Principal's Message
Dear Brown School Family,
I hope everyone enjoyed their traditional snow day yesterday, and I'm happy to see our students and staff back in the building today.
Make sure you mark your calendar for our 28th Annual Black History Program - 8:00 AM on Monday, February 27th. Read more about the program and Coffee & Conversations planned by our BSU in the section below called Cultural Connections.
Spring is fast approaching and this usually indicates an increase in the number of Educational Enhancement Opportunity (EHO) requests that I receive from families. I wanted to share with you what is approvable and not approvable for EHOs according to the state regulations.
These are all approvable activities:
The student is performing in a play or concert with a performing arts community group, or has a visual art showing, and their name is listed in the program or a letter from the agency is provided.
The student is attending a professional conference tied to core content and can provide proof of registration and participation.
The student is engaged in a cultural exchange with an agency and can provide proof of participation.
The student is serving as a page for a senator or representative and can provide a letter from their office.
These activities are not approvable:
The student is participating in an athletic event or viewing an athletic event.
The student is attending a religious retreat, camp, or training.
The student is going on a family vacation, to a reunion, or to a wedding, even if the family schedules educational-related activities.
The student is viewing a performing or visual art event, visiting a historic site or a museum.
All EHOs are submitted to our attendance clerk, Chris Wise. EHOs must be received by him by at least five days prior to the scheduled absence. Additionally, EHOs can not be approved during state testing windows. Parents will follow up with Chris after submitting the EHO to find out the approval status.
You can find more information about EHOs and print the forms from the Forms & Info page on our school website.
Love,
Dr. Angela
This Week's Essentials
JCPS Comprehensive School Survey
JCPS Families,
It’s time to take the Jefferson County Public Schools Comprehensive School Survey.
Families, please take a moment to complete this important survey and let your voices be heard. It’s completely anonymous, and results are used to improve our schools—everything from school climate and curriculum to safety and more.
Take the survey now at https://assessment.jefferson.kyschools.us/surveyTool/cssParentLandingPage.aspx.
The deadline to complete the survey is Thursday, March 30th.
Thank you for sharing your feedback and supporting JCPS.
Technology Spotlight
Kindergarten's 100th Day Celebration
Both Kindergarten classes came to the Ursa Innovation Lab for the first time to create buttons for their 100th Day Celebration. The button maker is kind of like magic in the process of creating a button so they students had a blast saying their favorite magic words like Hocus Pocus and Abra Kadabra while making their own button.
Check out some of their designs in the images below:
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.
Coffee and Conversations on Friday, February 3rd before school from 7:30-8:00.
Celebration Ads - LAST CALL
Hey Brown School Parents,
Do you have a student in 5th , 8th or 12th grade? Then feel free to purchase a Celebration Ad! Celebration Ads are the perfect chance to commemorate your child's achievements, milestones, and new journey into the next grade level for only $20, with a 1/8-page spread! Ads can be created on both desktop and mobile devices when you sign into Jostens.com. Don't wait though, because the opportunity to purchase these memorable and celebrational ads ENDS on February 9th, 2023.
Create new memories today with the purchase of a Brown School Celebration Ad.
Costa Rica Summer Trip
Dear Brown School families,
Your student is invited to join us on an upcoming educational travel experience to Costa Rica in Summer 2024! When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and I would love to have your student join me on this adventure. Students in grades 7-11 are invited to join.
Come hear all the details, including the itinerary, activities, academic opportunities, and the cost of our trip at our informational meeting on February 1 at 6:00pm. The meeting will take place on a Virtual Meeting. Please click here to register for the meeting and reciive more info: https://rsvp.eftours.com/8kte2a5.
There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!
Thanks,
Dr. Kat
Weekly Columns
PTSA
New Phone In the PTA Office.
502-485-8216
Ext. 2712
Direct Line
502-754-4816
If we are not in - leave a message and we will return your call.
Did you know that you can join the Brown PTSA at any time?
We are still working on our goal of 300 members. If you haven't joined - do so now!
Concessions
We have 11 more Concession Stand Days! Some are after school and night options and some are Saturday times. The concession stand is fun and isn't hard at all and it helps us more than you know. What does the concession stand fund at our school?
It helped with enrichments last semester to pay for instructors so that we did not have to pass the full cost on to our families.
