MAY 7
District 97 Vision
Brooks News to Know
Last Day of School
6th and 7th graders last day of school will be a half day on Friday, June 1st from 9am to 12pm.
Trimester 3 Report Cards
Planning underway for the PTO initiatives and events
District 97 Returning Student Registration
Returning Student Registration (K-8)
Returning student registration will be held May 7-28 online.
This three-step process will allow parents to access their InfoSnap account using a hyperlink sent to their email on May 7, verify/update/upload any necessary information, then hit submit to complete the re-enrollment.
Parents will be able to upload their new residency documents (needed for renters, lives with oak park residents, and those that are in lieu of lease) directly on the InfoSnap enrollment page. They will not be able to upload documents once they have submitted the online form, however the district will offer designated "Upload Days" where we can assist families with the scan/upload process. These dates will be posted to the website sometime in May.
District 97 is reiterating that students will not be placed on class lists or receive academic schedules until the registration process is complete in its entirety (online enrollment plus residency approval).
Order your Yearbook. Deadline for orders is Friday May 11
District 97 Board of Education Draft Equity Policy
End of Year - Student Celebrations
Brooks will be closing the school year with a school wide emphasis on kindness.The Brooks community has set a goal that students and staff will engage in 5,000 acts of Kindness over the next four weeks. We will use of behavioral tracking system, HERO, to track these positive acts in our community.
Additionally, throughout the month students will have opportunities to participate in kindness events to contribute to our goal school wide. The following events will take place during the month of May.
May 3rd- Lunchroom Mix Up
Students will build empathy by getting to know new peers during the lunch hour. Students can sign up to be matched with an unfamiliar peer to eat lunch together. This was a great success last week!
May 10th -Appreciation Station
Students write thank you notes to staff members in the building.
May 17th- Captioning Kindness
Students will take digital photos at lunch and post them to a Padlet. The photos will be captioned with a kind message to a member of the Brooks community.
If Brooks achieves our goal, we will take time to have a special school wide celebration to close our school year on May 30th!
Congratulations to Ms. Beader's Advisory Class
Safe Walking Routes for Brooks Students
8th Grade Event Payments
8th Grade Lunch Balances
8th Grade Families,
We need your help with how you would us like to transfer your lunch balance at the end of the school year. Please use the survey below. If you have questions, please call the main office.
8th Grade Graduation
Last Day:
All eighth graders are expected to attend school on their last day, Thursday, May 31st. Report cards will be mailed home.
Graduation:
Graduation will take place on May 31, 2018 at Oak Park and River Forest High School. 201 N. Scoville Avenue, Oak Park. Doors open at 7:00pm ceremony will begin at 7:30pm prompt.
Tickets:
Each student will receive three tickets for the auditorium seating and two tickets for the OPRF annex seating . The OPRF Annex is located in the HS cafeteria. There, you will watch a live feed of the ceremony. Admission to the auditorium and annex for parents, guardians, and guests is by ticket only. Each person in your party must have a ticket.
Live Feed of the Ceremony:
The graduation ceremony can also be viewed online through YouTube. Share this link with anyone who is not able to attend the ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt1Q4KTwCKg
There was an 8th grade packet with additional information and permission slips sent home with your 8th grade student on Friday, April 13th.
Brooks Spring Concert Sries
Brooks Art Department 4th Annual Upcycling Extravaganza and fundraiser
SAVE THE DATE!!! and SAVE your trash for us to make into treasures.
Brooks Art Department 4th Annual Upcycling Extravaganza and fundraiser
May 19th (Evening hours TBD)
Bottle Rocket Art Gallery
Brooks art students are saving the environment one piece of art at a time! Students will discuss sustainability, our growing landfills, and up-cycling (giving new life to old items). In true art teacher style, we gather free and discarded items that our students will turn into art. All items will be for sale including: faux stained glass windows, tables, chairs, shelves, frames, wall hooks, chairs, decorative boxes, leather arts, jewelry, mosaics, wall art, decorations, & more! Fundraising efforts will benefit The Brooks Art Department for special materials, tools and guest teaching artists.
Cleaning out? We'd love donations... things that work well are wooden chairs, small tables, frames, shelves, and interesting, quirky things we can repurpose. Also, we are collecting straws. If you get one at a restaurant, save for us! Not sure if what you have is a good fit? Shoot a pic and send to Mrs. Murray or Ms. Pabellon.
