Penn Brook Elementary School

From the Penn Brook Administration

Hello Penn Brook Families,

Welcome to a new school year! We are so excited to begin this journey with you and your children. Whether you're returning or joining us for the first time, we are honored to have you as part of our school community.

This newsletter will serve as a window into what's happening in our school, important updates, upcoming events, and ways you can stay involved. We believe that strong communication between home and school is essential to student success, and we hope this newsletter becomes a helpful tool for staying informed and connected.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to a wonderful year of learning, growth, and shared experiences!

Warm regards,

Penn Brook Administration - (978) 352-5785

Principal - Beth Benoit

Assistant Principals - Amy Wahl, Kate Donlin and Shannon Tenney

Penn Brook Office Dianne Collins and Jeannine Dion

Nurse - Collen Wilson and Zinta Gulens

Your child's teachers are now viewable in Aspen for the 26-27 School Year

Your child's teacher is now viewable in Aspen. Please log into the Family Portal to view your child’s teacher.

Below is the link to the Aspen site as well as the Georgetown technology site. If you are having difficulty logging into Aspen please fill out the Aspen Help Password form, Georgetown Aspen Password. Penn Brook staff are unable to reset passwords so you must fill out the google form.

Click Here for the Aspen Site

Click Here for the Georgetown technology Site

Preschool/Kindergarten Get Acquainted Day

Get Acquainted Day for Preschool and Kindergarten students and their trusted adults are during the morning on the first day of school, Wednesday September 2nd.

Please expect it to be about 20 minutes.

Students come in small groups so that they can meet a few other students, explore the classroom, meet their teachers and tour the school.

Your child's classroom teacher will be in touch with you soon with a sign up for your Get Acquainted Time.

From Penn Brook Nurses

Hello Families,

We hope you have had an enjoyable and healthy summer. Looking ahead to the 2026–2027 school year, School Nurses will be available at Penn Brook prior to the first day of school to collect student medications. Having medications and required paperwork submitted before students return helps ensure a safe and smooth start to school.

Medication drop-off dates and times at PENN BROOK are:

● Tue Aug 18th 6am-12pm

● Wed Aug 26th 12pm-6pm

Please note that all medications must be accompanied by:

Signed physician's order
Completed parental medication permission form
Completed action plan from your MD for Allergies, Asthma, and/or Seizures

If you have any questions, please contact the Nurse’s Office. Thank you!

The Penn Brook Nursing Team

Zinta Gulens MSN, BSN, BA, RN (Grades pk-1)

Colleen Wilson BSN, RN (Grades 2-5)

Penn Brook Elementary School

Georgetown Public Schools

gulensz@georgetown.k12.ma.us / wilsonc@georgetown.k12.ma.us

Phone (978) 352-5785 ext. 2016/2018 / Fax (978) 352-5787

Penn Brook School Day is 8:55AM - 3:00PM

As you may have read the school day for Kindergarten through 5th grade has changed to 8:55am to 3:00pm. Preschool has remained the same from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

You may or may not know that for several years now, our students that ride the bus have remained at school for 20 or more minutes after dismissal waiting for their buses to arrive. Once buses arrived, many students then faced an additional 20–30 minute ride home. While our staff worked hard to make that waiting time as comfortable as possible, we understood that after a full day of learning, waiting another 20 or more minutes for a bus was hard for many of our students.

Beginning this school year, our elementary school day will shift to better align with district transportation schedules. This adjustment will allow buses to arrive much closer to dismissal, helping students begin their trips home sooner and reducing the amount of time they spend waiting.

We recognize that any change to the school day requires families to adjust routines, especially this close to the start of the school year. If you find yourself facing significant disruption because of the new morning schedule, please reach out to me directly (benoitb@georgetown.k12.ma.us) so we can set up a time to discuss. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding. This decision was made after thoughtful collaboration across the district, with one goal in mind: improving the daily experience for our students.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

K-5 Students Dismissal Plans in Pick Up Patrol

Please make sure that you have filled out your child’s dismissal plan through Pick Up Patrol. It is critical that every student has a dismissal plan entered into Pick Up Patrol so that we can safely account for all students. At this time new students to Georgetown can not be entered into Pick Up Patrol. Once students have active SASID (state id numbers) we will ask you to enter your information into Pick Up Patrol. In the mean time please make sure the classroom teacher knows your child's dismissal plan.

Please use this link to access Important information on registering and updating student dismissal information

Pick Up Patrol- How to use the app video

Pick Up Patrol Parent Guide

School Supplies

We are thrilled to announce that the PTA is generously purchasing disinfectant wipes, tissues, and paper towels for all Penn Brook classrooms for the 2026-2027 school year. This wonderful contribution is a special giveback to our school community from the PTA, ensuring our learning spaces are clean, well-stocked, and ready for the students. We deeply appreciate the generous time, effort, and careful planning that went into making this support possible.

Please visit our website, Penn Brook Elementary, if you are looking for the supply list for your child. These lists are by grade. If your child’s classroom teacher has specific items they are looking for they will reach out with more information.

Parent Information Night (PIN)

We are pleased to invite you to our Parent Information Nights, which will take place in September. This is a great opportunity to meet your child’s teacher, learn more about grade-level expectations, curriculum highlights, and classroom routines, and begin building the home-school partnership that is essential for student success.

Preschool – 1st Grade: Monday, September 14th