Principal's Message
Dear Brown School Family,
Dr. Angela is out for a few days and Robin and Cordia have been enjoying the added responsibility just a little too much. Do not fret, our fearless leader will return Thursday, March 16th.
We want to acknowledge our Class of 2024 for the hard work they have put in preparing for the ACT they completed on Tuesday, March 14th. We know you are more than a test score, but hope you are proud of your effort and that your results contribute to you being offered all the scholarships and opportunities you seek so that we can celebrate your accomplishments in May of 2024.
This is also just a friendly reminder that the end of the third 9 weeks for elementary wiill be this Friday. We also want to congratulate our orchestra students for earning distinguished ratings in KMEA, and wish all the luck to our choir and band students as they prepare to go to KMEA next week and the week afterwards.
Love,
Robin and Cordia
This Week's Essentials
The SDL Showcase
Dear Brown Families:
We cordially invite you to our Self-Directed Learning Showcase. This will take place during the school day on Thursday, March 30th. All of our Brown Bears will be presenting a meaningful learning experience they had from this past school year. Please complete the RSVP Form HERE if you plan on attending. This will help the Welcome Center Staff know how many family members to expect so you can get signed in and arrive promptly to your child's presentation. We ask that you arrive 5-10 minutes before their presentation time. Below are the time slots of when each grade level is presenting. This will be our first SDL Showcase in three years so you will not want to miss it!
Presentation Times:
Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd - 8:15-8:45 a.m.
High School - 9:00-9:45 a.m.
3rd, 4th, and 5th - 10:00-10:30 a.m.
Middle School - 1:15-2:00 p.m.
LOST AND FOUND
Please have your child check the Lost and Found for any missing shirts, jackets, hats, lunchboxes, water bottles, etc. The Lost and Found is located in the stairwell on the 1st floor across the hall from the main office. Any item that is left on March 30th will be washed and donated to the community.
The Book Fair is HERE!
The Scholastic Book Fair began on Monday March 13th and runs through Wednesday March 22nd during the school day. Students 4th grade and above may shop before school beginning at 7:45 AM ONLY if they have an adult with them that has been signed in at the welcome center. The book fair will close at the end of the school day. Flyers will go home this week to make your students wish list!
Check out the link below to set up your E Wallet:
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.
Mayor's Summer Works in Blocks 1, 2 and 3 on Thursday, March 16th
4th Street Friday
JR Defenses on Monday, March 20th
ACT Informative Session
Any freshman or sophomore that is interested in learning more about the ACT can come to an information session during Advisory on March 17th in Norah's room. We will have a guest speaker that will discuss taking the ACT early for admission to GSP, GSA, etc. There will also be some SWAG giveaways!
Weekly Columns
2023 Move-A-Thon Run, Walk, & Roll Consent Form Needed
Our Move-A- Thon is coming and the first step is setting up our website, getting your permission to set up an individual page for your child, and lastly your child's t-shirt size. We have created a quick 9 question google form that will get all this info and share a little bit about the Move-A-Thon also.
Everyone needs to fill out this form - even if they don't want an individual page. We have to have your child's t-shirt size.
Need 2 -3 Volunteers - Next Thursday
Volunteers are need for the K-2 Math Family Day on March 23rd from 2:45 pm to 5:15 pm. Sign Up Here
Save The Dates For Upcoming Events
March 23rd - Math Night K-2
April 24th - Move-A-Thon
May 8th - 12th - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 19th - (Rain Day May22nd) - Field Day
May 21st - Louisville Bats Brown School Family Day
Athletics
Elementary Athletics
Basketball and Cheer- We will announce our make up Pep Rally soon. Cant wait to celebrate these awesome athletes!
Volleyball- We are going to start up volleyball for our 4th and 5th graders, after spring break. Depending on our response, we may open the opportunity up for younger players. Practices will be every Wednesday from April 12th through May 17th from 3:15-4:15. The practice will consist of 45 minutes of drills and instruction and 15 minutes of scrimmages. Any 4th or 5th grade student that is interested, please complete this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDorY3CNLnGByg4yTgk3HptIPTyjnwB_LTjzPmWasiT7y7qw/viewform?usp=sf_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 has its first middle school meet on March 20th at Norton Healthcare and Sports. If you have any questions, email coach jelly at wagreenjr18@aol.com.
Soccer practice started has started at George Rogers Clark Park for both boys and girls teams. Our game schedule is out and linked here (soccer schedule). For information about the boys team, email andrew.boles@jefferson.kyschools.us and for information about the girls team, email joshua.luttrell@jefferson.kyschools.us. See the app for information about purchasing uniforms.
Boys Volleyball is open to 7th and 8th grade boys this spring. We are excited to offer the first boys volleyball team in school history. If you are interested, contact Kathleen Mattingly at kathleen.mattingly@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Cheerleading is looking for a new middle school coach for next year. We would like to have one ready to go as soon as possible so we can order uniforms in August and begin practice. If you know of anyone interested who would be a great candidate, please email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us
Tennis has their first match of the season tomorrow, 3/16 against Atherton at Stansbury Park. We have a talented group of players this year and an exciting schedule. Tennis players, be on the lookout for information about ordering your shirts. 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
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
Softball has been going well and the kids are excited about the season, as games start next week. If there is a girl in grades 7th-12th interested in playing this year, please email Justin Leonard.
Boys Volleyball- We are excited to offer the first boys volleyball team in school history. If there are any students in grades 7th-12th that is interested, contact Kathleen Mattingly at kathleen.mattingly@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Baseball has its first game tomorrow, 3/16 at Waggener at 5:00. Come out and cheer them on to a victory.
