Clara Barton Open School

Grease Slide Show

Last week's Uppers Musical was a hit!  Click here to view an awesome slide show created by parent Marie Foss with audio and photos taken during rehearsals. 

Leadership Council Update

A proposal to add more after school programming buses was discussed at the May 10th Leadership Council.   The discussion will continue at the next meeting on May 31st.  Minutes have been posted to the site.

Camping Adventures!

CAMP COURAGE

The older primary students enjoyed a 2-day adventure at Camp Courage in Maple Lake last Thursday and Friday.  Our science and classroom teachers, with the help of student teachers and parents, led hands-on outdoor classes in Nature Photography, Pond Life, Leaf Identification, Bugs, Digging for Decomposers and Survival.  Students also had a chance to swim, play a few rounds of gaga in the gym, enjoy s'mores and songs around a campfire, write post cards to their primary buddies back at Barton, and journal their experiences in their hand-made Camp Courage Journals.  A photo album of the students' nature photography can be linked to here.

BAKER PARK CAMPING

Last week first and second graders from rooms 102, 104 and 106 had a wonderful camping adventure at Baker Park!  With the assistance of an army of helpful parents, the campers set up tents, hiked, ate, did crafts, sang and played games.  Congratulations to the happy campers and many thanks to the helpful parents!  Click here to link to the Room 102 site for more photos of the camping adventure.

GREASE is the Word . . .

Join us for a fun-filled hour of songs and scenes from the musical Grease, directed by Grant Richey and Tinia Moulder, with piano accompaniment by Dawn Allen.

Wednesday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 24 at 7:00 p.m.

$3 at the door or $10 per family

The 8th grade musical is sponsored by the Barton Community Education program and partially funded through a Youth Leadership Grant.  At the Wednesday show the after school Everyday Leaders group will present their "MY Green Bicycle" art display.  At the Thursday show the after school Hip Hop class will open the show with "Turn Your Records On". 

Y is for Yes!

Click here for more Barton ABC's photos.

Plant Sale Pick-Up This Friday and Saturday!

If you ordered plants last month, please remember to pick them up at Barton this Friday, 2 - 7:00 p.m.  and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  Please, please, please check in at the tent at school before you select your plants.

Volunteers are still needed to work a shift at the pick-up and especially to help with clean-up on Saturday afternoon.  Please call Nancy Polacek at 612-823-3640.

We also need wagons for the pick-up days.  If you can lend us your wagon, please drop it off at school by Friday.  Don't forget to label the wagon with your name and phone number.  Thank you!

Leadership Council Update

A majority of the discussion at the April 26th Leadership Council meeting concerned next year's budget.  Allocation of the various funds from the district were discussed and approved.  Leadership Council funds will supplement the district money to fund the Band, Strings and Options Programs again next year.  Minutes from the meeting have been posted to this site. 

Area C Parent Advisory Council Meeting

The next Area C Parent Advisory Council Meeting will be:

THURSDAY - MAY 24, 2007

6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Keeywaydin School

5209 - 30th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55417

Gymnasium/Lunchroom

Agenda:

• Strategic Planning
• Middle School Report
• High School Changes

Download a printable flier. Click here for more information on the District Parent Advisory Council.

Letter on High School Transformation and Strategic Plan

The following letter was distributed to the District Board Advisory Council in April:

Board of Directors:

We have been having many conversations across this district around High Schools and their future in the Minneapolis Public Schools.  These conversations began in early 2006.  Since then, there have been a number of leadership changes; most notably at the School Board level.  Along with those changes has come the belief that major change in this district should, whenever possible, be the result of implementing a Strategic Plan.

On Tuesday, May 1st, the Minneapolis Board of Education will discuss the strategic planning process.  As the board moves forward with strategic planning, the administration will await further direction on High School Reform and will refrain from further inter-district High School Transformation efforts (i.e., programmatic planning efforts like IB at Washburn).

We will continue moving toward the removal of Small Learning Community entrance requirements for the 2008-2009 SY as is federally mandated.  Recent conversations with the federal grant providers around any requests to postpone the removal of SLC entrance requirements were met with the consequence of that being a $2.8 million loss for the 2007-2008 SY High School Budget.

We look forward to the Strategic Plan providing the framework for how the high schools in Minneapolis will look without entrance requirements.  Please know that we are committed to the academic success of every high school student and future high school student in this city.  And we believe the Strategic Plan will provide a framework for the administration to move forward on this in a much more transparent and systemic way.

Thank you,

William D. Green, Superintendent

Bernadeia Johnson, Chief Academic Officer

Minneapolis Public Schools

Spring and Music are in the Air!

by Anne Sterner

What is that beautiful sound wafting up from the Commons on Tuesday mornings?  It’s the Barton Strings rehearsing for their spring concert!   The final rehearsal was yesterday, but I had a chance to watch them a few weeks ago.   I was amazed by what I saw and impressed with what I heard!

There are more than eighty students this year in the Barton Strings program.  The program is offered for students in grades four and above.  Each week, they meet for small group lessons and rehearse for three orchestras.

 

Our strings instructor for the past seven years, Toyo Lang, accomplishes so much with these students on only one and half days per week.  It was fun and exhausting to watch her teach.  "Forte!”, she shouts. “That’s not forte!”  She conducts, sometimes accompanying on piano and stomping the beat with her feet.  “Violas mark your music at bar 29, that’s an F sharp, not an F natural!”  The students make their adjustments and try it again.  Individual sections practice their parts in turn to fine tune a phrase or two. They play the piece together again. The music is beautiful!  Toyo reminds them to hold their final bow stroke at the end of the piece, and informs them of the upcoming schedule. Then she dismisses them.  More students come and go, carrying their violins, violas, cellos, and bass.  The chairs and stands are rearranged, Toyo tunes another fifteen or so instruments, and the next group begins.

After the orchestra rehearsals, she literally runs to the music room to teach the beginners and small group lessons.  The schedule is that tight.  She spends the rest of the day here clapping rhythms, humming melodies, demonstrating bow holds, adjusting shoulder rests, explaining note reading and instrument care to beginner through advanced students.  She uses her prep time after the dismissal bell to teach more students.  On Friday mornings, Toyo is back with more small group lessons.

We are so fortunate to have Toyo’s dedication, energy and love of music!  It inspires the students in our strings program and it will inspire you too!  Please come to one of the Spring Music Concert performances next week to hear the Barton Strings students in concert with the Barton Band:

Tuesday, May 8        Strings Morning Concert, 8:45 am

Thursday, May 10     Band Morning Concert, 8:45 am

Thursday, May 10     Strings and Band Evening Concert, 7:00 pm

All concerts are in the Commons.