Welcome to the 2018-19 school year! Thank you for all that you've done to prepare your child for the return to school. Your partnership is the key to a successful start.
Welcome to the best school year yet!
Drop Off and Pick-Up Procedures
Please click here to learn more about Brown School's drop off and pick-up procedures.
We will have teachers' names posted on the playground the first week of school while students are learning where to line up each morning. For safety reasons, ALL students must wait on the playground prior to the start of school.
Breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m.. Students may enter the main office entrance vestibule at 8:00 to proceed to breakfast. There is not supervision for students dropped off prior to 8:10 a.m.. Please be sure to make arrangements for your child's safety.
Bus Routes
Bus routes and schedules are available on our district website.
You will need to determine the stop closest to your home for pick-up and drop-off for all students in Young 5s through 5th grade. If you have any additional transportation needs, please contact Sandy Kroening, SJPS Transportation Director, at skroening@sjschools.org or 269-926-3900.
Please be patient the first few days of school as our drivers work to welcome new riders, establish routines, and double check student names. Often, routes tend to run a little longer the first few weeks.
School Security Update
Your child's safety is a top priority for us. You will be asked to provide identification when visiting our classrooms. You will also ned to complete an annual background check if volunteering to work with students. As a reminder, over the summer we had security buzzers installed at the main entrance of each school building. When you plan to visit one of our SJPS schools, please use the button on the intercom for entrance to the main office.
Brown School's Little Library
Please visit our new Little Library located just outside of our main office entrance. Children are welcome to take a book and leave a book as often as possible. Thank you to all who donated books last spring and a special thank you to Tony Hoffman for installing the library for us.
Welcome From Brianne Van Hekken
Dear Brown Families,
It is my hope that this letter finds you refreshed after the summer months and ready for an exciting school year. I am certainly looking forward to this 2018-2019 school year, especially because of my new role as the school social worker at Brown School. It truly is an honor and privilege to get to work with and support students and staff at Brown Elementary four days out of the six day cycle. (I will spend the other two days of the cycle at Lincoln Elementary.) Coming alongside tomorrow’s leaders to assist them with their social and emotional needs is a responsibility I take very seriously. Please feel free to connect with me at any time! I look forward to meeting you.
In order to learn a little about who I am: I am a graduate of St. Joseph Public Schools and attended Hope College for my undergraduate studies and Grand Valley State University for my graduate work. I have always found myself in the helping profession. For the past eight years I held the role of school social worker at Coloma Community Schools supporting students grades 2-8. I live in St. Joseph with my spouse and two children and enjoy being outdoors, dancing, reading, and camping.
Sincerely,
Brianne Van Hekken, LMSW
School Social Worker
Brown School Elementary
Mark Your Calendars
9/17 Back-to-School Night 9/18 PTO Meeting 7 p.m. in the Media Center
9/19 Late Start Day
9/26 Late Start Day & School Picture Day
10/1 Walk-a-Thon begins (more information coming)
PTO Meeting Dates
9/18 @ 7PM
10/16 @ 7PM
11/13 @ 12PM
1/15 @ 7PM
2/19@7PM
3/19 @ 12PM
4/16 @ 7PM
5/21 @ 7PM
Follow us on our Facebook page for opportunities to get involved and last minute updates. Click here to join the Brown Elementary PTO closed FB group.
Lunchroom News
You can access monthly lunch and breakfast menus on our school website.
Community Corkboard
Looking for fall activities to enroll your child in?
Check out local offerings by visiting our Community Corkboard.
Looking for fall activities to enroll your child in?
Check out local offerings by visiting our Community Corkboard.
