FROM THE HEADMASTER...
Welcome to Brookwood School's 40th year!
In the very near future we will all be back into the routine of school. Do you feel as I do that our summers are going by faster than they used to when we were young? This summer has been filled with many unusual happenings, mostly due to the work that needed to be completed as a result of the February tornado. As I mentioned in my "Back to School" letter, our staff has worked very hard to be sure numerous details and preparations have been taken care of for our school community.
With the exception of the covered walkways leading from one building to another, it looks as though our campus will be in better shape than it has ever been in to start a new year.
By now you have received our "Back to School" information that should answer most questions pertaining to registration and the start of school. If you have additional questions or concerns please call the school's main number and one of our very capable staff members will be glad to help you.
Last January, when we discussed possible options and important dates for this year's academic calendar, the date that attracted the most attention was the date school would start. In turn, we made a decision to begin school a week later, and from the many comments I have received, this has been a very good move for the majority of our families. I continue to welcome your comments concerning the starting date of school and how it has affected your family. I know a number of my friends and colleagues in the public school systems, who started this past Monday, wish that they were starting on August 18th like Brookwood.
I leave you with a closing paragraph that I wrote to our faculty and staff for their "Back to School" letter last month. In a nutshell, it expresses my challenge to them at the beginning and throughout this very important year.
"We all are teachers who are making a difference in the lives of everyone we encounter. Everything we say and do counts. Each year presents new challenges; this one, I predict, will not be any different. Our influence and approach in our occupation truly makes a difference in this world. Many thanks to each of you in advance for what you mean to Brookwood and your dedication to our children. Why not provide them with the finest education possible, every minute of every class, practice, performance, and contest?"
I look forward to seeing each of you very soon! God bless.
Mike Notaro, Headmaster
Umbrellas
As I mentioned earlier, there is a good chance that our walkways from building to building will not be completed until after school has started. Even with the walkways in place there will be numerous times where we are trying to assist our students as they load or unload in the afternoon or mornings during rain storms. We are always in need of good golf size umbrellas. If you happen to have an umbrella or two that you do not need, please consider donating it to the school for our use during rainy weather. All umbrellas can be dropped off at Flowers Hall at your convenience. Thank you in advance for your help.
BROOKWOOD REPLACES ALL COMPUTERS
There's been a major overhaul of technology this summer at Brookwood School. In July, employees of Virtual World Technologies Inc. of Valdosta, Ga., replaced all computers on campus with the latest models. "This has been a plan that will be completed after almost one year of critical and very thought-out planning," said Headmaster Mike Notaro.
In all, 154 computers have been replaced with new Virtual World Technologies.eos Class Workstations that take up less classroom space and deliver more services while generating less heat. The previous computers had served Lower School students and teachers about 7 years, and the Upper School computers had been in service at least 6 ½ years.
"We absolutely got our money's worth out of the computers we had," said Keith Massey, Brookwood's technology coordinator. "One of our servers had been running since 2001, and the only time it shut down was when there was a power failure."
Now, the school's four previous servers have been replaced with a single more efficient blade server that provides more power with less rack space, while reducing power consumption. The server replacement, Massey estimates, now costs about 30 percent less than the previous machines and is faster and better than those it replaced.
"This upgrade has an actual smaller total price tag than the original set-up we installed, in terms of 2009 dollars, and is far more energy efficient," explained Massey, who has taught math - currently advanced placement calculus and algebra II - at the independent school for 18 of his 24 years as a teacher. He also serves as Brookwood's dean of students, among other administrative hats he wears.
"I'll be able to manage the computers across campus better with this system," Massey said, "because I will have virtual desktop management."Instead of walking to any of nine buildings on the Brookwood campus to help with a classroom computer, Massey, using the new Virtual World Technologies' Virtual I.T. Empower desktop management, will be able to sit at his desk in Crozer Hall and, from his own computer, be able to correct most technical and operational problems that a teacher may report from any classroom.
Brookwood's previous computers have not just been tossed aside. They will have a second life, because the whole load was delivered to the City of Thomasville to be put to use within the city's recycling program. Due to new environmental regulations, a professional recycling agency must do away with or properly re-work the computers and monitors for later use.
