A. MacArthur Barr Middle School

Barr Student Daily News

8th Grade At Home Art Work

Barr Synchronous Learning Schedule.pdf 

New Message from your principal....

May 29, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope this letter finds you and your family doing well during this unique time.  The purpose of this communication is to bring you up to date on a schedule change for next year and to review some upcoming events for the month of June.

Schedule for 2020 - 2021

The 2020-2021 school year schedule will revert to the nine period schedule that we had prior to the current 55 minute block design.  All classes will be 42 minutes long and will meet every day with the exception of Earth Science labs and physical education, which will meet every other day.  This model provides alignment with the high school schedule for next year and incorporates a daily advisory period to support the social and emotional growth of our students.  It also offers additional opportunities for remediation in math and reading. Lastly, this model aligns more closely with the schedule we implemented for this year’s at-home learning should we need to continue using this model next year.

Student Medication Distribution

If your student stores medication in our school nurse’s office, the distribution of student’s medication at Barr Middle School will be on the following days & time:

• Thursday, June 4th:        10:00am-2:00pm
• Friday, June 5th:              10:00am-12:00pm

Pick up will be curbside at the main entrance of the school. Please pull up to the main entrance and roll your window down and give your child’s name and the medication will be placed on the passenger seat.  Please feel free to contact your child’s nurse, Cathy White, RN: cwhite@nanuetsd.org prior to coming with questions or a time/day you will be coming.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Important Dates

June 1^st           Information due from all 8^th grade students for the virtual Moving Up Ceremony

June 8-9          Locker Clean-out for grades 5-7

June 10           Locker Clean-out for grade 8

June 12           Last day of school

June 23           Virtual Moving Up Ceremony for grade 8 will be aired at 4:00pm

As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding any of these items, please feel free to contact me at rguccion@nanuetsd.org.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

 

MOVING UP MESSAGE from May 28, 2020

Dear Barr Middle School 8th Grade Class of  2020 and Families,

During these challenging times, the faculty and the PTA are joining together to make your Moving Up experience as special as possible while adhering to the current restrictions put in place by the governor to keep everyone safe.   

• We are working with Herff-Jones to commemorate your middle school Moving Up Ceremony virtually.  At this time, you will be receiving an email from graduation@marchingorder.com Please fill in all of the information completely to the best of your ability no later than June 1st for inclusion in the ceremony. Please note, there is a section that requests that you record your name on an audio file.  This will be used by the company to insure that each child’s name is pronounced correctly.  Students who don’t meet the deadline will only have their picture displayed during the video.  If you have already established a username and password, please sign-in to enter the information. 
• The virtual ceremony will include musical selections performed by student musicians, a video slideshow put together by our PTA and every student’s yearbook picture along with a list of school sponsored activities, sports and awards.  In addition, next to your picture it will show your answer to the prompt: Describe where you see yourself in ten years and what you will be doing.  Please be descriptive and specific in your response.
• On June 10th, when you come to the middle school to pick up your belongings according to the schedule sent on Wednesday, May 27th, you will receive a Swag Bag with your yearbook, a t-shirt and a few other fun items, all compliments of the PTA. Please note that yearbooks are scheduled to be shipped on June 6th, so we are hopeful that they will arrive on time to be distributed on the 10th. 

I know that all of you, given the choice, would like to be with your friends during the Moving Up Ceremony.  I ask that you make every effort to fill out the requested information so that the virtual ceremony will serve as a treasured keepsake for you in the years to come.

Special thanks to our faculty and PTA for their contributions to your special day.  The virtual ceremony will be aired on Tuesday, June 23rd at 4:00 pm.  More details to view the ceremony will follow.  Please contact me should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

 

5-8 Alert for Families regarding Locker clean-out

Dear Barr Families,

As we prepare to end the school year, we have planned for the safe and efficient opportunity for parent/child to pick up PE uniforms, instruments, drop off texts/novels, and clean out lockers.  Chromebooks are NOT to be returned at this time.

