BEF Staff Teacher Appreciation Recognition

   Primrose Hill Elementary School 

Weekly Newsletter

December 2, 2022

Primrose Pandas are Respectful, Responsible and Safe

Mission: Barrington Public School’s mission is to empower all students to excel in character, citizenship, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking, so that they may positively impact the future.

Vision: Together we inspire, learn, love and grow.

Dear Primrose Families,

It feels like our students are in full swing of their schedules and happy to be back after the long holiday weekend.  I am still getting used to the idea that December has begun, but it also means we will have an extra focus on Kindness this month. Included below is an excerpt from an article on the importance of kindness, providing us some vital reminders on being kind to others and ourselves.

On Monday we were able to see our first grade students who participated in Arts Alive perform their show Under the Sea. It was a joy to see them showcase all they learned this fall.  We are so grateful for our partnership with Arts Alive and the PTO’s help with organizing this engaging, learning opportunity. 

This month will bring two additional performances to Primrose.  Our third grade chorus will host 2 in-school performances for our students and staff on Friday, December 16th. Third grade parents are invited to come for a special performance later that day at 1:30. The following week the Barrington High School Chorus will come and perform for our school. These types of performances have been sorely missed under the restrictions of Covid and we are so pleased to have them back in our school. The PTO has some additional plans for us as well. Please see details below in their section. 

Next week our students will participate in a wide range of activities in celebration of National Computer Science Week. It has been the tradition here at Primrose to participate in coding and this year is no different. Mrs Hines will partner with our classroom teachers to engage in some exciting lessons. See below for additional details and an invitation to participate in a family event hosted by Barrington Middle School.

 

Later this month our classroom module is due for delivery and installation. Not only will this give our additional third grade section their long awaited classroom, but it will open up full use of our cafeteria. The addition of the modular will require adjustments in our arrival and dismissal procedures. As I shared at the PTO meeting last night, the adjustments will be similar to the pre-Covid drop off and pick up routines. See the outline of the changes below for more details. 

If you have not done so already, please be sure to complete the Panorama survey linked below and to sign up for a conference with your child’s teacher for our parent/teacher conference day on Friday, December 9th. This is a no school day for all of our students. Student progress reports will be available on Aspen for parents on December 16th. A letter with full details on the updated progress report was emailed this morning. I hope this will help give you a better understanding of our work here with your children. There is a lot to celebrate seeing our students in action each day. This is due to the hard work of our students and the entire staff and I am very proud.

Best,

Coleen Smith 

Reminder: If you have not yet completed the survey, please take a moment to share your thoughts and feedback with us. Below is the message that was sent from the Superintendent’s Office last week. If you have already completed the survey, thank you, your input is very important to us.

Dear Families,

The District is seeking your feedback to celebrate our successes and identify areas for growth so we can work to create the best learning and working environment for our students and staff.

 By taking a few minutes to complete the Fall ‘22 Panorama Family Survey you will be providing us with essential feedback about the climate and culture of each of the BPS school(s) that your child(ren) attend(s). Once the survey is complete, the results will be analyzed by district administration, building leaders, and school improvement teams to inform school goals and actions.

You can access the survey online from this survey link. The survey will be open until December 9, 2022.

Beginning December 19th, the following changes will be implemented in preparation for the arrival of the modular classroom unit. 

 

  • Mini buses will continue to use the Upper Parking lot for both arrival and dismissal

  • Childcare vans and buses will use the upper parking lot for arrival and dismissal 

  • (full size) Buses will drop off and pick up in the lower parking lot in the morning and afternoon

  • Parent drop off and pick ups at the front door will not change. At pick up time, parents will show ID at front doors and children will come to meet families there

  • Parent car drop off lines will no longer be available due to the changes in bus needs. Parents will park in the upper lot or along Middle Highway and pick up students at the front entrance. 

I will include this list of changes in my upcoming newsletter for your convenience so that you have easy access to the list. 

Thank you first grade performers for all your work this fall with Arts Alive staff and their volunteers. You did a fantastic job! 

Lost and Found: As you know the lost and found continues to grow. If you recognize any of the items in the photos below, please call or email and we can help your child retrieve them. We shared that any of the long standing , unclaimed items will be donated to the needy this weekend.  

Excerpt from The Importance of Kindness by Andy Thornton

What is kindness?

My old 2001 Oxford Dictionary of English defines kindness as ‘the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate’. Interestingly, the ‘and’  indicates that all three of those conditions are required for kindness to be present. So, one can be friendly and yet not kind, or both generous and considerate but not kind. Perhaps it’s when we become aware of all three conditions being present that we feel for ourselves the pleasure of real kindness.

In my work as a therapist I often come across two distinct ways in which kindness manifests itself. Firstly, and perhaps most frequently, in showing kindness to others. Secondly, and much less consistently, in showing kindness to ourselves.

How do we show kindness to others?

Showing kindness to others does not have to mean doing something big or life changing. Often it’s the smallest acts of kindness that can have the most impact. A moment of support in a time of need, a quiet word of encouragement, a helping hand to carry a heavy load, or just a smile that says ‘I see you’ can make a world of difference. Whatever the act itself, it’ll be underpinned by four principles:

Awareness – we must be aware of the opportunity to be kind. We can’t recognize the need if we are completely absorbed in our thoughts, our own world, or our on-line alter egos.

Non-judgment – we must be prepared to suspend judgment if we want to be truly kind. It’s not for us to judge the good or bad, right or wrong of another person’s situation. It’s only for us to recognize there is an opportunity for us to be kind.

Action – we must act in a friendly, generous and considerate manner to the person in front of us. Awareness without action can’t be kind.

Unconditional – being kind means offering kindness without conditions or expectation of reward. The real reward for a kindness is in the inner positivity, rather than any external reward or recognition.

