Realizing that each child comes to school with an inquisitive
mind and an innate desire to learn, the Robert J. Burch Elementary
School community strives to provide positive learning experiences
for all students.
It is our desire to provide
a student-focused environment which includes:
A
warm and supportive climate which encourages individuality
and the development of self-esteem.
Academic
experiences which foster in students a continued love for
learning and desire for exploration.
A
curriculum that is developmentally appropriate which emphasizes
manipulatives, hands-on and minds-on learning activities,
and stresses creative problem solving.
An
emphasis on cooperative learning methodology which also encourages
cooperation among the home, school, and community.
That is why, at Robert J. Burch Elementary School, we have gone "Beyond the Basics" to bring each and every child the best programs, taught to them by the best teachers and designed specifically to meet the needs of each child individually.
The Fayette County 4-H Program is dedicated to providing boys and girls (Grades 5-12) opportunities to learn leadership, citizenship, and life skills. Youth in the Fayette County 4-H program are given a chance to "learn by doing" through project work, classes, workshops, judging events, camps and other learning activities. 5th grade students get the benefit of having a 4H advisor come into their classrooms on a weekly basis for hands on activities.
Art is a very busy and creative place everyday! Students come to art class on a 6 or 7 day rotation for 35-45 minutes depending on the grade level. Student art lessons are planned around the Elements and Principles of Design, which follow the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum Fine Arts Standards for Visual Art. Each art project offers many opportunities for student achievement. Projects regularly include art history, artist biographies, and research combined with hands-on learning. Many art projects are also connected with units studied in the regular classroom.
All Burch students will participate in the school-wide art show on “Fine Arts Night” on March 27. Be sure to mark your calendars so you will not miss this outstanding display of art talent. Other student art exhibits include the Board of Education, the Capitol Art Exhibit, and the Old Fayette County Courthouse Art Show in which exceptional artworks are selected. Parents are notified by personal invitation to attend these art exhibits with their child artist. The mission statement that guides my students to success is, “There are no mistakes in art, only discoveries”.
Collaborative Instruction and Inclusion (CII)
In an effort to provide less fragmented
instruction for our special education and Early Intervention
Program (EIP) students, we use collaborative and inclusive
models for serving them within the regular classroom. The
special education and EIP teachers, and/or paraprofessionals
go into the classes and provide instruction and support (along
with the regular teacher) for their students and others needing
help. This gives the students an opportunity to be a part
of the class and do the activities that the class is doing
at their own rate. In some situations, students are pulled
out for a particular program for a portion of their instructional
segment. The collaborative program has proven to be very successful
for all students and the classroom teachers. Working together,
the teachers are able to provide the best possible instructional
experiences for all students at their levels of performance.
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Computer Lab
Our school houses a fully equipped computer lab for all teachers
and students to use. This learning lab uses approximately
30 networked workstations, printers and software. The computer
lab is staffed by a certified teacher who is the school's
educational technology specialist. Classes are provided for
large and small group instruction on hardware, software, and
application of technology. We use a variety of programs and
strategies to teach keyboarding skills, word processing, and
information storage and retrieval. These skills are reinforced
in classrooms by student use of computers throughout the day.
Programs that highlight reading readiness, phonemic awareness,
sequencing, reading comprehension, map skills, ecology, math
facts, and creative writing are used frequently. Our software
integrates technology into all curriculum areas and supports
the teaching and advancement of technology skills as well
as supporting all academic areas. The lab is available on
a flexible schedule during the school day. Teachers sign up
in advance for collaborative lessons in the lab. The lab is
also used four hours a week through the After School Program
(ASP). The educational technology specialist also serves as
a technical support consultant for teachers and students.
Cooperative learning is an instructional
strategy that is used at all grade levels at Burch Elementary
and is simply defined as school work done in groups. Students
are grouped and allowed to work together to complete assignments,
projects, and problem solving activities. The groups are constructed
so that each student has a specific role, and each student
is dependent on the others. Though the work is done in a group,
each individual student is responsible for knowing the material.
Working in groups allows all children to succeed and provides
wonderful opportunities for developing the social skills needed
to function in our society. Classmates use each other as resources
rather than competitors, and responsibility is developed as
students strive to reach group and individual goals. Students
are given responsibility for their own learning. Of course,
not all instruction is provided in cooperative groups. Cooperative
Learning is used along with whole group, small group, individual,
and traditional instruction to provide a well-rounded approach
to teaching all subject areas.
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The media specialist plans special programs to provide positive learning experiences for the students. These cultural arts programs can be class or subject specific, grade specific, or whole school oriented. Ideas and requests for specific presentations or presenters can be given to the media specialist at any time. It is hoped that the teachers will gain information pertinent to their curriculum and that the students will make meaningful classroom connections. These cultural arts programs also serve as an opportunity to model and teach appropriate behavior at such functions.
