BROOKDALE BOBCAT PRINTS

Brookdale Elementary

611 132nd ST S Tacoma, WA 98444

Connie Holman - Principal

Ashley Landes - Assistant Principal

Office Hours - 9:00 to 4:30

253-298-3100 / FAX 253-369-1134

On behalf of the staff at Brookdale Elementary, I am happy to welcome you to the 2024-25 school year! We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure your children achieve their highest potential.

We recognize that in order to be successful in school, children need support from both the home and school. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for your children’s success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. Regular communication between home and school is vital! Be sure to check-in regularly with your child’s teacher. We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that he/she:

1) Attends school daily and arrives on time, ready for the day’s learning experience – after all, “Brookdale Bobcats are on time, every day, ready to learn!”

2) Completes all homework assignments given by teachers, this includes reading to and/or with you each night. Any homework that is given will be a review of concepts already learned in class and will not be new learning for students.

3) Shares school experiences with you so that you are aware of his/her school life – all it takes is asking your child questions. Here is a link to 15 Questions to Replace to How Was School Today.

Below is a link to the Family Resource Handbook (a Spanish version is forthcoming.) In it, you will find important information to help you navigate the school year.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Community Night a huge success! It was such a treat seeing families gather to welcome in the new school year. I hope you all had an opportunity to visit the vendors, food trucks, & classrooms.

Please take a few minutes to complete the feedback survey below. We will use your input to help us plan for next year.

Congratulations to the following student! Their name was drawn at our Community Night!

• Rylee Winkler - 3rd Grade

We warmly welcome the following staff members to our Brookdale community: Ms. Wasson, fifth grade; Mrs. Leach, Resource Room Teacher, Mr. Goode, PE.

We also welcome our new paraeducators - Ms. Bland, Mrs. Harrington, Ms. Reed and Mr. Castellano

9:00 - Office Opens

9:20 - Students allowed on campus/breakfast

9:35 - All students report to classes ~ Tardy bell

10:55 – 11:15 -Morning Recess – Kinder, Third & PSC/ISC

11:55 – 12:30 - Recess/Lunch – Second and Fourth

12:20– 12:55 -Recess/Lunch – Third and Fifth

12:45 – 1:20 - Recess/Lunch – Kindergarten, First & PSC/ISC

2:15 – 2:24 - Afternoon Recess - Fifth

2:40 - 3:00 - Afternoon Recess – Second & Fourth

4:00 – 4:05 - Student dismissal

4:30 - Office Closes (Office Closes early on early release days)

August 27 ~ FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! (1st - 5th graders)

August 30 - September 2 ~ NO SCHOOL

September 3 ~ FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

September 4 ~ EARLY RELEASE - 2:35

September 11 ~ EARLY RELEASE - 2:35

September 18 ~ EARLY RELEASE - 2:35

September 25 ~ EARLY RELEASE - 2:35

October 2 ~ EARLY RELEASE - 2:35

October 7 ~ NO SCHOOL - Staff Training

October 8-11 ~ 12:35 EARLY RELEASE - Conferences

Franklin Pierce Schools will continue with 2:35 dismissals on almost all Wednesdays this year. The first early release Wednesday is September 4th. Teachers use this time to collaborate with student achievement in mind.

You have the ability to view our school newsletter and other important information at our district's website. Go to www.fpschools.org, Brookdale is listed under the schools tab. You can also find transportation and lunch information online. Please keep our website in your favorites.

Do the words ‘Community Circle’ & ‘Restorative Practices’ sound familiar? At Brookdale we believe that positive relationships are at the heart of everything we do. These practices help build healthy communities, repair harm and restore relationships. At Brookdale, staff and students will utilize elements of restorative practices by incorporating community circles in the classroom, using affective statements, and using restorative questions. Our goal is to be proactive rather than reactive when responding to students, thus developing positive relationships with all students. Look for more information on restorative practices in the coming weeks.

