The Starburst

Wow! What a way to finish the week. I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Meghan Dribin, Lori Barcikowski, their families, and our many volunteers who made the Monster Mash a spooktacular celebration! This event required a lot of planning, time, organizing, and creativity, and it shows. Barrows is all about our kids, and today you all certainly hit the mark!

Not to be outdone by this fun afternoon, we had a great week of important learning opportunities:

• Reading Fire Department brought their stay SAFE house to our kindergarten and 1st graders
• K-5 participated in bus safety training
• Staff participated in ALICE training with Officer Vatcher and Officer Lewis (& Rusty)
• Second Step Lessons (ask your student about what it looks like to be a good listener)

I am keeping my message short this week, but there are a lot of photos to enjoy and many updates and fun events to make a note of below, including:

• Information about our Veterans Day Assembly
• Pumpkin Book Report --extended to Monday, 10/23 (it is way more fun than your typical book report)
• PTO (apparel sale, Calareaso's Fundraiser, and volunteer opportunities)
• METCO (Caregiver Social Event)
• SEPAC (Sepacsgiving)

Please read to the end (especially if you need directions on updating your student's emergency information on the portal). Every student needs their portal information updated by their parent/guardian. We have over 350 students and still need 100 emergency forms updated. Please be sure your child's emergency forms are updated this weekend!

And lastly, thank you for asking the students to play down on the field! It is making a big difference on the blacktop.

Warmly,

Mrs. Gallegos

Work with your family at home, join in on this fun opportunity for students to showcase their reading comprehension and creative makerspace skills! Students can still bring in their pumpkins on Monday, October 23rd.

Click Here: Barrows Pumpkin Decorating Book Report

Is a member of your family a Veteran? Help Barrows honor those that served our country. Two options - We are inviting Veterans to be part of our assembly on Wednesday November 8th at 8:30 OR you can send us a photo and information and it will be included in the assembly. Either way please email carina.becker@reading.k12.ma.us to register your Veteran in order to be recognized at the assembly. Please do this no later than Monday November 6th.

You will need to share the following information:

• Barrows student/students and their teacher

• Veteran’s Name

• Branch

• Rank

• Please include a photo of the Veteran

• Will they be in person for the assembly or just recognized?

***If you shared this information last year, please just email and remind me! I have it saved. ***

Reach out to carina.becker@reading.k12.ma.us with any questions.

Wednesday, October 25: ⭐💙⭐All School Assembly & Spirit Day (Students are encouraged to wear Blue & Yellow (with or without stars) or Barrows Gear!

Tuesday, October 31st: Wear Black and Orange 🧡🖤🎃🧡🖤

Tuesday, November 7th: No School: Teacher In-Service Day

Wednesday, November 8th: Veterans Day Assembly- Wear Red, White & Blue ❤️🤍💙

Friday, November 10th: No School: Veterans Day Observed

Wednesday, November 22nd: 11 am dismissal

Thursday & Friday, November 23-24: No School- Thanksgiving Break

Thursday, December 7th: Early Dismissal (Conferences)

Friday, December 8th: No School (Conference Day)

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

School lunches are once again free for students in the Commonwealth. We do ask families that need financial assistance to complete this form: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/en-US/food-services-4f8d79b4/frl-bac51fe9

We look forward to providing nutritious meals for our students!

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

We want to thank Ms. O'Doherty for the last 8 weeks of teaching and caring for Mrs. Duff's third grade class. She has been a special addition to Barrows and we are grateful for her hardwork and dedication!

THANK YOU MONSTER MASH VOLUNTEERS! We could not have done this without everyone's help, from Raffle Basket Donations, Set-up, Working Tables, the gorgeous photo display with the balloons, Truck-or-Treat, crafts, games, and clean-up! Thank you for making this community so special! We hope everyone had an awesome afternoon!

CALARESO’S FALL FUNDRAISER

The fundraiser is underway and will run until Friday October 27th. Order form went home with your kids this week. Stock up on certificates – they are used like cash at Calareso’s and 25% of the sale comes straight back to the PTO to be spent on enrichment activities for our kids. Win win win.

FOLLOW US

We are now on Facebook and Instagram! Like us on Facebook – Barrows Elementary PTO and Follow Us on Instagram @BarrowsElementaryPTO

Be a Cafeteria Volunteer

Sign up to help in the cafeteria during lunch periods (11am - 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 (complete 1 week prior to volunteering) 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. Parent/Guardian Help at Lunch

FUNDRAISING

Minted Fundraiser

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!

