A. MacArthur Barr Middle School

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As you may be aware, New York State requires all students in grades 3 through 8 to take an exam in ELA and mathematics.  Each test will be administered over two days according to the following schedule:

ELA Test – April 11^th and 12^th

Math Test – May 1^st and 2^nd

The tests will be administered each day beginning at 7:55AM. As always, please help your child perform at their optimal level by ensuring that they get a good night’s sleep the night before each test and a healthy breakfast the morning of each test.

Additional information about changes made to the New York State testing program are outlined in the letter below from Dr. Mark McNeill.  Please read his letter and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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LETTER FROM DR. McNEILL:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The purpose of this letter is to promote the positive changes the State has made in this year’s 3-8 ELA and Math testing program and encourage the participation of all students.

Based on information the Board of Regents and the State Education Department collected from students, parents, and educators, this year’s tests incorporate the following: 

• The number of testing days in ELA and Math Tests has been reduced from three to two
• Many test questions were developed by NY teachers and incorporate critical thinking, problem solving and reasoning skills
• This will be the second year in which the tests have fewer questions
• The tests have no official evaluation consequences for educators
• All of the tests are untimed so that students are able to work at their own pace
• See:  Link to 2018 Grades 3-8 New York State Assessments: What Parents Need to Know

We encourage all students to participate in the State’s 3-8 testing program to gain valuable test-taking experiences leading up to the higher-stakes Regents and Advanced Placement tests. Your child’s performance on the State’s 3-8 assessments provides a valuable opportunity to see how well he/she performs compared to other students around the State. Additionally, parents can see the level to which their child is mastering learning experiences as they move from grade to grade.  Education data for districts and schools is also published online and can be found at https://data.nysed.gov/. We believe that in order to obtain a more complete picture of a child’s level of achievement, the District’s assessment program should incorporate multiple measures of student performance at each grade level, which ideally include results from the State’s 3-8 ELA and Math tests.

Our students in Grades 3-8 will be taking the NYS English Language Arts Tests on April 11 ^th and 12 ^th and the NYS Mathematics Tests on May 1 ^st and 2 ^nd .

The best test preparation that parents can provide is to help each child feel positive and confident about what they have learned thus far, motivated to try his/her very best, be well rested during both days of testing – and know that they are gaining experiences in test taking.

Please feel free to speak with your child’s teacher about any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance.

Sincerely,

Mark S. McNeill

Superintendent

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For security purposes, all visitors to Barr must enter through the front of the building, sign in with the security guard and provide photo identification. For your convenience we have designated “visitor” parking spaces in the front parking lot.

To ensure the safety of all of our students, we ask that you make note of the following guidelines for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up:

            -Please continue to drop students off on the east side of the building.

            -Please pull all the way up to the front of the drop-off zone to allow as many students to exit their cars simultaneously as possible. 

            -Whenever possible, have your child exit your car on the left side so that he/she does not step into oncoming traffic.

            -Please do not drop off your child on Church Street or in the library parking lot.  In both cases they will have to cross over a   busy street.

            -Please do not attempt to enter the middle school drop-off area from Church Street.  This entrance is marked “do not enter”.  Instead, use the high school entrance located further north on Church Street.

            -Upon drop-off, students should walk along the platform in the front of the building to enter through the lobby.

            -The main lobby entrance will be the single point of entry for all students and visitors throughout the school day.

            -If you need to pick up your child during the school day, you must do so in the Attendance office.

            -If you are picking up your child after school, please pick them up behind the middle school.  You must access the rear lot through the high school entrance.

Please drive slowly for everyone’s safety. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

Principal

 Refer to the links below for the 2017-2018 School Year:

 Clubs and Activities at Barr 2017-2018 

 2017-2018 District Page Calendar 

2017-2018 CALENDAR w/ Letter Days  

 PE (Gym) Uniform Order Link