Brown School Buzz
November 9, 2023
Dear Brown School Families,
It seems like the year is already flying by! We have completed one quarter of our school year, students have settled in, and we are well into our curricula.When we establish routines and procedures with our students at the beginning of the year, most kids figure out the expectations by about the 3rd week of school. For some it takes a couple more weeks...and for a few, it requires more reminders. Then, as we move through our year, particularly when our schedules become busy with special events like Halloween and Enrichment, kids usually need more reminders and more practice with those procedures.
It's not surprising that the same is true for adults, we learn the routines and the rules and most of us comply and respond accordingly in the beginning, some take a bit more time, and then when we get busy, new activities begin, and our schedules change, it's time for a few reminders. So this edition is full of needed reminders regarding drop off, pick up, idling, lost and found and more.
Thank you for reading on, and for receiving the reminders in the spirit of working together to keep our school safe.
Arrival, Dismissal, Parking Lot, and Idling Reminders
Please do not park in the lane closest to the PK playground. This is a traffic lane and should not be used to make a "quick pick up". It is true that a driver may need to make a couple of laps until a space opens up, but the number of spaces is sufficient and we need to exercose patience when dismissing 446 children.
The first row of parking is reserved for PK and kindergarten at arrival time in the morning. It is also reserved for PK dismissal at 2:00 PM.
When picking up students at the PK playground at the end of the day, please park in the lot, turn vehicle off, and walk to the playground doors. Our staff fills the many of the spaces in the back of the parking lot to allow plenty of spaces for arrival and pickup.
If you are staying with your child on the playground after school, please leave the front spaces for people trying to pick up students more efficiently. When vehicles take these spaces for an inordinate amount of time, it makes it more challenging for those spaces to continually open up.
No Idling Please- I understand the weather is getting colder, however, allowing your car to idle, especially while unattended is not allowed. Once school is dismissed, cars in the car line may stay running while waiting your turn to pull up.
Arrival-We ask parents to please leave children at the door for school and allow them to enter on their own. It is important they are now independent and that we keep our school safe. If you need to come into the building, please enter through the office door and obtain a visitors pass.
We know our systems aren't perfect, but when we all work together they do work pretty smoothly. Thank you for helping keep our students and staff safe.
Changes in dismissal plans-With the increase in after school activities, changes in sports' seasons and appointments, we have seen an increase in students' dismissal changes....and the changes don't always come to us in a timely way so we can assure our kids get where they need to go. Here's how you can help:
-If your child's dismissal plan is consistent by the week, but varies each day-please be sure your child's teacher has a copy of the plan for each day
-Whenever possible, please remind your child before going to school of their plan, notify via email to your child's teacher and the office by 7:30 AM.
-If you need to make a last minute change in your child's dismissal plan on a particular day, please notify the office and your child's teacher by 1:30 PM whenever possible.
The dismissal of 446 Brown School includes the Neck Bus Route, the Downtown Bus Route, the White Van Route, The Y program, The JCC program, Carline students, Walkers, Bikers, Front Door Parent Pick ups, The Island Roots Program, Scouts, and after school Rec Programs. We work very hard to make sure each and every student gets home and to their programs safely. Your timely communication regarding any changes helps it all go smoothly. We appreciate the support.
LOST and found
If your child is missing something, please stop by and check out our Lost and Found anytime during school hours. Please check out the photo below of just a few of the items.(There are many more!) Anything that is not claimed before the December break will be donated to the Magic Hat.
Does anything look familiar?
Aspen Update
1. Just haven't gotten around to it.
2. Started it, needed some info or a document and never got back to it.
3. Started it, was overwhelmed and/or confused and never went back to it.
To help us understand so we can support the effort, please CLICK HERE TO LET US KNOW WHY YOU HAVEN'T YET UPDATED
Thank you for your help.
EDU-SPEAK
This week’s term: MTSS
In a nutshell, MTSS is how we do business in schools now. Though it's been around for awhile, the fancy and complex name often throws parents off. Providing Multi-tiered Systems of Support, basically means we have checks and balances for making sure our academic and social emotional instruction, assessment, supplemental supports are in place for all kids to assure learning. DESSE has developed many videos to help folks understand the ins and outs of MTSS. Here's my stab at providing you with an overall understanding:
MTSS is a way to ensure all students receive the instruction they need to learn and achieve. We do this by making sure we teach and assess an strong, engaging, standards aligned curriculum in the classroom to all students (Tier 1 Instruction). When we assess students learning and identify which students have not been able to master the learning, we provide additional instruction(interventions) in the identified areas (Tier 2 instruction). If a student continues to struggle despite the supplemental interventions we put in place, we either change or increase the interventions Tier 3 Instruction). Kids can move in and out of needed interventions based on their needs at the time.
Please feel free to reach out anytime with your questions or suggestions for EDU SPEAK.
Please help us stock the Marblehead Food Pantry
PreK-Kindergarten-Cereal-all types including oatmeal
Grade 1-Spaghetti Sauce, Canned Ravioli, Canned Pasta
Grade 2-Cereal-all types including oatmeal)
Grade 3-Canned fruit, Fruit Cups
Many thanks to all!
Upcoming Dates to Remember
Thursday, Nov. 9-PTO Meeting @ 8:30 Am-Brown School cafeteria
Friday, Nov. 10-No School-Veterans Day Observed
Wednesday, Nov. 22-NOON DISMISSAL for Holiday weekend
November 23-24-No School Thanksgiving Break
Friday, December 8th-Harlem Wizards at Marblehead High
Lucretia & Joseph Brown Elementary School
Email: maxfield.mary@marbleheadschools.org
Website: https://www.marbleheadschools.org
Location: 40-42 Baldwin Road, Marblehead, MA, USA
Phone: 7816393112