Archery had a great shoot at Seneca on Saturday. Go Bears!!
Track and Field- has been working really hard and ready for the season. If you have any questions, email coach jelly at wagreenjr18@aol.com or Justin Leonard @ justin.leonard@jefferson.kyschools.us
Tennis has their first match of the season tomorrow, 3/16 against Atherton at Stansbury Park. We have a talented group of players this year and an exciting schedule. However, we could use a couple more experienced boys this season. Tennis players, be on the lookout for information about ordering your shirts. For more information, email matthew.davis@jefferson.kyschools.us.
Elementary Counselor
Check out Miss Christy's Virtual Office for all things happening with our Brown Bear Cubs, including KSA (State Testing) Window/Info (updated), Advance Program Identification Process, and much more.
Middle School Counselor
Last Thursday I spent the day with some of our wonderful student leaders in the middle school grades for the Women's of Worth Conference. The students had a lot of fun and hopefully learned a few things about stepping into their worth and committing to healthy relationships.
Scheduling is on all of my darlings minds and I will answer all of their questions through a video for the 6th graders, in person for the 7th graders next Monday, and in person with Robin on April 19th for the 8th graders.
We're celebrating Women's History Month with an art installation in our main lobby and are looking for submissions of art and/or works of literature by or about women. If you or your young one would like to submit anything just reach out to me through the student support request form.
Finally, I wanted to leave you all with this quote that I have to constantly re-read to myself as I go through my personal journey of raising two toddler boys: "Popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil and yet... the kernels do not pop at the same time. Do not compare your child to others. Their turn to pop is coming!" I'm not sure who said it, but these words are so true, even when it comes to siblings (especially when it comes to siblings:). Trust your kids. Trust the process. You are doing a fabulous job and I'm so blessed to get to work with our middle school darlings!
High School Counselor
We're celebrating Women's History Month with an art installation in our main lobby and are looking for submissions of art and/or works of literature by or about women. If you or your young one would like to submit anything just reach out to me through the student support request form.
Scheduling-Although Brown is not impacted by the proposed change in start/end times for JCPS, it has delayed some course scheduling tasks for the 2023-24 school year. Robin will be meeting with students in study halls to explain the Scheduling Handbook, graduation requirements, and signing up for programs such as Dual Credit and Work-Based Learning. Have your student jot down their questions because chances are many students have the same questions. Anticipate a pre-scheduling meeting right after spring break with students being able to access requests in their student portal in mid-April-early May.
Mental Health Practitioner
Hey Brown School! It's been a little bit since I've been able to talk about our quiet space, so I'd like to take some time this week to update everyone on our procedures for using it! As I have mentioned before the quiet space is a low-light and low-sensory room in the Student Support Center that is for all students to use when they need time to de-escalate or process strong feelings. It's proven to be very popular so far, and we have students using it almost daily. Whether they're using the sand tray, or taking a moment in our tent.
Since the quiet space is being used more often, we would just like to push out our rules for the space:
The space is available to all students, K-12. We have fidgets, seating, and other items appropriate for all age groups.
Students must ask their teachers before coming up to use the space, who will then call up to the Student Support Center. We understand sometimes students need to leave quickly, but this is a safety procedure to ensure we know where everyone is and that everyone is safe. It is also monitored at all times by a Student Support team member.
We are limiting use of the quiet space to 3 students at a time, with each individual student getting 15 minutes without needing to speak to a Student Support team member. Sometimes kids need a minute, but we don't want them missing too much class time unless it is necessary. The space is intended to be a place for students to calm down emotionally so that they can go back to their normal schedule.
If you have any questions about the quiet space, or how your student can utilize it feel free to reach out to me via email or my extension #2633.
Family Resource/Youth Services Center
FRYSC's are sponsoring a Summer Camp Kick Off event on Saturday, March 18, from 11 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Broadway Baptist Church, 4000 Brownsboro Road, 40207. Come see what programs are being offered this summer!
Northeast Christian Church will be sponsoring the Kentucky Prom Project on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, Marhc 18. This is a free event for any high school student who is in need of a prom dress, shoes, jewelry, etc. To make an appointment, email promprojectky@yahoo.com. For more information, click here.
Need something for your child to do during spring break? Click here for an updated list of spring break camps that are being offered.
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
Community Events
The 2023 Dow Future Women Engineers Conference will take place at UK on Wednesday, April 12th from 11:00am-3:00pm. The event is open to groups of high school women or individual students.
Where: UK Gatton Student Center Ballroom
Date: Wednesday, April 12th
Time: 11:00am-3:00pm
Description:
Join The Dow Chemical Company, the UK College of Engineering, and the UK student chapter of Society of Women Engineers for a new, exciting event on campus called the Future Women Engineers Conference. The conference will encourage female high school students to pursue a career in engineering. Participants will do a hands-on activity, hear from industry professionals and current UK engineering students, and learn from guest speakers, all while seeing firsthand how women have a prominent role in the field of engineering. Registration is free and open to high school students. Lunch is provided as well as informational materials, a drawstring bag, and water bottle.
Chaperones are welcome to stay for the event if bringing a group of students. However, for individual registrations, students only should plan to attend the event. There isn’t parent programming, so parents can drop-off the student on-campus, if needed, but shouldn’t plan to attend the conference.
Groups or individual students can register here: https://www.engr.uky.edu/fwec