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Brookwood eNewsletter
Wisdom, Honor, Achievement, Citizenship
Brookwood School Mission Statement
The purpose of Brookwood School is to provide an exceptional college-preparatory educational experience to students from four years of age through the twelfth grade. Brookwood is committed to developing the whole child: academically, physically, spiritually, and socially.
December 1, 2006 |
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FROM THE HEADMASTER...
I hope each of you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We really do have so very much to be thankful for. I am thankful for many things, and Brookwood is at the top along with my family.
Mrs. Harper, Mrs. Callaway, Mrs. Crew, Mrs. Cass, Coach Piazza, and I have helped every student in grades 6-12 complete their student survey necessary for our SACS/SAIS accreditation. I am happy to say the students and faculty are at 100% completion of this important task. As far as parents are concerned, they are only at 54% completion. Come on, Moms and Dads! Please help us by completing your 5-10 minute survey online. A low response from our parents will skew the results. An 85% response is necessary in order to get accurate representation of our population. We have extended the deadline once again through Tuesday, December 5. If you have misplaced your code, please contact the office and our staff will be more than happy to give it to you again. You may also e-mail Ashley Harper over the weekend at aharper@brookwoodschool.org and she will be more than happy to forward your code. Thanks to all who have already completed the survey.
In most independent schools, the spring is the time of the year that many activities are going on. This semester has been just as busy at Brookwood. It seems as though there is an event each day that makes us proud to be a part of this great institution. On Monday of this week, Mrs. Nicholson asked Cathy Snook to speak to our students about Vashti, a home for abused children. Mrs. Nicholson's eighth grade English class is writing a class novel and selling $1.00 raffle tickets to see who will become a character in the story. Proceeds from the raffle will be given to Vashti to help support this wonderful organization.
Wednesday morning's assembly was dedicated to recognizing our football team and coaches. Thanks were also given out to the many parents and support personnel that provided assistance in making this season so successful. I wish to personally thank the players, coaches, cheerleaders, faculty, and parents for their support. It was truly a great season!
I have said this before but must say it again...Brookwood continues to amaze me! On Thursday, I witnessed my first "Buddies Christmas Assembly." Borrowing a phrase that I hear from my 12 year old, "Oh My Gosh!" Our seniors and their first grade buddies were fantastic! It was another very moving experience which I will never forget. Many thanks to Mrs. Larson, Mrs. Callaway, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Sims, Mrs. Howell, Mrs. Aspinwall, Mrs. Collins and Mrs. Wright for an exceptional program and tradition.
Progress reports were mailed home a week or so ago. Some of you may have noticed that the comments included were repeats from our first nine weeks reporting period. This was a mistake that was made in our computer program and not the fault of any teacher or staff member. All grades were correct; it was just the comments that somehow were picked up from before. If you would like a new progress report, please call the front office and we will be more than happy to send you another with the proper comments. We apologize for this unavoidable mishap.
With only six days of regular classes prior to exams, we urge you to speak with your children who will be taking exams and begin planning for the week of December 11th. As you well know, these are very important tests (25% of semester grade) and some (ninth grade) will be taking semester exams for the first time. Please take some time with your student(s) and plan a study schedule. It is a proven fact; schedules that are put in writing are most likely to be adhered to. Preparation should have already begun and students should have in their hands the study guides one week prior to the exam.
We are so very grateful to all who have generously contributed to the Annual Fund for Excellence. Please continue to think of Brookwood as you close out this year's contributions. We have been blessed by your support as we move closer to our goal.
Our morning traffic has continued to get better. Please remember to pull up as far as possible along the yellow curb as you drop off your children in the mornings. Thank you for your help.
Congratulations to Lauren Hancock, our Warrior of the Week! Way to go Lauren!
