Calling all LEGO Enthusiasts!

The Brackett PTO is considering having a one-night LEGO exhibition in the spring.  We are trying to gauge interest in the Brackett Community in participating in this new event.

What is a LEGO exhibition? A LEGO exhibition is an opportunity for Brackett students to display their custom LEGO builds, to participate in LEGO building (both individual & collaborative), and play LEGO-based games.

Interested? Click “read more” to learn more and answer our poll!

Jerry Pallotta, author of the popular “Who Would Win” series is coming to Brackett for an author’s visit assembly on Tuesday, February 10!

Students have the opportunity to order books signed by Jerry; an order form will be sent home with students on their library class day during the week of December 1-5. 

Orders must be placed in advance and are due by Friday, January 16.

The Brackett Book Fair will be Monday, December 1 – Friday, December 5.  (That’s the week right after Thanksgiving Break!)

Students will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair:

–During their normal library class time
–Before School — 7:30-8:00 a.m (M-F)
–After School —  2:30-3:00 p.m. (M, T, Th, F)/1:00-1:30 p.m. (W)
–Family Night on Thursday, December 4th from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Click “read more” to contribute to your teacher’s Book Fund or volunteer to help the Book Fair come to life!

Proceeds of the Book Fair benefit the Brackett Library.

Show your Brackett Spirit by wearing your favorite hat!

The Student Council has announced this Friday, November 21 is HAT DAY. 

Baseball caps, winter hats, visors, cowboy hats, and more — the sky’s the limit — let your imagination run wild!

Sign your student up for a garden mural project! Happening this Friday, Nov. 21st, after-school in the Music Room. Students will use the graph and information we know about our garden to collaboratively make a mural about what our garden will bring. The mural will be displayed in Brackett’s entryway for all students to see and learn from after it’s complete!

Leading up to the mural project, stop by the garden after school any day this week (November 18-21) to share your guess about what will our new garden bring.

Click “read more” for sign up link!

Volunteers Needed:  Help Arlington families gear up for winter by helping the APS Welcome Center’s Ponder Threads Closet organize and hold their Warm up for Winter event. 

Volunteers are needed to help sort/hang/organize donations Tuesday, November 18-Monday, November 24 and then to help set up and run the event on Tuesday, November 25.  

APS families in need of warm coats, boots, and other winter essentials can stop by the Warm Up for Winter Event on Tuesday, November 25, 1:00-6:00 p.m. at the Welcome Center Ponder Threads Closet (14 Mill Brook Drive, Arlington).

Second and third graders and their parents/guardians are invited to a free, hands-on evening of mathematical exploration on Monday, November 17, 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Brackett Cafeteria!

Enjoy dozens of engaging, logic-based puzzles, games, and activities designed to be fun for everyone, no matter their math background.

Join us on Friday, November 14, 6:30-8:00 p.m. for three awesome Brackett events! 

The Brackett PTO will be hosting Culture & Creativity Night in the gymnasium, the Winter Gear Swap in the cafeteria, and the fifth graders will be holding their first fundraiser Bake Sale!

There will be a donation bin available for the 5th Grade sponsored Food Drive supporting Arlington Eats.

Contribute to the Brackett Fall Food Drive going on November 12-18

Brackett has a long time relationship with Arlington EATS, a local non-profit that works with the community to help eliminate food insecurity and hunger in Arlington.  The PTO is collecting food items daily at school drop-off during the food drive.

Click “read more” for grade-specific assignments.

Bring your pumpkins to Brackett and keep them out of the trash!

Drop your pumpkin off the morning of Friday, Nov. 7th to be composted by Black Earth Compost. See all of the creative carvings before volunteers help chuck them into the truck!

Too much candy?

Arlington Orthodontics is hosting their annual Cash for Candy Event! Bring your leftover Candy to Arlington Orthodontics and they will pay you $2.00/pound and give a matching donation to Brackett’s PTO!

UPDATE: Due to wet conditions, Pick Up @ Pickup has been rescheduled for next Monday, November 3.

Help Clean up Trash in a Flash!

Join the Brackett PTO Green Team on Monday, November 3 at 2:30 p.m. school pickup and help pick up trash on the Brackett schoolground.

Brackett School Photos are going home today!

If you ordered a photo package (hard copy prints) from Coffee Pond Studios, they have been distributed to teachers today.

If you would like your student(s) to have their picture retaken, they can do so on Friday, November 7.

Looking to clear out last year’s winter gear?

Drop off gently used, clean hats, coats, mittens, snow pants, and boots that no longer fit your kids on Monday, November 3 – Friday, November 7 at drop-off and pick-up.

