over the rainbow - the official newsletter of brompton community school - september 2023

Our Mission:

To nurture and educate the whole child by cultivating a reverence (deep respect) for the natural world, self, learning, and community as they become the next generation of servant leaders.

T a b l e o f c o n t e n t s

D I R E C T O R ’ S N O T E

Notes for the 2023-2024 school year

Z E R O W A S T E

By Amber Dawson

R E S P O N D I N G T O T H E N E E D S

O F O U R L E A R N E R S :

D I F F E R E N T I A T I O N A T B C S

By Alice Berenbaum

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

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A N N U A L R E P O R T 9

NOTE Director’s

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” -Thomas Edison

If you have spent any amount of time chatting with me about the school, you’ve probably heard me say something along the lines of “we’re adding the next layer.” As soon as I say those words, all I can think about is Shrek’s onion analogy.

Shrek: Ogres are like onions. Donkey: They stink?

Shrek: Yes. No.

Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.

Shrek: No.

Donkey: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs. Shrek: No. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.

Like ogres and onions, Brompton Community School also has layers; and layers in our layers. What we mean by “we’re adding the next layer” is really that we’re on the next step of our Strategic Plan. Our strategic plan started at year 0 goes through year 20. Yes, there have been changes; adjustments and readjustments are the reality of creating a living document. Like all things at BCS, our roadmap is intentional and calculated and it encompasses literally every part of the school.

We have learned so much in the past two and half years and we are so excited to be on the latest “layer”. After all, we wouldn’t want to sprout little white hairs from sitting in the sun too long.

Reverence for the natural world:

A Sustainable School

BY: AMBER DAWSON

A sustainable school What does zero waste really look like at Brompton?

One of the tenets of Brompton Community School is minimizing the environmental impact we have on our planet and creating a zero-waste, environmentally sustainable school. To facilitate this, we are very mindful of our impact. For instance, we don’t use paper products like paper towels, opting instead for reusable hand towels in the restrooms and separate microfiber towels for cleaning The towels are still single use, because, well, kids. To keep food waste out of the landfill, we compost leftover food each day. Currently we have an open (hot) compost system, but a vermicompost (worm bin) is on the horizon. Worm bins are extremely efficient at breaking down food waste and no, they don’t smell unless there is an imbalance (usually too much liquid). Our teachers limit paper waste by reusing paper scraps and limiting worksheets and other printouts The toilet paper we use is made from recycled paper, although we sometimes spring for the softer bamboo option. We deliberately look for suppliers whose mission and action match those of BCS.

Why do we care? We care because we feel strongly that we should be good environmental stewards of our natural environment Teaching our students reverence for the natural world means that we have to teach them meaningful strategies; small daily habits that add up to a big difference. We also care because we believe that everyone deserves a healthy planet not just now, but for the next millennia. Remember, there is no Planet B.

Can you guess how much food waste the average public school student produces each year? I’ll wait while you come up with a number

The average elementary school produces 15,725 pounds of food waste each year. Each student is estimated to produce 67 pounds of cafeteria waste every year. That’s too much! It was difficult to find documentation on the average amount of total waste produced by an elementary school so for our purposes we will compare the total amount of Brompton waste to the food waste produced by our public school counterparts.

Here at BCS we collectively produce less than an average household’s worth of waste each week With about 100 people in the building Monday-Friday, we average about five (5) bags worth of rubbish on trash day Each bag weighs approximately 15 pounds, so we ’ re producing about 75 pounds of total trash per week, or 2775 pounds for the entire school year. This means that our students are producing about 28 pounds of total waste each year. Our food waste should be much less. Are we tooting our own horn? Absolutely. Can we do even better? Also absolutely. We strive every day to do a little better than the day before

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation: we do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather have these because we have acted rightly; these virtues are formed in man by doing his actions; we are what we repeatedly do Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit”

– Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy (1926)

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME:

In the United States the average person throws away just under five pounds of trash per day (Reese 9). Here are some ways you can cut down on waste at home.

1. Start composting: a small area of your yard will do.

2. Eliminate paper products (except toilet paper, we highly encourage tp)

3. Be mindful of food waste. Examples of this are: meal planning; buying only what you need; using leftovers before they go bad; freezing fruits or vegetables that are on the cusp of mold or rot; and using all parts of your veggies (like the tops of carrot and beets).

4. Buy whole fresh foods to eliminate superfluous packaging.

5. Consume less

6. Buy used when you have to buy

7. Repair rather than replace

8. Buy high quality items than need less frequent replacing and avoid cheap throw-away items.

9. Swap or recycle items when they are no longer needed.

Sources:

https://www.k12dive.com/news/report-nations-school-food-waste-may-be-asmuch-as-530k-tons-

annually/568599/#:~:text=A%20new%20World%20Wildlife%20Fund,46%2D school%20sample%20across%20nine

Wasted: How we squander time, money, and natural resources - and what we can do about it. - Byron Reese & Scott Hoffman

Taste of Brompton

Magestic Fox Sponsor

We are so very appreciative of the support we received from the Gemini 3 Group for our Taste of Brompton fundraiser in May. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU.

RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF OUR LEARNERS: DIFFERENTIATION AT BCS

BY: ALICE BERENBAUM

Our collective goal is to have our children learn, grow, and succeed in reaching their full potential in a safe and nurturing environment We want them to develop critical thinking and innovative learning skills so they can become productive and contributing members of society We know that each child is unique and, as we celebrate their uniqueness, we recognize that educating our children is not a one size fits all process.

The questions then become, how do we meet our students’ needs where they are and move them along their continuum of learning? How do we support and facilitate their learning to best meet their individualized needs- both socially emotionally and academically?

What is Differentiation?

