News for February 4, 2019

We are delighted to highlight acts of kindness this coming week. A special thank you to Mrs. Lear, Mrs. Berry, Mrs. Lokey and our Brown School Student Council for organizing activities throughout the week and beyond that teach the power of kind acts. 

What a wild week of weather! We are ready for an engaging week of learning with our students. We've missed everyone!

This Week at Brown School

Feb 4      
WIDA Testing begins
Hearing/Vision re-screening

Feb 5 Play It Safe! presentations

Feb 6     Late start day
              Play It Safe! presentations

Feb 7     Play It Safe! presentations
             
Feb 8     Ice Skating with Buddies at Howard Ice Area
              Family Movie Night 6pm in the Brown School gym


Coming Up...

Feb 11   Screenagers Event at SJHS 6:30pm

Feb 13   Late Start Day
              Student Count Day

Feb 14    First grade musical @ 6pm - please note date change
               Valentine's Day classroom parties 2:30- 3:45 p.m.
               DQ Night

School Lunch Menu Changes Due to last week's inclement weather days, our school lunch calendar has changed. Please click here to access February's revised calendar.


Pennies for Patients Continues

Brown School is participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Pennies for Patients program; a service-learning program that gives students the unique experience of working together to help raise awareness and funds in honor of thousands of children and adults fighting against blood cancers! Click here to see the story of Sam, a hero battling blood cancer.

We are asking that everyone (students, faculty, parents, alumni, etc.) at Brown School join in this effort of raising awareness and collecting funds to benefit the mission of LLS: to find cures for blood cancers and to improve the quality of life for patient and their families. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Click this link for online donations. You will need to create account (if you select “log in with Google” it is pretty simple and straightforward). Then you can share the link with family and friends near and far, so they can donate too. You can also contribute by filling the collection box coins/dollars at home. Please send in collection boxes to school either when they are full or at the end of the campaign on Friday 2/8. Your child's classroom teacher will add your donation to the class collection box. There are even some fun incentives!

Thank you so much for supporting LLS and ’s participation in the Pennies program! Click here for more information on Pennies for Patients or other LLS Student Series Programs.

Family Movie Night @ Brown School
Family Movie Night is back! Please dress in your comfortable clothes (a.k.a. pajamas), bring your pillows and blankets and get ready for some family fun in the Brown School gym. We will start the movie at 6:00 p.m.. Please check our Brown Elementary FB page this week to cast your family's vote for Friday night's movie selection. Snacks will be available for purchase. This is NOT a drop-off event.

Skating with Buddies
Our Y5-5th grade students will be traveling to Howard Ice

Arena this coming Friday, February 8th, to ice skate with their buddy classes. We are looking for parent volunteers to join us at the ice rink to help with lacing skate and balancing our little skaters. We are working hard to develop a schedule that will be share with you via School Messenger as soon as possible for your planning purposes. If interested in volunteering, please contact Sara Codde. All volunteers must have a completed Volunteer Consent form on file in our school office. Thank you for your help!

We are looking for parent volunteer to coordinate the annual summer trip to Michigan's Adventure. If you are interested, please contact our school office.

The registration deadline for Brown Elementary Culture Class has been extended due to school closures last week. The deadline is now TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5th. Sign up today!

St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation 

2019-20 Photo Contest

Community Corkboard

Looking for fall activities to enroll your child in?
Check out local offerings by visiting our Community Corkboard.

It is the policy of the St. Joseph Public School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, disability, height, weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity, service or in employment.

News for January 28, 2019

Our partnership is key! Thank you for allowing us to team up with you in the greatest job of all - enriching the lives of children.

This Week at Brown School

Jan 28    
Kindness Week begins! 
Group yearbook pictures - Robotics teams and Tech Team to wear team shirts              
Jan 29    
Third graders to Sarett 9-11:30am
Fifth grade classes to SJHS from 12:45-2:15 for music recruitment concert
Lory's Place group - 11:45am
Release Time Bible Class 2:20-3:35pm

Jan 31     
Vocal / Instrumental Music Petting Zoo for 5th graders

Feb 1     
IEP Day
Popcorn Friday 

Coming Up...

