Your child's 4th quarter 5 week progress report in grades 1-8 will be sent home on Wednesday. Please check your child's folder and backpack for this important document. This report is intended to help keep the lines of communication open between you and your child's teacher. It's important to know that this is not your child's final grade, but an indicator of their current progress.

Please ensure that once you have read the report, it is signed and returned to your teacher to indicate you have received and read the report. If something indicates that your child needs more support or their progress is concerning, please contact the teacher immediately to arrange for a conference.

Thank you!

Ms. Carroll is hosting an open house to showcase our exceptional Kindergarten program to potential incoming students and their families. If your child is currently in Pre-K, is 5 by September 1, 2013, and you live in the Barnard attendance area, please come by to see what an amazing program we have here at Barnard. Hours for the open house will be from 10:20 am until 11:30 am. Please help spread the word to your neighbors and friends in the Barnard attendance area! Click here for more information and to download a copy of the flier.

Barnard 8th grade students will be taking the EXPLORE test on May 14th and 15th. The EXPLORE program prepares eighth- and ninth-graders for their high school coursework and their post–high school choices. EXPLORE tests have content similar to the PLAN and the ACT. More parent information on this test can be accessed on the ACT/EXPLORE website.

We want to remind you to consider this test as an important indicator for student college readiness. High schools use EXPLORE results for placement and college and career planning. Data from this test is also used to measure your school's effectiveness in preparing students for high school and beyond. We ask that you help your student by preparing them with plenty of rest, focusing on school work, and ensuring that your child attends school every day and arrives on time.

Barnard Elementary has started the End of Year assessment window for 2-8 students with the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test. The NWEA MAP assessments are used to measure your student’s progress or growth in school. They are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. The NWEA tests are also critical because they are reflective of our school's overall progress and are a key indicator in the Chicago Public School system of how Barnard students are fairing in comparison to other schools in the district. Therefore, we are encouraging families to discuss these important tests with your students and ensure that children are getting appropriate rest, keeping up with their school work, and maintaining perfect and on-time attendance. We will publish the testing schedule this week on our website for your reference, but we also encourage your to look over the NWEA Parent Toolkit.

Prior to testing, students in 6-8 grades have participated in one-on-one data discussions with Mrs. Burns, Ms. Denne or Mr. MacMahon to set goals and reflect on areas of focus and improvement. These discussions may also be available for 3-5 students if time allows.

See our website for a gallery of images from Friday's International Day. A big "thank you" to Ms. Minter and her amazing MYP IB students for their exceptional work displaying their research and presentation skills for a thoughtful and informative afternoon!

May 24th is the deadline for applications for CPS's Ready to Learn Pre-K program. Barnard is a chosen site for yet another year of exceptional early childhood education. You do not need to live within the Barnard attendance area to enroll in our Pre-K program. Spread the word to your neighbors and friends! Click here for more information on how to apply.

6th to 8th Grade Students: T-shirts are $25.00 to benefit the MYP program at Barnard. Ms. Landon will come around each morning to collect monies from students. The whole family can purchase t-shirts. T-shirts can be worn on special MYP days with khaki cargo pants or jeans.

We are still accepting applications for the parent vacancy on our Local School Counsel. Get involved in your child's education and help drive school initiatives and improvements! This is your chance to really make a difference in the lives of your child and the children in the community. For more information on school LSC's and their impact, click here.

The PTO selected Saturday, May 18th for the Roller Skating Event- this is for students who have had perfect attendance and minimal discipline problems for the month of April! Invitations have been issued. A parent must accompany student participants. Thank you to the PTO for sponsoring this event! The school provides transportation and entry fee.

THIS WEEK:    NWEA TESTING SESSIONS EVERY DAY
Monday, May 13:     GREEN DAY - ILT Meeting  - 3:15 

Tuesday, May 14:    RED DAY 
                               8th Grade EXPLORE Test    

Wednesday, May 15: BLUE DAY - Progress Reports Sent Home
                                PTO Taffy Apple Money due
                                8th Grade EXPLORE Test  

Thursday, May 16:  GREEN DAY - Nacho Day!    

Friday, May 17:       RED DAY                                                   Kindergarten Open House - 10:30am to 11:30am  

Saturday, May 18: PTO Perfect Attendance Skating Event