Barrington Public Schools

🎃SOWAMS SCHOOL OCTOBERFEST: Sowams Octoberfest is coming! This weekend, Sowams School will be hosting its annual Octoberfest, a fall community event filled with family fun! 🟠Saturday, October 14 ⚫️10 AM - 3 PM There will be food trucks, carnival games, spooky hayrides, basket raffles, and a silent auction. Admission is free!

🧑‍🏫CELEBRATING WORLD TEACHERS' DAY 2023: October 5 is #WorldTeachersDay, which recognizes the significant ways teachers shape, mentor, and educate youth all over the world. The Rhode Island Department of Education recently celebrated and honored outstanding educators across the state at WaterFire Providence - including our own District Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Oswald! Thank you to all of our Barrington Public Schools teachers, past and present, for empowering, educating, and encouraging generations of youth!

🥎NATIONAL COACHES DAY: Today, October 6, is #NationalCoachesDay which honors coaches across the country who dedicate their time and energy to leading teams in every sport! Barrington Public Schools is very fortunate to have many coaches who continually motivate our students to strive for improvement and be the best they can be. Team work makes our dream work! All photos were taken by Richard Dionne, Jr. for East Bay Media.

🏆BPS ALUM WINS NEWS EMMY: Congratulations to ABC News senior White House correspondent and Barrington High School alum, Selina Wang, for winning Outstanding Emerging Journalist at the 44th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards! Prior to moving to ABC News, Selina was based in CNN's Beijing bureau as the network's sole correspondent in China. BPS alumni are doing phenomenal things all over the world!

💛BMS BEST BUDDIES PRESENTED WITH CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARD: There is no doubt, Barrington Middle School Best Buddies is a phenomenal student organization that embodies the missions of both BMS and Best Buddies International! In July, BMS Best Buddies was named the 2023 National Middle School Chapter of the Year at the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference. At their fall kick off this week, Best Buddies student leaders were presented with the award by a representative from Best Buddies Massachusetts & Rhode Island. Way to go, BMS Best Buddies!

🎓BHS CO-HOSTS ANNUAL COLLEGE FAIR: Last night, September 26, the Barrington High School cafeterias were filled with conversation and post-graduation exploration! During the annual College Fair co-hosted by BHS and Mt. Hope High School, local high school students (and their families!) met with college admissions counselors from more than 3 dozen local, regional, and national institutions to kickstart their college search. The Barrington High School Counseling Office is also hosting in-school college visits through the end of October where BHS students can meet with admissions counselors from various colleges and universities during the school day. Find the full list of visiting representatives and college visit dates/times here: https://www.barringtonhigh.org/o/high-school/events

🍄HMS STUDENT FINDS RARE MUSHROOM: Silas is a student at Hampden Meadows Elementary School, and a youth ambassador for the Rhode Island Mycological Society with an avid interest in mushrooms. While exploring the East Bay Bike Path with his dad this summer, Silas noticed a rare mushroom called Boletus billieae, or "Billie's Bolete," that had not previously been found in Rhode Island. Way to go, Silas! Read more about this cool find here: https://ecori.org/barrington-boy-finds-rare-mushroom-species-never-before-seen-in-r-i/

👋BMS START WITH HELLO WEEK: This week, September 18-22, Barrington Middle School participated in #StartWithHello Week, an initiative by the Sandy Hook Promise that promotes kindness and inclusion across K-12 schools. Thank you to our entire BMS community for committing to start with hello and make new connections - and a special thank you to Mrs. Poirier, Mrs. Nary, and Mrs. Leary for organizing this very important call-to-action! Learn more about Start With Hello here: https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/our-programs/start-with-hello/

