Flynn Flyer
October 6th, 2023
Important Dates
10/6- No School/Professional Learning Day
10/9- No School/ Indigenous Peoples' Day
10/19- Flynn Book Fair to Benefit 5th Grade Trip to Star Base
10/25- Early Release 11:30/No Burlington Kids/No Sara Holbrook
11/2- PTO Meeting/6:30 in the Flynn Library or by Google Meet,
https://meet.google.com/fuj-omkp-bnv
11/20-11/21- Parent/Teacher Conferences-Link Available Soon
11/20-11/24- Thanksgiving Break-No School
School Play Info
11/4- School Play Set Building Day 10am -3pm
- Dress Rehearsals
- Sunday, November 5th 10:30-2:00
- Monday, November 6th 11:30-2:15
- Wednesday, November 8th 2:45-5:00
- Performances
- Thursday, November 9th during school day
- Friday, November 10th at 6:30pm
- Saturday, November 11th at 4:00pm
BookFair and Pancake Breakfast for Dinner
Flynn Annual Fall Bookfair
Thursday October 19
5-7
To Benefit 5th Grade Field Trips
Enjoy Breakfast for Dinner
To Benefit 3rd Grade Field Trips
Blackstone Grills Needed! Call/Email Ms Priebe!
Counselor Corner
Please read below for some updates from your school counselors, Emily Russen and Jill Everett
Hello Flynn Families!
Happy Fall! We hope this newsletter finds you well. We are back in the classroom teaching social and emotional learning to students as of this week. We plan on starting our other services next week such as lunch bunches, individual counseling and small group intervention. We also have a School Couseling Intern join us this year named Natalie Lynch!
Please read below for information about our services!
What is a “Lunch Bunch”?
A lunch bunch is when a student(s) can stop by to have lunch with their school counselor. The frequency of lunch bunches can vary and there is not a formal referral process (most often students seek us out and ask for a lunch bunch to switch up their lunch routine!). If students need more regular and structured support, a teacher or school counselor may reach out to you to explore helpful options. If it seems a student would benefit from a regular lunch bunch e would check in with you at home first to discuss what this may look like and gain your consent to provide ongoing, regular support.
Can my student just stop by a counselor's office to check in?
Absolutely! Students can stop by without a referral to check in to see the school counselor. If we are not in our office, students are encouraged to leave a note (or have a teacher reach out) and we will check in with them as soon as possible. If we think it would be beneficial to meet with students on a regular basis, we would check in with you at home first to discuss what this may look like and gain your consent to provide ongoing, regular support.
What is a “social cognition” group?
A social cognition group is designed through a referral process (most often initiated by teachers and caregivers) and consists of a small group of students. The focus of the group is to learn various skills such as communication, friendship, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and so much more! Groups usually run once a week for about 6 weeks. Caregiver consent is required.
What about individual counseling?
Yes, we offer 6 to 8 week supportive counseling to students at Flynn. Caregiver consent is required. Unlike therapy, there is no treatment plan or diagnosis attached to the work, it is more skills based and student driven.
Outerwear Swap
We are collecting gently used coats, hats, boots and snow pants to add to our annual outerwear swap.Please drop off items in the front office.
Attendance
Changes Beginning in the 23/24 School Year Starting this school year, BSD changed what counts as an excused absence. While this was communicated to families last Spring and in August, and is in our student handbook, now that we are a month into the school year, this reminder may be useful to families and students. We ended the practice of accepting parental communication as the primary determinant of excusing absences and are using the guidance from the AOE regarding when an absence is considered excusable. Excused Absences From the AOE Website: An absence is considered excusable when it is the result of: Personal illness; Appointments with health professionals that cannot be made outside of the regular school day; Observance of recognized religious holidays when the observance is required during a regular school day; Emergency family situations such as a death in the family; Planned absences for personal or educational purposes which have been approved. Absences due to suspension or expulsion All other absences will be marked as Absence Unexcused. This includes absences such as those that occur when a student needs more sleep, family is in town for a visit, the student is attending a non-AOE approved alternative programming, there is an event that the family wishes to attend with the student, participating in programs such as Crow's Path, Teresa Davis Art Studios, etc. Planned Absences
To read our entire attendance procedure, including a list of all of the attendance codes, please go here on the BSD website.
PTO Corner
Interested in the Flynn PTO? If you are an adult in the life of a Flynn student, you are already a member! We invite you to participate in the PTO in a way that works for you!
Our next meeting is Thursday, November 2nd at 6:30 pm. Meetings are held in-person in the Flynn library or via Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/fuj-omkp-bnv). Childcare is provided by the wonderful Ms. Wanda!!
Here is the link to our meeting minutes from our meetings this year:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1k6WbpEDxIqqodGc3S8gLqxHVymVG2aZI?usp=sharing
Other ways to get involved:
Amazon has decided to discontinue the Amazon Smile program, so now is a great time to start scanning Box Tops. The PTO relies on fundraising and donations to provide events such as Skate Night, the Back to School BBQ, Teacher Mini-Grants, and much more!
Scan those Box Tops!
- Click this link to download the app: https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/get-the-app
- When prompted to find a school, type in the zip code ‘05408’ and choose Flynn from the choices and you are ready to start scanning those receipts!
- Don’t think you purchase items that count for Box Tops? Many brands such as Annie’s, Bisquick, Cheerios, Airborne, Go-Gurt, Lysol, Pillsbury, and much more are Box Tops brands. Scan that receipt and see if you can earn some money for Flynn!
Donate via Venmo. The PTO is a non-profit organization that relies on fundraising to continue its support of the Flynn community. If you are able to give a monetary donation to support the PTO programming, then it’s easy! Our Venmo account is @jjflynnpto.
"COVID is present in our community. If you or your child has symptoms, the health department encourages people with symptoms to test. We DO have antigen tests available in ALL of our schools for anyone who wants tests to take home. Please request tests if you would like some."
The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. Learn more about eligability or visit the website to sign up