Feb 4      WIDA Testing begins
               Hearing/Vision re-screening

Feb 6     Late start day
              First grade musical @ 6pm
              DQ Night!

Feb 8     Family Movie Night 6pm in the Brown School gym

Feb 11   Screenagers Event at SJHS 6:30pm

Feb 13   Student Count Day

Feb 14    Valentine's Day parties (p.m.)

Inclement Weather & School Cancellation Announcements  

We are anticipating some extremely cold days in the week ahead. Please remember that announcements regarding school closures and delays will be made via School Messenger and posted with local news outlets. Be sure we have your most up-to-date phone numbers and email addresses on file in the school office. Two hour delays work very similarly to our late start days, just one hour later. School would begin at 10:25 a.m. - buses would run two hours later than normal. 

Pennies for Patients

Beginning tomorrow and running through February 8th, Brown School is participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Pennies for Patients program; a service-learning program that gives students the unique experience of working together to help raise awareness and funds in honor of thousands of children and adults fighting against blood cancers! Click here to see the story of Sam, a hero battling blood cancer.

We are asking that everyone (students, faculty, parents, alumni, etc.) at Brown School join in this effort of raising awareness and collecting funds to benefit the mission of LLS: to find cures for blood cancers and to improve the quality of life for patient and their families. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Click this link for online donations. You will need to create account (if you select “log in with Google” it is pretty simple and straightforward). Then you can share the link with family and friends near and far, so they can donate too. You can also contribute by filling the collection box coins/dollars at home. Please send in collection boxes to school either when they are full or at the end of the campaign on Friday 2/8. Your child's classroom teacher will add your donation to the class collection box. There are even some fun incentives!

Thank you so much for supporting LLS and ’s participation in the Pennies program! Click here for more information on Pennies for Patients or other LLS Student Series Programs.

The snowball Box Top competition is on! Please send in your unexpired Box Tops in bags of 20 or taped/glued on sheets. Thank you for your support!

PlayIt Safe! Classroom Presentations
Saint Joseph Public Schools is proud to join other school districts across Berrien County in partnering with the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) of Southwest Michigan to bring the nationally recognized PlayIt Safe! Program to our schools. Presentations at Brown begin the first week in February.

Play it Safe!® is a child abuse awareness and prevention program that incorporates age-appropriate scripts and movies to teach children how to reduce their risk of sexual and physical abuse, and sexual assault. It teaches them to recognize potentially abusive behavior, provides the tools to respond to threatening situations, and encourages them to report abuse to a trusted adult.

All students in Kindergarten - 5th grade will participate in a lesson designed with content specific to the grade level. Trained professionals from the center will lead the learning to help students in recognizing three kinds of touch how to respond using a 3-part safety rule if they are ever in an uncomfortable situation. This safety rule can be applied to many situations that students may encounter on a daily basis, such as bullying and online situations, peer pressure, or exploitation by friends/family. The safety rule encourages assertive responses, whether it is used with strangers or someone the child knows and loves.

For more information about the program, including previews of the materials, visit the PlayItSafe.org website. If you prefer your child does not participate, please email Mrs. Bawks at kbawks@sjschools.org.

Our teachers spend last Friday afternoon
learning and growing together.
We have such committed staff members -
dedicated to enriching the lives of our students.
What an amazing team!

Ice Skating with Buddies 
Thanks to the generous support of our PTO, we are able to provide an enrichment opportunity to all of our Y5 - 5th grade students. Students will join their buddy classes at Howard Ice Arena to ice skate together on Friday, February 8th. We are looking for parent volunteers to meet classes at the ice area to assist with lacing up and skating safely. The schedule for the day is being developed and will be shared soon. If you are able to help, please contact your child's teacher and or Sara Codde at scodde@sjschools.org. You will need to have had completed the volunteer consent form prior to assisting students. It is sure to be a great day full of memory-making moments for our students!

