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January 8, 2016
In This Issue
Counselor's Corner
Body Safety Night
Clinic Request
PSG News
FLYER FOLDER
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Hello Brown Families,
 
Happy New Year and happy 2016!  We are off to a great start with coming back to school after our holiday break.  Your children are settling back into their daily routines and are eager to learn and achieve new goals.  Thankfully we are able to continue having outdoor recess as the weather continues to cooperate.  Please send your children to school with appropriate clothing for their recess period. 

As always, we have lots of exciting news to share!  Please see below for special events and dates to remember.

Have a great weekend.
Casey

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

January 12th - Next Steps for Elem & MS Parents
Cardinal Elementary School from 6:30 PM -7:30 PM

January 13th - Next Steps for Elem & MS Parents
Brown Elementary School from 6:30 PM -7:30 PM

January 14th - Next Steps for Elem & MS Parents
Reagan Elementary School from 6:30 PM -7:30 PM
 
January 18th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL

January 20th - Next Steps for Elem & MS Parents
Delaware Trail Elementary School from 6:30 PM -7:30 PM

January 20th and 21st - Brown On The Town Event - See PSG News below for the details

January 21st - Next Steps for Elem & MS Parents
White Lick Elementary School from 6:30 PM -7:30 PM

January 26th - Community Engagement Session
BHS LGI Room from 6:30 PM -7:30 PM

February 4th - Brown PSG Meeting 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

High Ability Identification for 2016-2017

Identification for High Ability programming for the next school year will begin later this month and be concluded by Spring Break. In 1st grade, students who met specific criteria on the CogAT administered in November, will proceed further in the identification process and parent permission will be required for further assessment which will occur in February. Results of the CogAT are available from the school counselor, if requested. Identification of 5th grade students for middle school placements will begin in February and parent permission will be required for Language Arts assessments. All 5th grade students will participate in math placement assessments. A parent whose child has not been recommended for the assessment process but has evidence of strong, high ability qualities/performance, should contact the school principal to discuss the appropriateness of assessment. Additional questions about the High Ability program can be directed to Julie Van Liew, Coordinator of Curriculum and Special Programs at 852-5726.

Relay for Life Benefit

Our Relay for Life Team is partnering with Five Guys of Brownsburg on January 12th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. They will donate 20% of all sales to our team. There is NO flyer necessary at all, just show up between that time frame with a hungry family and you'll be supporting The American  Cancer Association

Battle of the Books

Congratulations to the classroom winners of the 5th grade Battle of the Books! And special congratulations to Mrs. McCoskey's team for winning the grade level championship!

Mrs. Johnson & Mrs. Spurgeon
Media Center

Wright:  Mason Gilliam, Khloe Stewart, Owen Ogle, Isabella Waltman, Brooklee Brandt, Anson Brown

Matters:  Charles Keys, Bryce Forslund, Tyler Jackson, Tyler Mayes, Sydney Borom

McCoskey:  McKenzie Walters, Allison Bradley, Halle Gustrowsky, Rylee Faires, Brooke McCollough

Fiete:  Elizabeth Williams, Ana Sevilla, Ethan McNertney, Ryan Doty, Jaxon Lewis

Mrs. Conner:  Josie Tunitis, Alex Smith, Elizabeth Fletcher, Gracie Creek


Counselor's Corner
Counselor's Character Corner

The character trait for the month of January is Integrity.  Integrity means doing what you are supposed to do even when no one is looking.  Students will be challenged to think about ways that they can show integrity in various situations.  Are they a person that others can trust and count on?  Do they make their own decisions based on what is right and just, not based on what everybody else is doing?  When others see us making the right choices, they feel they can trust us.  When we make the choice to do what we are supposed to do even when no one is looking, we develop a sense of pride and confidence in ourselves which, in turn, creates positive relationships with others. 
Body Safety Night
The school counselor will be conducting body and personal safety lessons with students in grades K-5 the week of January 11, 2016.   Unfortunately, sexual abuse of children takes place more often than we would like to believe. Through these lessons, we will provide children the opportunity to learn assertive self-protection skills, differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate touches, and identify people to whom they can go for help. All students will participate in this program as a component of the Health Curriculum. Please check the E-Friday Folder for important body safety information regarding how to discuss this topic with your child and ways to keep our children healthy and safe.
Clinic Request
Now that winter is here and bringing cooler weather, I want to remind parents to please dress their child appropriately for the cold temperatures. Recess is outdoor unless for extreme cold or precipitation. Please make sure your child has a warm coat, gloves and hat to wear. Also, socks and appropriate shoes are important for outside recess. Now is also a good time to remind them to also not share hats to help prevent in the spread of lice.
   
With winter comes flu season time. To clarify, this is the respiratory flu that is spread by coughing, sneezing, or nasal secretions. You have probably seen flu shot tables at Wal-Mart, CVS etc. It is important to vaccinate your child for prevention of illness. While anyone can get influenza, the rates of infection are highest in children. This is NOT a mandatory school vaccine but is recommended by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) for children older than 6 months. For younger children, it may be given in 2 doses for immunity. If you have any questions, please contact your pediatrician or family doctor.
 
