News for September 17, 2018

Thank you for all that you are doing to build strong foundations with your students and their families. They are so lucky to partner with you!





This Week at Brown

9/17 Constitution Day - wear red, white, and blue! Brief report on news
Back to School Night

9/18 Boys Scouts at lunch


PTO Meeting 7pm - Lokey & Lignell

9/19 "Talk Like a Pirate Day"
First late start of the year!
Celebration in lounge at lunchtime

9/20 SSW classroom visits begin 
Safe & Civil Schools Team meeting 12-12:45pm
Tech Meeting (district), 4:15-5:30 Upton
Boy Scout sign-ups in gym 6:30pm

9/21 Fall NWEA ends

9/22 BBQ at Elizabeth's house! Sign up/RSVP here!

Coming Up...
9/25  Fire Drill #1 @ 9:00am

School Improvement / Staff  4:00-5:00

9/26 Late start day

School picture day!
9/27 Parents as Teacher playgroup in gym (a.m.)
IEP mtg @ 9:15 - Barron
9/28 Kristen in Lansing
9/29 Your Life Matters: Mike Wagner 5K

10/1 Walk-a-Thon begins
10/3 Count Day
IEP/CST day - schedule TBD
DLC 4:15 @ Central

Business Office News
You will find the updated 2018-19 Employee Handbook and Annual certification of the District’s Technology Acceptable Use Policyon Skyward Employee Access.  Please log in and review each of the documents by following the steps below.  You do not need to print the certifications or handbook signature page.  The Appendix in the handbook has many informative and useful documents such as the Annual Notice for 403b/457 participation, conference and mileage request forms, Medicaid Part D Creditable Coverage Notice, Emergency Procedure Charts, board policies, and much more. If you have any questions or are unable to locate the documents, please contact the business office. 

Directions from Megan Dongvillo's email.



IT is working hard to get Lexia Core5 and Moby Max loaded with your correct rosters. We will be autoplacing students again this fall in Core5. More details will come soon. Please share your ideas for school-wide celebrations and encouragements with Kristen.


Back to School Night Reminders

Schedule
5:45 - 6:30  Session #1    ECDD, Y5, Kdg & 1st

6:30-7:15    Session #2    2nd & 3rd

7:15-8:00    Session #3    4th & 5th

The following items should be distributed that evening:

• SJ Foundation calendars - oldest and only children only
• COOL magnets - oldest and only children only 
• Student/Parent/Teacher/Principal compacts
• M-STEP reports in envelopes (4th/5th grades only)

Please collect:

• Signed field trip permission slips
• Field trip money: $5/student, $10 max/family - checks payable to SJPS
• Signed compacts

My message to parents in the BTS Night video will segments related to:

• Our collaborative commitment to all students
• Information about our mission and school improvement plan (highlights only)
• 24-hour email rule - including contacting the office via phone for last minute changes to students' schedules/routine
• Discipline rubric information and access
• Drop-off and pick-up information
• # of drills per year (we never share dates or specific plans for safety reasons)
• Encouraging wellness and healthy choices through donating books to classroom libraries vs. birthday treats
• Our need for their partnership and active engagement - encouraging volunteer opportunities whenever possible

Custodial Scheduling Conflict
Please note that Rick will be at training the morning of 9/19, therefore, rooms may not be cleaned as per usual that morning. In addition, Kevin will be at training the evening of 9/26 and rooms may not be cleaned with as much detail due to this.

Walk/Run in Honor of Mike Please considering joining the Brown School staff in running/walking the "Your Life Matters" glow in the dark 5K in honor of Mike. Click here to register. Let's wear our ONE shirts and support our friends and colleagues. 

Let's keep Brian Cain's messages in the forefront of our minds and be accountable partners for some fun! 

Our Collective Team Building Ideas 

• Mind Matters Walk 5K (ONE shirts)
• Staff meeting - 5 minute share what is going on in your world - Circle of Trust and support
• Fun Friday - hallway energizing
• Make and Take meal prep
• Game Night w/ board games or daytime in lounge at lunchtime
• Anonymous compliment chain
• Staff community volunteering
• Book club - one book per month for fun
• Once per week standing “off site” meeting
• Monthly gathering w/ families - gym or Fire and Ice
• Intentional lounge day (paired with Euchre?)
• Beverage tour
• Yoga
• Staff family events like movie nights
• Staff dress alike days - unified days
• “Door meeting” - non school related chat
• Staff meeting share - management tips or cool classrom tips and tricks
• One day that staff will walk outside at lunch recess
• Feature a teacher per week in the blog - surprise - who am I? - see the salmon colored sheet in your mailbox this week - will begin featuring a staff member in next week's blog

How are you spending your 1%? Tell your accountability partner (a.k.a. Swim Buddy) today!

Walk-a-Thon Updates

Thank you for your encouragement and support of our annual fundraiser. The success of this programs leads to classroom enhancements, student programming, and all things the PTO sponsors. We have decided to make this year all about 100% participation and collaboration toward our school-wide goal. Any donation amount is appreciated and celebrating health and wellness is encouraged for all.

Volunteers will be here Tuesday-Friday in the hallway outside of the office distributing reward trinkets to students that return their fundraising sheets.

The Walk-a-Thon will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at lunch recess from October 1st - October19th. "Walking Wear" Wednesdays are in effect! Wear your athletic gear and join the excitement on the track. Students and families love to see you there!

There will not be a separate pizza party for the top fundraising class this year, rather a school wide celebration of meeting our participation goal of 100%. This will be a treat during the drawing/awards news broadcast at 12:45pm on November 7th. Top walkers/runners in Y5-2 and 3-5 will be awarded with a certificate and will have a chance to win a Kindle Fire.

Email Reminders

• School email accounts (sjschools.org or stjoebears.com) are for school business use ONLY. Personal emails must go through personal accounts.
• "Reply All" should not be used in group messages as it congests the system and loads others' inboxes.
• You must seek approval prior to sending an email to the entire district.

Kudos and Thank You to...

• Christa for sharing her great ideas about 4th and 5th grade line-up procedure - more details to come!
• Kelly M., Christa, and Bri for their flexibility and patience as we work with the protected block schedule to ensure students have access to tier one instruction. We
  
  appreciate you!
• Title team for their NWEA assistance, and to all of the classroom teachers who have demonstrated patience while IT ironed out the bugs.
• Itinerants and Sue for their flexibility as necessary tweaks were made to schedules and maps.
• Sara for her gentle care and reassurance with students as she works "triage" in the office.
• Our lunch monitors for their willingness to train new staff and learn new procedures for a successful lunch time experience for all.
• Brad and Elizabeth for welcoming us to your home for our fall staff gathering! We appreciate your warm welcome!