August 8, 2018
Dear Barstow Students and Families:
The start of a new school year is just a few weeks away. Please take some time to enjoy the last moments of summer break and also to prepare to come back refreshed. I am Bianca McKeen, the new principal and I am very excited to be joining the Barstow community. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. I want to take a moment to tell you a little about myself. I have lived in Rutland County for most of my life and currently reside in Rutland with my husband and our two children. For the past 13 years, I was a teacher leader and science teacher for the Rutland City Public Schools, most recently at Rutland High School. I have been a site coordinator and teacher for the K-6 Tapestry program and an adjunct professor as well. My passion is preK-8th-grade education. These years greatly shape our students. I believe schools serve one of the most important roles in our community, fostering our children and helping them to grow into life-long learners and valuable community members. I value relationships and look forward to developing them with all stakeholders. As the summer comes to a close, please stop by the school and introduce yourself if you are in the area. If I miss you, I will be at Chittenden Day and look forward to getting to know everyone. In addition, you can reach me at the school at 773-3763 ext. 2502 or via email at bmckeen@rnesu.org.
The Barstow faculty and staff are very excited for everyone to return to school and we look forward to welcoming new families. School will begin on Wednesday, August 29. Doors will open at 7:55 AM for students in grades one through eight. School begins promptly at 8:05 AM with dismissal at 2:45 PM. Kindergartners will come by appointment only on August 29 and 30 so that the kindergarten teacher can meet with each child and family individually, as well as assess each child's readiness skills. Kindergarten classes will begin with a shortened day on Friday, August 31. Kindergarten students will be dismissed at noon on Friday, August 31 and will begin coming full day on Tuesday, September 4. Pre-Kindergarten student’s first day will be Wednesday, September 5 with a short orientation on Wednesday, August 29 or Friday, August 31. This year preschool classes will take place Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7:50 AM– 11:10 AM for 3-year-olds and 11:40 AM– 3:00 PM for 4-year-olds. More specific information regarding Pre-K and Kindergarten will be sent home in letters from each individual teacher. The Boys and Girls Club after school program will also begin on Wednesday, August 29. Any family with questions or needing assistance completing forms should contact Nate Bouffard at Nate.Bouffard@gmail.com.
On our first day, we welcome any parents/ guardians who would like to escort their child into school. For new students and younger children, it's always comforting to have someone walk them into their new classroom. After your child’s first day of school, we ask that any student in grades K – 8 take the bus or utilize our parent drop off systems. There will be adults supervising the hallways to assist any students that have a need. We will also have an opportunity for you to learn about what your child will be doing in school during our Open House in mid-September, so please watch for more information that will come home soon.
VERY IMPORTANT: As the first few days may be confusing for some children, we ask that you send your child to school with a note letting their teacher know how they will be going home during the first week. This helps us to make sure we are sending your child in the right direction and helps to avoid confusion for everyone. A Student Transportation form will be sent home on the first day of school. Each child/ family should return the form to school no later than Friday, August 31 (if all children in the family are heading in the same direction, you can include them all on the same form).
IMPORTANT PEANUT/TREE NUT ALLERGY INFORMATION:
Barstow is a “Peanut-Tree Nut Safe” school. This means that we strongly recommend that parents and guardians choose not to send foods containing peanut butter, tree nut butter, or nuts. Please also remind your child that eating on the bus and sharing food in the cafeteria or at snack is not allowed. It would be helpful if you discuss with your child that we all eat differently and some people need to avoid certain foods because they are allergic and that some foods can make them very sick.
STAFFING UPDATE:
We would like to welcome some new staff members to Barstow this year:
Joshua Brennan- Music Teacher, Garrett Brewer- Athletic Director, Kristen Eckhardt- Librarian, Cynthia Fortier- Preschool Teacher, Sara Humphreys- First Grade Teacher, Heather Myhre- Speech Language Pathologist, and Theresa Sunderland- Spanish Teacher. Theresa will be joining us in November and we anticipate having a long-term substitute in at the beginning of the year.
We are thrilled to have these new staff members as a part of our team and would love for you to take a moment to welcome them to our Barstow community.
INFOSNAP:
We have emailed out a notification letter to parents based on the email on file, providing the opportunity to fill out the “beginning of the school year” forms electronically. Any family without an email should have received a letter in the mail. This notification contains pertinent and helpful information. Your student's SNAP code was provided in that letter so that you can access the information the school currently has and update it accordingly. If you do not have access to the internet or a computer, call or stop by the office and we will assist you. All students must be re-registered before the first day of school. If you have not done so, please complete the update as soon as possible. If you did not receive your email (please check SPAM) or you have questions, please contact Kim Raymond at 773-3763 ext. 2501.
