The Barton Bulletin

At Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies, we make an effort to engage our students in learning that is meaningful, authentic, and relevant. Our Q3 DOME theme aligns our focus on "making meaning" by "creating". We had an incredible quarter "making meaning".

As we move into our final quarter of the school year, we will expand on this by exploring possibilities for improving our community and world. Our Q4 quarterly DOME theme is EXPLORATION.

"Exploration is a wonderful way to open our eyes to the world, and to truly see that impossible is just a word." -R. Branson

*This is the most up-to-date list of "major" events for Q4. Refer to weekly bulletins for updates.

March 17 - Teacher Workday (No school for Students); JV Soccer Game @Daphne 5:30

March 18 - Q4 Begins!

March 19 - MS Soccer Games vs. Semmes @MGM

March 20 - Orlando Band Trip Departs; MS Scholars' Bowl @Barton vs. Saraland; Track Meet @Davidson

March 23 - Orlando Band Trip Returns

March 24 - Report Cards Go Home (Q3); ONLINE REGISTRATION OPENS FOR 2025-26

March 25 - Trinova STEM Night; JV Soccer vs. St. Luke's @Sage

March 26 - Cheer Pizza Fundraiser, MS Soccer @Saraland

March 27 - MS EOY Soccer Tournament (3/27-3/29); Division Track Meet @Davidson, BUILD UP BARTON PTO EVENT @Battleship Hanger 🚢

March 28 - Veteran's Cemetery Eulogy Recording Field Trip; SECME Regionals, Alabama State Tech Fair; Leousis HR Class Play, Alumni Social @Barton - 6 p.m.; Freshmen Lock-in @Barton 7:30 p.m. - 7:30 a.m.

March 31 - ACAP Pep Rally; MS Boys Soccer vs. Chastang @Sage; JV vs St. Michael's @St. Michael's

April 1 - ACAP Science 6th & 8th Grades; MS Soccer @Grand Bay

April 2 - ACAP ELA Grades 6th - 8th; MS Soccer vs. Dunbar @Sage; JV Soccer vs MGM @Sage

April 3 - ACAP ELA Grades 6th - 8th; All-State Choir Festival Birmingham (4/3-4/4); MS Soccer @Denton

April 4 - 9th Grade Civil Discourse Field Trip

April 5 - Spanish Club Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast

April 7 - ACAP Math Grades 6-8, 7th Grade Field Trip to Fort Conde

April 8 - ACAP Math Grades 6-8; JV Soccer @Theodore

April 10 - JV EOY Tournament (4/10-12)

April 11 - Mid-quarter

April 12 - "A Night on the Bay" Explorers Ball @Maritime Museum 6-9 PM

April 16 - JV Soccer @Davidson

April 17 - Learning Leading Awards Banquet

April 18 - Chemistry Field Trip

April 19 - 27 SPRING BREAK & Close-up Trip to DC/NY

April 28 - Nicholson Bio DISL Field Trip

April 29 - MCPSS Math Competition @Blount; Descendants Rehearsal -Full Show in Commons; Robotics Try-out Clinic 4/29-5/1

April 30 - MCPSS Teacher Career Fair

May 5 - Descendants Rehearsal at JJP

May 6 - Descendants School Show @12:30 & Evening Show @6:30 at JJP 🎭

May 7 - FlightWorks WBIB Field Trip

May 8 - 9th Grade AP WORLD HISTORY EXAM; VIRTUAL DAY FOR GRADES 6-8 🎧💻

May 9 - Barton SENIORS '25 Breakfast and Cap & Gown DOME Visit 🎓

May 13 - 7th Grade Honors - McCall & Depinet – 7:45 – 8:15 🏅

Hinds & Bohannon – 8:30 – 9:00

6th Grade Honors Picnic - 12:20 - 1:15 (Honors Certificates 12:45) 🏅

• PBL EXHIBITION NIGHT @Barton 5:00 - 6:30 🎨🧵🌎

May 15 - 8th Grade Honors - McGowan & Dai - 7:45 - 8:15 🏅

• Motes & Nicholson - 8:30 - 9:00
• Ramsay HR Class Play @Ben May Library 1:00 p.m.

