Brown School Buzz

Indeed, we are happy to see the dawning of October and the students engaged in the "meat" of the curricula. We hope Open House afforded you the opportunity to learn about the learning topics as well as the methods used in your children's classrooms this year. We understand Open House is just a glimpse, so please feel free to reach out any time you would like information about your child's classroom, learning, or any aspect of the Brown School.

As mentioned at Open House, there has been some feedback about what parents are interested in hearing more about, and we are going to do our best to address those needs throughout the year.

We can easily address some of the topics via this newsletter(Safety protocols, Bully Prevention, volunteer activities, events for the year), while others such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Social Emotional Learning, and the use of Technology in the Classroom, will require a different means of communication. Stay tuned for these opportunities, and read on for more information about Safety protocols and Bully Prevention.

As always, we thank you for your continued support and feedback.

Mary

The research around the long term effects of bullying have been well documented. Indeed, we have learned much over the past 30 years. And, we know education is the first step in helping kids develop a variety of skills and knowledge around this topic. Through direct instruction we teach our students how to recognize bullying, the difference between bullying, unkind behavior and teasing, how to practice being assertive, how to be an upstander, and the importance of kindness in a community. Our teachers and counselors help kids practice skills and scenarios and empower them to resolve conflicts, report bullying and respond assertively to unwanted behaviors.

For our 4-9 year old elementary school students, we are doing all we can to help them understand the impact their behavior has on others, as well as the consequences of their behaviors. We also understand they are learning how to navigate social situations, as well as frustration, sadness, and fairness, and sometimes, they simply do not have the skills to do this appropriately or effectively...yet. Kids can speak and act without thinking, and it's our job to help them understand better ways to express themselves.

This month we will be emphasizing the importance of feeling safe at school and helping our students understand it is up to all of us to behave in ways that make us feel safe and proud to be at the Brown School.

It's also important for parents and families to know Marblehead Public Schools has very specific plans and protocols in place for addressing these issues, including a reporting form and Prevention and Intervention Plan.

If you have any questions about how we address these concerns in Marblehead or at the Brown School, please reach out for more information.

The PTO sponsored Monster Mash is on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17 5:00-7:00 PM

Click on the Monster Mash flyer below to get your tickets!

Along with to Bully Prevention Month, this week is also Fire Prevention Week, and our PBIS focus this month is indeed, Safety. In addition to calling attention to safe behaviors in the classroom, on the playground and in the cafeteria, bathrooms and hallways, we will also practice our school wide safety drills. We received a few inquiries from families in the Open House survey about our safety drills, what they are called, and whether we notify parents prior to practicing our drills.

We have a variety of protocols in place for a variety of reasons. With 500+ working and learning in the building each day, it's critical that we have systems and procedures in place to keep us all as safe as possible. We work hard to help students to stay calm and fire drills/evacuation drills. They run very smoothly, and our students are very calm. We try to make every drill we practice goes just as smoothly and calmly.

We do not notify families before practicing our drills. This is for two reasons. First, we coordinate with fire and police whenever practicing a drill, and this can mean we need to postpone if those folks are managing a real emergency (this actually happened in September). Second, we believe practicing our procedures in a calm, matter-of-fact way helps our students stay calm and feel safe. We all practiced fire drills growing up and most of us practiced lockdowns as well. We have learned a lot along the way about what we need to say (and not say) to our youngest students. We know if we help students understand that their teachers and staff will always keep them safe, and that listening to the grown ups during an emergency is the most important thing they can do, it can reduce any anxious feelings they may be having.

Here is a list of some of the safety procedures we practice throughout the year:

Evacuation-More commonly thought of as a Fire Drill. We practice this drill periodically. Students walk to their designated meeting place outside of the building on our campus.

Safety Walk-This us when we need to be farther from the building than the evacuation/fire drill area and we walk to a nearby safe space off the Brown School campus. This could be implemented for a host of reasons including the presence of an unidentifiable odor in the school or an identified toxic material spill.

Hold Passing-This simply means we refrain from having students "pass" in the hallways. In this situation, our students continue their learning, but stay in their classrooms. This could be needed for any number of reasons, most commonly used if a staff or student is having a medical issue and we want to protect the person in distress and not cause undue panic of students and staff.

Lockdown/ALICE-This is typically the drill I have the most inquiries about.We train for this in the event there is an unidentified person in the building. What we communicate to our students is that this is a drill for staying safe in the classroom with teachers and staff members.We never discuss distressing or scary possible scenarios with our students. Because no two situations are alike, we make sure students understand the most important part about this drill is for students to listen to their teachers and staff members who will always take care of them in any situation. Please know when we practice, it is done in a developmentally appropriate and non anxiety provoking way. We identify it as one of the many drills we practice to keep us safe in any situation.

Shelter in Place-This protocol is most commonly used in the event of extreme weather. Teachers and students stay in classrooms and staff members have specific protocols to follow depending on the emergency.

In a real emergency, there are procedures in place for parent communication, early dismissals, and reunitication. I understand it can be distressing to even think about these possibilities. Please know we meet monthly with fire and police to review our safety procedures and we are constantly learning so we can provide the safest environment possible for your children to learn, play and grow in every day. We appreciate your trust.

Based on current research and 35 years of clinical experience, Lynn Lyons will identify the common traps adults fall into, the role of smart phones and social media, and key strategic adjustments needed to stem the current surge of anxiety and depression in our kids and ourselves. Includes preventative measures!

We have a fair amount of requests to include community events and information in our newsletters and/or send home flyers to families, and unfortunately we aren't able to accommodate all of the groups wanting to share. However, Superintendent John Robidoux recognizes the value of keeping families informed and supporting good works and community groups and has created a digital backpack with the most current information regarding community events and information. Please be sure to check out the District's DIGITAL BACKPACK for more info.

Wed. Oct. 8-PTO Meeting 8:10 AM in Room 117

Mon. Oct. 13-NO SCHOOL-Indigenous People's Day

Wed. Oct. 15-Walk, Ride and Roll to School Day

Fri. Oct. 17- Monster Mash! 5-7 PM

Wed. Oct. 22-Early Release-NOON DISMISSAL-Professional Dev.

Wed. Nov. 5-Early Release-NOON DISMISSAL-Conferences

Mon. Nov. 10-No School-Professional Development Day

Tues. Nov. 11-No School-Veterans Day Observed

Wed. Nov. 12-Early Release-NOON DISMISSAL-Conferences

Wed. Nov. 26-Early Release-NOON DISMISSAL for Holiday weekend

Nov. 27-28-No School Thanksgiving Break

Email: maxfield.mary@marbleheadschools.org
Website: https://www.marbleheadschools.org
Location: 40-42 Baldwin Road, Marblehead, MA, USA
Phone: 7816393112