Please read/follow these guidelines:

1. One parent will be required to accompany their fifth, sixth, and seventh grade child(ren) within the designated time frame (see schedule below). Only one parent along with their Barr student(s) will be allowed access at this time. Grade 8 entrance to building is for students only. 
2. All entrants MUST wear face masks and gloves, and maintain social distancing (minimum 6 feet apart) at all times. If a student, or anyone in your household is ill, he/she may not enter the building at this time. 
3. All entrants should bring bags to carry any items going home.
4. All items to be returned (textbooks, novels, etc.) should be dropped off during this visit to the school.
5. To be efficient, please come prepared with locker locations and lock combinations. If assistance is needed we will have staff on hand. 
6. All access to the building will be from the main front doors only.
7. Each parent/child will be required to sign in and follow directions given for access to locker rooms, grade level hallways, etc. Please plan for no more than 5 minutes at each location. 
8. There will be boxes labeled for students to return novels, textbooks, etc.
9. Grades 5-7 will take home their locks in preparation for using them during the upcoming school year.
10. Grade 8 students will have the contents of their hall lockers bagged and labeled for pick-up.

Time	June 8 (Grades 5, 6 & 7)	June 9 (Grades 5, 6 & 7)	June 10 (Grade 8)
8:00-8:30	Last Name Aa-Ap	Last Name Mat-Mc	Last Name A-Boe
8:30-9:00	Last Name Ar-Bl	Last Name Me-Mi	Last Name Bom-Ce
9:00-9:30	Last Name Bo-Car	Last Name Mo-Mu	Last Name Ch-Di
9:30-10:00	Last Name Cas-Cl	Last Name N-Om	Last Name Don-Fin
10:00-10:30	Last Name Co-Da	Last Name On-Pas	Last Name Fo-Go
10:30-11:00	Last Name De-Dr	Last Name Pat-Pe	Last Name Gr-Ki
11:00-11:30	Last Name Du-Fi	Last Name Ph-Qa	Last Name Ko-Marg
11:30-12:00	Last Name Fl-Ge	Last Name Qu-Rod	Last Name Mart-Mil
12:00-12:30	Last Name Gi-Gy	Last Name Rog-Sa	Last Name Mir-Pan
12:30-1:00	Last Name H-I	Last Name Sc-Sh	Last Name Par-Raj
1:00-1:30	Last Name J-Ke	Last Name Si-Sw	Last Name Ram-Sa
1:30-2:00	Last Name Ki-La	Last Name Sy-T	Last Name Sc-Tau
2:00-2:30	Last Name Le-Ll	Last Name U-Wa	Last Name Taw-Z
2:30-3:00	Last Name Lo-Mas	Last Name Wi-Z	BOCES-Grade 8

Our goal is to stay organized in a safe and efficient way.  Please adhere to the above times and guidelines.  We will have a limited number of people in the building at a time.  All visitors must work quickly so that we can stay on schedule and avoid people needing to wait to enter.

Thank you,

Roger Guccione and Anne Chen

 

_________________________________________

Previous messages from principal below....

Dear Parents/Guardians:

In order for us to organize an opportunity for students to pick up their belongings from school in a safe and expeditious fashion, we need to gather some specific details.  Please fill out the survey through the link below completely by Monday, May 18 so that we have the information needed to move forward with this endeavor.  If you have more than one child in the building, please complete a survey for each child. 

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this important matter.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

Student Locker Clean-out: Parent Survey

May 12, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians:

In an effort to get some feedback from our students during this challenging time, we have created a student survey.  Please encourage your child to take the survey this week to provide us with valuable insight as we plan for the weeks ahead.  The link to the survey is below and will also be posted in Google Classroom by your child’s social studies teacher.   

https://forms.gle/AEVjTQNtccw6dA9Q9

On another note, our teachers and counselors have been making a concerted effort to reach out to our families and students using a variety of methods.  Please assist us by making sure that your email information is up to date.  In addition, we are finding that with some providers, such as Yahoo, emails from the school may be going into Spam folders.  Please check these folders regularly to ensure that you are getting all communications from the school district.

Thank you for your cooperation with both of these important topics.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your child’s guidance counselor, teachers or me at rguccion@nanuetsd.org.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione  

May 7, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians:

I hope you and your families are doing well.  During the Board meeting on Tuesday night, the grading policy for the remainder of the school year was approved.  For your convenience we have put together a short video that explains the system and provides examples for clarification. In addition, this information will also be available on our building website and our At Home Learning Plan. Please use this link to access the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKD01F824aA

If you have additional questions regarding grading, please contact your child’s guidance counselor, teachers or me at rguccion@nanuetsd.org.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

 

April 26, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians:

I hope this letter finds you and your family continuing to do well and enjoying the new synchronous learning experiences teachers are providing for your child to engage them while they are learning from home.  Next week’s schedule for these opportunities can be accessed by using the grade level links below.  As a reminder, students will continue to get invited by their teacher through Google classroom, so the schedule will act as more of a guide to see what opportunities are planned for the week.  Should you have any questions regarding the schedule or synchronous learning, please contact your teacher directly or contact me at rguccion@nanuetsd.org.

