Dear Brown MS Community,
On behalf of all of the teachers at Brown, I want to say thank you to all parents that donated and provided a delicious (and beautiful) dessert buffet on Wednesday afternoon in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. The treats were abundant and the raffle of gift cards reminded our teachers how much the community appreciates them. Additionally, this past Wednesday was school nurse appreciation day. I want to say a special THANK YOU to Lucy Boyer, our amazing school nurse, for taking care of all of the students (and adults) at Brown. She does this with professionalism and kindness. We are lucky to have her at Brown.
This coming week we will have a lot of MCAS testing happening. Monday is 8th grade Science, Technology and Engineering. On Wednesday and Thursday 6th graders have math and on Friday our 8th graders have math. Please be sure to have your children charge their chromebooks the night before and get a good night’s sleep!
This morning I was able to visit with parents during my PTO Principal’s Coffee along with Julian Turner and Matt Bailey-Adams, Assistant Principals. It was great to sit and hear how students are experiencing school and what is working for them. It was also great to talk with parents about their concerns. A topic that came up was phones. Two weeks ago, I wrote a letter regarding smartphones and our students. If you did not read it you can click here. Lately, we are getting reports of negative social behaviors through text and social media with our students. It is important for parents take time to check their child’s phone and have a conversation about how they treat others when they interact virtually. Many of the parents at the PTO coffee mentioned that they have put controls on their child’s phone and are able to see what their children are accessing. We discussed potentially having a PTO parent night that would provide instruction and resources for parents to learn how to do this. I will be talking with the PTO about trying to arrange for this in the fall. We can learn from one another as we continue to navigate technology for the betterment of our students.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and I wish all mothers out there a restful day full of pampering (just being given some “alone time” so you can recharge)! My husband and son will be making dinner for my mother, mother-in-law and me. I am looking forward to being waited on! Whatever you have planned, I hope you enjoy the weekend!
Best,
Kim Lysaght