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April 8, 2016
In This Issue
Counselor's Corner
Clinic Request
PSG News
Next Community Engagement Meeting - April 19, 6:30 PM
The community is invited to another Community Engagement Session April 19th, 6:30pm, at White Lick Elementary.  You can still join your neighbors in the process for finding solutions for our growing enrollment.

CLICK HERE to visit the Great Community, Great Schools page to review past presentations. There you can find a Sample Costs & Projections for many of the suggestions made by the community.
FLYER FOLDER
Kindergarten and NEW Student Registration for 2016-2017
For NEW students for the 2016-2017 school year - online registration is now open! Current students who will be returning, do not need to register online. This is for incoming Kindergarten and Preschool students and anyone who will be new to Brownsburg Schools in the upcoming school year.  CLICK HERE to complete online registration.  

Incoming kindergarten families, CLICK HERE for more information and mark your calendars for Thursday May 19, 2016 at 4pm for Kindergarten Open House at BCSC elementary schools.  Incoming Preschool families can find more information on the Brownsburg Early Childhood Center page, CLICK HERE.
Join Our List
Hello Brown Families,
 
Welcome back to school, I hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break!!  I have been very pleased to see your children go right back into their learning routines.  They are completing this school year strong and with perseverance.  I learn so much from them each and every day. 

Please see the message below regarding our Community!  This is an amazing accomplishment and something to be celebrated!!

"I wanted to share with all of you the announcement of being selected as one of the 2016 Best Communities for Music Education.   The recognition was given to 476 schools across the United States, more than 2000 schools applied for this recognition.  In Indiana, 15 schools were recognized.  In order to receive this recognition, data was collected from the corporation and presented to the  NAMM Foundation through a series of answered questions.   Scott Smith was a big help in the collection of this information,   thanks Scott.   This recognition is presented yearly and sponsored by NAMM Foundation.  Each year schools have the opportunity to apply for this recognition.  This is a great recognition of  the hard work each and every one of you do on a daily basis and this is your chance to take a bow.   I am proud to be a part of such a strong group of musicians and educators and want to thank everyone for their part in this recognition.  Enjoy the rest of the year!!" - Tracy Runyon (BHS)

Have a great weekend.
Casey

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

April 11th - Board of School Trustees Meeting
BCSC Central Office from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

April 13th
- Brown Talent Show (see details below)

April 19t h - Community Engagement Session
White Lick Elementary School from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

April 23rd - Brown Spring Clean-Up Day
Brown Elementary School from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM

May 2nd - May 6th - Teacher Appreciation Week

May 3rd - Brown Lifeskills Music Program
BCSC Central Office from 2:30 PM to 3:25 PM

May 4th - Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast
Brown Cafeteria from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

May 5th - 5th Grade Orientation
Brownsburg West Middle School from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

May 5th - Elementary TrackMeet (all 1st-5th invited to participate)
BHS Track & Field beginning at 5:30

May 9th - 13th - Brown Book Fair

May 10th - Brown Related Arts Fair from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
The Book Fair will be open during this time.

Brown's Got Talent 2016
The sixth annual Brown's Got Talent Show will be held on Wednesday, April 13th in the Central Office Main Board Room.

*    The show will begin at 3:45 pm.

*    Doors will open to parents and families following dismissal
      at approximately 3:30pm.

*    The show will end at approximately 4:30pm. 

*    Students may stay after school to watch, but must purchase a
      ticket and a transportation change must be called in.

*    Tickets cost $3 per person, or $10 for an entire family.

*    Pop and snacks will be sold for $1 each

*    If a student stays after school for the show, parent/guardian
      must pick them up at Door 7 in back of Central Office (310 S.
      Stadium) 4:30pm. 

*    Appropriate audience behavior and manners will be required.

All money raised from the Talent Show will go to the American Cancer Society (Relay for Life), to help raise awareness and find a cure for cancer.  All students, families, and staff are encouraged to attend the Talent Show. 

16th Annual Brown Elementary Flower Sale

Flower pick up will be on Wednesday, May 4th from 1 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot behind Brown.  All orders must be picked up by 5:30 p.m. or they will be resold and NO REFUNDS will be given.


