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Pre-K Application Deadline Friday, May 24th!

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.

IMPORTANT! 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Parent Notice Sent Home Friday, May 17th.

An important notice regarding end of the year activity participation went home with our MYP students on Friday, May 17th. If you did not receive this notice, click here to download a copy of this letter from our website.

New Efforts to Engage Local Families Coming Soon!

Barnard Elementary is looking for new opportunities to engage local families who may not have previously considered Barnard as their school choice. Our new "Learn local" campaign promotes the diversity of our neighborhood and invites area families to join our school community. Watch for local lawn signs, posters and promotional materials that highlight some of our Barnard super stars! 

INCOMING KINDERGARTEN PARENTS! Don't forget to register your child at Barnard!

Pre-K students MUST register for kindergarten. Their registration does NOT automatically roll over from Pre-K.  All students that plan on attending Alice L. Barnard School go to our main office located on the first level to register for the 2013-2014 school year as soon as possible!

PTO Perfect Attendance Skating Party Gallery Now Open on our Website!

On Saturday, May 18th, our Perfect Attendance honorees from April were treated to an exciting Saturday of skating, snacks, family and fun! Our Barnard attendance super stars had a blast sharing several hours with their peers and family members at the Roller Rink. Click here to see photos of this awesome event!

NWEA Testing Continues

We have finished our first week of NWEA testing! These assessments will continue through June 7th. Thank you to the students and teachers who have been instrumental in creating a respectful, productive environment throughout the week! We also appreciate the parents who have made an effort to ensure that your students are continuing to get to school every day and on time! Please continue to encourage your students to do their best and discuss with them the importance of these assessments. 

MYP Shirt Sale Continues!

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.

Response to Intervention - What is "RtI"?

Some Barnard families are receiving notes home this week regarding Response to Intervention or "RtI". If you haven't received one of these notices, don't be concerned. Whether your child has been targeted for RtI or not, it's important that you are informed about this process. RtI emphasizes how well students respond to changes in instruction. RtI focuses on the use of research-based instruction and interventions in the general education classroom then uses monitoring and measurement of student progress to assess how the student is responding to the instruction and interventions.  The RtI process uses these measures of student progress to shape instruction and make educational decisions for your child. The parent is an essential part of this process and can help when the student is experiencing learning gaps or issues in the mainstream classroom. In the past, many of these students have struggled for years before receiving any help. Barnard is now focusing on providing interventions for students who are struggling and have indicated through universal assessments that they may be experiencing a learning gap that can be alleviated by targeted inverventions provided in a small group setting. Barnard now has an active RtI Committee that is creating a school wide process to help identify and support students who need academic and behavioral interventions. For more information for parents on the RtI process, click here.

Another acronym? What is "PBIS"?

Another exciting new program at Barnard is our school wide Positive Behavior program that we will be rolling out soon! The Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program gets is strength from focusing on the 80% of children's behavior that adheres to the common norms of Respect, Responsibility and Safety. The remaining students that struggle with these universal guidelines are offered more structure to help the students build ownership of their actions and behavior. The entire system requires teacher training and student education to fully implement this school wide behavior approach. The result is a shift away from a "punishment" focused system to a "reward" focused system. Those students who still struggle will be held to the Student Code of Conduct, but we hope to see more and more students working harder to gain attention from their positive actions.  Some elements of the PBIS program are currently in place, but over the next few weeks families will begin to see more and more components of this program at Barnard. Stay tuned! For more information on this program, click here to access the national PBIS website.

Opportunity for Summer Activities at the BAC!

Summer activities for your child abound at the Beverly Arts Center. Discounts apply if you register before May 24th. Camps are offered in theater, ceramics, music, dance and art. They also have primary camps as well as camps specifically for teens. Download the flier here.

THIS WEEK AT BARNARD

NWEA TESTING ALL WEEK

Monday, May 20:     BLUE DAY - ILT Meeting  - 3:15

                              LSC Meeting - 6:30 pm in the Library

Tuesday, May 21:    GREEN DAY

Wednesday, May 22: RED DAY - PTO Meeting - 8:30 am 
                                PAC Meeting - 6:15 pm
                                5th Grade IMAX Theatre Field Trip

Thursday, May 23: BLUE DAY - Pre-K Bookmaking Day!  

                            8:30am-10:00am; 12:30pm-2:00pm

Friday, May 24:       GREEN DAY - 8th Grade Picnic - 8:00-8:00    

                              Kindergarten Bookmaking - 2:00pm-3:00pm                                           

www.barnard.cps.k12.il.us