Volunteering Reminder
We love to welcome volunteers to Brown School! Please note, that if you are planning to volunteer in your child’s classroom at any time during the rest of this school year, and have not filled out a Volunteer Consent Form yet, you must have one on file before you are able to volunteer. Forms are available in the office. Thank you for your cooperation!

Outdoor Gear Students love enjoying the wintery playground! When the "real feel" temperature is at least ten degrees, we will enjoy the great outdoors for recess. Please help your child enjoy 

every minute of it by making sure to send boots, hat/ear muffs, gloves/mittens and snow pants to school every day.

Please be sure to label items with your child's name and encourage him/her to search the lost and found for any missing gear - the collection is growing. 

St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation 

2019-20 Photo Contest

Submit your entry today!

Skate Nights have been cancelled for this winter/spring. We are looking forward to offering other family fun events - stay tuned!

Community Corkboard

Looking for fall activities to enroll your child in?
Check out local offerings by visiting our Community Corkboard.

It is the policy of the St. Joseph Public School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, disability, height, weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity, service or in employment.

News for January 21, 2019

This Week at Brown School

Jan 21    No School - MLK Day

Jan 22    NWEA continues this week

Jan 23    No late start today! 

Jan 24    Parents as Teachers playgroup in gym (9-10 a.m.)
               
Jan 25     1/2 day for students-dismissal @ 12:05 p.m.

Coming Up...

Jan 28    Kindness Week begins!
              
Jan 29    Third graders to Sarett 9-11:30am
               Lory's Place group - 11:45am
               Release Time Bible Class 2:20-3:35pm

Feb 1       IEP Day
                Popcorn Friday 

Feb 4      WIDA Testing begins
               Hearing/Vision re-screening

Feb  5    Skate Night @ Lakeshore Roller World 6-8pm
Feb 6     Late start day
              First grade musical @ 6pm
              DQ Night

Feb 8     Family Movie Night 6pm in the Brown School gym

Feb 11   Screenagers Event at SJHS 6:30pm

Feb 13   Student Count Day

Feb 14    Valentine's Day parties (p.m.)

Mark your calendars! The Brown School Variety show will be held at SJHS on March 4th at 6pm. Please submit your child's permission slip to participate soon!

Congratulations to all of our top ten spellers who recently competed to participate in the upcoming Cloverleaf Spelling Bee at Lake Michigan College. We are proud of you all!
Good luck to Kailyn, Pihu, Ella and Ezra who will represent Brown School at the Cloverleaf.

Start the New Year with a Plan for Screen Time

By Joe Rommel, Berrien RESA

Few word combinations provide a sinking feeling for parents quite so quickly as ‘screen time’. Maybe
college tuition, but if your house is anything like mine, screen time is the more pressing issue. With two
elementary and two middle school children, along with my own technology habits, dealing with screen
time can seem overwhelming. Here’s a few strategies to make 2019 the year YOU control the screen!

In May 2018 the American Academy of Pediatrics provided ‘Children and Media Tips.’ There are several practical reminders such as establishing limits, being a positive example and establishing tech-free zones in the house. The point that really resonated with me was to not use the technology as an emotional pacifier; that tech time should not equal alone time. Young children learn and develop
through social interactions and play. Play is much more complex than just a swipe and a tap!

In an updated position statement the National Association for the Education of Young People acknowledges there are meaningful uses of technology for even infants and toddlers. The statement focuses on co-viewing and using devices to strengthen relationships. A good example of this is sharing
pictures of family members on your phone with your child.

The National Education Technology Plan provides guidelines as well. One of their recommendations for birth to three year olds is to help these young learner transfer and connect their experiences from a two dimensional screen to three dimensions. For example use an app to play with blocks virtually and then later play with blocks in real life. Another pointed reminder is to make learning with technology a
language rich experience - talk to the kids, have them explain what they are doing, make connections.

