Bear Essentials #1
July 29, 2020
Principal's Message
Dear Brown School Family,
I have so much optimism for the 2020-21 school year! Even though our Brown School family will be starting the year off virtually, know that we are planning for an engaging experience for our students. This year during Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI), students will take part in more daily interactive instruction from teachers and more learning opportunities that mirror the regular face-to-face classroom, resulting in higher student engagement. I know you have a lot of questions. We are busy planning out the details and will share with you as plans are finalized. Be sure to check out Back to School page periodically for updates.
Warm regards,
Dr. Angela, Principal
This Week's Essentials
Back to School Updates
Orientation
This year our orientation sessions will happen virtually. The day before the scheduled session, families and students will receive an email containing a linked invitation to join the session. You can find the schedule with the dates/times for orientation HERE. Not all grade levels will have an orientation.
Kindergarten Camp/BRIGANCE
Incoming Kindergarten Families,
To accommodate our new school start date of Tuesday, August 25th, we have made updates to kindergarten camp and the BRIGANCE screening. Those updates are outlined below:
Kindergarten camp has been moved to the week of August 10th-14th and will take place virtually. Specific dates/times will be communicated to families soon.
The BRIGANCE screening has been postponed. As a result, all appointments have been cancelled. We will update families when we have more information regarding the screening.
We invite our families to check our back to school page here for ongoing updates.
Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.
Registration
A lot of our registration process was already online (i.e., paying fees, completing registration paperwork), so we are working to make it even easier to use. Our fee collection system is being converted from EZPay to My School Bucks, so that part of registration will be different this year. Look for registration to happen some time during August 17th - 20th.
Have you recently moved or need to update your address?
If you have moved recently and have not updated your new address or home information with the school we ask that you do go to mybrownschool.org and click on the CHANGE OF ADDRESS FORM prior to the start of school. Please make sure to attach proof of new residency with a copy of an electric or water bill, paycheck stub, or lease agreement.
St. Louis Trip Refunds
The refunds for last year's 5th grade field trip to St. Louis were mailed on Monday, July 27th.
Weekly Columns
PTSA
Please join us for a special virtual PTSA Meeting to elect new officers for the 2020-2021 Academic year.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 5:30PM, via Zoom (Link below and call in info is listed at the bottom of this section).
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3751884140?pwd=ak1PRWhXTTR6MlFaS1plVVpYOXNNUT09
Meeting ID: 375 188 4140
Password: brownbears
We were not able to hold an election of officers at a public meeting in May due to Covid-19. Following a public call for nominations that occurred in May of 2020, the nominating committee proposed the following Slate of Officers in the May meeting of the PTSA Board of Directors.
Nominating Slate of Officers:
President: Walter Zausch (interim)
VP, Ways and Means: Leiz Tensley (Jennifer Hewitt has one remaining year in her term)
VP, Membership: Dr. Shawna Stenton
Treasurer: Brennan Cox
Secretary: Erin Bravo
Thank you to the nominating committee led by Jennifer Hewitt, Ashley Ford, and Emily Paulin.
The sole Agenda item for the special meeting on July 29th is to elect the new slate of officers for the 20-21 academic year.
Please note that your PTSA did not receive nominations for the following Committee Chairs. We still need your support and participation. Can you please consider a leadership role for one of the vacancies listed below? Volunteering for the PTSA is very rewarding. The hard work of PTSA volunteers has provided some needed amenities and programs for our school. Please reply to this email or reach out to any of the parents listed as officers with your interest in greater involvement.
Merchandise Committee: Susan Ballard & Bobbi Elmore (THANK YOU Susan and Bobbi!)
Athletic and Clubs Committee: (open)
Reflections: (open)
Scholarship: (open)
Advocacy: (open)
Enrichments: (open)
CALL INFO
Topic: Brown PTSA Office Election Zoom Meeting
Time: Jul 29, 2020 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3751884140?pwd=ak1PRWhXTTR6MlFaS1plVVpYOXNNUT09
Meeting ID: 375 188 4140
Password: brownbears
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,3751884140#,,,,0#,,8297837183# US (Chicago)
+19292056099,,3751884140#,,,,0#,,8297837183# US (New York)
Meeting ID: 375 188 4140
Password: 8297837183
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbfcrlMDaW
Family Matters
Be sure to check out the Louisville Free Public Library's main page for information about a drive thru kindergarten kickoff. https://www.lfpl.org/kids/
You can also help your child brush up on reading and math skills for free limited access to Tumblebook Library and TumbleMath.
https://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Home.aspx?categoryID=77
https://www.tumblemath.com/home.aspx
Interested in additional digital readers? Visit http://www.crabtreebooks.com/Digital/DigitalLogin.aspx
Username: read Password: free
*Free access ends 8/31/2020 for Crabtreebooks
Athletics
A Message from the Athletic Department
On Tuesday 7/28/2020, the KHSAA made a decision to push the start official start date of fall sports back to August 24th (with the exception of high school golf). We are currently planning safety measures to get fall sports together for conditioning and small group skills workouts.
If you have a student entering grades 7th-12th, that would be interested in playing golf this year, please email abbridges@aol.com for further information.
High school soccer is currently planning to start small group workouts in the next week or two. We would love to have our high school students reach out to our coaches and our coaches can communicate plans for starting the workouts and the season. Every student athlete will need at least an updated sports physical to participate in workouts and will need all eligibility forms to start the official practices. Our girls soccer coach is Josh Luttrell and he can be reached at rja172307@gmail.com. Our boys coach is Steven Phillips and his email is steven.phillips@bullitt.kyschools.us.
High school volleyball is looking at having small group workouts, but we are currently determining the safest way to have those. These workouts may even take place outside. Our coach is Kathleen Mattingly and her email is Kathleen.mattingly@jefferson.kyschools.us and we encourage our student athletes to reach out to her for communication on workout plans and the beginning of the season.
All eligibility paperwork can be found on the athletics page of mybrownschool.org, under eligibility documents.
Middle school sports are still on hold at this time, but please continue to look for more information on our school Facebook page and through the weekly newsletter. We hope to have more information soon.
Unfortunately, we have decided to cancel elementary cross country and soccer for the upcoming fall season. It certainly was a tough decision, but we do not feel we can safely hold practices or competition with our elementary students. Our students, coaches and families safety will always be our first priority and we hope to offer both programs next year or whenever we feel it is safe.
We look forward to seeing all of our student athletes soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Justin Leonard at Justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us. GO BEARS!!
Counselors & FRYSC
High School Counseling
*It's almost time for back to school! Even though we will start back in a whole new way, we are still planning for several tests. I'm sure it will happen one way or the other! Please review and submit the forms below if your student (Sophomore and Junior only) will be taking the PSAT test in October and/or the AP Tests in May (any high school student in an AP class)
*Google Classroom is back! I will use "Class of 2021-2027" to communicate with students in grades 6-12. If your student hasn't already joined, encourage them to do so. Codes will be shared with students, or send an email to pam.willison@jefferson.kyschools.us and I'll send a link.
*Visit the new Counseling Corner here. It's your one-stop-shop for answers to most of your questions!
Our counselors wish that they were able to see everyone in person, but Pam will try her very best to reach each and every one of her students during our new normal!
P-EBT
The P-EBT deadline is extended to August 31. Families who get SNAP, KTAP, Medicaid + may not have not gotten P-EBT added to their EBT card or did not get a card should apply. Click here to apply.
If you need your child's ID number, call 313-HELP. Our team can connect you to the right department to get that information.
Produce Boxes
Friday, July 31 will be the last day for produce boxes at our food sites. Click here to access the locations.
Community Events
None to share at this time.