It helps with programs - like the silent disco, upcoming math night and several other programs on our schedule for all age groups. Every grade level will have a program that the PTSA has help fund.
It is also fun and another way to support our students.
Join us by signing up!
Thank you to all who have already volunteered!
We are so thankful!
Enrichments
Thank you to all who have already signed up for enrichments. Several of them are now full. We have the following still open as of right now.
Martial Arts 200 - 3rd - 8th Grade
Chess - 3rd - 5th Grade
Drama - 2nd - 5th Grade
Gaming - 3rd - 5th Grade
Archery - 5th - 8th Grade
Entrepreneurship - 9th - 12th Grader
Creative Writing - 5th - 8th Grade
Playbook 101 Jazz Club - 6th - 12th Grade
Intermediate Yoga - 3rd - 5th Grade
Sale on Anniversary Polos for Homecoming
Get your Anniversary Polos now before they are gone. We have them in white and blue with both the original Brown School Logo and the Bear Logo. ONLY $25.00
Athletics
Elementary Athletics
Basketball had a great day on Saturday. All of our teams played hard and the Golden Girls came away with a big win. They will be back in action this weekend. The Golden Girls will play Bloom at Seneca at 9:00 and the White team will also be at Seneca, but taking on Carter at 9:50. The blue team will have a week off before starting their tournament play. Go Bears!
Cheer is ready to cheer this Saturday. They are great, so come out and check them out.
Concession Stand Volunteers are needed for this basketball season. This will be for elementary, middle and high school basketball games. Without volunteers we will not be able to open the concession stand. This helps fund athletics and the PTSA, which provides opportunities for all of our students. Concession Stand Volunteer Sign-Up Link
Middle School Athletics
Concession Stand Volunteers are needed for this basketball season. This will be for elementary, middle, and high school basketball games. Without volunteers, we will not be able to open the concession stand. This helps fund athletics and the PTSA, which provides opportunities for all of our students. Concession Stand Volunteer Sign-Up Link
Basketball season continues after a huge 45-20 win over Conway on Monday in the first round of the Girls Junior LIT Tournament. The Bears now take on JCTMS at home in the second round on Thursday. Tipoff is at 4PM.
Tennis is one month away from starting practice. We are finalizing the practice schedule, match schedule and locations. For more information, email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Physicals and Paperwork must be completed before an athlete goes to their first practice. If you are unsure of the status of your athlete's paperwork or physical, please email us to and we will quickly look that up for you. We can also send paper copies home with your student. We ask that you do not put coaches in a bad position by attending a practice without your paperwork being completed.
High School Athletics
Concession Stand Volunteers are needed for this basketball season. This will be for elementary, middle, and high school basketball games. Without volunteers, we will not be able to open the concession stand. This helps fund athletics and the PTSA, which provides opportunities for all of our students. Concession Stand Volunteer Sign-Up Link
Archery will be back in action at Eastern on Saturday, the 11th. If anyone is still interested in competing, please email coach Jennifer at jennbeanfest@aol.com.
Cheer is doing a fantastic job and working really hard in their game prep and performances. You must come out and watch one of their halftime shows.
Basketball is still going strong. Our girls picked up a big wins over Cloverport last Friday and Fairdale on Saturday. The boys also had a big win over Cloverport and the fan support was awesome. Both teams will be at home on Thursday taking on LKY, with the girls playing at 5:30 and the boys playing at 7:00. Then on Friday night, we will head to Hoosier gym (where the movie Hoosiers was filmed) to take on North Bullitt at 7:30.
Tennis is continuing to do fast-feed lessons through the winter months at Advantage Tennis and Fitness on Mondays at 5:30. For more information, email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Swimming and Diving has a big week ahead. Our awesome divers, Daphne Powell and Maisie Smith will be at UL tonight, 2/1, in Regional Competition. Our swim team will be at UL on Friday and Saturday in Regionals. Good luck to Daphne and Maisie tonight and all of our swimmers this weekend
Elementary Counselor
We have a super exciting week coming up! Next week is Homecoming Week and National School Counselors' Week!!!
Please review the Upcoming/Current Events happening at the Elementary School level that include:
The [Gifted] Proclamation Signing Event will be Feb. 1st 2023, at 12 noon EST and last until 1:30 pm EST. It will be in the Capitol Rotunda (Frankfort, KY). Email Allison Mefford for more information: allison@kagegifted.org .