This year we will be sending home a free Washington State Fair admission ticket with each student over the age of five on Thursday, August 29. This ticket will be good for any day of the fair. Early dismissals that coincide with the run of the fair will not be excused. Please take advantage of an early release Wednesday if you can.

Replacements for lost tickets will not be available.

Please be patient, the first couple days of school the busses might be running late. We have a very helpful transportation department; if you have any questions, issues about something that happened on the bus or at the bus stop, or concerns about a late bus, please call the transportation office directly at 253-298-3865. To cut down on the number of calls received in the office daily we ask that if you wish for your child to ride a bus other than the one they normally ride, or get off at a bus stop other than their normal stop, you must send a note. The same holds true if you want your child to walk rather than ride their normal bus. Without a note, we will not allow students to walk or change their regular bus, bus stop, or end of the day routine.

Please be aware that any bus-riding kindergarten student that is not met at the bus stop after school will be returned to Brookdale for parent pick-up. It is very important to meet your students at the bus stop on time!

The health room is staffed daily from 9:15 - 4:15 with a LPN to provide first aid to students who become ill or injured at school, and to give medications prescribed by state approved medical providers. Our goal is to keep healthy children learning in the classroom and to get ill children home.

State law allows for students to be administered only oral medications at school (including inhalers). The two exceptions in this law are for insulin and Epi-pen use. Please do not ask the school to give your student ear drops or eye drops, or to apply lotions and ointments, as we are unable to do so. All medications, even over-the-counter products such as pain relievers and cough drops, require an appropriate order from an approved medical provider. We must have a new medication order each school year. Please do not send medication with your child, as it is illegal for them to carry it on school grounds. Do not hesitate to contact our school nurse, Ms. Rambow at 253-298-3108, if you have questions or desire further information.

We are happy to have Quality School Portraits do our school pictures this year! Picture day is scheduled for Thursday, October 3rd . Your child will bring home a picture order envelope soon.

Please read these important reminders from the office!

Office Hours ~ 9:00 a.m - 4:30 p.m (Hours vary on early dismissal days)

1. If you need to come into the building, please press the intercom button on your right as you look at the front door. This will enable the office to see and hear you and buzz you into the entry if needed.
2. Please notify the office of any changes in the way your child will go home at the end of the day. We need this information one hour before dismissal so we have time to get a note to the teacher.
3. Call the office if your child will be absent. If they have an appointment, please ask the doctor, dentist, counselor, etc. for a note for school. Offices that treat children are used to giving notes to students for excuses!
4. If you need to take your child out of school early, please make sure to come to the office at least 35 minutes before dismissal time. On a regular school day, please be in the office by 3:30 and on an early dismissal day, be in the office by 2:00. You will want to make sure to come early enough so that we can locate your child and so you won't be trapped in the after-school pick-up line! You will need to sign your child out and wait for them to come from their classroom, so allow plenty of time. Thank you for your help!
5. If your phone number, email address, or home address changes, please let us know so we have the most up-to-date contact information for you. If your child becomes ill, or otherwise needs your help, we need a way to contact you! Thank you!

If you wish to bring treats for your child’s birthday, please notify the classroom teacher. All birthday treats must be store bought. Please deliver to the office before lunch.

Due to safety on the bus and classroom distractions, balloons are not allowed at school, please save them for your child at home.

We are pleased that Brookdale will once again be participating in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Program as part of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program.

In a CEP school, ALL enrolled students receive a nutritious breakfast and lunch at no cost during the school year, regardless of family income.

If your child brings a lunch from home and wishes to have only milk, it will cost $.60. Milk by itself is not free in a CEP school. Student meal accounts are still available in CEP schools if parents wish to put money on accounts to purchase milk.

If you have any questions concerning school meals or CEP please contact the Nutrition Services Department at 253-298-4618.

Franklin Pierce Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to James Hester, Compliance Coordinator for State and Civil Rights Laws; Wendy Malich, Title IX Officer; or John Sanders, 504/ADA Coordinator at 315 129th ST S, Tacoma, WA 98444-5099 or at (253)298-3000.