Back to School 2021!

 

Welcome Back, Brown School Staff! 

2021-22 Back to School Edition

This promises to be another amazing year together. With our strategic plan guiding our collective work, we will continue to ensure we consider equity and opportunity are present for all members of our school community. 

We have so much to celebrate and to look forward to. Together, we will impact the lives of our learners - how exhilarating! Our students are so fortunate to have a team of committed educators supporting their educational journey.

Our theme for this school year is:

None of us are ordinary...let's celebrate our stories! 

We will begin this celebration on Tuesday morning at St. Joseph High School. Please bring a printed picture to share during our time together in the morning.  (A picture on your cell phone will also work in a pinch.)The photograph you select should represent a piece of your journey - a memento of what makes you you. This may be a photo from your childhood or a recent photo - your choice. We can hardly wait to hear (and see) a piece of your unique story. 

This Week at Brown School

8/30  New Teacher Training - Day 1 at SJHS

 

8/31  District Welcome Back Breakfast & PD (see additional information below)

9/1    Building PD & Staff Meeting (see additional information below)

9/2    New Teacher Training - Day 2 at SJHS

9/3    Non-contract Day

9/6   Labor Day - Non-Contract Day

Coming Up...

9/7   First day of school! WOOHOO!

      Y5/K Phase-In: students A-K

9/8   Y5/K Phase-In: students L-Z

9/9   Y5/K Phase-In: students A-K

9/10   Y5/K Phase-In: students L-Z

      IEP Day (Fridays this year)

9/20 Back to School Night!

ECDD, 1st & 2nd grade: 5:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 3rd, 4th & 5th grade: 6:45 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Back to School Night Information

There is no need to copy and distribute the compact and/or the website use consent form at this time. 

The plan is to take field trips this year. We are working on using RevTrack to collect field trip money this year. More information to come soon. 

We will plan on three parties this year - dates/themes TBD.

Next Week's Events

Tuesday 8/31 - District Welcome Back

Designed for all certified staff & parapros from 7:30am-3:15pm

7:30-9:30 Breakfast & Welcome Back Programming at the HS

9:45-10:00 Elementary Teambuilding in the Student Center

Please bring your school issued device and/or cell phone & a personal picture that helps to tell your story

10:00-10:45 A Closer Look at Our Strategic Plan - SJHS Student Center 

10:45-11:30 Building Level Reconnecting (SJHS room H602)

11:30 - 12:15 Lunch in the Student Center & OUtdoors

12:15 - 3:15 PD in the SJHS auditorium - Trauma Informed Instruction

Wednesday - Building Welcome Back

9:00 - 9:10    Reconnecting & Celebrating - Media Center

9:15 - 11:15    Illustrative Mathematics: Part 1* (in your own classroom) 

            Itinerants, Y5, ECDD, SSWs and SLPs in M.C.

11:15-12:15     Collaborative Working Lunch (asynchronous IM assignment)

12:15-2:15     Illustrative Mathematics: Part 2* (in your own classroom)

2:15-2:30     Break

2:30-3:30     Staff Meeting in Media Center - designed for staff in attendance during the day only

*see email for Zoom links - note Part I and II have separate links 

Thank you for committing to spending a significant amount of time building trust and emotional safety in your learning environment. It is essential. Our students are lucky to have you!

KINDERGARTEN PHASE-IN PLAN

There is no doubt that we all saw the value in the slower phase-in approach to the school year last year. While this was beneficial to all students, we are not able to offer that this year due to the 180 days/1098 hour requirement from the State (we were offered flexibility last year). With only Y5/K participating in this, we will still meet our 75% attendance threshold and will not need to add days/hours to our calendar. 

With approximately 1/2 of our youngest learners attending the first few days of school, we feel their transition will be smoother, with more time to practice routines and procedures. Additionally, they will be afforded the opportunity to build trust & safety within their brand new environment with fewer friends initially. The schedule is posted below for your information. 

 

Nuts & Bolts - Need to Knows
In effort to preserve our meeting time for learning and collaboration, our weekly blog posts will often contain procedural "nuts and bolts" (none quite as long as this first one of year, I promise 😉). Please be sure to read long and stay informed.

Breakfast Procedures

Breakfast and lunch will continue to be free for all students again this year due to a federal grant. Because of this, we anticipate high participation rates again. Therefore, students will "grab and go" to classrooms with their breakfast from the cross halls like last year - supervision, spacing and cohort control in the gym would be beyond tricky. While this may not be ideal, we might suggest strategies like setting a routine for a natural transition leading to the need for meal completion after X number of minutes or setting a countdown timer for those that have trouble managing their time.      

Lunch Procedures

Students will eat lunch as grade level teams in the lunchroom this year. As in past years, they will sit as a class. Here is the map - we may end up spacing out a bit more, but this gives you an idea. Due to the risk of quarantining, it is imperative that we assign a lunch position to each child using the chart linked here.

 

Lunch Count through Meal Magic

You will enter lunch count in Meal Magic again this year. If you would like a refresher, here is a link to the video regarding account set up and use. The district code is stJosephmi. Parents have been asked to continue to pre-order meals this year. Due to meals being free for all students, we will not use cards for transactions in the lunchroom.  

