Welcome ECE (Early Childhood Education) families! Brown is proud to offer two full-day ECE classrooms. Your ECE teachers are:
For general information about DPS preschool opportunities, including programming, locations, tuition and scholarship information, visit DPS Preschool Programs or call the DPS Early Childhood Education Office at 720-423-8213. Note: Children enrolling for ECE must be age 4 by October 1.
ECE’s IB Program of Inquiry – Timeline for Units ECE
In ECE, students engage in four IB units of inquiry that span the year. Teachers also utilize the program Creative Curriculum. Students participate in play based learning that help them learn to solve problems, persist through challenges, build vocabulary skills, gain background knowledge in many content areas and develop social skills.
ECE students are dropped off and picked up through the playground doors just west of the cafeteria entrance. They are signed in by an adult. All ECE students should be dropped off at 8:55 a.m. Dismissal is at 3:45 p.m., and again students are signed out by an adult.
A typical day involves play based learning with the whole group and small group learning periods interspersed with two recess breaks, snacks, and an afternoon quiet or nap time.
Your child will be accompanied, by an adult, to the bathroom.
Brown is part of the DPS StartSmart no-charge breakfast program. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and also the most skipped meal by children. Children who eat breakfast perform better on standardized achievement tests and have fewer behavior problems in school. To support the daily education of DPS students Food & Nutrition Services offer a program of Breakfast at No Charge to all schools with a current breakfast program. Stop in before school, check it out and kids can grab a juice, snack or full breakfast.
Brown offers a hot cafeteria lunch including a kid-friendly salad bar. Brown staff ensure that children quickly learn the routine of walking to the cafeteria and buying lunch. Classes line up and walk to the lunchroom together, where those who brought their own lunch go to sit at a table, and those buying “hot” lunch are helped through the lunch line by the paraprofessional. Parents are always welcome to join their child in the cafeteria and may also purchase lunch for $3 cash/check only.
You may pre-pay for multiple lunches via My School Bucks, or give cash or a check to the cafeteria staff. Remember to sign up online before the first day of school, or pay staff on the first day when you drop off your child. Your child will have a lunch card in the classroom that he or she will give to the cafeteria staff; the paraprofessional will return all lunch cards to the classroom. Children with free or reduced lunch will have a lunch card that works the same way.
The DPS breakfast and lunch menus and current breakfast and lunch prices are available online or at the school office.
The school regularly sends home information on school activities and events in students’ “Friday Folders” at the end of each week. Please encourage your child to bring this information home to you and to return the folder to the teacher on Monday. Teachers also communicate with families via the app Parent Square.
Discovery Link is available before and after school for full-day ECE students. Discovery Link staff drop off and pick up the children from their classrooms. Kids typically spend their time working on projects in the cafeteria and playing in the gym or on the playground. Learn more about information on Discovery Link.
Welcome Kindergarten families! Your Kindergarten teachers are:
For many of you, this is a first experience with Brown International Academy, and perhaps with any school for your child. Below is some information you might find helpful as we begin the school year. If you have any questions about this information, please feel free to call the front office staff at 720-424-9250 or your child’s teacher. We also encourage you to seek out other parents and attend PTA meetings to remain informed. We communicate closely via Parent Square and share important information on our grade level padlet.
Kindergarten’s Program of Inquiry: Timeline for Units
Students in Kindergarten engage in five units of inquiry that span the year.
Our math and literacy programs are the district provided curricula: Benchmark and Bridges. Teachers use iStation, a school adopted program, to assess and progress monitor phonics and foundational literacy skills.
Drop Off: You may drop your student off on the Kinder playground starting at 8:40 a.m., but please be sure to escort them to the playground and let the person on duty know that you are leaving. Students will line up by class on the playground at 8:50 a.m., so that we can walk inside promptly when the bell rings at 8:55 a.m.
Please be sure to hug and say goodbye to your child prior to their lining up. It is much easier on the child and parent if goodbyes are said before getting in line, and is also much more efficient for teachers getting students into the building so that we can start our learning.
