J. Graham Brown School
Bear Essentials
November 17, 2021, Issue #15
Principal's Message
Dear Brown School family,
Last Saturday night was by far one of my most favorite memories. Peace Park After Dark was our way to give our students a high school dance, as inside dances are not permitted right now in JCPS due to COVID/social distancing restrictions. It was an almost magical night. We had a wonderful team of volunteers (some pictured) who helped with set up/clean up, shopping, supervision, and anything needed to make sure this was a fun time for our students and their guests. I want to give a special shout out to Tifaney Parry who was really in charge of making sure everything went perfectly! We had 100 students in attendance, who all had to present a negative COVID test in order to attend. Admission was free for the students and their guests, and they were treated to a hot cocoa bar, cookies, chips, and other delights. We hope to have a similar event for our middle school students in the spring. I have no doubt that Peace Park After Dark will become a school tradition!
Love,
Dr. Angela
This Week's Essentials
Book Fair
Mark your calendars for November 29th to December 8th because the Book Fair is returning!
To keep crowds to a minimum, we will run the BOOK FAIR a little differently but will give everyone plenty of chances to come up and see us. We are asking for LOTS of parent volunteers (From setup to run it during the day, to tearing it down). Please sign up HERE to help us out.
For additional information or to inquire about assisting us with our Brown School Book Fair, please contact amanda.klakamp@jefferson.kyschools.us
SBDM Update
Here's what happened at last night's SBDM meeting.
Dr. Angela shared a Good News Report
The council received:
SBDM Connections
Library Diversity Improvement 1-Year Plan
5 Goals Task Force Report 10/28, 11/11
Information about how the Budget Committee will conduct a Budget Needs Assessment for FY23, to be reported to the council in December.
Budget Committee Report (11/15)
Curriculum & Instruction Committee Report (11/4)
Professional Development Committee Report (11/8)
Racial Equity Committee Report (11/1)
Safety & School Climate Committee Report (11/3)
These budget reports
Flexible Budget Summary
Activity Accounts: District-Based; School-Based
The council approved these policies:
Personal Telecommunication and Electronic Media Devices Policy and REAP
Instructional Practices Including Classroom Assessment Policy (To replace Instructional Practices Policy and Classroom Assessment Policy) and REAP
The council did a First Reading of School Space Policy
The council reviewed these policies with no changes:
Review of Instructional Materials Policy
Review of Principal Selection Policy
Review of School Schedule Policy
The council approved the following:
Request for a Game Design Club
Request for Section 4 and 5 SBDM Staffing Change
The council completed training on the required HR Video about diversity hiring goals in JCPS.
Elementary Basketball Interest Form/Tryouts
4th and 5th Grade Families,
We're excited to offer our elementary students a chance to play basketball this school year. With plans to begin playing games in January, we would like to conduct basketball tryouts soon to provide some time to practice. Basketball tryouts for students in grades 4-5 will take place on Monday, November 22nd from 7-8 PM in the Brown School Gym. Please note that to participate, students are required to have a physical exam completed by a physician, and for those who are selected for the team, they will be required to participate in weekly COVID testing to remain eligible. A link to the physical form is available below. Also, to determine interest in elementary basketball, please complete the Google form below to indicate your child's interest.
Utility Assistance
The Fall Subsidy Phase of LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) began Monday, Nov. 1st, and the appointment system is now open.
Eligible residents (Jefferson County residents within 150% of the federal poverty guidelines) can set up a drop off appointment by calling 502-991-8391 or online at louisvilleky.cascheduler.com
Louisville Metro LG&E Assistance is available for eligible residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more.
If you're behind on your Louisville Water Company or Louisville MSD bill due to the pandemic, assistance is available! Apply at https://louisvillewater.com/CovidFunds or visit your local community ministry. Call 211 to locate your nearest ministry. Read more.
Parent-Teacher Student Association (PTSA)
WE NEED OFFICERS/COMMITTEE CHAIRS!
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.