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions regarding your child's health and wellness.

Thank You,
Brown Elementary School Nurses
PSG News
Thank you to everyone that attended the PSG meeting last night!

Our January PSG meeting was sponsored by Nicole Zurcher! Find her on Facebook under Nicole Zurcher - Mary Kay Independent Sales Director to check out all of the wonderful products she sells! You can also find her website online at http://www.marykay.com/nzurks.  The winner from our raffle last night was Emily Cates! Congrats Emily!

Our February meeting sponsor will be Altschul Orthodontics.  Find them on Facebook under Altschul Orthodontics or check out their website at http://www.altschulortho.com to see what type of dental services they provide and how your family might benefit!

**Next meeting, Thursday evening, February 4th @ 6:30 pm in the cafeteria.  

Monthly Volunteer Drawing

Susie Bruning is our winner for December!  When volunteering at school, be sure to enter our monthly drawing for the choice of either a $10 gift card or one of our purple volunteer shirts.  Look for the silver box in the front office and enter every time you come in to school to volunteer!

2nd annual Brown Family Dance...Mardi Gras Bash on Friday February 19th from 6:30-8:30 pm in the gym

We are excited for our 2nd annual Brown Family Dance!  We had a fantastic time and turnout last year, that we have decided to do it again!  Parents and those students that attend Brown ONLY are welcome to come!  No siblings or friends from other schools, please plan accordingly for that night as students must have a parent attend the event with them...no drop offs.  There will be a presale for tickets during the last week of January and tickets will be $5.00 each for students...parents are once again FREE!  Price of ticket includes snack, drink, and surprise goodies!  Our DJ for the evening will be Brian Whitis, who did a phenomenal job throughout the night last year and his lights will once again transform our gym into an amazing dance floor!  Check out his website at http://www.djbrianwhitis.com and stay tuned for more information!

If you are interested in volunteering for this event, please contact Stephanie Jones at [email protected].

Brown Bonanza - Friday March 4th 6:30-8:30 pm

We are starting to plan for our family fun night...Brown Bonanza!  Many items will be needed for the junk food walk as well as canned pop.  Little Debbies, candy, etc. anything that falls in this category is welcome!  Please bring donated items in to the front office marked Bonanza.  If you have any questions about this event or would like to volunteer, please contact Stephanie Jones at [email protected].

PSG is also starting to gather items for the silent auction, if you have a business or know of one that might be interested in donating, please let us know! More information coming soon!

Brown On The Town

Our November Brown On The Town at Rockstar brought in $378!  Thanks to everyone that came to support Brown that night! We are still waiting to hear back from Rockstar on who won the pizza parties.

This month, Brown On The Town will be at Orange Leaf! Dates are set for Wednesday 1/20 for k-2 and Thursday 1/21 for 3rd-5th grades.  Orange Leaf is open until 9:30 each of those nights and flyers will be required! Be on the lookout for flyers to be sent home with students a night or two before those dates. 

Box tops and Labels for Education Update

We are currently running a Box Tops contest - submit box tops through February 12, 2016.  We are well on our way to meeting our collection goal this year of $2500.00!  Please remember to include teacher and student's name(s) on all submissions: collection sheets, plastic bags, envelopes, etc. may be used to submit.  If you have multiple children please include all names - students and teachers. This is a school wide process and there will be first, second, and third place class winners!

Labels for Education (LFE) please send them in; we are especially in need of Pepperidge Farm (Goldfish) UPC labels!  Participating brands are Campbell's, Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Pace, V8, Spaghetti O's, Swanson's. Please note that several of the LFE participating products no longer have the LFE labeling, however they are still participating.  

In addition to Box Tops and Labels for Education we also collect for Coke Rewards and Tyson project.  Please contact Natasha Harris at [email protected] with any questions.

PSG Elections

The PSG Board elections for the 2016-2017 school year will be finalized in April with nominations accepted starting in February. As per the bylaws, every year an election must be held for the current board positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.  Being an officer involves working with the board members, managing fund raisers and volunteers, and getting to know many of the other amazing parents and staff at Brown.

Elections will take place beginning Monday March 14th - Friday March 18th in the office and at the PSG meeting on April 7th.  If you are interested in being on the board, please submit your nomination in writing to the office by noon on Thursday March 10th.  If you'd like more information, please contact any of the current board members.  Your nomination should state your name, students' names and grades, the position you'd like to run for, and why you would like to be involved with the board

Brown Spirit Wear Online

Check out the website as we have added other Brownsburg options and colors for the sweatshirts!

Looking for some fun Brownsburg gear to represent one of the best elementary schools around?  Brown of course and we have you covered...literally!

Please follow the link below to our online store by Rose Promotions and check out all of the options for both youth and adults!
Brown does receive a portion back from the sale of these items. Order by Thursday at 3pm and your items will be delivered to the school and sent home with your student the following week.

You can also place an order for our volunteer shirts online that are only $12!  It's great to have volunteers sporting their purple shirts at our events...we love looking out to a sea of purple!
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you to those that have already made purchases this year!  We appreciate your support!

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