Katherine Delmar Burke School

On this cold winter morning, Burke's students, faculty and staff gathered on the Blue Top for a cozy Snow Day Sing Along! Our fourth graders led the crowd in songs about Diwali, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and Christmas. It was a wonderful way to head into the winter break with our hearts full of song and our hands warmed by a hot chocolate treat! |

The fourth grade had us laughing all morning during their performance of "One Laugh At A Time: The Legacy of Lucille Ball," an original play written and directed by Lower School Drama Teacher Nancy Gold. It was a true ensemble piece where the students explored playwriting, improvisation, acting, directing, singing, dancing, mime, and building sets, props, and costume pieces. #OneLaughAtATime #LucilleBall

Happy Diwali! We were overjoyed to have students, faculty, staff and parent volunteers together yesterday for our annual all-school Diwali Assembly. Burke's wishes everyone an abundance of love and light this Diwali! #diwali2021 #burkescommunity

On this rainy #throwbackthursday, we are looking back to last week when our fourth graders were paired up with their kindergarten little siblings. This morning the community came together for our first School Families event on campus. School Families are a special way to build community and create new connections across Lower and Upper School. Each School Family is comprised of big and little "siblings" from every grade with teachers and staff as acting "parents." #BurkesCommunity

Upper School had a very special visit from Danza Xitlalli of San Francisco. The group began by acknowledging the local tribes of this land: Ramaytush and Ohlone and offered three dances. They ended with the Upper School standing together for a goodbye by facing the north, south, east and west.

Kindergarten had special visitors in the classroom to celebrate Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month. A Burke's parent gave a special reading of "Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia" and Burke's Associate Director of Inclusivity and Community Building stopped in to give a reading of "The Princess and the Warrior" along with a presentation of Nahuatl words. #Burkes #LatinxHeritageMonth

The first days of Fall mean it's time for the Lower School Picnic! It may have been a foggy day, but the dancing, playing and just being together kept us warm! #Burkes #Community #LowerSchoolPicnic21

Time to start celebrating our Class of 2022! An overnight isn't possible this year, but the eighth grade is kicking off a two-day retreat on and around campus with mindfulness activities, music, s'mores and more! #BurkesCommunity

#MadMathMonday! Check out this math problem taken directly from a fourth grade Burke's classroom. Send in your best guesses via DM and on Tuesday morning, a student will reveal their answer! #burkes

We are not throwing away our shot! The Class of 2022 had a Q&A session and learned Broadway choreography with members of the Hamilton North America Cast! A great moment to end a wonderful first week back at Burke's! This incredible opportunity was made possible through the Sarah Babcock Endowment Fund.

That’s a wrap on the first day of school! From the front field to the very back courtyards, the joy and excitement of our students was felt by all. | #burkes #itsgoodtobeback

Look for the Zoom link and details in the Fall 2021 Opening Plan, on MyBurke's All School school calendar, and in the August 31 issue of Tuesday Notes. #BurkesCommunity

We had the honor of celebrating International Women's Day with special guest Michaela DePrince, renowned ballet soloist at the Dutch National Ballet and co-author of the books "Ballerina Dreams" and "Taking Flight." Michaela was born in war-torn Sierra Leone during the country’s decade-long civil war. She had vitiligo, a condition that causes patches of skin to lose their color. In her native land vitiligo was considered a curse of the devil causing her uncle to abandon her ...at an orphanage. Michaela’s adoptive parents recognized her talent for ballet and enrolled her in ballet classes and supported her passion for the art. While attending the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre, Michaela worked hard to develop her skills so that she could overcome stereotypes of conventional beauty and racial barriers in the world of ballet. At the age of seventeen, Michaela performed with the Dance Theatre of Harlem professional company. At eighteen she joined the Dutch National Junior Company as a second-year member and apprentice to the main company. Now at the age of twenty-five, Michaela is ranked as a soloist at Dutch National Ballet. Besides dancing, Michaela loves reaching out to disadvantaged young people, with whom she shares her message of hard work, perseverance, and hope, in order to encourage them to strive for a dream. In 2016 she was named an Ambassador for War Child Netherlands. That same year Michaela was one of the stars in Beyoncé’s visual album LEMONADE. #IWD2021 #Burkes #EducateEncourageEmpower See more

Happy Lunar New Year! Burke’s celebrated with our third graders performing a reimagined Lion Dance Parade in their cohort spaces and physically distanced on campus. Distance Learners and Hybrid Learners alike joined in the virtual dances! Lunar New Year begins on Feb. 12 and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 26. We are entering the year of the Ox! #Burkes #LunarNewYear

Today the Class of 2021 will gather virtually for their class retreat, which is the start of many Burke's traditions dedicated to honoring and celebrating the eighth-grade class. Special thanks to our innovative and creative faculty and staff who translated the event into a virtual space! Our students all received sweatpants and a swag bag to kick off the retreat! #Burkes #Classof2021