All new memberships through the end of November will be entered for a drawing of a gift bag of Brown School merchandise, clothing, and other goodies.
Membership Drive: SWAG BAG Drawing
CONGRATS TO BRAD NUSS for being our September Winner for the Swag Bag Drawing.
Join the PTSA and earn a chance to win a J. Graham Brown School Swag Bag!
PTSA Meetings for 2021-2022, 6:00 PM
Our meetings are in person at the school, or via Zoom, CLICK HERE
November 16, 2021
December 14, 2021
January 18, 2022
February 15, 2022
March 15, 2022
April 19, 2022
May 10, 2022
Support PTSA fundraising efforts, Read about Members, etc. - CLICK HERE
Announcing our new Merchandise Site!
All new merchandise will be fulfilled by our third-party partners and will ship directly to you.
To visit our new site... click here
Robin Cash, Middle/High School Counselor / robin.cash@jefferson.kyschools.us
Counselors
Tip of the week: Kentucky Summative Assessments (KSA) REPORTS
STUDENT REPORTS MAILED HOME
K-PREP student reports will start being mailed November 5, 2021 or November 6, 2021. These reports help teachers know how to best help students in content areas and can be a snapshot of how your student is learning.
Connect with us: To connect with a member of the student support team complete THIS FORM and we will assign a student support staff member to meet with the student as soon as possible based on the student's needs and our availability.
We Will, We Will HELP YOU - a song to remind students/parents that we are here to help!
ELEMENTARY (K-5)
Click HERE to view Miss Christy's Core Counseling Curriculum (CCC) Lesson schedule and lessons.
Also, check out 21-22 Elementary World for more resources.
MIDDLE/HIGH (6-12)
The National Alliance on Mental Illness is offering a Teen Support Group for High School Students. It will meet Tuesdays from 7:00-8:30. If you are interested in signing up, complete this application.
AP Test ordering is upon us. KDE just announced on 10/18 a cost reduction for exams. Students will bring home a paper for a parent to sign agreeing to the tests ordered or confirming the student is not testing. The new exam price will be shared soon, but the papers coming home might still have the old price of $95 on them. We anticipate the new price to be much lower. As always, students approved for Free/Reduced Lunch do not pay for exams. If you think your family may be eligible, please complete the Application for Free/Reduced Lunch.
College Connection
Make plans to attend our first parent workshop with KHEAA. Steve Held will be visiting from 8-11 on Dec. 7th to help with all the college things - FAFSA, Scholarships, etc. Reserve your spot today.
We have lots of College Reps visiting our seniors in seminar class. Ask your senior what we're doing.
Athletics
Winter Sports:
Swim/Dive Team
Our diving team competed in their first meet of the season last Friday and did a great job! Daphne Powell finished 6th and Maisie Smith, in her first high school meet, 13th out of 22 total divers. Great job ladies.
High School swimming started their season last Saturday against Collegiate and did amazing, with lots of PR's. They will be back in action Saturday in the Fern Creek meet.
Middle School swimming with be back at the JCPS meet on Friday night, looking to build on their great meet 2 weeks ago. Good luck swimming Bears!!
The Brown School swim team is hosting a series of stroke clinics at Central High School this fall. The clinics will address the finer topics and techniques of competitive swimming. Click the link to learn more. LINK
Bowling Team
Our bowling team continues to improve, while taking on a very tough schedule. They will be taking on St. X today, 11/17 at Kingpin Lanes. Go Bears!
Archery
If any student in grades 9-12 is interested in archery, please reach out to coach Jennifer to receive information about the season.
Middle School Cheer
Middle School cheer has begun practice, but if anyone else in grades 6th-8th that is interested, should reach out to Ally as soon as possible.
Elementary Basketball/Cheer
Elementary basketball tryouts for 4th and 5th graders will happen on Monday, November 22nd from 7-8 PM. Students must have a completed physical form to participate. Please see the message above for details.
Cheer will begin in early December and we will send out information as we set a date. We can't wait to get started!