ACCESS Testing for English Learning students.
CCC Schedule / Small Group Counseling Schedule.
Identification for Advance Program and all other Gifted/Talented categories (except General Intellectual Ability (GIA)) beings in February.
Also visit Miss Christy's Virtual Office to review more information related to the elementary world at Brown.
Middle School Counselor
We have several exciting things happening in the middle school in the next few weeks.
Not Your Stereotypical Kids, Brown School's student lead advocacy group, will be visiting 6th-8th grade classrooms next Monday-Wednesday to do Story Exchanges. The students in this group have worked diligently to prepare and I am looking forward to seeing their leadership in action.
I will be visiting 7th and 8th grade classrooms on the 13th and 20th to talk self love and self care with guest speaker and community organizer Rosemary Sims.
The Whitney Young Scholars Program is currently taking applications. Click this link for more info and to apply.
And finally, I wanted to share with everyone the app We Read Too. It's an online directory of books for kids and young adults that feature diversity and BIPOC characters.
Thank you again for letting me work with your darlings!
High School Counselor
Freshmen have been invited to attend Operation Angel Summit. This is a JCPS sponsored event to educate students on the dangers of Human Trafficking. Info was delivered in your student's Civics or English 1 class. Please complete permission slips or opt out and return the form to Stacy Pendleton ASAP.
Repeat info:
JUNIORS-All juniors are automatically enrolled in the state mandated ACT test for this March. The test will be at Brown and students will receive more info in Jr. Seminar with Norah. Please complete the permission form and return it to Norah ASAP so that your student can send their scores for free to colleges!
BESS Mental Health Screener: Starting the week of January 23rd and going through February 3rd all 6th-12th graders at Brown will participate in a district mandated health screener. Click this link for more information and passive permission or to opt out for your child.
Mental Health Practitioner
This week I would like to show you guys some of the updates we have made to the "quiet room" available in the Student Support Center. The "quiet room" (which has also been called the "Chill Room" by some students) is a low sensory space available to all students who are in need of a quiet space to decompress or calm down from heightened feelings. There are several sensory devices available for use as well as soft seating and a sound machine. So far the tiles on the floor have been the biggest hit with our students and staff! Should your student feel the need for a break from class to calm down, they are able to ask their teachers to use this space to calm down. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me.
Pictures of the quiet room available in the Student Support Center
Family Resource/Youth Services Center
Need something for your child to do during spring break? Click here for an updated list of spring break camps that are being offered.
The Kentucky Science Center's Community Access Membership program provides a FREE one-year Family Membership for families who receive benefits through SNAP or WIC. The Community Access Membership covers 2 adults and up to 8 children or grandchildren ages 2-18. Click here to apply.
STAR STUDENTS
Click HERE to watch the Star Students' Slideshow! We have so many amazing achievements of our Brown Bears from this past week!
Connections
SBDM Update
Our next SBDM Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7th at 4:00 PM in the Student Support Center Conference Room. You can read the tentative agenda HERE. We are starting to make decisions for the 2023-24 budget. As always, we request your feedback on our proposed budget and use of funds. Please feel free to attend our meeting to provide feedback or send Dr. Angela and email HERE that she will share with other council members.
Family Matters
Once Upon a Orchestra
Would you like to introduce your kids to the Louisville Orchestra? Check out the Louisville Free Public Library's Once Upon a Orchestra's interactive storytelling events in February.
Cultural Connections
Our annual Coffee and Conversations, hosted by our BSU, will launch this Friday from 7:30 AM to 7:55 AM in Norah's room 310A. Students wishing to join just need to ring the buzzer at the door and share that they are going to the Coffee & Conversations, and they can enter the school 10 minutes early.
Mark your calendar for our 28th Annual Black History Program - 8:00 AM on Monday, February 27th. Parents and guests are welcome to attend
Parents/guests must bring a valid ID and sign in through the Welcome Center.
Be sure to arrive as early as 7:30 AM as we expect a long line of parents/guests. This will ensure you will be at the performance on time.
The performances are expected to end by 9:45.
We are working on live streaming the event for those unable to attend or to share with family/friends out of town.