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!

Did you know that most JCPS schools are offering free meals to all students on Tuesdays & Thursdays? Students do not need to be present at pick up. Click here for more details.

High School Fall Sports:

This week marks the start of official practices for volleyball, soccer and cross country. We will have a great week of practices before we start games next week. Our volleyball team will be at Whitefield next Monday 9/14 and our boys soccer team will be at St. X on Tuesday 9/15. Both teams will be up against good competition, but we know our Bears and Lady Bears are up to the challenge!

Our cross Country team will have their first meet this Thursday vs JTown. The meet will be at Joe Creason park and we look forward to seeing all of our runners hard work pay off. Good luck Brown cross country!

As a reminder, 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:

Middle school fall sports are canceled until we are back to in-person school.

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!!

Middle & High School Counseling (6-12)

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

From Pam Willison, Middle and High School Counselor

*September 9, 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,

In the coming days we will provide a virtual Mental Wellness Presentation to students in grades 6-12 which is a mandate for all middle and high school students in the state of Kentucky. This year’s focus is on mental wellness and how students can make their mental health a priority. After the presentation, students who indicate that they want to speak to someone will be contacted by the school counselor or mental health practitioner for individual support if needed. We also want you, as parents, to know how to access help for your child. The schedule of presentations for each level is below.

Tuesday, September 8: Grades 8-12 during Study Skills

Wednesday September 9: Grades 8-12 during Study Skills

Thursday, September 10: Grade 7 during Erin’s class

Monday, September 14: Grade 6 during Cindy’s class

We encourage you to talk with your child about the presentation or about their thoughts regarding mental wellness. Keeping an open dialogue will allow them to feel safe and help them communicate openly when they need to talk. During these stressful times, try some of these techniques with your child to support them:

• Find healthy, fun creative outlets that you enjoy and make them a priority (ex. Reading, journaling, baking, exercise, playing games, drawing, etc.).

• Rituals are important and can help keep things “normal” while we are all social distancing. Some examples are: maintaining a time to get up, go to bed, eat, school work and making sure there is time for downtime and peer interactions.

• Simple breathing exercises (ex. Take a deep breath in, count to three and then slowly let your breath out). Helping children learn how to manage stress and anxiety through breathing or mindfulness is a strategy they can use throughout their life.

• Listen to calming music. There are apps that you can get for your computer or phone that already have calming music you can access, such as “Calm” or “Headspace”. Take a look at some of the ones offered and find one that is best for you and your child.

• Peer and social interactions are still important and can help your child maintain some sense of normalcy. Scheduling time with friends through social media, online game play or just time to talk to one another can offer social support and improve their mental wellness.

• Schedule a time to talk with your school counselor. We are still here for you and your child!

• Check out these additional tips from National Experts on mental wellness!

• Don’t forget about yourself! All of these strategies are adult friendly and can help you as parents/caregivers as well! Remember, your mental health matters too.

While it’s important to talk to students about what’s going on in the world, it’s also important not to overwhelm them with too much information about the pandemic. Assure them that it will pass, but it may take a while before we are back to normal. As a parent, if you need any help or support while talking to your child about mental wellness, please do not hesitate to reach out to your school counselor.

Sincerely,

Pamela Willison, Brown School Counselor

New Bellarmine Program

*The Bellarmine Center for Community Engagement has initiated a new program entitled, Bellarmine Pathways: Knights Lighting a Path for College, which is focused on connecting current Bellarmine students with local high school students to help share their live experiences and the success skills necessary for college. Bellarmine students will lead virtual evening sessions via Microsoft Teams with groups of approximately 10 high school students to discuss the following topics:

1. Financial Literacy and Wellness in College

2. Personal Identity on a College Campus

3. Time Management and Organization in College

4. Effective Communication in College

5. Study Skills in College

6. Health and Wellness in College

7. Student Involvement in College

8. Major and Career Exploration

Register online at www.bellarmine.edu/ce/register. Under the “CE Youth” tab you will see the Pathway to College course. Select from the two course formats:

Option 1: 8 Wednesdays / October 7 – November 25 / 6 – 8 pm / $39

Option 2: 4 Tuesdays & 4 Thursdays / October 20 – Nov. 12 / 6 – 8 pm / $39

The deadline for registering is Thursday, October 1, 2020.

If a student has a financial barrier, please contact etodd@bellarmine.edu for a coupon code. The mission of this program is for Bellarmine and Jefferson County high school students to connect directly and allow a space for authentic dialogues on the expectations of college. We want all interested students to have access to these mentorship talks and resources.

*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 (we WILL be testing in person at school on October 14!) 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

***A note about paying test fees: We are changing our online fee collection partner, and as of now, it is not up and running yet. Check back here or on the Counseling Corner for dates when fee collection will start!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELING (K-5)

From Christy Teague, Elementary School Counselor

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.

Miss Christy's TIP of the Week: Our teachers need our encouragement....right now, and here is a short video from Gerry Brooks about why. Another testimony of why teachers are so important, now more than ever is this video clip found within Miss Christy's Virtual Office, slide 4. Our teachers are on the front lines right now. Many are working 12-15 hours each day since before the start of this school year, and most likely, before the end of last school year when we started down the NTI road. Just like us and our kids, their worlds have been turned upside down. They do not quit when the going gets tough. They push on, relentlessly, just trying to connect with their students on a personal, meaningful level....virtually, which is anything but personal and meaningful. So, if you are a teacher - THANK YOU!!! If you know a teacher, reach out to him/her with something positive, something encouraging. Just like our students need their teachers, teachers need us. Here's a scary question...."What would the world be without teachers?"

On a lighter note....Every Parent during NTI.

Miss Christy's Virtual Office is growing! Check it out to stay in the "know" of what's happening each month (slides 1-2), along with some extra themed slides, including Miss Christy's Happy Place (slide 3). This Virtual Office is a fluid, ever-changing, growing slide deck. As the school year progresses, so will this slide deck. Feeling stressed out with too many things to do and not enough time to do them all??? Check out Slide 3. Miss Christy's Happy Place is sure to help. Click on each of the items around the room to reveal ways to relax our brains that fits a multitude of interests, including games, art, drawing, music, etc. A little secret...if you click on the flute, you will hear Miss Christy playing her flute to a beautiful song - sure to calm the most stressed out human (child or adult).

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

• No changes since last week

PARENT RESOURCES

• Be sure to check out the Parents Ultimate Guide to TikTok because we need to constantly stay vigilant of dangers online.There are two Tik Tok threats that you need to be aware of: The Benadryl challenge where kids are recording the effects of the over the counter drug, and an an alarming trending video of a man that follows through on a threat to harm himself. TikTok is working to remove the video, but it has been shared and viewed thousands of times.

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 - complete and submit the Brown NTI Counseling Support Request form.

New for 2020-2021 Our SBDM (site-based decision making) Council recently approved two new components to the Backpack and North Star Academic Defense. These include: students demonstrating their development of the SDL Pillars and highlighting their SDL Student Showcase experience. These items will be stored in the School Signature Item folder.

Do you have questions? Check out our BACKPACK NEWSLETTER or email Amy or Norah. 🎒