Brown MS Weekly Update
March 11, 2022
Translations
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Dear Brown MS Community,
On Tuesday we implemented our new masking policy which allows staff and students to choose whether or not they wear a mask in school. We communicated to students with this video on Monday morning regarding our expectations that everyone respect the decisions of others. The week went by smoothly, and I am pleased with how well our students transitioned to this newest phase of the pandemic.
I want to welcome our 5th grade families to our Brown MS weekly update! We had our 5th grade information session this past Thursday evening. Specific information regarding the information shared during the session are included below. It was wonderful to be able to welcome parents back into the building again. We will be working on ways to give all parent an opportunity to come into the building (within the current health guidelines) in the future, so stay tuned.
Don't forget that our clocks are turned ahead 1 hour on Saturday night ("spring ahead"). While I will certainly miss the hour of sleep, I am excited to see the daylight hours extend into the evenings! I hope you all are able to relax and enjoy the weekend.
Best,
Kim Lysaght, Principal
Urban Improv Comes to Brown
Our 6th graders had the pleasure of an interactive assembly with Urban Improv this past Monday. This group of actors presented a workshop using improvisation to help students learn about the impact of microaggressions and to give them tools for how to interrupt them. (A microaggression is a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.) This workshop was made possible by a grant that we received from both the Newton Schools Foundation and METCO. Our 6th graders really enjoyed this event. 7th and 8th graders will have the same workshop on April 11 and 25 respectively.
5th Grade Family Information
Welcome to our incoming 5th grade families! We had our information session this past Thursday night on zoom and in person. It was wonderful to have people in the building for this event. If you were unable to attend, here is a recording of the zoom meeting. My apologies for some technical issues for the first part of the meeting (we did not have the audio settings working). However, at 15 minutes in, we were able to get the audio to work. Also, if you click on the "Welcome to Brown Middle School" picture above, you can access a pdf of the presentation slides.
As we begin to schedule students for next year, we need information from 5th graders regarding their world language choice (Spanish, Chinese or French). 5th grade families: Please click here to share this information with us. The form will ask for your first, second and third choice of a world language. We do our best to give students their first choice as much as possible within the constraints of class size.
We would also appreciate your feedback regarding the information session. If you attended the session, feel free to use this google form to provide us with feedback or share any questions you may have.
We look forward to welcoming our new students and families this fall!
Cell Phone Issues
We are noticing an issue regarding cell phones during school hours. While we have stated our school-wide expectation to students that cell phones should be off and put away from 8:20 - 2:50 each school day, many of our students have not been successful at doing this. It has been problematic in classrooms, because students are constantly receiving notifications throughout the day which interrupts their attention in the classroom. A number of them are texting others during school and also playing games or making TikTok videos (even taking phones to the bathroom to do this!) when they should be working on school work.
As adults we all know when our phones are distracting us from what we need to be focused on, and we use strategies like turning off notifications or silencing text messages while we are attending to something important (meetings, driving, performances, etc.). Many of our students have not yet developed the skills to make those mature decisions and are therefore constantly bombarded with vibrating reminders of notifications from online games, Snapchat, texts, TikTok, Instagram, twitter, the news, etc. This makes learning much more difficult as they are taken off task multiple times during class.
To remedy this situation, we are implementing a plan to keep our students free from these distractions during class.
One solution is for students to lock their phones in their lockers at the beginning of the day and leave them there until dismissal.
For students who keep their phone with them during the day:
Each classroom will have a hanging shoe rack (pictured) for students to place their phones in at the beginning of class.
Students will retrieve their phones at the end of class and repeat the process in each of their classes.
If students are using their phones during class, the teacher will take it from them and have it delivered to the main office where it can be picked up at the end of the day.
Multiple instances of this happening will result in communication home.
If a student is chronically using their phone during class, we will require a parent to pick up the phone from the office.
Additional remedies may include having the student check their phone in at the main office each morning.
If your child does not have a cell phone - no problem! If your child does, please help by encouraging them to abide by these expectations. Teachers will be explaining this new plan to them and making sure they understand that the purpose is to allow them to be free from distractions during class and focus on what they should be doing - learning.
Finally, we ask that you refrain from texting your children during the school day. Students are put in a difficult position when they receive texts from parents while their teacher is telling them they can not be texting during school. (Most times when adults tell kids to put their phones away, students respond they are texting responding to a text from their parent. While we don’t know if this is actually the case, you should know that this is what they are saying.)
