J. Graham Brown School

Bear Essentials

April 20, 2022, Issue #33

Principal's Message

Dear Brown School family,

Last week was a record-setting week for the J. Graham Brown School. Over 33% of our junior class has been admitted these selective Governor's Schools!

  • Natalie Sato and Nicholas Neagle were admitted to the Governor’s Scholars Program.

  • Lane Pry was admitted to Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs.

  • These students were admitted to Governor’s School for the Arts.

    • Creative Writing - Maura Austin, Keaira Carr, Peyton Jones, and Oscar Wood

    • Vocal Music - Amelia Conaway

    • Drama - Alexander Diakov, Ian Diakov, Chloe Fitch, Beatrice Friesen, and Sophia Hyde

    • Film + Photography - Mia George

    • Musical Theatre - Kayla McCoomer

Congratulations to these students and their families, as well as Norah Wakefield and Robin Cash for their tireless work with these students.

Love,

Dr. Angela

This Week's Essentials

Graduation Ticket Information

Requests for tickets to graduation can be submitted beginning next Wednesday, April 27th. Check that day's Bear Essentials for a link to the ticket request form. Families of graduates will be limited to a maximum of 10 tickets to start. More tickets may be offered later, based on availability.

Families will also be able to request handicap seating and/or access to an ASL interpreter. Please keep in mind that tickets will be fulfilled on a first-come first-served basis. Ticket requests submitted earlier will be closer to the stage, so please don't delay in completing the form.

Pee Wee Prom

We are excited to announce the return of Pee Wee Prom this year! If you are new to the Brown School family, Pee Wee Prom is a dance in which our elementary students (K-5) are escorted by one or more family members. (Similar to Daddy-Daughter/Mother-Son dances in other schools, but without any gender or family member restrictions.) Students must be escorted by at least one family member to attend.

Date: Thursday, May 19th
Time: 6:30-8:00 PM
Location: Peace Park
Cost: $5 per student/$5 per adult

Tickets will be sold at the gate. Please have cash as we will not be able to accept credit/debit cards.

Please do not attend if you are experiencing any symptoms of illness.

Sponsored by the J. Graham Brown School High School Academic Team.

High School Beta Club - SENIORS

Attention: High School Beta Club member - SENIORS - your service hours and $15 for graduation cords are due to Heather by Friday, April 29th - no exceptions!

See, or contact, Heather Anderson - heather.anderson@jefferson.kyschools.us - with any questions or concerns.

Attention 5th Grade Families!

Promotion Activities for 5th Grade

  • Thursday, May 26

  • 8:00 AM Breakfast in Courtyard

  • 9:15 Promotion Ceremony in Auditorium

In order to plan space and food, we ask all families please RSVP by submitting the form below.

Deadline: Wednesday, April 20th.

RSVP FORM CLICK HERE

Please contact Lauren.Wolf@jefferson.kyschools.us with questions.

Reminder: No Outside (commercial brand) Foods during school hours

Please be reminded that JCPS does not allow outside food (fast food / commercial brand foods) for students during school hours. Please do not send your student in with Subway, Chick-fil-A, McDonalds, Panera, etc or have it delivered to them during the school day. They will not be able to retrieve these food items until after the end of the school day. Also, students may not order food and have it delivered to the school during the school day via Grub Hub, Door Dash, etc.

Lunches packed / brought from home and in a lunch box / lunch bag are acceptable.

REMINDER: Let us know if you are leaving Brown

If your child will start at a new school next year, we want to make sure their records arrive in a timely fashion. With our building undergoing additional renovations with summer, we need extra time to ensure records can be processed and prepare your student's educational folder.

If your student, regardless of grade level, will be attending a new school for the 2022-23 school year, please complete this form.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding. Please reach out to our records clerk stacey.powell@jefferson.kyschools.us with questions.

Family Resource Youth Service Center

Shirts for Seniors All Class of 2022 graduates are eligible to receive a free dress shirt for graduation and beyond.

