Brown MS Weekly Update

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Dear Brown MS Community,

We have all made it to summer vacation. This past short week was filled with trips for our students and activities. While we had fewer students in attendance, teachers and students enjoyed the culminating activities. Final grades have been given, lockers have been cleaned out and binders taken home. Student report cards for the third term should be available on Aspen by tomorrow afternoon. You can log into you Aspen account at this link to access grades and comments from teachers.

I will keep this short, so we can all get to our happy places for vacation. It has been a pleasure and an honor to lead this community over the past school year. Thank you parents and caregivers for sharing your children with us. Thank you teachers and staff for making Brown MS a special community that supports students as they continue to learn and grow. To our 8th grade families who are moving on from us, I wish you the best! To all you that will join us at Brown in the fall, we look forward to welcoming you.

First, however, I plan to take a break myself and enjoy the sunshine and waves along the Maine coast for a while. My children, husband, dog and I will unplug, play cards and board games and take long walks along the beach. It is my way of refilling my tank for the fall. I hope that all of you find a way to do the same, and enjoy the little moments as they present themselves to you.

Wishing you a wonderful summer,

Kim Lysaght

• Fri., Aug. 23: Team assignments available on Aspen in the afternoon

• Thurs., Aug. 29, 9:00AM: 6th grade visiting hour

• Tues., Sept. 3: Students first day of school

• Week of Sept. 16: Kindness Week

• Thurs. Sept. 19: Brown MS Picnic (raindate Mon., Sept. 23)

• Wed., Sept. 25: Back to School Night 6:30PM

• Thurs., Sept. 26: Early release day - dismissal at 11:20AM

If you are moving or your student will be leaving Brown MS, please use this link to unenroll them from Brown.

Please click here for our library's summer reading page . This is a collaborative effort with middle school library teachers and incorporates suggestions from the Newton Free Library and the MA Teen Choice Book Award Program. Iit's a really great source for books! The page includes summaries, quick links to Sora, and suggestions for other ways to access summer reading books, like Newton and Boston public libraries. There are also book trailers and previews for many of the titles on the list.

Incoming Grade 6 Summer Reading List

• Frazzled by Booki Vivat

• At least one free choice independent reading book

Incoming Grade 7 Summer Reading List

• The Benefits of Being An Octopus by Ann Braden.

• At least one free choice independent reading book

Incoming Grade 8 Summer Reading List. Title List: Friendship and Connection (pick 2)

• Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh

• When the Ground is Hard by Malla Nunn

• Seafire by Natalie Parker

• Clues to the Universe by Christina Li

• King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

• The Reckless Club by Beth Vrabel

From NSHS for Incoming 9th graders:

Everyone in the incoming 9th grade class will read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. You can pick up a copy at any local independent bookstore, or access it for free electronically via the Sora app.Please direct any questions to NSHS ELA Dept. Chair Brian Baron at baronb@newton.k12.ma.us.

On Tuesday night the Newton PTO Council sponsored an event to help parents come together and discuss smartphones and parenting. A panel of 17 educators from all four of the Newton middle schools as well as Superintendent Anna Nolin and one of our school resource officers from Newton Police answered questions for over 100 parents in Brown's library.

The goals of the forum were:

1. Education: Understand the impact of smartphones on children's development, learning, and experience.

2. Share Strategies: Discuss effective approaches for managing smartphones and setting boundaries with children.

3. Build Community: Foster a supportive environment where parents and educators can connect, share experiences, and offer each other advice.

4. Empowerment: Equip parents with resources and tools to make informed decisions about technology use in their families, as well as alternatives to smartphones

5. Problem-Solving: Work together to address common challenges and find solutions that work for different families.

A big thank you goes out to PTOC President Lucy Ewins and her husband Mike Ewins for moderating a very informative and successful meeting. This will be the first of a number of meetings that help parents navigate the challenges that come with smartphones.

Parent resource: The link below is for a document that was shared with families. Take a look! It includes alternatives to smartphones as well as parental controls you can utilize to provide students with a gradual release of responsibility.

