Brewster Weekly

We are here to do good things for our students, our coworkers, and our community.

We represent qualities such as love, hope, kindness, respect, and responsibility.

Our culture mirrors those attributes. Let’s continue to make our school the best place to work and learn where everyone is inspired to be the best they can be. What we do, we do well.

Let’s keep the courage to shape a bright future for our students.

Oct. 24-28: Vision Screening, Grades Pre-K, TK, 1, 3, 5

Oct. 28: Halloween Parade Time (Updated 9/28: Staff voted to hold the parade on the Friday before rather than on Monday, the 31st. Parade will be outside weather permitting at 2:15pm)

• Community invited to watch and wave outside as students tour the perimeter of the school on our sidewalk and black top areas. Students will walk the sidewalk perimeter of our school- one time around. (We are so large we get stuck in a traffic jam, if we go around twice! We will start promptly at 2:15! )
• This is a voluntary event, we respect family wishes not to participate, please notify teacher for further support if necessary.
• School appropriate costumes please! - save the horror, fright, and/or exceptional haunts for the evening trick and treat fun at home on MONDAY! No weapons for props and please make sure the student can walk freely (masks obstruct vision) as they will go up and down stairs for the parade!

November 8 No School- Election Day, Professional Development for Staff

November 11 Veterans Day

November 15 Picture Retake Day, Brewster PTA Meeting

November 18 Half-day of School

November 22 Thanksgiving recess at end of the day

WE have two 2 hour recess para educator positions open!

Apply today! Job posting 1256

Early Childhood Special Education Para Educator (7.0 hours)

Apply Today! Job Posting 1327

For the past six months, Grace, a Brewster Pawsome third grader, has been playing chess and attending chess tournaments. She finished first in the Michigan Women's Chess Championship (U800) a few weeks ago. She recently made it into the top 100 chess players for girls aged 7 and under in the US. Based on her ranking, she is also eligible to make the US Top 100 for girls aged 8. She is currently the only one from Michigan on the list.

Dear Families,

Next week our school community will be focusing on the character strength of Creativity. Creativity means you come up with new and original ways to think about and do things.

Creative people can look at the world in original ways. They are open to new experiences, and have an imaginative and independent thought process. They generate lots of different ideas and can pursue them with energy and enthusiasm. Creativity is a process that takes courage. Anytime you share your original ideas with the world, you risk being criticized or even ostracized.

On a group level, creativity is vital. It helps us solve seemingly impossible problems, create something we never knew we wanted, or simply see the world in a new way. Technological examples include the printing press, refrigeration, electricity, automobiles, and the internet. Just think of what we’d be missing without Renaissance art, Enlightenment thinking, Harlem Renaissance jazz, or hip-hop emerging from the South Bronx in the 1970s and 80s.

To practice and encourage the character strength of creativity with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2) where together you will watch a video, read a quote and talk about the answers to three questions.

Have a wonderful week!

Media Update by Mrs. O'Rourke Oct. 2022

Book Fair is Here! We will be set up for students to browse next week & shopping dates are:

Wed . Oct. 26 3:00-5:00 & 6:30-7:30

Thurs. Oct. 27 2:30-4:30 & 6:30-7:30

Of course, you can skip the line & shop online here

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/brewsterelementaryschool

Thank you for your support of the media center!

Our pumpkin patch is growing! Thanks for sending in these fun characters!

Battle of the Books-planning ahead!

The kickoff event at RHPL on Wednesday, November 9.

Battle of the Books for all 5th graders in the Rochester Hills Public area. The event will take place on Saturday, March 18 at 2 pm at the Rochester High School gymnasium. This is a great program & we will have more info available after the Liberian comes to Brewster to introduce the program Nov. 4th, but save these dates now. 😊

The Specials Team is on Facebook! Please follow us at https://www.facebook.com/people/Brewster-Elementary-Specials-Art-Library-Music-Phys-Ed/100063552367921/

Brewster Elementary’s

Storybook Pumpkin Patch

Is Back!

Your child is invited to help create a storybook pumpkin patch in the Media Center.

What to do?

∙ Think of a favorite book and design your pumpkin based on a favorite character from that book.

Here are suggestions for creating your pumpkin at home:

• Purchase a pumpkin (real or fake)
• Gather your decorating supplies. Acrylic paints or permanent/paint markers work best. Watercolors tend to run, and spray paint will gradually dissolve the pumpkin. Other options include adding materials such as yarn, buttons, wiggly eyes, etc.
• Unfortunately, carved pumpkins cannot be brought to school.
• You & your child may complete a character page you may use to explain your creation.
• Participation is completely voluntary. This is not a contest.
• 
  

Have fun and be creative!

Students are welcome to bring in character pumpkins starting Oct. 11th. You may come to the Media Center between 8:00 & 8:30 am. Please fill out the character sheet to help us better understand your design. Pumpkins need to be picked up Friday Oct 31st before or after school. Unclaimed pumpkins will be removed J

Crisp air is moving in... Michigan weather can change on a dime! Make sure your child is dressed for the weather. Rain, shine, or blustery wind, our kids arrive and go outside for dismissal in the elements and we don't have an overhang to take shelter under.

Please use the crosswalk instead of walking into the car loop traffic! Thank you!

Brewster PTA

Book Fair!

