First day of school

Success! 

What a wonderfully positive first day of school.  I enjoyed meeting many parents out on the blacktop during drop off and pick up.  As I walked through classrooms I saw such excitement and positive energy from both students and staff members all around the building.  What a respectful and engaged community this is!  I feel so lucky to be your principal.

Have a wonderful night and we'll see you bright and early tomorrow!

~Mrs. Leonard

Raise $ for Barrows

A Barrows Parent shared this information with me.  A simple and easy way to raise "free" money for our school!  Check it out:

Give With Target
"It's a pretty quick and easy way to raise money for Barrows.  If we spread the word to our school community, everyone has the opportunity to vote (through a facebook login) once a week for Barrows Elementary.  Every vote/click is tallied and once you've hit 25, Target donates $25 to the school.  For every additional vote, I believe the school gets $1.  I've included the link to our school voting page below.  The promotion runs through 9/21 or when $5 million has been donated."

http://givewith.target.com/school/21786

A few notes...

Hello Barrows Community!

In just a handful of hours the educators of the Reading Public Schools will be gathering together to kick off the 2013-14 school year.  I imagine we're feeling similar to many of your children; excited, nervous, sad to leave summer, eager to meet our classes and find out what the year holds for us.  I am feeling particularly excited and nervous for this upcoming school year - the new kid on the block. 

I wonder how we capture these feelings and channel them throughout our school year for students, parents, and staff.  If we could bottle our precious hopes and dreams, the endless possibilities that lie in front of us, and the freedom that comes with a clean slate at the start of a new school year and dip into this source of excitement over the course of the next 9/10 months it would be quite powerful!

To our Barrows families - enjoy the remaining days of the summer vacation.  To the Barrows staff - see you bright and early!

~Ms. Leonard

Playground Meet & Greet, August 6th

What a beautiful morning to play outside and meet some of our wonderful Barrows families!  Thank you to those families that took time out of this perfect summer day to come introduce themselves and hang out on the playground for a little bit.  I must say, this building is much too quiet in the summer and it was a pleasure hearing the sounds of children playing together today. I enjoyed spending time with you this morning and cannot wait to see you all in a few weeks.

~Mrs. Leonard

Barrows Teacher recognized at Fenway!

Jaclyn Gerrin, a third grade teacher at Barrows Elementary School, was acknowledged at Fenway Park last Sunday for being a teacher, a civilian that serves our community!  She was introduced on the field with a mini biography and was presented with an official Red Sox jacket.  Below is a picture from her experience, she was even on the big screen (you can see it in the background).  Ms. Gerrin said; "It was very fun, rewarding and a little scary too! This was such a great opportunity to really feel appreciated as a teacher and I just wanted to share it with you.  The Reading Public Schools got a great shout out!"

 

Meet & Greet July 18th

Thank you to our handful of parents that braved the heat this morning to join me in the Barrows library!  I appreciated your thoughts, input, and questions about our school.  I am so impressed with how engaged, excited, and positive everybody is that I have met and I look forward to getting to know more of the Barrows Community!

Be well and stay cool!
~Heather

The first two weeks...

Hello Barrows Community!

As I reflect on the first two weeks of time here as a member of the Reading/Barrows community I am even more excited than before to be here.  I have found Reading families and staff members to be welcoming, supportive, and kind!  I feel lucky to have the opportunity to work with all of you.  You should soon be receiving a letter in the mail (and electronic version to follow) detailing opportunities for you to share with me your hopes and dreams for Barrows Elementary.  Please know that my door is open and I look forward to getting to know you all and learning about our school.

I hope you are taking the time to relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy your friends and families this summer.

Be Well,
Heather