Happy Holidays To All

Barr families,

As we approach the winter recess, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to each of you for your ongoing support throughout these past few months. We are truly thankful for the incredible partnership between families, students, and the school community. Please take a moment to enjoy our holiday edition of our “Raising the Barr” newsletter.

A special thank you goes to everyone involved in our winter concerts. These performances were a tremendous success, with great attendance and enthusiasm, showcasing the hard work and dedication of our talented students. We are fortunate to have such a strong and passionate music department that continues to inspire and nurture the love of music in our students.

We wish you all a peaceful, joyful, and restful holiday season. School resumes on January 2, 2025. Thank you once again for your unwavering support and commitment to our school.

Warm regards,

Some of our finest 5th grade student-musicians gave a special performance for the main office staff as well as their respective classmates throughout the day. What a perfect treat!

Mr. Garrison's Video Production class videoed and edited our student ambassadors sharing their cultural and holiday traditions. Our students recognize that even though some students celebrate the same holiday, their culture plays an important role in how it is celebrated. Please take a few minutes to enjoy the video below.

Recently, Austin Frisch was in Philadelphia for the Oireachtas, which is the mid-Atlantic Irish dancing championship. Austin won a 1st in 8-hand, 3rd in trad-set and a 4th in four-hand dancing! While in Philadelphia for the same contest the year before, he noticed an abundance of people who were living on the streets and decided he wanted to think of a way to help those people. Over the next year, he saved his money, which included allowance money and money from mowing his neighbor’s lawn. This allowed him to purchase string bags, water, hand warmers, socks, hats, tissues and snack bars. After his dance competition, Austin and his family went out in the city and distributed the bags. Special thanks to Austin for his empathy and growing his idea into a special way to help others!

Ms. Dougherty’s 5th and 6th grade reading students collaborated to make an interactive word wall in order to celebrate the end of their unit on inventors and inventions. The students each received cards with vocabulary words they learned in the unit. They took turns placing them in the web and sharing the connections they made. Thank you Mrs. Dougherty for bringing the Science of Reading into the classroom in such a fun way!

Kyle uses the bandsaw to cut out his CO2 car in Technology class. Students below were learning about the shop tools they will be using to design and handcraft their wooden cars in preparation for a culminating race competition. This competition is a long standing Barr tradition. Stay tuned for the results in an upcoming newsletter.

Participation in government and in our communities is fundamental to the success of American democracy. Students choose to complete the Civic Readiness Capstone project to demonstrate their readiness to make a positive difference in the public life of their communities through the applied combination of civic knowledge, skills and actions, mindset, and experiences. Special welcome to our newest teaching assistant, Ms. Williams.

Click this link to see the newest edition of the Nanuet News, created by Mr. Garrison's video production class.

https://www.youtube.com/live/QB6FucrI0wE?si=tIiam5eQAVglJCAI

Congratulations to our amazingly talented students and music staff on their superb winter concert performances!

Dr. Skaba proudly presents Dr. Brady and the Nanuet Music department with a plaque for earning the NYSSMA Presidential Citation Award, presented to schools with model music education programs!

Students and staff participated in Holiday Spirit Week here at A. MacArthur Barr Middle School. From holiday sweaters, to holiday hats, to music during lunch, there was something for everyone to get involved this week.

As our students begin to play on stage, out of no where, Officer Culianos grabs his cello and joins them in their musical celebration. Absolutely AMAZING!!

The holidays are not always easy for everyone, so our therapy dog, Razzle, came in to spend some time with our students.

Celebrating our student ambassadors, who are growing their leadership skills!

Boys modified basketball before and during their first game vs. Pearl River.

Local, organic, and hydroponically grown lettuces and greens here in Barr MS to be served in the lunchroom on December 20, 2024. The herbs were used in soup on December 19, 2024. Our kitchen staff is incredible and worked with us to help students enjoy the whole process, from start to finish!