Brown School Buzz

With October in the books and Parent-Teacher Conferences on the calendar next week, we are happy to report that majority of our students are arriving at school on time each day ready to learn. We have just a few students who are still struggling to make it in the door on time every day. For some it is a traffic timing issue or morning family chaos getting the best of them, and for some it's more complicated.

Every family can have one of those mornings and get out of the house a little later than usual. That said, "those mornings" should be infrequent. If your child has been tardy to school more than 3 times in the 37 days we have been at school this year, we would ask you to do your best to change that pattern. November is a choppy month for learning. Conferences, the Veterans Day holiday and Thanksgiving Break make the continuity of instruction much more challenging for both teachers and studnets... and it's even more difficult for kids to enter the classroom after the day is under way.

For a few students arriving late to school is more of a difficulty transitioning from home to school. If your child is struggling to make the transition from a social or emotional perspective, please be sure to work with your child's teacher and our school counselors. We are all here to help and support you and your child. We want every child to start the day on a positive note.

As a reminder, breakfast is offered for free, starting at 7:45, and the playground is open with supervision at 7:55 AM. Again, please reach out if we can help in any way. We appreciate your support and partnership for getting kids off to a positive and productive start each day.

Halloween is handled a little differently in public schools (Marblehead and beyond). Some schools have costumes, some have social time, and other schools choose to keep it a home or town event. In my experience, the same is true for families. Some do it up big, while others do not celebrate at all, and many others are somewhere in between. As the principal, I am approached by both teachers and families each year about my stance on Halloween activities, costumes, parades, etc..., so here you go:

I have asked that the Halloween celebrations be kept to 30ish minutes in the classrooms, preferably at the end of the day. If students choose to wear a costume to school, please be sure they are nonviolent in nature and do not include any type of weapon, or facemask. In terms of classroom activities, crafts and fall/Halloween themed learning activities. Your children's teachers can share the details of their individual classrooms.

Our youngest students will be planning a hallway parade for the first second and third graders to view. If you are a PK or K parent, those teachers can answer your questions about that activity. I thank you for your understanding as we navigate these decisions to assure minimal impact on instruction, and yet preserve opportunities for students to experience community and childhood traditions.

Our students have been learning about life cycles, migration, and caring for our smallest creatures.

The milkweed garden yielded a few monarch caterpillars, who all formed chrysalises, and became beautiful butterflies! When the monarchs were released, a tracker was attached to their tiny wings. We hope to hear from someone soon that our monarch friends have made it to their southern destination! Stay tuned!

Thank you to all of those who filled out the volunteer form and are willing to come in and volunteer at the Brown School. Mr. Manfredi and I have gone through the forms and separated the tasks, as well as checked CORI and fingerprinting updates. Several folks who completed a form for volunteering still need a CORI, fingerprinting or both. The link for completing that process is below. We have the up-to-date list in the office we can check for you if you're not sure.

If you are interested but haven't completed THIS FORM, it's never too late! We'd love to have you aboard!

Next steps:

Mr. Manfredi will be reaching out to schedule folks who have volunteered to help us in the cafe and on the playground. I will be reaching out to people about working with kids on math and reading skills. It will take us a couple of weeks to get the volunteers organized and scheduled. We hope to have cafe and recess volunteers begin by Thanksgiving, and math and reading volunteers begin working with kids by January 2. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Together we are making Brown School better and better all the time!

The Marblehead Recreation and Parks Department offers a variety of activities after school hours, and many are hosted at the Brown School! Programs are reasonably priced, and scholarships are available. If you are looking for after school programming for your kids, CLICK HERE to check out the offerings for November and December, or click on one of the specific program links below for Rec. programs happening at Brown in the coming weeks.

KIDS GIVE BACK

GAMES TO THE MAX

KANGAROO CLUB

MUSIC AND STORIES

SUPER GIRLS

Once again, our Brown School PTO did a phenomenal job creating an amazing evening for Brown School families! Between the corn maze, pizza, donuts on a string, Curious Creatures, crafts, photo booth, and of course the haunted walk, there were more smiles than we could count. I am never surprised, and always impressed by the PTOs creativity, hard work, and dedication to providing such incredible opportunities for us to connect as a Brown School community. Thank you!!

(*Abby Lewis photos)

Wednesday, Oct. 30-School Advisory Council Meeting

Thursday, Oct. 31-Halloween

Thursday, Nov. 7-Noon Dismissal (afternoon and evening conferences)

Friday, Nov. 8-No School-Parent Teacher Conferences

Monday Nov. 11-No School-Veterans Day

Wed. Nov. 27-NOON DISMISSAL for Holiday weekend

Thursday and Friday November 28-29-No School Thanksgiving Break

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