Principal's Message
Dear Brown School Family,
Last week we shared information about how to enter our school building through the new Welcome Center. This week, you can see from the top photo why knowing how to enter this new way is so important! Shown is the area of our school that was used as our main entrance in previous years. Students and visitors will be unable to enter this way except for special events that occur outside the regular school day. This area will be for exiting only. A major focus of our renovation was to improve safety and security at our school. In addition to the Welcome Center that was discussed last issue, alarmed doors were added to separate Brown School from Ahrens.
This past May, we were able to meet with the Louisville Metro Traffic Team to share safety concerns we had with classes crossing to/from Peace Park at the 1st Street/Muhammad Ali crosswalk. Within a month, this amazing team responded with these improvements to the crosswalk shown in the bottom photo. Not only did this shorten the crossing area for our students, but it will help drivers to slow down. I am grateful for the Traffic Team's partnership and responsiveness!
Two weeks left until the first day of school!
Love,
Dr. Angela
Welcome to New Staff Members!
Drew Paige, Digital Innovation Coach
I’m so thrilled to be joining the Brown Family as your new Digital Innovation Coach and School Technology Coordinator. My main goal is to help develop the Ursa Innovation Lab in becoming THE top-tier facility to enhance technology use and spark creativity for our students, staff and community.
Bear with me as I make my transition from Bullitt County Public Schools to JCPS. In BCPS, I was the Digital Learning Coach for 7 elementary schools. During that time, I helped facilitate Blended Learning model classrooms across the district, assisted numerous educators to earn their Google Certified Educator level 1 and level 2 licenses, and developed or obtained numerous digital resources to use in any subject/grade level. I have a passion of finding new ways to integrate technology and sharing those ideas with my colleagues through professional development, modeling, and/or coaching.
I have a Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana University in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Teacher Leadership K-12 from Midway University. Prior to becoming a Digital Learning Coach, I taught elementary education for 8 years with my last chapter earning the honor of Teacher of the Year. At the heart of my teaching philosophy is to build positive relationships to ensure all learners reach their potential.
I am fueled by the loving support of my family which inspire me to be the best I can in everything that I do. In my spare time I love collecting vinyl records, watching Star Wars, playing video games and going on adventures with my wife Alayna, my 18 month old son Julian and my dog Minnie. I look forward to supporting all of our Brown Bears in all things technology and beyond!
This Week's Essentials
Join a Committee
Please sign up HERE for an SBDM Committee before 2:00 PM on Friday, August 19th.
All interested students, parents, relatives of students, staff, and community members are eligible to join.
Meeting dates/times will be determined by committee members at the first meeting. All committees will have a virtual meeting option.
Now Hiring!
Brown is hiring for three positions! Click HERE to view the job postings and apply.
Elementary Instructional Assistant - This person will work with students in grades K-2 in Cubs Corner.
Computer Science Teacher - All you need is a bachelor's degree and a love for coding. We can help you get your teaching certification.
Family Resource/Youth Services Center Coordinator - This person will help connect our students and families with services in our school and in the community, as well as assist with restorative practices and working with small groups of students.
Student Logins
JCPS has been experiencing a series of phishing emails targeting student and staff accounts. In response to this phishing campaign, the district technology team CHANGED ALL STUDENT PASSWORDS AS OF MAY 2022 to remediate any compromised student accounts and ensure the overall safety and security of everyone's data.
Take a look at this picture to see how families can find their student's log-in credentials (email/password).
Peace Park Beautification Rescheduled
Sunday, July 31, 2022, 12-4 PM
Please come join our PTSA and Alumni Association to kick off our 2022-23 School Year. This is a family-friendly event for parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, alumni, and community members. Please sign up HERE!
Goals:
🔹Clean up flagpole planter at corner of Muhammad Ali & 1st
🔹Safety check at fence lines
🔹General clean up
🔹Beautification
We would REALLY like to fill in the gap in the track over the tree roots. There needs to be a more permanent solution but for the time being if we could get maybe landscape timbers or something to edge it and secure them to the earth and then fill this area with mulch, we would be in a much better place. This means lots of mulch!
If the heat index is too high or there is severe weather, this event will be rescheduled.
Supplies to bring or purchase:
🔹Ice and water or Gatorade
🔹Sunscreen
🔹Work gloves
🔹Rubber gloves
🔹Garbage bags
🔹Leaf bags
🔹Gold and blue flowers
🔹Planting soil
🔹Mulch for a planter on the corner of M. Ali & 1st
🔹Yard and Work tools to bring:
🔹Roundup
🔹Lawn mower and gas
🔹Weed eater and extra battery
🔹Leaf blower and extra battery
🔹Rakes
🔹Shovels
🔹Scoops / large dustpans for scooping
🔹Branch trimmers
🔹Hand clippers or trimmers
🔹Hand shovels for flower planting
Weekly Columns
Athletics
Elementary Athletics
We have secured coaches for both soccer and cross country and are working on our practice schedules for all that have previously signed up. If we can open up more spots on the teams, we will let everyone know. Thanks to those parents that have volunteered to coach.