May 16 - Order Olympics & Spring Fling

May 21 - Freshmen Honors Ceremony @Government Street Presbyterian Church - 4:00 p.m. 🏅

May 22 - FINAL DAY FOR STUDENTS! Happy Summer! 🌞

May 23 & 27 - Teacher Workdays

*SUMMER EVENTS:

June 1 - FINAL CHANCE TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR 2025-26 School Year

June 10 - NEW STUDENT In-Person Registration @Barton 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

July 29 & 30 - NEW EXPLORER CAMP @Barton 8:30 - 11:30

*School Year 25-26:

August 4 - Teachers Return

August 7 - Meet the Teacher "Move-in" @Barton 3:30 - 5:30

August 11 - Students Return

Don't Miss Out!

Join us for an unforgettable evening at the Build Up Barton charity event! Secure your tickets now for just $30 and be part of something special. Mark your calendars for March 27, 2025, from 6-9 PM at the Aircraft Pavilion at Battleship Memorial Park. It's an event you won't want to miss!

https://buildupbarton2025.cheddarup.com/

The Sunrise Rotary Club requested names of 8th grade students for recognition as outstanding middle school leaders. Congratulations to Elizabeth Jones who was nominated by our faculty to represent Barton for this honor!

Elizabeth is a well-rounded student who exhibits leadership and kindness. She is athletic, artistic, a good friend to others, and maintains strong academics. We are proud for Elizabeth to represent Barton at the upcoming Sunrise Rotary Club 8th grade Honors Breakfast! #bartonexplorers #undertheBartondome

The 2025 middle school track season is off to a great start! We have had numerous top finishers in our first meets of the season. Let's go, #BartonExplorers! #speedyexplorers #undertheBartonDome

A large group of 8th and 9th grade Barton Explorers visited Disney World and Universal Studios over Mardi Gras break! In addition to exploring the parks, our students and chaperones attended "behind the scenes" workshops such as "The Physics of Disney". A great time was had by all!

This year's HI-Q team made history by being the first all-freshmen team to make the HI-Q semifinals in Mobile! Our Barton “ALL-FRESHMEN” HI-Q team had a strong showing in the Semifinals! They competed against McGill and Satsuma in Semifinal Match #2 at Bryant High School. McGill ultimately won the match to move forward to finals, but our #BartonExplorers scored the 2nd highest score out of the six schools that competed today! This is incredibly impressive for any high school student, but it’s a remarkable accomplishment for a group comprised of all-freshmen! CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. Dai and our HI-Q students!

In addition to our impressive freshmen team, Barton was also well-represented by SEVEN former #BartonExplorers who have now moved on to compete in 10th-12th grades at their current high schools. We have created an impressive scholastic program in our four years! #undertheBartondome

Congratulations to our Barton Robotics Teams! Every Barton team (V5 and Vex-IQ) qualified for state finals this school year. We are so proud of their incredible work and the dedication of Mrs. Bolton and Mrs. Leousis who led the teams throughout the school year!

COMING SOON!! Athletic Speaker Series Wednesdays 4th quarter during 8th Explorer Period…

Mr. Depinet has organized a stellar group of coaches within our community who have volunteered to speak with our #BartonExplorers!

CONGRATULATIONS to our middle school Barton Scholars’ Bowl team! They competed against 12 of the top teams in the state in the Alabama Scholastic Competition and earned 3rd in the state in their division!

In February, we were able to bring our entire student population together for a special Black History program organized by Ms. Bohannon, Mrs. Nicholson, Mrs. Greenwood, and our World Language teachers.

Debrielle Lewis, Barton freshman, opened the program with a beautiful speech. Our Barton choir performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, and three Barton freshmen shared African inspired poetry in German, French, and Spanish.

Following our student performances, we were honored to listen to our special guest speakers, Karlos Finley and Kelly Finley as they both shared encouraging messages of unity, leadership, and the impact our #bartonexplorers can make on our world as they pursue their goals. Our students were also reminded of their impact on history when we reopened Alabama’s historic first public school post-segregation. We are proud to make history and serve as a symbol of progress, unity, and strength in togetherness #undertheBartondome.

