FROM THE HEADMASTER...

The month of March has quickly passed us by and it was an eventful month! Our school is doing great in spite of continuous dealings with the tornado damage, saying goodbye to the Middle School Cottage as it was finally hauled away, and moving the kindergarten again, this time out of the Academic Cottage!  Our teachers continue to provide a quality education to our children every day.  Athletics is in full swing with rarely a day that there isn't an event on campus or on the road or both.

There have been numerous educational field trips taken such as the Washington trip, fifth grade to Charleston next week, and a full day for the Kindergarten students in Tallahassee during the one day move to their new classrooms in Flowers Hall.  Don't forget about the Junior/Senior Prom tomorrow night.

We appreciate everyone's patience and kindness during Thursday's rainy day carpool.  A special thanks to the Middle and Upper School parents who waited to enter the circle as requested. We also are grateful to Mrs. Harper and the Lower School faculty who were instrumental in making lemonade out of lemons.

On March 14, our school was in "Full Bloom" as our annual Auction took place for the 29^th year.  We thank everyone who supported the Auction, especially Charnie Beverly, Chairman, and her many committees who made the evening so successful.  It was truly a spectacular evening.

New Bus

I hope by now you have seen our new bus that was purchased with funds from the Auction and the Booster Club.  It is a practically new air conditioned 54 seat multi use bus that will be used by the entire school for field trips and athletic events.  We have been in need of such a vehicle for quite sometime and are very grateful to the Auction and the Boosters for this invaluable purchase.  When Aleks Arwood (K) was asked what she enjoyed most about the field trip to Tallahassee, she smiled and said "the bus!"

Warriors of the Week

Congratulations to our "Warriors of the Week for the month of March, Thad LeGette and Susan Rumble.  Way to go Thad and Susan!

Contracts Are Due! 

Every year at this time, we try to finalize plans for next year.  Scheduling has begun, staffing needs to be finalized, and acceptance letters must be mailed to new students seeking admission.  Your reenrollment contract is due this Monday, March 30^th.  If you have not returned your contract, please do so by Monday. If you are not planning to return next year and have not notified us, please make it a point to contact me and let's talk about your concerns.  We hope everyone plans on returning for an even better year in 2009-2010.  Families whose contracts have not been returned by Monday will be called next week.  Thank you for your attention to this very important planning detail.

I encourage all Brookwood School family members to "remember that this is your school" and to stay focused as our ambassadors. Our greatest source of retention and recruitment of quality students comes from positive word of mouth.

As we approach next Friday, the last day of school before Spring Break, I encourage all parents to remind their children that Spring Break does not start until 3:15 on April 3^rd.  I wish each and every one of our grand families a great, safe, and relaxing spring break! 

Blessings,

Mike Notaro, Headmaster

UPPER SCHOOL NEWS (David Grooms)

Progress Reports  Progress reports for the mid-term of the fourth nine week period will be mailed home on April 17.  Please review these reports carefully with your children.

Final Exams   The final exam schedule has been posted under the announcement section of the website.  Final exams are weighted at 25% of the semester grade.  Only semester and final grades appear on the transcript.  Cumulative GPA is calculated on semester grades.

AP Exams   Advanced Placement Exams will be given on May 6, 7, 8 and 11 in Crozer Hall.  Daily class rotations will vary during May based on the needs of faculty and students involved in the exam process.  The rotation schedule will be posted on the website when it is available.  Review for these exams is an essential component of success.

Brookwood  Students Place at State Literary Meet   Brookwood School students placed in three categories of the Georgia Independent School Association 2009 Class AAA State Literary & Music Competition on March 17. 

D.J. Grooms won 2nd place in Boy's Solo, and Mickey Betters won 2nd place in Dramatic Oral Interpretation. Grooms, Davis Flowers, Will Hanna and James Farmer took 4th place in the Boys' Quartet category.

Independent Schools throughout the state participated in the competition at Valdosta State University, with Stratford Academy of Macon winning 1st place overall.

