Friendship month

   Primrose Hill Elementary School 

Weekly Newsletter

February 3, 2023

Primrose Pandas are Respectful, Responsible and Safe

Mission: Barrington Public School’s mission is to empower all students to excel in character, citizenship, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking, so that they may positively impact the future.

Vision: Together we inspire, learn, love and grow.

Dear Primrose Families,

Hard to believe it is already February! We have several events and spirit days planned for this month including the 100th day of school celebrations. There is a flier included below with details for staff and students. It is a nice way to share our school spirit during the cold, winter days. As always, participation is voluntary. Students can dress up for any, all or none of the days. 

We have had continued service work this week for the modular classrooms. Fire safety wiring should be completed next week which will allow for the building and occupancy inspections so we can begin setting up the rooms and open the modular. Nearing the finish line!

Thank you to all the parents who attended the PTO meeting last night on Zoom. Special thanks to Mrs Jenny Hines for your presentation on Growing Mathematicians. It was so helpful to see the many ways we can help make connections to math in our homes and learn new strategies of how to incorporate math into our everyday activities and discussions with our children. In case you missed it or want to be able to access the presentation with all the wonderful resources, here is a link to the presentation. The PTO will be adding the link to their website as well.  The meeting also highlighted several of the upcoming events and opportunities to get involved. On Friday, February 10th the PTO will be hosting a Sweetheart Dance at the high school. Students can bring a sweetheart from home (parent, grandparent etc) to enjoy dancing, games and more. Details and tickets are available on their website and in the flier posted below. 

This is a family event, in the same spirit as Spooky Stroll, School Picnics or other PTO events. I emphasize this because we have had a significant increase in behavior problems because many of our students are focused on “asking someone to the dance” or “will they want to dance with me” and “crushes.”  I ask for your help with clarifying that this is a family event where children are attending with their parents or a family adult. 

 I hope that you will be able to join us for this fun family outing. As always, if you are interested in volunteering to help with this the PTO please reach out to them if you can offer your time or talents. If you are in need of financial support to attend the dance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me as scholarships are available and this is open to all students and families. Many hands make light work.

Our character theme for February is Friendship. The importance of having people in your life that you can laugh with, count on and share your thoughts and ideas with is so critical, especially in these formative years. Our students practice their social skills daily with classmates, peers at lunch and recess and throughout the school. I am curious to learn from them what qualities they look for in a friend. Is it someone that they can share their stories with, someone who makes them laugh, someone they trust, someone who will offer to help whenever they can? I plan to ask lots of questions to learn more from our students this month and will keep you posted.  

Educationally yours,

Coleen Smith 

Chartwells Lunch: Just a reminder to double check your email accounts to see if you have received any payment requests from "BPS Chartwells" <chartwells@barringtonschools.org> Emails are generated weekly to notify parents if they have an outstanding balance on their family's school meal account.

If you have received one, please make an online payment or send in money to clear the balance on the accounts as soon as possible. We want to avoid having any of our families accumulating negative balances for the meal accounts. If you have any questions about your child's account, please feel free to reach out by email to Chartwells@barringtonschools.org. 

Please note that there is no free milk program. Milk can be purchased for $0.55 each day, with parent permission. Milk is included in a meal purchase.

Kindergarten Registration-Do you have a child turning five on or before September 1, 2023?  Do you have Barrington friends who have a child turning five on or before September 1, 2023?  If so, these children are eligible for kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year.  (These students will be considered the class of 2036)  We will start kindergarten registration on February 6, 2023.  

Kindergarten registration is an online process.  All of the paperwork is completed online and you need to upload certain documents.  Documents to upload include the following:

  • your child’s birth certificate or passport

  • immunization records

  • proof of residency (for example:  two utility bills or recorded deed or rental/lease agreement).  

All of the registration information may be found on our district’s student registration page.  If you are a current family in our school district, you will need to know your Aspen username and password.  If you do not have this information, you should email x2help@barringtonschools.org for assistance.  We do not have this information at our school.

If your child is in the Primrose Hill PreSchool program, you still must complete the registration process. Please feel free to contact me If you have any questions. Welcome class of 2036!

Dates to Remember:

  • February 6-Kindergarten registration opens

  • February 7- Dental screenings here at Primrose 

  • February 8-Author Visit-Anika Aldamuy Denise for grade 2

  • February 10-100th day of school

  • February 20-24 winter break

  • March 13- Professional day-no school for our students

  • April 18 & 19-RICAS grade 3 ELA*

  • May 16 & 17-RICAS grade 3 Mathematics*

*please note slight adjustment to these dates from last week

PRIMROSE PTO 

PTO Website: Please take a quick moment to log into the PTO website and opt into the family directory at https://www.primrosehillpto.org/directory. With all they have planned, it is a great idea to visit this site weekly to get updates and see how you can participate in upcoming events.

Have a wonderful weekend-stay warm!