Brookside Bulletin

• Dec. 4-13 MAP Testing
• Dec. 6 - PTA Hockey Night with OSU
• Dec. 6 - Student of the Month
• Dec. 13 - 4th grade Nutcracker Suite (4th grade students & families)
• Dec. 16 - 5th grade Chipotle fundraiser (4-8pm)
• Dec. 20 - Winter parties
• Dec. 23-Jan. 3 - Winter Break
• Jan. 6 - Classes resume

December Greetings!

We want to thank all of our students, families, and staff for making 2024 so special. December is a month of celebration, learning, and reflection. We are excited about our upcoming events and look forward to a wonderful 2025. Remember, as we approach winter break, please notify the school in advance if your child will be absent for travel or other reasons 614.450.5300.

The sun always shines on Brookside! 🌞

Warmly,

Dr. Jenny Wielinski

Starting Jan 3, 2025, the old www.worthington-portal.org site will no longer be accessible. The vendor who owns and supports the system our portal site is built on is no longer supporting it.

The items from the old portal are now available from your Infinite Campus portal in the “More” section in “Parent Access Links”. Here is a guide to help you navigate this change: Parent Access Link.

We also recommend updating any browser bookmarks you may have.

We invite our 4th grade families to view their students in a performance on December 13th @7:00 pm.

Student Council will be hosting a Spirit Week Mon, Dec 16-Fri, Dec 20th. See this FLIER for daily details.

At Brookside, we constantly look for and celebrate students who make good choices and take responsibility for their actions. A student from each class who best exemplifies the monthly character trait is selected by teachers and/or peers. Every two months we have a celebration honoring those students and their families before the day begins. We post why our Students of the Month were chosen, along with their picture, on our Wall of Fame. Students receive a certificate and a Pride of Brookside t-shirt. We also hold a school-wide assembly where students are honored by their teachers in front of their peers. This positive attention is just what all students need and inspires others to do the same.

We are so proud of our Students of the Month! Congratulations!

November (Gratitude) - Being thankful for the people, events, and good things in life and focusing on the positive.

December (Kindness) - The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

Congratulations to our Students of the Month for November and December!

The weather is getting colder! Please ensure your child comes to school with a warm coat, hat, and gloves. And, please don't forget to label all items with your child's name. If your family needs assistance with winter clothing, please reach out to our office at 614-450-5300.

We are thrilled to announce that kindergarten registration for the 2025-26 school year will open on January 6th, 2025. Visit our kindergarten Welcome Center website for information about the registration process and requirements.

We are excited to announce that starting in the 2025-26 school year, Worthington Schools will be offering universal, no-cost all-day kindergarten for all students. This program will provide a strong foundation for learning and allow us to better meet the needs of every child in our community.

For more details about Worthington's All-Day Kindergarten, you can read Superintendent Dr. Bowers blog or watch a presentation about kindergarten from a recent board meeting.

We can’t wait to welcome our newest learners to our schools!

As technology continues to become more present in our student’s lives, Worthington Schools has been seeking to better understand the impacts of technology in our classrooms. All schools in Ohio are required to adopt a policy regarding cell phone use by July 2025. Superintendent Dr. Bowers recently presented student, community, and staff feedback regarding cell phone use in our schools and Worthington’s progress toward defining a cell phone policy which you can view here.

Based on this feedback, we are adjusting our technology practices at the elementary level. Students at our elementary schools have always been asked to silence cell phones and are required to keep them in their bookbags during the school day. Now, this practice will also apply to smartwatches and other wearable technology.

This change supports a more focused and distraction-free classroom environment while still allowing students to access technology for communication to and from school. We understand that many families find value in features like location tracking, and this adjustment allows for these needs to be met without interrupting the school day. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to create the best learning experience for all our students!

Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

The Worthington Alliance of Black Families & Educators (WABFE) fall newsletter is now available. You will find it below.

WABFE Fall Newsletter

While we welcome parents for an occasional lunch with their child, stand alone food delveries (Uber Eats, Door Dash, etc.) to our school are prohibited for the following reasons:

• Food deliveries can be disruptive
• Outside food deliveries increase the risk of exposure to allergens
• Allowing delivery personnel on campus can pose security risks
• Not all students have access to outside deliveries
• Deliveries are not always on time
• Tracking who ordered what becomes time intensive for office staff

Thank you for understanding and adhering to our policy.

I am excited to announce that Brookside will be using Artsonia as an online platform to share student art. Family and friends can view the art online, leave comments, and order keepsakes featuring the artwork. 20% of the sales go back to the art room to help fund unique project supplies. You can access this on a computer, or by downloading the Artsonia app on your phone.

