Barrington Weekly Update

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Friday August 21st we will celebrate our first Bobcat Day of the school year! Students and staff are encouraged to wear their Barrington Bobcat T-shirts as we come together as one school community to kick off this year's theme: BE THE ONE

If you are new to Barrington, your child will bring home their Bobcat T-shirt on Monday or Tuesday this week. A huge thank you to our PTO for generously providing T-shirts for all of our new students! If your child's shirt has been misplaced, please visit the Spirit Wear link in the PTO section of this newsletter to purchase a replacement.

Bobcat Days are a special tradition at Barrington that give us time to build community, celebrate what it means to be a Barrington Bobcat, and strengthen the connections that make our school such a special place. During our first Bobcat Day, students will learn about our Bobcat Beliefs and begin the year by exploring what it means to BE THE ONE.

We can't wait to share this meaningful building-wide experience with all of our Bobcats!

Thursday August 20th Gifted Services and Grades 3-5

• Gifted ELA (GELA), 5:30-6:00 in the Back Cafe
• 5th Grade Progressive, 6:00-6:45 in the 5th Grade Neighborhood
• 5th Grade Contemporary, 6:00-6:45 in the Gym
• Gifted Math 5B/6, 6:45-7:15 in the Back Cafe
• Gifted Math 3, 5:30-6:00 in room 208
• 3rd Grade Progressive, 6:30-7:15 in the ¾ Neighborhood
• 3rd Grade Contemporary, 6:30-7:15 location TBA
• Gifted Math 4/5A, 6:15-6:45 in the Back Cafe
• 4th Grade Progressive, 7:15-8:00 in the ¾ Neighborhood
• 4th Grade Contemporary, 7:15-8:00 in the Gymnasium

If your child receives intervention services through an Individualized Education Program, services will begin on August 25th. This allows time for your child to get acclimated to the new routines and environment of their classroom, be a part of establishing their new classroom community, and gives our intervention team time to create a schedule that works best for your child. Your child's intervention specialist will be in contact with you to share your child's schedule and introduce themselves on August 24th.

With a new school year comes new routines! To help make dismissal safe, smooth, and predictable for everyone, please complete this Dismissal Form for each child at Barrington. The plan you submit on this form will be your child’s daily dismissal plan unless you contact the front office with a change for that day.

Please also make it a priority to talk with your child each morning about how they will be going home. We know plans sometimes change, but having a consistent routine helps children feel comfortable and confident at dismissal. Please note, teachers do not consistently check email during the school day, so please contact the front office directly if your child’s dismissal plan needs to changed.

Thank you for partnering with us to make dismissal a positive experience for all of our Bobcats! 💚

Attention Parents of LAST YEAR'S 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Students:

The Ohio State Tests Family Reports from the spring of 2026 testing window have arrived. These assessment results have been viewable to you via your PowerSchool Portal. However, we are required to give you hard copies of the assessment. Parents, please be sure to get your child/children's reports at our Parent Information Night on August 20th from their current classroom teacher. If you are unable to attend on this evening, we will send home the reports with your student on Friday August 21st.

The Ohio Department of Health requires vision and hearing screenings for children in kindergarten, first, third, and fifth grade, as well as for all students new to the district. Screenings can also be performed at various other times during the year at the parents' or teachers' request. For more information on our vision and hearing screening program, please see: UA Screening

Per Ohio law, new students (kindergartners and students new to the district) must have documentation of state-required immunizations on file at their school.

If your child has a special health concern we are not already aware of, such as a food allergy, asthma, etc., or an update to a previous health concern, please let us know so we can best serve their needs during the school year.

Should you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Morning Arrival Basics:

Barrington will open its doors at 8:10 a.m.

Car Drop-off Lanes:

• We have two designated car drop-off lanes for morning arrival:

  • Andover Road Car Lane ,which is ideal for our families with Kindergarteners.

  • Barrington Road Car Lane, which is ideal for families without Kindergarteners.

• If you need to walk your child to the door, we ask that you park on a neighborhood street and walk your child to school using the sidewalks and crosswalks.

• There is also limited parking on the Jones Track side of Andover Road. If you park here, you must park your vehicle and use the sidewalk to walk your child to the designated crosswalk.

• Please do not use the staff parking lot as a drop-off area. This space is reserved for staff and emergency access, and using it for drop-off creates unsafe congestion.

For full arrival procedures and details, please view HERE.

To help ensure the safety and comfort of all our students, families, and staff, we kindly ask that dogs remain on the exterior public sidewalks adjacent to Barrington Road and Andover Road during drop-off and pick-up times.

