J. Graham Brown School
Bear Essentials
September 22, 2021, Issue #8
Principal's Message
Dear Brown School family,
Our staff works hard to maintain a safe, welcoming, learning environment for your child. As you know, we are currently making a huge investment in our school facilities.
Recently, we’ve become aware of a harmful national trend on a social media platform. Students are engaging in “Devious Licks”, taking video of themselves vandalizing bathrooms or other school property and posting the video on TikTok. Some students at Brown have been involved in this unacceptable behavior, damaging our school, creating inconvenience for their fellow students, and unwanted extra work for our administration, teachers, and staff. In one instance, an irreplaceable solid stone bathroom stall partition from 1928 was destroyed by students. Students are also breaking off handles from bathroom sinks, tearing soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers off walls, and affixing feminine hygiene products to the walls.
This is not the behavior that we normally see from Brown School students, and it is very disappointing. If this behavior continues, other steps will be implemented to try to prevent more incidents in the future.
I encourage you to talk to your student about the consequences of damaging school property for the sake of a few seconds on social media. If your student knows who is responsible, please ask them to report it to an adult at school. I'm proud of our school and our students. Help us continue to nurture that school pride in our students by encouraging them to “do the right thing.”
As always, thank you for entrusting your child with us at the J. Graham Brown School.
Love,
Dr. Angela
Quick Links
This Week's Essentials
COVID Testing
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.
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.
Device Agreement Form
The JCPS Everyone:1 program sees that ALL students have access to an instructional device for learning at school and outside the classroom. Each student will use the device assigned to them to on a daily basis to support and guide learning while presenting the opportunity for both school and home-based use.
Families, please be sure to complete the Device Agreement linked HERE for each student in your household.
If you have questions, please call/text 502-398-3450 or email amy.thornton@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Student IDs
All middle and high school students will receive a new student ID during lunch on Monday, September 27th and Tuesday, September 28th. Students who have not had their picture taken for the ID can do so during lunch on the days listed above. Students are expected to begin displaying their IDs daily beginning on Monday, October 4th.
MAP Reports
Students in grades K-11 should receive a MAP report from their teacher by Friday to bring home for parents to review.
College Connection
Is there life after High School? (Yes!!)
CLICK HERE for the latest edition of the College (& Career) Connection
This link is designed to help parents navigate the post-secondary world for Juniors and Seniors.
SBDM Update
Here are some highlights from last night's SBDM Council meeting.
Dr. Angela shared a Good News Report with the council.
The council received a report from the 5 Goals Task Force Report 9/2/21, 9/16/21
The council received the following committee reports.
The council reviewed these financial reports.
Flexible Budget Summary
Activity Accounts: District-Based; School-Based
The council looked at these policies.
Before and After School Supervision Policy was amended during a first reading.
College Readiness Policy was reviewed with no changes.
Conflict Resolution Protocol Policy was reviewed with no changes.
Consultation for Hiring Policy was reviewed with no changes.
Extracurricular Programs Policy was reviewed with no changes.
The council approved a request to change Principal’s Advisory Board to Student Council
The council approved the 2020-21 School Program Report
The council received feedback on EMPT goals and approved revisions for Goal #1.
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
Family Matters
Sept 24th– Deadline for Families to apply for the 2021-2022 Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership Fellowship -designed to offer participants information related to Kentucky’s education system and key topics relevant today, to help increase success for all students. Learn more and apply here -https://prichardcommittee.org/cipl-application/
Who can apply? All parents, guardians, mentors, and other community members in any Kentucky county who support K-12 public school students and want to expand their capacity as citizen champions for education.
@NAMILouisville is bring recognition to #SuicidePreventionWeek by offering free trainings thru Oct 31. It's easy to sign up for a 1hr online training at NAMILouisville.Org/QPR
Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA)
Win a Courtyard Pizza Party for your Class!
Join the PTSA for just $5 and help your child’s class win a pizza party in the courtyard! The more members of your family that join, the better chance your child’s class has to win! The contest starts today!
Parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, middle and high school students, and any other family members may join for just $5.00 per person. Click here to join by October 10th.
JOIN THE 2021-2022 PTSA!
Open to all Parents/Guardians, Faculty/Staff, Students (5th grade+), or Grandparents. Join Here
Open to all Parents/Guardians, Faculty/Staff, Students (5th grade+), or Grandparents. Join Here
PTSA Meetings for 2021-2022, 6:00PM
September 21, 2021
October 19, 2021
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
Walter Zausch, PTSA President brownptsa.president@gmail.com
Membership Drive: SWAG BAG Drawing
Join the PTSA and earn a chance to win a J. Graham Brown School Swag Bag!
