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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Spring Concert and Art Exhibit: TOMORROW, March 23
- Brackett's Read-a-thon in full swing- Log your minutes!
- Brackett Bank Closed Friday due to Spring Concert
- Fifth Grade Math Mornings
- First Grade Mexican Dance Performance
- June Fair Planning Meeting - 3/27
- Brackett Green Team at EcoFest This Saturday & Next Meeting 3/29
- STEM Night a Huge, Fun Success
Community News:
- Arlington Education Foundation Trivia Bee - 3/25
- Parent Forum: Anxious Parents, Anxious Children - 3/28
- Arlington Soap Box Derby Season Starting
- Destination Imagination Brackett participants
- All-Town Concert Rescheduled - now 4/6
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SAVE THE DATES
3/23 - Spring Concert & Art Exhibit, 9am
3/30 - NO School, Good Friday
4/3 - PTO Meeting, Open to All, 6:30pm
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Spring Concert & Art Exhibit: Friday, March 23
Please join us for the Brackett Spring Concert and Art Exhibit. The title this year is: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing: Music and Art in Celebration of the Sea. Friday, March 23 at 9:00am in the gym.
Student art exhibits are available for viewing in the lobby before and after the concert.
And be sure to visit the cafeteria from 8-9am for coffee and baked goods thanks to our 5th graders. Donations will gladly be accepted and benefit the 5th grade graduation. Coffee generously donated by Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts with baked goods provided by 5th grade families.
Please plan to join us!
Megan Black Uy & Kate Mikkelson
5th Grade Graduation Committee
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Brackett's Read-a-Thon in Full Swing! Log Your Minutes!
Brackett's Read-a-Thon is in full swing and so far our students have read nearly 200,000 minutes!
Leading classrooms are in a close race, so every minute counts. Don't forget to complete and turn in your scoresheet by Monday for extra points.
We hope your young readers are discovering new books and going on fun adventures!
Your child can log in here:
https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/enter_code_m
And remember, even our beginner or reluctant readers can find success! Time counts for parent reading, picture books or whatever pulls them in to open up the cover.
Questions? Please email the read-a-thon committee at brackettreadathon@gmail.com
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Brackett Bank Closed 3/23 due to Spring Concert
Please note that due to Friday's concert, Brackett Bank will be closed for the day.
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 Fifth Grade Math Mornings
Attention all Fifth graders!
Please join us on Monday mornings at 7:30 am in Mrs. Lowe's classroom for fun math enrichment. Coming up we will working on Clock/ Time problems! For questions contact Swati Kukades (kukades@gmail.com).
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First Grade Mexican Dance Performance
First graders saw a performance from Veronica Robles last week as part of their cultural Enrichment programming. She performed several Mexican Dance numbers wearing traditional costumes from her home country. The kids had a chance to dress up and Veronica taught them some fun Mexican dances. Veronica also told stories, sang and even taught a little Spanish. 1st graders study Mexico in the classroom and it was a fun way to bring it to life!
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 June Fair Planning Meeting
Calling all parents who like to have fun! We need a team of volunteers to help plan the beloved June Fair. If you're interested in helping put the day together, please contact Wendy Buglio at wbuglio@gmail.com. Our next planning meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 3/27 at 7pm. With a team to help out, this is a very fun and manageable volunteer opportunity that really means a lot to our students and community.
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 Green Team at EcoFest Saturday & Next Meeting 3/29
All are invited to Arlington’s Ecofest this Saturday, March 24th from 10am-2pm at Town Hall where you will see the amazing tree the Brackett Green Team created as part of the Trashformations student art exhibit. The tree and other projects will be displayed on the Town Hall stage during Ecofest! Ecofest features a family concert, Bon Me food truck, electric bike demo, and more! To learn all about Ecofest, go to arlingtonma.gov/ecofest
The Brackett Green Team will meet next on Thursday, March 29th, from 2:30-3:30pm in the Art Room. We look forward to seeing you there! For more information, please contact GIG (Green Initiatives Group) co-chairs Rachel Oliveri (rachelboliveri@gmail.com) and Hilary Graham (hilgraham@aol.com).
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 STEM Night a Huge, Fun Success!
Last Friday night was a magical night as it was the annual STEM Night/Science Fair at Brackett School. Students from all around came to the event for a chance to experience science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which are the four pillars of the event. Also, there were over 60 scientific research posters displayed in the gym, which is the final presentation of the science fair authored by students from fourth and fifth grades.
During the night, the entire Brackett School was transformed to a land of adventures. Students were given a map to all the different locations, including a live-size interactive robot that greeted everyone on the third floor, balloon car racing on the second floor, and a dry ice show held in the art room. Some Brackett alumni that currently go to Arlington High School stopped by and demonstrated a 3-D printer! And we can’t forget about the events in the gym, such as Straw Rockets, Big Dice, etc. Numerous events entertained hundreds of curious kids and adults throughout the night. Each activity had its special sparkle or element of surprise. The scavenger hunt tied them together. And if you got hungry there was pizza and baked goods in the cafeteria as well as more math games to fuel your brain.
The STEM night organizers would like to thank all of our Brackett community volunteers. And special “thank you” to Kevin Watters (InMoov robot), Empow Studios, Green Initiatives Group and Soapbox Derby, who brought additional activities to the evneing. This event is sponsored by BoseBuild and Toysinbox.
If you have any feedback on STEM night, or have ideas about other STEM activities at Brackett, please let us know (Yaguang Si: ygsi01@gmail.com and Garret C. Van Dyke Jr. gvandyke@gmail.com )
PS, if you want to view the cool photos created from the light painting activity (thanks to Chris Chiappa) , please visit https://chiappa.net/stem2018.
