BMS | February 2023 Newsletter

HEADLINES

CHAMPIONS BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

Champions is a before and after school care program available to our Brookwood families. Please contact Champions as soon as possible to secure your spot. SPACE IS LIMITED

Champions Family Support | Phone: (800) 246-2154

ChampionsHelp@kc-education.com

Student Safety Drop Off & Pick Up Procedures

Students should arrive at school no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and be picked up after school no later than 3:15 P.M. If a student is being dropped off or picked up, the driver must adhere to the one-way sign at the entrance of the parking lot. Drivers must NEVER go the wrong way in the parking lot as this is unsafe for students and staff. All walkers and car riders will enter through Door #1, The Main Entrance Thank you for being so cooperative

BROOKWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL FAMILIES,

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER

WORKING TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS FOR 2022/2023

As the days start to get longer and the calendar moves from January to February, I want to take this time to remind you of our 2022/2023 School Improvement Goals, highlight the different activities the students participated in, list some upcoming activities and provide you with some upcoming important dates.

This year, the staff and teachers are working with your child to achieve the following Goals for the 2022/2023 school year...

Stewart Principal lstewart@brookwood167.org

School Hours

Students’ school day is from 8:30 a.m. until 3:10 p.m.

Students should not arrive earlier than 8:00 a.m.

All walkers and car riders will enter through Door #1, The Main Entrance.

LaShawn

GOALS...

• 60% of the low-income students will meet or exceed their spring benchmark goal on the NWEA (MAP) Reading Assessment. Currently, 40% of those students have made their goals based on their winter reading benchmark scores.

• 65% of the low-income students will meet or exceed their spring benchmark goal on the NWEA (MAP) Math Assessment. Currently, 21% of those students have made their goals based on their winter math benchmark scores.

• 80% of our CWD students will grow 6 points on their reading and math NWEA from the fall benchmark NWEA Assessment to the spring NWEA Assessment. Currently, 41% of our students have already accomplished this goal in math, and 30% of our students have already accomplished this goal in reading.

Attendance/Absences/Tardies

To ensure that our students excel academically, they must attend school daily and be on time. When students are tardy, they miss valuable instruction, primarily in reading and language arts. Attendance will be tied into our school’s PBIS expectations in which students will be able to earn rewards and participate in fun activities.

When your child has to be absent, please inform the front office. Our absentee number is 708-757-2110.

COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION

Our teachers do an excellent job of communicating with families. Here is where you can stay informed proactively:

• School and District Website - www.brookwood167.org

• Timberwood News - Weekly school newsletter that will be sent home on Fridays

• ClassDojo - It is essential that you sign up for the Principal’s ClassDojo. If you have not already joined, an invitation will be sent to you during the first week of school. To join, you will need either your phone number or email address.

• A phone call or an email is an efficient way to communicate with your child’s teacher. Please remember that our teachers are with students throughout the day and will return the call/email as soon as possible. At times, this may be the next school day.

If a child has any symptoms listed below, they should stay home in the morning or go home if these symptoms first occur at school.

IF MY CHILD IS SICK, WHEN SHOULD I KEEP THEM HOME?

When a child can return to school is based on the specific symptom they have.

• Fever of 100.4 or higher

• New onset of moderate to severe headache

• Shortness of breath, new cough, sore throat

• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

• Abdominal pain from unknown cause

• New congestion/runny nose

• New loss of sense of taste or smell

• Fatigue from unknown cause

• Muscle or body aches

If you answer “YES” to any of the above, your child MUST stay home. Please call the school to report your child’s absence (708) 708-757-2110 (Option 1.)

ANTI-BULLY PLEDGE...

We make a COMMITMENT to stand against bullying.

We will treat others with RESPECT and KINDNESS.

We will have the COMPASSION to not be a bully.

We will have the COURAGE to not be a bystander.

It is our RESPONSIBILITY to help others and to report bullying.

We are excited to announce that Brookwood School District 167 will provide students with a set of school supplies for school and home again this school year! Therefore, there are [NO] school supplies lists. However, if your child needs additional resources, please contact the school office at 708-758-5252.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

POWERSCHOOL

All Brookwood teachers use an online grading system called “PowerSchool” that they update every Thursday.

We encourage you to check your child’s progress regularly. This program is confidential; therefore, you will need an access username and password to see your child’s progress. If you need your username and password, please contact the school office at (708) 758-5350. A PowerSchool app for your cellular phone makes it easy for parents to stay updated on their child’s progress.

TECHNOLOGY HELPLINE

If your child is having any technology problems connecting to their teacher’s Google Classroom, please contact our help desk at (708) 300-3553 or email our help desk

helpdesk@brookwood167.org

Please leave a detailed message with your name, child’s name, phone number, and the issue you are having with the device.

MISSION STATEMENT

Brookwood School District 167, in partnership with parents and the community, will create a learning environment in which all students excel at becoming lifelong learners and decision-makers.

WE BELIEVE

• Families shape their children’s motivation, confidence, and academic success by being interested and involved in their overall development.

• All students are unique and should be challenged to the highest level of academic and artistic excellence.

• In the importance of staff development opportunities based on best practices and educational research.

• In educating our children in a safe and nurturing environment with access to state-of-the-art technology.

• The school system should teach students to think critically enabling them to become contributing citizens in our global society.

