The Mustang Minute

Greetings Mustang Families!

It was a BUSY week at Brookwood!

Our community was able to enjoy two Winter Concerts; one for our 4K and 5K students and one for our BMS choir and band students. We are sure that we can speak for everyone when we say that all of the performances were top notch! Special thanks to all Brookwood Staff that had a hand in putting together a beautiful showcase of our students' musical talent. Thanks also to our staff members who dusted off their instruments to perform alongside our kids. Bravo! We are looking forward to the last winter concert of the season, for Grades 1-3, at BMS at 6:30pm on December 14th.

Winter sports have also begun! Our Boys Basketball and Cheer teams are in full swing in preparation for games starting very soon. It has been great to have so much hustle and bustle going on after school with students engaged in extracurricular activities!

Lastly if you haven't already, there is still time to visit the BFO Holiday Shop, in the BMS library. The shop will be open for the third and final time this Saturday, from 8-11am in conjunction with the Lions Club "Pancakes with Santa" event! We hope to see you all there for both of these opportunities to make the most of your holiday season.

Thank you for your ongoing support and I hope you have a great week.

Mr. Braden and Mrs. Franz

• 12/14 - Grades 1-3 Winter Concert @BMS, 6:30pm (doors open at 6:00)
• 12/20 - Boys Basketball Home Game @ 4pm
• 12/20 - School Board Meeting @ 6pm, BMS Library
• 12/23 - 12/31 - NO SCHOOL, Winter Break
• 1/4 - Boys Basketball Home Game @4pm
• 1/4 - BFO Meeting @ 6:30pm, BES Multipurpose Room
• 1/14 - Last Day of Semester I

Our 4K, 5K and BMS students did a phenomenal job at their Winter Concerts this week! HUGE thanks to Brookwood Alum, Mr. Aulds, Mrs. Bullock, and Mrs. Collins for all of their hard work in organizing! Here are some pics of the magic!

Keeping our students safe is our top priority at Brookwood. Our safety plan includes conducting periodic drills so that our students and staff are ready to respond in the event of an emergency. On December 8th, students at both BES and BMS practiced an "Outdoor Threat - Hold" drill. The purpose of this drill is to practice how we could best keep ourselves safe in the event of a threat that is outside of our building. During these drills, an announcement is made over the PA instructing teachers to lock their rooms, close blinds and shades, and resume teaching as normal. Appointed school personnel then do a walk around to ensure that all students and staff are safe in secured classrooms. The drills at both schools lasted approximately ten minutes.

If you would like to learn more about this drill or our district's safety plan, please contact your building principal.

On December 10th, BMS and BES teachers and staff came together to continue our year-long focus on impactful practices to support students. This time, we delved more deeply into Student-Teacher Relationships - more specifically, deepening our understanding trauma and how we can positively impact our relationships with students. Teachers analyzed the interplay between "connection" and student behavior and discussed how to use relational discipline to support a trauma sensitive environment. Our paraprofessionals engaged in training on emotional regulation strategies and how to promote a calmer state of being. We closed with leaning more about social-emotional learning and how to employ community-building practices in our classrooms and in the school as a whole. This was a phenomenal day of learning for us all!

Ho Ho Holy cow...it's December! And, we are officially in the holiday spirit at Brookwood! We invite all students and staff to join us in some fun dress up days and activities throughout the month of December. See the flyer below for details. Ho ho ho!

We couldn't resist in showing you all some ADORABLE PICS of our 4K and 5K students on "Favorite Hat" Day!

Student Council will be holding its annual toy drive from now until December 17th. Please help us out by bringing in a new unwrapped toy to your homeroom teacher. Student council will then donate the items to the community. No toy is too big or too small! Thanks for your support!

Students in Mr. Granahan's 6th grade Tech class are busy creating an animation mini movie using the Stop Motion program. Working with a partner, students have been tasked with writing an original story, and then using Stop Motion to create animations, audio, and special effects to bring it to life. What a cool way to weave together literacy instruction, technology knowhow, and collaboration skills. Good luck 6th graders!

Mrs. Nast's 3rd grade class is traveling the world during Social Studies and learning about the origin of winter sports and the Winter Olympics. Students packed their bags, got their passports prepared, and have traveled to Canada to learn about hockey! Their STEM activity when they arrived was creating their own hockey sticks and playing with their classmates. Lots of fun was had by all!

Forensics is an extracurricular activity offered to students in 5th- 8th grade. The purpose of middle school forensics is to build self-confidence and oral competency by developing and practicing fundamental public speaking skills. We are currently in need of a Forensics coach at BMS. Meets are typically Saturday mornings in February. This is a paid position. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Mrs. Franz at: tori.franz@gcj2.k12.wi.us.

Students observed going above and beyond being kind, being safe, and/or being responsible are issued “BE BROOKWOOD” tickets throughout their school week. Each week we randomly select students from this group and acknowledge them in our morning announcements and in the weekly MUSTANG MINUTE. This week’s drawing winners are:

Kindergarten: Broderick in Mrs. Brault's class Arley in Mrs. Renn's class & Gunner in Ms. Flood's class

1st: Jade in Mrs. Cassaday's class Nolan in Mrs. Jahn's class Mateo in Mrs. Hanson's class

2nd: Declan and Eve in Mr. Hanson's class Cali and Payton in Ms. Ferguson's class

3rd: Gabe and Eli in Ms. Skalecki's class Eva and Priya in Mrs. Nast's class

Congratulations to all of our BE BROOKWOOD ticket earners and keep up the great work!

Congratulations to all of the 6th-8th graders who made the boys basketball team! We had an excellent turnout during tryouts, and I’m excited to see where this season takes us! Parents and guardians, if your student-athlete didn’t give you a packet of information & schedules after tryouts Thursday, please ask them for it. PFI spiritwear orders are due by this Friday, December 17th. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming announcement regarding Saturday Morning Basketball, which will start at the end of January. This is an exciting opportunity for our younger Mustangs, grades 1st - 6th, to get involved and start learning the game.

Remember to sign up for Friday Morning Basketball in the office! Friday Morning Basketball runs from 6am - 730am. Members of the boys basketball team - you SHOULD be there! Please drop your students off at Door 5.

Go Mustangs!

Coach Metcalf

Come one, come all to the BFO Holiday Shop at BMS! Last chance to shop is TOMORROW - December 11, 8am -11am, in collaboration with the Lion's Club Pancake Breakfast with Santa!

Kylie Warner is the newest recipient of the Golden Horseshoe! Every day Ms. Warner goes above and beyond for her students. Ms. Warner puts her students first and unselfishly works to help them to achieve their goals. She encourages her students to push themselves and challenges them to keep on trying with a kindness and patience that shows in everything she does. Ms. Warner always finds time to support our staff to best serve the students in the classroom. Her willingness to do whatever it takes makes her an invaluable resource/mentor/leader for her students, their parents, and our staff!

Guth Games are BACK!!! For those not in the "know", Guth Games are fun exercise activities, sports, and games hosted by Personal Wellness teacher, Mr. Guth, in the gym during the colder months of the school year. This is a GREAT way to get students moving right away in the morning to kickstart their day!

WHEN: (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, NOW until March 24th, 7:00 - 7:30am

WHERE: BMS GYM (enter building in FRONT doors)

WHO:

• Tuesdays: 4th & 5th Graders
• Wednesdays: 6th, 7th & 8th Graders
• Thursdays: 4th & 5th Graders

Questions? Contact Mr. Guth at: matt.guth@gcj2.k12.wi.us. Looking forward to seeing our BMS students there!