HOME/ SCHOOL COMMUNICATION:
Much of the home/school communication will be accessible through our Barstow website: barstow.rnesu.org and some reminders will be posted on the school social media accounts. The RNESU District Handbook and Barstow Family Handbook, along with the calendar, newsletters, bus routes, suggested supply donation lists, and staff directory are just some of the resources you can find online. All parents should read both handbooks to familiarize themselves with our current policies. If you do not have access to the internet, please let us know and we will provide you with a copy of each handbook.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER & CALENDAR
One way the school provides information to parents is through our monthly newsletter and calendar. I will be sending this information home electronically at the end of each month. It will be sent via e-mail and will also be posted on our Barstow website. If you would like to request a paper copy, please call the office and notify Kim Raymond and we will gladly send a hard copy home each month. In addition, you will automatically have general school information and PTO information sent directly to your email through the Barstow Parent Group list and PTO list. If you do NOT want to receive this information through email, just reply to the welcome message letting me know to take you off one or both lists. You can also add additional email addresses to receive this information in the same way.
Please note that the Barstow Events calendar will be updated regularly with information regarding field trips, etc. This calendar is available on the Barstow webpage by clicking on the “Calendar” button on the home page.
COMMUNICATION
Email is a good way for parents and teachers to communicate. While we recognize that email is a powerful communication tool, please be careful not to include anything confidential in your message as we cannot guarantee that it will not end up in the wrong place. All school staff email addresses have the first initial followed by last name @rnesu.org (example: bmckeen@rnesu.org). The one exception is with our math intervention teacher, Jay Wilson (jxwilson@rnesu.org). We encourage good communication between home and school, so do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions. Messages can also be left on a staff member's voicemail any time, day or night. Due to the shifting of existing staff and new teachers, there have been changes to our phone system extensions, so please use the updated list also located in the Barstow Family Handbook. Please note that sometimes when someone at the school is trying to call you, the number comes up as an Albany, VT number. Please be sure to answer these calls.
ATHLETICS:
If your 7th & 8th grade student is planning on playing soccer this fall, there is a required informational meeting for both student athletes and parents/ guardians on Monday, August 27th at 6:30 PM in the hall. This will give you an opportunity to meet the coach, athletic director, and principal and receive pertinent information about practices. You will also need to complete paperwork for your student to be eligible to play. If you have any questions, please contact the Athletics Director, Garrett Brewer, at gbrewer@rnesu.org. Remember that all 7th & 8th grade student athletes are required to have a Well Exam before competing in school sports. If incoming 8th graders participated in sports last year, they are not required to have another Well Exam as it is good for two years. Forms can be found on the school's website under Athletics and in the school office. Information regarding athletic programs for grades six and under will be coming out soon through the Barstow Youth Club.
HOT LUNCH:
The Abbey Group will continue to provide hot lunch for Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union again this year. The prices for breakfast and lunch have changed slightly this year. Lunch is $2.50 and Breakfast is $1.85. Free and reduced lunch applications will be coming home in folders on the first day of school but please do not hesitate to contact the school to receive an application sooner.
The Abbey Group program uses the Meals Plus computer point of sale system to track student account transactions. Checks should be made out to Barstow Memorial School Hot Lunch Program. Please mark your student's name and/or account number clearly on the check. Student accounts must maintain a positive balance. For additional information, please see the RNESU District Handbook for the policy regarding meal account balances. Meals Plus also allows users to make online payments, view purchase history, and receive low balance notification free of charge. We recommend using the Meals Plus online payment feature at http://www.k12paymentcenter.com/ to deposit funds or send a check directly to the cafeteria the first of the week. Cards for K-2 students with the student's new school food service ID number will be issued the first week of school. This number will be used to track the student's account transactions throughout the year.
BUS SCHEDULE:
The bus schedules will be posted to the school website and in the local paper the week prior to school starting. Students should be at their bus stop at least five minutes prior to pick up time. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact David Shields, RNESU Transportation Coordinator, at 247-2769 or by e-mail (dshields@rnesu.org).
In accordance with RNE district policy, parents, guardians, or identified responsible person designated by the parent or guardian must be at the bus stop for grades K-3 or other identified students at drop off times. If this person is not present, the child will be returned to school.
PARENT PICK UP/ DROP OFF:
If you are transporting your child to school, please follow the one-way directional signs around to the rear of the school and up the hill to drop your child off at the south side entrance. Please abide by the posted signs that say “No Stopping” on the hill. The hill must be kept clear of any traffic to allow for through traffic. If the hill is blocked by stopped cars, you will be asked to move and join the end of the line. Please stay in your car and do not park to walk up to get your child. This creates a safety issue as cars pull away from the pickup line. We want to keep our students safe. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
I would like to thank all of the parents, community members, local businesses, students, and staff that have already been very welcoming of me. When I ask anyone about Barstow’s greatest strength, the answer is always the supportive community. I look forward to a wonderful year and to getting to know all of our Barstow families. Please remember, I like open communication, so feel free to stop in, call, or email me at any time.
Sincerely,
Bianca McKeen
Principal
Follow Barstow on Twitter @VTBarstow or Like us on Facebook: Barstow Memorial School
Save the Date: The next Barstow PTO Meeting will be Tuesday, September 11 at 6:15 PM in the teacher's lounge. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!