If you have a message your child must know about immediately, please call the main office at 617-559-6900 and we will make sure they get the information. If a student needs to contact you immediately, we certainly will provide the time and space for them to do this in the office. All they need to do is ask an adult to allow them to go to the office. These are challenges we all face and we appreciate your support in helping us in this effort.
Reminder: Early Release Day
We have an early release day on March 24. Students will be released at 11:20. They will be able to pick up a grab and go lunch prior to leaving. There will be buses for students with bus passes at 11:20. Any students without bus passes wishing to go into the center of town or to a friends house should make arrangements to get a ride there. They will not be able to take the buses without a bus pass. Please ask your children what their plans are for that afternoon and help them make travel arrangements if needed.
If your child plans to go into Newton Center that afternoon, please have a conversation with them about being safe and kind. The store owners and workers in Newton Center will be appreciative!
March is Women's History Month!
International Women's Month is March! In our advisories students are learning about why there is such a month and some of the changes that have taken place in the world regarding women's rights. Our students will learn about influential women who are shaping the world both today and in the past.
Unified Basketball - Off to a Great Start!
Brown Middle School has been invited to participate in the middle school Unified Sports Basketball league. The league will utilize Special Olympics MA and Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) rules and will be composed of students with and without intellectual disabilities. The league strives to promote climates of dignity, respect and inclusion for students beyond the classroom. This program is currently in over 104 high schools and is now beginning at the middle level. The Unified Basketball team will involve winning and losing, but the primary focus is on gaining new skills, meeting personal goals and participating with a team.
We had our first scrimmage this past week and will have a home game this coming Wednesday, March 17 after school. This program is a true success and I want to thank Evan Roche, Brian Adams and Katrina Antonellis for their leadership in making it happen!
Brown Middle School Important Spring Athletics Information (2022)
Our Varsity sports for the spring season are Boys & Girls Lacrosse, Baseball, Softball and Track (running events only).
Our Varsity Sports Programs are for 7th and 8th grade only.
Track for 6th Grade is by Invitation Only. Information will be sent to parents of athletes who are eligible to participate separately. (Policy on Website)
If your child wants to try-out for one of our varsity spring sports, 2 requirements must be completed.
- Students must be registered on FamilyID. Registration Document is HERE. REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 30, 2022
- A Physical on file with the school nurse (must be up to date)
Spring sports will begin on Monday, April 4 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00pm.
Spring Sports Commitment is:
- 4 days a weeks: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
- Time is 3:00-5:00 (Game days are usually longer)
- Season is from April 4, 2022 - June 3, 2022
- Players cannot leave early or miss practices and/or games to play on another team, we expect athletes to fully commit to the Brown team.
- There will only be a 4:15 late bus. There will not be a late bus for after practices or games. Arrangements must be made for athletes to be picked up by 5:00pm on practice days and picked up on game days.
Email Coaches directly if you have any questions.
- Boys Lacrosse - Jeffrey Primeau (primeauj@newton.k12.ma.us)
- Girls Lacrosse - Beverly Woods (Woodsb@newton.k12.ma.us)
- Softball - Meredith Crowe (crowem@newton.k12.ma.us)
- Baseball - Brian Adams (adamsb@newton.k12.ma.us)
- Track - Michele Shin (shinm@newton.k12.ma.us)
Game schedule is TBD.
Coaches will be sending out emails before the start of the season using the emails on file from FamilyID registration.
NEW: Brown Middle School Ultimate Frisbee (7th & 8th Grade Only)
Ultimate frisbee (UF) will be joining the roster of sports at Brown. The process for participation is a little bit different from other varsity sports.
- UF is for 7th and 8th grade students only.
- Students must be registered on FamilyID with a physical on file by March 23rd. Follow the instructions at this link to sign up on FamilyID.
- UF tryouts will begin on March 28th - one week before other sports.
- Game schedule is TBD.
The UF commitment is:
4 days a weeks: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
Time is 3:00-4:45 (Game days are usually longer)
Season is from March 28, 2022 - June 6, 2022
Players cannot leave early or miss practices and/or games to play on another team, we expect athletes to fully commit to the Brown team.
There will not be a late bus for after practices or games. Arrangements must be made for athletes to be picked up by 5:00pm on practice days and picked up on game days.
Coaches will send out emails to families of participants with the emails on file on FamilyID on March 23rd.
