October 29, 2024 Newsletter

Briarwood Families,

We are off to a great start to begin the week. Thank you, Bulldog Nation, for helping us reach our goal of filling up 10 Harvester’s boxes for the “I Can, We Care” Food Drive. We are excited to celebrate with a PJ Day tomorrow Wednesday October 30th! Thanks for continuing to be ridiculously positive as we work together to help our students achieve their full potential.

October 31st - Halloween Parade and Classroom Parties, 2:15

November 1st - NO SCHOOL

Our traditional costume parade and classroom parties will be on Thursday, October 31. Families are invited to the costume parade outdoors on the playground. Please plan to arrive at 2:00 on the playground and the parade will begin at approximately 2:15. Gates will be open to enter the playground at the back. There is no need to enter the building through the front door. Classroom parties will take place immediately after the parade and are being planned by the room parents and teachers. For the safety of students and staff and for students to have room to play games, make crafts and eat, visitors will be limited to the room parent and needed volunteers for the classroom parties. Room parents and volunteers do need to check in at the office.

Please review the costume guidelines below.

• Students are allowed to wear costumes to school but NO make-up or masks during the day.

• Please, no costumes with blood and/or weapons. Pirates, knights, soldiers, ghosts, and goblins can come in costume, but not armed.
• Logos, wording on shirts, hats or other apparel should be appropriate for a school setting.
• Costumes should not be insulting to others or frightening.
• Students should be able to see in their costumes.

Thursday, November 7th

Skate Party

4:00 - 6:00 PM

*

Friday, November 8th

Luau With Your Lady Dance

7:00 PM

More Information Below

*

Saturday, November 9th

3rd Grade Parent Party

7:00 PM

More Information Below

*

Monday, November 11th

Veterans Day Assembly

*

Tuesday, November 12th

Briarwood Dining Partner Night

4:00- 8:00 PM

Chipotle - Overland Park

See Flyer Below For More Information

*

November 11th - 15th

Read-A-Thon

More Information Below

*

Saturday, November 16th

2nd Grade Parent Party

7:00 PM

More Information Below

*

Tuesday, November 19th

Picture Retakes

On Monday November 11, Briarwood continues our tradition of remembering and honoring

Veterans. If you know a local Veteran, please invite them to join us.

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY DETAILS

Monday, November 11

Veterans Day ceremony starts at 9:00

Location: Briarwood gym

Ceremony includes Briarwood Fourth Grade chorus singing a medley of songs organized by Mrs. DePaepe and more.

Veterans and their guests are invited to arrive at 8:30 for coffee and donuts in the cafeteria.

Due to space limitations, we are again only asking Veterans and their guests to attend this year.

Examples of guests may include: grandparents or parents who are veterans; community members and neighbors who are veterans; aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters or any family member who is a veteran. The Veteran may bring one or two guests with them. Please let us know if you need any special accommodations by November 7.

Please RSVP any Veteran that will be attending by signing up here to attend. Volunteer for donating items or helping by signing up here or sending an email to Vanessa Watkins vanessa.justin@gmail.com or Patti Greenbaum greenbaum.jurcyk@gmail.com)

In addition, to help us celebrate Veterans Day at Briarwood, use the STAR pattern attached to name a veteran in your life. Decorate your star, cut it out, and bring it to school by Thursday, November 7. This year, we will display our stars in the cafeteria and on campus at Briarwood. Thank you!

Chat & Chew is an optional, free-to-participate book club for students in grades 2-6. Beginning the second week of January through the first full week of March, students and adult volunteers will meet once a week during lunchtime on a designated day. Participating students will read 4-6 grade-appropriate books at home (or during class time reading) over the course of the program. The books are provided by PTA and are loaned to participating students.

Questions? Contact Sarah Bartel (sarahbartel85@gmail.com) or Allie Vance (allisonL019@yahoo.com)

When you join the Briarwood PTA, you're not committing your time to volunteer or attend meetings. You’re providing a one-time donation for PTA-organized activities and programs for our students, and you’re gaining access to the school directory (hello, playdates!) while allowing us to communicate directly with you about upcoming events and initiatives. If volunteering is your thing, we’d absolutely love to have you!

Questions? Contact Karen Moore: karen.jeanne.moore@gmail.com

2nd Grade Party - Saturday, November 16th - 7:00 PM - Home of David Smith & Cindy Ormsby

Click Here To RSVP Today

3rd Grade Party - Saturday, November 9th - 7:00 PM - Round Hill Clubhouse

Click Here To RSVP Today

To learn more about the school breakfast and lunch process, we encourage you to visit the SMSD Food Services website via https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service/menus/menus. Please note that their menu is subject to change without notice due to supply chain issues. While they strive to provide the best service and quality meals, they apologize in advance for any inconvenience those changes may cause.

