Barry School Newsletter March 2019

Barry School Newsletter

March 1, 2019

Events

2/25 - 3/22 Yearbook Sales

3/10 - Daylight savings time begins, turn clocks ahead 1 hour

3/14 - District Prism concert

3/15 - No School for Staff and Students

3/18 - Professional Development Day, No School for Students

3/21 - Imagination Celebration Opening - County Wide Select K-6 Student Art Show - Center 4 the Arts - Homer

3/25 - PTA Mtg 6:30PM

3/27 - MGRT grades Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Visit the Calendar

Principal's Message

It has been an exciting month with a lot of great things happening in classrooms. We will continue to strive for educational excellence and try to make this one of the best years at Barry School. We need your support to ensure students are at school everyday, on time and ready to learn. The importance of a solid routine that ensures students have the opportunity for a good night’s rest and a quiet location to complete necessary homework cannot be over stressed.

It is easy for students to get carried away with the use of technology. While it can be a powerful learning tool, it can also be an enormous distraction. I would encourage you to closely monitor the amount of time they spend interacting with electronic devices and help them learn an appropriate balance. Spending time reading, playing board games, spending time with family, or simply playing with toys is valuable for young scholars. I would also encourage you to closely monitor the content they are interacting with. Although their intentions may be innocent, the intentions of others may not be. Learning to be responsible in a digital world is essential.

Thank you for your support, please reach out to the school if you have any questions or concerns.

Family Engagement Survey

The survey will remain open through March 8, 2019 . Your response to the survey is very important. Please take ten to fifteen minutes and share your ideas, experiences and feedback !

**Paper copies of the survey are also available at your child(ren)'s school. If you prefer to complete the survey on paper, please ask for a copy from the building office.

Access the Elementary Survey, Password: Cortland2019

7th Grade Orientation

On Wednesday, March 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Cortland Junior High School will be hosting an orientation for all incoming seventh graders and their parents and/or guardians.

The purpose of this orientation is to welcome all current 6th graders who will be 7th graders in the fall of 2019. Parents and students will be able to meet staff members, hear about certain programs such as foreign languages, music and athletics. If time permits, a brief tour of the building will be conducted by Student Senate members. If you have any questions or concerns regarding orientation, please call the Junior High School office at 607-758-4190.

Kindergarten Registration/Screening Dates

Steps to register your child:

Child must be 5 on or before December 1, 2019. Children who turn 6 before December 1, 2019 must attend school.
Parents are urged to call (607)-758-4106, prior to April 20, 2019, to make a registration/screening appointment and to receive a pre-registration packet.
All students must have an appointment prior to the school registration/screening dates listed below!

ALL screenings will take place at Barry Primary School

Current dates for screenings:

Thursday, June 27, 2019
Friday, June 28, 2019
Monday, July 1, 2019

There will be a Kindergarten Meet and Greet in the month of May.

This is an event for parents AND their entering kindergarten student.
There will be activities for students and students/families will get to meet all of our kindergarten teachers and other staff members

Instrument Recruitment

The 3rd grade instrument recruitment process has started in each of the elementary schools! It is an exciting time for our 3rd graders to pick their instrument. Our elementary instrument teachers have been very busy getting started with the 3rd Grade Recruitment!

The Cortland Instrumental Process

First, music teachers have a recruitment assembly at each of the elementary schools. The teachers demonstrate each instrument the students can choose from and let the students ask questions about the instruments and the process. Next, students bring home the instrumental sign up sheet. Then as the teachers are able to schedule our new recruits, they travel to each school for a series of hands on days. The hands on day is when the students get to try out and get to play each instrument of their choice. Read more...

Daylight Savings Time

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed on Saturday, March 9th. Daylight savings begins Sunday, March 10th.

Library

We've been very busy in the library lately. Mrs. Rolewicz and I have been working on consolidating the library collection to get ready for the transition of Barry School. Due to this, our collection has been moved and shifted into different areas in the library. As I learned from the water damage a few years ago, the students handle this so much better than adults! They are finding new books, series and authors to read while searching for their old favorites. So proud of them!! Read on to check out what your student(s) have been working on in library.

Aside from shifting and consolidating, students have been working on research skills and digital literacy in the 5th and 6th grade. This work has been so valuable with students' 24/7 access to the internet, hoaxes and social media. Talk with your child about the positives and negatives to having continuous access. If you need advice or information, please reach out and I can send along some resources.

Fourth graders are learning about the colonization of New York through a European Explorers unit. Third grade has been learning about and using the library catalog to locate books in the library. Even with collection movement, this scavenger hunt type unit has been successful!

