Greetings, Barrows Families,

Despite being a three-day week for our students, we were very productive. This past Tuesday, our staff participated in a full day of professional development centered around our district's strategic objective of creating supportive and safe learning environments by fostering a sense of belonging for all members of our school community.

On Wednesday, we had a moving Veterans Day Ceremony (more information is highlighted below).

The RMHS Drama Club has had a tradition of bringing scenes and songs from their upcoming musical to elementary schools. We were privileged for them to join us today to present SCROOGE! The Musical Elementary School Tour! We are also excited that three of our very own Shining Stars are joining the show's cast as Children's Choir members! I already purchased my ticket to see the full-live performance in December.

Our teachers look forward to welcoming our parents and caregivers for school conferences this coming week. I want to thank each of them for the time and care they have dedicated to getting to know each child as a learner and unique individual. Barrows is fortunate to have such a professional, caring, knowledgeable staff of educators. I hope you enjoy your conference.

Warmly,

Alissa Gallegos

2022-2023 School Year

Friday, November 11: No School- Veterans Day

Monday-Friday, November 14-18: American Education Week

Wednesday, November 16: 12:45 Dismissal (School Conferences after school)

Friday, November 18: NO SCHOOL- School Conference Day

Wednesday, November 23rd: Turkey Trot 10:15-10:45 AM (all parents & caregivers welcome outside), 11 am Dismissal

Saturday, December 3rd: Barrows Holiday Craft Fair

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

We had a very moving and impactful celebration honoring our Veterans yesterday. Barrows students who have Veteran family members joined us for our morning assembly to be recognized and for our school community to learn more about the significance of Veterans Day. Special thanks to Mrs. Becker for organizing this ceremony.

I would like to extend my deepest appreciation for our Veterans--for your service, bravery, and commitment to our country. Reading is hosting a special Veterans Day Event tomorrow at RMHS at 11:00 am. I look forward to attending and extend the invitation to our Barrows families!

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!

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

The Barrows Winter Craft Fair is returning on Saturday, December 3rd from 10 am to 2 pm. At this fun event, students can make their own crafts to gift for the holiday season

Raffle baskets will be available for sale. This year, there will also be an exciting silent auction for staff caroling on Thursday, December 15th. Complimentary coffee will be available. Pizza and drinks will be for sale at lunch.

If interested in helping out in any way, please reach out to Lindsey McCarthy at lindseybaxmac@hotmail.com. A sign up for volunteers will be shared shortly. .

Minted Holiday Fundraiser

We're excited to announce that we're partnering with Minted this holiday season to help us fundraise! Please support Barrows Elementary by ordering your holiday cards & gifts from Minted using our promo code FUNDRAISEBARROWS. You'll get 20% OFF your ORDER and 15% of every purchase made using our code will be donated back to us at the end of the year!

Rebecca's Cookies

Thank you to ALL who participated in our recent Barrows Cookie Fundraiser with Rebecca's Nut Free Cookies! The fundraiser was SO SUCCESSFUL bringing in over $3,000 to the Barrows PTO!!!

For orders that were not directly shipped to homes, Cookie Pick Up will take place next Friday, November 18th at Barrows from 09:00am -1pm! Tables will be set up on the sidewalk of Edgemont Avenue for easy pick up! You can drive up and volunteers will assist you in putting the cookies in your car!

We ask that everyone do their best to pick up the cookies during this scheduled time. If you cannot pick up during this time, please reach out ASAP to Julie Silbovitz (julie.draper@gmail.com) to make alternate arrangements. Anyone leaving cookies will receive a text to pick them up outside the school that day.

JOIN US

Our next PTO meeting will be on Wednesday December 14th 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

We are excited to announce a new opportunity for parents/guardians to volunteer at the school. Parents/guardians that are interested can now sign up to help out in the cafeteria during the 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)

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?

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

Did you know that you can now link your Amazon Smile account on the Amazon app for iPhone and Android? Follow these easy steps:

AmazonSmile: You shop. Amazon gives.

1. Check that you have the latest version of the Amazon app.
   
2. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device.
   
3. Login.
   
4. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'.
   
5. 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

Store open now through Monday, 11/21. Shop online to get your Barrows gear, including tees, sweatshirts, pajama pants, winter hats, and more! Show your Shining Star pride! https://tinyurl.com/BarrowsFall2022

Order deadline is Monday, November 21st, and items will be delivered to Barrows in December. (Be sure to note when ordering if something is a gift!)

PTO Board

Lori Barcikowski, Co-President

Meghan Dribin, Co-President

Amy Koehler, Treasurer

Alicia Curtin, Secretary

Alison Ethier, Social Media Coordinator

Friends of Reading METCO is hosting brunch then heading as a group to the Festival of Trees at Parker Middle School in Reading on Saturday December 3rd – and we’d love you to join us!

What is the Festival of Trees?

The Festival of Trees, organized by the Reading Education Foundation, is a fantastic annual community event and a major fundraiser for our students in Reading Public Schools. There will be a display of around 100 donated trees (which are then raffled off), food trucks, games and student performances. Entrance is $10 for a family or $5 for individuals – you can pay at the door or buy tickets here (recommended – it can get very busy at the festival!). Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Brunch:

We would love you to join us for a light brunch, Holiday craft and games from 10.30am – 11.30am in the Fellowship Hall at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 239 Woburn Street in Reading before heading to the Festival (which is a short walk away). Please register for brunch here by Monday 11/30/22 to help us plan catering 😊

It’s been great meeting so many people at our events this year – really hoping you can join us on December 3rd!

Any questions, please e-mail us - ilka@ilkawalkley.com or lavondaepps77@yahoo.com.

LaVonda Epps and Ilka Walkley

On behalf of Friends of Reading METCO

Click here for the latest SEPAC update! Information about program reviews, board elections, events, and more!

See this flier for information about our upcoming Basic Rights Workshop on Transition Planning.

Transition planning starts at age 14. Be informed sooner rather than later.

The training will be virtual and you MUST pre-register in order to get the link.

Hello Families,

This November I decided to do something a little different with my Bitmoji Classroom. Many families ask what gifts they can buy for their students that will help support fine motor and OT skill development. In the attached Bitmoji Classroom you can click on the gifts to see shopping and activity lists for many different skill areas. There are also a bunch of fun fine motor activities you can do with everyday household items. Enjoy!

Anne Korwan

Each year, we want to make sure that our families are aware of the school and district expectations. These are reviewed annually by principals and members of the leadership teams. Parents/guardians are asked to review this school guide which is a summary of our school’s common procedures, practices, and guidelines. These are found on the school website. We encourage parents to share this information with their child. In addition to the specific school guides, we have a Reading Public School District Handbook which outlines all the policies that our students and families are asked to abide by when participating in RPS events, including the school day. We ask all parents/guardians to review the handbook yearly and sign-off indicating that you are aware of the policies. The Reading Public School Handbook can be viewed here.

Please take some time to read through the policies and sign this Google form Acknowledgement of Students Rights & Responsibilities Handbook acknowledging that you are aware of and have reviewed the RPS Handbook, outlining the District policies. Thank you!

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