HEADS Up! - Brownell

Middle School
HEADS Up!
Ms. Bridget Collins
Hallway Happenings
Every day I learn something new from your students. It may be an insight into characters in To Kill
a Mockingbird or discussion about their role in the
world. They have been engaged in their learning
and have welcomed students new to BT with the
kind of character that we all expect and appreciate.
All of the Middle School students have been
reintroduced to the iPad for this school year. The
students are working to improve their skills in the
use of the tool. New to the program this year is a
weekly iPad class for the 5th graders to help build
their proficiency and to raise their comfort level in
using this tool.
As I enter my second year as the Head of Middle
School, I am encouraged by the self- advocacy I
have seen in the students. I have also observed very
positive interactions amongst the students and their
teachers and a positive learning environment that
will build on their knowledge and success.
Student Council
Faculty Focus
Middle School students are venturing into the
area of elections. Student Council officers are all
members of the 8th grade class.
J.R. Gould
MS/US Music
As you might expect of a music
teacher, I try to keep my life
in perfect harmony. I balance
my roles as a husband to my
wife, Steph and as a father to
two Brownell-Talbot daughters
(Jamie ’19 and Emma ’23) while
at the same time striving to be as good as I can be
at my job.
Each Middle School grade will have two class
representatives. This body makes up the Brownell
Talbot Middle School Student Council.
Eighth grade students interested in running for
office will turn in their nomination forms by
Monday, September 15th.
Those students will prepare and present a speech
to the Middle School student body and then
elections will take place. Each grade level selects
class representatives once officer elections are
complete. The Student Council sponsor this year is
Ms. Collins.
Robotics
Middle School Robotics will begin 2nd quarter. The
students interested in being part of this program
received a Middle School Robotics Interest Form.
These will help in determining the teams for the
coming year. The forms are due Monday,
September 15.
If your child is interested in participating, please
make sure that his/her form is turned into Ms.
Collins on that day. Extra forms are available in Ms.
Collins’ office.
I can safely say my greatest teaching moment was
any of the times I’ve been able to step out of the
way and let the kids make good music together.
There have been many of these great moments in
my 13 years as a music instructor at BT. Some of
the most memorable performances have included
the 2008 musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie; the
Upper School Choir singing eight-part a cappella in
Mandarin Chinese without a conductor at the May
2013 concert; and the Upper School Band choosing
and directing their own jazz set at Worlds of Fun in
June 2013. Reflecting on my years at BT, I believe
I’ve made my mark by slowly building the music
program into something the school can take great
pride in.
My advice to students: You don’t have to major in
music to keep doing it in college or beyond.
1
Heads of School
Bi-Weekly News
September 12, 2014
MIDDLE SCHOOL
KEY DATES
MS Volleyball First
Home Game
Sat Sept 13
MS/US Gym
Service Learning
Keep Omaha
Beautiful
Thu Sept 18
8:45-9:10 am
US/MS Forum
Swanson Auditorium
6th Grade
Outdoor Education
Departure
Tue Sept 23
6th Grade
Outdoor Education
Return
Thu Sept 25
MS Football Fist
Home Game
Tue Sep 23
4 pm
Skutt Field
Parent Teacher
Conferences
No MS Classes
Fri Sep 26
MS/US Gym
Middle/Upper
School Coffee
Fri Sept 26
9-9:45 am
MS/US Library
Topic: Students’
role in their
education.
Service Learning
Green Apple Day
of Service
Sat Sept 27
10-11 am
Memorial Park &
BT Campus
Middle School
HEADS Up!
Ms. Bridget Collins
Middle School Mayhem
ERB Testing
Mon Sept 29Fri Oct 3
MS/LS Chess Club
Tue Sept 30
3:45 pm
Worthington
Dining Hall
Mudzilla Run - Alice Siberling, Claire Goetschkes,
Anna Kotula
Cool cats.
___________
ALL-SCHOOL
KEY DATES
Founder’s Day
Wed Sept 17
Celebrating 151
years of tradition
Blue & Gold Day
Fri Sep 19
Photo Retakes
Tue Sep 23
Headed to Moment of Silence Ceremony - Josh
Randolph, Georgia Drew, Janeilya Davis, Gigi Crumbly
iPads are in full swing.
ERB Standardized Testing
Middle School Coffee
Brownell students grades 3-8 take the online
Educational Records Bureau (ERB) Comprehensive
Testing Program (CTP).
This test is a low-stakes test used to help inform
our teaching practices and to help parents compare
their child’s achievement scores to other suburban
public and independent schools.
Fall dates for grades 3-4 begin the week of
September 29 and will be administered in sections
approximately an hour and a half each day. Students
will practice and get comfortable using the online
tools and answering questions in advance.
For anyone unfamiliar with this event, I would
like to invite you to join me on Friday, September
25 from 9-9:45 am in the MS/US library where I,
along with Bill Harrell - Head of upper school, will
be discussing the topic of your student’s role in
their education.
These coffees are hosted quarterly and last 45
minutes with topics that span a number of issues
concerning your children and their education.
It is an open forum where parents are encouraged
to ask questions and participate. Consider bringing
another parent with you and joining us.
