The Barton Bulletin!
September 2022 Newsletter
Off to a Great Start #undertheBartondome!
Routines and procedures are in place, and the school year is in full swing! We have had a smooth and exciting first month of school. We have enjoyed getting to know our new Barton Explorers and reuniting with our former students! A week into the school year, we launched our first PBL (project-based learning) unit, "We are Barton. We are Mobile". Students are researching the driving question: “Who are we… as learners, as a school, and as a community?”
Throughout this semester, students will research and explore various aspects and people that represent Mobile’s vibrant and diverse community. In November, our students will showcase final products that share Mobile’s story. Our #PBL launch event included members of Mobile’s diverse community who shared their story, a banner reveal complete with confetti cannons, an impromptu student dance party on the front lawn, AND and a Coast Guard helicopter fly-over! It was an amazing event!
Stay tuned as we share updates of what's taking place #undertheBartondome!
What's Happening at Barton?
Lady Explorers Volleyball
Bartonian Yearbook Picture Day - Thursday, Sept. 1st
College Colors Day - Friday, Sept. 2nd
Support our Barton PTO
Please consider supporting our school's PTO! Our Barton PTO supports our students and staff in many ways by providing needed items and organizing fun events for students and our Barton families.
Parent Access to Schoology
Refer to the slide above for directions regarding how to gain parent access to Schoology for everyday access to your child's grades. Remember that all students were provided a Barton Explorer Planner. This planner can serve as a great tool for your child to write down assignments and important dates!
Barton Scholars Bowl
Congratulations to our 2022-2023 Scholars Bowl Teams! We had a huge turn-out for tryouts. A Trivia Club is being created for those who didn’t make the competition team to allow more students an opportunity to hone their skills and prepare for future competitive opportunities.
Take-In and Dismissal Procedures - *READ CAREFULLY AND ADHERE TO PROCEDURES*
Barton’s beautiful Downtown location within the heart of the City of Mobile creates many wonderful opportunities for our students including business and community connections and walking field trips. Our location also requires deep consideration of traffic flow and parking to maintain positive community relationships.
Carpool Procedures:
Routes were reviewed by Barton administration, City of Mobile traffic engineers, and the City of Mobile Downtown Police Precinct to determine the most efficient route for Barton carpool that would cause the least disruption to routine traffic. Barton’s take-in and dismissal routines for carpool and before and after school care will utilize St. Louis and Cedar streets ONLY. The carpool route will be monitored and enforced. Follow the directions below to avoid concerns and to assist us in maintaining a positive relationship with our Downtown community. Please do not begin lining up for carpool until at least 7:00 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. to avoid unnecessary traffic back-up.
Directions from I-165 to Water Street: Turn RIGHT from Water Street onto St. Louis. Travel St. Lewis Street to Cedar. Turn LEFT onto CEDAR. The Barton carpool line will BEGIN at the CEDAR and CONTI Stop sign. PARK your car along the LEFT SIDE of the street in a single line being extremely careful to AVOID BLOCKING businesses, parking lots, and housing entrances. Also, AVOID BLOCKING INTERSECTIONS at St. Michael, St. Francis, and Dauphin Street.
Directions from Spring Hill Avenue: At Spring Hill and Broad, merge left onto St. Louis Street. Travel along St. Louis until you reach Cedar. Turn RIGHT onto CEDAR. The Barton carpool line will BEGIN at the CEDAR and CONTI stop sign. PARK your car along the LEFT SIDE of the street in a single line being extremely careful to AVOID BLOCKING businesses, parking lots, and housing entrances. Also, AVOID BLOCKING INTERSECTIONS at St. Michael, St. Francis, and Dauphin Street.
**At approximately 7:15 and 2:30, Barton faculty and/or traffic guards will move the carpool lanes forward along Cedar beside Barton. Once traffic is pulled into the carpool “unload” /load area, you will be notified by faculty to unload vehicles. Students will unload and load their cars ONLY in the unload area (along the Barton gate on Cedar) and enter the Cedar side gate. DO NOT UNLOAD VEHICLES BEYOND CONTI. Afternoon dismissal students will receive carpool tags that should remain in your vehicle for pick-up. PLEASE PLACE YOUR PROVIDED HANG TAGS ON YOUR REARVIEW MIRROR. This assists us in operating more efficiently.
Reminders: St. Louis at Cedar is the ENTRANCE to the Barton carpool line. DO NOT attempt entering the carpool line at another through street (i.e. St. Michael, St. Francis, or Dauphin). Doing so may result in ticketing due to obstructing traffic flow. We cannot cause traffic back-ups on through streets, and “line cutting” will not be permitted or tolerated.
