News for the Week of December 13, 2021

 

Let's get into the Holiday spirit and have fun this week! We can't wait to see your ugly sweaters and holiday socks, Team Brown!

This Week at Brown School 

12/13    Dress Like a Holiday Character Day

             P2 Character Strength: Self-Control

             Student Council meets at lunch recess

             

12/14    Holiday Headwear & Sock Day

             5th grade book club in MC @ lunch

12/15    Holiday Pajama Day

             Joe Elsheikhi visits Brown today

             Late Start Day - Team Time

             4th & 5th grade teams meet with Joe   

             Lory's Place group @ 9:30 in SEL room

             Nutcracker dress rehearsal @ 10:15 

             4th grade book club in MC @ lunch

12/16     Winter Wonderland - Dress to Impress Day (wear blue & white)

              Spelling Club meets @ 1:00 in MC - 4th grade thank you for being flexible 😃

              Nutcracker @ SJHS - 7:30 p.m.

              Bear Pack food packs sent home today

              Giving Tree donations shared with families today

12/17     Festive Friday - a.k.a Ugly Sweater Day    

              Winter Break begins at the end of the day

              Holiday Concert @ SJHS (2nd-5th grade only)

              Winter Holiday Classroom Celebrations (p.m.)

               Movie shown 3:00 - 3:45

Coming Up...

12/20 - 1/2  Winter Break - no school ECDD - 12th grade

1/3        Happy New Year! School Resumes

1/5        Late Start Day (arrival @ 9:20 a.m.) 

1/7        Popcorn Friday!

1/12      Late Start Day (arrival @ 9:20 a.m.) 

Co-Regulation Strategies and Support

Click here for WONDERFUL information about co-regulation strategies, including: what is co-regulation and how are the strategies used?

Student energy will likely be quite high this week. This can be extremely tricky when our energy is draining. While some students will be filled with excitement, some may be full of anxiety related to food insecurity, unstructured time, or perhaps time with a parent/family they don't often see. Thank you for your compassionate and patient responses, remembering always that behavior is communication. What are they telling us? How can we help?

RESA Visit on Wednesday

Thank you, K-5 teachers, for opening your classrooms up to Joe, our thought partner from the RESA, on Wednesday. He is looking forward to joining your classes to learn more about how to best support our journey toward implementing math talks and deep student discourse in the area of mathematics. 

He may not be able to get to every class due to our common blocks, therefore I will develop a schedule for him based on the times you submitted on this sheet. I will let you know if you can expect to see him.  If you have not yet added your time for daily math instruction, please do so asap. Thank you!

Classroom Technology Upgrades Coming Soon!

In case you missed it, please see the message from Bryan Parsons below.

In late 2019, a committee began to evaluate the need for a technology refresh of the classroom. In March of 2020 however, much of this work was slowed by the global pandemic. We have since returned to that evaluation process and have a plan to move forward with upgrades to the aging classroom equipment.

Key areas identified by the committee were to upgrade/replace document cameras, implement a method to wirelessly cast to a display, update sound enhancement (teacher mics), and replace aging/failing displays. Optional technologies to support a secondary display were also discussed.

The Board of Education, last night, approved a plan that provides for new laser-based projectors- that do not have limitations of bulb-based units, a method to wirelessly cast to the display from anywhere in the room from both teacher or student devices, new HDMI document camera integration, and the capability to offer greater flexibility with remote lessons or distance learning using USB cameras. This work and equipment are to be funded by the 2016 Technology and Safety Bond generously provided by our community and in part by with support of the SJPS Foundation.  

These important upgrades will greatly enhance presentation options in the classroom with remote casting abilities and brighter projection technologies. It is important to note that the basic functionality and operation of the rooms will remain very similar. We plan to offer these upgrades in a manner that allows you to have some choice in when they take place in your classroom. You can choose to have these upgrades as soon as the supply chain allows this school year or later in the summer.  More information on the options for installation and training around these new upgrades will be forthcoming as we verify delivery timelines.

Wishing you and yours a joyous Holiday season and a restful winter break. What a gift to have time to connect and recharge with our loved ones!