Second graders have been learning about the Caldecott award and will be shifting into ABC order in the next few weeks. First grade is working on an author study about Mo Willems. Kindergarten is finishing up a penguin research unit.

Reminders From the Nurse

Please wash and return any clothing that has been borrowed from the nurse.
Please call the school nurse at 758-4154 when your child is absent and send in a written note with your child when he/she return.
If your child is sick, vomits, has diarrhea, or a fever, please keep him/her home for 24-hours free of symptoms.
Please update all phone number for parents, guardians, emergency contacts, & work to the main office so the school can call you in case of illness or accident.
Reminder : NYS mandates a health exam / physical for grades K, 1, 3, 5 and students new to our school district. School physicals are provided by Kelly Hirsch, NP on Thursdays from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Barry School.
Reminder: Students entering 6th grade in September will require the Tdap vaccine and a 2nd Varicella immunization; and students entering 7th grade in September will require the Meningococcal vaccine. Make an appointment to get those vaccines before the first day of school.
Please read FLU Guide for Parents.

Positivity Project

Throughout February we focused on teaching students how to support others when they struggle. Students expressed great ideas regarding how to help others and be kind. They also discussed why it is important. During the month of March we will take this concept further by discussing how we can cheer the success of others. Students will explore what it means to have a love of learning, find forgiveness and express humor. Teaching students these character traits is an important part of their social learning. Please take a few minutes to discuss these concepts with your young scholars!

Art News

The Barry 4th grade students collaborated with the district 4th graders in an incredible music concert singing along with Ithacapella on January 16th at the High School. The elementary art teachers created a shield that we cut into puzzle pieces to represent the 5 elementary schools. We asked some 4th grade art students to paint their section to represent their respective school. Mason C., Alecia M., Madelyn N., and Jacob M. were the students selected to paint for Barry. They designed and created a Barry Bulldog with footprints surrounding him as a design to represent Barry school. The shield hung behind the singers on the stage, and the 5 pieces were attached the evening of the concert to show that “we’re all in this together”, our Cortland 4th Grade Team! Great job, and what an incredible event!

FYI: If you’re wondering why your child’s artwork isn’t coming home, just a reminder, that I’m saving most of the student’s artwork to showcase at Barry Art’s Night on Wednesday, May 29th! Looking forward to seeing you then to come celebrate the diverse work that’s being done by our Barry artists.

Student Council News

A huge THANK YOU goes out to all who helped with our Peanut Butter and Jelly Drive. We were able to collect over 200 jars, which were donated to our local food pantry, through a partnership with the Cortland Kiwanis Club. This was a great initiative lead by our student council.

Band News

The band students have been having a blast using the note learning app “Staff Wars”. It is fun tracking our scores from week to week to see the improvements!

Music at Barry

March is “Music in Our Schools” month and many musical things will be occurring at Barry and throughout the district. Kindergarteners are beginning preparations for their celebration in June while first and second grade students prepare for their May concert. Third and Fourth grade students are beginning work on xylophones, preparing pieces to be shared at Arts night in May. Fifth grade students are beginning Recorder Karate and 6th graders are creating their own film scores using SoundTrap. Be sure to attend the ever popular district wide prism concert on March 14th. Thank you all for supporting music and the arts in our schools.

Physical Education

Please welcome Mr. Johnson to our p.e. Staff. He is a student teacher from SUNY Cortland and will be with us until mid March. The Physical education award winners for January were Bradley Rosenbush and Elle Farkas. Congrats to both of them.

Yearbook Order Time

Now on Sale from 2/25 - 3/22. Your child came home with the envelope. If your child lost the envelope we do have more here in the office. Yearbooks are $10.00

SUNY Cortland Kinesiology

The SUNY Cortland Kinesiology Department requests permission for your child to participate in a research project during their regularly-schedule PE class. Researchers from the college are interested in measuring your child’s motor skills, such as running, jumping, throwing, kicking, and catching. The research team will be sending a blue permission form home with your child during the month of March. Please keep an eye out for the form and return it to school with your child.

Founder's Day Dinner

Over 250 people attended Founder's DayDinner on February 7th. 25 past recipients of the PTA lifetime membership award were honored with a glass coaster engraved with a picture of Barry School. The theme was Bon Voyage and we turned the cafeteria into a cruise ship. The children enjoyed various activities on the cruise ship: BINGO, Barry Trivia, Shuffleboard, Limbo and Cornhole. It was truly a night to remember. A special thank you to over 25 staff members that helped make this event a success.