Brookside Updates
October 2026
From Mrs. Bowerman
We are definitely back "in the swing of things" now! Fall assessments are completed and we look forward to meeting parents/guardians this Thursday evening at Curriculum Night. This is an opportunity for teachers to explain the grade level curriculum to parents/guardians; please plan to attend without children. This week is also Saber Spirit Week, which will culminate with public Open Houses, the Homecoming Parade, and the Homecoming football game on Friday evening. We hope you will be able to join us!
*Our new Word of the Month for October is Courage. Ask your child how they have shown courage by standing up for others and telling the truth. True courage also means feeling afraid or uncertain, but choosing to take action anyway. See more information below about Bullying Prevention from Mrs. Barry.
Important Dates:
- Monday 10/5 - PTA Meeting, 6:30, Library (see info below)
- Thursday 10/8
- Kindergarten trip to SVHS to meet their Senior Buddies (AM)
- 15 minute early dismissal emergency drill (pickups start at 2:55)
- AIS/Title I Informational Meeting, 5:30 PM, cafeteria
- Curriculum Night, 6:00-7:00 PM
- Friday 10/9-Monday 10/12: No School
- Friday 10/9: Superintendent's Conference Day
- Friday 10/9:
- 3:00-5:00 Elementary Building Open Houses (teachers will not be present)- building is open to the public.
- 5:00: Homecoming Parade starting at Schnurbusch Park
- 7:30: Homecoming Football Game
- Wednesday 10/21: Board of Education Meeting, 6:00 (District Office)
- Friday 10/23: PTA Trunk or Treat
From the PTA
Monday, 10/5 - PTA Meeting at 6:30pm in the Brookside Library or on Google Meet.
6:30pm link:
https://meet.google.com/kqp-xapb-iwi
Extra link if we need more time: https://meet.google.com/xxz-aywd-qid
Tuesday, 10/13 - Meadow Farms fundraiser begins; keep an eye out for packets coming home with more info! You can shop for snacks and treats, wrapping paper, candles, household goods, and more - great for the holidays and all to support our Brookside PTA!
Friday, 10/23 - Trunk or Treat at Brookside. We are collecting candy donations. Please send any candy into the office labeled “PTA” and keep an eye out to sign up to do a trunk!
A big THANKS to everyone who came to the Back to School Bash and helped us kick off another great year at Brookside! Because of your fundraising efforts we are able to provide events Iike this throughout the year. We also funded an assembly for all students with Alexia Michetti, an athlete, author and motivational speaker who played in the Amputee World Soccer Cup.
Keep in touch with the PTA:
Email - svbrooksidepta@gmail.com
Facebook - Brookside Sabers PTA
Instagram - sabers.brookside.pta
Membership - https://brooksidepta.givebacks.com/shop
CUBS Corner/Mrs. Barry
From the Health Office
With cold and flu season upon us, here are some tips to help keep our school a healthy place!
When to keep a child home from school:
It can be difficult to decide whether to send children to school when they wake up with early symptoms of an illness or complaints that they do not feel well. However, there are some situations in which it is best to plan on keeping your child home for a day to rest or to arrange for an appointment with your health care provider. The following are a few such situations that warrant watching and possibly conferring with your health care provider:
Persistent fever greater than 100° orally, including a fever that requires control with medication, like Tylenol or Advil
Child is too sleepy or ill from an illness, like vomiting and/or diarrhea, to profit from sitting in class all day
Significant cough that makes a child feel uncomfortable or disrupts the class
Sore throat that is severe, accompanied by fever and/or feeling ill, that persists longer than 48 hours, OR after known exposure to a confirmed case of Streptococcal throat infection
Honey-crusted sores around the nose or mouth or rash on other body parts that might be impetigo; OR a rash in various stages including boils, sores and bumps that may be chicken pox; OR a significant rash accompanied by other symptoms of illness such as fever
Itchy, red, runny eyes that distract the child from learning
Large amount of discolored nasal discharge, especially if accompanied by facial pain or headache
Severe ear pain or drainage from the ear
Severe headache, especially if accompanied by fever
Any condition that you think may be serious or contagious to others.
