| From Our Head of School | |  . |
This is truly a proud moment for us at The Barnesville School, as we have just submitted our application to be Maryland Green School. In order to become a Green School, our Science & Nature Task Force has spent the past two years developing our curriculum and documenting our green activities both in the classroom and throughout the school. The Green Schools Program, created by the Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Education, is a “holistic, integrated approach to authentic learning that incorporates local environmental issue investigation and professional development with environmental best management practices and community stewardship.” As their website states, “program goals are to transform education through the integration of a hands-on, inquiry-based instruction that is designed to empower youth to practically apply knowledge at school, home and in their communities to reduce pollution, decrease waste, increase habitat, limit carbon emissions, and create healthy learning and living environments.” Please take a moment to look at our slideshow application, now on our website. Lynda Forman, Middle School Science Teacher and member of our Task Force, spent many hours creating this outstanding slideshow as part of our application. This presentation contains over 70 slides highlighting our green achievements from the past two school years. From raising chicks in Early Childhood to studying naturalists in 8th grade; from installing air hand dryers in our restrooms to planting trees on our beautiful campus; we believe that Barnesville fully embodies a Maryland Green School. News of our application will come by May, and we plan to have our middle school students attend the Maryland Green School Youth Summit at Sandy Point State Park on June 3rd. Regardless of the outcome of our application, we have done wonderful things for our students and our school, and we will continue to add and expand our science and environmental offerings. Many, many thanks to Ms. Forman and to all of the members of our Science & Nature Task Force for their years of work and dedication. In addition to Ms. Forman, this year’s members are Chuck Andres (parent), Pamela Chu (parent), Elizabeth Crawford, Lee Langstaff (community member), Niki Markoff (parent), Natasha Nikitina, Vickie Roos, and Bernie Weintraub. John Huber PS – The slideshow is large, and it appears best using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Safari. You can also download a pdf version at the bottom of the page. |  |
| Pre-K Star of the Week! | | We had a "Fairy" fun week learning more about Diana. This week we painted our own wands and pirates, got our faces painted, transforming us into fairies, read fairy stories, danced like fairies, learned more about Bolivian fairies and how to call them with special whistles, and went on a treasure hunt with Captain Hook! It was so much learning more about Diana and the things that she loves to do. Thank you Diana and family!! | |
| What's Happening in the Classroom? | | - Just a reminder that ERB Testing will take place next week in the morning for 1st through 7th grade students. Please make sure your child gets enough sleep and eats a nutritious breakfast. Middle School parents should have received a flyer with information about the food assignments for the morning breakfasts for the middle school students next week. Please contact Michelle Pappas if you have any questions.
- The Kindergarten and EC3's had a very large visitor on Wednesday morning. To support the Kindergarten study of farms and the EC3's learning about the letter "T" Barnesville parent, Jim Hunter, brought a large farm tractor to campus for the kids to see and experience. Great fun was had by all!!
- Second grade students are drawing and building their very own totem poles in art class this week.
- This year in middle school Physical Education class, Mr. Jones has implemented "Workout Wednesdays" to help support a focus on lifetime fitness for the students. They rotate through a variety of fitness stations which focus on different areas of the body. The students have really been enjoying the challenge and have begun to see an improvement in their fitness levels.
- The eighth grade "Amusement Park Projects" will be on display for students and parents in the Media Center on Thursday, April 21st from 8:00 to 10:30. This project supports the eighth grade study of physics. We hope you can stop by to see the wonderful projects the students have created and built themselves!
~Vickie Roos, Assistant Head of School | |
| Admissions | | It is the busy season in the Admission Office! We are pleased to be welcoming several new families who will be joining us in September! Although the priority deadline for applications has passed, the Admissions Office is still accepting applications for next year on a rolling basis. Please be sure to use the referral card program with your friends and neighbors to encourage them to apply. Remember, the referral card waives the $75.00 application fee and you may be eligible for $1,000! A win-win for everyone! One Million Hours of Service Many of our families generously donate their time and talent to community service outside of Barnesville. When you do, please let us know! We have recently joined the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) "One Million Hours of Service" initiative. NAIS has challenged its 1,400 member schools (including Barnesville) to collectively perform at least one million hours of community service this year. Everyone in the school community is invited to join - students, families, faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees. I will be acting as the contact person for this important initiative and tracking our community service hours. When you give back to your community, please send me a quick e-mail with the kind of service you are performing (i.e. working directly with people in need, organizing a charity fundraiser, participating in a charity event like a run/walk, etc.) and the hours. I'll do the rest!
