Brookside Bulletin
School Newsletter for Brookside Families
- October 10 - Fall Fest & Book Fair starts!
- October 13 - Butter Braid sale begins!
- October 13-16 - Conference Week and Book Fair
- October 17 - No School: In lieu of conferences
- October 31 - Fall Parties
- November 4 - No School: Teacher Work Day
We believe that parent-teacher conferences help create a crucial partnership between home and school. Conferences offer a dedicated time for parents and teachers to exchange vital information about student academic progress, behavioral observations, and overall well-being while at school. Teachers can share specific data and teaching strategies, while parents can offer unique insights into their child's personality, learning style, and home environment. This open communication and collaborative goal-setting leads to targeted support for students. Together, teachers and parents can improve student engagement, motivation, and academic growth.
Please make sure you sign up for a conference time with your child’s teacher. We love partnering with our families!
Looking for Friday night fun with your children? Come to our 2025 Fall Fest sponsored by our fabulous PTA on October 10th from 6:30-8:00. Students must come with an adult.
- Activities will include: Fall Book Fair, Bring the Farm to You, Bounce House, Food Truck, Ice Cream, Popcorn, Airbrush Tattoos, and Pumpkin Decorating.
- The Book Fair kicks off tonight at the Fall Fest. It will run through next week (10/13 – 10/16) don’t forget to get your child’s eWallet set up for smooth sailing! You can set up the eWallet here.
Here’s everything else you need to know about the Book Fair:
We need volunteers to help with book fair! Please sign up HERE to volunteer!
KICKOFF - Shop the book fair at Brookside’s Fall Fest!
• Friday, October 10th 6:30-8pm
LIBRARY CLASS - Create an ewallet or send cash for your child to shop at the book fair during library class!
• Monday, October 13th - Thursday, October 16th
For full details, and to create an eWallet, visit our school’s Book Fair homepage HERE!
More than ever, we need to get students reading. Studies prove that children with more books at home have higher-level reading skills, and attain more years of education overall.
When you give your time, it helps make our Fair an unforgettable reading experience where every purchase benefits our school directly.
Happy Reading!
See you there! 🌻🍁🎃
As a reminder, the October PTA meeting has been canceled due to Parent Teacher Conferences. See you in November!
Butter Braids are back starting October 13th! Look for information coming home soon and sign up to get your online link. These make a great addition to any holiday meal and are perfect to give as gifts!
🎨We will be participating in the Reflections Art Program again this year! Does your student enjoy art, music, and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films, or taking photos? Then join us and have fun unleashing your inner artist with the PTA Reflections Program!
In art class, Ms. Murray will be doing a visual arts project with all 4th and 5th graders; each student will have the choice whether or not they want to submit their artwork. The parents of those who want to enter will receive an email to fill out a submission form. If your 4th or 5th grade student would rather complete a different category, they are more than welcome to work on that project at home. K-3 students are also welcome to participate, but these students would need to complete their project at home, as Ms. Murray is focusing on other projects during art class.
Here is a flyer about this year's theme: I Belong. You can also review NPTA Division Guidelines or check out the Reflections virtual art gallery to see last year's winners, and learn more about prizes and scholarships.
Students completing the project at home can turn in their finished work and Entry Form as soon as they are done. The due date for submissions is Monday, November 10th.
We have a new attendance email address for the Brookside office. If your child will be absent for any reason, please call (614-450-5300) or email (broattend@wscloud.org) attendance. If you know about a planned absence, please share that information prior to the absence.
Please have your child arrive to school and be an active and engaged learner by our tardy bell at 7:40am. It is important that your child arrives on time as school attendance is calculated by the minute and accumulates quickly when tardy.
Arrival occurs between 7:30am and 7:40am. The tardy bell rings at 7:40am.
Parents, grandparents, and community members tell us all the time that we have wonderful teachers, office staff, specialists, assistants, custodians, bus drivers, etc. Now it is your chance to recognize a Brookside staff member for their outstanding dedication, commitment to excellence, and genuine care for others. This is your opportunity to share how you, as a valued member of our school community, have experienced the positive impact of their hard work and uplifting attitude at Brookside Elementary. Simply click the link and fill out the form to nominate an outstanding staff member. Thank you for supporting this new initiative.
Free & Reduced School Meals for Students
Worthington Schools offers Free & Reduced-Price Meals for students who qualify. A new application must be submitted each school year—eligibility does not carry over from the previous year. If you haven’t yet applied for the 2025–2026 school year, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible to avoid any interruption in benefits. For more information and to access the online application, click HERE. Paper applications are also available in the school office.
Student Lunch Accounts
Families can add money to their student's lunch account through My Payments Plus by clicking HERE. You can also use MPP to track your student's account and see much money remains on it. My Payments Plus is also used to pay other fees, like high school parking permits and AP testing fees.