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Arlington Education Foundation Trivia Bee - March 25
http://www.arlingtoneducationfoundationma.org/wp/triviabee
On March 25th, from 3-5pm Arlington’s Town Hall will be abuzz with the friendly yet fierce team-based competition of the Arlington Trivia Bee. Live music, kids’ activities and the opportunity for audience participation help create the lively, family-friendly atmosphere that defines this annual town-wide event.
Just like last year, the 2018 Trivia Bee will include teams of fifth graders from each elementary school who will compete in their own round to kick off the afternoon’s event. Come cheer on as school and community teams vie for the title of Arlington's trivia champ!
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Parent Forum: Anxious Parents, Anxious Children - Wed. March 28
PARENT FORUM: Anxious Parents, Anxious Children
Wednesday, March 28, 7-8:30 p.m.
Ottoson Middle School For Parents K-12
Presentor: Dr. Michael Thompson
The paradox of modern parenting is that today’s mothers and fathers may be the most loving, attentive and conscientious that America has ever seen---our children are safer than ever---yet pediatricians and psychologists are seeing record levels of anxiety in our children. In this talk Dr. Thompson will try to deconstruct this paradox of the loving parent who unwittingly conveys a lot of anxiety about the stakes of growing up and the strain on children who are trying their best to meet their parents’ expectations. Parents who are educated in child development and are aware of the risks of abuse and trauma can send unwanted messages to children that their own development is not trustworthy.
Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. is a consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than seven hundred schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia and is the author or co-author of nine books. Dr. Thompson lives in Arlington. He is married to Dr. Theresa McNally, a psychotherapist, is the father of two grown children and the grandfather to Aubrey, Brynlee and Kalen.
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Arlington Soap Box Derby Season Begins
On behalf of Arlington Soap Box Derby, thank you so much for hosting Brackett STEM night. Brackett students, and amazing racers, Benjamin and Genevieve Pierce and Noelle Chiappa did the heavy lifting for us at Brackett STEM night. Please thank them if you see them in the hallway.
If you know any girls or boys, ages 7 and up, that would like to participate in Arlington Soap Box Derby, the season is starting up. Here is a safe link to more information and a form so that you can get on our email list http://bit.ly/arlingtonsbd. Also attached is our flier. Reach out and we’ll be in touch!
Our Annual race is Saturday, June 2nd. We also have an opportunity for kids to take a test run on Mother’s Day weekend. We will be in the Patriots Day Parade Sunday, April 15 if kids (and parents) would like to help toss candy or take a ride in a Soap Box car along the parade route. To participate in ASBD, you don’t need to buy a car – we have the cars!!
Thanks again for hosting Brackett STEM night.
Sincerely,
Arlington Soap Box Derby Directors
Arlington Soap Box Derby Mission
The Arlington Soap Box Derby (ASBD) is a community-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to build knowledge and character, and to create meaningful experiences through collaboration and fair and honest competition.
Core Values
- Commitment to Community
- Youth Education and Leadership Development
- Family Engagement and Enrichment
- Honesty, Integrity and Perseverance
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Mentoring
- Volunteerism
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Destination Imagination Participants
On Saturday, March 17, the 2018 Regional Destination Imagination Tournament was held at Beverly High School. Composed of students from local area schools including Brackett, Dallin and Pierce Elementary, two Arlington teams, The Firecrackers and The Arlington All-Stars made their debut and presented their solutions to the “Rising Star” challenge. Both teams received unanimously positive feedback and standing ovations from all appraisers and the audience.
Destination Imagination (DI) is a non-profit, volunteer-led, cause-driven organization. The purpose is to inspire and equip students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. Annually, DI offers seven new Challenges in STEM, Improv, Visual Arts, Service Learning, and Early Learning. Participating teams have half year to design and present a solution to one of the seven challenges. Each Challenge is open-ended and enables student teams to learn and experience the creative process from imagination to innovation. Academic tournaments take place around the world where teams have the opportunity to present their solutions to trained appraisers.
This is the first time in years that Arlington participated in the challenges. “We are proud of our students, who all exemplified creativity, resilience and team spirit. We also learned to believe in our kids and let them drive every step forward by themselves.” said Bo Peng, team manager of The Firecrackers. Lynette Martyn, Arlington All-Stars manager added, "Destination Imagination nurtures incredibly innovative children, it helps bridge the gap between what students learn in school and the skills they will need to thrive in an ever-changing world. I was impressed with the number of parents that expressed interest in participating. I would love to see Arlington model other local communities and pursue adding Destination Imagination teams to their after-school programming." The team members had tremendous fun and gained confidence in their ability to solve challenges. In working to solve the challenges, teams learned 21st century skills (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, citizenship and courage) to build on their unique strengths.
Members of the winning teams are:
The Firecrackers:
Anna Van Dyke (6yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Kai Yesilaltay (6yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Allistair O’Donnell (6yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Theo Zhivich (7yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Piper Callahan (7yo, 1st grade, Dallin)
The Arlington All-Stars:
Paige B (6yo, 1st Grade, New Covenant School)
Shae Coronado (5yo, Kindergarten, Pierce)
Shayne Lino dos Santos (7 yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Kyle Martyn-Crawford (7 yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Myles Martyn-Crawford (5 yo, Pre-School, Drumlin Farm)
Natalie McGinnis (6 yo, 1st grade, Brackett)
Alex W (6yo, Kindergarten, St Peters School)
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