The Barton Bulletin!
October 2022 Newsletter
Closing out 1st Quarter!
Quarter one will come to a close on Friday, October 7th. All grades will become final at that time, so let's be sure that all work is complete and we finish the quarter strong! Our students and staff have accomplished so much in a few short months! Here's a rundown of a few accomplishments from Q1:
*Barton's "Lady Explorers" first-ever volleyball team has had a great first season and will represent us in the playoffs on Monday, October 3rd! We are so proud of them!
*Our new piano lab has been installed.
*Our first Barton Archery Team has now been assembled and will begin competing soon.
*We kicked off our "I am Barton. I am Mobile." PBL and will continue this emphasis into 2nd quarter.
*Running Club, Robotics, Cheer, and Scholars' Bowl Teams have gotten off to a great start!
*Our cheerleaders volunteered and represented us well at the "GO Run!" on USA's campus.
*Our high school robotics team competed for the first time and took 2nd place against other MCPSS high school teams!
*Our Barton Entrepreneur-Shop is going strong!
*We celebrated College Colors Day and International Dot Day.
*Our newest Barton Ambassadors have been named.
*Ms. Motes was awarded an Extra Yard for Teachers grant, and our school was awarded one as well!
We have an eventful October ahead of us with many events planned for our students as we close out quarter one and move into quarter two. Review the dates below and add them to your calendar!
September 27: Informational Meeting about 2024 Germany, France, and Spain Trip
September 30: Students whose families are PTO members may dress out of uniform.
October 3 - 7: Homecoming Spirit Week (Flyer listed within newsletter below.)
October 3rd: Volleyball Semi-Finals
October 4th: Family Trivia Night in The Barton Commons (Flyer listed below for sign-up)
October 7th: End of Q1
October 10th - 31st: Fall Magnet Application Portal Opens (FOR NEW STUDENTS ONLY)
October 10th: Teacher Workday (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)
October 11th: Beginning of Q2
October 17th: Parenting Picnic (on Barton grounds) for State-wide Parenting Day
October 17th - 21st: Bullying Prevention Week (Kindness activities during school)
October 24th - 28th: Red Ribbon Week (in-school activities)
November 10th: Community Open House ("I am Barton. I am Mobile." PBL Showcase)
What's Happening at Barton?
Lady Explorers Volleyball Heading to Playoffs
Bartonian Yearbook Pictures - Due Oct. 3rd
Order our PBL Themed Long-Sleeve T-shirt!
Place your order for our PBL - themed Barton long-sleeve spirit t-shirt! Orders must be placed online by Sunday, October 2nd. Students may wear their shirts to school on Fridays. Don't delay, order today!
https://www.customink.com/fundraising/we-are-barton?utm_campaign=desktop-campaign-page-share-v3&utm_content=we-are-barton&utm_medium=social&utm_source=copy-linkSupport 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. Students whose families join PTO before the end of this week may dress out of uniform on Friday, Sept. 30th!
Homecoming Spirit Week
Refer to the flyer for our Barton Homecoming Spirit Week daily dress-up days for October 3rd - 7th!
Monday - Explore Mobile (Mardi-Gras themed attire)
Tuesday - Explore the World (Tacky Tourist attire)
Wednesday - Explore the Past (Decades Day)
Thursday - Explore the Future (Future career attire)
Friday - Exploration Adventure (Field Trip Day - Wear regular uniform and/or Barton spirit shirts)
State-wide Parenting Day Explorer Parent (Guardian) Picnic
Join your child on our Barton patio and grounds for a parent/guardian picnic! Bagged lunches will be served to students wishing to eat cafeteria lunch on Monday, October 17th. Students may receive a bagged lunch at no charge. Parents must pay for school lunches. You are also welcome to bring a lunch for you and your child. We are hoping to print and provide report cards to parents who attend. Please be aware that parking can be tricky in our area, so plan accordingly. Times are listed on the flyer. We look forward to a wonderful lunch with our Barton families! All students will have the opportunity to picnic, so if you are unable to attend they will enjoy their time with friends.
Congrats to our 2022-2023 Archery Team and Barton Ambassadors!
Barton Broadcast
On the Horizon!
In November, we will showcase our 1st semester PBL at a Community Open House. Save the date for Thursday, November 10th!
Help us Grow and Improve!
Project-Based Learning at Barton Academy
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.
Frequently Asked Questions and Reminders
Uniform Reminders:
Our uniform policy is listed inside your child's planner. Please help us dress for success by following our uniform guidelines. In addition to "what to wear" (or not wear), please keep in mind that students are expected to keep jewelry to a minimum (nothing excessive which can become a distraction). Hair color should remain in natural tones and nails should remain at a comfortable working length. Our students are frequently complimented for their professional appearance. Let's keep it up! As always, if uniform costs become a concern please reach out to Dr. Jones (principal) or Mrs. Smith (counselor) for assistance.
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. Also, please communicate with your child first. As they gain more independence, it is your child's responsibility to own their learning. School is their "job"!
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!
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