
BRIARWOOD ELEMENTARY pta newsletter
November 1st, 2023 www.briarwoodpta.org
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL LASH
INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES 2023-2024
As the winter months approach, it is especially important for our community members to be aware of inclement weather procedures and how to receive an alert if plans for building closures are announced.
Procedures:
If conditions make it necessary for SMSD to close schools, the district will implement one of three plans: A, B, or C. Click here to view the plans.
Inclement Weather Announcements:
If plan A, B, or C is announced, this information will be shared broadly.
Staff and families can receive direct emails, texts, and voice messages.
Families can sign up to receive alerts in the manner that works best for them. Click here for details on how to sign up for alerts.
Additional Resources:
The main page of the district website
Local radio and television stations
24-hour information line at (913) 993-7380
No announcement will be made when schools are to remain open.
HARVESTERS - I CAN, WE CARE FOOD DRIVE!
Thank you for supporting the Harvesters Food Drive. TEAM Briarwood brought in 2,797 food items! Kindergarten brought in the most food items (665) and earned an extra recess! Your generosity and kindness is greatly appreciated.
IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES @ BRIARWOOD
Wednesday, November 1st-10th
Spirit Wear Store is open- see flyer for details
*
Thursday, November 2nd
Skate Party 4-6
*
Friday, November 3rd
Women's Meet up @ Panera
*
Monday, November 6th - Friday, November 10th
Read a Thon
*
Wednesday, November 8th
Briarwood Night at Summer Salt! 5-9
*
Friday, November 10th
Veterans Day
*
Sunday, November 12th
Landscape Workday
*
Friday, November 17th
Men's Meet up @ Panera
*
November 20th-November 24th
NO School, Thanksgiving break
Full BW PTA Calendar is available here
WOMEN AND MEN OF BRIARWOOD COFFEE MEET UP
Briarwood PTA will have several representatives from various grade levels at a roundtable meet up each month separately for men and women. These round tables will be at Panera Bread at 8300 Mission Road from 8:30 – 9:30. Come grab a cup of coffee where you will have the opportunity to meet with someone from Briarwood you may have never met but have things in common with. Our hope with these meetups is to continue building a strong sense of community with the women and men of the children at Briarwood.
Women’s Meet Up – November 3rd
Men’s Meet Up – November 17th
Seventh Annual Briarwood Read-a-Thon starts Nov 6
Briarwood Read-A-Thon
Read-A-Thon is almost here! Our Seventh Annual Read-A-Thon event will take place the week of November 6th - November 10th. A blue flyer and donation envelope will come home on Friday, November 3th in your student’s backpack.
We are asking for donations from grandparents, aunts & uncles, and friends & neighbors to support our Briarwood Bulldogs’ daily dedicated reading time.
You do not need to track anything at home - we will track reading minutes at school! All funds raised will support the Briarwood PTA!
Veterans Day
On Friday, November 10, Briarwood continues our tradition of remembering and honoring
Veterans. If you know a local Veteran, please invite them to join us.
VETERANS DAY DETAILS
Friday, November 10
Veterans Day ceremony starts at 9:00
Location: Briarwood Playground (rain location: Briarwood gym)
Ceremony includes high school chorus singing National Anthem, ROTC/ Colorguard,
and Briarwood Veterans Medley organized by Mrs. Sapp
Speaker: Javier Centonzio, Veteran and Briarwood dad
Veterans are invited to arrive at 8:30 for coffee and donuts in the cafeteria.
Due to space limitations, we are again only asking Veterans to attend this year.
Examples of guests may include: grandparents or parents who are veterans; community
members and neighbors who are veterans; aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters or any family
member who is a veteran. The Veteran may bring one guest with them. Please let us
know if you need any special accommodations by November 7. Please RSVP any
Veteran that will be attending to Vanessa Watkins vanessa.justin@gmail.com or Katie
Enger katieenger@hotmail.com.
In addition, to help us celebrate Veterans Day at Briarwood, use the STAR pattern
attached to name a veteran in your life. Decorate your star, cut it out, and bring it
to school by Tuesday, November 7. This year, we will display our stars in the
cafeteria and on campus at Briarwood. Thank you!
Presenters needed for Science Night in February 2024
Science Night is a fun, long-standing tradition at Briarwood. It takes place every other year, and is scheduled for Thursday, February 15th, 2024 – mark your calendars now!
There will be more information to come about this family-friendly evening event, but in the meantime, we are reaching out to Briarwood parents who have a science-related career or hobby who might like to share their talents with our students and families!
The format for Science Night is meet, greet and inform. It is a busy evening, so individual contact is short – a quick hands-on activity or demonstration works very well.
Please reach out to Melissa Clark, Science Night Chair at melissafisherclark@gmail.com or 913-313-6312 if you have any questions or are interested in being a presenter.
JOIN THE PTA!
Did you know that by simply purchasing a PTA membership, you are providing immediate financial support for our students and the Briarwood staff? Your membership helps fund additional activities and programs not covered by SMSD. Join now by clicking here!
The simple act of joining the PTA does NOT mean you are automatically registered to volunteer for any activities or programs. The PTA welcomes ALL volunteers, but we do not require anything of you. If you are interested in helping, we'd love to hear from you- Volunteer Interest Form.
DONT FORGET TO CREATE/UPDATE YOUR ONLINE DIRECTORY PROFILE
Get started today by visiting https://www.briarwoodpta.org, select “Directory”
- Update or create an account through Membership Toolkit. Once you update/create your account, you can decide what information is shared in the online directory, which is ONLY accessible to other BW registrants.