We still have loads of new Untuckit dress shirts, which include the blue ones and many other styles and types.

We're accepting student requests through a Google Form until 11:59 p.m. on Sun., May 1.

Use the link below to request a shirt: LINK to Dress Shirt Request Form

Need help? Reach out to Elona Mack, Brown/Central FRYSC Coordinator for assistance.

Email: Elona.mack@jefferson.kyschools.us

Phone: 502-631-9146


Click HERE for community resources.


LG&E Assistance Information

Family Matters

Bellarmine Summer Camp registration is now open! We have over 70 camps to choose from, including: Test Prep and Study Skills; Technology; Creative Arts and Humanities; Science and Math; Recreation and Leisure; and High School Career Camps!

Browse through our catalog in the photos here, or take a glimpse at the schedule at-a-glance, divided into age groups!

Our camps are for students pre-K to high school, so no matter your child's age, you are sure to find something to keep them engaged this summer!

For campers attending a morning and afternoon session in the same week, there is an adult-supervised lunch option.

For more information and to register, visit www.bellarmine.edu/camp-valor





JCPS ECE Parent Workshop

The ECE Department is partnering with the JCPS Social Emotional Learning Department to offer two parent workshops in April, “Supporting Families with Social Emotional Learning.” Both workshops will be held in person and are limited to 30 registrants.

April 22: https://forms.gle/GroF48sKGUPdRo156

Cultural Connections

In just a little over a week it will be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This often gets overshadowed by Derby events, so we wanted to remind everyone now. For more information about this important month, visit. https://asianpacificheritage.gov/

Walter Zausch, PTSA President president@brownptsa.com

Parent-Teacher Student Association (PTSA)

New: Move-A-Thon T-Shirt Sponsorships Needed

If you or a company you work for would like to help sponsor our shirts – please contact brownptsa.membership@gmail.com. Sponsors will be recognized for their contribution in Bear Essentials and their logo will be on the event t-shirt.

J. Graham Brown School Spirit Night at Louisville Slugger Field!

Join other Brown School families on Friday, April 22, at Slugger Field and cheer on the Louisville Bats as they face the Iowa Cubs! First pitch is at 7:05 pm.


Ticket are $10 each and a portion of each ticket purchase will benefit the J. Graham Brown School PTSA. Tickets may be purchased at fevo.me/thebrownschool.

Upcoming PTSA Dates

April 27: Administrative Professionals Day

May 1: Principal Appreciation Day

May 3: Teacher Appreciation Day

Mat 5: Move-a-Thon Day

Peace Park Amazon Wish List

Spring is on the way and our students are spending more time outside enjoying the Peace Park. Consider donating items through our Amazon Wish List to make their outdoor time more enjoyable. These items can be shipped directly to school (address to Doug Leonard / Peace Park, J. Graham Brown School, 546 S. 1st St., Louisville, KY 40202). Here's the link to order: http://a.co/7UFnVBj.

Move-a-Thon Volunteers Needed

The Brown School PTSA is planning a Move-a-Thon for Thursday, May 5th, and we need your help to make it a success. Volunteers are needed to help students with the water station, to distribute t-shirts or popsicles, as a general class helper, and much more. All volunteers will need to complete the School Volunteer Records Check (https://apps.jefferson.kyschools.us/volunteer/) by Friday, April 29th. To register volunteer, please register at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0e4daeac22abfb6-moveathon/. If you have questions, please feel free to email brownptsa.membership@gmail.com. Thanks and we hope you can join us!


Officers and Committee Chairs Needed

We have the following openings for Officers and Committee Chairs for the PTSA.

  • Vice President, Ways and Means (1) - Fundraising

  • Vice President, Ways and Means (2) - Fundraising

  • Secretary

  • Merchandise Chair

  • Concessions Chair

  • Enrichments Chair, Spring 2022

If interested, please email Shawna Stenton or Membership VP here. New Officers and Committee Chairs will be either be appointed or elected in a special election.

Join the 2021-2022 PTSA!

