We're not sure if you are aware, but we have MANY superheroes walking the halls at BPS on a daily basis. Below, catch a rare glimpse of our fantastic school counselors!
Ms. M and Ms. B have been busy this week, connecting with students at lunch during Friend Chips N' Chill, pushing into classrooms, and meeting with students individually. This week we taught a Calm is Our SuperPower lesson. All kids and adults have many feelings throughout the day, feelings do not last forever though it may feel like they will. Feelings pass like clouds in the sky. We talked through strategies to support when we sit with uncomfortable or hard feelings until they pass. There are NO bad feelings! Check out some strategies below, learn more on the BPS Comfortship website.
It was a BLAST seeing students and their families sharing in the excitement of returning to school at our open houses last Monday and Tuesday evenings. Thank you for the fantastic turnout and for strengthening our home-school partnerships! We look forward to more events together in the coming months!
Music Notes
BPS Chorus
BPS Chorus will start on October 17th. Chorus is a singing group that rehearses once a week before school for 3rd and 4th grade students. If your child loves music or singing and would like to have more of it in their week, they should come to the first few rehearsals to see what it is like. Students may come without committing to the group during this trial period. If they decide they want to join chorus for the year, they can get a permission slip at one of the rehearsals and return it by November 22nd to officially be on the roster.
Chorus Rehearsal Schedule:
3rd Grade - Tuesdays from 7:40-8:10 starts 10/17
4th Grade - Blue Thursdays/Gold Fridays from 7:40-8:10, starts Friday 10/20
Please contact epalumbo@huusd.org with any questions or concerns.
Art in the Community!
3rd Graders got to view and talk about artwork by Trystan Bates and T.R. Risk this week at The Phoenix!
School Spirit 9/29!
Find your Brookside shirts and your blue and gold colors and get ready for next week's school spirit day! Staff and students are all invited to wear the BPS colors on Friday, 9/29!
Backpack Program is back!
The BPS Backpack Program, started by Denise Goodnow, is again sponsoring, free of charge a “weekend of food” for your child. We are able to offer a supply of nutritious meals and snacks for children over the weekends and extended breaks at no cost. Any child enrolled at Brookside Primary School is able to receive these weekly bags of food for themselves and each child in their family.
If your family could benefit from this, please complete the application below and send it along to the main office or return via email to kguziak@huusd.org
Are you looking for a way to get involved and give back? We have two program needs for volunteers - see the descriptions below!
Backpack Program Volunteers Needed!
We are in need of 1-2 parent volunteers to support the boots-on-the-ground operations of the Backpack Program at BPS on a weekly basis. Responsibilities include:
Ordering or shopping for food (1-2 times per month)
Organizing and maintaining the shelves
Stuffing backpacks (weekly)
Delivering backpacks to classrooms (weekly)
The time commitment can be 1 to 3 hours per week depending on what needs to be done - you set the schedule! This is a great opportunity for someone that needs flexibility but is able to make a weekly commitment. Reach out to Kelsey or Sarah with questions or for more information! Level 1, 2, 3 volunteers.
Also, we are always accepting donations of shelf-stable foods. There is a bin in the airlock of the main entrance which is open to drop-offs for the Backpack Program. Thanks for your support of this important resource!
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 lessons 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 next training session is on Thursday, October 12th. 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. Level 3 volunteers required.
Do any of these opportunities sound like a match for you? Interested in chaperoning an upcoming field trip or fall hike? Please follow the procedures for becoming an HUUSD approved volunteer (required). Better yet, plan to come to BPS on 10/3 between 7:30-noon and Heidi from the Lamoille County Sherrif's Office will take your fingerprints onsite!
Finally, on Monday, our 4th grade students will continue the legacy of delivering the schoolwide morning announcements on a daily basis. It has been a longstanding practice for us to announce birthdays of students (and staff). If your child would NOT like their name announced on the loudspeaker on/around their birthday, please complete this brief, 1-question survey.
Thanks for supporting our community!
Best,
Sarah & Chris
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.
Please see below for offerings from Camp Meade in Middlesex:
The Children's Room for the Annual Barn Dance & Fall Harvest Fest
Sunday, October 1st, 2:00 to 5:00 pm. Join the Children’s Room for a fun family fall event! The Barn Dance is our biggest fundraising event of the year with harvest snacks, live music, hay rides, face paint, games and more! Located on the beautiful Beard Family property at 1601 Barnes Hill Rd in Waterbury Center. We have pony rides again this year! Bring a pie for the pie contest too. 2:00-5:00 pm. $25 per family.
We need volunteers on the days before the Barn Dance and right after the Barn Dance for set up and clean up. If you’re able and interested in helping out here is the link to sign up- Barn Dance Volunteer Sign Up. Many thanks!