The Bear Essentials

August 24 | Issue #8

Principal's Message

Dear Brown School family,

Our students have started their MAP testing this week and they are doing very well! Our teachers will be analyzing this information soon in order to better plan and differentiate instruction for our students.

We will have also practiced each of our emergency drills by the end of school today. The students and staff have done a great job so far!

We are changing our Open House date for our current students. Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, September 14th!

Our students are settled back into routines and appear to be adjusting well. If your student is having difficulty with academics or is finding it challenging to settle into a friend group, please reach out to us.

Love,

Dr. Angela

Quick Links

Principal's Message

Welcome to our New Staff

This Week's Essentials

Welcome to our New Staff

Rita Myers, Records Clerk

My name is Rita Myers. I have been with JCPS for 18 years. I have worked at Kammerer Middle School and Male High School. I am super excited to be at The Brown School as the new records clerk.

My husband and I have been together for 37 years and have 3 grown sons. One of my favorite things to do is just to hang out as a family. We always have a great time! I love being outdoors in the sunshine, watching my oldest son play in his softball leagues, and reading James Patterson novels!!

Vanessa Little, Instructional Assistant (Kindergarten)

I am new to the JCPS family, but I am not new to the Brown School. My daughter, Star Little, attended Brown School from second grade to twelfth grade. Currently, my grandson, Xavier Little is in the eighth grade, here at Brown School. I am happy to work with Mayra in the kindergarten class.

Before working with JCPS, I worked with the City of Louisville, with the JTPA program (Job Training Partnership Act). This was a federal program to help people get placed into jobs. I was laid off after 10 years when the federal funds expired. I soon found a job as an administrator assistant with Cox, Allen and Associates, Architects for 15 years until COVID-19 affected the architect industry.

The best job in the world is when you can help someone else. I am glad to be a part of the JCPS family.

Sharon Satterly, Instructional Assistant (K-2)

Sharon Satterly will be working primarily with students in grades 1 and 2. When a kindergarten assistant is absent, Sharon will be filling in for those classrooms. She will also be helping out students in grades K-2 when they are in the STEAM lab. Sharon has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Kentucky in elementary education, and she also attended Cambridge University for a semester. She is reportedly a history buff and can't wait to work with the students in Cubs Corner!

This Week's Essentials

Picture Day Coming Soon!

Grade Level Day/Time

⬇️ ⬇️

Kindergarten Tuesday, Sept. 6th 8:00, 8:35

1st Tuesday, Sept. 6th 9:10, 9:50

2nd Wednesday, Sept. 7th 8:00, 8:35

3rd Tuesday, Sept. 6th 10:20 10:40

4th Wednesday, Sept. 7th 9:50, 10:20

5th Wednesday, Sept. 7th 10:40

6th Thursday, Sept. 8th, each block

7th Thursday, Sept. 8th, each block

8th Friday, Sept. 9th, each block

High School Picture Day is during Study Skills

G1 is Tuesday Sept. 6 B1 is Wed., Sept. 7

G2 is Thurs., Sept. 8. B2 is Wed., Sept. 7

G3 is Thursday, Sept. 8 B3 is Friday, Sept. 9

G4 is Thursday, Sept. 8 B4 is Friday, Sept. 9

Seniors Lunch on 4th Street will be on Blue Fridays

Fall Dates are:

Sept. 2

Sept. 23

Oct. 14

Nov. 4

Nov 18

Spring Semester dates:

Jan. 27

Feb. 10

Mar. 17

April 14

April 28

We leave approx. at 11:30 and return by 12:15.

Seniors please get a lunch request form from Mrs. Norah.

ORDER YOUR FOOD AHEAD OF TIME to expedite this.

Order Your Yearbook!

Dear parents of the Brown School students (K-12), we are so happy to have your kids back for another wonderful year at the J Graham Brown School. Although this amazing year has just started, we know it won't last forever, so we commemorated our school's favorite memories of our students and staff in our new and improved yearbook.

Parents, you can buy the J Graham Brown School's yearbook for $45 at www.Jostens.com. This newly improved yearbook will include an addition of pages that will give more in-depth coverage to our school's clubs, activities, and events. We will also be adding the supplemental, consisting of 20 pages that will add coverage of activities occurring after the deadline (ex: prom, spring sports, graduation, Junior ring ceremony, and the rest of our school's events that occur after March).

You can't put a price on memories. Make sure to purchase today!!

Junior Ring Preview and Ordering

Junior Ring PREVIEW is going to be October 25th, in Junior Seminar.

Starla will be back and take orders in class on Nov. 10th.

Senior Scholarships and Admissions

All scholarships and admissions info as well as trade schools, job corps, etc. info will be placed in a Google Classroom.

You can have your child join at this link.

They should check it weekly.

