Good afternoon,
There’s a lot of information in today’s Backpack Express. Happy Reading!
Octoberfest Information: Our big day is coming up in one month. Your help is needed for a lot of different things in order for this day to be successful. Here’s the most up-to-date information for you:
Sponsors & Auction Donors needed - click here to learn more about sponsorship and auction donation opportunities
Sponsorship levels: Platinum ($1200), Gold ($900), Silver ($600) or Bronze ($300) level; the level of sponsorship correlates directly to the placement of that businesses' logo on Octoberfest t-shirts, and placement in other marketing and publicity efforts (see overview letter for details)
Auction items can come from local businesses or Sowams families and can be anything (new) that the community would be interested in bidding on: gift cards, experiences, products, services, tickets - anything!
Octoberfest event volunteers needed
We ask that each family volunteer at least 1 hour of time to help ensure Octoberfest goes off without a hitch. Thank you to those who have already signed up!
Please click here to sign up to volunteer at the event on October 18th!
Baked Goods, Snacks & Drink Donations Needed
Please consider donating cakes, baked goods, snacks, and drinks for the Octoberfest Café and Bake Walk
Click here to sign up to donate baked goods, snacks or drinks
PTO Extended Day: We are excited to be offering a Fall 6-week after-school enrichment program and are looking for your help to bring this to life! If you have a special skill, hobby, or area of expertise that you would enjoy sharing with students- or if you know someone in the community who might be interested - we would love to hear from you. Courses could be anything from art, music, STEM, or other hands-on activities that spark curiosity and creativity. Your involvement would make a meaningful difference and help enrich the learning experiences of our students. Classes will run between 10/14-11/25 and can be offered on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. If you have an interest, please reach out to sowamsptoextendedday@gmail.com
Sowams Speedway: Our Speedway is looking for volunteers to assist on Speedway days. Sowams Speedway is our walking/running club. Students walk the interior of the baseball field on the playground. For every lap, they get a hole punched in a card; a full card indicates a child has walked five miles. Students get a small charm for every five miles they walk. If you are interested in volunteering and have a background check on file with our district, click here to sign up.
Picture Day: School picture day is coming up on October 6, 2025. If you are interested in ordering your child’s picture, click here for instructions and packages. All students will have their picture taken regardless if a parent orders or not. Photos are used for our yearbook.
Volunteer Orientation: If you are a new volunteer to our school, you need to go through a new parent orientation. There will be one at Sowams on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 9:00 in the morning. If you can’t attend that one, there are others offered in the district. Please see this notice for more information and dates.
No School: As a reminder, there is no school on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, in honor of Rosh Hashanha.
PTO Information: Our PTO is up and running and we just had our first meeting this week. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. Below is the latest information from our PTO:
School Directory: Each year, the PTO puts together a Sowams Directory of names and contact information for our students and families. Once complete, the directory information is then shared with only our school community. It is not used for any solicitation (except room parents for school related information) and should not be shared with non-school families. It is up to you to decide if you want your information put into this directory. If you would like to share your information with others in our school, please complete this form from the PTO.
September Calendar: Each month, the PTO creates a calendar of different events. You can find this month’s calendar here.
Apple Picking: The PTO is sponsoring a morning of apple picking on September 28, 2025. Information about this fun, family event may be found here.
Community Notices: There are a few notices from the community this week: Barrington Boosters, getting a library card at the Barrington Public Library, purchasing a duck for the Barrington Education Foundation’s Rubber Ducky Race in early October, and Chartwells, our food service provider, is hiring.
Hope to see you tonight at Open House.
Best,
Jim Callahan
Principal
Sowams School Mission: Everyone learns every day.
Sowams School Vision: Sowams School will engage students to be their best selves.