Below are the results of our region literary team competition.  Brookwood came in 2nd place in the region competition.  We had several first and second place winners who advanced to the state competition, as noted above.  Our students represented our school and themselves in a very worthy manner.  Please take the time to congratulate our literary competitors.

REGION EVENT/RESULT 

Argumentative Essay Boys - Jackson Brannon, 3^rd Place

Argumentative Essay Girls - Abby Lewis,  3^rd Place

Personal Essay - Mickey Betters,   3^rd Place          

Spelling - Will McGregor, 2^nd Place

Extemporaneous Speaking International - Stephen Holt,  3^rd Place

Extemporaneous Speaking Girls - Katherine Wolff,  3^rd Place

Oral Interpretation Dramatic - Mickey Betters,   1^st Place

Piano - Rand Pope, 1^st Place

Girl's Solo - Maizie Jones,  2^nd Place

Boy's Solo - D. J. Grooms,  1^st Place

Girl's Trio -    Katelyn Reed, Ellen Stauffer, Katherine Wolff, (alternate) Leigh Stauffer,  3^rd Place

Boy's Quartet - James Farmer, Davis Flowers, D. J. Grooms, Will Hanna, 2^nd Place

Field Trips

Ninth Grade trip to "Our Body" Exhibit:

Ninth graders, accompanied by teachers Mona Lewis, Anne Vereen, and Phil Danner, visited the Mary Brogan Museum last Thursday to see the "Our Body" exhibit.  They saw the intricate circulatory system of the arm, the blackened lungs of a smoker, and the underlying layers of muscles in the leg.  Some students also visited the museum's hurricane simulator.  While watching "The Body" IMAX film at the Challenger Center, students marveled at a zit being destroyed, a stomach digesting food, and infrared pictures of a sweaty bicyclist.  After lunch at Governors Square Mall, students returned to school.  They were accompanied by teachers Mona Lewis, Anne Vereen, and Phil Danner. 

Juniors and Seniors visit the Alabama Shakespeare Festival  (Ann Larson)

Celebrating Shakespeare's 445^th birthday a little early, Brookwood students traveled to Montgomery, Alabama to see two of the Bard's plays.  One was the tragedy "Othello", attended by the senior class.  The second was the opposite end of the dramatic spectrum, "The Comedy of Errors", a special treat for sophomores and juniors.  Brookwood students study seven or eight of Shakespeare's plays between grades 8 and 12.  All English teachers believe in reading the plays aloud and having students act out chosen scenes in class or in a production.

Youth Arts Competition (Maureen Harrer)

Brookwood students did very well in the Youth Arts Competition. Ashley and Kristen Yaun tied for 1st Place. Ashley and Kristen  are twins in the 11th grade. The judges did not know who created  the works of art when they chose the winners. What a surprise to have picked paintings by twin sisters! We also had seven students receive honorable mention: Jenna Odom, Julian Brown, Chelsea Vinson, Carter Vann, Ansley Harbin,  Kaitlyn Roberts, and Katherine Wolff.   Congratulations!

Senior Honors Assembly: The Senior Honors Assembly will take place in Crozer Hall Commons on Thursday, April 23, at 8:05 a.m.  In addition to the seniors graduating with honors, four juniors will be recognized as marshals for the Class of 2009.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS ( Ashley Harper)

DC Trip - The eighth graders enjoyed a fabulous trip to Washington, DC from March 5th to March 9th.  This annual Middle School trip included an itinerary highlighted by visits to the Capitol, the Pentagon, the Smithsonian's Museums of Air and Space, American History and Natural History, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and a nighttime illuminated monument tour.

A performance by the New York City Ballet and a comedy production at the Kennedy Center, plus visits to the ESPN Zone and the ice-skating rink at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden also were on the students' itinerary, along with participation in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns and a National Cathedral worship service on Sunday morning.

Mrs. Harper is especially proud of this group, who continued the Brookwood tradition of receiving compliments everywhere we went.  Among the students' favorites were, "So, what college do you attend?" and "It must be a fine school you attend to receive opportunities like this."

