Post on 14-Oct-2020
Eugene Brooks Intermediate School
Bimonthly Newsletter
September & October
Welcome to the 2016-2017 School Year!
It’s been a great start to the 2016-2017 school year at Eugene Brooks Intermediate
School. One of our goals for this school year is to increase the communication between
school and home. We recognize that educating your children is a partnership between
many people, and we look forward to making it a strong one. I’m very proud of the
newsletters that our teachers have been sending home, and I am confident that you are
finding them useful. On a bimonthly basis, I will be sharing progress, celebrations,
pictures, and news coming from both our school and district. I hope that these rambles
inform you, spark conversations, and make you proud to be a parent of a Warrior!
New Staff
I’d like to formally welcome and introduce the following new staff members to our
building. Some of these educators come to us from other buildings within our
district, while others are brand new to Webutuck. These people have
undoubtedly made our school a better place, and I’m grateful that they are now at
EBIS!
Mrs. Singleton (teaching assistant in Mrs. Nethercott’s classroom)
Ms. Krokey (7th grade ELA teacher)
Ms. Farr (6th grade Science and Social Studies teacher)
Mrs. Coon (Math AIS teaching assistant 4-6)
Miss Demetros (Special Education and Coding Teacher 4-6)
Mrs. Dietter-Smith (Robotics Teacher 4-6)
Xinzi Zheng (Mandarin Teacher 4-6)
Positive Behavior Intervention & Support
After two months of PBIS implementation, we are already seeing positive results. When comparing major incident referrals from the beginning of the year last year to this year we have seen drastic improvements! I’d like to personally thank the teachers on our committee, Mr. Braislin, and our 8th grade liaisons for their hard work and contributions to these results! I’d also like to thank all of the parents for supporting a system that is drastically different from past practice. Our school’s learning environment is undoubtedly better thanks to everyone’s help and support with this new initiative!
Students of the Month
In an effort to align our Student of the Month criteria with our points of emphasis this
year, we are recognizing students who are fulfilling our I PROMISE creed that is recited
each morning. We recognized six students last month that were selected by their 4th
grade teachers. These students were invited to the Board of Education Meeting, and
were introduced by myself and Mrs. Hammond (4th grade teacher). Next month we will
be recognizing 5th grade students!
Mrs. Hammond: Eric Golden
Ms. Boldrin: Licette Jaya
Mrs. Quaranto: Aaron Wendover
Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. Roccanova:
Desiree Wright
Specials: Evan Thomas
Ms. Ippolito: Alex Hernandez
Clubs
Extracurricular activities are an important part of students everyday lives. As educators
at Eugene Brooks Intermediate School, we are acutely aware of the positive effects that
extracurricular activities can bring to our students’ overall education (e.g. improving
behavior, school performance, school completion, positive aspects to make successful
adults, and social aspects.)
Nationally, the average extracurricular participation rate at intermediate schools is
around 20%. At Eugene Brooks, our current participation rate exceeds 75%. I’d like to
thank all of our Session One club leaders who volunteered their time to increase the
amount of opportunities that our students are presented with after school:
Mrs. Mathers (Summer
Crafts)
Mr. Sullivan (Green Team)
Ms. Farr and Mrs. Conway
(French Club)
Miss Garofalo (Cooking Club)
Miss Demetros (Lego Club)
Mr. D’Amato and Mr. Lynch
(Gentlemen’s Club)
Miss McClune (Creative
Writing)
Miss Zheng (Mandarin Club)
Mr. Eyler (Karate Club)
Field Trips
Our students have already taken several enjoyable, and educational field trips. Among other
trips, we’ve traveled to Stissing Mountain, The Estate and Presidential Library of FDR, Bash
Bish Falls and Copake Furnace!
Extra Help Homework & Right Reasons
This year we’ve changed our after school extra help program drastically. First, we have
changed our invitation criteria. This year, we are only inviting students who are currently failing
(based off of progress reports or report cards). This means that we will update our student lists
in five week intervals. As the list of students that are failing changes, so will our invitations.
