School-Specific Features

EVOLV Technology, a company aimed at implementing AI into security by developing weapons-detection systems, has recently installed over 350 EVOLV Express systems across the JCPS school district, Brown being one of these schools.

With the rise of gun and weapon-based violence in our community—which has been shown in recent events such as the 2023 Louisville bank shooting, as well as bomb threats to buildings near Brown, like JCTC, schools look for ways to establish safety and security in their buildings to ensure the most productive and welcoming environment possible. One of these is through the use of the EVOLV weapons detection systems, which use AI in tandem with advanced sensor technology to approach the situation, in comparison to using traditional metal detectors.

While traditional metal detectors often generate heightened anxiety, false alarms, and counterintuitive delays to the system, the EVOLV weapons detection system aims to alleviate these issues and make the process quick and seamless.

Nonetheless, these systems, which are being installed to bring safety and security to the schools and the students, have garnered mixed feedback among students. While the staff of Brown and many students agree that EVOLV Express systems present a safer school environment, some students are worrisome that the system, which involves taking out specific items before going through the scanner, will take too much time out of their mornings, making it harder to get to class on time.

The long lines that are expected to form as students wait their turn to go through the system are of major concern, especially since students are required to take out B.L.U.E. (binders, laptops, umbrellas, and eyeglass cases) items before going through the system. These items are things that could be mistakenly interpreted by the scanner as a weapon, due to their shape. To prevent false alarms, students are asked to remove these items from their backpacks and hand them to the staff member to be assessed as they walk through the scanner.

Dakayla Rucker, a sophomore at Brown, is among the handful of students who are apprehensive about the installation of this new system. “I feel like it takes up a lot more time than it’s supposed to,” she expressed. “I don’t see the point in making us stand outside and come in one-by-one to check everything.”

Another student at Brown, Wynter Reynolds, who is currently a Junior, agreed with Rucker in that “It’s only going to get in the way. We haven’t even used it, and honestly, this late in the year, it’s [not ideal] to use it, because there’s, like, two weeks left,” she contended.

She also gave insight to how students believe the new system will slow down the time it takes to get into the building by exemplifying her own situation. “I already get here [just before school starts], I can’t be late…especially if it’s raining, there’s going to be long lines forming,” she conveyed. Many Brown School students also encounter a similar situation to Reynolds of arriving late or just before the bell, so the installation of this system will likely increase these numbers during the first couple of days of using the system, according to doubtful students such as Reynolds and Rucker.

However, as Curtis Moss, Brown’s Safety Administrator, illuminated, the weapons detection system will benefit our school by reducing the occurrence of anxiety, stating that students will have “Less anxiety about violent events for our students knowing that many dangerous weapons are not in our schools or other JCPS schools they may visit during the day.”

He also shed light on the situation of arriving late to school because of the system, which many students were anxious about. He informed that “The first few days have had backups at every school that implemented these throughout the year. The company will be here to help us with the process.”

Additionally, as a way to aid this process, Moss said that “Tardies will be held off for an extended period of time during the week of implementation…As everyone learns, it will get faster.” Previously, students were not explicitly aware that they would be given tardies due to delays the system may generate, posing a considerable concern among the student body. However, with the certainty and assurance provided by Moss, the distress and queries that students were met with will hopefully be resolved.

Reynolds, while concerned about the negative effects that could arise during the first few days of using the system, expressed that it will benefit our school in the long run. She stated, “I guess it never hurts to have it…for future generations, especially if [the government] is about to make gun laws ‘more loose’, I guess it’s a good thing.”

While the first few days of using the system may prompt excessive wait times, as both the staff and students get acclimated to it, in the end it will likely help to create a safer, more streamlined, and more secure school system.

“I thought all of the activities were really fun and engaging and I loved seeing how excited all the students were. One of the best parts about being here at Brown and getting the chance to do all of these fun things is seeing how excited it makes the kids,” Heather Anderson, one of the two Spanish teachers at the Brown School, said about the Earth Day celebration on April 26th that was held by the Environmental Club. 

The event was made up of a fashion show and many fun activities and stations that classes could visit throughout the day. Lots of work was put into the exciting and informative event by members of the club, and it seems that most students had a wonderful time. “The Environmental Club is a thing that runs all year, but we really get things rolling about like one or two months before [Earth Day],” Chris Riley, a junior and member of Environmental Club, explained about the process of planning Earth Day.

Although many different processes went into the final plan for the celebration, the fashion show was one of the most anticipated parts. Riley was one of the leaders of the celebration and the lead coordinator and organizer of everything to do with the fashion show. “I started the fashion show last year and so this year I wanted to continue it,” Riley explained. “It’s a really big event and a lot of the little kids really like it and it gets them really excited so I like trying to get that excitement out in Earth Day.”

