The Big Cat Courier
Your Source for Big Cat News, Right Meow
October 14, 2022
Good Afternoon Barnard Families,
What a short academic week! Between the two evening Book Fairs, coupled with the Bake Sale and Ice Cream Social, and the Moe's Fundraiser the week before, this week's three student days really whizzed by in a flash. Next week's full five days of school will most certainly have a more normal feel for the student, allowing them to benefit from their normal daily routine.
Please take a look at the upcoming dates below and have an amazing weekend with the kids!
Thank You PTO
If you would like to join us at the next PTO meeting to see what the group is all about, we'll be meeting on Thursday, October 20th at 6:30 PM over at Crandall. Attending a meeting is a great way to stay informed about school events and to network with other families. We hope to see you there!
Safety Drills at School
iPad Insurance is Important
Important Dates to Keep an Eye On -
-PTO Meeting on Thursday, 10/20 at 6:30. It will be held at Crandall.
-The Enfield Jack O'Lantern Festival is back! It will be held on Saturday, 10/22 at the Town Green
-Early Release on Wednesday, 10/26. Dismissal will begin at 1:50 after the students have eaten lunch.
-Our Trunk of Treat event will be held over at Asnuntuck to help with traffic flow. It'll be held on 10/28.
-LifeTouch Fall Picture retakes are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, 11/15
-The Barnard/Crandall PTO's Chipotle Fundraiser will be held on Tuesday, 11/15
-PTO Meeting on Thursday, 11/17. It will be held at Barnard.
Important Items from Our Last Edition -
The Elementary School Handbook
The Importance of School Attendance at the Primary Level
Student Outcomes:
Student success correlates to their school attendance. If a student misses 5% of the school year each year through their primary education years, which translates to less than two weeks out of school each year, that child would likely enter 3rd grade 15% behind his or her peers. If that number increased to 10% of each school year, they'd likely be 30% behind their peers upon entering 3rd grade. There is a significant achievement gap between students who attend school regularly and those who do not.
State Reporting:
If a student misses 10% of the school year, the State of CT classifies him or her as "Chronically Absent". In addition, the State classifies students with four unexcused absences in any one month as "Truant". Attendance data for all students is collected and analyzed by the State of CT each year.
Impacts on the Community:
Studies have shown that the negative effects of student absenteeism can be profound on learning, overall student achievement, and success into adulthood. Added to the adverse impact on students' learning, primary level schools are ranked by attendance. What does that mean? We'll, it means that the ranking of a primary school is determined by the number of student absences, the number of Chronically Absent students, and the number of Truant students. The more absences, the lower the school's rank. The correlation between your neighborhood school's rank and the property values and marketability of property in the areas the school serves are tied tightly together. The lower the school's ranking is, the lower local property values will be.
What It Means:
Childhood illness is part of growing up, even before the pandemic. However, making sure that your child is in school when they are healthy is important for their cumulative success and the overall economic health of our community. By scheduling family vacations and days off to coincide with days that school isn't in session and by arranging medical/dental appointments so that students can return to school upon completion of the appointment, families can better support students' success. I encourage all of our families to become familiar with the district's Attendance Policy. It can be found in the Elementary Handbook at the following link:
https://www.enfieldschools.org/parent_support/handbooks___program_of_studies/elementary_handbook
Other Important PTO Dates and Information:
QR Code for the PTO's Amazon Smile Drive
Did you know the Barnard/Crandall PTO earns free money for purchases you make on Amazon? If you select your school as your "charity" Amazon will donate a portion of your total directly to our bank account for qualified purchases.
You can scan the QR code below to take you directly to our AmazonSmile page & you’ll log in to select us. If this does not work, please see instructions below.
How to use AmazonSmile using the Amazon app on your mobile phone:
1. Open the Amazon Shopping app
2. Navigate to the main menu (≡)
3. Tap on Settings and then select “AmazonSmile”
4. Select your charity
Crandall: type “Parent Teacher Organization of the Prudence Crandall Elementary”
Barnard: type “Henry Barnard School Parent Teacherorganization Inc”
and then follow the on-screen instructions to turn ON AmazonSmile in the mobile app.
Once AmazonSmile has been activated in your app, future eligible app purchases will generate a donation for the charity you have selected. Questions or need help with signing up? Email us at:
KITE's Parent Leadership Academy
Arrival and Student Drop Off
If a child is being dropped off, we will be using the doors in the back parking lot in between the library and gymnasium. Please remain in your car as you loop around the back lot to drop your child off at the doors. If you are the family of a walker, please look for the orange traffic cones at the drop off doors to guide you safely into that space.
Please note that during arrival times, the front doors to the school are being reserved to receive only bus students. All other students, will use the doors in the back parking lot between the library and gymnasium. If you need to speak with somebody from the main office in person, please plan to do so before or after student drop off to alleviate congestion at the front doors.
A Reminder About Dropping Students Off at the Start of the School Day
Thank you in advance for following this very important safety procedure.
Student Dismissal
Students being picked up at the end of the day will be dismissed directly from the back door of your child's classroom. Please remember to bring a picture ID on the first day as well as your child's dismissal card on subsequent days (they will be sent home with your child on their first in-person day of classes).
Students taking the bus will continue to be dismissed through the front doors. Because buses are dismissed one at a time, the front doors are being reserved for bus students only. If a family has business with the main office during dismissal, we appreciate your patience as we complete the dismissal process. We will assist you as soon as possible.
Daycare vans and small buses are located in the back lot and side lot, respectively. Building staff are assigned to those locations to ensure students safely board the correct vehicle.
Up to Date Contact Information is VITAL
I have to say, from experience, that there's nothing sadder than having a sick student in the nursing office all day because we weren't able to reach their family. Never mind the fright caused when the student isn't on the bus home.
Please, please check that your information is up to date. You can check it out and update it in the PowerSchool Parent Portal and through School Messenger. Both can be found halfway down the District's homepage: http://www.enfieldschools.org/
Our Community Partners -
Consider Joining the PTO
Having said that, all the good work that the PTO puts into our schools translates directly to a richer educational experience for our students. They help fund fieldtrips and educational experiences that we would otherwise not have available to our students.
The PTO meets once each month. Meetings usually run for less than an hour and are dedicated to school updates and planning for upcoming events. Please consider being a part of the PTO. Many hands make light work!
For more information, please follow the link: https://enfieldpto.com/henrybarnard
The Family Resource Center (FRC)
For more information, please follow this link: https://www.enfield-ct.gov/375/Family-Resource-Center
Enfield Resources for Children (ERfC)
Follow this link for more information: https://erfcinc.org/
The Big Cat Courier
Enfield Public Schools
Learning Through Play
Henry Barnard School
Email: jgraham@enfieldschools.org
Website: https://henry.sharpschool.com/
Location: 27 Shaker Road, Enfield, CT, USA
Phone: (860) 253-6540
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnfieldPublicSschools/
Twitter: @EnfieldPS