🍁BHS ENVIRONMENTALISTS BRING NEW COMPOST DROP-OFF TO TOWN: Emma Pautz and Sabine Cladis, two Barrington High School students passionate about environmentalism, have been working to create a new compost drop-off site in Barrington. They recently received approval from the Town Manager to set up the structure in the parking lot of the Barrington Senior Center. Once installed, community members will be able to drop off compost and food waste appropriate for composting at this site. Collected compost will be delivered to the Barrington Farm School for use in their gardens. This impressive project was a true community collaboration. Emma and Sabine worked with many supporters and donors, including Mark and Mary Hanchar who funded the project and helped with design and construction. Read more about this environmentally-conscious endeavor: https://www.eastbayri.com/barrington/stories/barrington-students-spearhead-new-compost-drop-off,116034

🍏SOWAMS SCHOOL GOES APPLE PICKING FOR A CAUSE: Sowams School students and their families enjoyed fall fun at Rocky Brook Orchard on Sunday, September 17, and contributed to a community cause thanks to an apple picking event planned by the Sowams Family Fun committee! The Sowams PTO funded three-half bushels of apples for donation to TAPIN and many families purchased additional pounds of apples to donate. Sowams community members donated a total of 70-80 pounds of apples to help address food insecurity in the East Bay.

🚴‍♀️RHODE TO BICYCLE SAFETY AT HMS: Fifth graders at Hampden Meadows Elementary School are learning how to be safe cyclists thanks to the Rhode to Bicycle Safety program! Rhode to Bicycle Safety (R2BS), is a 180-minute course that teaches fifth grade students across Rhode Island how to safely ride their bikes for transportation, physical activity, and fun. At Hampden Meadows, R2BS is part of the Grade 5 health and physical education curriculum. Over the course of two weeks, students learn the rules of vehicular cycling, proper helmet safety, and bike safety checks, and practice navigating intersections and safely scanning their surroundings. Each student receives a helmet to take home at the end of the R2BS course to ensure safe bike practices! R2BS is made possible by a partnership between Rhode Island Department of Transportation and Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council. Learn more about Rhode to Bicycle Safety: https://wrwc.org/wp/what-we-do/red-shed-bike-programs/

🚀NAYATT STUDENTS GO TO SPACE: In the 2022-2023 school year, the Rhode Island Science Teachers Association (RISTA) organized a state-wide NASA "Downlink" event for students to ask questions to astronauts on the International Space Station. Eight of the 16 student questions chosen by RISTA and NASA were asked by Nayatt School students in Ms. Perreira's 2022-2023 first grade class! On September 14, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (@astrojaws) and Frank Rubio (@astro_frankrubio) called in from the International Space Station to answer student questions - and there were a few familiar faces from our Nayatt community on the stream! Watch the downlink here: https://youtu.be/YbSfCfWiO9Y?feature=shared

⚫️POW MIA FLAGS RAISED ACROSS THE DISTRICT: Today, September 15, is National POW MIA Recognition Day which honors United States service members who were prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. This morning, the POW * MIA flag was raised at all Barrington Public Schools buildings in recognition. Here is the flagpole at Barrington Middle School today!

👟CROSS COUNTRY TEAM WINS VINEYARD INTERNATIONAL: Barrington High School cross country teams have started the Fall 2023 season with a bang! The boys varsity and JV cross country teams won big at the Martha's Vineyard Cross Country International race on Saturday, September 9, in Edgartown, MA. Barrington teams won both the varsity and JV races and BHS runners placed in all three of the Invitational's races, with BHS senior and XC co-captain, Brandon Piedade, finishing first overall. Barrington girls cross country had three runners place in the top 32 of more than 700 race runners. Boys and girls cross country teams also had a successful afternoon on Tuesday, September 12, during the first dual meet of the season on Barrington's home course. Way to go, BHS athletes! 📸These photos were taken by Sterling Vernon of Rhode and Track/Sterling Vernon Photography.

🎨NATIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION WEEK: This week, September 10-16, 2023, is National Arts in Education Week, a celebration recognizing the transformative power of music, theater, dance, media arts, and visual arts instruction in education. Arts education is an important contributor to overall student success, social-emotional development, and school engagement. Thank you to our BPS arts educators who encourage our students to explore the world and their place within it and provide a consistent, positive outlet for students to express themselves.

