First Week! News for September 7, 2021

It was so great to connect with all of you and our many of our students this week. Watching the hallways fill up with new families eager to explore our building & watching our staff guide our youngest learners to the playground from their first class meeting has filled our hearts with hope and excitement for an amazing year together. 

This blog post has been designed to be what "you need now" to get started with students next week. As always, please reach out with any questions or desired clarity. 

This Week at Brown School

*Those unassigned to a classroom will cover supervision assignments this week. Thank you!

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 - see calendar for invitations

Coming Up...

9/13 Spirit Wear Kick-Off Sale (PTO)

Board of Education Meeting 6 p.m.

9/15 Late Start Day

Math Training (8:15-9:15 a.m.)

9/20 SEL Visits Begin this week!

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.

9/22   Late Start Day

          Math Training (8:15-9:15 a.m.)

Technology 1:1 Roll-Out Information 

Chromebooks: Connie and Julia are developing a schedule to facilitate Boot Camp lessons with all K-5 students within the first couple weeks of school. Chargers will stay at school until devices begin to be sent home. Please leave chargers in the carts so that devices can charge at school. 

Device sleeves: Teachers should pass student sleeves to this years' teachers (if stored in your classroom). If they were not stored in your classroom, Media Assistants will help with distribution. 5th grade teachers should shred student IDs and send sleeves to the MC to be reallocated to Kindergartners. Any additional sleeves needed should be directed to the Media Assistants in order to make a request to IT.

Please begin thinking about the process for storage/retrieval of sleeves during the day. As students move from class to class throughout the building, we would like for them to be carried in the sleeve for protection. 

Device Checkout/Labeling will occur during your class' first Media Center special (1st - 5th). Connie and Julia will work with the Y5 & K teachers to select a time that works for you. We are asking that students use their device sleeves as they carry the Chromebook to and from the media center. Balancing books and a device is a BIG job for little people. 😊

Sending home devices:  Devices are not to be sent home until Boot Camp is completed & devices are labeled and checked out to students. Our goal is to have this process complete by Back to School Night (9/20). This will afford us the opportunity to share expectations with families prior to the devices going home - more to come on that. 

Please be sure to consult the SJPS eLearning Resource Site for additional support with setting up your Google Classroom (also linked on the SJPS Staff Symbaloo).

Welcome back from the Media Center! 

With  Book Love   as our theme, we plan to foster a love of reading in each of OUR students during MC time & beyond! So, we want to partner with YOU to support your first steps in getting to know your students as readers. Connie and I have created Reading Interest Surveys for all students to complete during our class the first (or 2nd) week of school. The purpose is twofold: we want to get to know them as readers to better help them find books for check-out, AND take something off your plate! We will provide you with the survey details so you can get started getting to know them as readers in the classroom as well!

Y5/K/1

2--this is the one that was being used, but we can change to on of the other bands (Y5/K-1 or 3-5)

3-5

Brown School Clubs are BACK! 

Thank you to Amber & Bri for running Kindness Club - a new experience for Brown School students. Details are coming soon! 

Thank you for leading Grizzly Tech Team, Stephanie!

Thank you, Jen Berry, for leading Brown Book Club again this year! 

Thank you to Becky for leading Student Council & Science Olympiad this year!

Welcome Back to the Lunchroom! 

Please be sure to complete your Lunchroom Table Assignments before lunchtime on Tuesday. You can share those with Andrew & Kristen or you can print it and give it to Sara. Thank you!

One of the big takeaways we had related to eating in our classrooms was the relationship that was built between the enrichment specialist and the students. Therefore, we created a plan that includes assigning one lunchtime supervisor to the same grade level day in and day out. This person will travel to recess with the grade level group and will sit/stand near the group's tables during lunchtime. Assignments will be:

4th: Robynne Southern 

1st: Gabrielle Bishop

3rd: Lisa O'Malley

Y5/K: Kelly Gaver (Then to cover Sara's lunch 1:00 - 1:30)

5th: Robynne Southern 

2nd: Gabrielle Bishop

We are having supply chain issues with more items than the playground equipment...ordering food according to the monthly calendar is also a challenge in these times. 😕Therefore the upcoming weekly lunch menu will be shared in our family blog every weekend. This should help to avoid confusion about the potential of multiple substitutions.  

We are hopeful that the playground equipment will arrive in October. Fingers crossed!

Specials Make-Up Classes

A draft schedule for specials make-up dates/times was shared in last week's blog post. Our itinerant team is continuing their work to devise a plan for content and a schedule for meeting with classes in order to provide equity between sections. There is not a need to ask them to "sign up" for times.  Please also note that we are not "making up" this Monday, September 6th as the student school year had not started at that point. 

Elizabeth explains this beautifully in the video linked here. Take a look! Thank you, Elizabeth!

COVID Updates

The following communication with help to answer some of the questions that came up on Wednesday related to COVID quarantining & health screening. It will be shared with families as well.

Stay Home Guidance for Families 

COVID -19 Response for School Cases and Contacts

2021-22 COVID Related Absence - Expectations for Remoting Students into Class

Note: When you next login to Skyward you will be prompted to complete the Staff Health Reporting Agreement. There is no need to print and sign this. Checking the box serves as your signature. Thank you!