Brookside Updates

It's hard to believe that we are in February and past the halfway point of the school year! Thank you for your continued support and communication with our school team. While there continue to be many illnesses going around, please try your best to have your child at school at school, on time, every day if they are healthy. Good handwashing and hygiene habits continue to be crucial.

Please send your child to school with appropriate coats, hats, gloves, boots, etc. We will go outside as much as possible when the windchill is approximately 20 degrees or higher. If you need help with any of these items, please call us at 607-775-7513 and select "social worker" to talk to Mrs. Barry.

This month's issue will focus on SCIENCE. We are looking forward to having the Portable Planetarium in early March, and the Science Fair on March 12th from 6:15-8:00 pm. Information will be sent home with students soon.

Important Dates:

• Fri. Feb. 7: PTA Family Fun Night, 5:30-7:00 pm
• Feb. 14-17: No School, Presidents' Weekend
• Wed. Feb. 19: Rossi's Johnson City - 5th Grade Fundraiser
• Sat. Mar. 1: Chorus & PTA @ Black Bears Hockey Game
• Mar. 12: Science Fair: 6:15-8:00 pm
• Mar. 14: No School, Superintendent's Conference Day

The C.U.B.S. character education program will be in full swing during the month of February . The Word of the Month is Friendship. Our definition for Friendship is a relationship between two or more people built on trust, honesty, and respect.

Throughout the month, we will be accepting donations for the Broome County Humane Society. See below for a list of items that our furry friends may need. Thank you in advance for your donations.

Let Love Rule

For February, instead of talking about illness and ways to stay healthy, here are 14 ways to show your child/children love on Valentine’s Day and every day. These tips come from healthychildren.org and are supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Please click the link to read more.

Children thrive on touch/hugs/holding hands, reassurance, words of encouragement, love, and time with their parents. There is never a limit on how many times you can tell your child “I love you”. Say it often and keep conversations going about health, school, sports, friendships, or anything that may be weighing on your child’s mind. And remember they are never too old to hear I love you!

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Health Office!

• Have you joined the PTA? Even if you can't make the monthly meetings, we could use a few more memberships to meet our yearly goal! It costs just $5 to join here: https://brooksidepta.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true
• Please join us at Brookside this Friday 2/7 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm for our Valentine's Family Fun Night!
• Do you shop at Weis? Families just need to register their Weis card, select our school and then we can earn rewards when people shop. Last year Weis gave the PTA approx $800. See flier below.
• The 5th grade fundraising night at Rossi's Johnson City is on Wednesday, February 19th. We will earn a portion of the sales! See you there!

It’s nearly Valentine’s Day, and we would love your participation in the BoxTops program!

Families, teachers, school faculty & staff can participate! Simply scan your shopping receipts to the BoxTops app, take a screenshot of your submission, and email that screenshot to the PTA BoxTops email address (BoxTopsforbks.pta@gmail.com) from 2/1/25 - 3/31/25 to be entered to win a $25 Weis gift card for your efforts!

But what if you didn’t earn any Box Tops with your submission? Scan that you entered the sweepstakes to be entered into our local contest! You can enter our school in the Box Tops sweepstakes once per day, and every earning opportunity gives you one entry to try to win that Weis gift bc card! The winner will be randomly drawn and announced at the PTA meeting on Monday, April 7th.

The class with the most entries as of June 1st wins a pizza party, and one lucky randomly chosen student from that grade wins $25 in gift certificates to Frosty Joe’s! After Monday evening’s PTA meeting, 5th Grade catapulted in the lead, going from 68 Box Tops collected to 269!! There’s still time to turn the tides on that - start scanning today!

Grades Pre-K through 2nd are invited to attend Fit Kid during February and March. Please see the following calendar for specific dates and times for the program.

Our Pre-K, K, 1st, and 2nd grades worked on a basketball unit right after our winter break. We focused a lot on the skill of dribbling.

The 3rd-5th grade PE students have really enjoyed bowling this past month. They worked on their bowling approach, learned bowling etiquette and terminology, and even learned how to score a game!!

On March 21st (Friday), the Brookside Chorus and 5th Grade Band will be performing at the Oakdale Commons in Johnson City from 12:15-12:45pm. This performance will take place at the Center Court. Please make sure your child wears their concert black attire (black pants or leggings, black shoes and black top) for this event to school that day.

🎵These students will be having a pizza party at school after their performance on March 21st. This will take place when they return to Brookside. Please have your child turn in an envelope with $5 (cash only) along with their signed bus permission slip. Make sure their name is written on the envelope. The bus permission slip is attached to the informational letter that went home concerning this event.

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.🎵 See you all soon!

Band: Mr. Rob Johnson (rjohnson@svsabers.org)

Chorus: Mrs. Kelly Dyson (kdyson@svsabers.org)

Greetings from the library!

We have been working super hard on many different skills!

First, Second and Third are finishing a research unit using both books and online resources. We are learning how to cite our sources.

Fourth and Fifth are learning how to be safe and kind on the Internet.

The new library is still being rearranged and beautified, but it is becoming a wonderful little space.