A special thanks to the Finleys for giving of your time to pour positivity into our #BartonExplorers!

WOWSERS! We received a final update of regional tech fair winners, and Barton students brought home TWENTY-THREE awards! Outstanding job to our Computer Science students and teacher, Mrs. Bolton! #bartonexplorers #undertheBartondome

We have had a busy soccer season with THREE Barton teams competing this year. Our middle school girls and boys have worked hard, and as of mid-season the girls' team is undefeated!

Our first-ever JV team has been taking care of business against their JV opponents. They are handling their competition well and are also currently undefeated at mid-season.

We appreciate Coach Annette, Coach Eddie, and Barton PTO for supporting stipends for us to hire outside coaches so we can offer multiple sports opportunities to students.

Hello #BartonExplorers!

Between blizzards, Mardi Gras, and everything in between, our third quarter FLEW by, and the many events of quarter four will make Q4 feel just as fast! Please check our social media regularly for the latest news, events, and a glimpse inside our school. We share on social media regularly! A weekly bulletin is shared on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that gives our "week at a glance" along with upcoming dates and pertinent information! Checking our "official" Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies social media is your quickest avenue to finding needed information. We also have a school website at bartonexplorers.com with links to handbooks, curriculum guides, links to the Barton Broadcast and more! In addition, our Barton PTO has a Facebook page and website with great supportive information.

REPORT CARDS, GRADING, and CURRICULUM REMINDERS:

You will receive Q3 report cards March 24th. Please remember that all core classes at Barton are on an advanced and/or accelerated track. We focus on critical success skills at Barton such as how to think critically, evaluate, problem-solve, create, innovate, and EXPLORE! This style of learning requires a deeper level of thinking and understanding than "rote memorization". Sometimes this shift in learning style takes time to develop. Many high achieving students rarely had to "study" in their early years of education. As students progress into more rigorous coursework and higher-level thinking, it will become more necessary for them to spend time reading, studying, writing, and considering application of content. I say all of this to reiterate that your child should be commended for "A's and B's" on his or her report cards! A's and B's are "above average". To remain in the magnet program students must maintain a 70+ YEARLY average in EACH subject. We offer after school tutoring for students in need of additional support. Students with grades in danger of not meeting magnet standards will receive a letter home in their report card. If you have questions or concerns or need guidance with how to best support your child academically, please feel free to reach out.

PARENT/STUDENT HANDBOOK and REMINDERS:

Our school is great for many reasons, and one of those reasons is YOU! We appreciate the support of our parents, families, and community. I've reiterated various policies and procedures numerous times and at this point in the year I expect that everyone should be familiar with Barton expectations. I'm linking the handbook below for anyone who needs to review pertinent info concerning procedures such as approved "walkers", carline procedures, snacks, field trips, uniform guidelines, etc. We have these policies in place to ensure a safe and orderly learning environment. Please know our expectations and support us so we can support our children.

Uniforms: This time of year, uniforms become a little tattered and worn. If you need additional uniform assistance, please reach out. Students are expected to come to school dressed according to uniform policy from head to toe. As a reminder, according to our policy hair styles should not be distracting and hair color should remain in natural/neutral shades (no pinks, blues, purples, etc.) We want our Barton Explorers to dress for success!

MAGNET LOTTERY:

We filled our rising magnet slots in the October lottery. WELCOME to those who are joining the Barton family in 2025-26! We look forward to meeting you!

NEXT YEAR:

If anything changes about your students' next year school status, please email me so I can notify our registrar for record-keeping purposes. Online registration begins March 24th and should be completed by no later than June 1st for those remaining in MCPSS for next school year. Current students who have a change in address may send new proofs by your student to Ms. Amber, our registrar, or may visit the office during office hours to provide updated proofs during 4th quarter. NEW STUDENTS should plan to attend in-person registration on June 10th between 8:30 and 11:30. If you have questions about registration, you may email bartonregistration@mcpss.com or call and speak with our registrar.

Thanks for all of your support. I look forward to an incredible 4th quarter with our #BartonExplorers!