Directions:

• Scan the QR Code

• Enter your child's first and last name, grade, and email address

• Enter your information (name, email, phone number)

• Once you enter into your student's portfolio, you can add "fans" (family and friends) so they have access as well; this is NOT public information.

Once we finish creating an artwork, you will receive a notification that a new artwork has been uploaded to your student's portfolio. The physical artwork will come home at some point in the school year.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at kmurray@wscloud.org.

The district is planning a change in the email address our infinite Campus email address is delivered from. We plan to make the change before the end of this calendar year. This is just a heads

"Ensure emails from Worthington Schools make it to your inbox - Parent Email Domains"

Money for breakfasts and lunches need to be deposited in www.mypaymentsplus.com You will set up a parent account and then add a student account for each child using their student ID#. If you decide to pack a lunch (or snack) please be aware that our District is Nut Free (peanuts and all tree nuts). We appreciate your cooperation with this.

• We do serve a grab & go breakfast in the cafeteria from 7:30-7:40
• Breakfast can be purchased for $1.60
• Lunch is $2.75
• Additional milk is $.50.

If a student is free or reduced and the student wants to buy milk (extra or with a packed lunch) the milk is not free, it is $.50.

The USDA had school food services return to pre-pandemic operations last year.

Worthington Schools has eligibility-based pricing of meals (Free/Reduced/Paid).

All Worthington School families are required to complete the online Free/Reduced Lunch Eligibility Form. All students use their Lunch ID for meals. The student's number can be found in the Parent Portal. Select the Student ID tab and look for your Lunch PIN.

Families can add money to their lunch account through My Payments Plus. You can also use MPP to track your student's account and see how much money remains on it. My Payments Plus is also used to pay other fees, like high school parking permits and AP testing fees.

Please have your child arrive to school and be an active and engaged learner by our tardy bell at 7:40am. It is important that your child arrives on time as school attendance is calculated by the minute and accumulates quickly when tardy.

If your child will be absent for any reason, please call (614-450-5300) or email (dwadkowski@wscloud.org) attendance. If you know about a planned absence, please share that information prior to the absence, especially extended absences.

Just a few additional reminders:

• No toys/stuffed animals should be brought to school.

• For the safety of students, if they arrive after the 7:40 bell, please come in with them to sign them in.

• Please make sure to put your child’s name inside their coats and jackets.

• Should you know in advance that your child will need an alternative bus stop on their assigned route due to child care or other reasons, please fill out the Alternative Transportation Request Form as soon as possible.

• If your child's afternoon transportation needs to change at the end of the day, you must notify the office by 1:30 that day. Teachers can't get to their emails while teaching, so it is best you contact our school office 614-450-5300.
  

Arrival occurs between 7:30am and 7:40am. The tardy bell rings at 7:40am.

Thank you for helping us instruct your child on ways to remain safe while walking and bicycling to and from school.

• Be sure your child can recite their name, address, and telephone number so if there is an emergency someone can more easily locate you, if necessary.
• Please tell your child to NEVER talk to, accept rides with, or take presents from a stranger.

For the safety of children, do not send any nut or peanut items to school in your child's lunch, snack, or school party item as we are a nut and peanut free school. It could literally mean life or death to another child. Thank you in advance for your understanding and compliance.

Brookside loves Grandparents! If you are interested in getting involved with the Circle of Grandparents, please see this FLIER for more information.

Field Trip volunteers/chaperones must have their volunteer badges. If you are interested in volunteering in our school or for a field trip. Please go to the district website and follow the instructions HERE.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Parents, if you have not done so this year, please make sure to verify/update information in the Emergency Data Review through the parent portal. You can access the portal* on the WCS website. This process must be completed every year in case of an emergency and in order for your child(ren) to participate in class field trips. Instructions for using the parent portal appear here.

The Special Education Road Map has been translated into 21 different languages!!

This roadmap is helpful to all families, especially families who are just beginning the special education process.

Worthington’s Special Education Key Communicator Committee strives to build positive, productive and collaborative relationships and partnerships amongst the educators and community of families whose children receive special education and related services. We will engage in two-way communication, with the goal being to provide a circle of influence where we can share out and learn from and with each other.

The key communicators will convey information from their building to the committee, as well as information from the committee to their buildings.

The Key Communicators for Brookside are Sandra Sell at snsell74@gmail.com and Emily Smith. Please reach out to either of our communicators if you have questions or topics to discuss.

Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA), provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. Our school receives Title IA funding.

Parents/families of students in our building have a right to know about teacher qualifications and state-mandated assessments. All teachers providing Title I interventions are properly licensed for their positions and anyone can search licensure information on any educator at https://core.ode.state.oh.us/Core4/ODE.CORE.Lic.Profile.Public.UI/ . In addition to being linked here, these documents are available on the Title IA page of our school website.