And just like that, it's the first of September. We started the year off with a bang...five full days to finish out the Month of August and kick off the 23-24 school year!
Thanks to an incredible student body and awesome staff, we had a very successful first week! Students were joyful, connected, excited and ready to learn! Routines are being established (and remembered) in classes across the building, and everyone from our youngest learners in PK to our 4th graders had time to play outside, gather together and spark curiosity.
If you drop off and/or pick up your child(ren) from school, please heed the following:
Please do your best to always pull all the way forward in the drop off/pick up loop.
Please stay in your car and staff will support entry/exit to the vehicle.
With the exception of Preschool, we will ask all parents and guardians to say goodbye at the door to ensure student safety beginning Tuesday. Please do not accompany your child into the building at drop-off.
Please check bus numbers and routes for your stops
For families who pick up their student afterschool, please pull into the loop and stay in your car, and your child will be dismissed to you.
Please, please do not park on Stowe or High Streets to drop off or pick up your child. We are in a residential area and need to respect our neighbors.
Pick up Patrol is an important tool for us to make sure every student heads in the correct direction when leaving at the end of the day. These are incredibly important to have complete and accurate - with plan changes before 1:15 each day.
The rear main entrance is an option for am dropoff. This is a "drop and go" just like the front loop. Please see the map below identifying the visitor lot "pull though" for dropoff. If you need to park, please pull to the upper or rear lots to find a spot.
Our handbook provides additional information regarding our school procedures and expectations. It is accessible via our school’s website https://www.tbps.wwsu.org/.
Please ensure these two items are completed for every student:
Complete returning student registration, IF a returning student. New students do not need to complete this step (this year), we have your information.
Complete the VT Free/Reduced School Meals Application. Privacy of the income information you provide is protected by law. Please reach out to Sarah or Chris if you have any questions.
Please enjoy some photos from the first week courtesy of BPS staff, Lisa Scagliotti and Gordon Miller.
PE News: We are currently having PE classes on the playground, learning games that students can play at recess and how to use the equipment safely. Be on the lookout for information about Bike/Scooter week and our fall Walk and Bike to School day on Wednesday, September 13th!
Important Upcoming Dates:
September 4 - Labor Day NO SCHOOL
September 6 - 7:40am First ASMM!
September 13 - Walk and Bike to School
September 18 - Open House (PK, K, 1) 5:30-6:30
September 19 - Open House (2, 3, 4) 5:30-6:30
September 28 - Picture Day! (Th/F PK photos)
October 17 - Picture retakes (M/T PK photos)
We look forward to another great week! See you on Tuesday!
Chris and Sarah
COMMUNITY POSTINGS
Please note that the opportunities/events listed below are not specifically endorsed or screened by school staff. As always, families should use their own standards and review processes to determine appropriate activities.
The last few days to register for Waterbury Youth Soccer are upon us!!
Waterbury Youth Soccer is a recreational soccer league for players between Kindergarten and 6th grade living in Waterbury, Vermont, and surrounding communities. Please visit www.waterburysoccer.com to learn more and register. Registration is $50 per child for the Kindergarten program, $60 per child for 1st-2nd grade program, and $65 per child for the 3rd-6th grade program. Scholarships are available. Registration closes on September 7th!
RSVP for the CLiF Event here!
Volunteers Needed for Nature Education Program
Brookside Primary School's Four Winds Nature Education program is seeking volunteers to help teach kids about our natural world. This year the theme is “Structure and Function” and we will be teaching 5 different less
ons over the course of the academic year. The specific lessons are entitled Spiders, Tremendous Trees, Skull Sleuthing, Calling All Owls, and the Buzz on Bees. Curriculum materials including background information and activity descriptions are provided by the Four Winds Institute and are accessible online. We have a two hour in-person training session prior to teaching each of the 5 lessons. The training sessions are led by a professional environmental educator and naturalist. There are a variety of different activities for each lesson, including an informative puppet show, hands-on experiments, games, crafts, dances, songs, examination of provided specimens, and observations in nature. These training sessions are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month from 8-10am. Our first training session is on Thursday, September 14th, 2023. If you can’t make the in-person meeting you can study the materials at home to prepare for teaching the lesson. Ideally each class is taught by a team of two volunteers. The classroom teacher is always there to help with managing the kids as well. Four Winds Institute provides us with many of the scientific materials and we organize and gather household items to be used for the lesson activities. Please email Emily Marotto at fourwindsbps@gmail.com to let us know if you are interested in volunteering this year or if you have any questions about the program.
