September 4, 2023- Eye of the Tiger Family Message

Dear Barrett Families,

We had a fabulous 1st week of school! It was so wonderful to see our students back at school. This week, our students focused on learning the routines and expectations in their classroom and other school spaces. They learned about our new Barrett Beliefs and commitments as a Barrett Community to ensure we start the year off creating supportive learning environments for each other.  We are excited to share them with you at Back to School Night!

We hope you all enjoyed the long holiday weekend! This week is jam packed with quite a few events. We hope to see you there!  Please see the information below to help you get ready for this week!

Back to School Night – Wednesday, September 6, 2023 from 6:00-8:00 PM

Back to School Night provides parents and caregivers with the opportunity to learn about their child’s grade level curriculum and what is in store for their child.  Please see the schedule below:

• 6:00- 6:15 PM: Principal’s Welcome in the Library

There will be an opportunity to meet the school’s student success team such as the School Counselor and the academic coaches that support teachers. Additionally, we will provide parents an overview of Barrett’s school focus, our new Barrett Beliefs, and student commitments.

• 6:20- 7:05 PM: Session 1
• 7:10- 7:55 PM: Session 2

Each session is 45 minutes in length. Information from the first session is repeated in the 2nd session. We will be incorporating an opportunity for parents to learn and create a take home math activity to work on with your child. Our Specials teachers (PE, Art, Library, Music, and Project Discovery) will be in the library for parents interested in learning more about our Specials curriculum.

Food and Nutrition Services

We are pleased to share that we will be continuing our participation in the Community Eligibility Provision Program and will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students.

ParentSquare

Our new communications platform, ParentSquare, is one tool we are using to stay better connected. Families can receive messages from APS, your student’s school and teacher in one platform, in your preferred language.  Starting this week, I will be posting my weekly messages through ParentSquare, Schooltalk, and on our website. Starting in November, I will be posted all messages in ParentSquare only.  Please reach out to us for support with learning how to use this new platform.

School Emergency Notification

Beginning this week, we will begin conducting various safety drills at school. We will provide a notification through the Principal’s weekly message before a new safety drill is conducted to ensure you can help partner with us in preparing your child for them. This week, we will practice our first fire drill with our students. In preparation for the fire drill, students will learn about what to expect for the drill and where to exit.  Please share this information with your child so that they know what to expect this week, especially if this is a new experience for your child.  We will practice the fire drill once per week for the next three weeks of school.

The Barrett staff is looking forward to learning and growing with you this school year.   If you need additional information or if we can answer any questions, please call us at 703-228-6288 or e-mail me at catherine.han@apsva.us.

See you soon!

Sincerely,

Catherine Han