Schedule for Remote Connections 9/18
The schedule for our upcoming Remote Learning Day on September 18th is as follows:
Back to School Night 2020
For the safety of our students, staff, and families members, Back to School Night presentations will be sent virtually this year. Please look for this important information to be shared with you on Monday, September 21st.
News from the Kitchen
Our dedicated kitchen staff are committed to meeting our families' needs. Therefore we are now serving "grab and go" bagged lunches on half days this school year!
In addition to adding money to your child's food service account, families can now pre-order school lunches from home! Here is the link to access your child(ren)'s account: https://www.
Click on the video linked here to learn how to order your child's lunch from home! Thank you for your help to streamline this process.
St. Joseph Public Schools Meals Program Update
BIG NEWS! Last week we learned that the USDA extended many waivers regarding the National School Lunch Program. One temporary waiver that was extended was that ALL students can receive FREE breakfast/lunch and St. Joseph Public Schools is going to participate in this waiver! This means that all students can get 1 breakfast and 1 lunch per day at no charge! Please understand that this is a temporary program and we are not sure of the end date, so please continue to fill out Free/Reduced lunch applications if needed when the program is over. We are still asking parents/students to pre-order their meals through the www.sendmoneytoschool.com website. Only lunch meals can be pre-ordered and this will help our food service staff plan for your student. Any student that ate breakfast or lunch since 9/8/2020 has not and will not be charged for those meals. If you have any questions please contact me, Demrhy Youngquist at dyoungquist@sjschools.org. Have a great school year!
PTO Corner
What does the PTO do?
Whether you are a new or returning Brown family, you may be wondering what the PTO does, who it is made up of, and what it spends money on from our big fundraisers.
To start, the PTO is made up of all the Brown School parents and teachers. Having a student at Brown makes you a member. All members are welcome to join our monthly meetings!
Some of what the PTO Does (why we fundraise):
Provide fun events for students such as Popcorn Fridays, popsicles on hot days, the ice skating enrichment day, donuts/muffins with our superheroes, ice cream social, Lego night, spelling bee, spring picnic, the variety show and more.
Provide additional funds to the media center for the purchase of books and other educational materials.
Provide each teacher with a classroom fund.
Supplement fees for enrichment activities such as author visits.
Provide special grants as needed.
Provide occasional lunches for teachers and staff.
Maintain our teachers lounge as a calm, relaxing space (we all need breaks!)
Save for major expenditures not fully covered by other district funds
… and more! This is not an exhaustive list of ways in which we support our teachers, staff, and students.
Many of our events will look different this year, but we are doing our best to keep as many of them as possible this year.
Reminders
Please download the Box Tops for Education app by visiting https://www.boxtops4education.com/.
Box Tops receipts for delivery services, such as Shipt, now work with the digital Box Top collection. For more information, visit https://boxtopsforeducation.knowledgeowl.com/help/electronic-receipts
Upcoming Volunteer Needs
Volunteering will look very different this year, but please let us know events you are interested in by filling out the form at http://bit.ly/VolunteerAtBrown. You will be contacted by the committee with specific needs at the appropriate time. Please note that some positions may not be utilized this year.
We have a number of committees that need chair or co-chair positions filled. If you are interested in any of these, please fill out the volunteer form or contact Kristen Bawks or any PTO board member. We will provide as much assistance or information as possible to get new committee chairs started:
5th Grade Events - work with Mr. Lignell and Mrs. Lokey to plan events for the 5th graders.
Credit Union - work with Honor Credit Union to schedule and assist with the student credit union. If we don’t implement the CU this year, the ground work could be established for next year.
Mileage Club Chair(s) - similar to our old walkathon format. This will be a larger scale event without the fundraising component. Co-chair positions are welcome, and we have a few experienced members to help get you started. This event will not happen this fall and spring is to be determined, but we would still like to form the committee.
Staff Luncheon Chair - facilitate staff luncheons via donated items 3-4 times a year.
Ways and Means Chair - we are looking for someone interested in organizing a few giveback or other small scale fundraisers each year.
Crosswalks for Safety
For everyone's safety, please use extra caution as you approach the crosswalks in the school parking lot. If you are walking your child to the door, you must use the crosswalk - do not walk between cars staged in line. Thank you for your attention to this.
Classroom Blogs
Our Brown School classroom teachers will each have their own blog this year. Simply click on your child's class below to view weekly updates from his/her teacher.

ECDD
Mrs. Rank and Mrs. LeClear's Class
Young Fives
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
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If you or another adult plans to pick your child up from school at least once per week, click on the link below to register for a rear view mirror tag. Tags will be required for pick-up in both the 4th/5th and in the main office parking areas this year. If you have not yet received yours, you should have it by our first full week of school (September 21st). Pick-Up Mirror Tag Form |


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.