Alternatives to Smartphones & Parental Controls

Students from across Brown MS have worked together to create a digital literary magainze called Ursa Major. Thank you to Becky Cohen for leading this effort. They have recently published their magazine. Please click here to see their great work.

Bus registration for the 2024-25 school year is now open. All students who wish to ride the bus MUST register for a bus pass.

Register and pay via MySchoolBucks. Follow these instructions once logged into MySchoolBucks. Installment payment plans are available. More information on bus registration can be found on our NPS Bus Registration webpage.

A reminder about changes implemented last year:

1. The bus fee is $400 with a family cap of two passes ($800.)

2. All elementary students who reside LESS than 2 miles from their elementary school and wish to ride the bus must pay a bus fee.

3. Students in Grades K-6 who reside MORE than 2 miles from their school and wish to ride the bus DO NOT pay a bus fee.

All students in grades 7-12 pay the bus fee if they wish to ride the bus. Please visit our NPS Bus Fee webpage for details.

Please use this link to determine your distance from your school.

The application for the 2024-2025 district-wide financial assistance waiver is now available in Aspen. We encourage you to apply now so that your waiver is in place for your bus registration. Visit the fee waiver information and instructions webpage to apply via the Aspen portal. The instructions for completing the form in Aspen are here: Fee Waiver Application Instructions.

Provided here are generic lists of what you will need for school supplies. More specific items will be shared by specific teachers at the beginning of the school year. Click on the button below to see the supply lists.

Please check your MySchoolBucks (MSB) account for any outstanding invoices.

You can pay directly online on MSB (please keep in mind, you are not allowed to use your lunch account balance to pay for invoices.) Check payments are also accepted by mailing your payment with your statement to:

Newton Public Schools
Attn: Business Office
100 Walnut Street
Newtonville, MA 02460

NPS is committed to preventing discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Here is a link to a document that gives an overview of the process and how to report incidents. If you experience an incident that you feel should be reported, you can contact the school directly or you can fill out this Online reporting form.

• What is discrimination?

• What is harassment?

• What is retaliation?

This summer, Massachusetts will provide grocery-buying benefits in the amount of $120 per child to income-eligible families with school-aged children. This benefit is called Summer-EBT (S-EBT.)

Students who currently participate in SNAP, TAFDC, Medicaid (MassHealth), or foster care will automatically receive the $120. The funds will appear on your EBT card.

If your family applied for the Free and Reduced Meal program, NPS will share that information with DESE. You will receive the benefit and an EBT card will be mailed to you (if you do not have one already.). You do not need to complete an application.

If you have not applied for the free and reduced meal program, but believe that you may qualify for assistance based upon your income (review this income document), please apply using one of the two links below:

Option 1: Apply through the NPS online application through 6/30/24.

Option 2: As of 6/15/24, apply for Summer-EBT directly through the web-based S-EBT application.

Paper copies will be provided, if needed. Please contact mistrota@newton.k12.ma.us or 617-559-9038 if you need a paper copy of NSLP Household Application or S-EBT application.

On Monday, June 24 Newton Public Schools will send out an invitation for you to register your ParentSquare account if you have not already done so. ParentSquare will be the primary method of communication between schools and families beginning in September of 2024.

Benefits of Parent Square for families:

• Easy-to-use, searchable dashboard for all your school communications

• Automatic translations for those families that need them

• The ability for families to control how they wish to be notified (email, text, ParentSquare app, as well as instant notification or daily digest for non-emergency messages)

• Easy-to-use Mobile app

Registering your account will allow you to control your notification preferences, interact with posts more fully, and make use of the mobile app and web-based dashboard.

School Hours:

8:20AM - 2:50PM - Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.

8:20 AM - 2:05PM - Wed.

School Calendars:

2024-25 School Year Calendar

Brown MS Days of the Cycle 2024-2025 School Year

125 Meadowbrook Road

Newton, MA 02459

617-559-6900