Megan Pappas BSN,RN
Brookside Elementary School Nurse
Art
I am so excited to be back making art with our students this year! We are focusing on lines and all the different lines we can make in art.
*In Pre-K, we practiced our different lines and then will be making line creatures with crayons and tempera paint.
*Kindergarten practiced their lines too and now are working on drawing pencils on sheets of paper with paint sticks.
*In 1st grade we will be reading “Larry the Line Snake” and then creating our own snakes from paper chains.
*2nd grade will be combining lines and color to make a painted color wheel. We will look at primary colors, secondary colors, and where they live on the color wheel. They even got to play a color wheel matching game.
*3rd grade will be learning about lines through Wassily Kandinsky and op art (optical art). They create an abstract piece with markers, water, and black crayons.
*4th grade will also be learning about Kandinsky and op art. Their art piece will use black markers and focus on how to use watercolors.
*Lastly, our 5th graders will look at op art and Ted Harrison to create line-filled colorful landscapes.
We will be having our art show in May. Some projects will be saved for the show but lots of art will be sent home!
~ Miss Restuccia (Miss R.)
Physical Education
Mrs. Bidwell’s PE Classes
We’re off to a great start in PE! We’ve spent the beginning of the year getting to know each other, learning our routines, and getting our bodies moving with fun and interactive warm-up activities. Our first unit has been soccer, where students have been developing their footwork skills while practicing dribbling, passing, and shooting. We’ve been learning new skills, working together, staying active, and having lots of fun along the way!
Music
The 4th and 5th Grade Chorus began on September 18th. Chorus rehearsals will be on every Day 1 from 9:15-10:00am.
Our first concert will be the Winter Concert on Dec. 8th at 6:00pm More information will be coming out as we continue throughout the year. Just a reminder, the music department will be using Parent Square to communicate with parents.
Thanks for your help and support.
Mrs. Kelly Dyson
K-5 General Music Teacher
Brookside Chorus Director
Pre-K
A Wonderful September in Pre-K!
Wow—what a busy and exciting September we’ve had in Pre-K! Our little learners have been busy making new friends, learning classroom routines, and discovering all the fun that comes with being part of our school community.
This month, we spent time getting to know ourselves and one another. We learned about our names, practiced identifying the first letter in our names, and had so much fun creating our very own Mat Man drawings. It has been wonderful to watch the children grow more comfortable, confident, and excited about school each day!
To wrap up the month, we jumped into a fun apple unit! We tasted red, green, and yellow apples, sorted and graphed our favorites, and had lots of wonderful conversations about apples. Our favorite part was working together to make a delicious batch of applesauce!
What a sweet and special way to begin our school year. We are so proud of all our little learners and look forward to all the fun and learning still to come!
Students of the Month for Respect & Responsibility (September):
Scarlett Sullivan, Billy Strick, Thomas DiGiulio & Hudson Eckert
Mrs. Newman's Class
Mrs. Newman's class has had a fantastic start to the year! We are learning routines and getting used to a new school for many of us. We have been learning about community helpers and how to be a positive school community member. As well, students have been studying the life cycles of apples and butterflies! Students are working hard and continuing to grow as readers and mathematicians!
Students of the Month for Respect & Responsibility:
Josh Donnelly & Anthony DiLuzio
Kindergarten
Students of the Month for Respect & Responsibility:
Jameson Basile, Wyatt Smith, Gianna Mister, Maverick Maciak, Lincoln Roeber & Kolten Millard
First Grade
Welcome Back! First Graders have settled in and are already working hard on becoming great learners. We are looking forward to a great year with lots of progress and FUN!
This month we would like to recognize some students for showing Respect and Responsibility in and out of the classroom. They treat others with kindness and do the right thing! We are very proud of them. Way to go!