Scholarships that have quicker turnaround times will be placed in the class remind.

They can join by entering the class code: @bsco2023

*Seniors will have the opportunity for a FREE ACT on Oct 6th at Brown! More info will be coming out in the next few weeks. Mark your calendars!

The Brown Starter Guide (For Parents / Guardians)

This Kindergarten Guide was created by a Brown Parent for Other New to Brown Parents. It has a wealth of information that will surely get your family in-tuned with all things happening at the Brown School.

We would like to thank Adrienne Dye and Andrew Scholes for sharing and putting this together!

Digital Safety @ Home

Technology is a wonderful tool for learning and communicating but just like anything else it does have its dangers. It is important to have a weekly check-in with your kid(s) about how things are going in their digital world. A great resource that has digital safety lessons and videos is the Family Engagement Toolkit from Common Sense Education.

Another resource to check-out is the Review Guide from Common Sense Media. Included are reviews of tv shows, movies, video games, and more so you know if what they are watching is appropriate.

If you would like other Digital Safety Resources or ever need any technology help, feel free to contact our Digital Innovation Coach and School Technology Coordinator, Drew Paige.

Weekly Columns

PTSA

William Mansfield, PTSA President - Click to EMAIL

Join the PTSA Here

Concession Stand

Do you have a passion for feeding a crowd while they cheer on our Volleyball team? Do you like helping out your PTSA run the concession stand. The PTSA runs the concession stand for all home volleyball games this season. Please consider joining us.

Newly Designed Brown School Shirts are in!

Want our newly designed Brown School T-shirts? We have them in stock. How do you get them?

Stop by the concession stand anytime we are there doing concessions for volleyball.
Order online at our MemberHub Store.
Open House on September 14th!

Athletics

Elementary Athletics

Looking for a volunteer! Contact Justin for more info.

Cross Country had their first meet on Monday and all of our runners did an amazing job. They work really hard in practice and we look forward to seeing a bunch of PR's next week. Our top 10 finishes include, Boys 2nd place in k-1 group, Zachary Haskin (7th), Theo Buckler (8th), Toussaint Tolbert (9th) and Greta Boettger (10th) in the K-1 division. James Zausch brought home 5th in the 4th-5th division. They will be back at Charlie Vettiner Park next Monday. Great job team!!

Soccer has also had a great season, where we are getting better each week. The blue team beat Portland Christian 8-0 and the gold team played much better, but came up a little short against a really good KCD team. They will play again at Whitefield this Saturday, with the gold team taking on Francis Parker 2 at 9:40 and the blue team playing LKY 2 at 11:20.

Middle School Athletics

Matt Davis, MS Athletic Director - Click to EMAIL

Tennis has started this week. Practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm at Stansbury Park and matches will begin on September the 8th. Email Matt Davis if you are interested in joining.

Volleyball started matches started this week and will be in action again tonight vs. Grace James at Brown. You can purchase tickets here to come out and cheer on the Middle School Lady Bears.

Cross-Country meets are underway with our middle school runners off to a strong start. We had strong showings in the Fleet Feet Relays on Saturday and a great performance yesterday at the first JCPS middle school meet of the year. In 6th grade girls race, Sara Rogers came in 10th place, Makaila Ashby 19th and Harper Joaquin 29th. In the 7th grace boys race Eti Le Beouf came in an impressive 23rd. In the 8th grade girls race, Lucy O’Bryan came in 3rd, followed by Erin Rogers who came in 10th. In the boys 6th grade race, the Jack Bosley came in 19th, Townsend Conley in 20th, followed up by Tristen Wick in 35th. Finally in the 8th grade boys race, Oliver Zauch came in 6th, followed by Ethan Wright in 11th and Oscar Wright in 23.

High School Athletics

Justin Leonard, HS Athletic Director - Click to EMAIL

Soccer continues to have a strong season and we are excited about the next games coming up.. The girls 4-2 after beating Holy cross last Friday 3-2. They will head to Walden on Thursday to take on Whitefield in the All A Tournament semifinal. The boys are 5-0 after Friday nights 4-0 win over Holy Cross and Monday nights 11-1 victory over Whitefield in the first round of the All A Tournament. They will also head to Walden on Wednesday 8/24 to play #1 Collegiate for a chance to go to the All A final. Go Lady Bears and Bears!!

Volleyball is showing great progress and the girls are working hard. They will play at Southern on Thursday at 5:00 and 6:00 and next Tuesday at Francis Parker. Go Lady Bears!

Cross country has started and our first meet was the Fleet Feet Relays this past Saturday 8/20 at Charlie Vettiner Park. All of the students did a great job, and the team of Trista and Taylor Morris came in 13th overall. They will head to the St. X Tiger Run on Saturday at Champions Park Here is the meet schedule for this year: LINK.

