Happy Friday!

Just a few reminders..

• A FREE dress down day will be earned for all K - 8 students once our school Instagram page reaches 500 followers! Follow us today at @be_barnabas to catch a glimpse of all the amazing things happening in our classrooms.
  
  
• There is no school on the 21st for K-8 students, however, there is a full day of school for all prekindergarten students.
  
  
• As a reminder, no outside lunches are to be brought in by PK students unless they have dietary restrictions. Non-perishable snacks such as water, pretzels, crackers or fruit chews - are acceptable. If juice is sent in with your child, it must be 100% fruit juice. Further clarification or concerns on this policy should be communicated by/to your child's teacher.
  
  

• On October 29th, PK-Grade 2 May dress up in Halloween costumes, however, no costume masks or weapons are allowed. Grades 3-8 may dress down in orange and black ONLY.

  
  
• As MAP testing comes to an end for our K-8 students, we will be following-up with information on dissemination of the Family Reports. The Family Report provides benchmark information on how students are achieving and growing in relation to national norms. The Family Report also provides a set of questions that serve as an entry point to an academically minded conversation focused on student growth and support. As a result, teachers, together with parents and guardians, can work to identify appropriate follow-up resources based on each child's needs and create a plan of action to be utilized both in and out of the classroom.
  
  

• CALLING ALL PUMPKINS!

  Beginning Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - Ending Friday, October 29, 2021

  Continuing with SBES' Halloween tradition, all students are encouraged to paint and/or design a pumpkin and bring it into school for our Pumpkin Display in the Main Lobby. Be as creative as you desire, however, no carved pumpkins are allowed because they tend to rot after a while. Each pumpkin must have the student's name and class on it. All pumpkins must be brought home on October 29th. They can then be used as a part of the students' own home displays for Halloween!

  
  

• THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE
  

  Beginning Monday, November 1, 2021 - Ending Monday, November 22, 2021

  As another yearly tradition, SBES has collected cans of vegetables, gravy jars, boxes of pasta, stuffing and cereals, etc. for the needy in our community. Through the generosity of our families, our Main Lobby is always filled with baskets of food as we "Stop and Give Thanks" for all our blessings and help those less fortunate!

  
  

• If your child is going to be absent, please contact the teacher and the main office directly. A list of all teachers and their email addresses can be found on the school website. Upon return, an absence note is required. The complete absence policy can be seen below.

• On Sunday, you will receive a Google Health Survey. Please complete the form either Sunday evening or Monday morning BEFORE your child(ren) arrive to school. There will be one form for PreK and one form for K-8. Each child must have a form completed. Please scroll down for more details.
  
  
• Progress reports will be distributed next week. Any families who owe tuition will not have access to the progress report until bills are settled. Delinquency letters have already been sent out through Smart Tuition.

• Pre-k parents should scroll down to see the weekly newsletter for their child's class.

Should you need to reach me for anything, please email me at n.cruz@stbarnabasschool.org or call (718) 324-1088.

On October 15th, our K-8 students had the opportunity to dress down in pink today to support a cure for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Our school raised an incredible $1,200 to donate to the American Cancer Society fund to help support breakthrough research that will help prevent and cure breast cancer!

Students also had the opportunity to include messages of hope in addition to their donation.

We are so incredibly proud to contribute and be a part of awareness for a cure to Breast Cancer.

If your child's temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more or they exhibit any other signs of illness (symptoms other than COVID), then your child must stay home and see a doctor. A medical note of clearance with an alternate diagnosis must be provided to return to school even after one day of absence. If COVID is suspected, or your child presents symptoms of COVID, a negative PCR test must be submitted in order to return to school.

October -

18th - Fundraising ends!

24th - Registration for TACHS exam ends

27th - No School - K-8, Full Day of PK

November -

2nd - No School PK, Full day of school for K-8

5th - TACHS exam!

After School Program- Please be sure to send a small snack. Program ends at 5:45pm. Late pickup will incur an additional fee ($1/ minute).

