News for the Week of January 17, 2022
We look forward to taking steps together tomorrow, growing through collaboration for our students.
This week we will focus on the character strength "perseverance". This is defined as "persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success". What greater example of this character strength than the work of Dr. King.
This Week at Brown School
1/17 No school for students - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
PD day for certified teaching staff only @ EP Clarke 8:00-10:30 a.m.
+2.5 hours of community service before Jan. 31
1/18 Staff/SI Meeting 8:00 - 8:15 a.m.
PTO Meeting @ 12:15 p.m. (Nowicki & Lear)
1/19 Late Start Day - 8:15 staff/SI meeting in M.C.
4th grade musical for school @ 10:15 a.m. in gym
4th grade musical at the high school 7:00 p.m.
1/20 Brown School Spelling Bee @ 4:00 p.m. in the gym
1/21 Popcorn Friday!
Ice Skating Day! (Y5-5th grade - schedule below)
Warming Hearts kit creation in gym 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Coming Up...
1/24 Lunch with Friends to begin again
1/26 NOT a late start day (due to 1/2 day @ Upton & HS)
Lory's Place group @ 9:30 a.m. in SEL Room
1/27 & 1/28 Half-days of school for conferences - dismissal @ 12:09 p.m.
Ice Skating Day & Popcorn Friday
Friday, January 21st is sure to be an exciting day at Brown School. We will travel to the ice rink for some outdoor winter fun and will enjoy a treat all sponsored by our PTO.
The Soyks are chairing this event and are working to secure volunteers to help with tying laces and support on the ice. Volunteers will need to have a current background check on file no later than January 14th. Masks must be worn on the bus and in the staging area. They can be removed on the ice as it is an outdoor facility.
MLK Week- Ruby Bridges Trivia
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18 – THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022 AND EXTENDED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2022
As part of the MLK Celebration week hosted by Lake Michigan College, area elementary students are invited to participate in a trivia “jeopardy” game about the iconic story of Ruby Bridges. Educators should have students watch the movie before the game, if possible, encouraging students to express their reflections.
As a six-year-old first grader in New Orleans in 1960, Ruby Bridges became the first black student to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. She showed unforgettable loving forgiveness and courage when faced with ugly screaming White mobs who jeered and taunted her every day as she walked into William Frantz Elementary School. Federal marshals had to escort Ruby to school every day, but she never quit or turned back. Norman Rockwell immortalized Ruby’s courage with this landmark 1964 painting The Problem We All Live With.
The 90-minute 1998 Disney movie Ruby Bridges telling this inspiring story is available at YouTube Movies & Shows or on Amazon to rent for $3.99 or buy for $9.99. We invite you to watch or share the video with your students in the lead up to MLK celebration week. Sharon and Mack Brown of the African American History and Literature Gallery will then visit your classroom in person or virtually at a time that suits you both to engage your class in an interactive, thought-provoking 45-minute trivia “Jeopardy” game based on the children's observations of the story.
Zoom meetings or classroom visits are available on Tuesday January 18, Wednesday January 19, or Thursday January 20, 2022, or during any mutually convenient time in January. To set up your time, please contact the Browns at aahlgallery@gmail.com or call Barbara Craig at 269 927 8147 (email craig@lakemichigancollege.edu)
You are encouraged to use this opportunity to engage your students in activities surrounding the movie and its themes, using written or spoken word activities, poems, reflections, drawing, art, discussion, etc.
The mission of the African American History and Literature Gallery located at 725 Broadway in Benton Harbor is to engage diverse communities in the appreciation of the African American experience through the arts, history and culture all while promoting differences in unity.
More information about MLK Celebration week is available at https://www.
Spring Conferences
Our Spring Parent/Teacher Conference window opens on Thursday, January 27th. Please plan to conference with at least 1/3 of your class, inclusive of those who need academic or other above average levels of support.
Classroom teachers should plan on face-to-face or virtual conferences, but here are some options for how you might proceed:
Virtual - Google Meet with regular conference format (20 minute rule of thumb with the understanding that some need more and some may need less)
Student-led opportunities - prepare students for a performance review that they can help lead. The parent can be an active participant in a progress conference between student and teacher.
Two 10-minute check-ins within January 27th and end of February.
Thank you for knowing your students so well and for authentically partnering with families throughout the school year. Please let Kristen and Andrew know who you plan to meet with and when your conferences are complete. Thank you!
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Watch our quick Tutorial Video and learn how to share lessons, handouts, and assessments with substitute teachers and students.
View our Stress-free science lesssons for fast access to the best mini-lessons, no-prep activities, and full lessons. Great for substitute teachers!
Use the Distance Learning Guide to select the lessons best suited for remote classrooms.
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| Please be sure to give your Swim Buddy some love this week! |
