Birch Meadow Newsflash
May 13, 2021
There's a lot going on at Birch Meadow School.
Science in the hallway.
DPW provides entertainment at recess with hydrant flushing.
Many yoga mats to deliver for comfy floor and ground seating.
From the Desk of Ms. Hendrix
Dear Birch Meadow Families,
Thank you to all the community members who attended last night's Community Forum on the Mission/Vision statement draft. It was a productive meeting and the School Site Council received insightful and constructive input. We will work on the final version of the statement which will be presented at the June 8th PTO General Meeting.
I was concerned about our Pooled Testing results for the past two weeks, since we just returned from April vacation, when many people were traveling or doing fun activities. I am happy to say that we have had two weeks of negative pools at Birch Meadow School. Thank you all for following safety guidelines and protocols so we can all stay in school!
Stay well and safe,
Julia Hendrix
MCAS Update
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Below are two fliers for mental health and stress reduction workshops being offered this month by the Reading Public Schools. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we are all feeling the impact of a very difficult year combined with the usual end of year school stressors and jitters. These workshops may be helpful to you as your family manages end of the school year feelings. Each link opens a flier for a workshop or series of workshops.
News from the Health Office
Dear Families,
Spring has brought beautiful days and warmer weather and unfortunately, allergy season as well.
If your child has environmental allergies, please monitor for symptoms. There are many over-the-counter medications that can help alleviate symptoms. You may also want to consult your child’s pediatrician for advice. It is important that any prescribed medication be used daily to help keep symptoms to a minimum.
Since the symptoms of environmental allergies may be similar to Covid-19 symptoms, the visual below will help you identify the similarities and differences.
Please let me know if your child has seasonal allergies if you have not done so already.
Thank you and take care,
Peggy Costello
Birch Meadow Nurse
COVID Pooled Testing
If you are interested in having your child join COVID pooled testing you can still give consent by following this link. COVID Consent Form.
All students whose consents have been received the Friday prior to the week of your child’s scheduled testing will be able to participate in testing that week.
Please email Julian Carr if you want to be removed from the consent list.
This link will take you to a social story about COVID testing, which you can use to prepare your child
Updates from the PTO Board
- Thank you Birchie families for your generosity and spirit during last week's Proud to Be a Birchie Bear Staff Appreciation Celebration! We stocked the teachers' lounge with cold brew coffee, seltzer, and treats, provided a catered lunch from EJ's Fresh Pizza Grab & Go, and raffled off "bear-y" fun gift baskets to six lucky staff members! Congratulations to the winners and thank you Birch Meadow teachers, staff members, and administrators for everything you do and for who you are!
- Congratulations to our Raffle Basket Winners: MRS. JENNIFER ZURCHER, MRS. MELISSA MILNER, MRS. MELISSA HEALY, MRS. OLIVIA MORRIS and MRS. KELLY SARASIN!!
- PTO Board Elections are this June The PTO board has several open positions that need to be filled for the 2021-2022 year. The positions include:
* President and Co-vice presidents OR Co-presidents and Vice president
* Secretary
* Treasurer
* Director of communications
Please see the attached document for a detailed description of each position.
- If you are interested in running for the PTO board, please send an email to BirchMeadowPTO@gmail.com and include your name and which position(s) you are interested in. Please feel free to contact us with general questions as well. We look forward to hearing from you!
- We Need Your Help!!! We need someone to help us with revamping our PTO section of the school website. So, if you are web/computer savvy and have some time to help, please contact us at BirchMeadowPTO@gmail.com Thank you!
- Our next dinner fundraiser is May 24th from 5:00-7:00 pm at Bunratty Tavern in Reading. 20% of total food sales (take out and dine in) from Birch Meadow participants will be donated back to the school.*Please mention you are part of the fundraiser so Birch gets credit for your meal.*
Our next PTO General Meeting is June 8th at 7:30 pm via Zoom.
Thank you for your time and for your support of PTO activities.
Staff Spotlight: Mrs. Erin Gibson
This week's Staff Spotlight belongs to third-grade special education teacher, Mrs. Erin Gibson. She is kind, patient, smart, and talented, and we are so fortunate to have her at Birch Meadow. Thank you for helping us get to know you, Mrs. Gibson.
Your name: Mrs. Gibson
Your birthday: September 7th
Where did you grow up? Reading, MA
Please tell us about your family/pets: I have 3 boys (Chase, Austin and Dillon). We have a dog (Rocky) and a fish (Max).
How long have you worked at Birch Meadow? I have been teaching 14 years but this is my 3rd year at Birch Meadow School.
What is your favorite part of your job? I love that I am teaching at the school I went to as a kid. A lot of things are still the same! I love how every year is different and exciting! My favorite subjects to teach are reading and writing.
Your favorite snacks: I love salty snacks like chips and pretzels. I also love sour candy. Sour Patch Kids are my favorite.
Your hobbies: I enjoy going to the beach, reading, being outside and visiting new places!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why? I would love to visit Spain because I can speak some Spanish and I have ancestors from there.
Book Drive at Whitelam
Understanding Disabilities teaches our students that even though we may be different in many ways, we are all the same inside. To help our kids see through the eyes of people with diverse abilities, UD has created a wish list of books for our school, chosen by our library staff, that feature characters with disabilities. Starting on Monday May 10 and running through June 13, stop into Whitelam Books on Main Street here in Reading, or call (781) 779-1833, to purchase one or more of these books for our school library, and while you are there, check out the full list of books and consider picking one up for your child as well! Many of these books are past MCBA book honorees, and Whitelam has books from picture books through young adult books selected for all five elementary schools and the two middle schools in town. The books for Birch Meadow will be delivered to our library in June after the drive is complete, and will be ready for students to start reading in the fall. Please share this information with loved ones and friends who might also like to support our school and Understanding Disabilities.
The books chosen for Birch Meadow are:
The Snow Rabbit Hardcover
Moses Goes to a Concert
Completely Me
Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah Hardcover
The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game
Farah Rocks Fifth Grade
Show Me A Sign
Caleb and Kit
Wink
What the Wind Can Tell You
So B. It
Second Grade Enrichment with Drumlin Farm
Bunratty Tavern Dinner Fundraiser
20% of total food sales including Take-Out & Dine-In will be donated back to the school.
*Please mention you are part of the fundraiser so Birch gets credit for your meal.*
Monday, May 24, 2021, 05:00 PM
Bunratty Tavern, Main Street, Reading, MA, USA
Visit the Birch Meadow School Store
SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) hosts programs throughout the academic year that are beneficial for the whole school community. Connect with SEPAC by clicking these links:
Join SEPAC's mailing list by emailing SEPACREADING@gmail.com
Follow SEPAC on Facebook (please adjust settings so that you are sure to see our posts)
Birch Meadow PTO
Email: BirchMeadowPTO@gmail.com
Website: https://www.reading.k12.ma.us/birchmeadow/
Location: 27 Arthur B Lord Drive, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-944-2335
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BirchMeadowElementarySchoolPTO/
Twitter: @birch_meadow