Brown Bears

Dear Families,

We are excited to see you this coming Thursday at our Brown Elementary School Open House. After two years of a pandemic, we welcome the opportunity to have you here in person, show you the school and the classrooms, and talk to you live about the learning your children are involved in every day. Please join us for a great evening. Details for the Open House are below.

Best,

Aidan McCann, Principal

1 - OPEN HOUSE - adults only

We will be hosting our Open House for ALL grade levels on Thursday, September 22nd from 5:30 to 8:00pm. You will have an opportunity to meet the teacher and support staff, see the classroom space, engage with Specialists, and hear from the Principal. We look forward to seeing you soon. Here is the schedule for the evening. Parking will be available at Brown, and in front/behind Kennedy Middle School. This is an ADULT ONLY event. Students are not attending this evening.

2 - EVERYDAY SPEECH

We are working with a new social emotional learning curriculum this year called Everyday Speech. The program looks at a series of competencies such as self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills and more. Your classroom teacher will share out more information with you in regards to what skills students are working on in class as well as some parent resources from the program. Please keep an eye out for these materials.

3 - READING AND MATH HABITS

We often have parents ask us, "What can we do to help support learning at home?" Creating good reading and math habits are probably the most beneficial support you can provide. When students have a reading and math routine at home, this structure not only acknowledges the importance of reading and math, but it builds those skills over time. Reading with your child every night is key. Having conversations about numbers and playing simple math games also help build basic math skills. Here are two resources you may find helpful.

Reading Strategies

Math Strategies

4 - BOKS

We are currently looking for a lead instructor for our before school BOKS program. This program engages students in games and cardiovascular activities to get them moving and ready for the day. I share this with you with the hope that there may be a parent interested in the role. The hours are from 7:30 to 8:15 and it is a paid position. There is a support staff member already in place. If you are interested, please apply on the NPS website or reach out directly to Aidan McCann at amccann@natickps.org. Thank you.

5 - DOGS AT ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL

I'm a dog person. I grew up with them. I had a black lab all my life. I also know that not everyone else has that same passion for our furry friends as I do.

In the first two weeks of school, we have noticed that there have been a number of dogs brought to arrival and dismissal, either up to students or even through bus lines as we get ready to leave. On Thursday, there were 9 dogs. I ask you to please refrain from bringing pets to arrival and dismissal as we have many students who are allergic, and some who are just not comfortable around them. While some students do enjoy their presence, many do not. Recently, students have come to the office to share that they are uncomfortable with having to navigate through a large number of dogs. When school is in session, the property should not be used for dog walking as our grounds are closed to the public when students are here. Finally, we are trying to run an orderly and efficient arrival and dismissal. Keeping your pets at home allows us to do so with ease. We appreciate your attention to this matter. Thank you.

All the best to our families,

Aidan McCann, Principal

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a volunteer organization made up of parents, teachers and staff with the goal of enriching the educational experience of our children at Brown School. We strive to build community in our school and support our children's personal and educational lives through a wide variety of events and activities. Contact us anytime at brownptonatick@gmail.com, sign up for our weekly email updates at http://eepurl.com/gCRzwH and follow us at facebook.com/BrownSchoolPto.

This month: Don’t forget to sign up for the student directory so you can set up playdates and invite classmates to birthday parties. The only way to get a copy of the student directory is to sign up. Visit www.brownPTOnatick.org to sign up. We typically send out the completed directory in the beginning of October.

Natick Public Schools does not discriminate in employment nor its educational programs, services, and activities based on race, creed, color, age, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, physical and intellectual differences, immigration status, homeless status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Please be aware all electronic communication to and from Natick Public Schools is public record and subject to public disclosure per Massachusetts General Law Chapter 66, Section 10.

• Title I: Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title II
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990Title VI
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Title IX
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• MGL, Ch.76, Section 5: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5