The Starburst
Home of the Shining Stars
THE STARBURST
A Message from Principal Gallegos, Feburary 16, 2024
Greetings, Barrows Families!
Here is a recap from this colorful week: Lots of reading, math, writing, science & social studies, learning new words, spelling new words, editing sentences, solving problems, sharing with friends, learning how to do something new, giving compliments to others, sharing our feelings, working out disagreements, eating snacks, lunch, washing our hands, indoor & outdoor recess, making art & music, moving our bodies, learning about keeping our bodies healthy, enjoying a semi-snow day, giving Valentines, making donations to those in our community, adults attending our PTO meeting, dressing up for Spirit Week, attending an all-school assembly, learning something new about Black History and the importance of it, being kind, safe, persevering, collaborating and showing respect to ourselves, classmates and adults in the building.. that is just an overview!
I want to thank so many of our families who donated to our "Show the Love" donation efforts. Boxes were filled for the food pantry, bags were loaded for the US Army, and baskets were stuffed with prizes for our staff that were shared (with all) at our staff meeting on Thursday. We focused on providing intentional time for our educators to come together for an hour of self-care and deliberate time to take care of our well-being through stimulating activities. We played a school-themed version of Scattergories and Sudoku, made inspiration bracelets, colored, ate, and had many laughs- an excellent way to launch ourselves into a vacation week. I hope each member of our Barrows community (student, staff, and family members) finds time for self-care next week. The work we do as students, educators, and parents is hard work, and to keep that stamina, we need to take the time to relax and engage in activities that bring us joy!
Please enjoy the next round of photos of our Black History Month doors. We decorated 30 doors, so I am highlighting ten each week.
Starburst Highlights:
- Black History Month Door Decorating Contest Photos
- Mrs. Korwan's February OT Bitmoji Classroom
- Spirit Week Photos
- Valentine's Day Photos
- PTO & SEPAC Updates & Events
- 5th Grade Save the Date: Transition meeting for parents/guardians/students & Tour @ Parker and Coolidge Middle School (see our calendar section & more information will come from middle school principals later this month).
Next week is February vacation! As I mentioned above, this is the perfect time for us to relax and reset after seven weeks of hard work before returning to school for another seven weeks until our next school vacation. (I looked this up to be factual; I am not counting down)! Barrows is one of my favorite places, but I look forward to my whole family skiing together in Colorado this week! I hope our students enjoy their vacation, and we will see everyone back at school on February 26!
Have a safe and enjoyable February break!
Warmly,
Mrs. Gallegos
Please enjoy our second week of our Black History Month Door Decorating Contest. The last round of pictures will be highlighted in our next Starburst. Our Winners for this year's Door Decorating Contest are:
Mrs. Cullen & Mrs. Das's Doors: Musician's Spotlight
Second Grade Doors- Poets & Authors
Mrs. Kimball's Class: Paper Chains by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Mrs. McClain's Class: The Day I Decided to Become Sunshine by V Brantley-Newton
Ms. Hill's Class: Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy
Mrs. Korwan & Mrs. Fitzpatrick's Door: Lift Every Voice & Sing
Ms. Boudreau Ms. Brett Ms. Leary Mrs. Robbins Ms. Robert's & Ms. Trelegan Door
Third Grade Doors- A walk through history
Mrs. Encarnacao's Class: Rosa Sat...
Mrs. Duff's Class: So Martin Could Walk...
Mrs. Gargano's Class: So Obama Could Run...
So all the children could fly.
Reading Public Schools is a METCO District
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."
💘We LOVE Barrows: Celebrating Valentine's Day!💘
Upcoming Dates & Lunch Menu
Barrows Upcoming Dates 2023-24 School Year
February 19-23: President's Day (2/19) & February Vacation
Wednesday, February 28th: Barrows Family Game Night! 6-7:30 pm
Wednesday, March 6th: All School Assembly💛💙Wear Blue & Yellow💙💛
Monday, March 11th: 5th Grade Transition & Tour @ Parker Middle School 6 pm
March 12th-14th: Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, March 13th: All School Assembly & Reading Under the Stars 6:00-7:30 pm
Monday, March 18th: No School-Teacher In-Service Day!
Tuesday, March 19th: PTO Meeting 8:30 am
Wednesday, March 20th: 5th Grade Welcome & Family Night @ Coolidge Middle School 6 pm
Wednesday, March 27th: All School Assembly Celebrating end of Reading Under the Stars & Visit from Author Scott Magoon & Book Sale
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
Barrows MCAS Dates
School Lunches
School lunches are once again free for students in the Commonwealth. We do ask families that need financial assistance to complete this form: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/en-US/food-services-4f8d79b4/frl-bac51fe9
We look forward to providing nutritious meals for our students!