Drug Awareness Resistance Education
This is a collaborative effort by DARE
certified law enforcement officers, educators, students, parents,
and community to offer an educational program in the classroom
to prevent or reduce drug abuse and violence among children
and youth. The emphasis of DARE is to help students recognize
and resist the many direct and subtle pressures that influence
them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants,
or other drugs or to engage in violence. This program is brought
into all 5th grade classrooms by a specially trained Fayette
County Sheriff DARE officer for either the first half or the
second half of the school year.
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English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
English to Speakers of Other Languages is a program designed to help students whose first language is not English learn our difficult language. This program serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade at Burch Elementary and helps them acquire the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills they need to become successful in school. ESOL students are members of regular classrooms and receive extra instruction daily from an ESOL teacher.
Early Intervention Program (EIP)
Early Intervention Program (EIP)
This state funded program provides additional instructional
support for students who would benefit from extra support
in reading and/or math. Students qualify for the program based
on standardized test scores, teacher recommendation, and academic
achievement in class. The program is staffed by certified
teachers who either work collaboratively in the regular classroom
or pull out small groups of students for 45-50 minute instructional
sessions during the normal school day.
The gifted program at Burch serves approximately 100 students grades K thru 5. Students from each grade level spend one day a week with their enrichment class. The students work on thematic units of study, which focus on the Universal Themes of Foundations, Change, Systems, Perspective, and Interdependence. Students are engaged in research and problem solving. The units also place heavy emphasis on higher order thinking skills. All units of study are authorized by the State Board of Education, following the guidelines in SBOE Rule 160-4-2-.38.
Raising Funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Burch will hold their yearly Math-a-Thon to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Angie Meredith, the math Instructional Support Teacher for Burch and Cleveland Elementary, is coordinating the event, scheduled to begin in March. By supporting the participants of this event, you will help raise funds for St. Jude in its ongoing fight against childhood catastrophic diseases.
The Math-a-Thon is sponsored by Six Flags Theme Parks, who provides free passes to their parks for every student raising $35 or more through the program. In addition, every student raising $35 or more also earns a colorful t-shirt!
The late entertainer Danny Thomas founded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital is an internationally recognized biomedical research hospital dedicated to finding cures for the catastrophic diseases of childhood such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell anemia. The hospital’s work is supported through funds raised by events such as the Math-a-Thon. All patients are treated regardless of their ability to pay.
We would love for all the Burch Bears to become active participants in this worthwhile cause! Burch Bears have participated for 11 years and raised over $80,000 for St. Jude. In 2007, Burch Bears raised a record $10,000!
Robert J. Burch Elementary School Media
Center
Media Specialist: Pat Perkins
Media Assistant: Suzanne Preiss
Mission Statement: The mission of our library
media program is to support the mission of Fayette County
School System and the mission of Robert J. Burch Elementary
School to insure that students and staff are effective users
of ideas and information.
The Media Center is an integral part of learning at R. J.
Burch Elementary School. The approximately 600 students visit
the media center on a daily basis and check out between 5,000
to 6,000 books every 20 days. The media center is fully automated
allowing students quick and easy access to book titles and
quick and accurate check out and check in of all materials.
We are open each school day from 7:25 am until 2:30 pm.
The Media Center is equipped with over 25,000 books, videos,
audio-visual equipment, magazines, multimedia kits, reference
materials, laminating machine, computers with electronic encyclopedias,
AR program, Internet access, and computerized card catalog,
closed circuit television capabilities for classroom use,
broadcast equipment to help students and teachers to obtain
information to make the school experience one that is enriching.
The media center operates on a flexible schedule and is a
busy place due to a wonderful program called ACCELERATED READER
(AR). The AR program combines the best in children's literature
with software that tests comprehension. Burch Elementary School
owns over 4,900 AR book quizzes which are loaded on the school's
computer network and accessible in the media center and to
every classroom. Students read an AR book and then take a
computer test about the book. The students earn AR points
according to how well they do on the quiz. Books are assigned
points according to their length and reading level. The AR
titles are listed on our Burch web page.
All students receive instruction in the use of the Media Center
and its resources. Ms. Perkins, our Media Specialist collaborates
with the classroom teachers in providing a student centered,
resource based learning environment. The use of materials
for reference and specific skills are taught when dictated
by students' needs. Ms. Perkins provides opportunities for
students to appreciate literature by reading aloud the Georgia
Children's Book Award Books, Caldecott and Newbery Award Books.
In addition Cultural Arts programs are scheduled to help students
to learn creative thinking skills, to become critical seekers
of information and ideas and independent life-long learners
and decision makers.
