The Starburst

Greetings, Barrows Families,

Wow, the Barrows' staff spirits and bellies are full this week, thanks to the generosity of our PTO and Barrows families. The week began with a delicious continental breakfast that lasted us a few days to be capped off by a delicious lunch catered by Fat Larry's! Thank you to so many of you who have donated time and donations to make the staff feel so appreciated by you!

We had an excellent turnout for Walk to School Wednesday, followed by a Barrow Beliefs Assembly led by Mrs. Becker. Our focus as we head into the spring season is SAFETY! Spring fever brings forgetfulness regarding our school expectations for our school-wide rules, and we know it is our responsibility as adults to reteach and uphold these with our students. Please join us by doing a quick check-in with your student(s) about how they feel they are doing with following our rules. We also extend this to before and after school. Please ensure that your children are supervised until 8:15 am each morning. I am receiving reports that many children are playing football on the blacktop, which is just too crowded for that type of play. We also ask children to use the stairs to travel between the blacktop and the fields. I am very clear with students that I understand in small groups (when school is not in session), these rules may not be necessary, but when we have hundreds of people in a small area (from baby brothers & sisters in strollers to grandparents helping with childcare), we need to be observant of these more stringent rules.

Many of you commented on the busy Barrows calendar ahead. There isn't much "new" information from last week. Our May PTO meeting is this Wednesday at 8:30 am, Open House is Thursday night (with a 12:45 pm dismissal) and a full day on Friday. SEPAC has added some end-of-year dates, be sure to sign-up 3rd-5th graders for the Fun Run by May 11th, and be aware that our next round of math MCAS start in just over a week!

I look forward to seeing the beautification of the Barrows when I return on Monday. My apologies for not attending; I have a standing Sunday morning family commitment and will be celebrating my nana's 103rd birthday in the afternoon! She's a marvel!

Warmly,

Alissa Gallegos

2022-2023 School Year

Sunday, May 7th: Barrows Community Service Day, 9:30-noon

Wednesday, May 10th: Barrows PTO Meeting, (8:30 am) & Sip, Shop, Eat PTO Fundraiser on Main Street

Thursday, May 11th: Barrows Open House 5:30-6:15 (K-2) & 6:15-7:00 (3-5)

(early release day 12:45 pm dismissal)

Friday, May 12th: Full Day of school --2:45 pm dismissal!!

Thursday, May 18th: Fun Run & PTO Ice Cream Social (rain date 5/25)

Monday, May 29th: Memorial Day, no school

Thursday, June 1st: Field Day (rain date 6/8)

School Hours:

Monday-Thursday, 8:15 AM - 2:45 PM

Friday, 8:15 AM - 12:45 PM

Students must be in class by 8:25 to be counted as on-time and present

Reading Public Schools Calendar

May MCAS DATES! Barrows Grades 3-5 2023 Mathematics and Grade 5 Science and Technolgoy MCAS Assessment dates are noted below. The testing window has been set by DESE. Grades 3, 4 & 5 have 2 days of content area left for Mathematics, and Gr. 5 Science and Technology. Please refrain from vacations or unnecessary absences on these dates.

Remember, school lunches are once again free for students in the Commonwealth. We look forward to providing nutritious meals for our students! Be sure to check out the weekly menus, as there are a lot of NEW options! Our new daily options are Bagel & Cream Cheese, Yogurt Parfait with Granola or SunButter & Jelly sandwich (details listed in the menu). Students will not have the option of cereal or pretzels anymore.

Reading Public Schools Food Service/Lunch Menus: http://reading.k12.ma.us/departments/food-services/

DAILY SNACKS in the CLASSROOM

It is the Reading Public School's wellness policy that we are not permitted to provide snacks to our students during the school day. Please send a healthy snack with your child every single day. If you are unsure about the allergies in your classroom, please check with your child's teacher. Teachers are not allowed to provide snacks to our students.

The students in grades 3, 4 and 5 are invited to participate in the annual

Barrows Fun Run. The purpose of this one mile road race is to promote the enjoyment of physical activity, encourage the students to set and achieve personal goals and of course, to have fun!

Copy of Fun Run Permission Slip 2023.docx

We are planning a candy/treat bar for the Staff on May 9, 2023. We would also like to give each staff member a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card.

Please review the slots below and sign up to bring items to Barrows by Tuesday May 9th. We will have a box for gift cards and a box for candy in the office so you can drop off donations at your convenience.

If you are unable to drop items by the 9th please reach out to saraelizabethfraine@gmail.com. If you would rather contribute monetarily, please venmo @Sara-Fraine with the comment PTO.

