It’s audition time for the Burns Park Players! Initial auditions will be held on Monday, October 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Tappan auditorium with callbacks held on Tuesday, October 16th. If you would like to audition but are unable to make the audition day, please notify Susan Hurwitz, susanh22@aol.com or call 994-3508.

Scheduled annually on the first Sunday in May, the Burns Park Run, a 5K and 10K race through the streets around the school, is a community wide event and a major fundraiser for the PTO each year. The run committee needs over one hundred volunteers for a variety of tasks before, during and after the race.

Visit the BP Run site: http://www.burnsparkrun.org/

The Burns Park Press is the monthly newsletter of the PTO, distributed to all families, faculty and staff in electronic and paper format. The Press is our regular way of communicating as a community, and carries news, an events calendar, and regular contributions from PTO officers and our principal. All families receive the electronic version of the press, and can get a paper copy sent home upon request.

The Burns Park community said farewell to our principal, Mrs. Kathy Morhous, just before graduation on the last day of school.

After eleven years of service to the students and faculty of Burns Park Elementary, Mrs. Morhous has been asked to become principal of King Elementary to fill an open position. The faculty, staff, parents and students of Burns Park joined together on the last day of the 2010-11 school year to say "Thank You!"

On behalf of the school community, the PTO planted a young tree in front of the school to honor Mrs. Morhous; PTO President Wendy Burke spoke for all of us as she praised the caring leadership Mrs. Morhous has brought to our school and community. Students presented Mrs. Morhous with a huge banner, reading "Thank You!", that every student in the school had also signed. Music teacher Cynthia Page-Bogen led the student body in a wonderful series of songs and dances to celebrate our principal and wish her all the best in the future.

Please join us in wishing Mrs. Morhous all the best for the future!

The upper elementary students work with the PE teacher to organize and supervise games for two field days (upper elementary and lower elementary) which are held in early June. Parent volunteers supervise the students and help run games during these afternoon events.

Please join us for the Special Interest Fair!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hey parents – it’s time again for the Special Interest Fair! The fair is a Burns Park tradition, and we hope you’ll encourage your student(s) to participate. Last year approximately 80 students shared special interest projects with their classmates, teachers, and families.

All students from kindergarten through 5th grade are encouraged to submit a project! The purpose of the fair is to encourage students to pursue a topic of their interest and provide a showcase for their efforts. The fair is non-competitive, and children may work alone or in a group.

This family event, typically held on an evening in March, provides opportunities for students and parents to explore activities related to a particular topic, such as biology, chemistry, earth science, or math. This enrichment event is coordinated by the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum who has designed the activities and provides all the materials and information. Parent volunteers staff the event, explaining activities and encouraging participants.

For more information about the Hands-On Museum, see http://www.aahom.org.

Grab some memories, hear some great original music, and help support the music program at Burns Park!

We’ve produced a DVD of the 2010 5th grade composition concert, and we invite you to take a copy (or two!) home with you. Each composition is featured as a separate “chapter” on the disc, and the titles and student composer-performers show at the beginning of each clip.

Net proceeds from this sale will support the fifth grade composition program in future years. Help us make sure our kids continue to have this opportunity!

Interested students meet monthly in this after-school club to discuss, plan, and implement community service projects. Projects can focus on topics of interest to the children that relate to helping people, animals, and the environment. One project, for example, involves collecting Halloween costumes and donating them to others in our community. Parent volunteers will assist the chairpersons with leading meetings and activities.