From the Principal's Desk

Dear Brown Middle School Parents and Families,

We are in the final quarter of the year, and it is going to go fast. In addition to state testing, field trips, and year-end events, we also have the transition of three-quarters of our current students moving to the high school next year. There is a lot happening with a lot of changes coming. I recognize this is going to be a stressful time for students and parents alike, but we will keep you informed and help make the transition as smooth as possible.

State testing begins the week of April 13th. We are going to have an adjusted schedule that week, so please pay close attention to which days your child will be required to attend. Our goal in adjusting the schedule is to create the best testing environment for all of our students. The hope is that smaller testing groups and fewer students in the building transitioning classrooms will help improve student achievement. We're looking forward to this new testing calendar.

We recently completed an ALICE safety drill, and we will be implementing new safety protocols for the remainder of the year. More information is included in this newsletter. We ask that you please review the procedures carefully, and we appreciate your cooperation in advance in keeping our students and staff safe.

Finally, we will helping students transition to the high school with visits in early May. We are coordinating with the high school administration and will share more details in the coming weeks. We recognize the idea of moving to the high school next year may be intimidating for students (and parents), so we are going to ease that transition the best we can.

We have approximately eight weeks left in the school year. Buckle up and enjoy because it's going to fly by, and summer will be here before you know it.

Sincerely,

Sean Daugherty

Principal

Brown Middle School

Mon, April 6 - No School

Tues, April 14 - 5th and 8th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part I - 6th and 7th grade students do not attend school

Wed, April 15 - 5th and 8th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part II - 6th and 7th grade students do not attend school

Thurs, April 16 - 6th and 7th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part I - 5th and 8th grade students do not attend school

Fri, April 17 - 6th and 7th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part II - 5th and 8th grade students do not attend school

Mon, April 20 - Board of education meeting - 5:00 in RHS Auditorium

Fri, April 24 - Spring Musical - 7:00 in RHS Auditorium

Sat, April 25 - Goodyear STEM Day - 7:00-3:00 at Akron Firestone High School

Sat, April 25 - District Art Show - 12:00-1:30 at RHS

Sat, April 25 - Spring Musical - 7:00 in RHS Auditorium

Sun, April 26 - Spring Musical - 2:00 in RHS Auditorium

Tues, April 28 - All students report, 8th grade take science part I and part II

Wed, April 29 - All students report, 5th grade take science part I and part II

This year's spring Ohio state tests will be administered the week of April 14th. In an effort to provide students the best possible testing environment, we will have an adjusted school schedule that week.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday, April 13 - All students report to school

Tuesday, April 14 - 5th and 8th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part I - 6th and 7th grade students do not attend school

Wednesday, April 15 - 5th and 8th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part II - 6th and 7th grade students do not attend school

Thursday, April 16 - 6th and 7th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part I - 5th and 8th grade students do not attend school

Friday, April 17 - 6th and 7th grade students report to school for ELA and Math part II - 5th and 8th grade students do not attend school

Tuesday, April 28 - All students report, 8th grade take science part I and part II

Wednesday, April 29 - All students report, 5th grade take science part I and part II

Please pay close attention to the testing calendar. It is important that students only attend on their designated testing days. We will not have additional space for them as all staff members will be testing students. If you have any questions, please contact the main office prior to testing week.

Following our most recent ALICE drill, building administration and Ravenna PD debriefed and discussed potential adjustments needed to keep our building safe. In order to enhance school safety, we will be implementing the following procedures beginning April 7th:

• All visitors must have a scheduled meeting to enter the building during school hours. This will help us account for who is in the building and ensure visitors are not unattended in the office or hallways.
• All visitors must have a valid ID and must have a visitor badge to enter the building. No exceptions.
• All visitors must be escorted by school staff once they have entered the building. This will ensure visitors are reporting to the proper locations.
• Parents signing out students will do so at the kiosk between the main doors. You must have a valid ID to sign out your student. The student will be called down and meet the parents at the door.
• Parents may not escort students into the building. Students arriving late will sign themselves in at the office kiosk.
• Items dropped of for students can be left at the desk between the doors. Office staff will collect the items when they are able. We discourage families from dropping off fast food meals to their students. We do not accept Door Dash or other food delivery, and we would prefer families do not deliver food either because we cannot guarantee when students will receive the food. Students will not be called out of class to retrieve such items.
• Finally, do not enter a door or allow anyone else to enter a door without the approval of the main office. It's easy to walk in as someone is walking out, but this creates a safety breach.

We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our staff and students safe. We feel that by limiting the number of visitors into the building during the day we will be better prepared in keeping everyone safe. Thanks again for your cooperation and understanding.

We are excited to announce that we will be participating in the Goodyear STEM Day at Akron Firestone on Saturday, April 25th. The event is open to any interested 6-8 grader. The event is free and includes transportation to and from the event, a t-shirt and lunch. Parents are welcome to join as long as they are registered and have a satisfactory background check to chaperone. We ask that students register by Friday, April 10th to ensure we have time to schedule busing.