Being kind to yourself

Being kind to yourself is not just a nice idea, it’s an essential form of self care and a vital foundation for sustained kindness to others. Remember those aircraft safety briefings that stress the importance of putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others? Well, kindness to yourself is a bit like that.

Often when I’m working with people, it quickly becomes apparent that they’re so strongly committed to taking care of everyone and everything around them that they’ve forgotten to take care of themselves. They’re going through life trying so hard to look after others, all the while not realizing they don’t have their own oxygen mask on. Eventually they reach breaking point and end up sitting in front of me.

Here are just a few simple ways in which you can show yourself a bit of kindness today and every day.

Self-awareness Being kind to yourself starts by building your self-awareness, listening to your internal voice with a sense of curiosity. What are you telling yourself, how often are you being negative or hard on yourself? How infrequently are you praising yourself, recognising all the things you are so good at? Consciously recognise all the positive things about yourself.

Generosity Be generous with yourself and do things just for you. Give yourself time, disconnect from technology for a few hours and get out into nature. So many people unhesitatingly give themselves to other people and yet find it very difficult to be as generous to themselves.

Next week is National Computer Science Week.  Schools everywhere will be recognizing the importance of understanding and respecting technology.  Well, at Primrose we are already on the map to have our students discover the skills and joy of coding.  Each grade will explore a different style of block programming including Kodable, Code Monkey, Code.org and ScratchJr.  Many of our students last year were heavily involved in "Coding as Another Language" through the DevTech Research Group at Tufts University, so they certainly will be eager to share their talents… all of which are tied to the 6 C's. We will be sending home links for you to explore at home once we have given the students time to launch at school. Our Primrose students love to code!       

Special News:  Barrington Middle School has invited Primrose families to join their annual "Hour of Code" night, called CodeFAM (Coding with Families).  On Tuesday, December 6th, in the Barrington Middle School Student Union from 6:00-7:00 pm, BMS educators, Mark Davis and Melanie Roy will be showcasing student-designed games and teach guests how to code on their own. Activities are tentatively available online at  https://tinyurl.com/codefam22 and all ages are encouraged to join. This is a bring your own device event but they will have some available laptops.  Hope to see you there!

 

Happy Coding, 

Ms.Jennifer Hines

Primrose Math Specialist

Lost and Found: As you know the lost and found continues to grow. If you recognize any of the items in the photos below, please call or email and we can help your child retrieve them. We shared that any of the long standing , unclaimed items will be donated to the needy this weekend.

Our S.T.A.R (Staff Teacher Appreciation Recognition) certificate is the perfect holiday gift!

Let's recognize our teachers, administrators and staff for being the STARS that they are! Your donations not only honor our teachers but help fund BEF’s donations to Barrington Schools!

Make a tax-deductible donation to Barrington Education Foundation, and we will send each of your honorees a beautiful S.T.A.R. certificate.* (Min. of $10 per certificate.) See example of the certificate HERE . Orders are due by Friday, December 16th. 

BEF champions extraordinary educational opportunities in the Barrington public schools.

PRIMROSE PTO 

Primrose Holiday Store

The annual holiday store is happening from December 13 - 15. All kids will attend with their classes to shop for small gifts and books, items will cost 

                 between $1-10 and more details will be available in the newsletter next week. 

                 We're looking for parent volunteers, please sign up if you're available to help 

                 out. Thanks!

 

Green Squad Updates: Today we will assist with wrapping gifts for the Gingerbread Express!   The wrapping paper we will use is a combination - most is made from recycled material, the remainder is fully recyclable (no plastic content or lamination).  The tape is biodegradable (cellulose).  We will also be completing

                   our homemade recycled paper projects. If your student was absent last week, no 

                   worries -- there are extras to work with!

PTO Website: Please take a quick moment to log into the PTO website and opt into the family directory at https://www.primrosehillpto.org/directory. Once this is done, you’ll be included in the Room Parents' list to be informed when class parties, events, and fundraisers are being planned.

Support the Primrose Hill PTO through Box Tops for Education and Amazon Smile!

 

 

Box Tops for Education:  No more clipping! All you need to do is download the app and scan your receipts. The new and improved Box Tops mobile app finds participating products on your receipts and instantly adds money to the school's earnings online. Box Tops works with paper receipts and digital receipts. 

 

 Here's how to sign up for Box Tops for Education:

1. Download the app for iOS or Android

2. Sign up for an account

3. Choose: Primrose Hill School Elementary School

4. Buy Box Tops products at the store

5. Scan your receipt to submit Box Tops within 14 days of purchase

  => Open the app

  => Tap scan receipt

 

Amazon Smile: Amazon will donate 0.5% to Primrose Hill Elementary School for your eligible  Amazon Smile purchases.   AmazonSmile works just like the Amazon you already know; same products, same prices, same service.  AmazonSmile can even be used with your Prime membership. 

 

Here's how to sign up for AmazonSmile:

 

1. Visit smile.amazon.com

2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials

3. Choose: Primrose Hill School Parent Teacher Organization

4. Add a bookmark for smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile

4. Start shopping!

 

Turn on AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app

1. Make sure you're signed up for AmazonSmile (use your web browser to visit smile.amazon.com)

2. Download or update to the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app for iOS or Android

3. Open the app and find “Settings” in the main menu (☰)

4. Tap on “AmazonSmile” and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile in the app.

If you are interested in helping out with any events at school, please reach out! New software helps parents connect with other parents (great for planning play dates and birthday parties), pre-register for events (and avoid standing in line!), learn about volunteer opportunities (YOU make Primrose the amazing school it is by your participation and support), and so much more!

Have a wonderful weekend!