Then shop the swap on the 13th and 14th (at pick-up only), and at Culture and Creativity Night (Friday, November 14, 6:30 p.m.)! The swap is free to all!

4th & 5th graders and their families are invited to join us for a playful evening of hands-on mathematical exploration on next Monday, October 27, 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Brackett Cafeteria. 

We identify ourselves in so many ways – by language of origin, abilities, family structure, ethnicity, etc.

If you are interested in sharing any part of your cultural identity by hosting a “museum table at Brackett’s Culture and Creativity Night on Friday, November 14,” sign up here!

Get ready to unlock a universe of flavor and science because Chemistry Week is back, running from October 20th through the 23rd after school by the Brackett main entrance!

This year, the Brackett STEM Committee invites you to peer into The Hidden Life of Spices!

Fifth graders, be a leader in your community this year by volunteering alongside your classmates. Help the Green Team to help protect Brackett’s woods from invasive round leaf bittersweet vines.

Oct. 20 (2:30–3:30 p.m.) – Learn to spot and tag the vines, make signs, and educate others.
Oct. 28 (2:30–4:00 p.m.) – Help remove the vines with guidance from ARMI (Arlington MA Invasive’s).

***UPDATE***

Astronomy Night has been delayed tonight, Sunday, October 19, due to clouds. IT IS NOW STARTING AT 7:15 P.M. 

Meet at the Brackett Front Entrance for a quick talk and then we’ll walk over to Robbins Farm Park (near the Dog Statue). 

Our goal this year was to raise $40,000, which is two-thirds of our annual operating budget.  So far, we’ve reached $25,000.

Brackett will be having an assembly with author and illustrator, Ellen T. Crenshaw on Friday, October 17 (Grades 2-5). She will be presenting her newest book, Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter, the 18th book in the The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels. 

Brackett families have the opportunity to purchase a personalized copy of the book (or the author’s previous title in the Babysitter Club series, Kristy and the Walking Disaster).  ***Orders must be made by Thursday, October 16.*** 

Friday, October 10 will be the first Spirit Day of the school year — the ever-popular … PAJAMA DAY!

The Fifth Grade Student Council has announced the first Spirit Day theme — as the council explains, “spirit days are times where we can celebrate being Brackett crickets, that we can all be excited together about being at Brackett, and that we can all just have a bit of fun.”

Remember to check your email today!  Signup links for November parent-teacher conferences will come out today in Dr. Vice’s Brackett Family Newsletter (Thursday, October 9)

This year, there will be two parent-teacher conferences.  The first will be held November 4-6, 2025 and the second will be March 3-5, 2026.

Join the Brackett PTO on Thursday morning (tomorrow, October 9th) for a cup of coffee!  

Free coffee at drop-off?!  It’s true!  Start your morning off right with a warm drink on what is expected to be the first cool day this autumn.

The Fall Kickoff PTO Community Meeting is on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Brackett Library.

ALL Brackett community members are invited to join and kickoff the new school year — come share your ideas about how the PTO can most effectively serve Brackett families and teachers.

Find out more about current PTO initiatives, how your monetary contributions are used, and how you can get involved at Brackett.

Join the Brackett Rainbow Alliance!

2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders: Come learn about and be an ally for the LGBTQ+ community every after school every Tuesday (2:35-3:20 pm.,) in Ms. Calcaterra’s room (room 318).

Participate in fun activities in a safe space with your peers!

No need to sign up, just show up!

Want to volunteer at the Brackett Library?

Brackett Library volunteer training will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 8:10 a.m. and Thursday, October 9, 1:40 p.m. in the Brackett Library.  

The PTO Library Committee will talk about how volunteers can help the librarians at Brackett and walk through the shelving system in the library, check-out/check-in books, and more.

The APS LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Task Force, Elementary School Rainbow Alliances, Middle School QSAs, and AHS GSA invite you to their 3rd Annual Back to School Outdoor Gathering on Saturday, October 4th, 11.30 a.m.-1.30 p.m. on the Arlington High School Front Lawn! 

There will be music, pizza, sing-alongs, art projects, community, and fun!

All are Welcome!

It’s here!  Check out the PTO’s October Newsletter for details on PTO events this month, including Fall Fest, the Fall Fund Drive, the PTO Kick-Off Community Meeting, Fifth Grade Committee, Astronomy Night, Library Volunteer Trainings, and more!

Fall Fest is this Sunday, October 5, 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Brackett Playground/Parking Lot!

We still need volunteers to help bring Fall Fest to life — help out with the costume swap, refreshments, STEM Committee’s water bottle rockets, Library Committee’s Make-a-Bookmark. There are spots for 5th graders too!

Click “read more” for sign up links!