The Colt Communicator

September 20, 2024

Dear North Barrington Families,

What a great week of learning at NBS! Though the weather does not seem like it, we are seeing signs of fall, including our NBS PTO mums. We are including all our fall events below for your reference.

MAPs testing has ended. Please watch for test results to arrive home via student backpacks on or around September 25th.

NBS PTO:

MUMS: September 24th from 5 pm - 7 pm pick up at NBS.

NBS PTO BOOK FAIR: It is time to get ready for the upcoming 2024 Fall Book Fair, running September 23rd-27th in our NBS Library!

FRIDAY NIGHT FLICK: Our annual PTO Movie Night is scheduled for September 27th. Please save the date. Important information about this awesome event can be found below.

Parent-teacher conferences will be held October 16th & 17th. Parents will be using the Meet the Teacher website to create their personalized conference schedule. Meet the Teacher will be open to parents from Monday, September 30th at 8:00AM until Monday, October 7th at midnight. The website link and directions will be shared in next week's Colt Communicator.

Wednesday, October 16th PTO Meeting: Dr. Winkelman has included in this newsletter updates on our Referendum 2024. Dr. Winkelman and Dr. Carpenter will be at NBS at the October 16th, 9:00 am PTO Meeting. Please attend any of the meetings below and our PTO Meeting.

Kind regards,

Dr. West, Principal, Mrs. Kalin Lomas, and Mrs. Lisa Neyfeldt, Co-PTO Presidents

Please note that you can reach Dr. West, Principal, at lwest@barrington220.org, Mrs. Jirasek, Assistant Principal/TOSA, at sjirasek@barrington220.org, Mrs. Kalin Lomas, co-PTO president, at kalin413@gmail.com, and Lisa Neyfeldt, co-PTO president, at lneyfeldt03@gmail.com. We would love to connect with you! Our joint newsletter will be distributed through Infinite Campus on Fridays at 3:00 pm.

Social Media:

Instagram: northbarringtonpto

Facebook: North Barrington School PTO (run by the PTO) & North Barrington Elementary School (run by the school)

Twitter: @NBSPTO (run by the PTO), @NBES220 (run by the school) & @law281 (Dr. Wests’ account)

This year's theme is "Pioneers of Change: Shaping the future together." The theme encapsulates the spirit of innovation, resilience, and unity that define the Hispanic and Latino experience. It recognizes those who have been trailblazers and game changers paving the way for future generations.

Thank you to those interested in participating in the NBS Mystery Reader opportunity. We have updated our program to provide the book choices to our Mystery Readers. The same guidelines apply when signing up, please ensure you are not taking more than one spot this first round. If there are more slots later, we can start round two after each child has at least one parent or caregiver be the reader. The classroom teacher will ask for three clues, and give you the book to read from a selection of books relating to our reading and SEL programs, and no candy or trinkets should be given out. Your child's Room Coordinator will send out a Sign-up Genius. The Mystery Reader will be open the week of September 23rd. The Mystery Book cart and sign out notebook is in the front office.

Doctor’s Note Required for Medical Absences

Due to a change in school code by the Illinois State Board of Education, this school year a medical note is required for parents/guardians who select the: “MEDUE: Medical/Dental Appointment” excuse option for their student in Infinite Campus or call their student out of school for a medical/dental appointment.

The revised school code defines "valid cause" for absence as the following: Illness, including the mental or behavioral health of the student; attendance at a verified medical or therapeutic appointment; appointment with a victim services provider. Please note that the student’s absence will be marked unexcused in Infinite Campus until a medical note is provided.

We understand this is a change in practice from previous years. Please know that our front office is here to help answer any questions or concerns you may have.

During the first half of 2024, more than 2,500 community members collaborated on a plan to continue to improve Barrington 220's aging school buildings. The final $64M community-driven plan will go to you, the voter, for approval as a referendum question on this November 5 election ballot. If successful, the referendum will:

• Increase Safety & Security throughout Barrington 220
• Build a New Community Auditorium at Barrington High School
• Enhance STEAM and Instructional Spaces for Students

Join us at one of our upcoming community meetings to learn more about the referendum, tour current spaces, and see why these improvements are needed:

• 6pm Monday, Sept. 9 at Barrington High School
• 6pm Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Station Campus
• 6pm Thursday, Sept. 19 at Barbara B. Rose Elementary

As a district, we want to ensure that our schools are a safe place for all our students. As a connection to Safety Week by using a proactive approach, we want to share this important bullying information with you early. Please click the link below to access the bullying prevention communication as we partner together to make NBS a place of positive learning.

Please remember to pickup your ordered mums on September 24th from 5-7 at NBS. We’d love your help at Mum Pick Up Day and you can visit the book fair’s later hours while you’re there!

Link to sign up here

It is time to get ready for the upcoming 2024 Fall Book Fair, running September 23rd-27th in our NBS Library!

Your students will attend the fair with their classes, but there are still volunteer opportunities to help with set up, supporting classrooms, and take down. Please take a look at the sign-up linked below and consider donating your time. We are so grateful for any help you are able to offer!