Registration link: https://stemcareerday.goodyear.com/register

Group code: Ravens2026 (you may or may not need this)

If you have any questions, please contact the main office.

We are excited to be partnering with the DEA Education Foundation to offer a free baseball clinic to any 7th and 8th grade students interested in learning more about baseball. The clinics are designed for students with limited baseball experience, but all students are welcome. Practices will be held on Wednesdays and Fridays after school at Brown Middle School. If you are interested in having your child participate, please follow the QR code in the flyer below or email Jim Lunardi at jim.lunardi@ravennaschools.us.

Any current 6th, 7th or 8th grade girl interested in basketball can participate in open gyms now through the end of the school year. Open gym will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30-4:00 in the BMS gym. If you have any questions, you can contact Coach Lauren Calhoun via email at lauren.calhoun@ravennaschools.us.

A friendly reminder to all families that Ohio Revised Code was updated this school year to include all student absences when calculating chronic absenteeism. That includes excused, unexcused, medical and suspensions. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason. This is the threshold determined by the state, and our district goal is for students to have an overall attendance rate of 90% or better.

School attendance is determined by school hours missed. Tardies and early dismissals impact overall attendance. We encourage all students to arrive to school on time and stay for the day. The more students are in school the more opportunities they have to learn and succeed.

In accordance with recent legislative action taken by the Ohio General Assembly and signed into law by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that “prohibits all cellular telephone use by students during the instructional day”, Brown Middle School will be amending its current cell phone policy to comply with state law.

• Students will be prohibited from using cell phones during the instructional day at all times.
• Nothing in this policy prohibits a student from using a cell phone for a purpose documented in a student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a Section 504 Plan in accordance with state and federal laws.
• A student may only use a cell phone during the school day to monitor or address a documented health concern.
• During school hours (7:15 am - 2:22 pm), students will be expected to keep any personal cell phones in a secure place, such as the student's locker, a closed backpack, or a storage device provided by the school district in certain cases.
• First Offense: If a student has a cell phone out during prohibited times of the day, a school staff member will give the student a verbal warning and require the student to store the cell phone properly in accordance with this policy.
• Second Offense: An office referral will be submitted, and the staff member submitting the referral will contact the parent/guardian of the student.
• Third Offense: Students will be expected to turn in their cell phone to the main office upon entering the building in the morning. The cell phone will remain in the office until the end of the school day (2:22 pm), at which time it is the student’s responsibility to pick-up their device.

Please download the Parent Square app if you have not already. This will be our primary source of communication. You can download the app from the app store. Your child's teachers should automatically sync, so there's no joining classes or remembering codes.

We have a lot going on in the morning and after school each day. We have buses in the back, fifth grade cars on the north side of the building, other parents lined up on Scranton Street, and students walking in several directions. We are doing our best to man the various areas with staff to ensure students' safety. We also need your cooperation to ensure our students arrive and leave school safely. My number one concern is student safety.

A few reminders:

• Students are only to be picked up or dropped off near the playground (5th grade only) or at door 20 on Scranton St. No students are to be picked up or dropped off in the back parking lot. That is for buses only.
• If you are dropping off on Scranton St., please pull forward so we can allow multiple cars to let students out at the same time. This will expedite drop off and help your student to get to class on time. If everyone stops in front of the doors, the process will take forever and students will be late. We will not excuse tardies because of slow drop-off lines. Let's work together to speed the process up.
• Also, do not drop your student off on the opposite side of the street. I know many of you don't want to wait, but your child's safety is my primary concern.
• If you are dropping of a 5th grade student and exiting that front parking lot, we kindly ask that you turn left out of the parking lot. We do not want any cars going around other cars on Scranton. This is a two-lane road. There is no room to go around others.
• Be patient and have understanding. Pick-up and drop-off lines are the worst. None of us want to wait and we all have somewhere we need to be. But please follow our procedures and work together. I promise you, we can make this work quickly and efficiently if we all follow the procedures.

Cordelle Combs

Joseph Harris

Cheyenne Hatfield

Michaela Marcello

Eli Doolan

Marissa Gwinn

Christina Allen

Danielle Pinkston

Yasmin Van Aken

Mianna Patterson

Nevaeh Flores

Amar'e Ferguson

Aliyana Green

Landyn Peterson

Austin Hand

Rachael Rohl

Nikos Medina

Maddison Rynes-Brodzinski

Othello Cunningham

Tommy Adkins

Alayna Fowler

Camren Bryant

Myles Floyd

Carlianna Shumaker

Joshua Fowler

Mariah Brandt

Harper Brunty

Madison Trautman

Rocco Murray

Sophia Prahl

Amerie Martin

Jeremiah Strieter

Duane West

Sophia Greathouse

Brynlee Rowland

Gregory Rohl

Dominic Stepp

Ancil Cunningham

Hunter Alger

Kaitlyn Hack

Dylan Milburn

Joudi Halibah

Kennon Kent

Princeton McElrath