The Starburst

Greetings, Barrows families!

I hope this message finds you well. We've had an exciting and educational week at school. It felt like forever since our last traditional All School Assembly, and it was great to have everyone together in one place learning about Chinese New Year as we welcome the Year of the Dragon on February 10th. We encourage you to celebrate Chinese New Year early at the Mandarin on February 3rd and support the PTO. We also introduced The Great Kindness Challenge, and we hope your family participates in spreading kindness throughout our community.

Starburst Highlights:

• PTO Updates: This is the LAST WEEKEND to purchasing tickets for Barrows Red Sox Night! Tickets are still available for Parents Night Out! Musical Bingo too!
• Attendance Works Suggestions for children that are struggling to come to school due to anxiety.
• Kindergarten 2024-25 Registration is at Reading Memorial High School Tuesday night, January 30th.

Our 2nd graders have been buzzing with excitement as they concluded their ELA Unit 2 by becoming entomologists. Families were invited to join in the celebration of their achievements. The classrooms were filled with enthusiasm as students showcased their newfound knowledge and love for the insect world through their writing and illustrations. More Unit 2 celebrations in other grades are in the coming weeks.

A crucial aspect of our commitment to your child's well-being is digital safety. Today, Officer Matt and I engaged with our 4th and 5th graders on digital safety. We know technology plays a significant role in our lives, and we want to partner with you to ensure our students use digital platforms responsibly when it is developmentally appropriate. I am passionate about helping others understand the negative impact of digital safety on our students' mental health so we can do better as adults to support our students and help them navigate the temptations and challenges and the benefits of social media. Children under 13 (and sometimes older) are not legally allowed to create accounts on most social media platforms, and there's good reason behind this restriction. I urge you to explore the Common Sense Media link as a great starting point, with many resources found here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/toolkit/family-engagement-resources

As parents and guardians, your involvement is pivotal in guiding children to make responsible choices in their digital interactions. Let's work together to ensure a safe and positive online environment for our students. Please remember that we do not allow smartwatches or phones in school. If you send your child with a device, it must be powered off and stored responsibly in their backpack. Students can always use our office phone to reach you before, during, and after school when necessary.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Warmly,

Mrs. Gallegos

https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/AW_Anxiety_Handout_2023.zip

Wednesday, January 31st: Kindergarten Registration Night, 6-7:30 pm @ RMHS

Saturday, February 3rd: Restaurant at the Mandarin (all day) Dine-In or eat out!

Wednesday, February 7th: Global Play Day!

Friday, February 9th: Musial Bingo for Barrows Adults

Tuesday, February 13th: PTO Meeting 8:30 am (in-person & on zoom)

Wednesday, Feburary 14th: All School Assembly ♥️Wear Valentine's Day Colors♥️

February 19-23: President's Day (2/19) & February Vacation

Wednesday, February 28th: Barrows Family Game Night! 6-7:30 pm

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/

JOIN US

RESTAURANT NIGHT - Saturday February 3rd ALL DAY at Mandarin. Enjoy a delicious, easy dinner and support Barrows at the same time. Make sure to mention the fundraiser when ordering.

PARENTS NIGHT OUT!

Don’t delay, buy your tickets now for our Parents Night Out fundraiser taking place on Friday February 9th! Every time we sell 30 tickets we pull a name to win a FREE EXTRA BINGO card. We are nearing 60 tickets sold so buy your tickets now to have a chance to win in the next round of the raffle!

Link to Buy Tickets

Reach out to Lori (loribarcikowski@yahoo.com) and Meghan (megdribin@gmail.com) with any questions you may have about the event. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

PTO MEETING - The next PTO meeting will be February 13th @ 8:30 am at Barrows and on Zoom. We would love to see some new faces along with the old! 😊

FAMILY GAME NIGHT – Wednesday February 28th, 6-7:30pm

Join us in the Barrows Cafeteria for a fun night of games. We will have games available and you can also bring your own. This is not a drop off event, children must be chaperoned.

Contact Johanna Chesley (johanna.chesley@gmail.com) or Jen Barsotti (jenb@hey.com)

BARROWS RED SOX NIGHT

Join the Barrows Elementary School and PTO for a night at Fenway! Get your tickets before the end of January if you would like to cheer on your Boston Red Sox alongside the Barrows community.

Seating is limited and available on a first come first serve basis.

June 4th, bleacher 43, just behind Parker. $31/ticket. This link will remain open through the month of January! https://fevo-enterprise.com/Barrows24

VOLUNTEER

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

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

FUNDRAISING

Minted Fundraiser

Do you need to order birthday, or anniversary inviations? Order from Minted and use our promo code FUNDRAISEBARROWS to 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. Make sure to spread the word to family who can also use the code and support Barrows from afar.

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

Upcoming Event:

• Tuesday, Feb 6th, 5-6:30PM - Virtual

  Raising Superpowered Middle Schoolers:

  How Parents can Help Tweens Thrive Socially and Academically

  Presented by Phyllis Fagell

  
  

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."

Dear Barrows Families,

This is a friendly reminder that kids should wear sneakers on the days that they have Physical Education. I love Crocs too, but they don’t count as sneakers…even when they’re worn in sport mode! Thanks so much for your support with this safety matter.

Sarah Atwood

You must request to follow these private accounts. We post images, reels and stories that give you a quick glimpse into your child’s day during these Special class times. Mrs. Hurley for Art can be found here @mrs.hurley_art and Mrs. Atwood for Physical Education can be found here @barrowspe

*If your Instagram name does not easily identify you, please send us a separate email so we know it’s you! For safety, we are careful about who we accept.*

Dear Barrows Families,

Another way you can support your child’s art is to join Artsonia. Artsonia is the world's largest collection of student art, published by teachers and students from around the world. Through Artsonia families can view student art online and leave comments. If you would like to join Artsonia keep your eye on your inbox; email invitations will be going out shortly! Thank you! Beth Hurley

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!

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.

Do you have a child eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade in the 2024-2025 school year? Join us January 9th for a Virtual Information Session via Zoom to learn more about the Reading Public Schools Kindergarten program and registration process. The 2024-2025 Registration Packet is now available on the website for you to view and download. You may also click here to view and download the packet. Please note, parents/caregivers are encouraged to use the packet in its fillable format. We will share more information and answer any questions during the Virtual Information Session, but please reach out to RPSStudentRegistration@reading.k12.ma.us with any urgent questions.

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