The Media Center also sponsors Book Fairs during the year.
These events give students an opportunity to make purchases
of items for themselves and family members which helps to
support the Media Center needs. Parent Volunteers are a great
help during these Book Fairs as well as through out the year
as they help during the day in the Media Center.
Next time you are in the building please stop by the Media
Center and "Check us out." The media center at Burch
is an exciting and fun place to visit and volunteer.
The school day begins every day by having all stakeholders in the building tuning into the daily Broadcast .The Broadcast (WRJB) is a student production with teachers acting as advisors. In the process of planning their segments students study news broadcasts, learn how to create a script for their audio and visuals, develop scripts, utilize production and film techniques such as setting, presentation, props, camera angles, music selection, and editing.
Students at Burch Elementary attend music class one day of each six or seven day grade level rotation for a period of 30-45 minutes, depending on their grade level. Based on the Fayette County Schools Elementary Music Curriculum and guidelines provided by the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum, lessons provide opportunities for students to develop and expand basic music skills through movement, singing, playing instruments, creating music, and performing. Students are introduced to a "Musician of the Month" and an "Instrument of the Week" to enhance knowledge of composers and instrument families. Mrs. Teague also works with classroom teachers to integrate music into classroom content area studies.
Fourth and fifth grade students have the opportunity to sing in the Burch Chorus, which meets on Monday or Tuesday afternoons from 2:30-3:30. Students perform for special PTO programs, Christmas caroling to our Partners in Education, the Tyrone Christmas Tree Lighting, the Burch Fine Arts Festival, and special school assemblies.
Pre-Kindergarten Class (Pre-K)
During the 1991-1992 school year, we at Burch Elementary School, established a pre-kindergarten program using our Chapter I funds from the federal government. Developmental instruction through play-type activities provide these students experiences that prepare them for kindergarten. Center activities allow students the freedom of movement as they explore and manipulate their environment. Language development activities, socialization, and developing an "I can do anything" attitude are stressed in the class. Students are nurtured and given every opportunity to succeed in anything they attempt. This program is not full day (7:50 - 2:20).
Reading Renaissance
Reading Renaissance is a school-wide reading program that combines the Accelerated Reader and STAR Reading Programs with individualized instruction. Its function is to encourage students to read and to develop reading comprehension.
Each class has a scheduled Reading Renaissance time daily as part of the Reading/Language Arts curriculum. The program is simple. Your child takes a STAR test, which gives him/her a range of reading levels at which he/she can be successful. (This is known as a ZPD.) Then he/she either reads, or has read to him/her, a book from the AR book list. Next, your child takes a computerized quiz on the book, answering multiple-choice questions that check his/her recall of basic facts and events in the book. (Older students sometimes also take Literacy tests, which provide more critical thinking questions.) Upon finishing the quiz, the child earns points based on the number of questions answered correctly and the level of the book. The computer keeps track of every student’s points. Each student has individualized goals for points, reading level, and percent correct based on his/her abilities. Goals are set for each grading period.
AR books can be found in the Burch library or local libraries. Burch has over 4300 titles from which to choose. Each AR Book in the Burch Media center is marked by a colored dot on the upper spine and a colored label on the lower spine which denotes the reading level. The books are also labeled on the inside back cover with the reading level and point value.
The Running Club is available to all students from 2nd through 5th grade. The students have the option of walking or running every morning before school from 7:20 – 7:45 on the Burch track. The number of laps walked/run are recorded daily and a running total will be kept. There will be incentives for students at various milestones and the total miles will accumulate from year to year.
There is a $10 fee to join which helps to pay for a Running Club shirt for each participant, as well as for the incentives given throughout the year.
The Running Club is a great way to reinforce the health and fitness goals of the P.E. program by encouraging daily exercise. It is also an excellent way for students to work off some excess energy before they go to class in the morning!
In addition to running in the mornings, there will be opportunities throughout the year for students to participate in races all over Fayette County. These races will add to their running total, and there are other prizes they can win as well.
There will be information sent home at the beginning of the school year, but students may join at any time. For more information contact Coach Nails.This year’s Fayette County Science Olympiad Competition took place at Sandy Creek High School on Saturday, February 5, 2005. Burch, along with fifteen other elementary schools, took part in this exciting day. There were twenty-six students from Burch consisting of third, fourth and fifth grade students. These students practiced faithfully prior to the competition. The day began at 8:00 a.m. with welcoming comments from Dr. Sharon Boyer, County Science Coordinator. This was followed by a series of “Known” and “Unknown” Events. The day concluded with an awards ceremony. Burch did an outstanding job and placed in many events. We look forward to next year’s competition!