Bobcat Bulletin

Hello Bobcat Families,

Another great week in the Bobcat Den! Students are working towards unlocking Paw #3, which is the "Bobcat Staff Masked Singer" Video and are working hard to be a leader in showing the Bobcat Way!

Kids are really diving into curriculum at this point in the school year, and it is amazing to watch as they interact with the various resources. The enthusiasm of learning is truly amazing to see in action and our teachers do a great job of making it engaging and fun! I am always in awe of students' connections they make and how they teach us things along the way, too!

Speaking of learning new facts, we celebrated our Constitution this week as it was signed on September 17, 1787 (236 years ago!) and shared some fun facts along the way! The Daughters of the American Revolution visited Brookdale on Tuesday and rang bells with our Brookdale Bell in honor of the constitution Tuesday morning (photo below).

We meet next week in grade level teams to analyze all the fall benchmarking data collected for our students and allocate needed resources. If your child is receiving additional support beyond Tier 1 (what all students learn), you will receive a letter via backpack mail. Student growth is a main focus of our School Improvement Plan again this year as we always want all of our students growing to their best potential!

As always, thank you for your continuous support and hope to see you at Movie Night Mania next Friday!

Full of Bobcat Pride,

Mrs. Keeley Schmid

Brookdale's Principal

We want to remind our community that students should not be bringing toys to school, especially those that look like weapons. While these toys may seem harmless, they can cause unnecessary concern and distractions within the school environment.

Please be reminded that our school and district have a strict policy against bringing any type of toy weapon to school. We understand that, in many cases, parents may not be aware that these toys are in their child's backpack. Therefore, we kindly ask that you help support these efforts by having conversations with your child about the importance of keeping toys at home and checking his/her backpack regularly.

The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority, and maintaining a positive, focused learning environment is essential. We appreciate your partnership in keeping our school a safe place for all.

One of the many ways District 204 supports STEM is through our Robotics Club! If your child is in 4th or 5th Grade and interested in joining this year, be sure to check out the informational document below.

Come enjoy a special night in the Brookdale Gym for our 4th annual Movie Night Mania featuring Inside Out 2!

When? Doors open at 5:00pm (Door 2), and we have something special for the first 50 attendees! The movie will kick-off at 5:30pm. There will be an intermission to refresh a visit to the concession stand, draw some raffle tickets, and introduce Team IPEF. The remaining raffle tickets will be drawn at the conclusion of the movie. Must be present to win!

Where? The Brookdale Gym--students are encouraged to wear their PJs, bring their blankets/sleeping bags, and camp out in the gym with their Bobcat Family!

Admission? Tickets are $5.00 at the door (tickets cannot be purchased in advance). Cash and checks only are accepted. Checks can be made out to Brookdale Elementary.

There will be a raffle for prizes, a silent auction for experiences, and concessions until your heart desires! Pizza, candy, popcorn, drinks, and sweet treats will be served to support your enjoyment of the show! As a reminder, this is a cash/check only event.

Special Notes: Students must be accompanied by an adult. All proceeds from the event benefit Indian Prairie Education Foundation (IPEF).

Help make this special night possible by donating your time. We need volunteers to help with admissions, concessions, raffle, baked good donations and more. Click the button below to volunteer! Team IPEF members will receive credit towards their fundraising goals. Team IPEF members should wear their shirts for the event.

IAR/DLM scores can now be viewed in ParentVUE. Scores will only show for our current 4th and 5th grade students who took the assessment last school year.

Friday we conducted our annual Law Enforcement Drill at 10:00am. By 10:03am, students were back to learning and instruction. Our Bobcats did a great job; our Naperville Police Officer was very impressed! I am grateful to our students, staff, and local law enforcement who ensure safety is a top priority in our building and district.

Thank you for all you do in supporting these conversations at home and in helping your child understand the importance of practice in case of a real emergency.

Checkout Brookdale Spotlighted at the Board Meeting 9/9 (5:15)

Photo: Mrs. Schmid, Mrs. Wegrzyn, and Mrs. Rosenblum, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary at Monday's Board Meeting.

We love to have volunteers at Brookdale! Please see the updated volunteer application process. All volunteers must be approved through this process for the 24-25 school year. You will receive a confirmation email from the district once approved.

Our school’s highest priority is the safety of our students and staff. In order to maintain a safe environment, it is necessary that we practice our emergency and crisis response plans.

We are required by the Illinois School Safety Drill Act (105 ILCS 128/1) to conduct a minimum of six safety drills per school year to ensure that our staff and students know their role and are prepared to act during a potential crisis. These safety drills are designed to protect students from danger in and around a school.

We do not conduct surprise drills. We teach students that drills are for practice, and we when practicing, we want to learn and grow from these experiences. We will conduct our safety drills on the following days and times this school year:

Building Evacuation/Fire

August 28 @ 9:30 am--COMPLETE

September 24 @ 2:30 pm--This Week

October 22 @ 9:45 am (with NFD)

Severe Weather

September 4 @9:45 am--COMPLETE

March 4 @ 2:00 pm

Law Enforcement Drill

September 13 @ 9:45 am--COMPLETE

Bus Evacuation

October 11 @ 9:30 am

We are so excited to announce that this year's Fun Run, one of the BIGGEST AND MOST FUN annual events and fundraisers for Brookdale PTA, is officially A GO!! This year our fundraiser culminates in an exciting outdoor obstacle course for all participants to enjoy on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 FROM 5-7pm! Students will have a blast running through non-toxic color powder stations, dashing through wacky obstacles and playing at various sponsored stations around the school. Plus, stay for dinner with food options available. And parents, siblings, extended family - the Bobcat Fun Run is open to all members of the community to run alongside their student! Suggested registration for each student is $25 ($30 for non-students), however bigger or smaller donations are accepted and appreciated. 100% of proceeds go back to benefit Brookdale, so it's a great way to support your student's education AND have tons of fun!

