Bear Essentials
J. Graham Brown School Weekly Family Newsletter
September 13 | Issue #9
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Brown School Family,
We need your help in our school cafeteria! If you are interested in a job that fits into your student's school schedule - this is it! Most nutrition services employees only work about five hours per day during the school year. If you are interested in working in Brown's cafeteria, please reach out to christina.watson@jefferson.kyschools.us. We have a nutrition services assistant and a nutrition services lead posted currently HERE.
We have a new teacher position available immediately! We are hiring a full-time MS/HS Spanish Teacher! The posting closes on 9/25. Apply HERE.
Our part-time English/Theater Teacher job posting closes on Friday. Our part-time Freshman English Teacher job posting closes on 9/20. Apply HERE.
We have a great work environment! CLICK HERE to learn more about working at our school!
Love,
Dr. Angela
QUICK LINKS
THIS WEEK'S ESSENTIALS
State-Required Communication with Families
Families with elementary students need to make sure they read both letters that were sent home with their students on Monday, September 11th. Middle and high school students enrolled in PE/Health classes also received letters to take home along with forms that must be completed by an adult parent/guardian and returned to school. These are district-wide communications required by the passage of SB150.
JR / SR College Prep Visits
To stay in the loop of all of the upcoming Junior and Senior College Rep Visits, please visit the calendar linked HERE to view the current month's upcoming events.
Chaperones are needed for the Juniors Walking Field Trip to Spalding University on Thursday, October 12th. Please fill out this FORM and contact Norah if you are interested.
All Seniors take a free ACT on Wednesday, Oct. 18th.
Last Call for the 2024 Costa Rica Summer Trip
Dear Brown School Families,
Did you miss our last enrollment meeting for our summer trip to Costa Rica Trip? Your student is invited to join us on this amazing educational travel experience to Costa Rica. However, enrollment ends 9/30/23.
If you would like to view a recording of our information meeting from last night click HERE. You can also find our enrollment page here: https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2578773ZV
If you have any Questions, please contact Dr. Kat at kathleen.mattingly@jefferson.kyschools.us
Pura vida!
Dr. Kat
WEEKLY FEATURES
PTSA
FYI
We are taking inventory this week and will be closing some of the store items as we do the inventory.
Please check back soon!
Fall Festival Info
Date: Friday October 20th
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Theme: This Is How We Do It
Fall Festival Committee meets every Tuesday at 6:00 pm on zoom - Sign up here.
Last week we elected in our co-chairs for the event along with our committee chairs. If you want to be on one of fall festival committees - email Autumn and she will get you in touch with the committee chair. We have logistics, marketing, vendors, auction, and games.
Look for information about volunteering at the event soon.
We have a donation letter here.
If you have a donation or have questions -please email Julie.
PTSA Meeting Before Open House September 21st
Join us for Lemonade and Cookies for our PTSA General Meeting. We will be in the cafeteria at 5:15 pm. The open house starts at 5:30 pm.
We will be going over the following items
Finanacial Reveiw from Last year
Approving our General Budget for this Year
Fall Festival Plans
And we need your feedback!
Thank you to all who ran for the parent position on the SBDM it was a close election with only 13 votes separating the top two candidates. Results can be found here.
Welcome our newest PTSA members for 2023-2024 school year: Sarah B., Jennifer C., Adrienne D., Kara R., Marcus D., Lori R., Norah W., Autumn S., and Shanika H.
Thank you for joining Brown PTSA! We now have 167 members! We hope that you will join us!
ATHLETICS
High School Athletics
Kroger Community Rewards for Brown Athletics
Please consider adding J. Graham Brown Athletics to your Kroger Community Rewards on your Kroger account. It does not affect your fuel rewards or cost you anything. Here is how to enroll or switch your Community Rewards account to J. Graham Brown Athletic Department:
1. Go to Kroger.com and sign in.
2. Go to your account on the right side of the page.
3. Scroll down to "Community Rewards"
4. Search for "J Graham Brown School Athletic Department" (If you need to switch organizations, click the change organization option)
5. Enroll
*Feel free to add grandparents and anyone who wants to enroll!