Dominick Polhamus
Macauley Moran
Olivia Bronikowski
Ransom Wright
Riley Cronin
Ava Derzanovich
Evelyn Lucas
Emily Hart
Second Grade
2nd grade has gotten off to a great start. The children are settling in well in all 3 classrooms. We are looking forward to a great year! Special thanks to Mrs. Bieber for filling in for Miss Chapman until she returns.
Miss Chapman, Mrs. Gaffney & Mrs. King
Mrs. Harlow's Class
Mrs. Harlow's class has had a great start to the year! We have learned how to be "bucket fillers" and had a great time using these skills with our buddy class. In math we are learning about place value and comparing and ordering numbers. In project based learning we have started our first project which focuses on map skills.
Student of the Month for Respect & Responsibility: Marwan Noori
Third Grade
Third Grade Is Off to a Great Start!
Hello Families!
We are hitting the ground running in third grade!
ELA: We’re using our new Magnetic Literacy program to become stronger, more confident readers.
Math: We’ve been reviewing important skills, practicing rounding, and jumping into more challenging addition and subtraction.
Growing as Learners: We’re also working hard on the habits that help us succeed—paying attention, following directions, staying organized, being responsible, and persevering when things get tough!
Thank you for your continued support and partnership! We are looking forward to a wonderful year filled with learning, growing, kindness, and lots of success!
Let’s make it a great year!
Your Third Grade Teachers
Students of the Month for Respect and Responsibility are:
Mrs. Herceg: Brody Casey, Finley Smith, Ryan Sturek, Evangeline Burns
Mrs. Giblin: Zane Marble, Sal Jackson, Macie Palmasani, Geraldine Rogers
Mrs. McPherson: Carmen Bahr, Collin Brown, Brooks Mister, Adalynn Tarbox
Fourth Grade
Hello Families,
We’ve had a wonderful start to 4th grade and are settling into a great routine! Our day begins right away with our first class, so thank you for helping your child arrive on time, it's making a big difference.
Students are quickly getting the hang of switching classes and are learning to take responsibility for getting to their lessons, especially those involved in instrumental music.
In school, the students are learning about the wolves in Yellowstone Park as we strengthen our reading and writing skills in ELA. We have kicked off math by diving into place value and learning how to compare multi-digit numbers. To build up our fact fluency, we also started using 99Math every day to practice and master our multiplication facts! In social studies, students have been exploring the geography of New York state focusing on landforms, political features, types of maps, and directional terms.
While we typically don’t assign much homework, we strongly encourage nightly reading with your child. Students will also benefit from extra practice with multiplication facts, regular review at home can be very helpful!
As the weather continues to change, we plan to continue going outside for recess daily. Please be sure to check the weather and help your child dress appropriately for the day.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us with questions or concerns. We're here to support you and your child.
Warmly,
The 4th Grade Team
Miss Boulter, Mrs. Brewer, Mr. LaMantia, Mrs. Driscoll
September Students of the Month for Respect & Responsibility:
Marleigh Gnad, Jaxon Wolf, Kaden Passionino, Reagan Almy, Keegan Duke, and Emma Derzanovich
Fifth Grade
Greetings, 5th grade families, and welcome to October!
We have had a great start to the school year, and the kids are adjusting well to the demands of 5th grade.
Thank you for completing the necessary paperwork that the school uses to ensure that your child is happy, healthy, and safe. If you have not turned in this paperwork yet, please do so at your earliest convenience.
The word of the month for October is Courage. There are many ways to show courage here at school and at home. Some of these ways include making positive choices, being kind, and standing up for those in need. Make the right choice, not the easy choice.
Please make sure to check your child's blue take-home folder nightly and use it to send in any school communication.
We encourage the 5th graders this year to be the ambassadors to the school and wish everyone a safe, healthy, and happy Fall.
Students of the Month for Respect & Responsibility: Aurora Whitman, Jade Smith, Brennan Byce, Elliott DePersiis, Roman Cacialli, Hayden Fitzgerald, Garrett Ashman, Maverick Rockwell, Claire Vaughan
GO SABERS!
