The Starburst

Greetings, Barrows Families,

Sandwiched between days of our typical school, we provided a full day of play for our students. We began the day with our Barrows Belief Assembly. Our focus this month is on perseverance and kindness. And somehow this turned into a hillarious illustration of perserverence form Mrs. Becker and Ms. Lentz, and the Student Council had us laughing and dancing! More about the Assembly is below.

After our assembly, most grades began their all-day play right away. It was a fun and unique opportunity for most children to spend most of the day engrossed in play, excited to share their favorite games and toys with their classmates. However, the day was much more intentional for our educators. In January, we had a presenter teach us more about the importance of play grounded in educational research. This body of research has found a strong correlation between a decrease in student play and an increase in student depression and anxiety. We focused on putting play and social-emotional learning at center stage rather than as a reward or afterthought, which boosts student engagement and achievement.

At our faculty meeting the following day, we reflected on what we learned about our students, how they interact with each other, and how we can incorporate play into our learning beyond our 25 minutes of daily recess. We also identified areas such as team-work, empathy and student interest that will help guide our practice in our classroom as we support social-emotional learning throughout each day. Here is a link to learn more about Global School Play Day and the importance of unstructured play: https://www.globalschoolplayday.com/

I want to thank the adults making changes to their morning routine to park or quickly move through the kiss-and-go line. We see improvements. Our school policy is that an adult attends children before school until the bell rings and our doors open. We do not have staff on duty until 8:15. I have received reports that children are playing in unsafe ways on the ice and being physical with one another. I will be back more often to ensure that students come to school safely and attended. Safety is our number one priority, and we all need to do our part first thing in the morning.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the PTO Musical Bingo tonight! Please stay safe and warm this weekend. It is a great weekend to cuddle up under a blanket with a good book!

Warmly,

Alissa Gallegos

2022-2023 School Year

Friday, February 10th: Restaurant Night at the Mandarin

February 20-24th: No School, President's Day & February Vacation

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

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 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!

Happy February Everyone!

Attached you will find my OT February Bitmoji Classroom Link for the month with activities, links and printables that your child can do at home to practice and build their OT skills.

I hope you all hunker down and stay warm this weekend -- a perfect time to do some of the OT activities while you're stuck inside!

Looking forward to my return after February Break.

As always, reach out with any questions or concerns.

Anne Korwan

SAVE THE DATE - RESTAURANT NIGHT!

Mark your calendars for the next restaurant night! Mandarin on Friday February 10th.

JOIN US

Our next PTO meeting will be on Wednesday February 8th at 7pm (Barrows Library and Zoom). 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.

Be a Cafeteria Volunteer

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 - Lori Barcikowski: Parent/Guardian Help at Lunch (signupgenius.com)

ONGOING 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.

Amazon Smile

Are you an Amazon shopper? Did you know that through the Amazon Smile program, a percentage of EVERY one of your purchases on Amazon goes directly to the Barrows PTO? Such an easy way to help the PTO.

If you don’t have an Amazon Smile account yet, follow these easy steps:

Set up instructions for orders placed via browser

1. Visit smile.amazon.com

2. Sign into your Amazon account just like you normally would.

3. Under “Accounts & Lists” in the main menu bar, select “Your Account”.

4. Under “Shopping programs and rentals” select “Change your charity”.

5. Enter “Alice M. Barrows PTO ” into the charity search bar.

6. Select Alice M. Barrows PTO .

Set up instructions for orders placed via Amazon app

AmazonSmile: You shop. Amazon gives.

Check that you have the latest version of the Amazon app.

Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device.

Login.

Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'.

Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to turn Amazon Smile on.

In order for your Amazon order to qualify, it must be made through Amazon Smile. Unfortunately, orders made through regular Amazon won’t qualify. Fortunately, setting up bookmarks and extensions in your browser is easy!

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 or need help troubleshooting the apps? 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

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

Click here for the lottery for Swim Buddies, the Burbank YMCA's Adaptive Swim Lesson program. See the attached flyer for SPLASH! the new free adaptive water exercise program at the Burbank YMCA for ages 18+. Both programs are provided at no cost to participants thanks to Town of Reading ARPA funds.

Click here for slides from our January 17th presentation on Special Needs Planning. Attorney Lisa Cukier presented an overview of topics such as wills, guardianship, custody, special needs trusts, and more. Video of this presentation will be coming! We plan to do a more in-depth follow up on specific topics of interest to our parents. Please fill out this brief 2-page survey to let us know what you'd like.

Seeking 3-4 parents to meet with Student Services approximately every other month to hear updates about implementation of recommendations from the recent Program Reviews (SAIL, SOAR, REACH, EMBARK, RISE). Email sepacreading@gmail.com to participate.

Mark Your Calendars!

Bullying: What Parents Need to Know. Virtual Parent Training

Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 7pm, via zoom.

Click here to register (you MUST pre-register to get the zoom link)

Parents and professionals are welcome to join this extremely important discussion which will cover the following topics: What is bullying? What are the school’s legal obligations to prevent and address bullying? What are some strategies and tools for dealing with bullying? How to address bullying on the IEP?

For much more information about the Special Education Parent Advisory Council, click here for our latest newsletter. We encourage you to join SEPAC's mailing list, follow SEPAC on Facebook, and follow SEPAC on Instagram

Thank you,

SEPAC BOARD

SEPAC WEBPAGE

Join SEPAC's mailing list

Follow SEPAC on Facebook

Follow SEPAC on Instagram

Reading/Wakefield Family Math Night

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 6:30-8:00 PM

At Birch Meadow School, 27 Arthur B Lord Drive, Reading, MA

Outline of the night:

• Introduction led by the Reading/Wakefield Curriculum Coordinators
• Learn more about the Illustrative Math curriculum
• 45-minute Illustrative Math lesson taught by Wakefield and Reading teachers
• Experience what math looks like and sounds like for our students each day
• We will host classes in some grades within the K-5 grade band
• 30-minute debrief/Q&A with district curriculum coordinators

Students are welcome to attend with their guardians.

In an event of inclement weather, we will follow the school’s cancellation plan.

Dear Barrows Families,

With winter weather comes the battle of the boots! Please help your child remember their sneakers for Physical Education so they can participate safely!

Thank you,

Sarah Atwood, PE Teacher

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