REGISTER YOUR RUNNER(S) ONLINE NOW!

HOW TO REGISTER - NEW and EASIER Platform than Last Year:

1) Register as a Parent

2) Click "Add Student" Button. It's easy to add multiple students to have one fundraising page per family

3) Share that personal fundraising page link with friends and family or social media to generate even more support for the Bobcat Fun Run!

BACK AGAIN THIS YEAR: We've added class incentives to help us reach our fundraising goal of $9,000. The top earning class IN EACH GRADE earns a popsicle party on the playground! Plus the top-earning class OVERALL earns a Happy Meal Lunch delivered by Bob the Bobcat!! And every class that raises over $250 earns an extra recess pass! Want to help your student's class? Share this fundraiser with friends and family to get their support, too!

Note: Cash and check are accepted, too. Send back an envelope labeled with your student's full name and classroom. Checks should be made payable to "Brookdale PTA." Payment will also be accepted at the event.

This PTA is a group of parents and staff members that serve families of academically talented students from across the district. Just like our local Brookdale PTA, anyone is encouraged and welcome to join! To learn more about the Project Arrow PTA and sign up, visit their website.

We are thrilled to be able to once again offer a searchable directory for Brookdale. As your PTA, we strongly believe in bolstering community with our Bobcat families and understand that a current directory is vital to unlocking new friendships and strengthening our connections. We're proud to have this opportunity to bring us together once again!

To access the Brookdale School Directory, you need to download the DirectorySpot app from your mobile device store. If you are returning, use your login information from last year. If you are new, you will need to create a username and password. If you don't see this option, use your email used at registration and click the "forgot password".

Once you log in, you will be able to search by student name or family name for their contact information. Searching by teacher allows the user to see the students in that teacher's class.

Please note: the information in this directory was what each family chose to share with the district during registration. There are some families who opted out of sharing their contact information and have been omitted from this directory. If you would like to be included in the directory please contact the PTA at pta.brookdale.bobcat@gmail.com.

Show that Bobcat pride with a collection of Brookdale wearables perfect for everyone in the whole family! Great to have for our first spirit day on Friday, September 6. All items ship directly to your home. Plus, for a limited time, items in the shop are 30% off and all orders over $75 ship for free. Happy shopping:

Brookdale spirit wear, Naperville, IL, Bobcats | 1st Place Spiritwear

Calling all enthusiastic and caring male role models (dads, grandfathers, uncles, etc)! Ignite a positive impact in your child’s educational journey through our remarkable Men of Brookdale (MOB) program.

Join in on the playground and in the lunchroom and help play games, open containers and have fun with your child and peers. Please sign up at the link below and timing is flexible. There are two sessions each day: 11:00am-12:25pm (Grades 2/1/5) and 12:15pm-1:50pm (Grades 4/3/K).

Volunteers can sign up for one or both sessions Men of Brookdale - Sign up. Dates are available a couple Friday’s each month – it’s fun, simple and rewarding! If you have any questions, email Ben Kalnicky at bkalnicky@uwalumni.com.

*See sign-up for grade level lunch times!

Help support Brookdale Elementary by volunteering as a Morning Greeter! The greeter is a friendly, welcoming face who directs adult visitors to the office, assists students who arrive late, and delivers items to the classrooms. The time commitment is only 30 minutes from 9:00 – 9:30am (9:10-9:45 on Wednesdays). Help is needed each school day – you can sign up for a single day, choose a day per week, or select as many days as you can to help keeping Brookdale mornings running smoothly.

Brookdale Elementary School: Brookdale Morning Greeter (signupgenius.com)

The PTA is an organization of parents, staff, and community members committed to enriching the school experience for all students and staff at Brookdale. With exciting programming, events, and tons of resources offered to our Bobcats each year, we work hard to ensure that Brookdale stays at its best!

Joining the PTA gives you the opportunity to make a difference in your student's time at Brookdale. Plus, meet new people and get to know the staff in a fun environment. The PTA will connect you to important school happenings and resources that benefit your child. And importantly, joining the PTA strengthens our community - we need your unique perspective to make a difference! Yearly membership is $20 for a single adult and just $30 for a family membership (two adults). All proceeds go back to benefit Brookdale! Sign up today! http://www.brookdalepta.org/membership/

Monday, 9/23: No Scheduled School Events

Tuesday, 9/24: 2nd and 5th Grade Grade CogAT Census Testing; Fire Drill #2 @2:30pm; Sticky Fingers Cooking Class @3:35pm

Wednesday, 9/25: 2nd and 5th Grade CogAT Census Testing

Thursday, 9/26:2nd and 5th Grade CogAT Census Testing

Friday, 9/27: Bobcat Running/Walking Club @7:45am; Safety Patrol Meeting @8:00am; Kindergarten Blackberry Farm Field Trip@9:30am; IPEF Bubble Gum Sale @3:35pm; Movie Night Mania @5:30pm

Brookdale Fun Run Spirit Week

September 30 - October 4

Bobcat Fun Run

Friday, October 4

Spirit Day

Friday, October 4

Men of Brookdale (MOB)

Friday, October 4

IPSD 204 School Board Meeting (Crouse Education Center)

Monday, October 7

Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day

Wednesday, October 9

Family Learning Night

Thursday, October 10

Busy Bobcat Store

Friday, October 11

No School - Indigenous Peoples Day

Monday, October 14