Principal's Message
Dear Brown School Family,
Homecoming 2023 filled my bucket! It was such a wonderful time - spirit days each day, pep rally, Homecoming Court, basketball games, concession stand, HoCo Dance, and alumni events! It finally feels like we are "back to normal." So many hands made this day special. Thank you to everyone who helped make memories for our students!
There is no Bear Essentials next week due to the short week!
Love,
Dr. Angela
This Week's Essentials
Coffee & Conversations
28th Annual Black History Program
Come visit us on February 27th for our 28th annual Black History Program! To help uplift and celebrate Black excellence in our school community, students will be performing and presenting their musical, poetic, and artistic acts for the entire school to enjoy! The program will be held in the auditorium from 8:00 to 9:45 AM, and we welcome any and all guests to celebrate with us. we hope to see you there!
Technology Spotlight
Mr. Randy's 4th Grade Classes
Our fourth graders were learning about the Jamestown settlements and created poster advertisements for Early Settlement careers in Canva. Then they were able to print out their posters in the Ursa Lab!
Check out some of their products in the pictures!
The Bear Necessities 4th Edition
The fourth edition of the Online Digital Newspaper, the Bear Necessities is published and ready for the public to view. Click this link to read articles written by Brown students. Click on the Art tab/button to potentially see your child's artwork featured in the newspaper. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram to stay in the know: @bearnecessities72
The Bear Necessities of Brown have come back to you!
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.
JCPS Comprehensive School Survey
JCPS Families,
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.
Thank you to those that have already completed the CSS. Out data shows that 16% of our parents have completed the survey. If you are having any issues accessing the survey please email Drew Paige (andrew.paige@jefferson.kyschools.us)
The deadline to complete the survey is Thursday, March 30th.
Thank you for sharing your feedback and supporting JCPS.
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.
Parent Teacher Conferences are a perfect way to connect with your school, teacher, and student. Make that connection next Monday!
PTA Founders Day - February 17th
Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst founded the PTA organization when women did not have the right to vote and social activism was not popular. However, they believed mothers would support their mission to eliminate threats that endangered children, and in early 1897, they started a nationwide campaign.
On Feb., 17, 1897, over 2,000 people—mostly mothers, but also fathers, teachers, laborers and legislators—attended the first convocation of the National Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C. Twenty years later, 37 chartered state congresses existed.
In 1970, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (National PTA) and the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers (NCCPT)—founded by Selena Sloan Butler in Atlanta, Ga.—merged to serve all children.
As the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the nation, National PTA is the conscience of the country for children and youth issues. Through advocacy, as well as family and community education, National PTA has established programs and called for legislation that improves our children’s lives, such as:
Creation of Kindergarten classes
Child labor laws
Public health service
Hot and healthy lunch programs
Juvenile justice system
Mandatory immunization
Arts in Education
School Safety
Congratulations to National PTA for 126 years!
PTSA Enrichments - Registration Ends this Friday.
The last day to sign up for Enrichments is Friday, February 17th at 5:00 pm. Any enrichment that does not have 10 students will be cancelled and we will refund all money paid. If the enrichment is no longer on the page - then it has been completely filled.
Spring Enrichments Meet & Greet Tomorrow!
Come meet the instructors and find out about the schedule and expectations for the upcoming Spring Enrichments.
Join us Thursday, February 16th. We will meet in the Brown Auditorium 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Conference Day Lunch - Next Monday
Please help us feed our teachers and staff on February 20th. Student Led Conference Day is a great way to connect with your child's teacher but also a great day to help make them feel special as we make sure they have breakfast and lunch. PTSA will provide breakfast and we ask that you help us with lunch by signing up to bring an item to help feed them.
Black History Month Benefit Concert!
Join us for the first Black History Month Benefit Concert.
This concert benefits the Music department in hopes to purchase a new piano.
Athletics
Elementary Athletics
Basketball is over after this weekend and we are so proud of our teams. The blue team had an amazing weekend, beating Cane Run and then beating the #2 seed Portland Elementary 18-14 in overtime. They will play in the final 4 on Saturday at 10:00am against Breckenridge Franklin, if they win, they will play for the Championship at 11:15. The Golden Girls and the White team is in tournament action at Seneca this weekend. On Saturday, the White Team will take on Bloom at 9:45 and the Golden Girls will play Byck at 11:15. If they win, they will play in the final 4 and championship on Sunday. A big thanks to the coaches, Mike, Petey, Greg, Kurosh, Terrance, Chris and Lindsay.
