Join the PTSA for 2021-2022

Bear Essentials #5

August 26, 2020

Principal's Message

Dear Brown School Family,

Happy Second Day of School! What an amazing first day we had yesterday and today has been strong as well. It warmed my heart to see the faces and hear the voices of our remarkable students. The energy and participation was incredible - from students and teachers alike! Although I missed the many hugs I get in the mornings, it really has turned out to be one of my favorite opening days of school so far.

Our Annual Meet & Greet on Monday was a great success. If you didn't have a chance to join us, you can still visit THIS LINK to hear recorded messages from me and PTSA President Walter Zausch, join PTSA, and shop for Brown School merchandise.

I do want to make you aware of isolated incidents that occurred across some of the other JCPS middle and high schools. Some students entered online classrooms to which they were not assigned and disrupted live instruction. The behavior that took place was inappropriate and will not be tolerated. An investigation is underway and district leaders are working to identify the students involved. Although these incidents did not happen in Brown School online classrooms, it is important to remind our students not to share their Google Meet class code with other students. Families are encouraged to discuss appropriate online behavior with their students.

Communication is a key part of NTI 2.0 and I value your trust. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me.

Warm regards,

Dr. Angela, Principal

Please sign up for one of our SBDM Committees! Any adult can be on our committees - parents, grandparents, guardians, step-parents, teachers, staff, and community members. We need your involvement and voice to make our school even better. We can only take sign-ups through noon on September 9th, so don't wait! Click below to access our sign-up!

SBDM Committee Sign Ups

This Week's Essentials

School Meals During NTI 2.0

Meals will continue when the 2020-21 school year begins through Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) on Aug. 25. Breakfasts and lunches will be available from 10 a.m. to Noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 131 sites. Read more here.

Federal guidelines require that:

Children must be enrolled in Jefferson County Public Schools to receive meals.
Parents or guardians should present the barcode they received for each student OR be prepared to provide the name, date of birth and the school each child is enrolled in.
Only students eligible for free or reduced meals, including all students enrolled in schools where all students usually receive free meals, can receive free meals.

The School and Community Nutrition Services website has information about signing up your child for meals, paying for them if necessary, reporting any special dietary needs and more.

The Brown Bear Cafeteria Staff will be serving meals as drive thru service from the court yard. Breakfast & lunches will be served from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These are all pre-packed for your convenience. Every qualifying student will receive a barcode in mail that will be needed in order to the pick meals up (if forgotten you will still be able to get meals.) You can pre order meals online HERE for your student through JCPS Nutrition Services.

Introducing our new Digital Game Design/Computer Science Teacher!

Hello, my name is Brian Evans. I’m a Kentucky native, graduated from Indiana University Southeast and proceeded to work in the cable industry then as a JAVA developer in the Insurance Industry. After which I spent two years teaching IB Computer Science, JAVA Database Programming and AP Computer Science A in a Florida high school. Currently I’m a graduate student at the U of L Speed School finishing up my Master's in Computer Science. I enjoy learning the mechanics of computer exploits and am a hobbyist infosec researcher. I have fond memories of writing simplistic computer games in QBASIC in grade school, an interest that carried over to high school and college. Having written a couple computer games and game engines in various languages I look forward to teaching one of the more creative applications of Computer Science.

NTI Help and Device Update

Thanks to students and parents for patience as we continue to meet the need for student devices. If you filled out a device request form, we have not forgotten you. The devices have arrived! A staff member will contact you to let you know your device or hot spot is ready for pick up this Friday. Once you have been notified, please drive through the car rider line alley behind the school Friday, 8/28 between 12:00 to 1:00.

If you are in need of a device and haven't requested one yet, please fill out this Device Request Form.

Why won't the apps on my device work? Older students have videos, images and other media taking up valuable device space. When updates are pushed through, if there is not enough available space, apps are not able to receive the updates and may not work efficiently. It is imperative that students delete unnecessary media to allow for this needed space. In addition, students need to charge devices EVERY NIGHT so updates can be pushed through to their device.

NTI 2.0 Explained to Brown Middle/High School students

Need Tech Help

Google Meet for Community & Families

Weekly Columns

PTSA

Don't forget to join the PTSA this year! See the below flyers for info on how to join. The PTSA is hard at work planning for the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year! We will be announcing more information about future meetings soon!

2020 Welcome Back.docx

Join the PTA (1).docx

Family Matters

If your family needs a break from screen time, try the Louisville Free Public Library's curbside pickup of book bundles. It's a great way to grow a love for reading!

Please check out the JCPS Family & Community NTI 2.0 Toolkit for help with Google Classroom, communication tools, district programs, and community resources for help with basic needs.

Athletics

High School Fall Sports:

Our golf and cross country teams have begun practice. If any of our students in grades 7th-12th would like to run cross country, please email coach Dave Jaggers at dave.jaggers@jefferson.kyschools.us or coach Ben Kolb at bennet.kolb@jefferson.kyschools.us.

High school soccer teams are currently conducting small group workouts. Their first official practice will be on 9/7, with their first match slated for 9/14. Any high school student that is not currently participating, but would like to, should reach out to our coaches to receive communication on plans for workouts and the season. Every student athlete 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 has begun small group workouts. These workouts will continue Thursday night at Seneca Park from 6:00pm to 7:30 pm. 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. Their first official practice can take place on 9/7, with the first match on 9/14. All eligibility paperwork will be required before attending a workout.

