January Family Newsletter

Happy New Year! We hope you had a restful and joyful holiday season. As we embark on the second half of the school year, we are filled with excitement for the learning and growth that await us in 2025!

December was a month full of kindness and generosity. Our school community teamed up with The United Way to collect essential items for local families in need. We also collaborated with the Flemington Elks Lodge #1928, through their Gratitude Grant, to support literacy initiatives at Barley Sheaf. In an inspiring event, special guest readers visited our third-grade classrooms and gifted each student their own copy of Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. Finally, we were thrilled to spend a memorable day with therapy dogs who visited Barley Sheaf. Our students thoroughly enjoyed reading to Madeline, one of our canine visitors, while soaking in the comfort and warmth she so generously shared!

Looking ahead, January promises to be an exciting month! Our second Walking School Bus is scheduled for Friday, January 10. Additionally, the entire school community will come together for The Great Kindness Challenge. We are eagerly anticipating the Fourth Grade Winter Concert on January 30, with Ms. Kaetzel and her students working hard in preparation for their performance. Finally, we're thrilled to launch our Winter After School Enrichment Clubs this month. A heartfelt thank you to our PTO for organizing these wonderful programs!

We’re excited for all the opportunities this new year brings and look forward to a fantastic second half of the school year.

With great appreciation,

Amy Switkes, Principal

Kimberly Bostory, Vice Principal

1/2/25- Classes Resume

1/3/25- Spirit Day!

1/3/25- Preschool Lottery Opens

1/10/25- Walking School Bus

1/20/25- School Closed, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/22/25- PTO Dine Out at Buffalo Wild Wings

1/25/25- PTO Family Ice Skate at Flemington Arena 11:30 a.m.

1/27/25 through 1/31/25- The Great Kindness Challenge

1/27/25- Town Hall with Dr. McGann on 2025-2026 Budget

1/28/25- Early Dismissal Day for Students, 1:20 p.m.

1/30/25- Fourth Grade Winter Concert 7:00 p.m.

2/7/25- Spirit Day!

2/7/25- Harlem Wizards at JPC 6:30 p.m.

2/7/25- PTO Comedy Night

2/12/25- PTO Meeting 7:00 p.m.

2/18/25 through 2/21/25- Kindergarten Registration

2/27/25- Reading is a Dream Night

Our second Walking School Bus will take place on Friday, January 10 (rain date is Monday, January 13). This walk's theme, Winter Waddle Walk, is centered around waddling like a penguin if you find ice on your path! Please see this flyer for more information. We have four walking routes- Madison, Buchanan-Marshall, Twin Pointe, and Sunridge!

February 7, 2025 - 6:30 PM, J.P. Case Middle School

Tickets

Facebook Event

Promotional Video

Pizza Pre-Orders

Donations

Volunteer Sign Up

Team FRSD Roster

Bring a non-perishable food donation and get 1 FREE ticket for our Wizards Jersey raffle, or get a whole sleeve for a full bag or box. Benefiting the local Flemington Food Pantry.

Families, please see the information below to register your child for a Winter After School Club. Please note, registration closes on January 17, 2025.

General Information

Course Offerings for Winter 2025

Kid Wizard Club

Kindergarten Registration is coming! Registration forms will be available online. Completed forms can be dropped off from February 18-21, 2025 at Barley Sheaf School.

In-person registration will be available at Barley Sheaf School on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Translators will be available for Spanish speaking families.

Interested in Preschool for the 2025-2026 school year? Enter the lottery on January 3, with this link. The lottery will remain open through February 21. For all Preschool news and updates, click here.

Please visit Dr. McGann's website with information and updates on the 2025-2026 budget deficit. There will be another Town Hall with Dr. McGann on January 27, 2025.

Are you looking for fun ways to support your child's math skills at home? Check out Using Board Games to Teach Math to Young Children. By playing games with your child, you can help them develop number recognition, counting, basic operations, and problem solving, all while spending quality time together!

This month, Mrs. Collins and Ms. Coates are teaching students about the Power of a Growth Mind Set. Please see their newsletter with helpful strategies and book recommendations to support your child's growth mind set at home!

Please enjoy the latest edition of the Related Arts Newsletter from Mrs. DeDea, Mr. Decker, Ms. Kaetzel, Sra. Tavares, Mrs. Dribbon, and Mr. Slomczewski.

At Barley Sheaf, we value consistent attendance. We encourage you to review the information from Attendance Works to learn how daily attendance can positively impact your child's growth and success.

Children should come dressed for outside play every day since they will be going outside for recess. Please remember to send your children to school with a coat, hat, and gloves!

Hi Families! As winter travel and sleepover season approaches, please remember to check your child's head regularly for lice.

The first sign of lice is an itchy head which can be confused with dry scalp. You may not see the actual bugs when you check a child's head, but you may see nits. Nits, or lice eggs will NOT move if brushed away like dandruff flakes would, but rather stick to the stands of the hair. They are usually found around the ears or the back of the hairline.

Click here to read more about lice, prevention, and treatment. Feel free to call my office with any questions! Cheers to a healthy 2025!

If you need to make a change to your child's dismissal routine, please send a note to the teacher, call the main office, or fill out this form.

Families, please note that you must display your car tag in the parent pick up line. Even if our staff on duty are familiar with you and your vehicle, we need all cars to have tags displayed for student safety. You can use this link for Requesting a Family Car Tag. You may request additional car tags if needed!

As a courtesy to our Barley Sheaf neighbors, and to ensure the safety and smooth flow of traffic during dismissal, we kindly request that you do not make K-turns on Ewing Drive while in the car pick-up line. By avoiding K-turns, we do not block the driveways of local residents. It also reduces any potential hazards for our families. We ask that you drive down Rittenhouse Circle and turn right onto Ewing Drive to enter the car pick-up line. Please see this map.

Please enjoy the January Newsletter from our PTO!

Barley Sheaf Mission Statement

Barley Sheaf Positive Affirmations

Barley Sheaf School Song

Barley Sheaf School Rules

School Website

Virtual Backpack

School Hours and Lunch Schedule

Lunch Menu and Payment Instructions

Free/Reduced Lunch Application

Reporting an Absence

Change in Dismissal

Requesting a Family Car Tag

Barley Sheaf Family Handbook (English)

Barley Sheaf Family Handbook (Spanish)

2024-2025 Student Calendar- English

2024-2024 Student Calendar- Spanish

Unfortunately, our electronic sign is in need of repair. We apologize for the inconvenience and will notify families when we are able to schedule birthday messages!