Please continue to use the lunch count form linked here in the event you have a guest teacher. Don't forget to make a copy first. Thank you! 

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures
Thank you for taking a few minutes to familiarize yourself with our updated arrival and dismissal maps. You will notice a change to the 4th & 5th grade procedure. Families will drive around Yukon Drive in hopes to alleviate traffic congestion. Supervision as students cross the road is vital! If you are assigned to this area in the morning or in the afternoon, please be sure to stand at the curb and observe student crossing. They should only travel from the walking path to the road. Thank you for your help with this.

Recess & Supervision DRAFT Schedule

Please take a look at the schedule linked here. It is in draft form until September 10th so that you have a chance to review it and we have the opportunity to work out any potential kinks the first week of school. 

As in past years, our staff unassigned to a classroom will help to cover all recesses the first week of school. If you have any questions and/or concerns after reviewing it, please reach out to Kristen & Andrew. 

Brown School Google Classroom 

Our staff information and links will continue to be housed in our Brown School Google Classroom. If you are new to Brown, please click here to access the invitation to join! Our class code is g2rlfsv.

SEL Supports

The "Getting to Know You" Google form that we shared with families last year has been updated and linked in our Back to School blog again this year. Once the results come in, we will be sure to share this important information with you. 

We will once again use the Daily Check-In Form for all students. Please remember to make a copy of the original forms below before using with your class.

K-2 Daily Lunch Choice

3-5 Daily Check-in

Staff members that learn of a concerning social emotional student situation, should report it as soon as possible on the form linked below. This information is shared with Bri, Andrew, and Kristen.

Brown Social Emotional Concern Form

2021 - 2022 Attendance Times

8:20 a.m. Students Enter theBuilding

8:30 a.m. Tardy Bell Rings

3:50 p.m. Dismissal

Students enter at 9:20 a.m. on late start days

Half Days Dismissal is at 12:09 p.m.

Shuttle riders should head outside at 11:54 a.m. on 1/2 days and at 3:30 p.m. on full days of school. We will have a bell to remind them as we know they will be busy learning together. 

Class Lists can change up to the start of school. Thank you for checking back every so often.

FIVE DAY Specials Schedule!

Please click here to access our 21-22 specials schedule. Thank you for taking the time to offer your feedback over the summer. We are looking forward to the consistency this schedule offers.  

Equity is such an essential lens to consider all things. This was in the forefront of our minds as we considered making up missed specials on Wednesdays. Please take a look at the proposed schedule linked here and feel free to reach out for any needed clarification. A HUGE thank you goes our to Elizabeth Richards for her deep thought and hard work on this. 

Don't forget to check out our family blog each week. 

Office passes will be distributed in your Back to School folders during Wednesday's staff meeting. Please be sure to use one anytime a student travels to see Sara or Kelly in the office. We would like to continue to limit student traffic through the school again, so please use thoughtful caution before sending students out of class. 

Meetings for this year are scheduled and have been added to the Brown School calendar.  When you click here to access our 2021-22 "Brown Dates to Know" document you will notice that the format of our meeting structure has changed a bit. This is intentional to align with the other elementary meeting times. As we work and learn together to deepen our understanding of actions steps in the strategic plan, we may need to collaborate at the district level.

We have also embedded what was traditionally designated as "tech meeting" time into school improvement and curriculum release time. As you know, we learned a tremendous amount over the course of the "COVID" year, therefore we are ready to integrate technology in all we do (with continued support & additional learning, of course).  

                            

Masking Procedures

While our Return to Learn plan mandates universal masking for all students, staff, and visitors inside the building at this time, masking is not required outdoors.  This includes recess. We encourage you to take learning outside when your lesson (and the weather) allows for this. We are working on obtaining a large tent for shade as our shade structures have not yet arrived due to supply chain issues.

Playground Update 

Like many things, the playground equipment is suffering from a supply chain issue. We are hopeful the equipment will arrive soon. However, our blacktop and track are complete and look amazing! We will be repainting the activities next Monday at 4pm. Please join us!

We are working on setting up a giant tent for shade and an area for outdoor learning - coming soon! 

Maintenance Requests

All classroom maintenance requests must be submitted by the office staff. Please email Kristen and Andrew (and copy Sara) regarding your maintenance needs. We will then submit a ticket. If it is an emergency, please contact Rick or Kevin for assistance. 

PTO meetings will be face to face with a virtual connection option (hybrid model) this year. Our PTO works hard to support learning and values your partnership. Thank you for clicking here to sign-up to attend a meeting this year. 

Who do I Go to For What?

We recognize that a change in structure and positions may bring a certain level of uncertainty. Please know that we are committed to being as clear as possible; though, in all honesty, we are still figuring out the work flow. Here's why - we're partners, we share the work and are both committed to being connected to all things "Brown School". Thank you for your patience and grace as we all learn this new & exciting partnership.  

Can't wait to hear & embrace the joyous NOISE of the school!

PHEW...that was a long one and you made it! ALL staff, please text Andrew (989-370-8271) with your first and last name to be entered in a fun prize giveaway! This will ensure he has your contact information and you have his. And, hey, who doesn't want some classroom swag?!