Science Night was a huge success! Thank you, Brown School Families, for joining us in the fun. We are so thankful for all of our volunteers and event coordinators. Most of all, we would like to thank our students for sharing your amazing experiments with us.
Next week is Spring Break - school will resume on April 9th.
Coming Up at Brown School
4/9 School resumes
Mrs. Martin returns!
Mrs. Lear's class to the planetarium 1:00-2:45 p.m.
4/10 Access @ 8 a.m.
5th grade M-STEP testing begins!
4/11 Not a late start day
Parent HealthWorks meeting at Clarke 6:15- 7:15 p.m. for 4th and 5th grade families
4/13 Dress like a Friend (S.C. Fun Friday)
4/16 Board of Education meeting @ Central office 6pm
4/17 Skate Night 6-8 p.m.
4/18 Late start day
4/20 Popcorn day!
Kindergarten classes to Sarett 9:00-11:30 p.m.
Reading Month and Beyond
Reading month has been a lot of fun and quite an inspiration, too! The pirates around Brown School have given their all to earning points and completing challenges in search of the hidden treasure . . . a genuine love of reading! While we pause each year to celebrate reading in the month of March, the truth is that reading is a focus for us all year long at our school. We appreciate the generous support of our PTO and community in supporting our amazing media center and equipping classrooms with the books kids need to stay enthusiastic about reading. We hope you’ll join us by making reading a year-long focus at your home, too. There are so many great ways families can enjoy books together. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be showcasing some of these in hopes that you’ll find something new to keep your little pirate(s) going this spring and summer. 
Free Audio Books
That’s right! The public libraries in the area offer free digital downloads of books via the Libby app. All you need is a library card and a device then a whole new world of audio books is opened to you and your child. For more information, please check out the Southwest Michigan Digital Library website.
M-STEP
Students
in grades 3-8 all across Michigan will be taking the Michigan Student Test of
Educational Progress (M-STEP) assessments beginning in April. Like last year, the M-STEP will be given
online here at Clarke. The fifth graders will be first to test, beginning
the week of April 9th. The third and fourth grade windows for testing
begins April 29th.
The
M-STEP measures current student knowledge of Michigan’s high academic standards
in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies.
A robust set of resources related to the M-STEP is available online at
www.michigan.gov/mstep. Three resources
specifically developed for parents include:
2018 Ren Baldwin Student Technology Festival: CALL FOR PROJECTS
Projects are being accepted for the 2018 Ren Baldwin Student Technology Festival. The deadline for entries is Monday, April 16th, and the festival event will be held on Friday, May 11th at St. Joseph High School. Students do not have to attend the festival to enter a project. Please visit our FESTIVAL WEBSITE to learn more. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Dirlam (adirlam@sjschools.org) or Mrs. Bacolor (cbacolor@sjschools.org). We are looking forward to seeing the amazing projects submitted this year!
Community Corkboard
A number of local and community organizations are hosting sign ups this winter for spring activities and clubs. Check out the Community Corkboard to learn more.
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.
