Brown Bears
Your Weekly Update from Brown Elementary School
Principal's Message
Dear Families,
This past week, our artist-in-residence, Joe Pimentel, came to Brown to work with students on a bright and colorful new mural in the lobby. Students had an opportunity to meet him and help paint part of the mural. It was a great opportunity for our community to be involved in helping to change the face of our front lobby. Even Dr. Nolin came and had a chance to paint.
Best,
Aidan McCann, Principal
Five Things You Need to Know
1 - MCAS IS HERE
MCAS is coming up next week. This assessment is an opportunity for students to show the great thinking they can do. While it is an important assessment, it is also just one snapshot of our learners. I encourage all our students to do their best and show what they know. Here are the upcoming dates:
April 3 - 4th Grade ELA
April 4 - 4th Grade ELA
April 11 - 3rd Grade ELA
April 13 - 3rd Grade ELA
May 9 - 4th Grade Math
May 10 - 4th Grade Math
May 16 - 3rd Grade Math
May 18 - 3rd Grade Math
Of note, ALL smartwatches (and cell phones) are prohibited during testing. A student wearing a smartwatch may have their test results invalidated. These devices should be kept home. For any device that comes to school, students will be directed to put them into backpacks, where we cannot guarantee their safety.
2 - TRANSITION TO KMS for 4th Grade
Do you have a 4th Grader heading to KMS next year? Here are a few important pieces of information you will find helpful from Kennedy Middle School. Here is a course selection letter as well as the 4th to 5th grade transition timeline.
3 - PLACEMENT FOR NEXT YEAR
Please read this document for important information about placement in the coming year.
4 - SHELTER IN PLACE
Late last week, we had a "shelter in place" at Brown Elementary. I had a number of families ask what this was so I wanted to share why this procedure is used and how it helps our students. When we call a shelter in place, it is most often for something happening in the hallway, or an area of the school, that we want students to avoid at that time in order to give space to a student or staff member. For example, if there were a medical issue for a staff member or student in the lobby, we may call a shelter in place so staff can address it without other students being near the situation. We find it to be a helpful tool in allowing us to address various needs around the building while maintaining the privacy of those involved.
5 - FROM SPARK KINDNESS
March is wrapping up and our SPARK team is already looking forward to our next program on April 13th! We are very happy to have Dr. Devorah Heitner (a returning speaker) presenting: Growing Up in Public: Navigating Reputation and Social Media in the Digital Age on 4/13 at 7pm via zoom. Our team has received a lot of requests for this topic and we know the issue of navigating online interactions is a really critical one. We are so grateful that Dr. Art Fergusson will join us from NPS as our special host for the evening and are so glad to have the educator perspective included in this conversation.
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 send out a weekly email newsletter that is separate from this one: please sign up to receive our updates at http://eepurl.com/gCRzwH and follow us at facebook.com/BrownSchoolPto. Questions? Want to volunteer? Contact us anytime at brownptonatick@gmail.com.
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- 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