Middle School Athletics
Cross-Country Update: We are currently practicing at 6pm Monday-Thursday at Joe Creason Park. When school begins, we will practice at Waterfront Park immediately after school and pickup will be between 4:00 and 4:15pm. The fall schedule is almost complete and there will be a lot more meets this year! If you have any questions, please email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us for more information.
Volleyball Update: Volleyball is off to a great start. We have around 20 athletes already participating on our middle school team! If you are interested in joining, please email kathleen.mattingly@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Tennis Update: We are still in the process of hiring a coach for tennis. Many of you have emailed and I will let you know as soon as anything is finalized. The season officially starts on 8/30 but we will start practicing as soon as we can. If you are interested in middle school tennis this fall, please email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us for more information.
Golf Update: Golf practice has started and our team is growing. If you are in 7th or 8th grade, you are eligible to play this fall on our high school team. If you are interested, please email barrybridges58@gmail.com for more information.
High School Athletics
Soccer, cross country, volleyball and golf are in full swing. We are really excited about the number of students that are participating on our teams this year and are ready to compete. If you are interested in participating and have not been able to attend a practice, please reach out to the high school athletic director, Justin Leonard at justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us or one of the coaches listed below.
IF INTERESTED IN FALL SPORTS, PLEASE EMAIL COACHES OR ATHLETIC DIRECTORS FOR INFORMATION:
Cross-Country: matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us
High School Boys Soccer: Kasim Alsalman: Kasimalsal@me.com
High School Girls Soccer: Josh Luttrell: rja172307@gmail.com
Golf (grades 7-12): Barry Bridges: barrybridges58@gmail.com
Volleyball: Kathleen Mattingly: kathleen.mattingly@jefferson.kyschools.us
Student Support Team
Elementary Counselor
2022-23 school year, here we come! I am so excited to see and work with my Cubs again this school year! Click on my VIRTUAL OFFICE where I share more Back to School topics and my contact information. Click HERE to learn more about Miss Christy, your child's Elementary School Counselor.
Middle School Counselor
Oh, a new school year. Exciting and terrifying all at the same time, am I right? And add to that the pressures of trying to make your family proud, getting along with friends, and making the best grades ever and it can sometimes feel like too much. Something that has helped me is this quote from Winnie the Pooh (I know, it's cheesy, but hang in there with me:)
" You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
This quote helps to remind me that we all have what it takes to be our best selves. You got this. I got this. We all go this. We were born to win! A new school year is daunting, but it's also your chance to shine. So, my darlings, take a deep breath. You are already a rock star! Now, just keep on shining.
High School Counselor
Brown School students never cease to amaze me with their independence and initiative. I am so impressed with students that seek opportunities and extend themselves to go above and beyond to learn new things. We have dual credit students at Jefferson Community and Technical College, the University of Louisville, and Bellarmine this year in addition to filling sections in 10 different AP Courses!
Schedules are being fine tuned this week to balance class sizes and hopefully will be available for student viewing by next week's Bear Essentials (stay tuned). Once the schedules are live, a schedule change request form will be available and I will be in study halls the first two weeks to conference with students about adjusting their schedules if needed and setting intentions for the year.
Mental Health Practitioner
Our mental health practitioner, David Rutledge, returns to work on August 3rd. If you need any assistance in the meantime, please contact one of our counselors.
Family Resource/Youth Services Center
We are currently going through a restructuring of our Family Resource/Youth Services Center. In previous years, we have shared a FRYSC Coordinator with Central High School, but for 2022-23 we will be sharing with Brandeis Elementary. With that being said, we will be hiring a new FRYSC Coordinator in collaborating with Brandeis. Please stay tuned!
Connections
SBDM Update
There is a regularly scheduled meeting at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, August 2nd in the SST Conference Room. You can find the tentative agenda HERE. All SBDM meetings are open to the public.
Cultural Connections
Religious Observations - July 2022
Community Events
Need Assistance With School Supplies?
There are several community events planned where families can receive free school supplies.
List of events include:
Saturday, July 23 - Back to School Festival at Valley High School, 10200 Dixie Highway, 9 a.m. to noon
Tuesday, July 26 - Back to School Event at DuValle Education Center and Carter Elementary, 5 to 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 30 - Back to School Bash at Olmsted Academy North, 9 to 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 2 - Back to School Event at Charmoli Center Neighborhood Place, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, Aug. 4 - Back to School Fest at First Gethsemane Center for Family Development, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 5 - Back to School Festival at Northwest Neighborhood Place at The Academy at Shawnee, 9 a.m. to noon
Saturday, Aug. 6 - Back to School Festival at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.