Flynn Flyer
January 14, 2022
Important Dates
1/17-Martin Luther King Day- Early Release 11:30/ No Burlington Kids/Sarah Holbrook
2/3- Annual Title One Meeting-6:00-Link will be available in the next Flynn Flyer (January 28)
2/3- Virtual PTO Meeting- 6:30- Link will be available in the next Flynn Flyer (January 28)
2/14- NAEP Testing-4th grade
2/14-2/18 Spirit Week
2/21-3/1 Winter Break No School
Help Wanted!
Had anyone told me that I would be working full time as a Principal after retiring, I would have laughed. That changed when I substituted for principals around the area on an occasional basis this fall and saw just how difficult things have become for schools due to labor shortages and COVID restrictions. The impact on staff and students alike is great. I couldn’t ignore what I was seeing.
The news has been filled with stories concerning the impact of COVID on workforces around the country. Our commitment is to focus on how we can best serve our children. We know that children thrive in an environment that provides consistency in routines and instruction. Shortages in personnel means we are having to move faculty and support staff around to fill positions, impacting our ability deliver the level of consistency needed. This adds stress to children and adults alike and stress is not an optimal state for learning.
Flynn currently has multiple openings for paraeducators and a building based substitute. If you have time, please consider taking one of our positions. Even if it's just for the rest of this year, it would be a huge help. We will even consider a job share if you and a friend want to split a position for the rest of the year. If you are unavailable, but know of someone who could help, please let them know of our need and share this information with them.
Openings at Flynn can be found at this Link. Type Flynn in the search bar and you will see our current listings.
Many thanks for considering this appeal.
Shelley Mathias
Dr. Michelle B. Mathias
Acting Principal
She/Her
PTO Corner
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to support the Flynn Day of Light event before the break in December! If you loaned any cozy cushions or pillows for the "campfire reading" station, you can pick them back up in the school lobby.
If you currently shop online, shop on Amazon Smile and have a portion of your purchases support our school! Just sign in at smile.amazon.com with your Amazon login and choose "John J Flynn P T O" (with the spaces in PTO) as your beneficiary. We have raised over $400 for school activities in this way!
Join us for our next meeting on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 (improved link coming soon) to discuss our Flynn Skate Night (fingers crossed!) and how to support the Maker Faire this year.
Flynn School Fireflies Undeterred by the Dark of December by Amy Cudney
On Wednesday, December 22, meteorologically the darkest day of a very dark month, the Flynn School fireflies refused to have their spirits dampened by the lack of light. Instead they created and celebrated the light that is every firefly’s natural gift! With the support of a team of parents who organized art supplies, gathered donations, and even snuck into school on Tuesday night to help get the gyms and library set up and decorated, Flynn staff created a day of twinkling wonder.
Students spent most of the day rotating through a series of activities all over the building. A scavenger hunt to locate the 50 new firefly images hidden in the hallways challenged students to remember their inside walking feet. To help settle their energy, students then engaged in collaborative coloring on one of the six tabletop sized firefly mandalas donated by BHS and designed by senior Maddi Evans. Our cafeteria had an obstacle course lit by strands of holiday lights, and our gym had blacklights and blinking lights to inspire our best dance moves.
Our STEAM room challenged older students to create a circuit with copper tape, coin cell batteries, and LED lights that would turn a firefly image “on.” Younger students demonstrated their engineering skills by building elaborate candelabras out of blocks on which to display an array of battery powered tealights. Firefly crafts used neon bandaids and gold glitter stickers, gold chenille sticks and glow-in-the-dark beads, and glow-in-the-dark paint dabbed on the inside of a clear plastic cup to create the illusion of a jar of fireflies.
As students entered the darkened library, they were each handed a flashlight and invited to find a seat at one of the circles of pillows and beanbag and beach chairs. Bins of books surrounded each of three library “campfires” which actually flickered thanks to the generosity of the folks at Biben’s Ace Hardware who donated 14 blinking red (bike) lights which were tucked into the red tinsel wrapped logs to fabulous effect! Looking utterly in awe, kindergartner Lyric excitedly asked, “are we roasting marshmallows?!” In spite of the absence of marshmallows, the power of light clearly brightened the spirits of children and staff alike. As we ended our day by listening to “Here Comes the Sun,” it was much easier to believe that the darkness would soon be receding.