Browne

Elementary

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

August 29

8:00-11:30 School-level PD in the MPR at Browne

11:30-12:30 Lunch and travel time

12:30-3:30 District Level Focus: Collaboration

Collaboration with our feeder pattern @ SHADLE PARK HIGH SCHOOL in their auditorium.

August 30

8:00-11:30 School-level PD in the MPR at Browne

11:30-12:30 Lunch and travel time

12:30-3:30 District Level Focus: SPS U

Select one class to attend from the SPS U catalog. NOTE: We will be hosting the UDL 100 level class as a staff for principal directed time sometime this Fall (date TBD)

August 31

8:00-3:30 Teacher workday

September 1

8:00-6:30 K-5th Launch Conferences

Grades 1-5th will host conferences using the scheduler tool through the main website (sent out by SPS directly to families). These conferences will be scheduled in 30-minute blocks, with 5-minute passing periods between them. THIS COUNTS AS A SCHOOL DAY! Teachers will host conferences on-site (or virtually if parents prefer) from 8:00-3:00, with a 30-minute block for lunch at 12:00. Then, 3:30-6:30 is the 3-hour extended day, which covers the requirement for conferences AS WELL AS OPEN HOUSE! So, these conferences count as open house as well 😊We will have PTG and other booths for families available during this time.

Kindergarten teachers will schedule their conferences manually, as these conferences are 45 minutes long. You also have an extra day for conferences (Thursday, Friday and Tuesday, Sept. 6th)

Pre-K will schedule their conferences manually, as these conferences are 45 minutes long. Conferences will be held on Sept.19th-23rd. Pre-K teachers will be training on Launch conferences days Sept 1-2).

Launch conferences and conference schedule is UNIVERSAL for SPS this year, the same throughout the whole district.

September 2

8:00-3:00 K-5th Launch Conferences continued with a 30-minute lunch break at noon. THIS ALSO COUNTS AS A SCHOOL DAY.

September 6

8:30-3:00 Grades 1-5th: First day of school WITH students 😊

September 7

8:30-3:00 Kindergarten First day of school (4 days of A/B rotation, and all Kinders together on Tuesday, September13th)

September 10 -Staff Gathering @ Kathy Vela’s Home (312 East Lake St, Medical Lake)

3:00-6:00 Spouses are welcome. BBQ. Burgers provided. Please bring a side dish.

September 27

8:30-3:00 AM/PM Pre-School First day of School

Principal Updates

Hello Browne Team,

As you all continue to enjoy these beautiful summer days, Cori and I have been learning, attending meetings, and getting things prepared for an awesome start for the 202-2023 school year.

You may have noticed the change in how PD is offered. SPS recently rolled out the SPS U platform. This is a great way to organize our professional development so teachers and staff know what classes are relevant to take for them! Classes range from 100 level to 400 level and vary from overviews of the topics to deep dives into content. A few big themes that are emerging this year are UDL, PLC’s (professional learning communities), SEL and Restorative Practices. PERT hours will come from SPS U courses.

Please sign up for August PLID using the following link:

AUGUST PLID REGISTRATION

Once again, we look forward to seeing you all soon and can’t wait to get started on this awesome year ahead! Enjoy your remaining summer days and we will see you on August 29. It’s going to be an awesome year of learning and teamwork.

Sincerely,

Alyssa and Cori

Welcome to Our New Staff Members!

Alyssa Crabtree- Principal

Hi Team,

My name is Alysa Crabtree, and I am excited to be the principal of Browne Elementary. I was born and raised in Spokane and attended Whitworth University, where I met my Husband (Drew). I enjoy traveling the world, spending time with family and friends, and playing with our dog (Zeus).

I have taught Kindergarten, and 2^nd grade, as well as coaching college Cheerleading for 8 years at Whitworth University. My passion is working with children as well as coaching and mentoring staff. I am excited to be a part of the Browne team.

Ryan Bishop - 4th Grade

My name is Ryan Bishop and this will be my 8^th year teaching. I have two kids Ezra (5^th grade) and Abigail (3^rd grade), and a pug named Coco. When not at school, I love music, baseball, writing, and more specifically writing about baseball, music, and philosophy.

Kayla Migaki - Secretary

Hi!

My name is Kayla Migaki, I am very excited to join the Browne team!!! I was previously working as a secretary at Rogers High School in student services and before that I subbed at Glover and Woodridge Elementary School. I have really enjoyed working for the school district. I previously worked in a pediatric office as a medical scribe. When I find free time I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter, who is an 8th grader at North Central high school. We enjoy anything outdoors, working in the yard, and spending time at the lake. My daughter attended Browne Elementary and she enjoyed her experience there. I can't wait to start the school year at Browne and enjoying getting to know more of the staff there.

Rose Partee-Bilotta- .5 Anchor Teacher

Hello!

My name is Rose Partee-Bilotta. I am a Texas native that moved to Washington in October 2020 when my husband was stationed at Fairchild AFB. We have loved exploring the mountains, seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and playing in the snow! This will be my tenth year in education. I have classroom experience in grades 4-7, teaching various subjects, and last year I served as a math interventionist at Holmes Elementary. I am very excited to be sharing my time with Browne and Finch this year!

Celeste Burt - Math Intervention

My name is Celeste Burt. My students call me Ms. B. This is my third year with this district and second year as an interventionist. I absolutely love math recovery and have been trained in AVMR 1, 2, and fractions.

Outside of school I enjoy going to the beach, sitting around a campfire, and hanging out with family. I have a pretty bizarre and wonderful family tree.

Christine Crosno- ECAP Pre-K

Hello!

My name is Christine Crosno, I’m moving from Whitman ECEAP AM/PM Preschool Program and joining Browne! I have over 20 years of experience teaching Special Ed. Focusing on Preschool-2^nd grades mostly. I taught intermediate BI at Roosevelt for 2 years as well.

My pride and joy are my 2 adult sons, Andrew, a former Marine, is engaged and getting married next summer, and Kevin and his new bride reside here in Spokane! I moved up to Spokane 4 years ago and got to watch Kevin play basketball @ Whitworth his last two years!

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

Heidi Brown- Pre-K Paraeducator

Hello,

A bit about me,

My family and I relocated to Spokane last summer from Whatcom County, WA. I made a career change as a Paraeducator for ECEAP preschool and loved it so much I decided to go back to college and finish my teaching degree. I am currently in the T2T program at EWU that partners with Spokane Public Schools. I am very excited about what my future holds in education. Nicole Jacobson graciously took me on for my practicum and student teaching hours. I feel very fortunate to be working with her in Kindergarten. When I am not working to fulfill my required hours, you will find me in the AM/PM ECEAP preschool classroom here at Browne.

We have three children, Claire who is an artist and lives in NYC, Simon attends EWU and plays football for the EAGS, and Grady who attends Whitworth University and plays on the men's golf team. My husband Rob Burkett is a Special Education teacher at Rogers High School. WE LOVE SPORTS! When we are not watching our boys compete, we enjoy camping, hiking, any, and all things family and exploring our new home, SPOKANE!

I look forward to meeting you all!

Scott Martin- Night Custodian

My name Scott Martin. I am new to the Spokane area. I love being outdoors with my lovely wife. When I am not outdoors, I enjoy spending time with my kids and grandkids. I am excited to be apart of the Browne community.

PTG Corner

Outdoor Movie Event- Friday, August 19th at Browne

Doors open at 7:30pm

KONA ICE (FREE)

Check out the PTG Facebook page by clicking the link below