There is nothing extra or special for students to
study to prepare for this test. Parents can best
support students by ensuring a good night’s rest, a
healthy protein breakfast, and instilling confidence
by
preserving a calm and positive emotional state to
avoid unnecessary test anxiety.
Middle School Grade Parents
For more information about ERB’s CTP please visit
our http://www.brownell.edu/page.cfm?p=2454
The 2014-15 list of MS grade parents can be found
on the Parents Association Organization Chart in
the Parent Portal section of the brownell website.
https://www.brownell.edu/userlogin.cfm?do=logoff
We are fortunate to have room parents plan and
implement grade level activities and special events.
They ensure other parents from their class are
apprised of these activites and events with the
opportunity to volunteer or participate.
2
Lower School
Coffee
Wed Sept 24
8:15 am
Fireside Room
No Lower
School Classes
LS Teacher
Development
Thu Sep 25
Parent Association
Meeting
Wed Oct 1
5:30 pm
Fireside Room
and
Thu Oct 2
8:15 am
Worthington
Dining Hall
Homecoming Week
Oct 13-18
Other News
BT Service Learning Defined
To streamline the BT Service Learning
efforts, Kassandra Mayo was
appointed the Service Learning
Coordinator in April, and with the help
of a committee comprised of faculty and
staff volunteers, and countless hours of
research, two non-profits in Omaha were
selected for a two year partnership.
Our partners are Completely Kids - a local non-profit that
ensures families have access to the knowledge and skills
necessary to break the cycle of poverty, and YES-Youth
Emergency Services - serving homeless, at-risk youth by
providing critical-needs resources empowering them to
become self-sufficient individuals.
There will be more information regarding our activities
and how they relate to and have a positive impact on both
our students and our two community partners as our year
progresses. We will also continue to work with Opportunity
Education and our sister school, Ashok Memorial Public
School, in India.
To make a difference in the world, we must start at “home.”
BT is our home-base. We will first learn to serve our BT
home community and then the city and world. With that, we
kick off our year by partnering with Keep Omaha Beautiful
for the Green Apple Day of Service. The Green Apple Day
of Service gives parents, teachers, students, companies and
local organizations the opportunity to transform all schools
into healthy, safe and productive learning environments
through local service projects. Our efforts include cleaning
up Memorial Park and the Brownell campus on Saturday,
September 27, 10-11 am.
Please mark your calendar and sign up to participate in this
school-wide event with your student at: http://service.
mygreenapple.org/page/event/detail/4jtgk
Parent Association Book Fair
The bookfair is October 13-17 in the LS Gym. Find more
information, sign up to volunteer, and download the App by
visiting http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=brownelltalbotschool
Gala Date and Chairs Announced
Save the date of May 8, 2015, for the Brownell-Talbot Gala.
Gala is a fun-filled and important event at BT each year.
More details will be announced in the weeks ahead.
This year’s gala chairs are Fatima and Farhan Khan, parents
to Emaan (’23) and Zayd (’27) and Fatima Basith and
Pirzada Sattar, parents to Lukmaan (’17) and Rayaan (’23).
“My daughter has loved coming to
school from the moment she started in
pre-school at BT,” says Ms. Khan. “I
attribute that to the wonderful teachers
and staff at BT who have continued to
inspire her and push her to do her best.
I am thrilled that my son is starting his
BT journey this year. Farhan and I are
excited to be a part of such a wonderful
and supportive community.”
Ms. Basith points out that “Brownell
Talbot was one of the most important
reasons for our family as we moved to
Omaha from Boston 15 years ago. Since
then, the school and its community have
given my children and me so much. We
cannot be thankful enough. We are happy
and humbled by this opportunity to
celebrate and recognize our BT community. We are looking
forward to meeting new people, strengthening our existing
friendships and broadening our horizons.”
Due to a splash meet on campus, families and students
participating in the Green Apple Day of Service should park
in the Happy Hollow lot.
Every year, gala success depends on the generous donations
of time and talent by our BT parents. To volunteer please
send an email to Fatima Khan at filahi@mac.com or Fatima
Basith at shrink@prodigy.net. See you at gala next spring!
Blue & Gold Days
BT is a Nut/Peanut Safe School
Throughout the year, students and faculty have the
opportunity to show School Pride in support of activities.
We call these Blue and Gold Days. The apparel guidelines are
as follows:
• Brownell-Talbot Blue & Gold shirts, t-shirts, sweat
shirts or sweaters. (MUST incorporate Blue/Gold
school colors)
• Regular School uniform is also acceptable
• Jeans and tennis shoes are acceptable
• Hiking/Cargo shorts are acceptable
• Athletic shorts or short-shorts are NOT acceptable
Our school has students who are deathly allergic to nuts,
peanuts, nut/peanut oils, and nut/peanut products. Their
allergy is so severe that it is expected that they would go
into immediate life threatening anaphylactic shock if they
have any contact with these items. Staff members have been
trained specifically on how to provide immediate life saving
first aid if this were to happen. One of the steps we have
taken to protect these children is to make our campus a
Nut/Peanut Safe School. It is not acceptable to bring nut/
peanut products for snack or in a packed lunch.
We appreciate your support of this school policy.