The Starburst

Greetings, Barrows Families!

Fall most certainly has arrived! The cooler temperatures (and a little rain) remind me that we have entered the next phase of our school year—with a strong focus on academics after spending the first few weeks getting to know our students, building relationships, and teaching our high expectations and routines to them. I encourage all families to remind their students to bring their best and do their best each day at school. When students come ready to learn, amazing things happen in our classrooms.

This week, we kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month. Like Carmen Sandiego, we are traveling around the globe to learn more about other cultures and communities. Many of our students are working with Mrs. Ring to be presenters during our assembly, and thanks to Ms. Hill, I have a recording of this week's Barrows Song—be sure to click on the link below to hear our students singing!

The PTO Section is filled with important information. Please read through it and consider volunteering this year. It is a great way to meet new families and strengthen our Barrows community.

I plan to send this out earlier than usual and spend tomorrow afternoon sifting through emails (that I haven't seen today). We do not know when we will have access to our school emails, so I am grateful to be able to send messages from the portal.

This week's highlight:

• We are still waiting on 97 families to update the portal with each student's EMERGENCY information. These forms must be completed at the start of every school year, and directions are below. The middle schools and high school do not allow students to have access to technology until these forms are fufilled. I do not want to have to go this route, so please complete the updates over the weekend. If you need assistance or access to a computer, please reach out to Mrs. Walsh or me! Directions are below.

Thanks for reading,

Mrs. Gallegos

START HERE: https://barrows.reading.k12.ma.us/

PORTAL

LOGIN

FORMS

DONE!

As a parent/guardian of a child in the Reading Public Schools, you have access to the Parent PlusPortal. EVERY YEAR parents/guardians MUST log into to ensure all neceesary and imporant contact information is up to date. 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. 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.

Wednesday, October 9th: 💙💛All School Assembly Part 2: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! Wear our school colors (blue & yellow) and/or Barrows Gear

Monday, October 14th: No School in honor of Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day

Friday, October 18th, 3-6pm: Monster Mash (raindate 10/25)

Wednesday, October 23rd: PTO Meeting, 8:30 am in the Barrows Library

Tuesday, October 29th: Make-up Picture Day (for retakes & absences)

Tuesday, November 5th: No School- Teacher In-Service Day

Monday, November 11th: No School in honor of Veteran's Day

Thursday, November 14th: Early Release- Conference Day

Friday, November 15th: No School- Conference Day

Wednesday, Novermber 27th: 11 AM Dismissal**

Thursday & Friday, November 28 & 29th: Thanksgiving Recess- No School

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

All first meals, including breakfast and lunch, are free for all students! If your child would like a second breakfast or lunch, these are available for purchase at $1.50 for breakfast and $2.75 for lunch. Additionally, our cafeterias offer a variety of snacks and a la carte items that can be purchased separately.

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

It is also important for families that may need financial support including but not limted to our food services to complete the following forms on this page: https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=1701802399965&page=lunchapps

We are serving breakfast to at least 80 students each morning! Thank you kitchen staff for starting our mornings off with a smile and a healthy breakfast!

THANK YOU: Thanks to all the families who have already paid their PTO dues and completed the volunteer form! This really helps us start the year off strong. We appreciate all the ways our Barrows families help us out – paying dues, volunteering time, attending meetings, connecting on the black top – all levels of engagement are valuable and help us be successful.

VOLUNTEER NEEDS: We have some volunteer gaps we would like to fill as soon as possible. Please reach out to Lori and I if you can help with any of the below. We cannot do everything we do each year without your help.

Monster Mash: We need someone to help run the raffle as soon as possible. This role would help track the sale of raffle tickets and making sure raffle tickets get sent home prior to the mash. Would also help with the sale at Monster Mash. We have a good process in place for this that we can share with the raffle lead.

Craft Fair: We will need more volunteers to help plan the crafts and prep them leading up to the craft fair. This work will take place in November leading up to the craft fair the first Saturday of December. You do not need to be crafty to help with this!

Read-a-thon: Michele Sousa will be graduating from Barrows at the end of this year. We need someone to apprentice with her to learn the read-a-thon lead role. This is our biggest fundraiser and since it went on-line it is quite easy. The kids LOVE the read-a-thon so we really want to keep this going. Read-a-thon takes place the month of March.

Restaurant Nights: We need 1-2 people to organize restaurant night fundraisers. This can be done monthly or every other month. We have a list of restaurants that are good to work with so this role simply organizes the night and helps draft the communication for the school. Easy peasy.

CALARESO’S FUNDRAISER: The order form went home this week. Fundraiser runs from Oct 2 – 18th. Order your certificates and Barrows gets 25% of the sale. So many great things to buy at Calareso’s this time of year – Fall landscaping, holiday decorations and groceries too!

OTIS SPUNKMEYER FUNDRAISER: Oct 2 – Oct 16

Please be on the lookout early next week for the flyer in your child’s communication folder. We are really excited about this new fundraiser. We will be having a super fun raffle drawing at the end of the fundraiser for an electric scooter! More details to follow. Orders placed will be available for pick up at Barrows on Friday, November 15th between 9:30am – 12:30pm.

SAVE THE DATE – Link to PTO calendar

• MONSTER MASH: Friday Oct 18 (rain date 10/25)
• Next PTO Meeting: Wednesday Oct 23rd

YEARLONG FUNDRAISING EFFORTS

Minted Fundraiser

Do you need to order graduation announcements, birthday, or anniversary invitations? 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)

Jen Barsotti, Treasurer

Alicia Curtin, Secretary

Alison Ethier, Social Media Coordinator

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook:

@barrowselementarypto & https://www.facebook.com/BarrowsPTO/

RMHS Dance Team is hosting a Dancey Party for students in Grades 1-5 on Ocotber 11th from 5 -7:30 pm at Coolidge Middle School. For more information and to sign up, please fill out the link above. Space is Limited. $20/child

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."

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

Welcome back students, families, teachers, and staff. We hope everyone had a wonderful summer. The Reading SEPAC Board looks forward to meeting new families and to continue fostering our wonderful relationships with returning families.

Please note that Reading SEPAC IS OPEN TO ALL parents/caregivers and not only families who have a child with special needs as we offer various opportunities to connect with other families and provide learning experiences.

To learn more about Reading SEPAC, please visit our website: Reading SEPAC Website

Should you wish to receive our monthly newsletter, please send an email to SEPACReading@gmail.com

As always, we are ready to continue to advocate for students with special needs who attend our public schools in Reading and provide guidance to their parents/caregivers. Feel free to reach out anytime, we are here to help!

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.

For every $5 donated to UD from now until the end of September (dates extended this year!) at https://givebutter.com/UDatStreetFaire2024, the giver will get one raffle ticket for themselves AND can choose to help the Reading school “team” of their choice win a prize. Make sure when you donate online that you choose a school "team" if you'd like your donation to help that school win a prize. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram (@understanding_disabilities) throughout September for more information on our raffle prizes.

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!

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