RIVER RAIDER

Dear Families,

On Thursday night we held our first band and chorus concert of the new year.  Congratulations to all of our musicians for presenting a tremendous night of music.  We had a standing room only crowd for the event!  Thank you to all the families who came out to support our music program and thank you to Berta Frank and Victoria Rosales for all of their hard work! The 7/8 Concert will be held next week on Wednesday January 22nd.  We hope to see you there!

7/8 Dance January 24th.

We will be holding our first 7/8 grade dance of the school year on Friday Jan. 24th from 7-9:00 p.m.  All 7th and 8th Grade BRMS students are invited to attend this event. Rules and expectations for the dance can be found in this link.  Students must be in school on Friday the 24th in order to attend this event.

Reminder!!!

On Saturday February 8th many of our students will be jumping into Lake Champlain as participants in the Special Olympics Vermont Penguin Plunge.  This event has been an annual tradition at BRMS for 22 years and we have raised well over $200,000.00 for the Vermont Special Olympics.  Jeff Warren (7th grade BRMS teacher) will be recruiting students and parents to participate in this amazing, albeit frigid, event.  We will be providing more information in the coming weeks. Here is the link to the Penguin Plunge to register or to donate:  Penguin Plunge VT . (link directly to the BRMS Team Page.)  

Please remember that we do not have school on Monday, January 20th in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.    

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the snow!

Kevin

From the Health Office

We have a number of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses circulating throughout our school community currently.  As a reminder: 

Stay Home When Sick:

Students and staff should stay home with COVID-related symptoms and any other potentially contagious illnesses or symptoms, including the following:

• Vomiting or Diarrhea - must be symptom-free 24 hours and able to tolerate food and drink before returning to school. 

• Fever 100.4 or greater - must be home until fever free without the use of medication for greater than 24 hours.

• Any infection requiring antibiotics - keep your student home until they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours.

• A persistent cough that disrupts normal activity.

• Excessive nasal drainage - check with your child’s doctor before sending your child back to school. 

• Unexplained rash - check with your child’s doctor before sending your child to school. 

• Red or draining eyes - check with your child’s doctor before sending your child to school. 

• COVID-19 infection - please call or email the school nurse to determine the next steps and follow VDH Isolation guidance. 

• Influenza - stay home until fever free without medication for 24 hours.

• Any other symptoms or illness that impede a student’s ability to learn or staff’s ability to work.

Last Day of School Update:

We know that registration for camps and summer childcare will be taking place soon, therefore, we want to share the following information that may be helpful.  

• Currently, we have had no cancelled school days this year and the last student day of this school year is June 13th.  In the event, we do need to cancel school for weather or an emergency, we will add these days to the end of the school year.  However, in an effort to help parents/caregivers plan for the summer months, we implemented a practice 2 years ago that the last student day will be no later than June 18th.  Any additional student school days added to the school calendar will be repurposed for staff professional development.  Please note, we will update the school year calendar on the schools' websites if the last student day changes due to school cancellations.  

• The 2025-26 Champlain Valley Regional School Year Calendar has not been approved, but the initial drafts have the tentative first student day scheduled for August 27, 2025.  The District will inform the school community when the first student day of 2025-26 has been approved by regional superintendents and when the MMUUSD 2025-26 School Year Calendar has been finalized.

Spring sports sign ups are hanging up outside the gym for the following sports- 

Volleyball - Open to 5th-8th Grade - Season starts late Feb / early March (exact date TBD) 

Baseball - Open to 7th-8th Grade - Season starts April 7th

Softball - Open to 7th-8th Grade - Season starts April 7th

The sign up deadline is January 24th. More information will be sent to those that sign up. Email matthew.lennon@mmuusd.org with any questions. 

Girls on the Run Coaches Needed at Browns River Middle School! This season, help 5th grade girls as a Girls on the Run coach and teach them that they have the power to keep going, no matter what they encounter. In our curriculum, coaches empower participants to tackle challenges, giving them the confidence to do hard things, encourage others to do the same, and make a difference in their community. Sign up to coach and be a part of the movement today! 

Not a runner? Haven’t coached before? No problem! Girls on the Run VT (GOTRVT) provides training, easy to follow lesson plans, supplies and support for a transformational season. Our season begins the week of March 17, 2025 and ends with a celebratory 5K on Saturday May 31st. Over the 10 week season our team will meet twice weekly for 90 minute sessions to connect, move, learn and have FUN! 

Visit gotrvt.org/coach to learn more or sign up to volunteer. Questions? Contact GOTRVT at stephanie@girlsontherunvermont.org or 802-871-5664.

Family Support Programs are offered free of charge to Vermont parents and families.  

Do you or someone you know want to learn more about the programs we offer?

Visit our website at: www.pcavt.org/family-support-programs,

email us at familysupport@pcavt.org or

call 1-800-CHILDREN

Browns River Action Group (BRAG), the parent teacher organization at BRMS, helps promote student self-esteem, supports school staff, and assists in efforts to solve school needs through volunteering and fundraising.

Want more information? Email us at brmsbrag@mmuusd.org

GIRLS’ SOFTBALL IS BACK! 

After another successful season in 2024, Girls’ softball is returning to Browns River Little League for the 2025 season! 

Ages 9-12 (and advanced 8 year olds following evaluation) 

Registration is open now through January 31, 2025 https://www.brownsriverlittleleague.com/ 

Volunteers are needed across the program. 

Please contact league President Casey Knudsen if interested in helping out. (caseyknudsen@gmail.com)