By differentiating instruction, we provide an educational learning environment for all students to experience success by adapting lessons to meet the learning needs of each student while providing expectations for rigor and growth. Differentiated instruction honors our children in their learning process. We recognize that educating and nurturing our students is not a “One Size Fits All.” This, however, does not translate to individualized instruction, rather adapting instruction to meet the needs of our diverse learners

Carol Ann Tomlinson, regarded as a pioneer in differentiated instruction, acknowledges that “students learn at different speeds and that they differ widely in their ability to think abstractly or understand complex ideas.” To accommodate this understanding, Tomlinson emphasizes key pillars of differentiated instruction:

Content – what the students are learning

Process – how the students are learning this information; how they go about making sense of ideas and information

Product – how students demonstrate what they learned

Tomlinson continues to describe differentiation as “ a way of thinking about teaching which suggests that … we teach with an eye on the student.”

What does Differention Look Like at BCS?

At BCS, our teaching team creates learning environments that are student-centered, providing learning opportunities that offer choice, respects learning styles, and challenges students to feel comfortable with risk-taking. Our students are continuing to learn how to become reflective thinkers and take responsibility for their learning. Teachers provide feedback to our students to celebrate areas of strength and establish individual goals in areas of growth.

To do this effectively, our team is committed to understanding the needs of our students, their learning styles, and their interests. Our first weeks of school are dedicated to celebrating the whole child, establishing routines, building a community of learners, identifying learning styles, and informally assessing our students academically. As we continue throughout our school year, our (wonderful & awesome) team facilitates student learning through inquiry based, project-based, student-centered learning.

The content of what our students are learning is aligned with our state standards of learning. Using mastery-based principles, our pacing guide is adapted to meet the learning needs of the whole child. We are intentional with our instructional pacing and provide flexible small groups to support differentiation. Many times, we will adapt learning objectives to meet the needs and interests of our students, going deeper with content and making real world connections

Ultimately, we want our students to know we value them, their learning, and their place in our school community and beyond Our students are “ yours, mine, and ours ” and we look forward to another wonderful year of learning and growing with you

Resources: (available in our school professional development library)

~ How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms by Carolyn Tomlinson

Upcoming Events

PLANT AND PLAY

Join us at the Fredericksburg Parks & Rec’s Plant and Play on September 23, 2023 from 9am-2pm at the Fred Nats Stadium.

Free Admission for all ages. Held rain or shine. Concessions available, no outside food or drinks allowed.

There will be plenty of free activities for all ages! Activities include two moon bounces, bike races, nerf shooting, golf putting, and baseball pitch, just to name a few. There will also be lectures on native trees and plants, and workshops throughout the day.

STORY TIME IN PAJAMAS WITH LOOSE PARTS PLAY

We are very excited to announce our first collaboration with the Fredericksburg Food Coop! BCS will be hosting story time on October 9th, 2023, from 6pm-7pm and every 2nd Monday, for the rest of 2023. Join us for songs, stories, and loose parts play.

All participants are invited to attend in pajamas. Grab dinner at the coop and make it a family night. See you there!

TRUNK OR TREAT

Our third annual Trunk or Treat is October 28, from 3-4:30 pm in the BCS parking lot.

If you are interested in hosting a trunk please email alysoun@bromptonschool.org to reserve your parking spot.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.“

Annual Report 2022-2023

TUITION AND TUITION ASSISTANCE

tuition for 2022-23 school year: $12,500

cost to educate a student:: $13,418.

tuition assistance

provided: $90,630

sourcesoftuitionassistance: deferred director and associate directors’ salary and fees for school year

2022-2023

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goalsfortuitionassistance: create an endowment provide need based financial assistance to 25% of all bcs families create fundraisers that support and sustain the mission of bcs

what is an endowment?

An endowment is a portfolio of assests invested by an institution to support the Donors contribute to the endowment with the stipulation that their gift will rem perpetuity and the income generated from their gift is designated for a specifi tuition assistance or other operating need. Each year the school allocates a per endowment value to support the donor intended purposes. A strong endowmen the future.

payroll (teaching team):

payroll (admin):

books and supplies(classroom):

supplies (office and general):

benefits (health, dental, vision, 401k):

professional services (lunch, attorney, CPA, etc):

facilities:

fire hydrant loan: school insurance:

total expenditures:

save the date

If you ’ ve been with us since the beginning, you know that our journey started with us waiting for a fire hydrant After many delays the fire hydrant was installed, inspected, tested, and painted, but we are still paying for it. The final bill for the fire hydrant installation was $71,535. This includes the fees to the city, engineer, and the actual fire hydrant We still owe $11,300 On Febrarury 8th, 2024, we will host our first ever BCS Fire Hydrant Day (aka. Our Day of Giving) with the goal of rasing enough funds to pay off our beloved (and necessary) fire hydrant.

averages for 2022-23

average teacher salary: $53,712

average co-teacher salary: $28,160

average admin salary: $52,450

other ways to help:

purchase items from a teacher’s wishlist: each class has a wishlist on the school’s website under the “PTO” tab.

purchase an item from the school wish list, also on the PTO page of our website donate! We have a “donate now ” button at the top of our home page volunteer (we love volunteers!)

spread the word!

become an active member of the BCS PTO

join our advisory board

There are lots of ways you can support Brompton Community School and further our mission. The Brompton Community School Annual Report is published in

contact information

for general questions, reporting absences/illness, before or after care questions, call or text Brompton Community School 540.940.1806 or email alysoun@bromptonschool.org

for questions about employment, curricula, assessments, report cards call or text our Associate Director 540.940.1807 or email alice@bromptonschool.org

for questions about registration or to schedule a tour call or text our dean of admissions at 5409401880 or email admissions@bromptonschoolorg

Brompton Community School 490 Central Rd Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540.940.1806

www.bromptonschool.org