Together we can make a difference; together we can BE the difference! ~Susanne Johnson, Director of Admissions | |
| Auxiliary Programs | | After-school Enrichment
Our Spring session of after-school enrichment activities is off to a great start!. Soccer Shots begins this week for our EC-K students. The 2nd-5th grade session for LAND begins next week. There is still space available. Please email me if your child is interested.
Summer Camp
Have you made you summer plans yet? Barnesville Summer Camp has many new and exciting choices for your child. We have six sessions beginning on June 20th and ending on August 5th. There will be no camp the week of July 4th.
We are offering two weeks of Gap Camp this summer. These are special weeks just for Barnesville students. Each day will bring a new off-campus adventure! Space is limited to 15 campers. ~Lynda Forman, Director of Auxiliary Programs | |
|   |
| | Upcoming Events | | 3/8 | Spirit Day |
| 3/8 | Girls Lacrosse @ Barrie |
3 PM | | 3/8 | Boys Lacrosse @ Barrie | 4 PM |
|
3/11 |
Casual Picture Day | | | 3/11-3/15 | ERB Week |
|
| |
| Facilities and Transportation | | A very special thanks to Ted Hall and Hallco Enterprises. During our spring break, Ted graciously had his company prep, do sheet rock work and paint the second floor of the Museum Building. Thanks again Ted, it looks fantastic! This week, weather permitting, the area housing our Lower School jungle gym will get about 8" of "Wood Fiber" to help cushion our youngsters. This is now the approved material, and is exactly the same cushioning found under the Middle School jungle gym.
~Bernie Weintraub, Director of Facilities and Transportation | |
| Communication, Marketing & Special Events | |  | Have you checked out the online auction yet? The bidding has begun and it's starting to heat up! Don't wait for the last minute to get that special Teachers With Love experience for your Barnesville student. Here's an insider's secret: in the event of a tie bid, the first person to set the amount is the WINNER! That means if lucky11 has set the same maximum bid as OoohElvis, but lucky11 set it first, lucky11 WINS!
If you would like to change your user name from last year, and keep the competition guessing, it's easy to do. Simply login to the auction using your user name and password from last year. Next, select "My Account" which is located at the top right of your screen. Then select "Personal Information" (it may take you right there anyway). In this section, you will see a box for you to fill in first name, last name, phone number, email, and user name. It will already have all of your old information filled in, including your current user name. You can simply delete your old user name and type a new one into the box. Be creative and have fun!
Don't miss out on the Gala Mom's Night Out this Friday. Lynn Brown has very graciously offered to let us celebrate in her home. Join us from 7:00 to 10:00 and be among the first to hear about our Gala menu, sample our signature drinks, and preview some of the amazing donations available for bidding on May 7th. Don't forget to bring a bottle of wine (minimum value $25) to donate to our "instant wine cellar".
The next (and last!) Gala planning meeting will be Wednesday, April 13. Because it is also ERB week and many of our volunteers will also be serving breakfast to our Middle School students, we will start our meeting at 9:00. Join us in Room D for the final update on everything Gala related! Help us Promote Barnesville! The snow has melted and the ground is dry. What better way to celebrate Spring than by putting one of our "Proudly Supporting The Barnesville School" signs in your front yard or garden?! Let your friends and neighbors know that you love Barnesville! Stop by the Marketing Office and pick one up or email me and I'll be happy to deliver one to you at carpool! ~Nicole Campbell, Director of Communications and Marketing | |
| Advancement | | Thanks to everyone who supplied their grocery card numbers to our volunteers before spring break! Kathy Donohoe went from car door to car door during afterschool carpool and we now have almost 30 families who’ve registered their Giant card with Barnesville. Thank you Kathy! And thank you to all who participated! The school earned $500 this past cycle with Giant Foods A+ Bonus Bucks program. What a great gift for Barnesville! If you’d still like to register your card here are the links: a. Giant Foods A+Bonus Bucks our school ID is: 00695 b. Safeway(Escrip) our school ID is: 6577053 c. Harris Teeter our school ID is: 6276 d. Target our school ID is: 7890 Calling Barnesville Alumni! Is your son or daughter an alumnus of Barnesville? Would he or she be interested in volunteering “remotely” for the school? As the move is made to communicate with our alumni online, we want to make every effort ensure we have current email addresses for as many alumni as possible. From a home computer, your Barnesville graduate can help contact and search for alumni whose email addresses we may not have. If interested, please contact me. ~Georganna Glen, Director of Advancement | |
|
|