If you have any questions, email Will Demarest (demarestw@newton.k12.ma.us).
FORJ Meeting Follow up
This past Wednesday, Families Organized for Racial Justice (FORJ) met on zoom. Our 7th grade ELA teachers, Sara Azzam, Kate Mullen and Adrian Pickworth presented information about how they are using a PTO mini-grant to continue to add diverse authors to their classroom libraries. A link to their presentation is here.
Also, Brown MS Administrators shared information regarding NPS's non-discrimination protocol. We discussed how the investigation process works as well as how to report discrimination . Any member of the NPS community can report an incident of discrimination to the schools using the online form here. For a summary of the reporting, investigation and communication protocols click here for a quick reference guide.
Covid Update
This week we had 4 individuals that tested positive. Given the changes to the testing and contact tracing protocols from the state, the communication protocol utilized when COVID cases are identified in the school has been revised. As of March 2022, secondary schools will only be communicating the total weekly number of COVID cases in the principal’s newsletter/eblast. We will no longer be sending letters to individual teams regarding covid cases.
Please make sure to mark your calendar to remind yourself that all students opting into the Covid testing should take their test on Tuesday morning. Students should use the second test in their test kit package that they received last week.
All families need to “opt-in” to the testing program.
Access the Opt-in form through Aspen parent/guardian account: Aspen
Follow these instructions (link) once you are logged into Aspen
Here are printed instructions (link) for conducting the test at home. Here is a video tutorial (link) on conducting the test. Translations are included.
Only positive results need to be reported to the school. You will complete the Form - Positive Result from At-Home Rapid Antigen Test - State Program to report a positive result. Nurses will provide follow up information to families, including the date for return to school, following a positive test.
On the NPS COVID Testing Data Dashboard, you can review the percentage of students who have opted into testing, as well as the results of the weekly testing. The data dashboard can be found here: COVID Testing Data Dashboard and on our website here: COVID Testing Webpage. For information on COVID cases and vaccination rates in the Newton Public Schools, please visit this page on the City of Newton Website: Newton HHS COVID Data.
MCAS Dates
Our dates for our MCAS testing are as follows:
- 6th Grade:
- ELA: April 1 & 4
- Math: May 5 & 6
- 7th Grade:
- ELA: April 7 & 8
- Math: May 3 & 4
- 8th Grade:
- ELA: April 5 & 6
- Math: May 9 & 10
- Science/Tech Engineering: May 17
S.P.A.C.E. Camp Registration for this Summer
S.P.A.C.E. CAMP
(Summer Program for Academic and Creative Endeavors)
S.P.A.C.E. Camp is a four-week summer enrichment program run by the Newton Public Schools from July 5th through 28th. Students entering kindergarten through 9th grade in the Fall of 2022 are eligible to attend. We offer two programs - an upper camp (entering grade 5-entering grade 9 in the Fall of 2022) and a lower camp (entering kindergarten-entering grade 4).
LOWER CAMP - Campers are assigned into age appropriate classes led by certified elementary school teachers, through project based learning, challenges and activities which focus on our camp theme. Our theme for lower camp last summer was, “Our Planet”. Campers explored the wild places of our planet and learned about ways we can protect nature. Lower Camp has a co-taught model with two certified teachers and one counselor. Special attention is given to individual students by maintaining a low student to teacher ratio. Lower Campers will also attend various specials throughout the week led by certified staff. In past years, specials have included physical education, art, yoga, ceramics, boxygen, and Spanish.
UPPER CAMP - Campers will create their own schedules by choosing from a vast amount of electives to design their own camp program. SPACE Upper Camp has over 50 electives for students to choose from including art studios, performing arts, athletics, STEM activities, and language arts.
Check out the S.P.A.C.E.website for more information or REGISTER NOW!
Questions? SPACE@newton.k12.ma.us
Need to update your information in Aspen?
The Annual Student Information Update is available on Aspen. Please update your information. Directions for families can be found here.
Calendar and School Hours
School Hours:
8:20AM - 2:50PM - Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.
8:20 AM - 2:05PM - Wed.
Click here for the NPS 2021-2022 school calendar.
Click here for the NPS 2022-2023 school calendar.
Click here for the Brown Middle School 6-day rotation calendar with early release days and days of the cycle.
Absentee Line:
To report a student absence call: 617-559-6980
Brown Middle School
125 Meadowbrook Road
Newton, MA 02459
617-559-6900