Good Morning, Burlington!

Last night, School Committee heard a packed presentation about the computer science program at the high school. The department’s priorities are to bring computer science literacy to all students and encourage more of them to go into careers involving data science.

• Computer Science for All: through this initiative, BHS is working with MIT’s teaching lab to increase equity in computer science education. (Computer Science enrollment is 88% boys and 12% girls in Burlington and similar across the state!). Some of their outreach has included:

  • Girl Up event at Microsoft

  • Girls in STEM Club

  • African American Student Association

• A group of BHS girls got second place in the CGI Girls Challenge with their app to help teachers with name pronunciation, which increases equity in classrooms; they’ll be competing at Technovation in a few weeks

• Another grant looks at embedding Computer Science in other subject areas; we are in our third of a 3-year, $45,000 grant:

  • Data has been embedded in civics requirement for Honors Social Studies students

  • 2 more courses have been added into the pathway: Data Visualization and Data Plus Python; enrollment was small to start, but kids got a lot out of it

• Other strategies they hope to implement to increase interest and awareness:

  • May pilot new freshman course in 2 years that combines business, art, and computer science (Shark Tank was mentioned—fun!)

  • Continue embedding computer science in other subjects

  • Continue outreach and “marketing” and bringing technology to where kids are

• Early college and career pathways

  • 63 students got early college credit this year from Middlesex Community College; a grant made it more affordable for the students, too

• The part about reverse internships was arguably the most exciting part of the whole presentation:

  • Instead of sending students to companies in the community, which is very hard to place for high school students, mentors come to BHS. The students create a company where they get paid, work on projects, and meet with their mentors each week as well as tutors who are college students. They also go on field trips relevant to the topics they’re learning. At the end, they have a completed project (which they got paid to work on)!

    • The Reverse Internship program will be funded at $50,000 per year through the state!

    • We were able to secure an $80,000 grant to pay 56 students to complete computer science projects—$15/hour for up to $1500 per student!

  • Their projects this year have been in fields such as Data Science, Game Design, and Cybersecurity.

In partnership with People Helping People

Did you know that that 1 in 5 households with children across the Commonwealth are facing hunger right now? With so many struggling during this challenging time, no one should worry about where their next meal will come from or if they'll able to feed their children. People Helping People has assembled a team to participate in Project Bread’s annual Walk For Hunger. Sixty percent of funds raised will directly benefit People Helping People, and the other 40% will support Project Bread’s anti-hunger efforts across Massachusetts. Team People Helping People will be walking 3 miles around the Burlington High School Field Track on Sunday, May 7th at 10:00am. Join the team to help raise money or donate to support the Walk!

Today in Burlington

Meetings and Events

• 10:00 AM - Ways & Means Subcommittee will discuss Town Meeting Warrant Articles 15, 22, 24, and 26. (Town Hall, 2nd Floor)
• 10:30 AM - Toddler Storytime at the library
• 11:30 AM - Preschool Storytime at the library
• 2:45-3:50 - Homework Club at The Reserve (20 Corporate Drive); email Kim Holt for more information
• 5:30 PM - Presbyterian Church Community Dinner will be celebrating their first year of hosting the dinners! Jim Sheridan from the Burlington Food Pantry will also make a short presentation.
• 6:00 PM - Blanchard Wheeler Corridor Vision Plan meeting - this is the second and final public meeting, where the Town and VHB will update residents on the planning process and welcome feedback from the public. (Virtual)
• 6:30 PM - Burlington Scholarship Fund will discuss scoring and any questions that came up, and select recipients of this year’s scholarship. (Grand View Farm)
• 6:30 PM - Ways and Means School Subcommittee will discuss the schools’ operating budget and the Essex Tech Assessment budget. (Town Hall)
• 7:00 PM - Land Use Committee will hear subcommittee, liaison, and advisory reports relating to bylaw updates and the Blanchard/Wheeler and Mall Road/Middlesex Turnpike projects. (Town Hall Annex and virtual)
• 7:00 PM - Ways and Means will discuss a whole slew of financial warrant articles for May’s Town Meeting. (Town Hall and virtual)
• 7:00 PM - Having Fun with Supermarket Flowers - Learn how to arrange and care for supermarket flowers utilizing different types of containers. The speaker, Patti Prior, will share her tips and tricks with fresh flowers and all arrangements will be raffled off at the end of the evening. Sponsored by the Burlington Garden Club; all welcome! (Murray Kelly Room, 61 Center St.)
  Questions? Send an email to programs@burlingtongardenclub.com

Sports and Activities

Our boys’ volleyball team played hard against Woburn yesterday. JV lost 0-2, and Varsity won 3-1.

We have a packed sports calendar today:

• Tennis against Wilmington at 4:00: Boys host and girls travel.

• Boys’ Baseball at Arlington: JV at 4:00 and Varsity at 4:15.

• Girls host Arlington for Softball at 4:15: JV at Rotary Field; Varsity at Marvin Field

• Lacrosse against Stoneham:

  • Girls host: Varsity at 4:15; JV at 5:45

  • Boys travel: Varsity at 6:00

See you tomorrow, Neighbors!

Nicci