Here is a video of how to do this: Adding Brown Athletics to Kroger Community Rewards
If you have any questions, please email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us or justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us
Gym Ad Banners
Advertising Banners for the gym can now be purchased. The banners are 3X5 and will be displayed in the gym for all of the next school year. Please see the attachment LINK for more information, and if you know of any businesses that would like to sponsor/advertise with us, please pass it along. We can have designers create the banner for you, or we can use your current design.
For prices and more information, please email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us
Brown School Merchandise
Purchase Brown School merch and swag: Brown School Merchandise Store
Student Season Passes on Sale Now
Student season passes are on sale now- good at events Brown hosts (may exclude some baseball and softball depending on venue: Student Season Passes
Required Paperwork
Cross Country
Have had a week off to practice, but we are excited to be back in action next week a the St. X series and the Hillbilly Run.
Volleyball-
JV Volleyball picked up a big win over Evangel last week, winning in 3 straight sets. We are looking forward to taking on Shawnee on Thursday 9/14 at Brown at 6:30/7:30. They will also be at Portland Christian on Monday night at 5:30 and 6:30.
Golf-
Picked up a big win over KCD yesterday. They will take on PRP and Butler at Oxmoor tomorrow.
Cheer/Dance
Cheer has started up and we have a lot of participation. It should be a great year!!
Bowling
Bowling will have an interest meeting on Friday 9/15 at 3:00 in room 322 (Jake's room) for students in grades 7th-12th. We hope to see lots of students there.
Girls Soccer picked up a big 7-0 win over Butler on Monday. Taylor Morris had 5 goals and Sophie Garrett had 2 goals. They will head to All A State today 9/13 at Walton Verona at 6:00pm. Please come out and support if you can.
Boys Soccer also got a big win over Doss on Monday, beating them 4-1. Ali Alkhabi had 2 goals, Gabriel Rollins had 1 and Nolton Alfred 1. Great win Bears!
Middle School Athletics
Brown School Merchandise
Purchase Brown School merch and swag: Brown School Merchandise Store
Student Season Passes on Sale Now
Student season passes are on sale now- good at events Brown hosts (may exclude some baseball and softball depending on venue: Student Season Passes
Student Spectators are welcome to come to our games! We have been charging admission to students at a discounted price for the last three years. Our games have not been free since we were out for COVID. This money helps to support our student athletes. The student season passes are a great deal at $25 and is much lower than the JCPS recommended price. If students are staying after to watch a 4:30 game, they can report to Study Skills and come down to the game at 4pm. Students are not allowed to stay in the lobby, walk to a restaurant, gas station, etc. If games start at 5pm or later, students will need to go home and then return 30 minutes prior to game time when the gates open. If students would like to help in an official capacity (line judge, scoreboard, set up or cleanup) for free admission, please have them contact Matt Davis or Justin Leonard. Also, we want our students in the games to support our teams, so they are not allowed to remain in the lobby or go to any other parts of the school that are unsupervised. Thanks!
Cross-County 6th grade boys won third consecutive JCPS meet of the year. Sara Rogers was 3rd overall in 7th grade!
Volleyball varsity is still leading their division after a couple tough matches this week.
Tennis played its second match of the season, defeating Westport on Thursday. They play Crosby on Thursday at George Rogers Clark Park at 6pm.
Bowling- Any students in grades 7th-12th interested in bowling, should plan to attend a short interest meeting on Friday 9/15 at 3:00 in room 320 (Jake's room).
Cheerleading is currently looking of a coach for this season. We need to hire a coach as soon as possible so we can start the process. We need a coach in place by the second week of October in order to have a team. If you know of anyone interested, please email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Elementary School Athletics
Elementary cross country has now entered some meets, so our runners and coaches are working hard to get ready for those! Their first meet will be on 9/15.
