Barrington Middle School

👋BMS START WITH HELLO WEEK: This week, September 18-22, Barrington Middle School participated in #StartWithHello Week, an initiative by the Sandy Hook Promise that promotes kindness and inclusion across K-12 schools. Thank you to our entire BMS community for committing to start with hello and make new connections - and a special thank you to Mrs. Poirier, Mrs. Nary, and Mrs. Leary for organizing this very important call-to-action! Learn more about Start With Hello here: https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/our-programs/start-with-hello/

⚫️POW MIA FLAGS RAISED ACROSS THE DISTRICT: Today, September 15, is National POW MIA Recognition Day which honors United States service members who were prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. This morning, the POW * MIA flag was raised at all Barrington Public Schools buildings in recognition. Here is the flagpole at Barrington Middle School today!

🎨NATIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION WEEK: This week, September 10-16, 2023, is National Arts in Education Week, a celebration recognizing the transformative power of music, theater, dance, media arts, and visual arts instruction in education. Arts education is an important contributor to overall student success, social-emotional development, and school engagement. Thank you to our BPS arts educators who encourage our students to explore the world and their place within it and provide a consistent, positive outlet for students to express themselves.

🚒HIGH-FIVES FOR HEROES: Driving through town this morning, you may have noticed a procession of first responder vehicles on the road. That is because students and staff at Nayatt School, Primrose Hill Elementary School, Sowams School, and Hampden Meadows Elementary School lined their school's hallways to participate in "High-Fives for Heroes," a showing of thanks and support for Barrington's first responders in observance of the twenty-second anniversary of September 11, 2001. Students from each elementary school prepared for "High-Fives for Heroes" by learning about the roles and responsibilities of first responders. In addition to high-fives, they made signs, drawings, and cards for members of the Barrington Police Department and Barrington Fire Department who walked through our schools. Barrington Middle School and Barrington High School also showed support of first responders by writing messages of thanks. Thank you to all of our first responders for your participation in this event and for your service!

📚BARRINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS SELECTED FOR TEACH TO LEAD SUMMIT: Barrington Public Schools is one of 20 school districts across the country selected to attend the U.S. Department of Education's Teach to Lead Summit in Denver, Colorado, on October 27. At the Summit, a district team of Barrington educators will develop and refine a project aligned to the theme, "Raising the Bar: Elevating Educator Diversity to Enhance Educational Experiences." Teach to Lead is a partnership of the Department of Education, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), and Teach Plus. Designed and led by teachers, it is a reflection of the Department of Education's commitment to creating systemic and sustained change, investing in educators, and providing students with the learning experiences and academically rigorous education they deserve.

🏫 FIRST DAY OF THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR: School is officially back in session! Today, August 28, marks the first day of the 2023-2024 school year for Barrington Public Schools students. Hallways and classrooms across the district have been buzzing with anticipation and excitement for what is sure to be a fantastic school year. We are thrilled to welcome new learners to our community and just as delighted to see familiar faces returning to our schools. BPS is proud to serve the children and families of our Barrington community. Every day, our district's schools are filled with enthusiastic and hard-working students, educators, and staff who continually put forth their best effort.

🎉BARRINGTON TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2023: Barrington Public Schools is proud to recognize Mrs. Connie Oswald, Grade 6 math teacher at Barrington Middle School, as the our 2023 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Oswald's dedication to the social, emotional, and academic development of her students and her commitment to inclusive instruction are inspiring. As an active member of both our BMS and BPS communities, Mrs. Oswald makes a difference in the lives of hundreds of middle schoolers, families, and faculty members every day. Congratulations, Mrs. Oswald, for being an outstanding and devoted educator! Thank you, Mrs. Roy and Mr. Moran, for capturing these pictures. #BPSsoars #BPS_RI #TOTY2023

🍎 BPS EDUCATORS START THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR: August 24 marked opening day of the 2023-2024 school year for Barrington Public Schools! Superintendent Messore and the Barrington School Committee kicked off the District's new school year this morning with a welcome address at Barrington Middle School. BPS educators also heard from speaker, Jayne Ellspermann, author of The Fundamental 5 Revisited: Exceptional Instruction in Every Setting. We are so excited for the first day of school on Monday, August 28. This is sure to be an incredible school year! #BPSsoars