We need volunteers to help on the day of pick up.  If you are interested in helping, please email Dawn Mayer at [email protected].

POLICY REMINDERS:

Birthday Recognition:  In order to provide optimum learning time, classroom birthday snacks/parties are NOT permitted at school. Additionally, in order to protect the feelings of all children, students are not permitted to pass out any invitations at school even if inviting the entire class. The school is not permitted to release student addresses or phone numbers. We understand that a child's birthday is very important to him/her. Therefore, children's birthdays are recognized each morning on the morning announcements.

Visitors and Visitor Tags:   Visitors and volunteers are welcome. Parents should coordinate visits with the student's teacher(s).  All visitors are expected to check in at the office to obtain a visitor's lanyard.  A photo ID is required to be permitted access to the building, we also require that this ID be left with the Administrative
Assistant during your visit.  In our attempts to secure our campus all appointments will also be verified. Please do not be offended if you are stopped if you do not have a visible visitor's tag and lanyard displayed as our students' safety and security are of the utmost concern for all of us. These safety procedures are design for the safety and well-being for everyone.  Visitors intending to eat lunch with students must have a background check on file. Visitors are not allowed to go to recess with students.  Students may not bring visitors to school during school hours. Room congestion, interference with the teacher and student's programs, and different school calendars make this rule necessary.  Additional security measures may be taken into consideration at any given time to ensure the health and safety of students.

Parent Volunteers:  For the safety of our students, all volunteers in our schools will be required to have a Limited Criminal History check completed prior to working with our students.  The Limited Criminal History Check will be conducted at Central Office and will be free of charge to the volunteer.  Each elementary school makes use of parent volunteers in ways that are most suitable for the particular building.  Volunteers who are working in the school may not bring other children.  Volunteers are subject to a criminal history background screening which must be renewed every three (3) years.
Counselor's Corner
Counselor's Character Corner

The character trait for the month of March and April is Acceptance.  Acceptance means recognizing and showing appreciation for our differences.  Learning about others is not only fun, but can help us all to be better friends and appreciate all of the great things about each other. 

Students have been participating in classroom lessons discussing what it means to be accepting of others and appreciate that we all have unique qualities.  There have been some great discussions about getting to know others that are different than us and how we can learn from each other.

As summer approaches, a great way for children to meet others, discover new things and have fun, are summer camps.  There are a wide variety of summer camps that offer many different opportunities throughout the Indianapolis and surrounding area.  There are art camps, music camps, theater/dance camps, sports and recreation, educational, and fashion and food camps.  To explore the many camps available to children, visit the Indianapolis Star at indystar.com and search under "summer camps".

Touch a Truck

Brown Elementary is excited to share that we are planning a career activity for our students in grades Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd.  It is being called "Touch a Truck".  We will have a limited number of different community employment vehicles parked in our lot and the students will walk around and listen to the employee share about their job and see their vehicle.  

This will take place in the Brown bus parking lot on Thursday, May 5th during the students' special class time.  We are hoping this will be a fun, informative afternoon for students to learn about different jobs in our community.
Clinic Request
Hello Parents,

We could use donations of girls & boys pants, sizes 6, 7 and 8.

Thank You,
Brown Elementary School Nurses
PSG News
Thank you to everyone that was able to come to our PSG meeting last night! Natasha Harris and Erin Sigler both won passes to Sky Zone in Plainfield!  
 
Thank you to our April meeting sponsor, Sky Zone Plainfield, for their generous donation.  Find them on Facebook under Sky Zone Plainfield, IN and check them out!
 
Please note if you were at the meeting last night, the meeting date was originally set for May 5th...that has been changed to May 12th due to a conflict with an event that will take place at West that night. 
 
**LAST MEETING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!! 
Thursday evening, May 12th 6:30 pm in the cafeteria.   
 
Please welcome your new Brown PSG board for the 2016-2017 school year!
 
2016-2017 PSG Board
 
Jessica Bonikowske - President
Shannon Certain - Vice President
Kayla Lee - Secretary
Jessica Sinkovic - Treasurer
  
Monthly Volunteer Drawing
 
The final volunteer drawing will take place at the end of April and we will pick 2 names for a chance to win $10.00 gift cards!
   
