Birch Meadow Newsflash
3/11/24
Notes From Dr. Burnham
*Rising Stars is a new 2-week summer program offering for children aged 6-8. It is run by the Five Star Theatre Company which partners with Reading schools and teaches theater education. Attached is a flyer for those of you who might be interested in this for your student(s).
*Heights and weights are being conducted on students in Grades 1 and 4 beginning next week. Families of first and fourth graders should have received an email explaining this screening. If you did not receive the email or if you have any questions or would like to opt your child out, please contact Peggy Costello.
*A quick heads up that we have lots of items in our Lost and Found located in the cafeteria. Attached are some pictures. If you recognize something as belonging to your student(s) please stop by to retrieve it before we donate the items.
*Projected MCAS dates for planning purposes:
4/3 & 4/4 - Grade 4 ELA
4/10 & 4/11 - Grades 3 & 5 ELA
5/8 & 5/9 - Grades 3 & 5 Math
5/15 & 5/16 - Grade 4 Math
5/20 & 5/21 - Grade 5 STE
*For planning purposes, we are aiming for the week of June 3rd-7th for 5th grade “graduation” events. This week will prevent us from any conflicts with RMHS Graduation the week before, and Coolidge Middle School Graduation the week after.
BIRCH MEADOW PTO NEWS
READ-A-FUN Fundraiser
I hope you and your kiddos are enjoying the Read A Fun fundraiser - if you haven't logged in with your kiddo yet, we encourage everyone to do so and have fun customizing your Owlvatar :)
- Dates: Students received login information the week of 2/26. The official event dates are March 4th to March 29th.
- Login: https://app.readafun.com/. Parent and student instructions on how to use the website have been sent home. Your child will not be able to invite any sponsors without your authorization.
- How to authorize your child's Reading-Raiser account: https://youtu.be/X4KCsWBwA7M
- How to become a sponsor and invite more sponsors: https://youtu.be/NrUbWdEfy24
- Readafun works best if you use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox or Safari.
- We have fun prizes in store for our students. These include:
- Top class for each grade by number of minutes read will win an extra recess. We will staff the extra recess with volunteers.
- Top class overall will get to silly string Dr. Burnham & Ms. Azzarito.
- Any student who logs 300 minutes will get entered into a raffle for fun prizes!
- If we hit 105,000 minutes or $5,000 we will have a school-wide crazy hair day.
- If we hit 210,000 minutes or $10,000, we will have a school-wide stuffy & pajama day. Birch Meadow will also receive a custom drawing by local author Scott Magoon.
SEE FAQ ATTACHMENT FOR MORE INFO (ex. "what if my child can't read yet?")
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING DATE REMINDERS
March 18th - Teacher In-Service Day NO SCHOOL
March 21st - 🏆 Silly Sock Day!
March 26th - Scott Magoon Author Visit
April 10th - General PTO Mtg @ 8:30am (reschedule from 2/13)
PROJECTED MCAS DATES
- April 3 - 4th - 4th Grade ELA MCAS
- April 10 - 11th - Grade 3 & 5 ELA MCAS
- May 8 - 9th - Grade 3 & 5 Math MCAS
- May 15 - 16th - Grade 4 Math MCAS
- May 20 - 21st - Grade 5 Science MCAS
🏆 = TURKEY TROT PRIZE!
Friends of Reading Recreation Annual Daddy Daughter Dance 4/5/24
Annual FORR Daddy/Daughter Dance
A social for girls of all ages with their fathers, grandfathers and other guardians!
Date: Friday, April 5, 2024
Location: The Field House / Gymnasium at Reading High School
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 per child
Free photo booth with admission and as always music by DJ Ken. Light refreshments and snacks available for purchase.
Tickets are available at the Reading Recreation Division and will also be available at the door on the night of the event!
We will also have online tickets available to purchase early March. Watch the Facebook, Friends Of Reading Recreation page for announcement for when tickets are available to purchase online.
Be part of something that will provide a lifetime of memories!
Proceeds will benefit the Fireworks at Town Day in June.
Do you have a child who is on an IEP, a 504 plan, or with special needs. If so, the Reading SEPAC exists for YOU.
Please fill out this brief, anonymous survey to help your SEPAC Board to plan for the 2024-2025 school year. It should only take a few minutes.
This school year we brought speakers to the Reading community on important topics such as executive functioning and anxiety based in large part on what parents highlighted in the annual survey, so it’s very important to make sure your voice is heard.
We also want to hear from you on how we are doing in meeting our community’s needs and what more we can do to improve Reading SEPAC.
The survey results will be discussed at the next Reading SEPAC Business meeting on April 2nd at 8:45AM.
Extended School Year (ESY) Presentation
Tuesday, March 19th, 6-8PM (Virtual)
Please join us for an information session on the Extended School Year (ESY) presented by Kymberly Bryson (ESY Coordinator) and Student Services.
This presentation will be hosted virtually and you must pre-register to receive the zoom link.
Please note that the previously published zoom link will change and a new zoom link will be emailed to registered individuals only.
Daytime SEPAC Business Meeting:
Planning for the next school year and reviewing the survey results.
Tuesday, April 2nd, 8:45AM (Virtual)
School Transition Workshops:
For parents and caregivers whose child has an IEP and will be transitioning to a different school in Reading or who is new to Reading.
Thursday, April 11th, 12-1pm (Virtual)
Wednesday, April 24th, 6pm (In Person - location TBD)
The New IEP Presentations:
Wednesday, May 8th, 6PM (In Person - location TBD)
Thursday, May 9th, 12PM (Virtual)
BIRCH MERCH
CUSTOM NAME LABELS
MINTED STATIONARY & CARDS
Enjoy 20% off Minted cards & gift orders throughout the year, and Minted will donate 15% back to Birch PTO.
Use code: FUNDRAISEBIRCHMEADOW
Social Media Pages
Please "like" Birch Meadow Elementary PTO" Facebook page and follow our Instagram: @birch_meadow_pto