PAC April 2010

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Brandon Pride
A
o f
N e w s l e t t e r
B r a n d o n
A d v i s o r y
Upcoming
Events
•
April 2ndGood Friday,
No School
•
April 4th–
Easter Sunday
•
April 8th- 3rd
quarter grades
close
•
April 19th23rd- School
Vacation
•
April 30th
(1:30-2:30 ) Jungle Encounters
a t
f o r
P a r e n t s / G u a r d i a n s
t h e
s u g g e s t i o n
o f
t h e
a n d
F r i e n d s
P a r e n t
C o u n c i l ( P A C )
THIS JUST IN: Big Bulldog Win!
The Brandon Bulldogs left UMASS-Lowell as the champions
of the 2010 G.B.B.L. Div. 3 Tournament! Brandon defeated
Lighthouse in a tight game 39-32. The young men played
unrelenting defense and only surrendered 16 points in each
half. After a slow start and working out all of the nervous energy, the teams were tied at 16 after 20 minutes. Brandon
dedicated itself to defense and, after several defensive
stands and some tough baskets, was ahead by a single point 31- 30 with 3 minutes left. From
there, it was all Brandon!! Omar W and Jonathan P scored the last seven points of the game
with big steals and a huge three-point shot from Jonathan P. to take the lead for good at 3430. Omar capped the scoring with an acrobatic open court lay-up with 20 seconds left and
Brandon again stole the ball and dribbled the clock out. The entire gym could feel the boys’ excitement and, after politely congratulating Lighthouse, the young men celebrated with their new
shiny trophies! The Bulldogs were led in the scoring department by Jonathan P. with 18 points
and Omar W. with 12 points. Anthony B. chipped in with 5 and Spencer G had a big bucket to
keep the team in the game in the second half. The Bulldog’s won the game with amazing defense and earned several trophies as a result of their hard work. Anthony B won the Sportsmanship Award, Adam B. and Omar W were members of the All-Star Tournament, and Jonathan P was named Tournament MVP and very deservedly so! If you see the team members,
be sure to congratulate them.
Come One, Come All: Open House Success
Brandon’s March 24th PAC Open House
was a tremendous success; parents and
guests had an opportunity to visit with
students, tour the houses, experience
the evening routine, and enjoy a meal
together. The boys showed off their tidy
rooms, House supervisors were extraordinary hosts, and staff prepared delicious
spreads. House 5 impressed guests with
hors d'oeuvres, House 2 students and families indulged in case manager, Maritza’s, culinary specialties, and a
House 1 student was excited to show his public school teachers his bedroom and a favorite video game. Many thanks to the parents who made a
mid-week visit to Brandon, to the case managers for staying late and to
the residential staff for preparing the houses for this special occasion!
A
N e w s l e t t e r
s u g g e s t i o n
o f
f o r
P a r e n t s / G u a r d i a n s
t h e
P a r e n t
A d v i s o r y
a n d
F r i e n d s
o f
B r a n d o n
a t
t h e
C o u n c i l ( P A C )
Page 2
Student Spotlight
I am a 15 year old from outside of
Boston, MA. I came to Brandon
over the summer to work on my anger. I was in a hospital because I
had gotten into trouble at the group
home I’d been in. I didn’t really
want to come to Brandon because I
wanted to be home and I wanted to
behave and be able to be there without getting into
trouble. I know that I do need to be here though because I need to work on my anger and I need help.
I was born in the DR and have only been in the United
States for a few years. I learned English from friends
and from school. In the beginning I needed some
help because I didn’t understand English that well.
But I got better and better and after that I was getting
A’s in school and stuff. In school here at Brandon
they help you with a lot of things. The teachers give
you a lot of fun things so that you can learn and stuff.
While I was pretty bad in math before, I get a lot of
help here and now I’m pretty good. I know that is important for my future and for where I want to be.
I like living at Cedarbrook because we go out a lot
and I like going off-grounds. You really need to
behave out there. The kids who come and don’t
behave need to really improve so that they can do
it in the community. When you are on campus and
new you want to behave to go to Cedarbrook. It’s
a really good house.
Staff help you with a lot of things. If you ask for
something, they always tell you yes if you do the
right thing. They try to give us lots of things to do
so that we can have fun and learn lots of stuff.
I’m doing pretty good right now, the best I can. I
hope in the future that I do the right thing. Back
then I used to do bad things. I know that’s not what
I’ll do in the future. Brandon has helped me to
learn what I need to do. My goal is to go home and
behave, do well in school, respect adults and others and do the right thing.
Have You Heard? Jungle Encounters Comes to Brandon April 30th
Jungle Encounters provides a unique experience with wild animals that invites kids
into the Animal Kingdom. This family-run, privately owned zoo is located in Uxbridge,
MA. Some of their animals include a Fennec Fox, a Ringtail Cat, a Striped Skunk, an
American Alligator and many, many others. Scheduled to visit for the Friday activity
block on April 30th, Brandon students will be able to observe, touch, and learn about
the animals. We are looking forward to the boys’ excitement and questions.
February Staff of the Month– Jon Burrows
Jon Burrows does a fabulous job with the boys in the middle school. He is constantly strategizing with the kids and supporting them, while keeping their best
interests at heart. Jon has done a nice job 'stepping out of the box' to create/
facilitate individual behavior support plans for struggling students to increase
their ability to remain in the classroom and motivate them toward more positive
behavior in our school. He is credited for being instrumental in beginning to
change the culture within our school toward a more strength-based approach to supporting struggling students and/or students in crisis. In addition, he has taken a leadership role in incorporating the sensory integration tools and techniques with our students. Kudos to Jon and thanks for all you do!
Brandon Pride is now in its second year, thank you for reading! Past editions are always available on www.brandonschool.org in the PAC section of the For Parents page.