Golf is still going strong and all of the players are getting much better. In last Thursdays match against Central, Ethan Perry shot a 41 and Caleb and Joshua Williams shot in the low 50's. They will be back in action again on Friday, at the All A Qualifier.

Student Support Team

To request an appointment or check in from the student support team, please click here. This form is monitored by multiple people and can be faster than sending an email.

Elementary Counselor

Christy Teague - Click to EMAIL

As we transition back to school, it is important to help our kids learn how to do school again. Following our school-wide expectations is a great first step to getting back into the swing of things at school. Be Safe - Be Responsible - Be Respectful - And Always Pursue Excellence! For even more information related to all things elementary, please check out Miss Christy's Virtual Office.

Middle School Counselor

Cordia Pickerill - Click to EMAIL

Don't you just LOVE middle school! The hormones, the friendships, the romances, and the ever evolving search for selves:). I know this can be a tough time, but don't give up! Your children are doing a wonderful job. A couple of things to remember as we continue this middle school journey:

Coming to see the counselor is a GOOD thing. Please encourage your students to reach out to me using the 22/23 Student Support Request Form. It's the fastest way to see your counselor!
DEMONSTRATE positive ways to resolve conflict for your children. They are always listening to us and tend to pick up the very thing we don't want them to pick up. Show them that what we put out is what we get back.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I'm here for you and your child!

One last thing, don't forget that next week I will be presenting the Suicide Prevention lesson to all 6th-8th graders. See last weeks Bear Essentials for more info and reach out if you have any questions. Thank you!

High School Counselor

Robin Cash - The fastest way to request an appointment for a student, is to click here.To ask a question, Click to EMAIL.

*We have adjusted our master schedule to meet student needs and have added Adv PE and an additional section of AP Stats.

*The time to request a Schedule change has now passed. Student schedules may still change this week as we work to balance how many students are in each class. Students will receive an email if there is a change that impacts their schedule.

*Starting in the next week, the Mental Health/Suicide Prevention Check ins will happen during study halls. Students will receive a lesson and be asked to check in on a form. Students expressing interest in meeting with a member of our team will be seen based on urgency. Please talk to your students about their mental health and let them know that we love and support them <3

Mental Health Practitioner

David Rutledge - Click to EMAIL

As I am sure you are aware, MAP testing is here! While MAP testing does not count towards grades, it and any other type of testing can often lead to stress and anxiety in our students. It is not uncommon for many types of students with different learning types to struggle on standardized tests, while still maintaining excellent grades in the classroom. In our quest to do well on the test, it is a good practice to remind our students that they are more than a test score. So here are some coping strategies that you and your student can use when they are feeling anxious or stressed during testing:

Use breathing skills, this helps to slow down the heart rate and reduce stress in the body.
If your student feels stuck on a question, take a moment to pause and move on. Often there is plenty of time to go back to a previous question we missed.
Make sure to get a good night's sleep! Feeling tired and cranky can affect not only academic performance, but our mood and how we feel about our abilities.
Encourage your student! There is nothing that improves confidence more than having those we love reinforce it for us!

Family Resource/Youth Services Center

Tara Davis Click here to email

The FRYSC works to ensure that needed resources and supports are made available to families in order for our students to be successful in school. The FRYSC assists families with support groups, holiday assistance, clothing/food assistance, housing referrals, health services, and after school programming. For assistance, fill out a student support form click here. I am looking forward to working with our families and providing programs for our students and families!

Connections

SBDM Update

Have you checked out our SBDM page on the school website? Everything is there for you to stay informed - meeting dates, agendas, minutes, policies, and council member contact information.

If you signed up for an SBDM Committee, your committee chair(s) will be reaching out to you this week!

Cultural Connections

August 26: Women’s Equality Day, which commemorates the August 26, 1920, certification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote. Congresswoman Bella Abzug first introduced a proclamation for Women’s Equality Day in 1971. Since that time, every president has published a proclamation recognizing August 26 as Women’s Equality Day.

Family Matters

Maker Space Programs

Have you ever wanted to try a maker space or have an interested teen? The Louisville Free Public now offers maker programs for teens & adults at https://lfpl.org/maker

Wednesdays & Fridays (12:30-4:30pm) are Maker Lab Open Hours at the South Central Regional Library. Drop in to work on your own projects using the machines available in the space: Cricut vinyl and paper cutter, Glowforge laser cutter, Adobe Creative Suite, Makerbot 3D printer, Janome sewing machines, Roland large format vinyl cutter, and button makers. Patrons can use any machine for up to 2 hours. All machines are first come, first served. Patrons must complete a Maker 101 and sign a waiver to use equipment during open hours.

*Patrons under 13 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Call (502) 964-3515 or email SCMakerspace@lfpl.org for more information.

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