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

As you may know, attendance is a very important part of academic success. Chronic absences are considered to be no more that 10 a year - that is just one missed day a month. To encourage good attendance, we have a variety of incentives in place! At each B.O.B.C.A.T. Pride assemblies, we honor one K-2 and one 3-5 grade student who has not missed more than 1 day for the month with a $10.00 Walmart gift card. Thanks for all of your efforts in getting your student(s) to school every day!

If you would like more information on attendance, please follow the link below.

District Policy regarding Harvest parties:

Classrooms may have Harvest celebrations. Students may not wear costumes (including make-up & wigs) unless it is after school hours.

If your child's class is planning on having snacks, please follow the guidelines below:

• ALL snacks MUST be store bought
• ALL snacks MUST be individually wrapped
• Consider healthy snack alternatives - not all families celebrate with candy and sweets

October 22 ~ Brookdale School Store Fundraiser

October 23 ~ 2:35 Dismissal

October 28 - Nov 1 ~ Spirit Week (Info to come)

October 30 ~ 2:35 Dismissal

October 30 ~ TRUNK OR TREAT

November 6 ~ 2:35 Dismissal

November 11 ~ No School ~ Veterans Day

November 13 ~ 2:35 Dismissal

November 20 ~ 12:35 Dismissal ~ End of 1st Trimester

Congratulations to third grade Ms. Johnson's Class!!

We hope you enjoy your popcorn party!

Thank you all for helping our PTO stock the Bobcat Store this year!

CALLING ALL BOBCAT FAMILIES... We need your help to make this a big success and super fun time for our children so we are asking families to PLEASE donate candy for the trunk or treat!

(ALL CANDY MUST BE INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED)

We are anticipating a large number of children and we want to make sure we have enough candy to share with out Trunk-or-Treaters!! So please help us make this even a 'fun'tastic celebration for our students!

HOW TO DROP OFF:

• Parent Pick-Up/Drop off line ~ We have a donation box ready to go!
• Brookdale office
• Send the candy with your student to school

YOUR DONATIONS WILL BE A BIG HELP IN MAKING THIS EVENT SUCCESFUL!

We still have open spots for vehicles!

We created an online form to sign up! If you already submitted a paper copy, you do not need to fill out the online form unless you would like to!

If you need would like a hard copy sign up form please call the office and we will send one home!!

We will have a best decorated vehicle contest!!

On November 11th we celebrate and honor military veterans of the U.S Armed Forces.

Please help Brookdale Elementary honor those in our school community that served by filling out the link attached with their name and the branch they served for or emailing a picture of yourself or those in your family that served to BROOKDALE@FPSCHOOLS.ORG Please fill the form out or send photos by November 1st.

If you are sending a photo please include the following:

• Picture of the Veteran
• Name of Veteran and branch of military service
• Name of student or staff member veteran is related to.

We would like to recognize and share these with our staff and students during our Veterans' Day Assembly.

Brookdale community,

Please remember to drive the posted speed limit as you approach the school to drop off or pick up your student. The safety of all is a priority, and that includes driving the posted limit of 20 mph.

Please also make sure that you are driving safely in the Brookdale parking lot to keep all staff, students and families safe.

Thank you

Our bus drivers safely and faithfully transport hundreds of students to and from school each day. Anyone who has driven a car full of children can appreciate how challenging it is to drive a school bus packed with energetic students. Please join us in thanking your child's bus driver this week for all of their hard work. We also want to thank the wonderful staff in the Transportation Dept. for working so hard to coordinate all the logistics getting students to and from school in a safe, timely manner.

We are enjoying our beautiful Fall weather which means that mornings can be cooler. It is also important to remember that students go outside for recess rain or shine. Be sure to send your child to school dressed for the weather. Please take a moment to label outer-wear with a permanent marker in case it is misplaced.

Hello Brookdale Families

My name is Kate Loman, and I am your student’s art teacher!

Our focus this year is on learning art techniques and using materials in a way that supports our art projects. We would love to use a variety of mediums like markers, paint, and chalk to create various projects.

For our younger artists in kindergarten and 1st grade will spend the first trimester exploring various materials, doing a material focus and stations. In the later part of the year, we will work up to larger multiday projects.

Last year was the first year we had art at Brookdale and your students loved it. Your students loved it so much that they have started to ask for and want items to use in the Brookdale Art Room. So, we have compiled a schoolwide wish list to help support their wants and needs for art this year. Items are categorized by greatest need to lower more fun based items. There are even some that may be grade specific. Just note that the supplies will be shipped to the school and will be used for the whole school unless noted otherwise in the wish list. Thank you for supporting your students’ love of art!

Thank you in advance!

Please pack an extra pair of clothes, including underwear, socks, and pants in your child’s backpack. Accidents do happen and we would like to be prepared. It is nice when a child can wear a pair of his or her own pants. The health room has a very limited supply of clothing. If your child does borrow clothing from the health room, please return the clothing items to the school after it is washed.

In order to assure your child's safety, please call the school office at 253-298-3100 if your child is ill or unable to attend school. You can call and leave a message on our 24-hour voice mail if it is before school hours or email brookdale@fpschools.org . If your child is not in attendance, and we do not receive a call from you by 10:00 a.m, we will attempt to call you to confirm the reason for the absence. Your phone call saves time for the office and is greatly appreciated!

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.

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!

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.