⭐️BMS RECEIVES NATIONAL BEST BUDDIES AWARD: Barrington Middle School Best Buddies was named National Middle School Chapter of the Year at this summer's Best Buddies International Leadership Conference held at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. During the conference's opening session on July 21, BMS Best Buddies was recognized for its commitment to fostering friendship, belonging, and inclusion in middle school. This award is the second chapter recognition BMS Best Buddies has received this year. Earlier this spring, BMS was named the 2023 Outstanding Middle School Chapter by Best Buddies Massachusetts & Rhode Island. Congratulations to BMS students who embody the mission of Best Buddies and to the administrators, staff advisors, and parents whose support of student organizations like Best Buddies enriches our students' middle school experience. Learn more about Best Buddies here: https://www.bestbuddies.org/mari/

📚NATIONAL SUMMER LEARNING WEEK: This week, July 10-14, is National Summer Learning Week! National Summer Learning Week celebrates the many ways children and youth can engage in new and continued learning over the summer break months. Our District recognizes the social, emotional, and educational benefits of summer learning. Our students and schools have been busy this July! Here are some resources to keep learning all summer long: Our Barrington Public Schools Summer Learning site has summer reading and learning activities for all students in the District, grouped by grade level, school, and subject: https://www.barringtonschools.org/o/page/summer-learning The Barrington Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge allows Barrington children and teens to earn virtual raffle tickets for reading books and completing book reviews now through August 18 to use toward prizes: https://barringtonlibrary.beanstack.org/reader365 The National Summer Learning Association's Discover Summer website has resources, activities, and access to local programs to keep children engaged all summer long: https://discoversummer.inplay.org/

⭐BMS BEST BUDDIES RECEIVES OUTSTANDING RECOGNITION: Barrington Middle School models a respectful, responsible, and inclusive learning community where all students can excel. Recently, BMS Best Buddies was recognized as the 2023 Outstanding Middle School Chapter by Best Buddies Massachusetts & Rhode Island. The award letter written from Best Buddies MARI states that BMS "epitomize[s] our mission of inclusion" with "incredible students that lead by example and show others what kindness and inclusion truly look like." Congratulations to BMS Best Buddies and to the administrators and staff whose support of student organizations like Best Buddies enriches our students' middle school experience. As a result of receiving this award, Barrington Middle School is being considered for national recognition. Recipients of national Best Buddies awards will be announced at next week's Best Buddies International conference in Indiana. Learn more about Best Buddies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island here: https://www.bestbuddies.org/mari/ This photo was taken by Julie Furtado for East Bay Media Group.

🎊BMS BRIDGING CEREMONY: Flashback Friday to this year's Eighth Grade Bridging Ceremony! Two weeks ago today, Barrington Middle School celebrated the end of an era for Grade 8 students completing their middle school experience. Proud parents and families packed school grounds under sunny skies for the Bridging Ceremony. Even Taylor Swift made an appearance - through Dr. Anderson's insightful and inspiring send off speech. Congratulations to our BMS Class of 2023! We'll be cheering you on as you enter high school this fall.

☀️END OF SCHOOL YEAR SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE: Summer break is now in full swing, following the last day of school on Friday, June 23. Thanks to the hard work of our students, educators, staff, and administrators and the continued support of our parents, families, and Barrington community, Barrington Public Schools had an incredible 2022-2023 school year. This year, students, staff, and schools in our District have been recognized by organizations like Rhode Island Department of Education - RIDE, US Department of Education, National History Day, Rhode Island Interscholastic League, New England League of Middle Schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, and more! Congratulations to our BPS community for a year well done. Have a safe and enjoyable summer! Read the full end-of-year message from Superintendent Messore here: https://www.barringtonschools.org/article/1162725

🪁BPS YEAR END ACTIVITIES: As the school year winds down, students across the District are enjoying outdoor field day activities. Last week, Barrington Middle School's Lime Cluster had fun sack racing, playing Capture the Flag, and more! Barrington's four elementary schools also participated in exciting year end field day traditions, with each school hosting outdoor activities for students this week. This story was covered in the Barrington Times on June 15: https://www.eastbayri.com/barrington/stories/barrington-middle-school-students-focus-on-fun-at-field-day,113461 All photos were taken by Richard Dionne, Jr. for the Barrington Times.