Please enjoy the free books as the library book collection is updated with new, exciting selections.

Keep reading!

This month in science, Pre-K is exploring the fascinating world of animals through a variety of fiction and nonfiction books! We're learning about the incredible ways animals use their bodies to survive, as well as their basic needs. We're also matching animal parents with their babies and comparing the similarities and differences we observe.

Please continue sending in hats, boots, coats, and gloves! As soon as the temperature "heats up," we look forward to going outside for recess. Thank you, parents, for all the support you provide here at Brookside!

Kindergarten just finished learning all about farms in our listening and learning domains. We learned about different kinds of animals, crops, and seasons of farming. We embarked on a hands-on learning adventure, exploring where our food really comes from. Through exciting lessons and activities, we dove into the world of farms, animals, crops and the vital role agriculture plays in our everyday lives. Our students learned all about the different animals found on farms, such as cows, chickens, pigs and more. They discovered how these animals contribute to the food we eat, from milk and eggs to meat and wool. We also explored various crops; like fruits, vegetables, and grains. We also discussed the process of planting, harvesting, and how these crops get to our tables. We ended our unit with a special visit from Agriculture in the Classroom. The students were thrilled to learn all about goats and their care, behavior, and how they help in farming.

First Graders enjoyed learning about Light and Sound Waves through a variety of teaching resources, including BrainpopJr., PebbleGo and Mystery Science. Ask your child about all the high level vocabulary they were introduced to (Vibration, Pitch, Transparent, Reflection).

Simple, FUN, Sound Experiments to try at home:

Water Xylophone: Fill plastic cups with varying amounts of water. Gently tap the cups with a wooden ruler and listen to the different pitches produced.

Kazoo: Cut a small hole in the bottom of a plastic cup. Stretch a piece of balloon over the open end of the cup, securing it with a rubber band. Hum into the open end of the cup and observe the sound produced.

Second grade has been reading and learning about different animal habitats! We have learned about the rainforest, desert, grassland, and ocean. We have been exploring nonfiction texts to learn about these habitats. Students have learned about finding useful information from different sources.

Mrs. Harlow's 4th/5th graders have been studying ecosystems in science. To learn more about ecosystem decomposers students created mold terrariums. They added different variables to each terrarium to study the effect on mold growth. Mrs. Harlow's third graders have been studying weather and climate in science. We looked at the climates of three different cities to determine where the best place to have a snow fort building contest would be.

Hello 3rd Grade Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you well and that you had a wonderful holiday season! As we step into 2025, We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support in your child's education. Together, we are creating a positive and enriching environment for our students.

We have been busy here in 3rd grade! Our students have been diving into the fascinating world of Plant and Animal life cycles through one of our favorite apps, Mystery Science. They are discovering that all organisms share certain stages in their life cycles, such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death. Recently, we watched engaging videos and participated in hands-on activities like pollinating flowers. Our new reading program, Magnetic Reading, features a unit on Ocean Survival, where students explore various ocean habitats, deep-sea creatures, and their adaptations. They are even doing a little research and learning about sea turtles!

Wishing you all a wonderful start to 2025!

Warm Regards,

Our 3rd Grade Team

This month, our science explorations focused on waves—both longitudinal and transverse. We focused on sound and light waves, diving into their fascinating properties. We found that sound needs a medium to travel through to vibrate and make sounds in the ear, yet light does not need a medium to travel. We found that light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth as it travels through space ( which has no medium). Light is also the fastest thing in the universe traveling 186,000 feet per second!

One highlight of our investigations was studying how different wavelengths of light correspond to the colors we see. Using prisms, we examined how light behaves as it travels through various materials. We observed that light can be reflected, refracted, or absorbed depending on the material it interacts with.

We also completed a lab demonstrating that light travels in straight lines. By poking holes in a box and shining light through them, we discovered that the objects inside were only visible when light was directly shined on them. This hands-on experiment beautifully illustrated how light behaves.

It’s been an illuminating journey into the world of waves and the behavior of light!

Our next topic for science will be Energy Transfers and how energy is either considered potential or Kinetic based on its properties. We will look at Electricity and how to build electrical circuits!

Exploring the Wonders of Science: A Recap of Our First Half of the School Year

As we look back on the first half of the school year, our fifth-grade scientists have been busy exploring the fascinating world of science! From understanding the life cycles of animals and plants to diving into the wonders of matter, ecosystems, and stars, our students have been fully immersed in hands-on learning experiences that spark curiosity and inspire scientific thinking.

Throughout the first five months of the school year, students have participated in two engaging investigations. The first investigation focused on life cycles, where students observed and analyzed the growth and development of different organisms. The second investigation explored the changes in matter, allowing students to examine how substances transform under various conditions. These investigations have provided valuable opportunities for students to practice critical thinking and deepen their understanding of the world around them.

Looking ahead, we are excited for our third investigation, which will center around the water cycle. This upcoming exploration promises to further ignite students' interest in the natural processes that shape our planet.

The fifth graders have truly enjoyed the hands-on activities and the opportunities to apply scientific thinking to real-world events. We look forward to continuing this journey of discovery as we dive deeper into the wonders of science!