Brookwood eNewsletter
January 12, 2007

 

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.

January 12, 2007
 

FROM THE HEADMASTER...

This has been a week full of learning.  After a long Holiday break and three days last week, I feel the students are truly back into the full speed ahead mode.  Grades are in for the first semester and report cards were distributed today.    Our teachers have held your children to the task at hand and I am hearing we are slightly ahead of where they were at this time last year. I am very proud of the progress that has been made.   As always, I encourage you to take the time to review all marks with your children and continue to give them positive support.

On Wednesday of this week I attended the annual Headmaster's meeting in Macon.  A number of important topics were discussed and several proposals were voted on.  A statewide calendar was approved that will: 1) preserve the October SAT date by simply not scheduling activities on that day; 2) to preserve AP dates as much as possible by scheduling activities on Friday and Saturday in the spring rather than during the week; 3) and to set a schedule so that children would not leave school early for GISA activities more than once in any week.  The calendar will also include specific beginning and ending dates for each sport so that the GISA calendar is divided into three specific seasons and try to reduce as much as possible the emphasis for children to play only one sport throughout the year.

On Thursday I had the pleasure of introducing Kate Worthey as the Rotary Student of the Month.  Congratulations Kate for a very deserving recognition!

Our faculty and staff, with input from many stakeholders, have completed ninety percent of our self study accreditation process.  We will now review all the written indicators one more time before presenting a rough draft to Dr. Bill Campbell upon his preliminary visit to Brookwood February 3, 4, and 5.  My sincere appreciation to our faculty, staff and stakeholders for the many hours spent on producing this extremely important document.  After being so lucky to go through this process for two years in a row, I personally will be glad when we complete this necessary review.  I would also like to send out a huge word of appreciation and gratitude to Mrs. Ashley Harper for her tireless efforts in leading this process.  Ashley, you have been outstanding!

Congratulations to Eve Toomey, this week's "Warrior of the Week."  Good going Eve!

Special thanks this week go out to our staff members including: Mrs. Breese for her promptness and accuracy; to Mrs. Booker for her care with our Pre-K; to Mrs. Cass for her dedication to all her students; to Coach East for his organization;  to Mrs. Malek for the love she gives our Lower School Spanish students; to Mrs. McCall for her attitude; to Mrs. Roach for the extra time she puts in to help Brookwood; to Mrs. Vereen for making the best of a difficult schedule; and especially to the extremely important office staff that work so diligently everyday, Mrs. George, Mrs. Holt and the ever so pleasant and thoughtful Mrs. Bryson.  You all make it a joy to come to work everyday.

Please check out our Annual Fund for Excellence thermometer displayed in front of the Pre-School Building and Flowers Hall.  We continue to make progress toward our goal.  Thanks to all who have contributed and made commitments.  It is not too late to support this very important fund.

Remember we are all here for the same purpose; to provide an exceptional college-prep educational experience to students from four years of age through the twelfth grade.  We are committed to developing the whole child; academically, physically, spiritually, and socially.

Have a great weekend, and remember to take the time to tell your children how much you care and love them.

                                                                                   Blessings,

                                                                                    Mike Notaro
                                                                                    Headmaster



UPPER SCHOOL NEWS

Brookwood's Debate Team Heads to State (Phil Danner)
The Brookwood Debate Team placed second in their region competition and qualified for the state tournament to be held on January 21 at Mercer University. The team is made up of Ben Jones, William Lee, Jacob Lewis, Thomas Muller and Laurel Derby.  Jacob Lewis and William Lee were the three and fourth best speakers at this year's Region Tournament.  This year's debate topic is: "The United States federal government should establish a policy substantially increasing the number of persons serving in one or more of the following national service programs: AmeriCorps, Citizen Corps, Senior Corps, Peace Corps, Learn and Serve America, Armed Forces."  The team is coached by Mr. Phil Danner.  Congratulations debaters!



MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS (Ashley Harper)

A Strong Showing at the County Spelling Bee

Congratulations to Sarah Chason and Will McGregor, our County Spelling Bee participants.  The county wide Spelling Bee was held Wednesday afternoon at Central Middle School.    The Spelling Bee went 29 rounds, with Will and Sarah both making strong showings.  Will made it to the final five contestants and Sarah came in second.  Mrs. Lewis accompanied the students and served as a judge for the competition.  "Will and Sarah were poised and represented Brookwood School well," shared Mrs. Lewis.

Thank you, Mrs. Lewis, Will, and Sarah for your excellent representation of our school!

The 7 C's of Resilience

We have started a new series in Middle School Assembly entitled "The 7 C's of Resilience".  Based on an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) publication concerning stress in adolescents, the assemblies are focused on seven traits that help students cope with life. 

Each week, the middle school will be discussing and investigating the traits and how we can apply the lessons and tips to our everyday lives.  The discussion this week centered on competence, defined as the ability to handle situations effectively. 

In the coming weeks we will discuss confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control.  If you are interested in further information from the AAP, please visit their website at http://www.aap.org/stress/childcopehome.html


LOWER SCHOOL NEWS (Francine Wright)

Go Fish  (Mrs. Bader's 3rd grade program performed Friday, Jan. 12th)

There is a Commotion in the Ocean when Tiger Shark finds herself with no friends in sight. Fellow sharks, Mako, Hammerhead and Blue try to tell her that since she is a shark, she won't have any other friends, "We're sharks kid, get used to it."

Tiger finds herself in a strange group of fish when she meets: a zebra fish with spots, a seven legged octopus, a blow fish with allergies, a tuna fish who can't sing, a star fish who hasn't had a role in over a year and a clown fish who can't tell a joke. Angel fish comes to the rescue and suggests the sea horses help Tiger out. The sea horses are called to see about the herd of sheephead loose and have to leave without helping Tiger with her problem.

As a last resort Angel suggests that Tiger see Great White Shark. Great White informs Tiger that she already has friends and unique ones at that. If we were all alike, how boring life would be. We all are as different as the fish in the sea.

We would like to thank Mrs. Bader, Ms. Leach, and Mrs. Lee for all of their hard work on this fabulous fish tale!  And of course, to all of you talented sea creatures, we enjoyed our fishing trip!

Teamwork surely is productive!  Thank you to all the parents who helped create our underwater habitat and program.

5th Graders Take the D.A.R.E.

On Friday, January 5th, Deputy Steve Jones with the Thomas County Sheriff's Office introduced the D.A.R.E. program to our 5th graders.  During nine weekly sessions the students will be informed about valuable drug and substance abuse awareness.

Coming:  Brookwood Auction

This big annual gala event will take place at Glen Arven Country Club on March 10, 2007.  Mrs. Roach and the students are working on fantastic projects to tantalize your pocketbooks.  Each student is asked to donate $10.00 to defray the cost of materials.  If you have not sent in your donation, please do so by Friday, January 19, 2007.  Thank you for supporting the auction and Brookwood School.

Parent Conferences

Parent Conferences for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten are scheduled for Monday, January 22, 2007.  Since there is no school for Pre-K and Kindergarten students, please make arrangements for them as ASK will not be available.  All other students, grades 1-5, will have a normal school day.

Admissions

The Lower School office is now accepting applications for new candidates in Pre-Kindergarten thru 5th grades.  Screenings and testing are being scheduled now.  If you know of someone who is interested in enrolling, please have them contact the Lower School office.

Lower School Chorus Notes

There will be no Chorus beginning January 18th thru February 8th due to Camelot rehearsals.  Chorus resumes on February 15th.


