Brown School Buzz

Happy New Year to one and all!

As we begin 2025 together, I am excited about so many things on the horizon for the Brown School community. Over the next 12 weeks we will learn more about MLK and how we can be kind and fair every day, celebrate Valentine's Day, have our Winter Concert, celebrate our 100th day and Music in our Schools Month, and we'll have a Book Fair and a STEAM Fair! While these are exciting events that make our school so very special, most importantly, we also celebrate the development and progress our students, teachers and staff are making each and every day. Indeed, the standards aligned curricula, assessments and progress monitoring systems we have been working to put in place over the past three years are becoming standard practices. ( I hope I didn't lose you on that last sentence!-Please read on...)

Learning can be very complex. A student may fully understand some concepts of math or reading, and then become very confused about a new concept. It's our task to identify those confusions as soon as possible to keep all students moving forward. And of course, all students are unique. Strategies and instructional approaches that work for some students, don't necessarily work for all, so we continue our learning as well. As leaders, teachers, coaches, and support staff, we continue to meet regularly to share our knowledge, resources and successes to help one another. These best practices are all part of the systems we are building.

This month we will be administering reading assessments as well as the i-Ready mid year diagnostic. These measures will help us continue our practices of identifying where students are reaching standards, surpassing standards, and where they may need more instruction. I'm incredibly proud of the work our students are doing. And I am equally proud of our teachers, coaches, and staff members for continuing their own learning and development to move our students forward. The next 6 months of learning holds much promise for both our students and for us as a professional learning community! Thank you for being our partners in both our work and our fun!

Late in the fall a couple of issues were identified regarding the use of Personal Electronic Devices at school. Since the holiday season, we have seen an increase in personal devices at school, more specifically, Smart Watches. Students who have cell phones for emergencies and for communicating after school hours understand that the phone must be turned off and stored in their locker. While Smart Watches indeed do keep the time, they also have the capability of internet access, texting, and gaming, all of which are not allowed during school hours. Smart watches may not be used as a device for accessing the internet, gaming, or texting during school hours.

Technological advances are changing by the second and indeed it's hard to keep up with regard to rules and guidelines. That said, Smart Watches are covered as electronic devices in the guidelines outlined in our handbook and need to be put away once a student arrives at school.

For your reference:

Cell Phone/Electronics Usage

Cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off and put away once students arrive at school until the end of the day. The school day is defined as 7:55-2:30 for Lucretia and Joseph Brown or until a school activity is completed. Teachers may allow the use of smart phones for classroom projects such as performing research or using the compass function.

Additional protocols include:

● Teachers may allow cell phone use in an emergency such as the cancellation of an after-school activity in which a student must call home to arrange transportation. Please do not text or call your child on their cell phones during school hours.

● Students violating this rule will have their cell phones taken from them by the staff member. The staff member will return the phone to the student at the end of the day with a reminder that the next offense will result in an office referral. A second offense will result in the student and the phone being sent to an administrator who will take the phone and release it to a parent or guardian. A third offense may result in disciplinary consequences including detention or suspension.

● Teachers may allow students to use e-readers such as a Kindle, Nook or iPad for book reading provided the student does not use such devices for game play. The wireless settings if possible should be disabled.

We thank you for cooperation with this one and helping our students stay focused on their instruction and learning.

Our Brown School values are: be brave, be kind, be safe and be ready to learn. Throughout our days we use this language to help reinforce the importance of these. Each month we focus on one of the values to help studnets understand the deeper meaning and how it different school value and how each student has a responsibility to keep our school community a safe and great place to be each day.

This month we will be focusing on Kindness.

It seems it's time for a reminder of when students are able to be supervised in the morning before school begins, and admittedly, it can be confusing.

Here are the times to note for your morning routine:

7:45-Doors open for students wishing to have breakfast at school before morning recess

7:55-8:05-Before School Recess-This is when we have staff members on duty to assist in the car line and on the playground before classrooms are accessible.

8:05-8:15-Arrival. This is when students can come into the building and go directly to their classrooms. (This is the sweet spot for arrival)

8:15-The late bell rings. Students entering the building after 8:15 are considered tardy.

Because we have limited supervision before school begins, the challenges we are having include:

-students arriving prior to 7:45

-students arriving between 7:45-7:55 who are not having breakfast

-students arriving before 8:05 and do not want to go outside for recess

We appreciate your help as we work together to keep our kids safe and supervised at all times.

Though the weather this week has prompted a couple of indoor recess days due to the extreme cold, this has been the exception. Most days all students are required to go out for recess. Even when it's too cold for a lengthy outdoor recess, we encourage teachers to take kids for a short walk outside for some fresh air at some point during the day. Please be sure your child has appropriate outer wear to be outside in the winter for 20 minutes. We have a fair number of students unprepared for recess time and complaining of being cold. If your child needs additional outer wear, please reach out to our school counselors or to me. We will make sure all children have what they need for winter in Massachusetts.

Here's how you can help keep our Brown School Enrichment programs going:

Donate! Donate gently used items to the MAGIC HAT.

The link explains very clearly what can be accepted.

Shop! Please shop at the Magic Hat. The treasures are infinite!

Volunteer! When our parents and community members volunteer at the Magic Hat in support of the Brown School, we receive more funding. Please consider donating an hour of your time to help.

SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER FOR AN HOUR

Thank you for your support of The Magic Hat and The Brown School PTO!

After rereading this newsletter, I feel like the mean storybook principal of long ago...Come to school at the right time! No cell phones! No watches! Put your coat on! Yikes! Sorry this one is so full of rule reminders...I'll try to make the next one much more uplifting! Happy weekend everyone, and thank you for your continued support.

Jan. 9-31-Kindness and Justice Month

Mon. Jan. 20-No School-MLK Day

Wed. Feb. 12-Winter Concert-Grades 1-3

Mon. Feb. 17-No School-Presidents' Day

Feb 18-21-School is in session (make up days)

Email: maxfield.mary@marbleheadschools.org
Website: https://www.marbleheadschools.org
Location: 40-42 Baldwin Road, Marblehead, MA, USA
Phone: 7816393112