Lunch with your student(s) will happen on Wednesdays through Thursdays this school year. Please sign up individually for each adult attending (one adult name per form submission). You are allowed to bring in an outside lunch to share with your student. Due to our large population, we ask that you only sign up ONCE per quarter to allow others to have the opportunity to eat with their students. You can sign up through the button below.. Bon Appétit!

There are several major Jewish holidays that take place this time of year, often referred to as the "High Holy Days" or "High Holidays." This includes Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. As the Jewish calendar is both solar and lunar, the timing changes slightly on the more commonly used Gregorian (purely solar) calendar year to year. So while the 2024 High Holy Days all happen to fall in the month of October this year and won't next year, they are always on the same dates on the Jewish calendar.

One of the biggest questions often asked of Jewish people is how to wish them a happy holiday on these important days. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and thus a "Happy New Year" or "may you have a good and sweet new year" is always welcome. However, Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, and is spent in fasting and prayer. Because of the solemnity of this holiday it is more appropriate to say "wishing you a meaningful day" or "may you have an easy fast." Above all, it is a great time to remember to check calendars before scheduling important events, as these are significant holidays to your Jewish friends and neighbors!

The Golden Scoop

The Golden Scoop concept has been in the making since 2018. They are modeled after two successful companies centered on employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, they just married the two ideas!

The Golden Scoop envisions a world where people with special needs are set up for success and belong to a community where everyone’s gifts are valued. Top that off with a menu of culinarily-exquisite homemade ice creams and a signature KC coffee blend, and you’ve got an experience like no other.

The Golden Scoop's mission is to provide meaningful employment for people with developmental disabilities; to foster an environment where our employees are mentored, inspired, and equipped to succeed in their jobs and their lives; to offer amazing made-from-scratch products; and to provide an inclusive, joyful customer experience that keeps people coming back for another scoop.

October Themes

• Responsibility
  
• Be Strong

October Descriptions and Skills

• Taking action and understanding the impact of our choices
• Focusing
• Organizing
• Goal setting

Any questions please contact Briarwood's Social Worker Cassie Horn via email at casiehorn@smsd.org

Your Briarwood Garden Club continues to work hard to make the school beautiful and we always welcome new helpers! Thank you to our volunteers who have helped out so far this year! If you have any questions about how you can help, please email Katie Stramel at Katherine.stramel@gmail.com.

Benita loves to read in bed but keeps getting interrupted by a whistling Tunche, a scary Supay and other spooky creatures from Peruvian lore. To the creatures’ disbelief, Benita is so absorbed by her book that she’s not the least bit scared of them. This humorous celebration of bedtime reading puts a global twist on taking the “scary” out of monsters.

1. On the right side in the newsletter when viewing on a computer device or at the top of the newsletter on a mobile device, a bar will appear with the Translation feature.
2. Click on the Translation bar then click on the Select Language button.
3. Choose your language of choice from the drop-down menu of languages and click close. The newsletter will now be translated.

En el lado derecho de la pagina, aparecerá una barra con la función de traducción. Haga clic en la barra de traducción y luego haga clic en el botón Seleccionar idioma. Elija español en el menú desplegable de idiomas y haga clic en cerrar. El boletín ahora se traducirá.

Co-Presidents:

Ashley Hunt • ashleyhunt910@gmail.com

Rachel Wymore • rla08@hotmail.com

President-Elect:

Craig Dawson • craigdawson@icloud.com

VP Administration:

Jamie Carr • jamieweatherly82@gmail.com

VP Communications:

Allison Stedman • allisonjstedman@gmail.com

VP Community Events:

Nick Reddell • nickreddell@gmail.com

VP Student Services:

Jamie Smith • jamie3smith@gmail.com

VP Funding:

Heather Rowe • hgreenlaw_01@yahoo.com

VP Finance:

Javier Centonzio • jac@centonziolaw.com

Treasurer:

Michelle Wiens • mwiens678@gmail.com

Secretary:

Brooke Miller • brooke@flatironequity.com

Briarwood Foundation:

Valerie Moeder • ValerieLMoeder@gmail.com

Diversity & Inclusion Chair:

Telma Wiesman • telmaweisman@gmail.com

Website: https://www.briarwoodpta.org/

Twitter: @BriarwoodElem

Instagram: @BriarwoodBulldogs

Facebook: facebook.com/BriarwoodBulldogs

2026 Briarwood Auction

Instagram: @briarwoodauction

Grade-level Facebook Groups (Private Groups For Grade Level Parents):

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2031 (6th grade)

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2032 (5th grade)

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2033 (4th grade)

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2034 (3rd Grade)

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2035 (2nd Grade)

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2036 (1st Grade)

Briarwood Elementary Class of 2037 (Kindergarten)