Volunteer Sign-Up for Fall Book Fair (sign-up genius)

Don't forget to set up your student's eWallet account for cashless, stress-less shopping. Friends and family can even contribute funds! Set one up here or scan the QR code below: Scholastic NBS 2024 Fall Book Fair

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Vanessa Hacker at vanessadavidson6@gmail.com or Alisa Kruschel at alisa.kruschel@gmail.com

THANK YOU!!

Dear NBS Families,

We are excited to invite you to our annual NBS Movie Night on Friday, September 27th from 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm at the NBS Soccer Field. This year, we will feature the movie Despicable Me 4, with live entertainment provided by the School of Rock Barrington.

In addition to the fun, the Scholastic Book Fair will be open from 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Don’t miss out on grabbing some great books for the family!

Event Details:

• Date: September 27th
• Time: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
• Location: NBS Soccer Field
• Feature Film: Despicable Me 4
• Entertainment: School of Rock Barrington

You can register and purchase pizza in advance here: bit.ly/MovieNightNBS24. Complimentary popcorn will be available courtesy of the NBS PTO, and additional treats and refreshments will be available for CASH purchase on-site.

For any questions, please contact Jackie Kardesh at jackiewetzel@gmail.com or (480) 707-7259.

We look forward to seeing you there for a fun-filled evening with friends and family!

Best regards,
NBS PTO

Looking to join or start a Girl Scout troop at NBS? Please join the Girl Scouts for an informational evening on Thursday, October 3rd from 6-730 at the Barrington Library. Questions or help needed for troop’s at NBS, feel free to email Laura Canale lglombowski@hotmail.com.

Barrington Children's Charities is looking for volunteers from the North Barrington community to help with Packs of Plenty food bags on Thursdays at Sunny Hill School. Volunteers meet at 9:00am for approximately 45 minutes and then someone is needed to deliver the bags to NBS. Please click here to sign up.

Arrival: Morning drop-off begins at 7:40AM on the playground on the west side of the building. Do not drop students off unless adult supervisors are outside. Colored cones will indicate where to pull up. Green cones mean pull up to the crosswalk and drop your child(ren) off to participate in morning recess. Red cones mean pull your car all the way around to the front door for indoor recess (usually due to inclement weather). If you arrive at 7:55 or later, please pull around the front door.

FOR SAFETY REASONS: You cannot park on Grandview or in the Circle Drive parking lot to walk your child in. If you are walking your child in because you have business with the office, please park in a legal parking space and enter the building. Otherwise, you should remain in your car and have your child exit to the sidewalk with NBS staff members' support.

If you arrive at 8:00 am or later, you are required to park and walk your child into the office, sign them in, and then they will be given an attendance pass. Students who arrive at or after 8:00 am are counted as tardy. Children should not be dropped off at the curb and instructed to come to the front door. Thank you for planning accordingly to keep our students safe.

Dismissal: If you are a parent pick-up, please arrive at school no earlier than 2:15 at Circle Drive. Children will be dismissed at 2:40 (2:10 on Wednesdays) and adult supervision will be on hand to help direct traffic. Dismissal on the 4 early release days begins at 10:45AM. Please make sure to notify the office and your child's teacher of any transportation changes before 2:00PM the day of the update.

We thank you for not using your cell phones during drop off and pick up and for supporting our procedures.

ALLERGIES:

At North Barrington, we continually focus on safety. Part of those safety procedures is allergy awareness. We want to begin the year by reminding all our families that sending group snacks or lunches to the classroom is not allowed. This includes birthday treats, trinkets, balloons, and candy.

Children can bring individual snacks to eat during their snack time and their classroom teacher will share information with you about snack. Sharing any extra foods is not part of our approved procedures and is a safety risk to our friends who have an allergy. If there is a Colt Pride celebration, teachers will work with administration and the school nurse and access the approved food list as well as notify families of students with allergies. Please do not bring or send snacks for the entire class.

PARTIES:

Our parties will have food from the approved list, and the room coordinators will work with the administration, classroom teachers, and the PTO to ensure safety.

NBS will have two parties and end-of-year events.

Our first party is on October 31, 2024, from 1:30 - 2:30, with dismissal at 2:40.

We will also have a Kindness (Valentine) Party this year. Based on input from our families and staff, we are switching to February from December. This change will give students more opportunity to celebrate with their classmates due to any possible travel during December.

Our February Kindness party will be on Friday, February 14th from 1:30 to 2:30.

More information about our parties will be shared with Room Coordinators.

September 15 - October 15 - Hispanic Heritage Month

September 23 - 27th - Fall Book Fair

September 24 - 5 - 7 pm. Pick up your mums at NBS.

September 27th - Early Release Day 10:45AM; 6:30 Pizza and NBS Fall Movie Night

October 14th - Makeup Picture Day

October 16th - Conferences 3:30 - 7:30 pm

October 17 - Conferences 1:00 - 7:00 pm

October 18 - Non-student attendance day