May Newsletter

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers in our IAA community! We honor you for the vital role you play in the lives of our children and the incalculable difference you make in the lives of our children!

We are in the final weeks of our 2020-2021 school year. Our students have transitioned smoothly into half-day, in-person learning on Wednesdays and we all are eagerly looking forward to returning to a full week of in-person learning for our students at the beginning of next school year. Again, I want to thank each of you for your ongoing support of the safety protocols we implemented over this past school year to keep our students, staff, and ultimately our community safe. We have a great community and that was clearly evident based on the solidarity shown through our collective efforts and flexibility. Thank you!

We celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week this past week. Our teachers have gone above and beyond the normal call of duty this school year. They prioritized the safety and wellbeing of our students while simultaneously managing their own well-being. I cannot voice enough how appreciative I am for the resilience and dedication to our students our teachers have demonstrated this school year. As I said in a message to them, they are truly the heroes we needed as our youth transitioned from remote back to in-person learning this past school year. We have a truly caring IAA team!

SBAC

As a reminder, our 3rd-5th graders will be participating in state assessments this month as part of the accountability system for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Please see the 2021 assessment letter and assessment calendar for more information.

Fifth Grade Promotional

There are several exciting things happening at IAA this May and June.

First off, Fill the Bowl is back! The 3rd grade is going to be hosting an open air market on May 17-21. Families and community members will be able to purchase handbuilt and also hand-underglazed bowls made by 3rd grade students for $5 each. Cash or checks made payable to IAA are welcome. All proceeds will go back into the Old North End community. This was made possible through our partnership with Burlington City Arts and the IAA Fill the Bowl fund.

Same but Different

We have been missing performances here at IAA. We are pleased to announce that IAA will be holding an exciting virtual event brought to us through our partnership with the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. IAA will be enjoying a dance performance piece called Same but Different from Lida Windfield and Cristal Brown.

This is a dense and layered performance; we will be sharing the first 10 minutes or so which is age appropriate for elementary aged students, focuses heavily on fostering relationships, building friendships, the similarities and differences that exist between two people, and communicating through an artform (in this case dance).

Students and staff will prepare for the show via a study guide created by the artists themselves. Staff and students will then view an excerpt of pre-recorded performance. It will air as a part of Town Meeting. A small group of students will participate in a panel discussion and Q & A with Lida and Cristal will air as a part of another Town Meeting.

Jon Gailmor will be back for another songwriting residency. He will be working outdoors with students in PreK to 5th grade.Those of you who have experienced a Jon Gailmor residency in the past know that usually there is a concert of sorts to share the songs. There will be no concert this year, however, Emily and the rest of the IAA film crew will be capturing footage for a video to be shared the following week with families. The timing of this residency will be a perfect opportunity for students and staff to celebrate and reflect upon their journeys this school year. This residency was made possible through a private donation. The residency will run from May 27th-June 10th with June 11th and 14th as rain dates.

IAA T-shirts for the 2020-21 school year are in the works! This year’s design was inspired by the IAA Creature Crawl and also references this year of activism. It was designed by Vahan Ionnisian who attended Essex Center for Technology and is currently working on his BA in Electronic Arts from McGill University. Vahan is part of the extended IAA family and created our design last year. Please use this form to order additional t-shirts for purchase. It has all the additional information that you might need. Remote students can request their t-shirt and size using this link. Contact Emily Titterton at etittert@bsdvt.org with any questions.

There are now 29 Town Meeting videos in the IAA playlist! Here are some recent highlights:

• Town Meeting from Friday, April 9th includes a Celebration of Learning with Ms. Mary’s class all about reading fluency and Magic Mailbox.

• This Town Meeting includes a Celebration of Learning from Mr. T’s 4th grade, as well as photos from the Integrated Arts Breakfast and a celebration of ONE-Strings in 4th grade.

• The April 30th Town Meeting was all about Earth Day! It includes contributions from a wide range of classrooms: a Climate Change PSA from Mr. Mike's 4th grade, "Trees and People" dance from Mr. Leal's 1st grade, art from Ms. Mary's and Mr. Currier's students, poems and globes from Ms. Rose's 2nd grade, and finally a-not-to-be-missed Earth Day Rap from Mr. Scott and all of his friends.

• Last, the May 7th Town Meeting includes a Celebration of learning from Mr. Whitman’s 3rd grade all about the upcoming Fill the Bowl open air market and all of the learning connected with the service learning project. There is also a celebration of Poem in my Pocket with Riddle-kus from Library with Ms. Jen Peake.

Our 3rd grade just wrapped up week two of their 6 week introduction to strings. The foundational skills they are learning now will serve them well next year as they continue their music education with Mr. Myregaard and ONE-Strings.

I recently wrote in our class newsletter that it is always blue skies when Mr. Brian comes to sing with us, and boy does that ring true this year. We all know the benefits of being in an arts rich and joyous community and Mr. Brian fosters that love and joy through song each week. Students sing songs from the Burlington community through the years with representation from the many cultures that have made Burlington their home. All students are included, welcomed and find their voices while singing with their class.

As a teacher, I have been able to see the growth of my students through the year and as a parent, I have witnessed the impact on my children, as they teach each other songs, recount their time with Mr. Brian and teach us the songs that they have learned!

Ms. Heather, 2nd grade

Although ONE-Steps was not a part of our curricular programming this year, IAA WILL be bringing Ms. Lois, ONE-Step Teaching Artist, in for a mini residency with our Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and STEP classes. She will be co-teaching with classroom teachers and drama teacher, Ms. Piper, and PE teacher Mr. J. It will run from May 17-25.

Debate has been coming to life in 5th grade. We have been learning to form opinions and state an argument with evidence to support our opinion. We are holding mock debates and learning to debate respectfully with balanced emotions.

The second Virtual Variety Show is right around the corner! Submissions are due this Friday, May 14th. If your child needs any help, please don’t hesitate to reach out and I can support! Last year we had 43 submissions!! The Virtual link will be emailed out on Friday, May 28th.

porwig@bsdvt.org

So much creativity and energy swirling around IAA. The 5th graders worked with science,sculpture and balance to create a paper mache mobile of the sun and the earth. The 4th graders dug into biographies and portraiture and created and 8 page origami book portraits, self portraits and research information. They also looked at the works of Jean Michel Basquiat and created powerful civil justice collages. The first graders created community papers and created a collage based on the story Maybe Something Beautiful. They also created robots and played with many different shapes. The room was a constant buzz of happy energy! Home stretch and looking forward to the next rotation.

Ms. Sue

sadamson@bsdvt.org

Happy May! As restrictions are slowly being removed and the vaccination rates are increasing we still need to be diligent about keeping each other safe and healthy! Please see this visual which can help in deciding how safe an activity is. Hope everyone has a wonderful May!🎕

Nurse Ali

awasko@bsdvt.org