Grade 7 Schedule

Grade 8 Schedule

I would appreciate it if you could review the following guidelines for synchronous learning with your child to ensure that the experience for all students is as positive as possible.

• Practice Social Distancing. The reason we have turned to iLearning is to practice social distancing, in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Please do not congregate at each other’s homes to do work, socialize, etc. — we want you to stay safe and healthy.

• Everyone is visible in a live video meeting. Students should dress appropriately and should be in a comfortable work space with their iPad or laptop. It should be a quiet place with minimal distraction. The background should be appropriate for a child’s learning environment.
• Focus and engage. While in a synchronous videoconference, the microphone should be muted and released only when speaking in the virtual class. Keep your video conference platform open and do not navigate to other tabs or web pages unless directed by the teacher.
• Respect. Respect the privacy of other participants. Do not take screenshots or pictures of your teacher or fellow students. Do not make any audio or video recordings. These behaviors violate our policies and could result in disciplinary action. Also the use of headphones when engaging in a voice/video chat, will help to ensure the privacy of others.

I hope you had a pleasant weekend and had an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the spring weather.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

 

April 10, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians:

We hope this letter finds you and your family doing well during this challenging time.   At this point, all of our teachers have begun introducing new material which makes it more important than ever for students to check their Google email and Google classroom daily to ensure that they are up to date on the latest information and assignments from their teachers.  Students can ask questions by emailing their teacher or by sending a message through Google classroom.  

Grades for the third quarter will be available for you to view on the Home Access Center  on Monday,  April 13th.  The fourth quarter will begin on Friday,  April 10th.  Please check your google classroom dashboard to see what explore class your child is assigned to for the fourth quarter.

As we move forward, our teachers are looking for new methods of engaging your children through the use of synchronous learning.  Synchronous learning refers to real-time interactions between teachers and students through a variety of technologies.  Some teachers have already provided these opportunities and others will be engaging in these practices over the next few weeks.  We have developed a schedule which will be posted on Fridays beginning Friday, April 17th for the upcoming week.  Through the use of this schedule, we will be able to avoid conflicts and limit the amount of class meetings that occur on any given day. 

I will continue to keep you abreast of any new developments as we navigate these unprecedented times together.  If you need assistance with devices, time management or anything else you are struggling with you can contact your child’s teachers, guidance counselor or me at rguccion@nanuetsd.org

Together we will persevere-Go Golden Knights!  

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

------------------------------------

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As you know, the safety and well-being of our students is our top priority.  We are hard at work to ensure that our students can continue to learn even in the event of an extended school closing due to the Coronavirus.

Our teams of teachers have designed “at home” work for students.  Below you will find a link to grade level documents outlining work for each day of a possible long-term closing.  You will notice that the information is organized much like the schedule of a normal school day.  Some teachers have gathered paper and pencil materials that can be used to supplement the on-line materials. The paper and pencil resources will be sent home with your child. 

Your child’s teachers will periodically monitor student progress when using the online resources. If you have any questions about the work please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teachers via email.  Please also find a copy of the document for each grade level on our Digital Backpack. 

Seventh Grade: 

7^th Grade Core Home Learning Links 

7^th Grade Explorer Home Learning Links

Eighth Grade:  

8^th Grade Core Home Learning Links  

8^th Grade Explorer Home Learning Links

We have made every attempt to provide a reasonable amount of work for each day.  While there is no easy way to replace the rich classroom experience your child receives when they are in school, this extenuating situation requires that we plan ahead to serve our students and families in the best way possible if/when school may be closed.

Please note that the “at home” materials should be put aside and used only in the event the District is forced to close on a long-term basis as a result of mandated quarantine by the Department of Health.

Please continue to monitor the District’s website for updates as Dr. McCahill will notify the community if such a closure is required.  Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Roger Guccione

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