Please be mindful of the signage and designated areas around the school and keep dogs on the sidewalks closest to the streets. Dogs should not be walked onto the interior school sidewalks, playground areas, or grass during the school day or during arrival and dismissal.

We know our Bobcats love their furry friends, and we appreciate your help in keeping them in the designated areas so that all students and families feel safe and comfortable.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

For the safety of our students, our playgrounds are closed to the public on school days from 8:00 AM–6:00 PM. During this time, our students and after-school programs are actively using the space, and we want to ensure a safe and secure environment for them.

We appreciate your support in helping us keep Barrington a safe and welcoming place for all of our kids!

As we prepare for another great school year, we'd like to remind families of Ohio's law regarding personal communication devices during the school day. Students are expected to keep cell phones, smartwatches, and other personal communication devices secured in their backpacks or lockers throughout the entire instructional day, including lunch, recess, and transitions.

As we do each year, our teachers will review this expectation with students during the first few days of school and help reinforce the routines that support a focused learning environment.

We appreciate your partnership in talking with your child about this expectation before the school year begins. Thank you for helping us create a school environment where students are engaged, connected, and focused on learning.

As part of our district's updated approach to managing student iPads, each classroom will receive a secure charging cart for storing and charging devices during the school day. While we are excited about this addition, we do not yet have an estimated delivery date for the carts.

Until the carts arrive, students in grades 1–5 should bring their iPad to and from school each day and keep it in their backpack when it is not being used in class. This temporary process will help keep devices safe and ensure they are available for learning each day. Please be sure to charge them at home during this time so they are ready for use if needed at school the next day.

Kindergarten families: Kindergarten iPads are classroom devices and will remain at school. If there is ever a project or learning activity that requires an iPad to go home, your child's teacher will communicate those details in advance.

We appreciate your partnership and will let families know as soon as the classroom charging carts have arrived and this procedure changes.

Monday 8/17 - Mini Corn Dogs instead of Crispy Chicken Patty Sandwich

Wednesday 8/19 - Boneless Chicken Wings instead of Chicken Nuggets

Thursday 8/20 - Personal Pizza instead of Big Daddy's

Elementary parents are invited to attend one of two Elementary Gifted Services Parent Information Nights in the coming weeks. These sessions are designed to help answer questions regarding gifted services, including gifted qualifications, gifted clusters and Written Education Plans (WEPs). The same presentation will be provided on both nights, so please select the date that works best for you.

• Monday, August 31: Jones Middle School auditorium, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

• Thursday, September 3: Hastings Middle School auditorium, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Based on changes in Ohio law and Upper Arlington Schools Board of Education policy, new attendance requirements will be in effect beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. These changes affect how schools track student attendance, when families receive notifications, and when districts must intervene to address attendance concerns.

The biggest change is that all missed time is counted — includes tardies, medical absences, pre-planned absences, non-school-sponsored activities and competitions, and Religious Expression days — toward chronic absenteeism. Parents/guardians may find information about the changes in attendance policy on our website.

State law does allow a student’s parent or guardian to request up to three religious expression days for each school year without any academic penalty. Religious expression days may be used to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system or participate in organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or other religious or spiritual organization.

Parents/guardians must submit this form within the 14 school days after the start of the school year (September 1, 2026) to request up to three religious expression days for the 2026-2027 school year. Requests received after 14 days from the start of the school year will not be approved. For additional information, visit our website.

August 17th: First Day Students 1-5 and Staggered Start KDG

August 18th: Staggered Start KDG

August 19th: All Students K-5 in Session

August 20th: Parent Information Night 5:30 pm, Grades 3-5 and Gifted (times vary see above for more details)

August 21st: Bobcat Day, Send your child to school in their Barrington T Shirt

September 7th: Labor Day, No School

September 16th: Early Dismissal, 1:00pm

September 25th: Making Tracks for Bobcats

September 25th: Clown Around, 3:00-5:00pm

September 30th: Literacy Night, 6:30 Barrington Cafe

ABCDE Calendar

District Calendar

Assessment Calendar

Want your photos to be included in the yearbook? Please remember to email photos to our Yearbook Chair, Sonja Stanley , at barringtonyearbookphotos@gmail.com

Photos of the Barrington Rock, first day of school, class parties, field trips, recess, safety patrol, service-learning and more are all great submissions!

Please send your photos throughout the school year. The deadline for 2026–2027 yearbook photo submissions is March 2027.

A quick reminder: Before taking or submitting photos that include other children, please be sure you have permission from the teacher and/or the child’s parent/guardian. Some Barrington students are not on the approved photo list, so we want to be respectful of everyone’s privacy and school guidelines.