Teachers will escort students in through the side door of the building, so as to minimize traffic directly into the classroom. If your child is in Discovery Link in the mornings, a staff member will escort your child to the Kinder playground so they may line up with the rest of the class at 8:30. Once inside the building, students will hang backpacks and coats on hooks and join their friends in their classroom.
Dismissal: Students are dismissed through the Kindergarten classroom doors on the Kinder playground at 3:45 p.m.
Students participating in Discovery Link or other after-school activities (see below) will be escorted to the appropriate drop-off location by a teacher. Students who are not picked up by 4 p.m., will be taken to the Main Office so that they may contact the appropriate person.
Your child’s teacher will describe the classroom schedule on Back to School Night. Kindergarten classes have a mix of group and exploration time in the morning. They go to lunch at 11:10 a.m., followed by recess. Afternoons involve Specials, which include Dance/Physical Education, Music, Visual Art, Technology and Spanish classes on a rotation basis. Students have library check out weekly. If you have specific questions, feel free to talk directly to your child’s teacher.
Students are encouraged to use the restroom during lunch and afternoon recess times. However, there are bathrooms in each of the Kinder classrooms.
Brown is part of the DPS StartSmart no-charge breakfast program. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and also the most skipped meal by children. Children who eat breakfast perform better on standardized achievement tests and have fewer behavior problems in school. To support the daily education of DPS students Food & Nutrition Services offer a program of Breakfast at No Charge to all schools with a current breakfast program. Stop in before school, check it out and kids can grab a juice, snack or full breakfast.
Brown offers a hot cafeteria lunch including a kid-friendly salad bar. Brown staff ensure that children quickly learn the routine of walking to the cafeteria and buying lunch. Walking to the cafeteria and buying lunch may be a new experience for full-day kindergarteners. As a result, Brown staff ensure that children quickly learn the routine. Students will line up in the hall according to whether they have hot or cold lunch. Students walk in a line as a class to the lunchroom at 11:10 a.m., and are excused by class and escorted to recess by a Para or other staff member. Parents are always welcome to join their child in the cafeteria and may also purchase lunch for $3 cash/check only.
You may pre-pay for multiple lunches via My School Bucks, or give cash or a check to the cafeteria staff. Remember to sign up online before the first day of school, or pay staff on the first day when you drop off your child. Your child will have a lunch card in the classroom that he or she will give to the cafeteria staff; the paraprofessional will return all lunch cards to the classroom. Children with free or reduced lunch will have a lunch card that works the same way.
The DPS breakfast and lunch menus and current breakfast and lunch prices are available online or at the school office.
The school regularly sends home information on school activities and events in students’ “Friday Folders” at the end of each week. Please encourage your child to bring this information home to you and to return the folder to the teacher on Monday.
Discovery Link is available before and after school. Discovery Link staff drop off and pick up the children from their classrooms. Kids typically spend their time working on projects in the cafeteria and playing in the gym or on the playground.
Welcome first grade families! Your first grade teachers are:
All teachers communicate with families using the Parent Square app.
First graders begin their learning journey through the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, where they are guided through exciting “Units of Inquiry.” Learn more information about First Grade’s IB Program of Inquiry: Timeline for 1st Grade POI
IB is guided by “inquiry,” which is defined as a search for knowledge. It moves students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level. The IB Primary Years Programme emphasizes the importance of students being inquirers. Through the units of inquiry, teachers are constantly encouraging curiosity. Lessons are developed in ways that allow students to wonder, ask questions and identify problems. Throughout the day as students engage in all subjects, they develop their communication skills (reading writing, speaking, listening and presenting) as well their social skills, research skills, thinking skills and self-management skills.
First graders are provided with opportunities to make connections between school learning and life outside of school. They also increase their awareness of themselves and the experiences of others.
The Primary Years Programme ensures that all learning is significant, relevant, engaging and challenging. Your child can reflect on the connections between life in school, life at home and life in the world. By helping your child make these connections and see that all learning is connected to life, the PYP at Brown establishes a strong foundation for your child’s future.
Welcome second grade families! Your second grade teachers are:
Second graders continue their learning journey through the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, where they are guided through exciting “Units of Inquiry.”