Last thing... Ms. Pabellon will begin maternity leave the first week of May and Ms. Williams (retired art teacher) will take her leave to help finish out this project and the year. We are excited to collaborate together!
8th Grade Family High School Transition Information
Here is link to OPRFHS Transition PowerPoint shared at their January meeting with 8th grade families.
Teacher Appreciation Week May 7th through 11th: Recognize Staff who Make a Difference
Thank you to those who have completed this form to recognize a GBMS staff member. All individuals receive a printed certificate highlighting your appreciation for their contributions!
Please be sure your background check has been completed if you'd like to volunteer to chaperone Field Trips
Breakfast and Lunch Menus for April & May
Here is the link to the May Menus.
Sports and Club Information
Sporting Events
Volleyball
For JV
Practice on Monday 5/7 at 7:30am
Game Tuesday 5/8 at Unity 4:45pm
If they win that game we will practice Friday 5/11 morning at 7:30am
For Varsity
Games: They will play Thursday 5/10 at 4:00pm and if they win, again at 5:00pm.
CLUB OPPORTUNITIES (can join anytime)
Each club meets weekly, unless otherwise notated below.
Ultimate Frisbee If you have any questions, please email Ms. Dajani at rdajani@op97.org or Mr. Gillespie at mgillespie@op97.org. Meeting on the following days: Weds 5/9, Thursday 5/10, Friday 5/11, Weds 5/16, Thursday 5/17 and Monday 5/21. We can get together after school. Meet in main gym.
- ORRF Ensemble from 8:00am to 8:50am in D104 (first meeting was on 9/18). Participation is open to all students - no audition required, but enrollment is limited to 40 students. Interested students can sign-up and pick up permission slips outside of the music room (D104). For additional information contact Mr. Carrillo - fcarrillo@op97.org. Still opportunity to join.
- Spoken Word from 3:30pm to 5:30 pm in room B205. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Lee at mlee@op97.org
Tuesdays
- EcoEagles from 3:30pm to 4:30pm in room C302. If you have any questions, please email Ms. Stamp at lstamp@op97.org.
- Rainbow Tribe after school until 4:30 in 2nd floor conference room next to PE classroom. Permission slip found here. Here are the dates club will meet: May: 8, 22, 29 If you have any questions, please email Ms. Olsen at jolsen@op97.org
Wednesdays
Best Buddies If you have any questions, please email Ms. Beauprez or Ms. Touchette.
Fri. May 11th - Best Buddies Banquet 5:00-7:00pm - RVSP by Wed, May 9 by filling out this Google Form, so we can plan for your attendance! If you can’t access the Google Form, click on this link to get to the food sign up. Write your number of guests in the comment section. We look forward to celebrating all of our 2017-18 achievements with YOU!
Thursdays
- Spanish Club from 3:30 to 4:30pm in room B308. Here are all the Spanish club meeting dates for the year: 5/10, 5/24. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Lagioia at vlagioia@op97.org or Ms. Villalobos at cvillalobos@op97.org.
Fridays
- Service Club from 8am to 8:45am in room B209. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Walsh at swalsh@op97.org or Ms. Martinez at bmartiez@op97.org .
BRAVO News
BRAVO Opportunities
- Guitar Club & Dance Studio are ongoing - registration forms are due to the BRAVO Office (D103). Open to ALL Brooks Students and is FREE to join! For more info visit: bravoperformingarts.org
- NEEDED: Pizza lunch volunteers on Friday. Keep an eye out for sign-ups on the BRAVO website!days from 10:55am-1:15pm. E-mail bravo@op97.org if you are available and interested!
Get connected to PTO
PTO Information
Earn money for the Brooks PTO: When you shop at Amazon, begin your shopping through the link here and our PTO will earn 0.5% of your total sale, at no expense to you. First time Amazon Smile shoppers will find our organization by typing Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization. Thank you for your continued support.
Subscribe to PTO Bulletin:
- The link to subscribe for families is http://eepurl.com/cgOObT
Next Community meeting is Monday, May, 7th 2018 at 7pm in the media center.
Next Coffee with Capuder is Friday, May 11th, 2018 at 8:30am to 9:30am in the Commons. We are inviting incoming 6th grade families to join us on this morning as well.
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
Email: acapuder@op97.org
Website: op97.org/brooks
Location: 325 S Kenilworth Ave, Oak Park, IL, United States
Phone: (708) 524-3050
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/108994473138309/
Twitter: @brooksop97