Basketball
Middle school basketball is in full swing, taking on Carrithers last week Both teams played great, with the girls winning 24-19 to start their season 2-0 and our boys coming up just a little short in a close game. Great job to both teams. They will be in action on Thursday 11/18 at Meyzeek.
High School basketball will kick off their season in a home game against KCD on Tuesday 11/30. The boys play at 5:30 and the girls at 7:00. We are looking forward to a great season from both high school teams.
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.
High School Winter Coaches:
Boys Basketball- Jermill Bibb - jbibb20@gmail.com
Girls Basketball- Josh Luttrell - rja172307@gmail.com
Bowling- Justin Young - justin.young2@jefferson.kyschools.us
Cheer- Aruna Keswani - aruna.keswani@jefferson.kyschools.us
Swimming/Diving- William Kolb- wmkolb@gmail.com
Archery- Jennifer Pasewalk - jennbeanfest@aol.com
ESports- Andrew Boling - andrew.boling@jefferson.kyschools.us
Athletic Director- Justin Leonard- Justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us
Elementary & Middle School Winter Sports:
MS Boys Basketball- Jermill Bibb- jbibb20@gmail.com
Girls Basketball- Josh Luttrell- rja172307@gmail.com
Elementary Basketball- Shawn Wilson
shawn.wilson@jefferson.kyschools.us
Swimming (grades 6 & up) William Kolb- wmkolb@gmail.com
Cheer- Ally Cunningham- alexandria.cunninham@jefferson.kyschools.us
Alexandria.cunningham@jefferson.kyschools.us
Athletic Director- Matt Davis- matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us
Family Matters
JCPS Family Engagement would like to invite you to tune in to our PAC Meeting being streamed this Friday at 10am:
You don’t need a Facebook account to join.
Family Resource Youth Service Center
Hello! I am Elona Mack, and I am Brown/Central FRYSC Coordinator. Need help? Your FRYSC is here to provide assistance. Click HERE for community resources.
Please contact me with questions or concerns.
Email: Elona.mack@jefferson.kyschools.us
Phone: 502-631-9146
Cultural Connections
Want to learn more about Culturally Responsive Teaching practices? Check out this information from Brown University!
Culture is central to learning. It plays a role not only in communicating and receiving information, but also in shaping the thinking process of groups and individuals. A pedagogy that acknowledges, responds to, and celebrates fundamental cultures offers full, equitable access to education for students from all cultures.
Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-Billings,1994).
Some of the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching are:
Community
CONTACT TRACING | Families will be notified if their student is a close contact with a COVID-19 case through text messages and email. If you are not already receiving JCPS text messages and emails, please text the letter "Y" to 67587. If you have any further questions, please reach out to your school directly to update your contact information, including your cell phone number and email address.
Click here or above to learn more about this new notification process.
COVID Testing
Drive-Thru Testing Option
Our 22 drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites for JCPS staff, students, and families are open from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m Monday-Friday every week. Doss High School, Highland Middle School, Meyzeek Middle School, and Newcomer Academy are NEW sites starting this week. SphereDX, the testing company, highly recommends pre-registering to ensure you will be tested. Click here to register. Please be sure you enter the correct information like name and birthdate, or your test results won't be available.
Weekly Testing at Brown
Families, please make sure to complete all of your required forms in Parent Place. That includes the weekly voluntary COVID-19 diagnostic screening testing form. More than 10,190 students are now signed up for this opportunity!
Please make sure to complete the form to indicate whether you would like your child to participate in the voluntary COVID-19 testing at Brown if you haven't already.
Click here to complete a student consent form.
Lost and Found
Here is a slideshow of items currently in the Lost and Found located in the lobby. Please look through it if your student has any missing items. LINK
CLEP TESTING PROGRAM
CLEP (College Level Examination Program) Now Available to All Brown Students
Click the link to learn about the CLEP testing lab located at Brown. This is an opportunity for our students to earn college credits for what they already know. CLICK HERE