*Morning Explorer Extended Care students must be dropped by no later than 7:10 a.m. to avoid interfering with bus and carpool. Afternoon EEC should not be picked up earlier than 3:15 to avoid interfering with bus and carpool.
Bus Procedures:
Bus students will be picked-up from their ZONED middle school according to the magnet bus routes posted on mcpss.com. These will be updated by the MCPSS Transportation Division over the summer. To locate magnet bus routes, visit https://www.mcpss.com/busroutes
Your child will be transported from his or her zoned school to the magnet bus hub located at Clark-Shaw. From there, your child will catch their bus to Barton. Barton buses will unload at approximately 7:15 a.m. on Conti street and enter the Cedar Street gate. Bus students will be dismissed at 2:20 p.m.
Explorer Extended Care Procedures:
Parents will park on CEDAR STREET in spots near the social security building and enter the Barton Cedar Street gate to drop and pick-up their students from EEC. Students must be dropped between the hours of 6:30 a.m. – 7:10 a.m. and picked up between 3:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
Walkers:
There will be a special permission form for students designated as “walkers”. For safety, we prefer students be monitored by an adult, but the permission form will allow parents to make that final decision with the understanding that Barton faculty and staff are not held liable for students once they leave campus. Walkers must reside within a 1.5-mile radius to be granted permission to walk or bike home or to a parent place of employment. Students may not walk and meet parents in parked cars on side-streets or local establishments unless it is the parent’s place of employment. Utilize our car line.
*ANY student remaining on-campus beyond school hours without permission (late pick-up from carpool, missed bus, late pick-up from after school practice, etc.) will be taken to EEC and charged a $15.00 daily fee which will be expected at pick-up.
On the Horizon!
Barton Academy Students Showcasing Mobile's Unique Diversity - NBC 15
Project-Based Learning at Barton Academy
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I contact teachers? Each grade level has a REMIND (app/text) account that they use to provide important information. You can communicate with teachers through REMIND or via email. You may also leave a message by calling the school. Please be mindful that teachers are expected to teach during the school day and have very limited time to communicate with parents, so allow reasonable time for teachers to reply to messages, etc.
I'd like to know what my child is learning and/or testing on. How do I keep up with this information? Your child has a provided planner where they can list upcoming assignments and tests, etc. It is the student's responsibility to utilize their planner and communicate their learning with parents. In addition, most upcoming assignment dates and course materials can be located in Schoology. Our goal is for students to gain more independence as they transition through middle school, so please talk with your child about "owning their learning". Many of our assignments and assessments are based on application of learned content and not "regurgitation" of facts, so it is less likely that you will have rote study guides or "skill and drill" content to review with your child.
Why doesn't my child have more (or less) homework? More homework does not equal rigorous or high-quality learning. It usually equals headache, stress, and is typically not very productive for actual student learning. When homework is assigned, it is our goal to be certain it is relevant and meaningful. We want our students to be well-rounded, so while homework may be assigned as needed, we attempt to keep the afterhours workload manageable so our students can also become involved in extracurriculars. We value PBL (project-based learning) because the process is driven by student inquiry. Students learn and complete the bulk of the work at school - rather than complete "projects" at home. We want to assess our students' learning, rather than the work (or headache) of their parents! We are Barton EXPLORERS! Balance and relevance is key!
Will Barton have a homecoming dance, open house, etc.?
Last school year, we held two Barton dances for students. We will likely not have a "homecoming" dance, but we do plan to host dances or socials later in the school year.
Open House - Yes. We will host an Open House event for families and our community. This year, our Open House event will coincide with a PBL showcase in the fall (tentatively in November.) We will also have an Exhibition Night (culminating showcase) at the end of the school year. Many events will be added throughout the year and will be communicated as details become available! Dates are generally communicated 3-4 weeks in advance.
Does my child need a cell phone to complete assignments?
Absolutely not. Each child has a laptop provided by the district. We also have school iPads with apps, etc. and iMacs on each hallway. We have a plethora of technology available for student academic use. Each student signed a digital device contract agreeing to expectations. We want students to learn to be responsible digital citizens. Technology can benefit students if/when used well (to create, problem solve, etc.) Technology can also serve as a huge distraction and be a hindrance to students if not monitored carefully. If your child does bring a cell phone to school, the cell phone should only be utilized with teacher permission and/or for academic purposes. Help us help your child, and stay aware of apps being utilized and content being consumed by your child.
Follow us!
Email: acjones@mcpss.com
Website: bartonexplorers.com
Location: 504 Government Street, Mobile, AL, USA
Phone: 251221-1040
Facebook: facebook.com/bartonacademyexplorers
Twitter: @BartonAcademy