IB is guided by “inquiry,” which is defined as a search for knowledge. It moves students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level. The IB Primary Years Programme emphasizes the importance of students being inquirers. Through the units of inquiry, teachers are constantly encouraging curiosity. Lessons are developed in ways that allow students to wonder, ask questions and identify problems. Second graders are provided with opportunities to make connections between school learning and life outside of school. They also increase their awareness of themselves and the experiences of others. Check out the 2nd Grade Program of Inquiry Timeline that shows the units of inquiry.
The Primary Years Programme ensures that all learning is significant, relevant, engaging and challenging. Your child can reflect on the connections between life in school, life at home and life in the world. By helping your child make these connections and see that all learning is connected to life, the PYP at Brown establishes a strong foundation for your child’s future.
Your third grade teachers are:
As students move into the third grade, they begin making deeper connections in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Units of Inquiry and Learner Profile attributes. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase their voice, choice and ownership with their learning both in school and in the community.
IB is guided by inquiry, which is defined as a search for knowledge. It moves students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level. The IB Primary Years Programme emphasizes the importance of students being inquirers. Through the units of inquiry, teachers are constantly encouraging curiosity. Lessons are developed in ways that allow students to wonder, ask questions and identify problems. Third graders are provided with opportunities to make connections between school learning and life outside of school.
The Primary Years Programme ensures that all learning is significant, relevant, engaging and challenging. Your child can reflect on the connections between life in school, life at home and life in the world. By helping your child make these connections and see that all learning is connected to life, the PYP at Brown establishes a strong foundation for your child’s future.
For more information regarding the 3rd grade Program of Inquiry Timeline for Units 3rd Grade
Welcome fourth grade families! Your fourth grade teachers are:
As students move through the 4th grade, they engage in units of inquiry learning about both Colorado and the world beyond.
IB is guided by inquiry, which is defined as a search for knowledge. It moves students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level. The IB Primary Years Programme emphasizes the importance of students being inquirers. Through the units of inquiry, teachers are constantly encouraging curiosity. Lessons are developed in ways that allow students to wonder, ask questions and identify problems.
The Primary Years Programme ensures that all learning is significant, relevant, engaging and challenging. Your child can reflect on the connections between life in school, life at home and life in the world. By helping your child make these connections and see that all learning is connected to life, the PYP at Brown establishes a strong foundation for your child’s future.
For more information on the 4th grade Program of Inquiry: Timeline for Units 4th Grade
Welcome fifth grade families!
Learning, Reflecting, and Taking Action… fifth graders’ learning experience culminates in a unique Primary Years Programme Exhibition, with many interesting adventures along the way.
If you want your child to be an educated, globally-minded citizen, then don’t let him or her miss out on fifth grade at Brown International Academy. In addition to being challenged academically through Brown’s research-based reading, writing and math curricula, your child will learn, reflect and act on a number of world issues and concerns. The result of this thoughtful combination of intellectual inquiry and global awareness is a child who is well prepared to achieve academic excellence in middle school and to lead peers in making our world a better place for all.
IB is guided by “inquiry,” which is defined as a search for knowledge. It moves students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level. The IB Primary Years Programme emphasizes the importance of students being inquirers. Through the units of inquiry, teachers are constantly encouraging curiosity. Lessons are developed in ways that allow students to wonder, ask questions and identify problems. Fifth graders are provided with opportunities to make connections between school learning and life outside of school.
For more information on the 5th grade IB Program of Inquiry visit: Timeline for Units 5th Grade
As fifth graders at Brown International Academy get ready to graduate from elementary school and enter the next phase of their education, they also prepare to present their final assignment: PYP Exhibition. This is an extended, in-depth, collaborative project.
This involves students working collaboratively to conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or problems. Students collectively synthesise all of the essential elements of the PYP in ways that can be shared with the whole school community. They take action in order to offer solutions to this real life issue. It also provides teachers with a powerful and authentic process for assessing student understanding. The exhibition represents a unique and significant opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Profile developed throughout their engagement with the PYP.