Second, we’ve changed our format to one that emphasizes blended instruction. Specifically,
students are required to attend these sessions Mondays through Thursdays. Two of these days
are spent working on homework, and two of the days are spent on the computer (Right Reasons
Technology). This technology program allows teachers to assign specific lessons that your
child is struggling with. Each student has also taken a Right Reasons diagnostic test that can
set your child on an individualized learning plan based off of his/her individual deficiencies. A
big thank you to Mrs. Murphy for her leadership in getting us up and running with this!
Boston Bound 2017!
Our school hasn’t taken an overnight field trip in almost ten years. Many of you wrote in our
parent survey that you miss our students being given those opportunities. We hope that this
year's 8th grade class will be starting a tradition by traveling to Boston this spring. A big shout
out to our 8th Graders for all of the hard work that they have put into fundraising for our 2017
Boston trip. Many of our students sold enough tickets to go on this trip for free! I’d also like to
thank a group of teachers that had a vision for this trip early on. Mrs. Murphy, Mr. Braislin, Mr.
Scarinzi, and Mrs. Gillette have spent countless hours organizing the details of this trip. Their
dedication to our students has been both inspirational and contagious!
Elections 2016
It’s election season at Eugene Brooks! I’d like to congratulate all of our winners, but also
each and every person that ran for a position. At Eugene Brooks, grade level elections
begin in the 6th grade. In total we had over 25 students run for office. Each candidate
was required to address the entire grade level at lunch time through a short speech. Their
effort was admirable, and their public speaking will continue to improve with practice.
I’d like to recognize the following winners!
6th Grade Winners 7th Grade Winners 8th Grade Winners
Co-Presidents: Amelia Bailey, Brayden Humbert
President: Kennedy Doran President: Liam Murphy
Vice President: Alexia Cedillo
Vice President: Teyvon Thrasher
Vice President: Ein Armstrong
Secretary: Cadance Shufelt
Secretary: Carrissa Whitehead
Secretary: Erika Voigt
Treasurer: Kaitlyn Killmer Treasurer: Rachel D’Alessandro
Treasurer: Brandi Andrighetti
Capital Improvement Project
“An Investment In Our Future”
Residents in the Webutuck Central School District will vote on a proposed $8.5
million bond resolution that would be used to address immediate health and
safety needs, and other projects to improve all buildings. The vote will be held
from 12 to 9 p.m. on December 15th in the High School gym. There will also be
a public forum on November 14, at 6:30 to discuss the specifics. Below is a list of
some of the major elements of the project:
● Middle/High School boiler replacement
● Safety/security improvements
● Middle School playground
● New district septic field
● Technology infrastructure
● Middle/High School gym, auditorium, HVAC and flooring improvements
● Emergency generator
● District Wide paving and sidewalks
● Elementary School water system
● Bus Garage roof repair
Parent University
After a significant amount of discussion and thought, we’ve decided to start up
our very own Parent University this year! Parent University will be a combination
of classes and workshops aimed at helping parents become full partners in their
children’s education. It’s an initiative designed to inform, involve and empower
families of students at Eugene Brooks Intermediate School. Parent University will
offer parents and other family members a variety of meaningful classes and
workshops that will add to their existing skills and give them opportunities for
continued growth and development. Below is a list of possible topics that we
have discussed. Please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Murphy, Mrs. Hart, or
myself if you have other ideas. We would like to offer four sessions in our
opening year!
"What are Study Skills?", "Why Kids Give Up, Fail To Initiate & Lack Passion",
“Anxiety and Emotionality in Adolescence”, “Screenagers,” "Homework Help:
How To Set Up a Plan To Eliminate Daily Homework Battles", "Common What?
What is the Common Core, and why do I need to understand it’s purpose?”,
"Managing Technology: Sensible Ways To Set Limits and WHY You Must Do
This Now".
Expect a follow up in the near future with finalized topics and dates for the 2016-
2017 school year!