Birch Meadow Newsflash

*Well, Lisa and I took the pies to our face like champs. I'm pretty sure we found a few future RMHS baseball pitching stars in the process, because they nailed us with pinpoint accuracy and surprising strength.

*A reminder to families that MCAS officially starts this week. Attendance during MCAS is extremely important, as it can be difficult to make the assessments up. If you know your student will be out during MCAS, please be sure to let us know as far in advance as possible.

Please see the following message from our school nurse, Peggy Costello:

Postural screenings are being done on fifth graders on 4/10/25. Please read and complete the form that was emailed to you on 3/25/25 if you do NOT want your child to be screened at school. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you, Peggy Costello, BSN, RN, NCSN

Please see the following message from the RMHS group Citizen Kids:

Help us collect art supplies and books to give to the kids at the Reading Food Pantry. There is a donation bin near the front door at Birch Meadow. Thank you! The Citizen Kids.

Breakfast Reminder - Just a reminder that the link for breakfast ordering is the same every week.

Breakfast Links:

KINDERGARTEN BREAKFAST

FIRST GRADE BREAKFAST

-Dr. B

We're in the final stretch of our Read-a-thon and classroom participation has been awesome!! Thank you ALL for your support of this important event for Birch Meadow! We continue to make great progress and have raised over $10K of our $15K goal to support enrichment and other school-related expenses. Monday, 3/31 is currently planned as the last day to log minutes (www.readafun.com).

If every student participating reads 40 minutes/day from now until 3/31, we will hit our goal. We are a little ways off our fundraising goal, but remain optimistic 🌈

WEEK 4 STATS

- 279 students (out of 359) are logging their reading!

- More than 153,753,000 Minutes Read!

- Over 3,600 Books Read!

- We've raised $10,000 of our $15,000 goal!

27% of our logged students have been sponsored (up from 22% last week 🤩)

CLASSROOM STANDINGS:

Grade Leaders are currently: Aurilio (K), Simon (1st), Breen (2nd), Kelley (3rd), Milner (4th), Cronin (5th). Prize reminders/update!

• Top Class (by minutes read): The entire class will "Silly String" Dr. Burnham & Ms. Azzarito at a school assembly.
• Top class by grade (by minutes read): Winning classroom will have their Teacher dress up as a “student" for a day
• Hit $7,500 or 105,000 minutes: All-school crazy hair day - We've won!
• Hit $15,000 or 210,000 minutes: All-school dance party

Did you miss out on the Red Sox tickets? Weren't sure what your Memorial Day weekend plans were and didn't want to commit? Well - we asked the Red Sox if we could re-open our ticket sales and they said YES!!! Come join us on Sunday, May 25th at 1:35pm for the Sox vs. Orioles game. At almost 100 people from the Birch Meadow Community, it's going to be a great day!

TICKET SALES WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL APRIL 21st!!

Spring is HERE and if you're planning to get out and clean up your yard, why not purchase a gift certificate to Calareso's to help support Birch Meadow? Their spring selection includes annuals and perennials: pansies, tulips, daffodils, etc! 🌷

A whopping 25% of the proceeds goes right back to Birch Meadow to support our Enrichment goals!

March 1 - March 31st - Read A Thon Spring Fundraiser!

March 17 - April 4th - Calareso's Spring Gift Certificate Sale!

Date TBA - Spring Shuffle (to replace the Turkey Trot/Winter Walk)

April 2-3 - Grades 3&4 ELA MCAS

April 4th - Last day to purchase Calareso's gift certificates

April 6th - RMHS Band Mattress Fundraiser - see flyer below

April 7-8 - Grade 5 ELA MCAS

April 10 - Codeswitching Doc Screening. Register HERE

April 21 - Last Day to buy Red Sox Tickets

April 21 - 25 - April Break NO SCHOOL

May 4th - METCO Caregiver Social. See info below

May 5 - 6 - Grade 5 Math MCAS

May 7 - 8 - Grades 3&4 Math MCAS

May 14 - 15 - Grade 5 SCI MCAS

May 25th - Red Sox Game - buy tickets until April 21st

Friends of Reading METCO and RPS is hosting a screening and community discussion. Join us for a screening and community discussion of Code-Switching, a powerful documentary exploring the experiences of students in the METCO program as they navigate racial and cultural identity in their pursuit of education.

Register Here

Date: Thursday, April 10
Time: 6:15 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Reading Memorial High School Library

This is a parent-led event and is not an official Birch Meadow PTO sponsored event.

• Drop off your donations of clothing and textiles to the two large bins to the far right of the main entrance on Arthur B. Lord Drive. Birch Meadow earns funds through Helpsy, a for-profit company that offers local non-profits like our PTO this easy, no-cost fundraising program!
• We have a Birch Meadow storefront and will post items and fundraisers throughout the year. We also welcome direct donations and company match: https://birch-meadow-elementary-school-pto.square.site/

Please "like" Birch Meadow Elementary PTO" Facebook page and follow our Instagram: @birch_meadow_pto