By Annette Lee for Brookwood School
The end is in sight for Brookwood's tornado repairs
THOMASVILLE - School buildings across the country are being cleaned and made ready for the new school term. At Brookwood School, work crews have gone above and beyond routine cleaning and applying fresh paint in the process of readying the campus for its 40th school year.
The summer break allowed time for major repairs resulting from tornado damage that occurred on Feb. 19 when a pre-dawn twister tore through the school property, south of Thomasville, Ga.
Contractor Joey Harris of Synergy Construction of Thomasville said all major repairs on the Stoddard Gymnasium, as well as the Preschool, Chubb and Singletary buildings will be completed before classes begin on Aug. 18.
Harris praised the work of Allen Industrial Contractors of Cairo, Ga., in expediting the new roof system on the gym.
"The gym work is almost done," he said. "It has new wood floors, a new roof system, new windows on the clerestory, as well as electrical and mechanical repairs."
Brookwood's Preschool Building has had 18 windows replaced by Thomasville Glass and Exteriors. In addition, Harris said, all carpeting, ceiling tiles and the electrical system have been replaced, and the walls have been painted.
"If another storm should ever hit Brookwood during school hours," said Headmaster Mike Notaro, "children in the Preschool Building will be among the most protected anywhere, thanks to the interior 'safe rooms' now designed to shield students and teachers from winds, flying glass and other debris."
"All that's left to do right now in the Preschool Building is a little carpet cleaning and some paint touch-up," Harris explained. "If we don't get the drive-under canopy replaced in front of that that building before school starts, it will be completed shortly thereafter."
Part of the Singletary Science Center has had a new roof installed, plus new ceiling tile, carpet and fresh paint in the section that was damaged.
"The Chubb Lower School Building had roof repairs, along with cleaning and painting some if its exterior finishes," Harris said.
There have been other more minor repairs under way, including some work on the Williams-Parker Library.
Notaro said some walkway covers may not be complete by the time students return to campus, but the children's state-of-the-art playground has been vacuumed of all broken glass and other debris with new, clean mulch put in place around all the equipment.
"It's been a busy summer, with work crews on campus most days," Notaro explained. "We're confident, however, that Brookwood's facilities will be safe and ready for our students and faculty when they return. In some cases, they'll be better than they were before the tornado."
By Annette Lee for Brookwood School
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IN THE NEWS -- La'Tasha Givens, a reporter with the Thomasville bureau of WCTV, came to Brookwood in late July to shoot scenes of the facilities being repaired due to the tornado destruction as well as the new computer technology installed on campus.
In the Upper School Computer Lab, Givens shot scenes of the newly installed equipment, with Sherrie Callaway and Keith Massey setting up Callaway's new computer.
The clean and shiny children's playground, totally repaired over the summer, was the focus of Givens' camera as she moved about the campus to capture scenes of restored facilities that would greet the students upon their return
By Annette Lee for Brookwood School
TROPHY POLISHING - Employees of Johnson Institutional Services of Thomasville are cleaning all the facilities of Brookwood School in preparation for the new school year, with registration Aug. 17 and classes starting Aug. 18. Since Brookwood first opened in 1970, hundreds of trophies have been awarded to individual students as well as to academic and sports teams. The awards fill trophy cases in several buildings, and are displayed above student lockers in the commons area of newer classroom buildings on campus. All the plaques, medals, trophies and other symbols of scholastic, cultural, literary and athletic achievements are cleaned and polished by, left to right, Ada Willis, Mary Cochran, Stanley Harris and Mary Jean Ivey.
By Annette Lee for Brookwood School
WARRIOR CHEERLEADERS - Brookwood School's varsity football and basketball cheerleaders are participating in the Universal Cheerleaders Association camp at Auburn University July 16-19. Under the direction of faculty sponsor Natalie Braswell, the 2009 cheering squad practiced dance routines, pyramids and cheers on the Brookwood campus for several days before leaving for the UCA camp. The 2009 cheerleaders are, left to right, Front row: Natalie Stephens, Elizabeth Johnson, Audrey Simmons and Sarah Cascone; Second row: Sara Whetsell, Ann Varnedoe, Peyton Patterson, Danielle Harrell, Kristyn Fielding and Emily Claire Worthey; Third row: Katherine Wolff, Hannah Notaro, Anna Price Olson, Margaret Hancock, Emily Miller and Katherine Herndon.
By Annette Lee for Brookwood School
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
