The Starburst

Happy Weekend, Barrows Families,

We have been spoiled this week with this gorgeous weather and lots of fun at school!

The school held a United Nations Day assembly on Wednesday, October 26 led by our music teacher, Mrs. Raucci. We celebrated this day to honor the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and to remember its mission: that all nations on Earth can work together for human rights and world peace. The students sang "We Are a Family" (Community and Belonging is this year's UN Day theme). Then, each grade sang "Frére Jacques" in one of the six official United Nations languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese. We also sang it as a six-part round in all six languages simultaneously!

Reading Memorial High School Drama students have a tradition of bringing scenes and songs from their performances to the elementary schools, including Barrows. Their performers, including some Shining Stars alumni, entertained our students with exerpts from their upcoming musical, "Something Rotten." I hope many families can enjoy the full performance running November 10-19th.

So much of our Barrows school day is dedicated to working directly with our students to ensure that they actively participate in engaging instruction and learning. However, we also provide our staff with professional development and opportunities to collaborate with our literacy specialist, Erin Gibson, and our two new district math coaches. We aim to provide our students with the best research-based instructional practices that support our students academically and socially. I am so proud of the work that our staff is doing--and I want to thank them for keeping your children at the center of their work.

A few things to keep in mind for this week:

• Picture retake day is on Wednesday, November 1st. Please send back your child's original photos and complete the retake form on the back of the envelope if you would like them to have their pictures retaken. Students who missed picture day will be photographed this week.
• There is still time to honor our family veterans. Please see the post below if you are interested.
• The PTO needs volunteers: Please see the information below about how you can help with the Winter Craft Fair & for fifth-grade families, the Fith Grade the Year Celebrations.
• Please note that only kindergarteners dress up in costume on October 31 for their annual parade. All other students are welcome to wear fall colors.
• An important safety request-classes may at times be outside on our school property for an extra earned recess or outiside learning opportunity at any point of the school day. I respectfully ask parents/guardians and other adults that pick children up at the end of the day to not come onto our property, especially the blacktop or playground area until 2:40. Thank you for making this a new practice to keep our students safe!

Enjoy your weekend!

Warmly,

Mrs. Gallegos

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

Wednesday, November 1st: Picture Day (retake/make-up day)

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 15th: PTO meeting- Barrows Library (zoom link available) 7 pm

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/

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.

Winter Craft Fair

Please consider helping out at the Winter Craft Fair on December 2nd! Much of the work is done before the fair, so no worries if you cannot attend the event. Kim Smith is Chairing this event, and similar to the Monster Mash needs many volunteers to succeed. It is another big hit with the kids. No need to be crafty to help with this event, so don't let that scare you away. If you would still like to volunteer, please reach out to Kim - kimberlyjago@hotmail.com. She has a planning meeting coming up in early November.

American Education Week

American Education Week is quickly approaching (week of November 13th). The planning for this will kick off next week so please look out for emails of how you can support our fabulous teachers.

Fifth Grade End of the Year Celebrations Planning Committee: If you would like to be involved please email co-chairs, Denise Ewald & Kaley Dee to join. deniseewald@hotmail.com & macdonaldkaley@yahoo.com

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/

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."

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!