Volume 2022-2023

October 17, 2022

ACPS Community Budget Forum

Tonight at 6:30 PM

(in person at ACHS and on Zoom)

ACPS will be hosting the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Combined Funds and the FY 2024-33 Capital Improvement Plans (CIP) Community Budget Forum tonight,  Monday, Oct. 17, 2022 from 6:30- 8 p.m. The event will be held at Alexandria City High-School- King Street Campus and on Zoom. Participants who choose to attend virtually can register in advance on zoom. After registration is complete, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to access the webinar.


Attendees will learn about the upcoming budget process, timeline and the fiscal challenges facing ACPS. To learn more about the ACPS budget process and key dates, including public hearings, visit https://www.acps.k12.va.us/departments/financial-services/budget

PTAC & ACPS Safety Forum

October 26

Links to the above flyer in other languages available here.



On Oct. 26, 2022, Alexandria PTA Council, Parents for Safe Alexandria Schools and Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) are sponsoring a school safety forum for the ACPS community. During this forum, participants will have the opportunity to ask a panel of community experts about what they are doing — as well as what we all can do — to help keep our students safe.

 

Interim Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt will speak on maintaining safety in our schools and community, the division’s collaboration with the Alexandria Police Department (APD) and how families can work with ACPS to keep students safe. Please note that child-sensitive content will be discussed.

 

Panelists

  • ACPS Director of Safety & Security Services John Contreras. 
  • ACPS Director of School Social Work Faiza Jackson.
  • Alexandria Police Department Officer Richard Sandavol. 
  • Alexandria City Gang Prevention Community Task Force Member Mike Mackey.
  • Be SMART Secure Gun Storage Program, Everytown for Gun Safety Andy Corso.
  • City of Alexandria's Department of Transportation & Environmental Services Alex Carroll.

How to Participate

The school safety forum will take place in the George Washington Middle School auditorium from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Pizza will be provided.

The public may also attend the safety forum through Zoom at https://acps.cc/SafetyForum.

Interpretation services will be provided in Amharic, Arabic, Dari and Spanish for both the in-person and virtual events. 



Support our students and 

families in need

Hello fellow Brooks Bees!

I will be continuing to support the PTA this year by assisting our amazing school social worker, Ms. Lusk, to serve the needs of our students and families. At this time, she has a need for kids' winter hats and gloves, grocery gift cards, and target gift cards. Your donations are extremely helpful to our community and are very much appreciated! If you are able to donate any of these items, you may:


1) Purchase these items on your own (any brand and any gift card amount is great!) and drop them off directly to the porch donation box at 16 W Glendale Ave.


2) Purchase items on the Amazon Community Wish List. Please choose "Gift Registry address " when selecting your shipping address. The items will be delivered to me and I will get them to Ms. Lusk:


https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/OXP4XNL9B0RI?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwAR13aV1fQlLpBqujKtTDD0AVasa5S3oLf4dm0RbN6cgR3s395H0FesEReYY


3) Purchase items from the Target Brooks Registry. At checkout, choose “Ship to the address on Naomi Brooks Elementary School's Community Registry”. The items will be shipped to me and I will get them to Ms. Lusk:


https://www.target.com/gift-registry/gift/brookscommunityregistry?fbclid=IwAR13aV1fQlLpBqujKtTDD0AVasa5S3oLf4dm0RbN6cgR3s395H0FesEReYY


And stay tuned for another Thanksgiving Food drive this year to ensure that all Brooks families can have a nice Thanksgiving meal. More info coming soon....

We thank you for anything you can give. I am always in awe of the generous spirit of our Brooks community!


Thank you for your support,

Aimee (mom to Lily in second and former student Sofia now in sixth)


Brooks SCA Fun Run is Oct 31

The Brooks Student Council Association (SCA) in coordination with the Brooks PTA, is hosting the 2nd Annual Brooks Fun Run on Monday, October 31 – benefiting SCA programs at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary, where students will run, dance, and skip laps to high-energy music, while they’re being cheered on by peers and volunteers. Visit our page with all the details and sign up to volunteer or donate!


Students - get those smiles ready! Brooks Picture Day is THIS Friday, October 14.