All eligibility paperwork can be found on the athletics page of mybrownschool.org, under eligibility documents. There is a new Covid Waiver that must be completed, and at this time, please email Justin or the coach in order to get it. The Covid waiver will also be available at each workout.

Middle School Fall Sports:

A message from JCPS middle school athletics:

We understand how difficult the last several months have been for our student athletes, coaches and families. The uncertainty that surrounds everything from athletics to school to everyday activities has caused a lot of stress. The health and safety of our student athletes, staff and coaches is at the core of everything we do here at JCPS. With that in mind, I am sorry to have to inform you all that all JCPS MS Fall Sports including Football, Golf, Volleyball, Cross Country and Field Hockey will be postponed for the 2020 season. Given the guidelines that have been established due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, as well as the move to full NTI for at least the first 6-weeks of school, it makes it very difficult for us to be confident that we will be able to keep everyone safe during activities related to sports, including practices and regular competitions at this level. We will try again with winter sports on October 5 including Archery, Cheer, Dance, Swim and Boys and Girls Basketball. We realize this may be devastating to many of you, especially our 8th graders. While we can't host any practices or competitions at this time, we do encourage our student athletes to continue their training and workouts. We will know more in the Winter about what the go forward plan for middle school sports may look like. Coaches are encouraged to continue to keep in touch with student athletes via phone, text, email or Zoom meetings. We hope you understand that this decision was not an easy one, but it is necessary. Your continued patience and understanding as we navigate this new world together is appreciated. Stay safe and be well. We hope to see you all soon.

Robert E. Vinegar, Specialist, CMAA

JCPS Athletics & Activities

Elementary Fall Sports:

All fall elementary sports have been canceled this year. We will keep you updated for future elementary athletic opportunities.

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

From Pam Willison, Middle and High School Counselor

*The last day to ask for schedule changes is Tuesday, September 8. After that date, no schedule changes will be allowed until the beginning of second semester.

*In order to prepare for testing this school year, please review and submit the forms below if your student (Sophomore and Junior only) will be taking the PSAT test in October (plans include a possible move to a winter date) and/or the AP Tests in May (any high school student in an AP class) PLEASE CLICK BELOW:

PSAT Commitment Form

AP Test Commitment Form

*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. Students who joined last year are already members; all other students should have received an invitation to join the class.

*Visit the new Counseling Corner here. It's your one-stop-shop for answers to most of your questions!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELING (K-5)

From Christy Teague, Elementary School Counselor

Visit Miss Christy's Virtual Office to learn more about your child's counselor and the services she provides.

Visit the new Counseling Corner HERE. It’s your one-stop shop for answers to most of your questions. We are here to support students and parents during our “new normal”. The best method of connecting with your counselor during NTI is via email.

CORE CURRICULUM COUNSELING LESSONS

Miss Christy will be visiting classes on a regular basis to teach Core Curriculum Counseling (CCC) Lessons. Lessons will focus on social/emotional wellness and helping each student to discover his/her own unique gifts/talents. This year’s theme for CCC lessons, formerly known as Classroom Guidance, is “Everyone is a Star. How do you shine now? How will you shine in the future?” The CCC Schedule for grades K-5 is coming soon. CCC Lessons will begin mid to late September to give teachers and students time to acclimate to NTI.

TESTING

Kindergarten ONLY:

BRIGANCE, the Kindergarten screener, has been postponed by KDE. More information will be shared with parents as it becomes available to schools.

Grades 3-10 ONLY:

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), which is connected to JCPS's Advance Program, is typically given to students in grades 3-10 mid-October. All third grade students take this test. Students in grades 4-10 must sign up to take this test. Sign ups usually happen mid to late September. However, due to NTI, we are waiting for more information from the JCPS Testing Unit about how to proceed with this test this year. Information will be shared as soon as we know more from the Testing Unit.

PARENT RESOURCES

Student/Parent Tutorials for Google CLICK HERE.
Tips for Parents during NTI Activities CLICK HERE.
COVID 19: Help Kids Manage the Stress of Social Distancing CLICK HERE.
Additional Parent Resources CLICK HERE.

Think your child may need some extra social/emotional assistance during this uncertain time? Here are the steps to follow:

Email your child's School Counselor - christy.teague@jefferson.kyschools.us (grades K-5) or pam.willison@jefferson.kyschools.us (grades 6-12) - OR complete and submit the Brown NTI Counseling Support Request form.
You will receive an email or phone call back from your counselor or our mental health practitioner, Sara Castro Doherty, to discuss next steps with you.

Mental Health

Interested in counseling services for your child? Re-enrolling your child in counseling for the 20-21 school year?

Sara Castro Doherty will be providing counseling services again this year for any child needing some extra assistance during this unprecedented time. Is your child frustrated with NTI, anxious about the current state for our world, struggling with isolation? If so then your child may benefit from some additional social-emotional support from our personal development counselor. Individual counseling sessions would occur via google meet weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on the specific needs of your child. If you are interested please either email sara.castrodoherty@jefferson.kyschools.us or complete this counseling referral google form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZhHLd89FVRaaQj826UpXcPgoTVHJvVJUHyiIrmAbWubH3Og/viewform?usp=sf_link

FRYSC

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 state ID number, call 313-HELP. Our team can connect you to the right department to get that information.

This Week's Backpack Tip

We had a great first day back!! It was great to see everyone. We had several students sign up to defend early on Sept. 25th!! Ask your child if they were one of them.

We also answered some really good questions about the backpack and the defenses. Do you have questions? Reach out to Amy or Norah. 🎒