ERB - Congratulations to the Middle School students for fine efforts on the annual Educational Records Bureau CTP4 standardized tests.  We appreciate their dedication and hard work on the exams last week.  Way to go Middle Schoolers!

FLORIDA CAVERNS - On Friday, March 6th, the seventh grade traveled to Marianna, Florida to visit the Florida Caverns.  The students toured deep in the caverns discovering stalactites and stalagmites as well as bats and other animals.  This hands on opportunity was a fantastic way to end the quarter in science.  

PI DAY - Mrs. Unglaub's seventh and eighth grade math classes celebrated Pi Day on March 13.  This annual 3-14 celebration is a time to enjoy mathematics in a new way.  The Flowers Hall Commons was decorated with a Pi Chain representing hundreds of digits of the all important pi (3.14159265358979323846 . . . ).  As well, the students brought in circular treats and celebrated their love of math culminating with an "American Pi-dol" competition.  What fun!

MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL

All Middle School students are invited to join us for tonight's Middle School party in the Flowers Hall Commons from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm.  Drop off and pick up will be in the front of Flowers Hall.  Admission to the party is a jar of peanut butter or jelly for the local food bank. We look forward to seeing you tonight!

LOWER SCHOOL (Ashley Harper)

Kindergarten - We welcome our kindergarten students to their new home in Flowers Hall.  The move to place the students in a permanent home for the remainder of the year was completed in just one day.  Thank you to the students and parents for their support and especially to the Lower School teachers who pitched in to make the move possible.  The new surroundings are wonderful.

ERB - Congratulations to the second through fifth grade students who worked diligently on last week's Educational Records Bureau CTP4  standardized tests.  We are proud of their dedication and hard work.  Way to go Lower School students!

Lower School On the Move - One of the fantastic attributes of Brookwood School is our commitment to extending learning outside the classroom.  This month the Lower School has had many opportunities to do just that.

On Tuesday, March 17th the kindergarten visited the Florida Museum of History in Tallahassee to learn more about the earliest times of our area.  Enjoying Granny's Attic, the Steamboat, and the Mammoth, they had a wonderful day including a picnic lunch.

On Friday, March 20th , the first through third grades visited the Thomasville Cultural Center for a fabulous fables performance.  Special thanks to Mrs. Collins, Mrs. Green, and Mr. Earp for adding their dramatic prowess to the show.  The children loved it.

On Tuesday, March 24th, the second grade visited the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea to learn more about our local oceans. The touch tanks were a student favorite.

On Tuesday, March 24th, Mrs. Casanova's kindergarten class visited Sweet Grass Dairy and learned about Aidan's family business.  The baby goats were ready to meet the children.

On Wednesday, March 25th, the fourth grade visited the San Luis Mission to learn more about the original settlers of our area.

Field Day - Friday, April 4th is Lower School Field Day.  The students are looking forward to a great day, full of excitement.  Lower School dismissal will be at 12:30 pm on this day.  ASK will be available until 5:30 pm, as usual.  Parents are welcome to join us for this fun day.  Seating for parents will be available in the football stadium stands.  Thank you to the seventh and eighth graders for manning the various events for our Lower School students. 

COLLEGE COUNSELOR (Vic Spigener)

Community Service Update:  The deadline to complete community service is Friday, April 17.  As outlined on Page 76 of the 2008-2009 Blue Book, students in grades 8 - 12 must complete Brookwood's Community Service Requirement: 10 hours for students in grade 8 and 20 hours for students in grades 9 - 12. 

Juniors: Mr. Spigener will schedule his annual Junior Parent Night in April - notification is forthcoming.  Next week, he will begin meeting with the juniors during their homeroom to begin the College Application Process.

Seniors: The seniors are completing scholarship applications.  As a reminder, these scholarship applications must be submitted to him a week before the due date.  Also, the last remaining college letters of notifications will be arriving in early April; students are reminded to submit copies of all letters to Mr. Spigener.

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