Happy Friday, Brookside Community!
We hope you had a great, short week. The snow refresh made the playground much more fun and allowed students to continue honing their cross country skiing skills. It was great to see students and staff who had been out sick returning to the building this week, as well.
In education, we reference Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory often:
When we consider what it means for children to be in school, it can be easy to jump to the top three tiers in the hierarchy: love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization. Students belong to a classroom community, have positive relationships with peers and trusted adults, and are engaged in developmentally appropriate learning tasks and growth opportunities. For many, that is exactly what school provides. For others, school is a place that meets physiological and safety needs first and foremost.
We are so fortunate to have so many resources to help all of our students and families at Brookside:
Our food service team is top-notch and we serve dozens of meals twice a day building-wide.
Our custodial staff keep hallways and classrooms clean and safe and walkways and stairways free from ice and snow.
We have a robust team of special educators, SLP's, consultants and interventionists - both for academic and behavioral supports, who have incredible relationships with students.
A team dedicated to the Social and Emotional Learning, safety and regulation of all students, includes our school counselor, home-school coordinator, and lighthouse and dock staff.
Our arts team is driven by their passion and dedication to their craft or subject area, and bringing that to life for students.
The office staff keeps things moving efficiently throughout the day, and they really do it all: delivering sneakers and mittens, fixing copiers, placing all of the supply orders and organizing the "game plan" for the day with assigning substitute teachers and covering absences.
The classroom teachers and paraprofessional staff provide a "home base" for all students to feel connected and supported, and provide enriching opportunities for students to thrive each and every day.
Our nurse team continues to prioritize the health and safety of all students, staff and families during the ever-changing and evolving seasons of the pandemic.
We partner with Washington County Mental Health, Green Mountain Behavior Consultants, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, North Branch Nature Center and various Mental Health clinicians/therapists to support individual work with students on an ongoing basis.
We have steady support from a dedicated PTO, Everybody Wins, The Children's Room board, and an impressive army of Four Winds volunteers to support student learning and wellness on an ongoing basis.
Multiple students and families continue to benefit from the Backpack Program to reduce food insecurity on a regular basis.
The flexibility, commitment and collaboration the entire staff and our broader community has shown over these past 96 weeks (since March 2020) has been incredible - thank you, thank you, thank you. Our students are well cared for and supported. It takes a village to do this work, and we are all doing it, together.
We have a few additional resources to share this week:
From our Nurses:
We will continue to collect COVID case information over the weekend. To report a positive case, please complete this form. A school nurse or administrator will reach out to you if we have further questions. A reminder that any student/staff with symptoms is expected to stay home. Please refer to the HUUSD COVID page for any COVID related questions.
Stay warm during these deep freeze days of January.
In Appreciation,
Sarah & Chris