• In continuous improvement in all aspects of the school system to foster a culture of excellence, Accountability, and integrity.

• In responsible stewardship of financial and physical resources.

VISION STATEMENT

Our overall vision is to improve the achievement of all students, regardless of race, socio-economic status, gender, or ability levels (disabilities). We share the accountability of student achievement throughout the school. We believe in using research-based practices to achieve our goals. We promote school and community involvement because we believe that these partnerships help us meet the needs of all of our students.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO

1. Providing students with highly qualified teachers

2. Providing our staff with professional development

BMS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GOALS

TEACH STUDENTS HOW

TO...

A Teach students how to use self-awareness and interpersonal skills to maintain positive relationships.

D

IMPLEMENT RESTORATIVE...

Implement restorative justice practices.

WORK COLLABORATIVELY...

Work collaboratively with parents to increase parent involvement within our school community.

CLASSDOJO

What is ClassDojo?

PLEASE JOIN OUR CLASSDOJO’S AND STAY INFORMED!

It is important that you sign up for the Principal’s Class Dojo. I post important information such as if a bus is running late, important reminders regarding picture day, graduation information and other important topics.

PLEASE SIGN UP TODAY!

ClassDojo is actively used in 90% of U.S. K-8 schools.

ClassDojo is a free app that helps build amazing classroom and school communities. Teachers give feedback to students for any skill, like “Working Hard” and “Being Curious.”

From the mobile app, parents view their child’s feedback, and can message directly with teachers and school leaders.

Please join my ClassDojo so you can stay informed on what is happening at Brookwood Middle School.

If you would like to join, please accept the invitation that we emailed to you or texted you, or contact the school at (708) 758-5350, email, lstewart@brookwood167.org. All you will need to provide is your cell phone number or email address.

GET INVOLVED AND STAY INFORMED!

GET INVOLVED

During the first half of the school year, both the 5th and 6th grade students participated in a Fire Safety presentation given by the Glenwood Fire Department.

The 6th grade students had the opportunity to attend a Chicago Wolves game at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL, and the Museum of Illusion in Chicago, IL. Additionally, several students went to “Light of the Lake” at Navy Pier to celebrate their hard work on their DreamBox Lessons.

As we move into the second half of the school year, students will be attending ThunderBowl to reward them for their hard work on Study Island.

The 5th graders are scheduled to attend a Chicago Wolves game at the Allstate Arena and the DuSable Museum in February and The Morton Arboretum in the Spring.

The 6th graders will also visit the DuSable Museum and are tentatively scheduled to visit The Morton Arboretum in the Spring.

Students will also compete in another round of DreamBox Challenges with an opportunity to win a field trip to a local Amusement Park.

This month, we are going to continue taking a deeper look at the genre of realistic fiction. We will be focusing on two different stories that both fall under the umbrella of realistic fiction. How Tia Lola Came to Stay is a short story that examines how people from different cultures can learn from each other.

The Rockers Build a Soccer Field is an excerpt from a book that focuses on how children can change the world. We will use these stories as a platform to springboard us into our first novel study, Where the Red Fern Grows, later this month.

In 5th grade ELA, we said “goodbye” to 2022, with a focus on the writing process intermingled with a goal-setting project. Students worked on the first four (4) steps of the writing process, which include: prewriting, drafting, editing, and revising.

Students increased their knowledge about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through readaloud, EdPuzzle, and BrainPop assignments.

MATH

As we dive into rates and ratios, I encourage you to point out to your child common rates/ratios we see in our everyday lives. Things like price/gallon, miles per hour, and cookies per person are just some examples! We are introduced to equivalent ratios and rates for the first time in 6th grade, but they are a big part of 7th grade!

In January, after we wrap up Workshop 4: The True West, we will start our new topic in Workshop 5: The Earth Moves. We will be discussing earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. We will continue to practice ELA strategies such as comprehension, word analysis, and summarizing.

SCIENCE

As the semester closes, students in 5th grade Science are wrapping up the Matter Unit. We will be moving into an Ecology Unit next, where we will study matter cycles on Earth, including Food Webs, the Water, Carbon, and Nitrogen Cycles.

We will further study the impact that humans are having on our Earth and things that we can do to minimize that impact!

In 6th grade, we are wrapping up our unit on the Water Cycle and will continue with Influences of Weather and Climate. Students did a lab on different properties of water and will complete another lab following the journey of a water droplet through the water cycle.

DO THE MATH

In January, we just finished up our 1st book, Addition & Subtraction B! We will be starting our next book called Addition & Subtraction C, where we will be building on the strategies we just learned and will introduce more. These new strategies include Adding by Crossing Out, Branching, Underlining, or Writing Equations.

In January, we will be reading about space and working on skills such as text-based questioning, word analysis, and summarizing.

BROOKWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL

To stay current on what is happening at Brookwood Middle School, please continue to check Class Dojo or watch the morning announcements on YouTube by going to the following page...

https://bit.ly/3NA8V8C

VISITORS

If you need to come into the school for any reason, for safety reasons, you will be required to wear a mask, and you will need to have a current Driver’s License that will be checked in our Raptor Security System.

Raptor® provides a line of sight as to who is always in our school. The system provides school and districtwide reporting for all visitors, volunteers, and contractors that have signed in/out of our buildings. This is important for safety reasons.