If you have registered for after school and have indicated that you will use the service TBD- please be sure to send an email on Sunday to your child's teacher and to the main office so that we can plan accordingly.

PK After Care students should be sent with a change of clothes and/or an extra pull-up just in case.

Grades K-8 pick up at the Cafeteria entrance located on 241st street near the main entrance to the school. PreK- pick up at the auditorium doors.

All School Employees, Children and Essential Visitors will need to complete a daily health self-check by answering the questions listed below and by taking their own temperatures each day prior to entering the school or being on the school property. A parent or guardian is responsible for completing the weekly screening on behalf of their child(ren). If you answer YES to any of these questions on any given day, your child may not enter the school building. Contact a medical professional for guidance and notify the school principal. For students with chronic illness, only new symptoms or symptoms worse than baseline should be used to fulfill symptom-based exclusion criteria. By completing and submitting the weekly form, you acknowledge that you read the above will comply with all requirements and received the attached updated daily checklist that you will complete it each week for your child (ren) for the 2021-2022 School Year.

Each week you will be required to complete the Weekly Health Self-Screening Google Form on behalf of your child(ren) before entering the school building Monday mornings.

Surveys should be completed Sunday evening or Monday mornings by 7am.

St. Barnabas Elementary School has partnered with Division Food Service Management and MySchoolAccount.com for the managing of our lunch pre- order service and payments for the 2021-2022 school year. Please see the attached Parent Welcome Letter for more information on how to place your order. (Student Id numbers are provided from the vendor) If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Nicole Cestra at the email listed below: Nicole@Division-Hospitality.Com or 646-523-2028.

The October lunch schedule for UPK students has been posted below.

NEW students- please call Nicole to assist with your account set up.

The following credit will be applied to the referring Parent’s 2021-22 Smart Tuition account and will appear on the family’s February billing statement:

· A one-time tuition credit of $250 for each new family registered in Full-Day Pre-K 3 or 4 (not UPK) and Grades K-8, for any referring Parent whose outreach and referral efforts result in a new family registering their child(ren) at any Regional School in the Archdiocese of New York in Full-Day Pre-K 3 or 4 (not UPK) and Grades K-8 for the 2021-22 school year and remaining in good standing with the school through February 1, 2022.

Program Conditions:

· The referring Parent must

o Refer the prospective family to the school for a virtual meeting with the school principal, or his/her designee, and

o Complete and sign this referral form on or before the time of the virtual meeting with the principal to initiate the referral process. Referral forms received after the virtual meeting will not be accepted.

· The prospective family must be NEW to the school in Grades K-8, OR have a student enrolled on a full time basis in a Pre K (non UPK) program; returning families are not covered by this Program.

· The referral credit for the referring Parent will be applied to their tuition bill in time for the February billing statement provided that:

o The new family’s child has continued to be enrolled in the school through February 1, 2022, and

o The referring family has remained current on their tuition payments.

As a reminder, every student must have an updated physical on file each school year. ALL students must have up-to-date immunization records and a physical exam form completed each school year. For convenience, all forms are linked below. Please note that all NYC Pre-K students, under the age of 5 by December 31, 2021, will need to have a current flu vaccine on file. For those students that require an inhaler, or other medications such as an epipen, to be administered in school, I have linked the medical administration forms.

Immunization Requirements

Medical Administration Form - Epipen

Medical Administration Form - Asthma

Required Physical Exam Form (must be completed yearly)

This year’s TACHS Test will once again be an online, at-home, remote test which will be held on Friday, November 5, 2021. Students will be required to have a device that is equipped with a webcam and is compatible with Chrome browser along with access to the internet. For security purposes, upon registration parents will be notified that their child will be recorded during the test and asked to sign or check an agreement. At the end of the test, flagged recordings will be reviewed by a trained proctor for any suspicious activity. Please be advised that the test will not be available for IPads and/or cell phones.

Registration will open on Monday, August 23rd and run through Sunday, October 24th until 5PM.

Please see below for Student Handbook and Registration Instructions. These can also be found on the TACHS website.