- Our directory will only be as useful as YOU make it. Please register to help us build a stronger community network for parents/caregivers and students.
- Download the Membership Toolkit app from the App Store or Google Play for on-the-go access.
Questions? Contact Karen Moore: karen.jeanne.moore@gmail.com
Have more questions about the auction? Check out the FAQs page!
Order your 2023-2024 yearbooks now and start submitting your photos!
Please submit photos that you think would be great for the yearbook by clicking here:
We'd love to see pictures of class parties, field trips, community events (Movie Night, Bulldog jog) etc.
A few rules to follow please:
- Only photos from school events can be used (no birthday parties)
- Only include CURRENT Briarwood students (no parent/student selfies, non Briarwood siblings)
- We want photos of ALL students to be included, so please understand we can only use a few photos per student
November Celebrations & Recognitions
National Adoption Awareness Month
National and American Diabetes Awareness Month
Native American Heritage Month
November 1st – All Saint’s Day
November 1st – Dios Los Muertos
November 11th – Veteran’s Day
November 12th – Hindu Diwali Day
November 14th – World Diabetes Day
World Kindness Day
World Children’s Day
Native American Heritage Day
World Freedom Day
BRIARWOOD CORNERSTONE STANDARD’S MONTHLY THEME
Growth Mindset: Grit, Flexible Thinking, When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger.
Great Reads & Recipes
Great Reads
15 Meaningful Children’s Books About Veterans Day
Children’s Books About Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
Books For Children About Epilepsy
Around the World Recipes
Hangry Woman – The Diabetes Food Journal – Mila Clarke
Mila Clarke is an author, self-taught cook, Integrative Nutrition Diabetes Health Coach, diabetes advocate and founder of Hangry Woman and Glucose Guide. Hangry Woman aims to take away the shame and stigma that comes with a diabetes diagnosis and covers topics like diabetes management, cooking, and self-care from the perspective of someone living with the chronic condition.
Military Matters
Military Matters is a program that fills the gap in legal services available to service members and veterans living in the greater Kansas City Metropolitan area. Military Matters collaborates with support agencies serving the service members and veterans in the area to identify the most needed legal services and provide assistance to those who do not qualify for aid from other agencies.
VOLUNTEER CROSSING GUARDS NEEDED
Please help Briarwood students get to school safely! The intersection at 86th and Juniper does not have a SMSD-staffed crossing guard; the school relies on volunteers. All volunteers are welcome, but if your student uses this intersection, please consider signing up once per month.
SHIFTS:
- 7:50 - 8:10 am (school starts at 8:10 a.m. for all grades)
- 3:05 - 3:20 (dismissal at 3:10 p.m. for all grades)
- 12:25 - 12:40 p.m. on half days (half-day dismissal is at 12:30 for all grades; half days are indicated on the sign-up calendar)
CROSSWALK RULES:
- Cars are not permitted to turn LEFT off 86th Street onto Juniper (you may have to remind drivers)
- Students must walk themselves and/or their bikes/scooters across the crosswalk
CROSSING GUARD DUTIES:
- Manage pedestrian and vehicle traffic for safe street crossing
- Remind students to follow street crossing rules
- Help control car and pedestrian traffic conditions
Thank you!
Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th- Do you have a plan to vote in this election?
The data shows that 72% of those who did vote in the last school board election were 50+ years old. We need more parents of young kids using their voice to ensure our schools provide the education they want for their kids.
Encourage your friends and family to vote!
Read Across SMSD
Elementary
"The Coquies Still Sing"
By Karina Nicole González
illustrated by Krystal Quiles
Middle Grade
Young Adult
NOW AVAILABLE: SMORE TRANSLATION
- On the right side of the newsletter, a bar will appear with the Translation feature.
- Click on the Translation bar then click on the Select Language button.
- Choose your language of choice from the drop-down menu of languages and click close. The newsletter will now be translated.
En el lado derecho de la pagina, aparecerá una barra con la función de traducción. Haga clic en la barra de traducción y luego haga clic en el botón Seleccionar idioma. Elija español en el menú desplegable de idiomas y haga clic en cerrar. El boletín ahora se traducirá.
GET SOCIAL - Connect With Us Online!
Website: https://www.briarwoodpta.org/
Twitter: @BriarwoodElem
Instagram: @BriarwoodBulldogs
Facebook: facebook.com/BriarwoodBulldogs
Grade-level Facebook Groups (private):
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2030 (6th grade)
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2031 (5th grade)
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2032 (4th grade)
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2033 (3rd grade)
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2034 (2nd Grade)
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2035 (1st Grade)
Briarwood Elementary Class of 2036 (Kindergarten)
2023-24 PTA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Co-Presidents:
Deana Curtin • deanacurtin@gmail.com
Ashley Hunt • ashleyhunt910@gmail.com
President-Elect:
Rachel Wymore • rla08@hotmail.com
VP Administration:
Heather Rowe • hgreenlaw_01@yahoo.com
VP Communications:
Terra Snyder • walker_terra@hotmail.com
VP Community Events:
Kristin McClasky • Kdp1202@gmail.com
VP Student Services:
Susan Jarrold • susan.jarrold@gmail.com
VP Funding:
Jessica Becker • jessica.becker85@gmail.com
VP Finance:
Denise Wheeler • denisetompkins@mac.com
Treasurer:
Michelle Wiens mwiens678@gmail.com
Secretary:
Diana Beckman • dianalbeckman@gmail.com
Briarwood Foundation:
Valerie Moeder • ValerieLMoeder@gmail.com
Diversity & Inclusion Chair:
Craig Dawson • craigdawson@icloud.com