We’re teaming up with Stay in the Game and our regional partner, the Columbus Crew, to promote strong attendance and keep our students “in the game” all year long.
Why does attendance matter so much? Missing just two days of school a month can add up to over three weeks in a school year—that’s considered chronic absence. And just like on the field, being part of the team every day makes all the difference for learning, growth, and success.
Families are key teammates in this effort. To learn more, check out Stay in the Game’s Family Resources. You can even show your support by taking the Attendance Pledge—let’s make attendance a winning goal!
By working together, we can keep our students in the game and set them up for success—on and off the field.
See a video from members of the Columbus Crew HERE. And, then sign the STAY IN THE GAME pledge.
Dear Worthington School Families: Circle of Grandparents (COG) is a character education program that operates in the Worthington School District, having been established in the year 2000. With the support of Worthington Schools and the nonprofit Partners for Community and Character, senior volunteers use community-chosen qualities to teach students the importance of good character. We’re looking for volunteers! Our goal is to have a grandparent in each Worthington School elementary classroom. As a “Grandparent”, you can draw from your own life experiences and individual talents to teach concepts of character to your “adopted” class. No classroom or teaching experience is required, COG will provide support and materials to you through monthly, optional meetings. You do not have to be an actual grandparent to participate, however, if you are a grandparent to a child in the Worthington Schools, you may request your grandchild’s class. Any “Grandparent” has the option to choose the school and grade level they wish to assist. This is a wonderful opportunity that benefits all who are involved. Interested in learning more? Please contact Jim McElligott at jamestmcelligott53@gmail.com.
Please read this INFORMATION SHEET to understand what we look for in volunteers.
Brookside uses a car loop for parents who choose to drop their children off in the morning. Please be sure your child is ready to exit the car in a quick, but safe manner on the passenger side only. We do this for safety puproses. Please keep your speed to a crawl. Now and then we have family members who are not familiar with our process or are simply new to our school community so your patience is appreciated. Feel free to park in the front parking spaces to drop your child off should you not use the car loop.
Thank you in advance for adhering to our guidelines. 🙂
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who purchased mums! This fundraiser helps the PTA support Brookside staff and fund special events like the Fall Festival and Brookside Bash.
As a reminder, the October PTA meeting has been canceled due to Parent Teacher Conferences. See you in November!
Join the PTA (pretty please?)
Your PTA membership dues help fund fun events and support Brookside staff. It’s the perfect way to make a difference and you can choose your commitment level. Join here: brooksidepta.com/join.
Marathon Milers - Sign up by 9/2!
The Brookside Elementary Marathon Milers is a free program and it’s the perfect way for your child to run, play with friends, and earn fun tokens for meeting their goals. Sign up by 9/2 to get a free Brookside Marathon Milers shirt! Learn more and join here: brooksidepta.com/marathonmilers.
For the safety of children, do not send any nut or peanut items to school in your child's lunch, snack, or school party item as we are a nut and peanut free school. It could literally mean life or death to another child. Thank you in advance for your understanding and compliance.
- Pedestrians: Where neither sidewalk nor shoulder is available, pedestrians shall walk as near to the outside edge of the roadway and only on the left side of the roadway, facing traffic. Any pedestrian upon a roadway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway. Cross streets at crosswalks or intersections.
- Cyclists: Cyclists should ride on the right half of the roadway, riding with traffic instead of against it. Please wear a helmet!
- Drivers: Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians at intersections and crosswalks.
Please be sure you are observing road safety laws and educating your student(s) as well. Please always stay vigilant.
FIELD TRIP CHAPERONES
Field Trip volunteers/chaperones must have their volunteer badges. If you are interested in volunteering in our school or for a field trip. Please go to the district website and follow the instructions HERE.
Contact Information
CONTACT INFORMATION: Parents, if you have not done so this year, please make sure to verify/update information in the Emergency Data Review through the parent portal. You can access the portal* on the WCS website. This process must be completed every year in case of an emergency and in order for your child(ren) to participate in class field trips. Instructions for using the parent portal appear here.
Special Education Key Communicator
Worthington’s Special Education Key Communicator Committee strives to build positive, productive and collaborative relationships and partnerships amongst the educators and community of families whose children receive special education and related services. We will engage in two-way communication, with the goal being to provide a circle of influence where we can share out and learn from and with each other.
The key communicators will convey information from their building to the committee, as well as information from the committee to their buildings.
The Key Communicators for Brookside are Sandra Sell at snsell74@gmail.com and Emily Smith at lightseekerem@hotmail.com 614-563-3687. Please reach out to either of our communicators if you have questions or topics to discuss.