💼BMS CAREER DAY: Career Day returned to Barrington Middle School on Friday, June 9. Students in Grade 7 and Grade 8 experienced a full day of exploring how different career paths intersect with their interests and passions. Andrew "Mr. L" Lazouras, karate master and program director at Rocky Silva's American Karate, gave an inspiring keynote in the BMS auditorium to kick off Friday's event. Students spent time throughout the day learning from local professionals about various careers, including culinary and visual arts, and reflecting on what they learned. Career Day ended with a closing keynote from Matty Blake, Lite 105 morning co-host and host of The Curse of Oak Island: Drilling Down, and a musical performance by the band Wildflower. Career days are immersive learning experiences that help students connect their classroom learning to future paths and enable students to begin thinking about potential areas of interest. They also provide a supportive setting for students to practice their communication skills like public speaking and active listening. This year's Career Day would not have been possible without the hard work of BMS staff like Mrs. Poirier, Mrs. Nary, and Mrs. Nelson whose leadership and organization made this event such a success.

📖BMS STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN PRIMROSE HILL SCHOOL READING WEEK: This week, a long-standing tradition returned to Barrington Public Schools: Barrington Middle School students reading to Primrose Hill School students during their Reading Week! On Tuesday, June 6, BMS students visited Primrose and read with students in five different classrooms ranging from Pre-K to Grade 3. Prior to Reading Week, middle schoolers were selected to join the in-District fieldtrip after reading aloud a few pages of a picture book on FlipGrid. BMS students say their favorite things about participating in Reading Week at Primrose Hill School include "meeting all of the kids and getting to read to them" and "getting to see [their] old teachers". Thank you to Mrs. Roy and Ms. O'Kane for bringing this very special tradition back to BPS - and to all students and teachers whose participation made this possible. What a great way to kick off the last few weeks of the 2022-2023 school year!

👩‍🏫RAZZ CLUSTER WAX MUSEUM: Barrington Middle School's Grade 7 Razz Cluster spent Tuesday morning, June 6, turning their school's Library Media Center into a wax museum. A “wax museum” is an interactive exhibit where students, costumed as well-known figures, stand at attention like a museum mannequin in front of a visual display describing the life of the person they are representing. Visitors "activate" a wax museum figure by pressing a button on the display. This signals the student to begin reciting a short monologue as their historical figure. Wax museums are immersive learning experiences - and require lots of hard work! Razz Cluster students each chose a historical figure and researched their life, their experiences, and their accomplishments. Based on their research, students designed a visual display showcasing the biographical information they learned and wrote and memorized a monologue speech to deliver as their wax museum figure. Finally, students created a costume representative of their figure to wear during the presentation. Kudos to Razz Cluster students and their teachers for today's well-attended wax museum exhibit!

🎓BHS SENIOR SCHOOL WALK: Students and staff in the District showed out to congratulate the Barrington High School Class of 2023 during the first annual senior school walk! Dressed in their graduation regalia, BHS seniors visited Primrose Hill School, Nayatt School, Sowams School, Hampden Meadows Elementary School, and Barrington Middle School and walked through each school building to excited applause and cheers from students lining the hallways. Seniors stopped often to high-five elementary and middle school students and hug their former teachers. What a fantastic send off for Barrington's next graduating class as they head into graduation weekend. The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2023 is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Victory Field. Pending inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved into the large gymnasium with additional overflow seating (livestreaming the ceremony) in the auditorium.

🗺BMS GRADE 8 VISITS WASHINGTON, D.C.: Barrington Middle School eighth graders left Barrington for their class trip to Washington, D.C., on June 1 and safely arrived in the nation's capital after a 9-hour drive. Today, they kicked off Day 2 of the trip with an early morning visit to the White House. While exploring landmark locations in the District of Columbia, BMS students are learning about how the United States and its government operate. Thank you, Mr. Moran, for photographing the experience.

BARRINGTON MEMORIAL DAY PARADE: Barrington Public Schools students remembered those who have died in military service to the United States by participating in Barrington's Memorial Day celebrations. Barrington High School seniors walked alongside the Barrington Education Foundation in Monday's Memorial Day Parade while bands from Barrington Middle School and Barrington High School played music. Members of BMS Best Buddies also walked in the parade carrying a handmade banner honoring Barrington's fallen heroes. This story was covered in the Barrington Times on May 30: https://www.eastbayri.com/stories/photos-barrington-celebrates-memorial-day,113117?fbclid=IwAR2HfafWxMv1BZtAKM--Lcv5wytwS0yExvrO5v79rVEAunk_XlCNVRlF2S8 All photos were taken by Julie Furtado for East Bay Media Group.