Here are a few of my kudos for this week: to our football team, the coaches, cheerleaders, and many parents and fans for their tremendous support; to Tony Rogers for his extra work at the basketball games including cleaning and locking up; to the senior boys who took the time to play with the Lower School children on the playground; to Mrs. Harper for her work on the SACS/SAIS accreditation; to Grant Stauffer, the Rotary Student of the Month, Grant is truly a credit to Brookwood; to Mr. Spigener for his excellent work in the Counselor's office; to Mr. Hogan for the job he is doing with the Middle School girls basketball team; to Karen Holt for stuffing and labeling all the progress reports when she was home sick; to Coach Johnson for helping our children become fit; to Mrs. Vinson for all the help she gives in the Library; to Mandy Roach for all the wonderful work she does; and to Roy Wilson our Cario bus driver for never missing a day of work. More next week.
We are beginning to gear up for our Auction that will be held in March. If you are interested in helping, please contact Mary Nelson Notaro, this year's Chairperson, at mnnotaro@rose.net
I wish you a great weekend... remember to take the time to let your children know how much you love them.
Blessings,
Mike Notaro
Headmaster
UPPER SCHOOL NEWS
Buddy Christmas Trees (Ann Larson)
Flowers Hall Commons became a wreath of sparkling Christmas trees on Thursday as the seniors introduced their first grade buddies and gave them a personalized tree. Wearing Santa hats, the older students told what they had learned about their young friends during the fall as they had visits together on the playground, in the cafeteria, and during a Halloween Monster Mash. Parents of all the buddies enjoyed seeing them interact in a program that began with the first grade singing the delightful "North Pole, North Pole," well rehearsed and directed by Barbara Lee, and ended with "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells," and a Christmas prayer by Phil Danner. Faculty members in charge of the assembly were Sherrie Callaway and Ann Larson.
Senior Christmas Assembly (Sherrie Callaway)
Monday, December 4, is the day the seniors will receive their Christmas Tree Ornaments. Senior parents are invited to attend this special assembly program beginning at 8:05 a.m. in Flowers Hall. Seniors are asked to dress in appropriate school attire, preferably no jeans. Seniors are also encouraged to be early to school on Monday.
"Camelot" Information (David Grooms)
Mrs. Clineman has scheduled some rehearsals for "Camelot" on December 15th. These rehearsals mostly involve students in Middle School, Upper School and adult members of the cast. The January/February rehearsal schedule and ticket order information are also available on the Brookwood School site. Please go to: http://www.brookwoodschool.org/page/1849 for information about "Camelot
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS (Ashley Harper)
IMPRESSIVE is the only way I know to describe our Middle School students. The sixth grade has been rocketing through Middle School in science and social studies. From rocket launches to strong geographic knowledge of African nations, they are expanding their horizons. The seventh grade is completing a delicious and precious cookbook project in English. The cookbooks, complete with anecdotal stories of family history, are fantastic. Finally, the eighth grade continues their leadership role in activities like the Character Raffle to provide Christmas for the children of Vashti. Get your tickets now to be a part of the eighth grade novel and support this worthy cause.
Please encourage your OUTSTANDING Middle Schooler to begin preparing for nine weeks tests, which begin on December 12th. As a reminder, Middle School follows the Upper School exam schedule at the end of each semester.
The Tradition Continues! (Rebecca Bird)
Monday, November 27, Mrs. Bird's Science Class launched the rockets they had built in class as part of their unit on Space Exploration. Brookwood students have been building and launching rockets since the mid 1980's and the excitement on launch day is just as great as it has always been. Pictured are L - R, front row - Ann Varnedoe, Elin McGregor, Audrey Simmons, Sarah Cascone, Mandy Yost. Back row - Ben Braswell, Austin Malloy, Michael Mitchum, Randy Herndon, James Casanova, and Lyle Dollar.
8th Grade Class Fundraiser (Carolyn Nicholson)
CHARACTER RAFFLE
Become a character in a novel
And
Help a child at Christmas!
The 8th graders are writing a class novel and they need your help. Purchase a raffle ticket for yourself or a friend.
If your ticket is selected, the winner will become a character in our novel.
Proceeds will go toward helping a child at Vashti.
(Tony Rogers)