COLLEGE COUNSELING (Vic Spigener)

For seniors who are planning to attend college in Georgia in the fall, you have to apply for the HOPE scholarship.  At a public college, university, or technical college, you may apply for HOPE in two ways: (1) by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) using either a paper (which you can get from Mr. Spigener) or electronic application, or (2) by completing the online GSFAPPS application.  You can complete both the FAFSA and GSFAPPS applications online at GAcollege 411.org.  Completing the FAFSA also will enable the college to consider you for other financial aid programs in addition to HOPE.  At a private college or university, you can apply for the HOPE Scholarship online using the GSFAPPS application at GAcollege411.org.  Some colleges also require the student to complete the school's financial aid application.  Contact the college financial aid office for more information.

Mid-year reports have been sent to the colleges/universities which require them - as long as Mr. Spigener was given the form to submit.

Congratulations to all the seniors who have been accepted to colleges. 



"CAMELOT"   Join Brookwood School and Director Constance Clineman as they present this year's musical production, Camelot. We will have a live orchestra, wonderful singing and dancing from a cast of over 100 students, parents and faculty.  In short, we promise an entertaining and wholesome show suitable for your whole family! 

Performances will be held at the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium. 
Ticket prices are:
Angel                           $65.00 per ticket
Reserved                    $20.00 per ticket
General Admission  $12.00 per ticket (adults), $5.00 per ticket (students)

Angel and reserved tickets are on sale at the school.  General admission tickets are on sale at the school, CoCroft Music Store, Jan's Hallmark and Center Drug Store in Cairo. Performance times are:

Friday, February 2, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 3, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 4, 2:00 p.m.

Ticket order forms are available on the Drama Guild page of the website   http://www.brookwoodschool.org/page/brookwood_today.   As always, call the school office for more information

COSTUME WORKDAY - A workday for Camelot costumes will be held this Saturday in the Upper School Library beginning at 10:00 a.m. Sewing expertise is not required; there are lots of "non-sewing" jobs. Come join us if you can for fun, fellowship, and work as we kick off this year's drama production project.

Tune-in for an interview with King Arthur, Merlin, Morgan le Fey, and Mordred! -  Austin Reams from CNS Channel 6 recently met with Grant Stauffer "King Arthur,"  Crighton Allen "Merlin,"  Kate Worthey  "Morgan le Fey,"  and  Colin Alderman "Mordred,"   for a television interview about Camelot.  The Brookwood community will want to watch for this interview and catch a glimpse of our kids and, perhaps, learn something new about the play.  Exact times the interviews will be shown are not known at this time.



ATHLETICS 

YMCA Middle School Soccer (Phil Danner)
Brookwood will participate again this year in the Thomasville YMCA's co-ed Middle School soccer program.  The program is open to all students in grades 6-8.  Mrs. Lindsay Bader will be the coach.  Games begin next week at the Remington fields.  Registration forms are available from Coach Bader.  There is a $38 fee paid to the YMCA to cover the costs of jerseys, officials and field maintenance.  Games will be on Tuesday evenings.  This program focuses on predominantly on player development.  This means that every person will get lots of playing time.  If your child has not signed up and wants to participate, please contact Coach Bader.  Go Warriors!



 27th ANNUAL BROOKWOOD AUCTION   

"BROOKWOOD GOES BROADWAY"
Please mark the date, Saturday, March 10, 2007. 

This year we are introducing the Chinese Auction which will take the place of the Silent Auction.  More details on this to follow.  Luminaries will be for sale again and we will also be offering tickets for the Reverse Auction. 

The Auction Committee is hard at work to help make this tribute to Brookwood's past musicals a special evening on Broadway.

Mary Nelson Notaro and Katherine Davidson



SENIOR VIDEO BANQUET 

Parents and students of the Class of 2007 will want to reserve April 22 for the Senor Video Banquet at 5:30 p.m.  More info to follow in February.  Questions?  Call Robin Brewer.










HOTC Youth Service Week- January 12th -19th
Call the HOTC office at 226-5200 or see Mr. Spigener at Brookwood to volunteer to help.






Detailed school-wide calendar and athletic event information can be found simply clicking the following link: http://www.brookwoodschool.org/page/brookwood_today

Want to know a game score? Check out http://www.brookwoodschool.org/page/athletics