FROM THE HEADMASTER...

I am sure you have used or heard the saying "is the glass half empty or half full?"  As we have completed the first quarter of this year, I wonder if our glasses are a quarter full or a quarter empty.  Personally, I feel that we have accomplished so much in such a short period of time that Brookwood's glass is already a quarter full.  We have so much more to accomplish.

Soon you will be receiving your child's report card. Take this opportunity again to sit down and talk about the fact that we are only a fraction of the way through this long educational experience.  As I mentioned in one of my first correspondences to you, the commitments that are being made now will determine the path of your educational journey.

Wednesday of this week, we all were entertained by a group of Upper School "ladies' men" as they gave lessons on how to properly "court" the ladies.  Led by the cooler than cool Scott Cheney, Crighton Allen, Paul Brewer, Bronson Rash, Chase Harvard, Clay Chiles, Cory Reagan, and Ashton Thomas, each showed off the talents they acquired in their "How to be a Ladies' Man" class.  Each of the Casanovas introduced a maid for the Homecoming Court in their own charismatic technique. (Read more in the Upper School report.)

Part of the process in fulfilling the SAIS/SACS dual accreditation requirements is to survey the stakeholders and disaggregate the results in a report for the visiting team.  Data collected will be beneficial to Brookwood as we continue our school improvement planning.    This is an extremely important exercise in which maximum participation is essential.  You will be receiving in letter form important information as to how we will be administering this survey online.  By November 6, we will be releasing access codes for each family that will allow you to register online and complete a brief survey.  May I stress once again the importance of your participation.  In a school our size, losing more than 15% of our respondents limits the accuracy and would skew the results.  The responses that you will provide will be totally confidential.  The school will only see the information once it has been analyzed by our contracted agency NSSE Surveys.  We will however be able to see who has not responded to the survey.  Please help us in learning how we can make Brookwood the best it can be.

In this day and time, I wonder what is going through some people's minds?  I am sure you have read or heard of the unconscionable incidents that have occurred at some schools throughout our country.  Please rest assured that we are being very pro-active in evaluating our emergency plan.  Over the next few weeks, we will practice all procedures for situations that could occur.  We are taking very serious the practices for: fire, tornado/hurricane, earthquake, bomb threats and lockdown.  After we have practiced each drill, we will evaluate and correct any issues that need to be addressed.  We will continue to be sure Brookwood is as safe an environment as possible. 

The "Warrior of the Week" was Grant Stauffer. Way to go Grant!

As we enter into fall break, let me once again publicly thank the faculty, staff, students, parents, Board of Directors, alumni, and friends of Brookwood School for your positive attitude.  We will continue to work together in making this "the best year ever!"

                                                                                    Mike Notaro
                                                                                    Headmaster

UPPER SCHOOL NEWS (David Grooms)

Wednesday, October 18^th the PSAT will be given to students in grades 7 through 11.  Students will report directly to the assigned rooms and begin testing as soon after 8:05 as possible.  Please encourage students to get adequate sleep on Tuesday night and eat breakfast before arriving at school on Wednesday following Fall Break.  They will test through the normal morning break time.  Testing will conclude during B period.  Juniors have the opportunity to earn recognition and potential scholarships based on their results.  The PSAT serves as an introduction to the SAT and practice for those students in grades 7 - 10. 

This Friday, October 13^th, marks the end of the first nine weeks.  Report cards will be sent home on October 27^th.


MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS (Ashley Harper)

Thank you to all of our students for a fantastic week.  Their commitment to excellence in the classroom was evident as they took the nine weeks exams.  I hope everyone enjoys a well deserved long weekend. 

On Wednesday, October 18^th, the PSAT will be given to all 7^th  - 11^th grade students.  This experience is just one of the ways we provide opportunity and experience for our future college applicants.

Friday, October 20^th  -  7 pm to 10 pm - Join us for food, fun, and fellowship as we celebrate movie night.  Network Entertainment will be providing drive in movie size screen for our feature presentation.  All Middle School students are invited to attend.  Please bring a beach towel or blanket for seating.

Get your tickets in advance for $2 or $3 at the gate.  We hope to see you there!  Tickets include popcorn and a coke.  Other concessions will be on sale. 


LOWER SCHOOL NEWS (Francine Wright)
 
Rats!

A long time ago in the village of Hamelin, before the time of cars, airplanes, buses and trains, there were RaTs!  Hamelin was a beautiful village, and artists came from all around to paint pictures of the valley, river and village.  So where did these rats come from? 

Mrs. Burrus' third graders allowed them to overrun Chubb Hall and put the citizens in a tizzy.  Until...the mysterious Pied Piper appeared and offered to solve their problem. 

With wit and song, the third graders told the story of how the Pied Piper charmed the RATS out of Hamelin with his flute.  The students had great fun depicting this humorous fairy tale with songs, beginning with "We've Got a Rodent Problem" to "Ain't It Great to Be a Rat?" and finally "No More Rats."

Congratulations to Mrs. Burrus and her third graders for an excellent job!

Special thanks go out to the parents who helped with the beautiful set, props, costumes, and programs.  Thank you to all the parents for helping the students to learn their lines and all the songs.  A very special thank you to Mrs. Barbara Lee for her superb musical direction which helped to make this third grade program a huge success!

First Graders 'Walk the Line' - Constructively

Brookwood mathematical first graders calculated their own way of walking the number line as they practiced addition and subtraction problem solving. 

First Graders Visit Flint RiverQuarium

Mrs. Sims' and Mrs. Howell's first graders participated in a scavenger hunt to find specific animals at the Flint RiverQuarium.  When the students located their animal, they were told a 'fact' about that animal which they shared upon returning to class, and again in Mrs. Stauffer's science class where she used the Smart Board to display pictures of the animals.  Their trip also included a tour of the Venom Exhibit and concluded with lunch at Turtle Park. 

Third Graders Study New England States

(Right) Robb Ouzts and Sergio Morales demonstrate the use of an antique butter churn that belonged to Robb's great-grandmother.  (Left) Thomas Bragg and Julia Hilson enjoy learning the art of bread making under the direction of Mrs. Robin Ouzts.  Mrs. Bader's class is currently studying the New England states-known for their bread making.  This was also a wonderful science lesson, as the students learned about the properties of yeast while they had fun making yeast rolls and churning their own butter.


 
ATHLETICS 

>>BIG WIN THIS WEEK . . .
On Thursday the soccer team defeated Grace Christian by a score of 1-0. The Warriors were led by Chris Brewer in the goal with his 1^st shut-out of the season. GREAT JOB WARRIORS!  They play in the 1^st round of the play-offs against Monsignor Donovan High School on Tuesday starting at 11:30 am at Remington Field.  Tickets to the event are $6 for adults and $3 for students.  Brookwood passes are not honored for GISA sponsored events.

>>UPCOMING CROSS COUNTRY EVENTS . . .
The Cross Country team travels to Randolph Southern on Tuesday of Fall Break for the region championships.  Their season comes to an end at the state championship one week from Saturday in Macon.  Good luck team and Go Warriors.

>>UPCOMING FOOTBALL EVENTS . . .
The Varsity Football team plays host to the Southland Raiders tonight at 8:00 pm.  Next week they will travel to Sherwood Christian Schooland will kick-off at 8:00 pm in Albany.  We'll see you there as you come out and support our Warriors.

COLLEGE COUNSELING OFFICE (Vic Spigener)