Elementary soccer will be in action this Saturday at Francis Parker in Goshen. Team 1 will take on Little Flock at 10:30 and Team 2 will take on Francis Parker at 10:30.
MUSICAL NOTATIONS
Fundraiser and MySchoolBucks Update
World's Finest Chocolate fundraiser is in full swing in the music department. The goal for each student is to sell 3 boxes each. The final end date for the sale is September 22, 2023. Please turn in all the money to Amy Noon in the band room. Do you have questions? Email amy.noon@jefferson.kyschools.us or tamika.carr@jefferson.kyschools.us
"My school bucks" is the platform where you pay the instrument rental fee and class fee. This platform is not up and running yet so please hold off on paying these fees until an announcement is made.
STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM
Click HERE to request Student Support and a member of our team will reach out!
Family Resource/Youth Services Center Coordinator
Kendall Vision Ministry will be hosting a glasses clinic on October 6, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at Fern Creek Baptist Church. Form more information call 502-640-2227.
Big Smiles Dental program will be here this Friday, September 15. If have not compeleted a dental form, please contact Tara Davis.
The Salvation Army is now taking applications for this holiday season. To sign up for the Salvation Army Angel Tree, click here.
Great news! ALL JCPS students are now eligible for meals at no cost!
Mental Health Practitioner
Do you need help finding mental health services for your student? JCPS has teamed up with Care Solace to provide referrals for JCPS students to find mental health service providers. This program allows us to make specific requests for services for students based on preference as well as need (provider fees may vary). Many mental health service providers are also able to meet during the school day, although they must have a contract with JCPS to do so (please ask your provider if this interests you). So if you are interested in any services please feel free to reach out and we will be happy to put in a referral for you!
High School Counselor
SOPHOMORES ONLY: The PSAT is tentatively Oct 19, 2023. All juniors will be registered. If you are a sophomore interested in taking the PSAT/NMSQT exam for practice, please complete THIS FORM. This is OPTIONAL and will cost approx $20. No refunds will be given for missed exams. There is no make-up date.
ALL HS Students: Virtual College Fairs are an excellent way for students to learn about the opportunities available to them. The Company, Go To College Fairs, offers virtual opportunities for students seeking more info about Professional Certificates, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Learning Differences, and First Generation enrollment. Please consider registering for any sessions that interest you! HERE is more info or scan the QR code below!
Middle School Counselor
Brown Middle School is starting a Peer Mediation Program. Peace Ed will train interested students after school here at Brown. If your child is interested they should complete this form.
Educational Justice is a great organization that is offering FREE tutoring and mentorship for 5th-8th graders. Did I mention FREE? Check out this flyer for more info.
I am so enjoying working with your students this year. If you need anything don't forget to use the Student Support Request form. Thanks!
Elementary School Counselor
August and September's STAR WORD is COUNSELOR. For my first visit into classrooms, I will be introducing myself to all of my students and sharing more about the support services offered by our Student Support Team (SST). I will visit each classroom once or twice a month to teach lessons related to our Star Word. Check out my Core Counseling Curriculum (CCC) lesson schedule to see when I'll be in your child's classroom. Later this month, we will kick off our Kindness Challenge with our Star Word of the Month: KINDNESS.
I am in the process of creating my virtual office that will be filled with tons of information and resources helpful to parents/guardians/families of elementary students (K-5).
There are several ways to contact me:
Email me at christy.teague@jefferson.kyschools.us
Call me at 502-233-2741.
Thank you for working as a team to ensure that your child has the best experience possible as a Brown Bear/Cub!
CONNECTIONS
SBDM UPDATE
We are planning a special-called meeting to approve some budget requests. Please visit the school's SBDM page for an agenda.
FAMILY MATTERS
Do you have a kid who loves music? Sign-up today for this awesome after-school program with @AMPEDLouisville
This program is for JCPS students in grades 6 through 12. Students will learn how to produce, write, and record a music and more! Register online at https://forms.gle/DNzSqiBgtV2Fcr3WA