We are thrilled that our parent, faculty, and staff volunteers have come together in this unusual year to reimagine this historic community event established in 1931. A special weekend of virtual activities kicks off tonight! Check this morning's email for the Kick Off Party details! #BurkesFest21

Our students are swinging into 2021 and have returned to online classes today! Wishing you all a happy new year! #Burkes #2021 #NewYear

Check out this Alumna Spotlight on Kathleen Robbins '09. Read the full story about her journey to the Air Force at: http://kdbs.org/community/alumnae/our-graduates #400ways #Burkes

Meet the Classroom Support and Supervision Specialists! This wonderful group of new Burke’s employees acts as proctors and supervisors during learning, at recess, lunch, and arrival/dismissal. They are on-campus to help ensure all of our students are following our COVID-19 policies, procedures, and safety routines. You may have seen them while dropping off your students in the morning or picking them up at the end of the day. Join us in welcoming our newest community members! #burkes #community #safetyfirst

Make a gift to Burke's and make a difference for our 400 girls and their inspiring teachers. Visit www.kdbs.org/give to celebrate #GivingTuesday now

Our fifth graders are leading the way as the Upper School begins to return to campus! We had our first Upper School assembly today with students Zooming in from multiple spaces both on and off-campus. #BurkesBackToCampus

We knew our wonderful Campus Center would be used in many ways...but we never imagined how useful it would be in a pandemic. Lots of learning in new spaces happening today with our third and fourth graders returning to campus! The Lower School is together again! #BurkesbackToCampus

Introducing our newly elected Youth Voice officers! Voted in by their peers, Upper School students from the seventh and eighth grade have an opportunity to run for a Youth Voice office. Community-building will be a priority in this unusual year! The list of officers includes: Community Leaders, Equity and Inclusion Officers, Service and Sustainability Officers, and Spirit Officers. #BurkesEmpowers #StudentLeadership

As we welcome our K/1 students back on campus it is so nice to hear lots of laughter from the Blue Top! During recess, students are playing new and old games such as Follow the Leader or Follow Ms. Moore! #BurkesBackToCampus

Following the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg we are looking back on the 2018 fourth grade original play "Thank You, RBG!" written by Lower School Drama Teacher, Nancy Gold. Our students took a deep dive into the life and times of Justice Ginsburg, pulling out themes of respect, perseverance and leadership. Use this link: https://tinyurl.com/y43l4jc9 watch the entire play. #ThankYouRBG #BurkesEmpowers #RBG

There are so many ways to connect in Upper School - even from a distance! Burke's Upper School students have more options than ever to create community through our affinity, alliance and interest spaces. #Community #BurkesEducates

Join Rachel Simmons for "Pandemic Parenting: The Road Back." How can we best support kids who are worried about adjusting to an uncertain future? In this talk, Rachel will teach strategies to support your family’s transition into the next chapter of pandemic parenting. #Burkes #ParentEd

On a dark morning, our Burke's community came together for our All School Opening Assembly! Songs and a warm welcome for our newest members of the Burke's community and cheers and celebrations to honor the Class of 2021! Our youngest and oldest students rang in the new year with a pot lid and bundt pan! We could hear the ringing clear as a bell over Zoom! #BurkesStrong #BurkesTogether #Burkes

Don't forget to submit the Burke's Community Pledge sent out last Friday and in yesterday's Tuesday Notes! #staysafe #BurkesCommunity

Hey Burke's Community! Please share your "First Day of School" pictures with us at [email protected]! Tag us on Instagram to be featured in our story! #BurkesFirstDay

A few snaps from our special deliveries to the newest members of the Lower School! Welcome to the Class of 2029 and our new students in the first through fourth grades! We can't wait to get to know you! #Burkes #BurkesCommunity

We invite Burke's alumnae of all ages who identify as people of color to join us on Monday, August 31 for A Gathering for Burke's Alumnae of Color: Transforming Self-care into Soul-care. Dr. Tone Rawlings, an artist, scientist, and former educator at Burke's, will lead a safe meditative and healing space via Zoom from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dr. Rawlings uses ancient wisdom and contemporary science and will lead several guided meditation practices and communal activities. There will be time at the end for alumnae to reflect and share about their experiences in the event and/or while at Burke's. Registrants will be emailed the Zoom link as well as the link to a pre-recorded video to watch in advance. Sign up via the link: www.kdbs.org/BurkesAlumnaeEvent

A special #TBT from our 2013 International Women’s Day Assembly with guest speaker U.S. Senator Kamala Harris. She ended her speech with, I am here to tell you to speak up and use your voice always. Inspirational words then and so very important in today's world!