🚒HIGH-FIVES FOR HEROES: Driving through town this morning, you may have noticed a procession of first responder vehicles on the road. That is because students and staff at Nayatt School, Primrose Hill Elementary School, Sowams School, and Hampden Meadows Elementary School lined their school's hallways to participate in "High-Fives for Heroes," a showing of thanks and support for Barrington's first responders in observance of the twenty-second anniversary of September 11, 2001. Students from each elementary school prepared for "High-Fives for Heroes" by learning about the roles and responsibilities of first responders. In addition to high-fives, they made signs, drawings, and cards for members of the Barrington Police Department and Barrington Fire Department who walked through our schools. Barrington Middle School and Barrington High School also showed support of first responders by writing messages of thanks. Thank you to all of our first responders for your participation in this event and for your service!

🌳KINDERGARTENERS' DEEPER LEARNING ON DISPLAY: It's #FlashbackFriday and we're going back to June 2023 when the work of our Nayatt School, Primrose Hill Elementary School, and Sowams School kindergarteners was showcased at the Barrington Tree Commission Open House. The Open House provided a platform for kindergarten students to display and develop each of the three pillars of student achievement - mastery of knowledge, character, and high-quality work - upon which our English Language Arts curriculum (ELEducation), is based. Kindergarten students showcased their mastery of content knowledge in a video capturing their reasons why trees are important. They had the character-building opportunity to interact with members of the Commission, vote on the types of trees they would like to see added to Barrington's landscape, and share their thoughts about how the importance of trees could be reflected in revisions to the town ordinance. The high-quality and creative watercolor paintings each kindergartener completed encouraged visitors to appreciate the beauty of trees through the eyes of a child and enabled kindergarteners to put their learning into action. This experience exemplifies the hallmarks of deeper learning where, through independent and collaborative learning, students can understand and address the complex elements of a topic and draw connections within and across contexts.

📚BARRINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS SELECTED FOR TEACH TO LEAD SUMMIT: Barrington Public Schools is one of 20 school districts across the country selected to attend the U.S. Department of Education's Teach to Lead Summit in Denver, Colorado, on October 27. At the Summit, a district team of Barrington educators will develop and refine a project aligned to the theme, "Raising the Bar: Elevating Educator Diversity to Enhance Educational Experiences." Teach to Lead is a partnership of the Department of Education, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), and Teach Plus. Designed and led by teachers, it is a reflection of the Department of Education's commitment to creating systemic and sustained change, investing in educators, and providing students with the learning experiences and academically rigorous education they deserve.

🏃‍♂️CROSS COUNTRY CAPTAINS SUPPORT COMMUNITY RACE: Sam Bishop and Brandon Piedade, co-captains of Barrington High School's cross country team, spent many hours this summer helping to organize the Barrington Woods Trail Race 5K, held on Saturday, August 26. Over the past few months, Sam and Brandon worked closely with BHS Athletics Director, Mr. George Finn, the Barrington Booster Club, RaceWire, and multiple race sponsors to bring the first ever (of, hopefully, many!) Barrington Woods Trail Race to fruition. Through their promotion and organization, nearly 100 Barrington community members registered for and participated in this high-quality racing event on the BHS cross country team's home course. Way to go, Sam and Brandon!

🏈BHS QUARTERBACK NAMED HOMETOWN SPORTS HERO: Barrington High School senior and Eagles Quarterback, Alex McClelland, has been named this week's Cardi's Furniture & Mattresses Hometown Sports Hero. The Hometown Sports Hero designation recognizes a student athlete's hard work and commitment to their sport, their team, and their community. Alex was also recognized for his football acumen last spring at the Cam Newton 7v7 Tournament, where he won MVP. This which earned him the opportunity to meet the tournament's sponsor, former NFL MVP, Cam Newton. Watch the WPRI spotlight from August 28 here: https://www.wpri.com/sports/hometown-hero-alex-mcclelland-barrington/?fbclid=IwAR3yC6LDuqM44GldqMON9zeCAVxCDuxufNV79jgHgeC-LdFw1bOhkJMpZUE The photo of Alex at Barrington High School was taken by Richard Dionne, Jr. for East Bay Media.