Teacher Appreciation: Rise and Shine

Bring Your Breakfast Goodies TODAY

OCTOBER 17

We all know that every day is better with a bite to eat and (for most of us) a big cup of coffee. In past years, our community has worked to provide teacher appreciation lunches monthly through generous donations by our students and parents. This year, we want to keep our successful tradition of showing Brooks staff members how much we appreciate them, and "stuff the breakroom" with treats. For our first month, we selected Coffee and Breakfast snacks. If you are inclined, feel free to send your favorite K-cups or breakfast treats to school for our teachers and staff to enjoy.



Please bring all items to Brooks on Monday, October 17. There will be a collection box at the reception desk. You can also send Amazon purchases directly to the school at:


Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School

Attn: Continental Breakfast

600 Russell Rd

Alexandria, VA 22301



Signup Genius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0A48A8AD2FA4FA7-rise


As always, thank you so much for your generosity!

Bagels & Coffee this morning at dropoff!

Bagels & Coffee: Oct 17

The Brooks PTA will be offering hot coffee & bagels for sale in front of Brooks in the morning of Monday, October 17. Stop by for a schmear!


Our next drawing is this Friday - donations of any amount to our Fall fundraising will be entered into our weekly drawing. You can donate to the Brooks PTA Fall Fundraising Drive on our page here.


Can your donation be doubled?

Check out this online tool to search if your employer has a donation matching program. If it does, the tool also provides a link to your company‘s portal. The example company on the page is Leidos, but scroll down and type in your company’s name under “new search”. 


https://doublethedonation.com/matching-gifts/leidos



Garden Update: Sweet Potatoes!

Sweet potatoes! We had a very successful sweet potato harvest this week yielding 17.2 lbs. The sweet potatoes will be cured and given to the cafeteria in November. Sweet potatoes are fun to grow at home and don’t require too much attention once planted. More information can be found here: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-sweet-potatoes-home-garden


The last of the green beans will be harvested over the next week or two. The lettuce we planted a few weeks ago is doing very well and we hope to begin that harvest in a few more weeks! 


Brooks Directory

We are compiling the 2022-2023 Brooks Directory to help families connect. This year's edition will be entirely online, password-protected and continuously updated. Interested in being a part of it? Submit your contact information here.

Brooks Spiritwear at Squadlocker

Brooks Spirit Wear, now with the official Naomi L. Brooks Elementary logo is on sale at SquadLocker.

Link your VIC Card to Brooks!

Support Brooks just by shopping at Harris Teeter. Link your VIC card to Brooks and a % of your shopping goes to support the school.


You may need to setup an account at Harris Teeter to tie to your VIC card if you haven't already.


The school made nearly $280 with just 12 participants last year. Let's see if we can blow past that amount in the new school year.


Brooks is school number 5382 but still listed under Maury Elementary (changing soon). 


Support Brooks at Harris Teeter and link your VIC card today!


BEE Involved for 2022-2023

We want you to BEE involved this year! We need your help to bring back your favorite PTA programs and ensure we are able to continue investing in our students and teachers as the PTA has done for many years.


There are many different ways to help -- including by writing grant applications, sign-up geniuses, helping setup evening or weekend events, emailing ACPS and the city, or simply ordering supplies. We will need help coordinating programs and events for students and teachers.


If you are interested in learning more about how you can give back to the school next year, please see our volunteer opportunities page or contact Armita Cohen, PTA President for 2022-2023, or Maya Mahoney, President Elect (PTA President for 2023-2024). 

Supporting Brooks all year with Amazon

Be sure your URL says:

SMILE.AMAZON.COM

Your support isn't received otherwise.

When you shop at Amazon a portion of your purchase can benefit Naomi L. Brooks Elementary!


Thank You 2022-2023

Community Partners

Gold Bee

Partner Bee

Important Dates


  • October 13: Multicultural Festival (5pm-6:30pm)
  • October 14: Picture Day at Brooks
  • October 15: Reflections Contest Entries Due
  • October 17: Bee Generous: Bagels & Coffee
  • October 17: Rise and Shine Teacher Appreciation
  • October 24: Diwali (NO SCHOOL)
  • October 25: Teacher Workday (NO SCHOOL)
  • October 31: Brooks SCA Fun Run
  • November 1: Bee Generous Dineout @ Chadwicks
  • November 3: Teacher Conferences (NO SCHOOL)
  • November 4: Teacher Conferences (NO SCHOOL)
  • November 8: Election Day / Teacher Workday (NO SCHOOL)
  • November 23-25: Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL)



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