As a parent I have to remind myself that not all screen time is created equal. There is a big difference between being actively engaged and creating with technology versus consuming three seasons of a show on Netflix! Asking yourself whether it is sedentary and whether it is solitary are two good questions to start with when identifying screen time.

A meaningful activity to clarify the using of technology for your family, including the parents, is to develop a family media plan. The website HealthyChildren.org from the American Academy of Pediatrics has developed a step by step process to help with creating just such a plan. Include others work through the steps together at HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan to set clear boundaries and expectations for your household. Meeting together to discuss how the plan is working is another way to have meaningful conversations around the topic.

You may consider using one of the many screen time monitoring apps that are available for all types of
devices. Gathering the data and understanding how much screen time is happening is often a good place to start the conversation. The folks from Screenagers, a 2016 documentary dedicated to this subject, put together a comprehensive list that provides several places to start. Find the list at screenagersmovie.com under the resources tab.

The New Year is a perfect time to revisit or begin a consistent plan and put you back in charge of the media use in your house (or classroom).

Screenagers Event 

Parents and students K-12, please join us Feb 11th from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm in the St Joseph High School’s John and Dede Howard auditorium for a viewing of Screenagers. Screenagers is an award-winning film that depicts the challenging struggles that families have over social media, video games and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world. After viewing the film, we have a county expert, Joe Rommel, who will give additional updates on current social media trends and suggestions for parents on setting boundaries with their students’ social media use.

Refreshments will be available, along with free childcare offered by SJHS National Honor Society student group. Childcare is available for toddler through elementary school age children.

Cold and Flu Season Reminders
Please be sure your child is fever free and vomit free for 24 hours, without medication, before returning to school. At school, we’re taking extra measures to clean and sanitize common surfaces (door knobs, drinking fountains, etc.) and reviewing hand washing expectations and sneeze/cough procedures. You can help at home by reminding your child to wash his/her hands often and to never share food or beverages with others.

Thank you for reporting your child's absence to our school office by calling (269) 926-3500. You are able to leave a recording 24/7. Please be sure to include the reason for his/her absence as we include this information in our report to the health department. 

Consumers Energy Powers TheEcoDryer® School Project to Help West Michigan Students Stay Warm and Dry This Winter

TheEcoDryer® by TheGreenGloveDryer® School Project is a statewide initiative to solve the wet glove and mitten problem in K-5 classrooms by providing an energy-free, antimicrobial drying solution for kids, teachers and schools throughout Michigan. Public, private and charter schools across 29 counties in West Michigan will begin receiving school packs of EcoDryers - that’s 900 schools, including ours!

The dryers use our existing heating vents to help gloves and mittens dry in an eco-friendly and antimicrobial way. “Consumers Energy is committed to the success of schools and the communities we serve,” Lauren Youngdahl Snyder, Consumers Energy’s Vice President of Customer Experience. “Green Glove Dryers have helped children stay warm and dry without wasting energy, and we are excited to see the difference they can make for tens of thousands children in these schools.” For more information about the history of TheEcoDryer or to order one for home, please see their website: thegreenglovedryer.com.

Fluffy Friday with Flashlights was a very fun day for our students. 
Thank you for planning this experience, Student Council!

Inclement Weather & School Cancellation Announcements 

In the event of inclement weather, announcements regarding school closures and delays will be made via School Messenger and posted with local news outlets. Please be sure we have your most up-to-date phone numbers and email addresses on file in the school office. Two hour delays work very similarly to our late start days, just one hour later. School would begin at 10:25 a.m. - buses would run two hours later than normal. 

4th and 5th Graders ski FREE this Season!

For more information go to goskimichigan.org to register your 4th or 5th grader.

https://www.goskimichigan.com/cold-is-cool/

Community Corkboard

Looking for fall activities to enroll your child in?
Check out local offerings by visiting our Community Corkboard.

It is the policy of the St. Joseph Public School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, disability, height, weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity, service or in employment.