News for the Week of September 27, 2021
Brown School Staff,
You are valued. You are making a difference. You are amazing.
Thank you!
This Week at Brown School
NWEA testing continues & wraps up this week in class on student Chromebooks
9/27 Maize & Blue Monday
Coming Up...
10/5 SI/Staff Meeting 7:15-8:15 a.m.
Fire Drill @ 8:45 a.m.
10/6 Count Day
Late Start Day - PLC Time
10/8 IEP Day (a.m.)
Bucks for Brown Celebration (p.m.)
Bucks for Brown Assembly @ 3:00 p.m. (inside the track - more details to come)
Posting Photos
We LOVE seeing you share your classroom's stories with families via Facebook posts. Before posting any picture please be sure all student & staff masks are worn correctly (over nose/under chin).
Thank you for your attention to this not only in pictures, but throughout the day. It is tricky and you are rocking it! We appreciate your work to keep our classrooms as safe as possible for our staff & students.
Devices at Recess
Due to the inability to monitor content and device safety, our students should not use their Chromebooks during indoor recess. If you are in need of indoor recess games/activities, please let Kristen and Andrew know. We'd gladly help.
Kindness Club
Thank you, Bri & Amber, for leading Brown's Kindness Club! There was a GREAT turn out for the first meeting on Friday. We appreciate you spreading love and positivity to our students in this way.
Junior Achievement
Due to safety & equity concerns, we will not be hosting Junior Achievement in our classrooms this year. Thank you!
Learning About Our Readers
What are you learning about your readers? After reading with students for one minute, who are you concerned about? If a student is new to Brown or has scored below the 30th% on NWEA, please complete a F&P reading record soon. This diagnostic assessment is necessary for determining who may/may not be eligible for an individualized reading improvement plan (IRIP) in grades 1-3 (see chart below).
Outdoor Learning
Don't forget to take advantage of the beautiful fall days ahead! Pleas sign up for an outdoor learning space for your classroom on this link.
If you feel the tent would be better utilized with chairs, please offer that feedback and we will make it happen. Thank you!
Summer Learning Medal Distribution
We are looking forward to handing out a record number of medals this year! A HUGE thank you goes our to Megan & Alyssa for creating this P2/SLC plan, as well as all of the staff that encouraged our students throughout the summer months via Facebook.
Andrew & I will join classes very briefly on Monday to recognize participants with a bear paw medal.
 |
How do you build Core5 into your class daily routine to ensure students meet their usage? What reports do you find most helpful? Are skill builders essential for mastery? We can't wait to hear your thoughts. |
Social Committee Dues
It's time to collect our 2021-22 Social Committee dues. Full-time Brown School employees are asked to pay $20 & part-time dues are $10 for the year. Please give your money to Sara. We respectfully request cash only, please!
Food Truck Fridays!
In lieu of monthly birthday lunches we'd love to celebrate fall, winter and spring/summer birthdays three times per year by inviting a food truck (one per season) to our bus parking lot. It would be great if all staff members planned to treat themselves to a delicious meal that day and enjoyed it with colleagues. Plans are underway for a fall celebration. Thank you for your help with planning this, Gaby!
Creating a Culture of Book Love
It’s been so exciting to have kids back in the library spaces again this year! Every class has now had an opportunity to check out books at least one time. We will continue to work on the procedures for this checkout time with your class each week. Please note the following:
Research supports student choice in book selection. Students will have the opportunity to choose books of their choice based upon their interest.
Graphic novels are available and allowed to be checked out by any student who would like one. Due to the limited number we have in our collection, only one graphic novel will be allowed per student each week.
Feel free to request any books you’d like to use in your classroom. We would be happy to check books out to you and bring them to your room for a week, a month, or however long you need.
Students may use Destiny Discover and the BookHub form (found on the Symbaloo) to order books in between library classes. We are working on a plan for students to come to the library in between classes as well and will share those details at a later date.
Here are a couple of articles you may want to read to learn more.
Student Choice is the Key to Turning Students into Readers
Top 5 Reasons to Let Kids Choose Their Own Books
Here is a fantastic infographic to show the value graphic novels can have on ALL students.
BookFlix
BookFlix is a digital literacy resource that pairs animated fiction stories with non-fiction e-books on a similar topic. Each selection also features activities and author/illustrator information. Lessons plans and other resources can also be found. In addition, you can now also link BookFlix with Google Classroom.
Students should be able to access BookFlix at school without logging in by using the link on the Media Center Symbaloo. The following usernames and passwords will work if they choose to use this resource at home.
Username: sjpsbBrown Elementary
Password: bears
Clarke Elementary
Password: bearsUsername: sjpsep
Lincoln Elementary
Username: sjpsl
Password: bears
Additional Resources:
Best Practice GuideA BookFlix video tutorial to help guide users through the programA video to explain how to link BookFlix to Google Classroom