All new memberships through the end of September will be entered for a drawing of a gift bag of Brown School merchandise, clothing, and other goodies.
August's winner will be announced here in Bear Essentials. Parents, 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.
Reflections
Show us your creativity. Participate in Brown PTSA Reflections. More information: https://bit.ly/BrownReflections
Counselors
Christy Teague, Elementary School Counselor / christy.teague@jefferson.kyschools.us
Robin Cash, Middle/High School Counselor / robin.cash@jefferson.kyschools.us
Tip of the week: If a student needs to meet with a member of our Student Support Team, we are just a few clicks away! 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.
ELEMENTARY (K-5)
Click HERE to view Miss Christy's Core Counseling Curriculum (CCC) Lesson schedule and lessons. Also, check out Miss Christy's Virtual Office for more resources.
The qualifying test for the Advance Program, the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) will be given on October 21, 2021. All students in grades 3 and 4 will take this test. Students in grades 5 and above who are not yet identified as Advance Program are highly recommended to take this test. The deadline to request to take this test for grades 5 and above has passed. However, you may email Christy Teague at christy.teague@jefferson.kyschools.us if you want your child to test. If your child is already taking Advanced level courses in middle/high school, the student is most likely already an Advance Program student and does not need to take this test. Contact Christy Teague at christy.teague@jeffersonkyschools.us if you have any questions.
MIDDLE/HIGH (6-12)
The end of the six weeks was 9/20 and grades will be posted 9/24. Please take time to discuss any concerns of your progress you have with your teachers and create a plan with them if you need to adjust how you study or do your homework. Also check on Eschool progress if you have any Eschool classes! Don't forget to utilize your study hall teachers if you need support!
PSAT Sign-ups for the PSAT closed on 9/14. Information regarded the location and time will be available soon! If you signed up, mark your calendar for Wednesday, Oct 13th!
Athletics
Fall Sports:
The Lady Bears soccer team will be back in action tonight 9/22 vs Holy Cross. They've had a tough few weeks, with other teams canceling or ending their seasons early, but our players have continued to work hard and enjoy practices.
Boys soccer had some great games in the last week, beating Central 7-0, Portland Christian 10-0 and Seneca 2-0. They will be back in action tonight 9/22 at Holy Cross.
High School volleyball is showing great growth as a team and individuals. They had a tough schedule over the past week, with some of the biggest teams in the city. They are back in action on Friday, 9/24 at St. Francis of Goshen.
Middle School volleyball also continues to show improvement. They will head to Lassiter today, 9/22 for a JV and varsity match. Go Lady Bears!!
Middle and High School Cross Country has been rained out this week, but will have make up meets tomorrow, 9/23. The middle school team will head to Moore for the JCPS meet and High School will be at Louisville Champions Park for the JCPS Master Meet. We have 2 really good team, so we know they will have great meets.
Elementary Cross Country had a great meet Monday at Charlie Vettiner Park. The distances continue to increase, but our runners are prepared and up to the challenge.
Golf is coming off of a strong week, beating Waggener and Shawnee. Ethan Perry shot a 41, his best round of the season. Ty Evrard, Josh Williams, and Caleb Williams, also shot their best rounds of the year. Ethan Perry will head to the Regional Meet next Tuesday at Nevel Meade.
Winter sports are getting ready to begin, with swimming and ESports starting very soon. Please reach out to the coaches listed below, in order to get more information. All student-athletes must 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
Swimming- William Kolb- wmkolb@gmail.com
Archery- Alex Murphy- alex.murphy@jefferson.kyschools.us
ESports- Andrew Boling- andrew.boling@jefferson.kyschools.us
Athletic Director- Justin Leonard- Justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us
Middle School Sports:
Elementary and Middle School Spring Sports:
Boys Basketball- Jermill Bibb- jbibb20@gmail.com
Girls Basketball- Josh Luttrell- rja172307@gmail.com
Swimming- William Kolb- wmkolb@gmail.com
Golf- Barry Bridges- abbridges@aol.com
Athletic Director- Matt Davis- matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us
Cultural Connections
Envision Equity Magazine
Check out the September 2021 edition of Envision Equity. In this issue, you can read a recap of the Literacy & Numeracy Program the Diversity, Equity, and Poverty (DEP) Department hosted this summer. Be sure to take a look at the resources to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, plus many more awesome stories.
Religious holidays in October:
Dussehra (Hinduism): October 15; Hindu students and employees may be absent on this day.
Mawlid al Nabi (Islam): October 18-19; Muslim students and employees may be absent during this observance.
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.