Thank you for your help!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E44A4A82DABF94-maystaff

There is so much going on as we approach the final months of school. Please take a look at all the PTO updates below so you can mark your calendars as well as volunteer to help out if you have the availability. Big thanks in advance for helping us make the end of the year special for our kids.

JOIN US

Our next PTO meeting will be Wednesday May 10th at 8:30am (Barrows Library and Zoom).

https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/82840703439

Agenda will be sent in advance of the meeting. ALL parents and caregivers are welcome! Reach out to Lori and Meghan with any questions or topics for consideration.

THANKS!

Thank you to everyone who has helped with our Teacher Appreciation events! Because of you, our wonderful Barrows families, we were able to celebrate the Teacher’s with a delicious breakfast on Monday morning and a yummy luncheon on Thursday from Fat Larry’s. A huge thank you to Brooke Heaney and Sara Fraine for leading all of this. Next week we will continue showering them with sweets, lunch/dinner the afternoon of open house evening and a gift! Thank You!!!!

1st Annual Barrows Community Service Day – Sunday May 7th 9:30 – 12pm

The weather on Sunday is looking perfect! Please join us on Sunday for the first annual Barrows Community Service Day. We will be at the school from 9:30am – 12pm working together to beautify our school which will include some weeding, mulching, planting flower boxes, adding plants to the Barrows sign in front of school. The job will feel small if we can work together as a Barrows community to get it done and have some fun while we do it. We will provide coffee and snacks for our volunteers.

Please use the Sign Up Genius to indicate if you are able to provide and/or lend any supplies for the day, but simply bringing yourselves on Sunday would be greatly appreciated! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904084EA8AD2FA3F58-barrows

Please reach out to our Community Service Day Lead Johanna Chesley johanna.chesley@gmail.com - with any questions or suggestions leading up to the event. See you Sunday!

SIP SHOP EAT – Wednesday May 10th

Have fun with friends and shop at some of our favorite downtown Reading businesses ending the evening at Venetian Moon for dinner/drinks. We will also have wine and small bites available at Aines and Tin Bucket between 5:30pm to 6:30pm while you shop. All of the participating businesses will be donating a portion of the sales back to Barrows, so join us for some shopping fun all while supporting the Barrows PTO.

Aine’s 10 – 8 (online too, mention Barrows in the notes)

Tin Bucket 10-8

Love Struck 10-8

Venetian Moon 4:30 – 9 (dine in or take out, mention Barrows)

ICE CREAM SOCIAL – Thursday May 18th during Fun Run

The PTO is hosting an ice cream social to take place during the Fun Run on May 18th. The ice cream social is open to ALL grades so K – 2nd students can enjoy the ice cream and slush while cheering on the 3rd – 5th runners. There is a $1 suggested donation. You can help us make this year's Ice Cream Social even sweeter by volunteering to donate toppings or volunteer to help out the afternoon of the event. Volunteers are needed between 2:30 – 4:30 and you can sign up for 1 hour shifts. Please use this signup genius to volunteer to bring in donations or sign up to help the day of. You can also sign up to contribute monetarily.

Please reach out to our Ice Cream Social Lead Margo Smith - margogsmith@gmail.com – with any questions leading up to the event.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - UPCOMING RESTAURANT NIGHTS

‐ Venetian Moon! Wednesday, May 10th: Dine in and take out 4:30-9:00. (Don't forget to shop Aines, Tin Bucket and Love Struck 10a-8p while on the block!)

‐ CAPRI! Monday, June 6th: Dine in or take out 5-9pm!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Sign up to help in the cafeteria during lunch periods (11:15am - 12:35pm). The cafeteria is fully staffed but can always use a couple extra hands to help with opening up packages, milk cartons, moving through lunch line efficiently. Please note that all volunteers must have a completed CORI on file prior to volunteering and unfortunately non-school aged children will not be allowed to join with the volunteer. If you are interested in volunteering please use the Sign Up Genius to sign up for the day or days you would like to help out – Link to Sign Up

ONGOING FUNDRAISING

Minted

The Minted Fundraiser is open the ENTIRE year! You can use the promo code FUNDRAISEBARROWS any time you place an order through Minted and help support the Barrows Elementary PTO. You'll get 20% OFF your ORDER and 15% of every purchase made using our code will be donated back to Barrows.

Box Tops

Did you know you no longer need to clip Box Tops and send them into school? Box Tops now offers an app where you scan your receipts! Doing online grocery delivery these days? No problem! Box Tops also offers a way to email your online orders for credit. Find it in the app store or google play store today!