Box Tops Update
 
We would like to send a huge thanks to everyone that made submissions towards the winter contest collection!  The winning classes from the winter contest are: 1st place - Thurber, 2nd place - Wernsman, and 3rd place - Barnett/Hooper!  Congratulations to those teachers and their classes!  We were able to climb closer to our goal for the year, but we are still not there.  If we meet our goal Mrs. Smitherman has graciously agreed to participate in some daring and fun activities with the students!
 
To assist in meeting our box tops collection goal we will run a spring fling cleaning contest - please submit any box tops and bonus certificates between 4/11 and 5/13.  Submit any quantity small or large!
If you have multiple children include all names - students and teachers on your submissions. All forms of submissions are accepted: collection sheets, plastic bags, envelopes, plain pieces of paper, etc. 
 
Additionally we are also always collecting for Labels for Education (LFE) and Tyson Project A+ programs.

Contact Natasha Harris at [email protected] with any questions.
   
Brown Bonanza Update
 
Thank you again to everyone that came and helped with our Brown Bonanza! It was one of the best years for this event! We were able to secure another $500 grant from Kohl's and over $4,500 was raised for Brown, so thank you to everyone that came out and enjoyed a fun night with your families!
 
Art To Remember Update
 
By now everyone should have received all of the fun items ordered for the Art To Remember fundraiser for our art program at Brown! This was another successful event that brought in over $1,300 to our art room! Thank you for your support!
 
April Brown On The Town
 
Our next Brown On The Town for April will be at Buffalo Wild Wings on Weds. April 20th from 11am-11pm.  15% will be donated back to Brown and you must present a flyer for credit. Flyers will be coming home with your students the week of the event. Dine-in or carry-out.   Thank you to everyone that came out for the skating party at Hot Skates! Brown raised over $500 for this event! If you have any questions regarding any of the Brown On The Town events please contact Shannon Certain at
 
Brown Spring Clean Up
 
Brown is scheduled to have our Spring Clean-Up day on Saturday April 23rd from 8-10 am!  Our rain date is for Saturday April 30th from 8-10 am, but we are hoping we can get to work on the 23rd! If you would like to volunteer and help around the school, picking up trash, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc...please contact Stephanie Jones at [email protected].  This project is perfect for Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops or any group in need of service hours! Many hands make light work and your time is appreciated!
 
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BOOK FAIR: MAY 9-13

The book fair is coming, and we need your help! Opportunities to volunteer are available May 9-13 during school hours when classes come in to browse or shop. You can also volunteer to help Tuesday evening, May 10th, or before school Friday morning, May 13th. It's super easy and so much fun!! To find out more or to sign-up, please contact:
Andrea Hatfield ([email protected]) or Erin Sigler ([email protected])
 
Grand Friends Breakfast
 
In conjunction with the book fair, on Friday May 13th there will be a Grand Friends breakfast that will take place from 7:30-8:30 in the cafeteria. Volunteers are needed early morning 6:45-after 9 once everything is cleaned up.  Please contact Stephanie Jones at [email protected] if you are interested in helping that morning!
   
Teacher Appreciation May 2nd - 6th
 
If you are interested in helping during our Teacher Appreciation week, please contact Missy Lidgard at [email protected] or Jaime Welsh at [email protected]
 
Track and Field Day
 
Friday May 20th - Be on the lookout for the schedule of events coming soon!
 
Community Meetings
 
Next one will be held on Tuesday April 19th at 6:30 at White Lick. Check out Friends of Brownsburg Community Schools on Facebook to keep updated on the latest happenings and be a part of the discussion on ways Brownsburg will and needs to change due to growing enrollment in our schools.
Brown Elementary School
340 South Stadium Drive
Brownsburg, IN  46112
(317) 852-1498

Office Hours:  8:00 - 4:00
Student Hours: 8:45 - 3:40
Wednesday: 8:45 - 3:10

Casey Patterson, Principal
Kathy Browning, Counselor