Mirabell Johnson, a freshman and new member of the Environmental Club, also helped run the fashion show this year. “I loved how the fashion show went,” she said when asked about it. “It felt a little rushed, but otherwise I liked all the designs and I thought it was really good.”

The viewers of the fashion show seem to agree as well. Dakayla Rucker, a sophomore at the Brown School, said, “I love the fashion show because people are so creative. I find it so fun to see what everyone else came up with.” 

When asked about the fashion show, Anderson specifically commented on the categories, saying, “I loved the categories, especially the thrift one. I think it’s really important to think about how we don’t always have to buy brand new, and we can find things that have been repurposed. I thought everyone was really creative with what they came up with.”

The overall winner of the fashion show ended up being Don Bibb  and Kenzie Bridwell, who worked together to create a dress made out of newspapers that Bibb modeled.  “Oh, yeah, I think Don and Kenzie had the most creative [outfit] overall,” Rucker agreed. Anderson also said she liked Bibb and Bridwell's  outfit, saying, “All the styles of the newspapers and how they created the dress with those pieces was very impressive.”

The activities and stations throughout the day also seemed to be well received. “I helped run the fairy house station all day,” Johnson explained, “and I thought that the recycling race and the fairy houses went well.”

“I took my elementary class outside for the Peace Park activities, and they really liked that,” Anderson said on her experience with the activities. “I took both second grade and fourth grade to the recycling lecture, and I thought the people running that did a really great job of making it pertain to kids of all grade levels.”

Riley helped get representatives for some of the activities and specifically was able to get Betsy Ruhe, the District 21 councilwoman, to come and run a station out in Peace Park. “She came out with a snake and a turtle and like a whole bunch of animal pelts and was basically just telling kids about what she does,” Riley explained. “She’s a former teacher so she was like grooving to it and I really appreciated her coming out.”

Overall, this year’s Earth Day celebration seemed to be a huge success. The Environmental Club is still planning to do more next year, though. “We’re definitely gonna do the fashion show again, cause we thought that was really nice, and we’ll probably have some different activities,” Johnson said when asked what the future of the Earth Day event was. 

“I think the main thing for next year is communication and more long term planning, because even though we did work on it for two months we still needed some longer format stuff,” Riley explained about his plans for next year.

No matter what happens next year, though, everyone will still have plenty of fun memories from the Brown School’s 2024 Earth Day celebration.

As the school year comes to a close, the 2024 Science Olympiad season wraps up and puts things in order for the following year. This weekend, Brown School’s Science Olympiad team, as well as teams from all over the state, such as Manual, Russell, and Paul Laurence Dunbar High Schools, as well as many other schools that embody both middle and high schoolers, attended the annual Kentucky Science Olympiad State competition. The competition was held at the University of Kentucky and sought to test students on the material that they had studied over the course of the school year.

The Science Olympiad club begins mid-late August, and students in grades 8-12 are encouraged to join as a way to strengthen their academic achievement and knowledge in science-related subjects that pique their interest.

Students are able to choose from a multitude of varying events (subject or field that students focus on throughout the course of the club’s season) to participate in during the different levels of competitions, so anyone is able to join the club no matter how familiar they are with a topic at the time of joining. Tatum Ballard, a freshman at Brown who joined the team this year, stated, “When I joined, I didn’t even know there were different events, so then when I found out, I was a lot more interested.” Events can range wildly in their topics, with some events being Dynamic Planet (earth science studies), Tower (building and engineering a tower), Optics (study of light and mirror dynamics), and many more. Each event will fall under one of four categories that determines its format: Build events, lab events, programming, and test-only events.

Additionally, most events are done by a team of two people who prepare and study for it, whereas some events are done with a group of three people. While preparing for the competitions and during practice, however, depending on the type of event you are studying for, you can choose to work by yourself. Ifrah Shaik, an eighth grader at Brown and member who joined this year, elaborated, “I think it’s all more group-based. I mean, there are some [events] where you might work a little more individually,” said Shaik. “I think that’s another good thing about Science Olympiad, is that it’s all mostly group-based and you get to work with a lot of different people,” she continued.

While competition is a main facet of Science Olympiad as many of the students are relatively competitive in their events, it is important to remember to have fun, too. Carey Burke, a freshman at Brown and member of Science Olympiad, said that his favorite part about being in the club is the tests and projects that he participated in during the State competition. “I like going to the competitions, I like doing those [tests] and putting my knowledge to use,” he expressed. Shaik agreed with Burke, stating “my favorite part about Science Olympiad is that I get to enhance my knowledge.”