Brown students are well-rounded learners. We are proud to offer five specials programs: Visual Arts, Music/Drama, Physical Education, Technology and Spanish. Students rotate Specials every 3 weeks, so they have plenty of time to develop their skills. Over the course of the year, all students will experience all of the Specials programs through our Specials Schedule.
Art is a visual language, a form of communication that shares one’s ideas and lived experiences. Students at Brown will explore and play with this type of communication developing a deep and meaningful translation of thought. With every unit or problem introduced, students will not only grapple with various ways of visually communicating their ideas, but also establish a relationship with the process of making. The hope is that this philosophy will allow for unique individual artwork to emerge. Over time students will build on the previous year’s experiments to grow as thoughtful creators.
“The object of the arts is to give life shape.”
The importance of the arts in education and his passion for performance is what inspired Mr. Herman to become a performing arts teacher. He began his performing arts journey at the age of 5 when he began writing music and plays and performing in the community. Mr. Herman believes the foundation of the performing arts begins at a young age.
While in the classroom, students can be seen creating, acting out stories, developing characters, and using manipulatives to tap into the storytelling process. By participating in these activities, students will become better public speakers and have stronger literacy skills. The music activities at Brown International rely highly on physical movement, and the use of Orff and percussion instruments. Orff teaching techniques enrich each students’ music experience in a fun and interesting way.
A love of movement and physical activity are some of the primary contributors to the lifelong maintenance of a healthy body and lifestyle. It is the goal of Brown’s physical education and dance program to foster such a passion in our students by introducing them to dances and physical activities that are as enjoyable as they are challenging.
From Kindergarten and 1st grade where we are learning about spatial awareness, exploring new equipment and discovering new ways to exercise our bodies, all the way up to fifth grade where we are finding the value of teamwork through adventure challenges, creating personalized fitness plans, and developing creative movement compositions. By the time a student leaves Brown, they will have the necessary skills to lead long, healthy, active lives.
Foreign language instruction is a unique feature of IB schools — our language is Spanish. The Spanish program at Brown International is geared toward fostering cognitive flexibility: when children are fluent in two languages, they know more than one word for the same object or concept. Because words have different connotations and ideas in different languages, children build a more complex understanding of vocabulary and the world. A bilingual child not only can speak two languages, but can think about the world in more complicated ways. For this reason, the Spanish program at Brown is a perfect complement to our IB program.
During Spanish, students learn language structures (phrases) and vocabulary related to school-wide IB units. Students work in cooperative groups, act-out concepts, learn songs and play games. Native Spanish speakers are given the opportunity to improve reading and writing skills and to support Spanish learners in a trusting environment.
The computer lab at Brown has recently been updated with 34 new Mac computers and they are beautiful! Students at all grade levels spend time learning how to use our equipment properly and have the knowledge to be safe online. Digital citizenship skills, such as what they should/should not share online, preventing cyberbullying, reducing digital footprints, and avoiding plagiarism, are taught at all grade levels. Google for Education applications are used with students first through 5th grade including Google Documents, Slides, Spreadsheets, and Classroom. In the middle of the year students practice typing and research skills, eventually using what they’ve learned to create presentations in various digital formats. During the last trimester older students learn basic coding skills and use them to complete a series of challenges. The overall goal of the Educational Technology program at Brown is to extend classroom learning while developing safe and respectful 21st century learners. Visit Brown’s Technology website.
Through a district grant and Brown’s Read-a-thon, the library has recently undergone a make over, with new paint, carpet, furniture, and technology. In addition, through district funds and proceeds from book fairs, new titles of books that support the curriculum and recreational reading needs of students are regularly added to the library. Melissa Capozza collaboratively plans and teaches with classroom teachers to expand children’s research and literacy skills in their explorations of our Units of Inquiry in the Primary Years Programme (PYP).
Thanks to a grant from the Carmel Hill Foundation, Brown implements the Accelerated Reader program. Accelerated Reader is a motivational reading program that helps students choose books at their level and allows them to take computerized tests to assess their comprehension. Learn more about Accelerated Reader. Check the AR level of a book.