Many thanks,

PTO Board

Lori Barcikowski, Co-President

(LoriBarcikowski@yahoo.com)

Meghan Dribin, Co-President

(MegDribin@gmail.com)

Amy Koehler, Treasurer

Alicia Curtin, Secretary

Alison Ethier, Social Media Coordinator

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook:

@barrowselementarypto & https://www.facebook.com/BarrowsPTO/

Shop online to get your Barrows gear, including tees, sweatshirts, pajama pants, hats, and more!

Order deadline is Sunday, October 22nd, and items will be delivered to Barrows in November before the end of year holidays.
* When ordering, be sure to note in the comments box if something is a gift! *
*Questions? Contact Kate Grant: katefgrant@gmail.com

SEPAC works for the understanding of, respect for, and support of, all children with special needs in the community (including ALL children on IEPs or 504 plans and children who may require specialized support). Watch this brief introductory video to learn more!

Visit the SEPAC WEBPAGE

Sign up for our mailing list

Follow SEPAC on Facebook or Instagram

See our 2023-2024 Calendar of Events

Thank you to everyone who attended the 10/17 meeting. The video of recorded portions will be posted on our website soon. Thanks to Etain O’Dea for serving as Election Coordinator and to Dana Levin for taking notes. New SEPAC board members are Chris Kowaleski, Dilly Wilson and Jacyln Lee. Returning SEPAC board members are Zea Lennard, Eunice Kenyon and Lindsay Conti.

Upcoming events:

SEPACsgiving November 13-19 (sign up for sessions by November 3rd)

SEPACsgiving will be an opportunity for general members to connect with other general members in self-selected groups (eg ADHD, Dyslexia, SAIL, OOD, etc.). Members will "give" presence, time, resources, support, encouragement, and compassion to one another. The initial meeting, for which you can sign up using this link, will be 30 minutes long, virtual, and with an identified point person present to help facilitate conversation, take general notes of broad ideas and questions the group would like shared with the SEPAC board and/or Student Services, and help identify and plan for next steps. Members MAY share contact info and choose if and how they would like to continue/grow their network. Please sign up by November 3rd to allow organizers enough planning time.

SEPAC Tree

Watch emails for news for how to participate in the creation of a fantastic SEPAC tree for the REF Festival of Trees. SEPAC is proud to once again participate in this fantastic community event which supports our schools! Thank you Alyssa Scaparotti for volunteering your time, resources and vision for this year’s tree.

Are you on our mailing list? Check to see if you received an email from “SEPAC” at about 5pm on Tuesday 10/17. If you did not, you are not on our confidential mailing list, and you are missing out! Simply send an email to sepacreading@gmail.com and we will add you to our private list.

METCO unites suburban towns with Boston to engage in a reciprocal learning partnership in support of all students. Because of this, every child who attends school in Reading Public Schools is a METCO student and every parent or guardian who has a student in RPS is a part of the METCO community.

"Since its founding during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, the METCO program has enrolled tens of thousands of Boston students of color in predominately white school districts, creating the opportunity for those districts to experience the advantages of learning and working in a racially and ethnically diverse setting."

Work with your family at home, join in on this fun opportunity for students to showcase their reading comprehension and creative makerspace skills!

Click Here: Barrows Pumpkin Decorating Book Report

Arrival

• Please drive slowly up Edgemont to keep everyone safe; remember, it is a ONE-WAY during the school day.
• 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 their seat by 8:25 AM. If your child arrives to school after the doors have closed, they must come to the front door and be marked tardy.
• The Staff Parking Lot is for staff only and off limits to all pedestrians from arrival-dismissal for the safety of all. Please respect this important aspect of our campus.

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.

Ready to Play the Best Way

Please do not have your children wear flip-flops. Sneakers are best, but flip-flops are dangerous when running at recess (and Crocs aren't great).

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.

As a parent guardian of a child in the Reading Public Schools, you have access to the Parent PlusPortal. The Portal will be used throughout your child’s academic career as it is where you update your child’s emergency contact information, view report cards, and beyond elementary school, see your child’s grades in real time. It also acts as a communication portal between you and your child’s teacher where oftentimes, different academic links, notes, or activities are shared.

If you are a returning parent, your account is still active but you still need to update the forms at the start of each school year. If you are a new parent guardian and have not received access, please reach out to our school administrative secretary, Donna Walsh at donna.walsh@reading.k12.ma.us. At that point, you will receive a separate email with your PlusPortal login information. The subject line of the email is Important! Barrows School PlusPortals login. This is a confidential portal that is linked to your email account. You have 48 hours to activate your Portal account using the temporary password supplied through the email. Once you login, you can update the password and personal information.

Directions for Filling Out Forms on Plus Portals (You will have better luck using a computer than your phone)

Please follow the steps below to update Pupil Information and Contact forms on Plus Portals.

1. Log into Plus Portals

Follow our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/SEPAC.Reading

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

Follow us on Instagram: @barrowselementarypto

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

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

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!