Cheer has done an amazing job this season and we have to give a special shout out to coach Lisa for all her hard work and dedication.
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
Advertising Banners for the gym can now be purchased. The banners are 3X5 and will be displayed in the gym for all of next school year. Please see the attachment for more information and if you know of any businesses that would like to sponsor/advertise with us, please pass it along. LINK
Track and Field- Started practice this week at Central High School. If you have any questions, email coach jelly at wagreenjr18@aol.com or Justin Leonard @ justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us
Tennis practice is going to begin on Monday 2/28. We will have another meeting on Thursday 2/23 for those who are interested. We are 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.
Soccer will have a meeting for boy and girls teams in the library reference room on Thursday 2/15 right after school. We will talk about paperwork, schedules, practices, locations and what to expect for this season.
High School Athletics
Advertising Banners for the gym can now be purchased. The banners are 3X5 and will be displayed in the gym for all of next school year. Please see the attachment for more information and if you know of any businesses that would like to sponsor/advertise with us, please pass it along. LINK
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 had a great shoot at Eastern 3D on Saturday and are working hard for our next shoot at Atherton on the 25th. 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, since the season is almost over.
Basketball had a great homecoming night on Friday, with the girls beating Waggener and the boys beating Francis Parker. On Monday, the boys picked up a big win over Portland Christian and the girls got a big win over Highland Latin on Tuesday. They will take on Southern Thursday at home, with boys playing at 5:30 and girls at 7:00. That will be elementary basketball night, where we will recognize our elementary teams at half time of each game. All students get in free and adults are $5 per ticket. On Friday they will play Seneca at home (boys 5:30 and girls at 7:00), before distrixt play starts at Male next week.
Track and Field- Started practice this week at Central High School. If you have any questions, email coach jelly at wagreenjr18@aol.com or Justin Leonard @ justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us
Tennis practice is going to begin on Monday 2/28. We will have another meeting on Thursday 2/23 for those who are interested. We are 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.
Diving heads to State this week. Good luck to Daphne Powell and Maisie Smith on Thursday.
Elementary Counselor
Check out Miss Christy's Virtual Office for all things happening with our Brown Bear Cubs. Hot topics: Gifted/Talented, Parent Letters (2nd edition coming home with students this week), Advance Program, and much more.
Middle School Counselor
The rest of this month is dedicated to self love in the middle school world. I've been talking about tips and strategies to self acceptance in my weekly PSA's and went into 8th grade classrooms on Monday to help students write a love letter to themselves:). I will visit 7th and 6th grade classrooms soon. The grading period is wrapping up quickly and I am empowering your young ones to speak up to their teachers to receive the support that they need. Finally, we have received more information about the BESS mental health screener from the district and will be reaching out in the next few months with updates and action plans.
High School Counselor
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!
Mental Health Practitioner
It's been quite the busy week this past week, and I'm hopeful everyone was able to participate in a homecoming activity! Here in the Student Support Center we have been focused on the BESS mental health screener for our 6-12th grade students. Cordia and Robin have included some information about the screener in their columns in the last several weeks. Related to mental health screeners, if you have a concern about your child's mental/emotional health please feel free to reach out to me or their respective counselor. We also have a referral that is available to students and parents to fill out to give us a little more information. If you need access to any supports beyond school please feel free to email me or call me in my office and I will be happy to connect you to the appropriate resource!
Connections
Family Matters
Preschool Penguin Party
Sat, Feb. 25 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Come meet a penguin ambassador from Newport Aquarium’s WAVE Foundation! Preschoolers and their families can also enjoy free activities, hands-on learning, and get a free book to take home, all courtesy of the Jefferson County Early Childhood Regional Collaborative.
Event time is 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Penguin meet-and-greets are from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m at the South Central Regional Library. Visit https://www.lfpl.org/kids/ for more details!
Cultural Connections
Next week is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent for Christians. Many of our students and staff will take part in this religious observance. CLICK HERE to learn more about Ash Wednesday and Lent.