Activities

Each year, Barclay is visited by a special organization that bring art to the school. Art goes to school is a volunteer organization of parents, who bring different pieces of art to each classroom. Students then share in discussions about the specific pieces of art.

Each year, our students anticipate a visit with an author. The author comes and speaks with students about the process of making a book, including generating ideas, writing drafts, editing and the publishing process.

Each year, the students of Barclay celebrate the birthday of our school namesake, John Barclay, in late January with a treat from the Home and School Association.

John Barclay was born over 250 years ago and was an important part of Pennsylvania history. He served in the Revolutionary War as a captain, a Justice of the Peace, a Judge, a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1790 and a mayor of Philadelphia.

The Barclay Bistro is a special restaurant that is open once a month at Barclay. Students dine on real plates with real silverware, served by waitresses and a maitre d' (Principal Dr. Brereton), and are entertained by musical selections.

Invitation to the Barclay Bistro is based on the Barclay Building Blocks Program. Throughout each month, the students are working toward behaviors that show responsibility, respect, caring, honesty and a sense of family in the dining room. At the end of each lunch period, points are awarded to the tables that showed exemplary behavior. Then at the end of each month, the class with the most points attends the bistro. The more points a class earns, the better chance they'll have to attend the bistro!

On the day of the Bistro, our parent volunteers transform the library into a restaurant!

Our Barclay Building Blocks Program represents Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Empathy.

The school community focuses on one block for a two-month period. Classrooms read books, work on activities, and have class meetings to reinforce the different blocks. Students can earn building blocks if they show one of the above behaviors.

Each Friday, two students from each grade have their building blocks pulled and have their names read on the morning announcements to represent all of the good behavior that has been shown by all students all week. Those lucky winners will get to pick a prize from the treasure chest. 

Birthdays are special when you are in elementary school. Students have their birthdays acknowledged at Barclay in three ways: a birthday board in the main hallway; shared during the morning announcements; and with a personal visit by Principal Dr. Brereton with a birthday card.

Barclay is lucky to have two book fairs each year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Students and parents are invited to come purchase books from a wonderful selection of titles. More information will come home with students as the dates for the fairs are set.

To promote cooperation and enhance learning, most classes at Barclay have a buddy class. An older and younger child work one-on-one on a variety of projects. They may create a craft for use with our community projects or do another activity which provides an enriching learning experience for both buddy partners.

Empathy is one of our Barclay Building Blocks. We focus a lot on our classroom families, our home families and our larger community family. Barclay students are very involved in community service, with their classroom, grade level and as a school.

Barclay students look forward to this event all year! Every late May or early June students gather outside for a fun-filled day of physical challenges. The blue and gray team from each class compete against one another to earn points. We end the day with a school assembly.

Each year, fifth grade instrumental students join the band or orchestra, along with having individual lessons. The band and orchestra perform once during the holiday season and again in the spring. Fourth graders can learn to play violin and play in the spring concert.

Students have the opportunity to meet their teacher for the next school year on this day. For one hour, students "move up" to their new classroom and learn a little bit about what to expect from their next school experience. Look for information about the date of Move Up Day in the spring.

Two mornings a week, between 8:40 and 9 a.m., students can be found shopping the aisles of the School Store. Students are responsible for the store, from purchasing the items that they feel will sell, to pricing those items, to collecting the money, to advertising their merchandise. Students feel free to stop in at one of the busiest stores in Warrington!

The fifth-grade students are invited to participate in the spelling bee. Each classroom has a spell-off to find a winner, then those winners compete against the winners from the other classrooms to find a school winner. that student goes on to the county competition, with the ultimate hope of being the United States Spelling Bee Champion!

The Spring Fair is a fun-filled Saturday in the spring that includes games, contests, food, and a popular silent auction. Parents will be called by the room parents to staff the activities sponsored by each homeroom. Work begins in late fall to plan this big event.