ Burns Park School. At this meeting, we will begin to form our working groups. Some folks are interested in renewable energy, some like gardening and food, many are passionate about transportation. Working groups are a way for everyone to get involved in the areas that they are excited about. This will also help us get to know each other, as we discuss and share our thoughts and questions. Building a resilient Community is what this organization is all about!! For more information, please contact Nathan Ayers at

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Lynda Norton, President-Elect
llnorton at okno.com or 761-1478