Parents/Guardians, Staff, middle/high school students, and even grandparents are eligible to join the PTSA and enter the drawing. Membership is only $5.00 and benefits our school in so many ways.

Click here to join.

Visit Our New Merchandise Site!

All new merchandise will be fulfilled by our third-party partners and will ship directly to you.

CLICK HERE to visit our new site.

PTSA Meetings for 2022, 6:00 PM

Our meetings are held via Zoom:

Support PTSA fundraising efforts, read about members, etc. - CLICK HERE

Christy Teague, Elementary School Counselor / christy.teague@jefferson.kyschools.us
Robin Cash, Middle/High School Counselor / robin.cash@jefferson.kyschools.us

Need Student Support?

To connect with a member of the student support team complete THIS SUPPORT REQUEST FORM and we will assign a student support staff member to meet with the student as soon as possible.

Counselors

STAR STUDENTS!!!!

Star Students in grades K-2

Star Students in grades 3-12 & 3-12

Past Star Students

Winners of the KINDNESS CHALLENGE

ELEMENTARY (K-5)

Need to talk to the Elementary School Counselor? Click HERE to see how.

MIDDLE/HIGH (6-12)

  • Robin met with the Classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025 and the scheduling system is turned on for those students in Infinite Campus Student Portal. She will be returning to study halls April 22nd and 25th to address individual high school student questions. The following weeks she will meet with students currently in grades 5-8.

  • Students interested in dual credit

    • JCTC dual credit advisors will be in Norah's room Thursday, April 14th from 8-Noon. See Norah in 310 A to schedule an appointment. We will attempt to schedule an additional day in the future with JCTC.

    • Students interested in Dual Credit at institutions other than JCTC need to take initiative to contact that institution's office to arrange for advising.

Repeat info:

  • Robin met with the Classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025 and the scheduling system is turned on for those students in Infinite Campus Student Portal. She will be returning to study halls next week to address individual student questions.

  • The Scheduling Handbook is now available for students and their supportive adults to view prior to meeting with Robin to schedule courses for the 2022-23 school year.

TESTING:

  • AP charges are posted to your My School Bucks accounts. Please make payments as soon as possible.

  • Schedules for Kentucky State Assessments and AP exams will be available after Spring Break. Note that AP US History testing scheduled nationally May 6th will occur locally on the make-up date May 18th due to school not being in session May 6th.



Athletics

Spring Sports

Baseball:

Baseball is going strong and after a break last week, we are ready to take on Waggener tonight (4/13) and JTown tomorrow night (4/14). Go Bears!

Softball:

Softball is also looking to get back to winning after the break. They will take on Moore on Thursday (4/14) at Moore. Lets go Lady Bears!

Tennis:

The tennis team continues to have a good season, although the rain has gotten in the way a little this week, but will take on CEC on Thursday at Stansbury Park.

Middle School Soccer:

Middle school soccer had their first game canceled due to weather, but will take on Olmstead on Thursday. Boys will play at 5:30 and girls at 6:45. Then they will face Highland in a make up game on Friday.

*All student-athletes must complete weekly Covid testing and have all eligibility paperwork turned in before they can participate. Those forms can be found on the athletic page of mybrownschool.org, under eligibility documents, or in our main office.





Track:

Our track team will be participating in the Fairdale Meet on Thursday 4/14. Go Running Bears!!

High School Spring Coaches:

Baseball (7th-12th)- Jake Amettis - jacob.amettis@jefferson.kyschools.us

Softball (7th-12th)- Amanda Gravens - amandaggravens@yahoo.com

Track- Jelly Green- william.green@jefferson.kyschools.us

Tennis (7th-12th)- Matt Davis- matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us

Athletic Director- Justin Leonard- Justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us

Middle School Spring Sports:

Boys Soccer- TBA

Girls Soccer- Josh Luttrell- rja172307@gmail.com

Track- Jelly Green- william.green@jefferson.kyschools.us

Athletic Director- Matt Davis- matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us