In case you have not heard the Book Fair will be coming to Brewster next week. Please use this sign-up genius link to volunteer: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/4090544A5AB2FABFF2-brewster1

In addition to volunteering, we are collecting new book donations from the Book Fair for Micah 6 Community organization Holiday Gift Drive in Pontiac! You may purchase books at the book fair and leave them in the box or donate to the e-wallet set up for this purpose.

Ski Club is coming soon!

Upcoming events on Monday November 7th at 7pm - Brewster Ski/Snowboard Club Info Zoom. The event is posted on Facebook or you can find information on the attached flyer! Happy Skiing!

Brewster Reads

Hopefully everyone has been enjoying some good books and spending time reading since the start of school. Each month starting on the 25th reporting for that month can be entered into the form in the store on Toolkit and will be open until the 5th of the next month. This year only electronic copies will be accepted and instead of 25 minutes per day the goal is 500 total minutes for the month. If you have any question please reach out to Kellie Newman kellie.newman@mac.com or Katie Baron katie.baron@icloud.com. Happy reading Bulldogs!

Committee Chairs Needed

We have a great group of families at Brewster and we need your help! We have the following committee chairs open or in need of a co-chair. Please reach out to BrewsterPTAPresident@gmail.com if you are interested in helping or learning more!

Founders Day

Nominating co-chair

PAC Rep co-chair

Reflections

VP of Fundraising

We are sad to announce that Rachael has decided to resign as VP of Fundraising as her work schedule has increased. If you are interested in joining the board please let us know. Please send an email to BresterPTAPresident@gmail.com for more information.

Be SMART!

We will have a presentation by our Be SMART committee at our November PTA meeting. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Adopt-a-Book

Our Adopt-a-Book program is up and running for the year! If you are interested in adopting a book for your child please fill out the form in the Membership Toolkit Store.

Reflections

The theme for this year is Show Your Voice! Please find the rules and the entry form below. All entries must be received to BrewsterPTAPresident@gmail.com by November 18.

If you have time to volunteer to help this program we are in need of a committee chair to make this competition go smoothly this year. Please reach out to BrewsterPTAPresident@gmail.com for more information.

Membership Toolkit

Membership Toolkit is a website and app used by the Brewster PTA. On Membership Toolkit you can find a Brewster directory, calendar of events, and make secure purchases. You do not need to be a PTA member to use most of the features on Membership Toolkit. To create an account, you need to go the website first. Once you create your account on the website, you can download the app on your mobile device. If you already use Membership Toolkit, please log in to update your student’s information for the new school year. Use this link to create or update your account https://rhillsbrewsterpta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Brewster Facebook Group

The Brewster Facebook group is a great way to connect with Brewster families and learn about upcoming events. If you are a member of the Brewster Facebook group, please send an invite to Brewster families that are not yet members. For the safety of our students, the Brewster Facebook group is private. To join, you need to be a current Brewster family and answer the questions to join the group.

Join the PTA

You can join the PTA by going to the store on the Membership Toolkit app or clicking this link Join the Brewster PTA. By joining the PTA you will have access to the Brewster directory on the Membership Toolkit website and app.

Annual Fundraiser

The Brewster PTA has launched its Annual Fundraiser and a yellow flyer came home with your oldest child at Brewster. Our hope is to pivot from ongoing fundraising activities throughout the year that support Brewster students, teachers and staff, to a one-time donation made by each family at the beginning of the year. To make a donation use this link General PTA Donation or go to the store on Membership Toolkit. While there is no set amount that we are requesting, as we are sensitive to every family’s financial capacity, we hope and suggest the following amounts: $60 per family with one Brewster student or $85 per family with two or more Brewster students.

PTA Board Names and Contact Information

President – Jackie Bieber BrewsterPTAPresident@gmail.com

VP of Fundraising –

VP of Membership – Michelle Endres

Treasurer – Susanna Brennan

Secretary – Grant Kosch

2022-2023 Brewster Reads Program

Starting October 1, we’d like to invite all students to participate in the 2022-2023 Brewster Reads program! Students who choose to participate log 500 minutes of reading during the month and report on the Membership Toolkit app for a monthly prize and entry into a year-end raffle. For more details, please find our introductory letter and minute tracker attached to this newsletter. Questions can be sent to Katie Baron (katie.baron@icloud.com) or Kellie Newman (kellie.newman@mac.com).

Welcome to a new school year! The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Parent Network (DEIPN) is excited to continue our work together this year!

Please mark these future meeting dates on your calendar:

Monday, November 21

Monday, January 23

Monday, February 27

Monday, March 20

Tuesday, April 18

Monday, May 15

MISSION STATEMENT OF DEIPN

Parents who support, encourage, celebrate diversity, and human connections across all boundaries of difference within Rochester Community Schools. We are purposed to make RCS an environment where diversity is authentically included and equally respected in all aspects of the student’s experience. Where all students, especially those who have been historically marginalized, can fairly and equally achieve their full potential to build meaningful productive lives in a global society.

Please make sure to follow us on Twitter and check our school website for important school celebrations and updates!

Email: kdessy@rochester.k12.mi.us
Website: https://brewster.rochester.k12.mi.us/
Location: 1535 Brewster Road, Rochester Hills, MI, USA
Phone: 248-726-3300
Twitter: @BrewsterRCS