Clara Barton Open School

Wild Rumpus Book Fair Coming Friday November 19th

The Wild Rumpus Book Fair will be Friday, November 19th. The Book Fair will be from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Wild Rumpus Bookstore (2720 W. 43rd Street in Linden Hills). If you are new to Barton and have never experienced this fundraiser, know that it’s something you won’t want to miss! Here is how it works:

1. You, your family and friends may visit the Wild Rumpus Bookstore.

2. While there, shop for great gifts.

3. Barton will receive 20% of the proceeds from all purchases made between 2–8:00 pm. While shopping you will be entertained by Barton students, parents and teachers. Entertainment ranges from musical talent, joke telling, reading favorite passages from books or poetry, etc. Last year’s proceeds topped $1,300…that’s $1,300 worth of free books for the Barton Media Center!

If you have questions about availability of a certain book, call the Wild Rumpus at 612-920-5005.

If you have any questions about the Book Fair, call Mary Donovan (612-827-5196) or Shawn Gibbons (612-825-1217). See you at the Wild Rumpus Book Fair!

Community Forum on School Board Governance

State representative Jim Davnie and School Board Director Dennis Schapiro are holding a Community Forum to discuss the world of issues surrounding school board governance & its impact on education policy. Rep. Davnie has introduced a bill that would elect school board members by geographic district. Denny Schapiro has a proposal that would let the mayor appoint three of the seven Board members.

Thursday, October 28, 7-9:00pm
Longfellow Park Community Center
3435 – 36th Avenue S. ~ Minneapolis

Download an information flyer here (PDF format)

Barton parent and Leadership Council member Kathy Kosnoff is among the organizers of this event. Contact her for more information at 612-926-2175.

3-4 Graders Learn About the Environment on Overnight Camping Trip

Barton students from Mark’s, Claire’s, Jaci’s, Rebecca's, Felicity's, and Jesse’s classes headed to Camp Courage last week for an overnight camping trip that focused on learning about the environment.

The students had sessions on writing, fishing, survival, and waste management. They also had a chance for swimming, hiking, and playing in the gym. A number of parents were also on hand to help out and to learn.

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Voter Guides

Parents United Network, a nonpartisan coalition of parents from urban, suburban and rural districts committed to public education, has created a voting guide that records the voting records of legislators in the state on Education funding and policy.

The Children's Defense Fund has developed a voting guide that looks at the voting records of state legislators and our federal Congressional Delegation on child care, health care, early childhood education and housing.

You can find these guides online at: http://www.parentsunitednetwork.org/Legislative_Action.html
Both guides can be downloaded.

School Board Candidate Forums

Minneapolis voters have the chance to hear from the six finalists for the three school board seats at candidate forums and one-on-one voter-candidate conversations to be held in the next three weeks. Note that the October 18th candidate forum will have a magnet school focus.

Today, 10/12: 6-9 p.m., Burroughs School, 1501 W. 50th St.

Wednesday, 10/13: 8-9 p.m., Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater 1500 Lake Street (Spanish translation).

Thursday, 10/14: 7 p.m., Minnehaha United Methodist Church 3701 E. 50th Street.

Monday, 10/18: (Somali and Spanish translation) 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Matthews Park Multipurpose Room, 2404 28th Ave S, 370-4950, (2 blocks south of Franklin Ave).

*This event is sponsored by the K-8 Magnet Parent Leaders Group (Seward, Marcy, Emerson, Barton & Ramsey) and Anne Sullivan School. (Will be broadcast on Minneapolis cable channel 16 at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 10 p.m. on Nov. 1).

Wednesday, 10/20: (student forum) 6-9 p.m., Webster Open School, 425 5th Street NE.

Saturday, 10/23: (Somali translation) 2-4 p.m. Coyle Community Center, 420 15th Avenue South.

Monday, 10/25: 6-7:15 p.m., Midtown YWCA, 2121 Lake Street.

Monday, 10/25: 7:30 - 9:00 p.m., Washburn High School 201 W. 49th Street

Wednesday, 10/27: 7-9 p.m., Whittier Community School for the Arts, 2620 Grand Avenue South

Thursday, 10/28: (student forum) 3:10-4 p.m., Henry High School, 4320 Newton Avenue North

Help For Hurried Families

Mark your calendar: Southwest Minneapolis PTA’s/PTO's and ECFE will sponsor an event called "Help for Hurried Families." The event will feature speaker Dr. Bill Doherty, Professor and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.

From the group's flyer:
"It's not news anymore: many of our families are living a rat race. But some families are learning to "just say no" and are finding more balance in their lives. Come to learn and share strategies for reclaiming family life and free time in a hurry-up world. Then stay to find out how Southwest Minneapolis is leading the way nationally in forging a community where children can be children instead of harried mini-adults, and how you can be part of the movement.

Thursday, November 11th
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Burroughs Elementary School
1501 W. 50th St.
8:00-9:00 pm
Time In For Family-A Southwest Minneapolis Community Initiative

Read more about Doherty and his public events and videos here.

Kindergarten Dinner

Here are some photos from last week's Kindergarten dinner. After a pizza and potluck dinner with their classmates and families, Barton kindergartners enjoyed a singalong with parent Billy Perkiss. Then it was time for the kindergartners themselves to entertain the grownups and older kids with a couple of songs and the always-popular Robot Dance led by Jay Luebbers.

SW Journal Article on Barton/East Harriet Neighborhood Collaboration

Barton students and Barton science teacher John Klein are collaborating with the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association to explore alternative energy. A Southwest Journal article describes the program.

Community Engagement Meetings This Week

A reminder - the The Community Engagement Collaborative (CEC), hired by the Minneapolis Public School (MPS) Board, will host a final round of large forum meetings asking these groups to set priority values to be used in decision-making. Meetings this week at nearby schools:

10/6 – Wednesday, 6 – 8 p.m. All – MPS Educators/Staff,
Parents/Families/Students,
Business/Civic/Community/Public
Washburn High School Auditorium
201 W. 49th St.

10/7 – Thursday, 6 – 8 p.m. All – MPS Educators/Staff,
Parents/Families/Students,
Business/Civic/Community/Public
Southwest High School Auditorium
3414 W 47th St

Kindergarten Dinner This Thursday Night

A reminder to kindergarten families! The Kindergarten Family Dinner is this week, Thursday, October 7, from 5:30 to 7:15 PM in the gym and commons. There will be a pizza and potluck dinner at 5:30 PM, musical fun with Billy Perkiss (Tova Breen’s dad) at 6:15 PM, and a musical program put on by Jay Luebbers and your own kindergartners at 6:45 PM. See you there!