During the different levels of competitions, whether it be Invitationals, Regionals, or State, enthusiastic scientists and club members can be seen walking through the halls to their next event, or in their homeroom chatting or playing games as a way to pass the time. Ballard gave insight to what people can expect to do throughout the day at a competition, explaining that “Depending on how many events you have, it will be how busy you are. If you have two or three you’re going to be pretty busy throughout the day, and then when you’re not doing an event you get to chill and hang out with your friends.” Many people choose to walk to nearby restaurants or have food delivered to them during the time they aren’t participating in events if they are hungry, but team administrators will also provide snacks for the team. Oftentimes students work on homework, play card games, read books, or just talk to their friends in the intervals between event periods.

To prepare for these competitions, students add to their study guide and study the material, take practice tests, collect data, practice labs, as well as make modifications to their builds, depending on which events they take part in. In preparation for the Flight and Astronomy events, Burke attended practices throughout the year to hone in on his skills and make sure he was competition-ready. “I reviewed my study guide that me and [my partner] made together.” Other students in more lab or build-based events may gather data to use for research and to adjust their build or method.

Science Olympiad is an amazing opportunity to get involved with your school’s community of students who share interests in STEM-related topics, even if you just want to touch the surface of what can be accomplished. Many of the members have a wonderful time during the practices and the competitions, as they are taught by, as Burke puts it, “The amazing teacher we have, Micheal Moreland," Brown’s high school Physics and Chemistry teacher.

Ballard later stated that she highly recommends joining the club, saying “Definitely. I feel like people hear ‘science’ and they think, like, chemistry, but there’s so many different events that you can do that aren’t necessarily, like, ‘science’ that a lot of people are interested in.” 

Shaik also recommends joining, as she said, “Try it out, see if you like it…I feel like you should at least try it…if you like STEM.” Because of the wide range of topics you can choose to study in Science Olympiad, it is a great way to either be introduced to possible fields of study you may want to pursue in the future, or to build upon your skillset in various topics, all while having fun and interacting with a diverse community of students.

Summer is upon us and a sigh of relief overcomes our students, but for many, this isn't just the start of a break, it is the beginning of a new chapter. At the start of this year, many seniors were swamped with application season. But lo and behold, all the work and stress has come to fruition. The results are in! Congratulations! But just as the Law of Conservation states, energy cannot be created or destroyed, just transferred. 

“The stress is still there, It's just shifted,” says senior Charlotte Meeley  “It's not about If I got in, but where I'm gonna go, and what I'm gonna do.” 

Meeley got into Fordham, UK, UC, Centre, St Mary's, Richmond, WKU, and Mount Holyoke, while also being waitlisted at UVA and Harvard. With all these places actually on the table, picking where is the next step. 

“I always thought St Marys would be my end all, be all,” says Meeley “It’s overwhelming, I never imagined I would have so many options.” 

While referring to picking colleges, senior Peytience McMillen comments “After really looking at the courses available, It was important to pick the best ones for me, not just the ones I liked.” 

“I've always been interested in diplomacy, but as of recently, international law has really been on my mind,” comments McMillen. 

“It really got me thinking about what I actually want to do,” says Meeley. “If museum work doesn't work out, I think I may study Antiquities Law or History.” 

For many, the crossroads is not only education but scholarship opportunities. “It’s been hard choosing where to go, on one hand I have a full ride, on the other I have more opportunities,” says senior Irina Macaranas. 

Macarana’s crossroads is between Transylvania and Cornell. While Transylvania offered a full ride, Cornell has more interesting classes and of course, the name appeal. “Cornell offers Tagalog (the official language of the Philippines) which I think is super cool, it isn't something you can find everywhere,” remarks Macaranas. “But it’s also expensive.” 

However, although education is important, it isn’t everything. “I really want to go somewhere where I can venture out, meet new people, and really start building my independence,” says McMillen, “but I will say, picking somewhere with well educated professors has always been a must.” 

“Talking with college reps has been so important,” she adds. “frameworking classes, discussing opportunities, I really have been able to develop so much perspective.” 

“While touring, I always paid attention to the vibe and general “funness” of the campus,” laughs Meeley. “Mount Holyoke has a campus goose, so that's definitely a plus in my book.

“Understand that the places that accepted you are gonna be right for you in the end,” assures McMillen. “I didn’t expect to get into some that I did, or not get into some that I didn’t, but I know that where I go will be right.” 

From your friends, peers, and teachers, we are all so proud of you. To everyone graduating, awesome job! Whether you go to college or not, do what's right for you, you're in the right place.