HB | May 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

Beginning Tuesday, September 7th, 2022, vehicles will not be allowed to park in the main lot during morning drop-off or during afternoon pickup. Respectfully, we ask those wishing to park their vehicles to use the overflow lot (the lot we share with the church). There you may park your vehicle and safely exit to walk your child to the building. We have had several “close calls” during drop off/pick up that we hope to avoid by enlisting this new procedure. Thank you for understanding and helping us to create the safest situation possible for our families, students, and staff.

INTEGRITY AND FAIRNESS

Our Beloved Rosia Mitchell, Assistant Principal for Brookwood Junior High, will be in our hearts forever. Her sphere of influence reached every school in the district and beyond. She was a light to every space she entered, and that light will endure for generations to come.

Read these kind words written by Ms. Trennisha Thompson:

“Rosia Mitchell was my son’s vice principal at BMS; a year or two later, she was the Assistant Principal at BJHS. She told me she was following the students, so I said, “ Well, are you going to follow them to HF or Bloom?” She thought about it for a second and giggled. I worked with her briefly at BJHS. Whenever the students needed to be redirected, she was always right there to lend a helping hand. When she walked into the classroom, you could hear a pin drop. Her presence demanded respect! Nobody wanted to sit in her back office after getting reprimanded in school, but somehow EVERYBODY wanted to be in her back office and just talk to her because the students always talked about how cool she was.

School hourS

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

Students should not arrive earlier than 8:10 a.m.

If ever you have questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our staff. No question is too small, and no concern is too big for us to handle as a team. As always, we look forward to working in partnership with our families to ensure our AllStars continue to grow and succeed

Ms. Mitchell had a passion for sports. She enjoyed playing basketball with the students. Sometimes, she would even let them win! Her presence will be missed by her family and friends, countless students whose lives she has touched in some way, and a plethora of people at Brookwood School District 167. We will truly miss you.”

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 708-757-2120.

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

• All-Star 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.

FINE ARTS NIGHT

Congratulations to all the Hickory Bend AllStars who participated in our annual Fine Arts Night on April 4th! The evening was filled with incredible artwork, beautiful band music, rockin’ recorder players, and The Sensational Singers! We definitely have talented students at H.B.!!

4TH GRADE ANNOUNCERS

Thank you, 4th Grade Announcers, for helping us to start the day with great energy and positive vibes!

KIDS MAKING CHANGE (KMC)

By: Ms. Angell

A dynamic, caring group of dedicated 4th-grade students have spent the 2022-2023 school year participating in Kids Making Change (KMC). This after-school club promotes philanthropy, helping others, and caring for our community and world. We have met every Wednesday from October - April and have worked hard to lend a helping hand. In October, we held a drive for our local animal shelter, South Suburban Humane Society, where we collected 138 items and donated $100. In November, we wrote letters to thank our Veterans. In December, we made and sold Candygrams and donated over $500 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation! In January, we worked to donate rice using the FreeRice website. In February, we made Valentines to thank all the teachers and staff at Hickory Bend. In March, we hosted a shoe drive and collected over 180 pairs of shoes to donate to Share Your Soles, which provides gently used shoes to people overseas without shoes. And finally, we are working on a drive for Paws Critter Crossing, which is run locally by one of our families at Hickory Bend & they work to rescue, rehabilitate, and safely release orphaned, injured, or displaced wild animals. One of our members, Kailey Uhter, was so inspired by our work that she took it upon herself to make cards for all of the residents at a local nursing home and delivered them herself! We thank you for supporting Kids Making Change over the school year and are proud of the caring hearts that have developed in our students.

KMC MEMBERS | 2022-23

Kailey Uhter

Winter Jackson

Giyanni Thompson

Analea Arrojas

Kahliya Walton

Aubrey Reynolds

Aubreille Woodrupp

Lauren Newman

Jaiden Duenas

Maya Leigh

Nigel Albright

Lacey Bailey

Makayla Hill

Makiyah Williams

Erin Moore

Maame Djondo

Lola Wheatley

Samiyah Wright

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) 708-757-2120 (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.

POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTENVENTIONS & SUPPORT (PBIS)

A major focus area of learning for our K-4 students is that of behavior. Maintaining a physically and emotionally safe learning environment is a priority before we can expect our children to learn academic content. In each area of the school, we have developed expectations that we use to teach children how to Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful. This work is through PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports).

For the first few weeks of our school year, we model and practice what these expectations look like and sound like. When we observe students who struggle with following the expectations, the student is not automatically punished but is instead reminded of the expectation and given the opportunity to modify his/her behavior to demonstrate the appropriate behavior. We believe that devoting a significant amount of time to working on expectations is beneficial to all of our students.

Now that we have become well acquainted with these skills, the expectation is that students demonstrate the skills in every area of the school day. When students need constant reminders or when behavior becomes disruptive, we will take the necessary steps to reteach the skills and remind students of the expectations. Our goal is to provide the support students need to significantly decrease the number of distractions and unwanted behaviors. A paper copy of our expectations was sent home in your child’s take-home folder. Please take time to review the expectations with your child(ren). We appreciate all the support families have shown in working collaboratively toward student behavioral success.

SOME of the 2:00 pm Dismissals Canceled…

Please note the following 2:00 pm dismissals have been canceled and we will be in school for the FULL DAY on the following dates:

• May 5th, 2023

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 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) 757-2120. A PowerSchool app for your cellular phone makes it easy for parents to stay updated on their child’s progress.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Gratitude and Service”

We live in gratitude of the service provided by Assistant Principal, Rosia Mitchell

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

ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOL!

During these brutally cold few weeks in our calendar year, it is important to remind our families that attendance in school is the best way to support learning and growth.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of school. In our District that boils down to about 17-18 days which is only about 2 days per month!

Please, please, please work at all costs to ensure your student is in school daily. Being on time and staying for the entire day is also crucially important.

We only have our students for a few short hours, and we don’t want them to miss anything! If you can pull the young ones from their warm beds and get them to school, we are confident that we can take care of the rest.

RESOURCEFUL TIPS...

• Help them use different methods to find answers

• Support them when they struggle but allow THEM to work it out.

• Rather than giving answers to questions, give questions to help lead them to answers

• Ask children for their help and suggestions.

• Coach your child more often than you control your child; show that you have confidence in their ability

SENSATIONAL SINGERS

The hickory Bend SenSaTional SingerS end The year on a high noTe

The Sensational Singers work hard and play hard! We had a great time skating at our annual Choir Family Skating Party and concluded the singing season with a pizza party during the school day! It’s fun to be a Sensational Singer! The choir members did a fantastic job all year; I am very proud of them!

-Mrs. Westerfield

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 Hickory Bend 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) 758-4520, email, rdubose@brookwood167.org. All you will need to provide is your cell phone number or email address.

GET INVOLVED AND STAY INFORMED!

HICKORY BEND SCHOOL

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.