Helpsy Bin

Finally, have you been in purge mode lately? Getting rid of old, stained or ripped clothing? Drop it off in the Helpsy box in the Barrows staff parking lot (after school hours of course) and Barrows will receive a small donation for your items. Clothing, shoes and accessories are all accepted!

Questions about any of these programs, contact Alison Ethier at alison.ethier@gmail.com

PTO Board

Lori Barcikowski, Co-President

Meghan Dribin, Co-President

Amy Koehler, Treasurer

Alicia Curtin, Secretary

Alison Ethier, Social Media Coordinator

We are back for another day of fun at our next District Reading METCO event Saturday May 20th at the Boston Kite Festival. The Kite Festival is a day where our Boston resident families invite our Reading resident families, and RPS staff to Boston take part in one of the cities staple events for a day of fun in the park. The goal for this event is to enrich both the Boston and Reading communities by providing opportunities and support for cross-cultural understanding and appreciation for each other while building build friendships that will last a lifetime. Last year we had a great turnout from both our Reading and Boston communities, and we look forward to the same this year. We recommend all who plan to attend to arrive early as parking fills up fast.

Immigration Policy Updates and the Work Ahead, May 8 (Zoom option available).

Register for one session or all 3.
English- https://tinyurl.com/rplimmi
Portuguese- https://tinyurl.com/rplimmi-por

Spanish- https://tinyurl.com/rplimmi-span

SEPAC works for the understanding of, respect for, and support of all children with special needs in the community.

⭐ Upcoming events

Film Screening: Anxious Nation

Click here for trailer.

Tuesday, May 16. 7pm.

RCTV, 552 Main Street, Reading, MA

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Click here for a PDF of our event flyer.

Family meetup at the Boston Kite and Bike Festival

Join other SEPAC families at the Boston Kite and Bike Festival

Saturday, May 20. 12-4pm

Click here to connect with us for this event

Looking ahead

June 20. 7pm. End of Year Social. Location TBD.

Summer: Patio socials and popsicles on the playground. More information coming!

For more information about these and other opportunities, click here for SEPAC’s latest newsletter.

SEPAC WEBPAGE

Join SEPAC's mailing list

Follow SEPAC on Facebook

Follow SEPAC on Instagram

The UPDATED (January-June) link to signup to help in the library is here! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45ACA62FA0F58-parent

Please make sure you have an up to date CORI on file.

If you would like to know more about volunteering in the library please contact Mrs. Becker @ carina.becker@reading.k12.ma.us . All are welcome to donate their time!

Arrival

• Please drive slowly up Edgemont to keep everyone safe; remember, it is one way.
• Do not park in the indented section by the gym. This is the "kiss & go" area for a quick drop-off.
• Doors open at 8:15 and close at 8:25. Your child needs to be in the doors by 8:25 AM. If your child gets to school after the doors have closed, they must come to the front door and be marked tardy.

Dismissal:

• At dismissal time, there is no live pick-up in the driveway except for students who take the bus. Kindergarteners exit the building at 2:40 PM. The rest of the students dismiss at 2:45 PM from the same doors they enter in the morning.

As a safety reminder, the staff parking lot is staff-only. We respectfully ask that caregivers park along the streets. With our students exiting from their external doors in the parking lot, having cars drive in and out is not safe. You need to walk around the school on the blacktop to the back. Thanks for helping us out.

Dogs and Puppies on School Grounds

School Committee policy prohibits dogs on school grounds as much as we all love dogs and puppies and as much fun as it is walking them. If you'd like to walk your dog as part of your pick-up routine, the dog has to stay off school property. If you'd like your child to walk to you on the sidewalk or to the driveway entrances at dismissal so you can wait with your dog, please make that plan with them.

The Town of Reading contracts with William James College to offer a special service for our residents. The William James INTERFACE Referral Service maintains a mental health and wellness referral help line Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm, at 888-244-6843 (toll free). This is a free, confidential referral service for individuals across the lifespan living in Reading. Callers are matched with licensed mental health providers from our extensive database. Each referral meets the location, insurance, and specialty needs of the caller. Click here to learn more!

PTO Facebook Link https://www.facebook.com/BarrowsPTO/

Barrows on Twitter: @BarrowsSchool https://twitter.com/BarrowsSchool

Barrows Homepage: http://www.reading.k12.ma.us/barrows/

Reading Public Schools: http://www.reading.k12.ma.us