Reading Public Schools Food Service/Lunch Menus: http://reading.k12.ma.us/departments/food-services/
Important PTO Updates
We are excited to welcome local author and illustrator Scott Magoon to Barrows on Wednesday March 27th.
Scott Magoon is a native New Englandah who’s been designing, writing and illustrating books for young readers since 2003. He loves putting words and pictures together for kids. Scott is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). He has published children’s books, including Linus the Little Yellow Pencil, and has recently published a graphic novel, The Extincts.
Scott has two teenaged sons, and his wife is a school librarian. In his spare time, Scott likes running, skiing, tennis and snorkeling. He loves music. He sings, and plays flute and harmonica. Scott is a proud Northeastern University alumnus where he received a Bachelor’s degree in English literature—and his first paying drawing gig. The Northeastern News published Duct Tape Man, his weekly comic strip! He studied drawing at NU and Mass Art but for the most part is self-taught.
We will be having a special pre-sale of Scott's books including the two he will talk about, The Extincts and Rocket Ship, the last week of February so watch for details about that sale after February break!
JOIN US
FAMILY GAME NIGHT – Wednesday February 28th, 6-7:30pm
Join us in the Barrows Cafeteria for a fun night of games. We will have games available and you can also bring your own. This is not a drop off event, children must be chaperoned.
Contact Johanna Chesley (johanna.chesley@gmail.com) or Jen Barsotti (jenb@hey.com) with any questions.
- READATHON – Will run the month of March!
- SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR – March 12 – 14th
- READING UNDER THE STARS – March 13th
PTO MEETING - The next PTO meeting will be Tuesday March 19th at 8:30am at Barrows and on Zoom. We would love to see some new faces along with the old! 😊
VOLUNTEER
Be a Cafeteria Volunteer
Sign up to help in the cafeteria during lunch periods (11am - 12:35pm). The cafeteria is fully staffed, but can always use a couple extra hands to help with opening up packages, milk cartons, moving through lunch line efficiently. Please note that all volunteers must have a completed CORI (complete 1 week prior to volunteering) on file prior to volunteering and unfortunately non school aged children will not be allowed to join with the volunteer. If you are interested in volunteering please use the Sign Up Genius to sign up for the day or days you would like to help out.
We are now on Facebook and Instagram! Like us on Facebook – Barrows Elementary PTO and Follow Us on Instagram @BarrowsElementaryPTO
FUNDRAISING
Minted Fundraiser
Do you need to order birthday, or anniversary inviations? 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
Meghan Dribin, Co-President
Amy Koehler, Treasurer
Alicia Curtin, Secretary
Alison Ethier, Social Media Coordinator
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook:
@barrowselementarypto & https://www.facebook.com/BarrowsPTO/
SEPAC
UPCOMING EVENTS
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!
Follow SEPAC on Facebook or Instagram
See our 2023-2024 Calendar of Events
Upcoming Event:
Tuesday, Feb 27th, 7PM - Virtual
MCAS & Students with disabilities
Zoom Link: https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/83439638852Past Event: Recording Raising Superpowered Middle Schoolers: How Parents can Help Tweens Thrive Socially and Academically Presented by Phyllis Fagell Recording is available for 3 weeks only after the presentation date (2/6 through 2/28). Please email SEPACReading@gmail.com to request access.
From Unified Sports:
We have had such amazing interest in our RMHS Unified hoodies, not only RMHS but our entire school community. I have had several people reach out about ordering, and once I collect about 15 orders, I can submit the order. I figured it would be a good time to reach out to see if anyone else was interested in placing an order.
They are $40 with $5 of that going to Unified as a donation.
If you are interested, please just send along the size you would like. Thank you.
Payment options:
- Cash
- Personal check to Tara Herlihy
- Venmo: @Tara-Herlihy (last four digits 7759)
Tara Herlihy
RMHS Unified Coach
Spirit Week at Barrows: Color Battle
Red vs. Pink
Green vs. Purple
Rainbow vs. Tie Dye (Tie Dye for the Win!)
DISTRICT UPDATES, EVENTS & DONATION OPPORTUNITIES
RMHS School Council Parent's Night Out Fundraiser
Updates & Links from our Service Providers
An Important Reminder from Mrs. Atwood
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
Please follow Art and Physical Education on Instagram!
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.*
Check-Out Artsonia!
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 HurleyAbout these Services
Barrows Safety Reminders
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.
Helpful Links
Follow us on Instagram: @barrowselementarypto
Barrows Homepage: http://www.reading.k12.ma.us/barrows/
Reading Public Schools: http://www.reading.k12.ma.us