Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Barrington Special Education Advisory Committee hosts its first ever 'Special Educator Appreciation Event' in the library.
A baker's dozen of “special educators” in Barrington were shown some overdue appreciation Tuesday afternoon in the Barrington library. The Barrington Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) recognized them for “going the extra mile,” said Heather Navarro, a member of the SEAC leadership team. The first Special Educator Appreciation Event “was long overdue,” she said. The 13 teachers, administrators and support staff selected came from more than 60 educators nominated by parents, said Navarro, which made their selection for recognition a much more difficult task than anticipated. “We reviewed their nominations for months,” said Navarro, who leads the SEAC team along with Rose Murrin, Tuesday’s emcee, and Lisa Ottone Silva. "We didn't …
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Barrington School Committee votes 3-2 to start all-day kindergarten next fall if sufficient funds can be found in the budget without having a negative impact on other programs.
Full-day kindergarten will start in Barrington next fall with a condition – sufficient cash can be found in the school budget to fund it with or without the $633,000 amendment to go before voters at the Financial Town Meeting next week. A vote in favor of the amendment, of course, would certainly make that task much easier. The School Committee voted 3-2 Thursday night to move forward with all-day kindergarten in September. The nay votes were cast by Scott Fuller, who supports the superintendent’s recommendation to wait a year, and Paula Dominguez, who supports starting all-day kindergarten no matter what. “I can’t believe we can’t find money in a $46 million budget,” said Dominguez. “I support all-day kindergarten, not this motion. I …
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Barrington School Committee defers making a decision even with a recommendation from the superintendent to put off all-day kindergarten for another year.
The School Committee deferred making a decision on full-day kindergarten for Barrington on Thursday night. The board deferred the decision to its next meeting on May 16 even with a recommendation from Superintendent Michael Messore that it put off starting all-day kindergarten for another year. The board also put off making a decision after listening to several members of the subcommittee that assessed all-day kindergarten plead with them to start the program in September. In the meantime, there appears to be a possibility that the Committee on Appropriations may sit down with the School Committee before the Financial Town Meeting to work out some compromise over the COA-proposed school budget that leaves the schools about $277,000 short …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Barrington children participate in global exercise class at their schools -- All Children Exercising Simultaneously (ACES).
Children all over Barrington took part in a global event on Wednesday, May 8. The event was the All Children Exercising Simultaneously (ACES) program – often referred to as the world’s biggest exercise class and always held on the first Wednesday of May. Exercises could be just about anything – walking, jogging, biking, dancing, aerobics or a combination of them all -- as long as they were done together. At Hampden Meadows School, the PTO decided to make ACES there a bit out of the ordinary, said Bindu Mallick, PTO president. Working with physical education teacher Lauren Graham, they recruited Pam Van Ness and Amy Boyes to offer Zumba and Yoga to the hundreds of kids in the school at the same time. “It was the largest class I’ve ever led…
The Committee on Appropriations presents a Barrington spending plan for next year at the annual budget hearing; there are now two weeks to comment on it before the Financial Town Meeting.
As expected, Barrington’s number crunchers are proposing a budget for next year that boosts taxes by around 1 percent. The spending plan does propose giving owners of older cars a slight tax break, which will be offset by a slight increase in property taxes across the board. The proposed 2013-2014 budget also proposes floating up to a $4 million bond to fix roads, which boosts taxes because of more than $300,000 in debt service added into the municipal budget. The Committee on Appropriations presented its budget proposal Wednesday evening at the annual hearing in the middle school on Barrington’s spending for schools, municipal services and capital expenses in fiscal year 2014. That $63.5 million proposed budget could change at the …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Cheryl August will be recognized today for making a real difference in the lives of her pupils at Primrose Hill School in Barrington.
Today is National Teacher Day, and at least one Barrington teacher will be given recognition for making a real difference in the lives of her pupils. Cheryl August, who has been teaching second-graders at Primrose Hill School for the past 16 years, will be recognized for making a difference in a “Celebrate Teachers” contest sponsored by the Providence Place mall. Barrington Superintendent Michael Messore mentioned the recognition at last week’s School Committee meeting. August was nominated by Mary Kay Talbot, a parent volunteer and mother whose children have had her as a teacher. August described her recognition “as really sweet” because parents and former students and supporters voted for her in the mall competition either by email or …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Barrington School Committee member Scott Fuller says new contract does not address two 'new realities' facing town and state.
The School Committee recently approved a contract (by a 3-2 vote) with the NEAB (teachers' union). In my view, this contract has many shortcomings and did not seriously address the two new "realities" that are facing our state and our town. The first reality has to do with the teaching profession; the second with economic conditions. With regard to teaching and learning, the language in this contract offers no compensation alternatives for "great teaching" (highly effective teaching if you base it on the Race to the Top rubric) and/or improved student achievement. Rather, remuneration rewards teachers for simply reporting to work and doing their job. It is widely accepted by most residents that many Barrington teachers are indeed …
Friday, May 3, 2013
The annual luncheon recognizes the more than 500 people who volunteer in the Barrington schools each year.
“Thank you for your partnership.” Barrington School Committee Vice-Chair Kate Brody gave that thanks to scores of volunteers who attended the annual luncheon recognizing their service to the schools on Thursday afternoon. “You are part of moving our district forward,” Brody said. “You role is critical. You are helping students to understand the connection between curriculum and real life, and helping them make healthy choices for a health lifestyle.” The mid-day event drew principals, administrators and about 100 volunteers to the Barrington Public Library gallery. Singers and guitarists from the high school played background music. Dara Iserson and Jennifer Gildea were two of the 10-year volunteers who got special recognition at the …
The two Barrington boards cannot reach common ground on a proposed increase in school spending for next year, so it's on to the Financial Town Meeting.
The Committee on Appropriations bumped heads with the School Committee over the proposed school budget for next year one last time on Thursday night. It was a session that ended with frowns on all faces. The boards could not reach common ground on a proposed budget increase to take before the Financial Town Meeting in about three weeks. The COA has proposed a $900,000 boost – much less than the $1.675 the School Committee proposed before a new teachers’ contract was approved a few days ago. That contract will now shave about a half million dollars from the original School Committee request. But that still leaves about a $300,000 gap. The COA actually upped its proposed boost in spending to $1.1 million during the meeting -- but contingent…
Sunday, April 28, 2013
More than 500 school volunteers sometime referred to as 'secret weapons' in Barrington will be honored at the annual luncheon.
The hundreds of volunteers who give time to Barrington schools will be recognized again on Thursday, May 2. They have been invited to the annual appreciation luncheon in the Barrington library gallery, said Tracey Orchard, the volunteer coordinator for the schools. The luncheon starts at noon. The luncheon will include acoustic music and singing by high school performers and brief remarks by Superintendent Michael Messore and School Committee vice-chair Kate Brody, representing the school board. Orchard, who has been volunteer coordinator for five years, made a brief presentation on the volunteer program to the School Committee last Thursday evening. Between 500 and 550 volunteers continue to fill a host of niches for the schools, she said…
RIReader
12:45 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Bravo to these wonderful educators!!!! more ›