Greenbrook PTO’s Annual Trunk or Treat is on 10/28/26! This is a FREE event and open to the whole GB community! Please bring your own bag for candy collection.

Sign up here to decorate your trunk or to help with setup and throughout the event. We only have 3 trunks as of now. We will sadly have to cancel the event if we don't have more trunks for the kids. Please consider signing up!

Our very own, Mr. Evan Berrios will be the DJ for this event!

We also request that all candy donations be dropped off to the Gator Bin in the school vestibule (no nuts please) Click this link to sign up to decorate your trunk OR help us set up and run the event!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D45ACA72EA2FEC43-66206797-greenbrook

SPECIAL INCENTIVE for the Giving Market Fundraiser (Oct 5-19)

We are on day 12 of the fundraiser. Only THREE days left to buy or sell items from your online store, which closes promptly at 11:59 pm on Monday, October 19th.

THIS JUST IN: if we can get to either 50% student participation OR $5000 in sales by October 19th, the students will earn a special Hat and Hoodie Day at school!

The top 25 sellers overall will win a special golden duck prize following the close of the fundraiser.

Remember, you DON'T have to buy anything in order to participate - just register and share the link with friends and family.

Here's how to register:

1. Register your student at link. and enter the names of your friends or family with a valid phone number OR email address.
2. Already registered? Great -->sign back in at link to shop and share!
3. Shop on your student's store for gifts or household goods.

4. Your child will earn VIP duck prizes based on number of items sold.

Thank you for your generous support of Greenbrook Elementary School!

All spirit wear orders were delivered and dispersed to students by Friday, October 9th. If you have any questions or concerns about your order, please contact the PTO at PTO.GB@sbparents.org.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

October has been an important month in South Brunswick as we focused on building positive, safe, and caring school communities. In the state of New Jersey, schools are required to recognize both Week of Respect and School Violence Awareness Week during the month of October. These weeks provide an opportunity for students and staff to reflect on how our words, choices, and actions contribute to a welcoming school environment.

Week of Respect | October 5–9

During Week of Respect, our school focused on our CARES values. Students participated in morning meeting activities, classroom discussions, and activities designed to strengthen important social-emotional skills. Students practiced Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy and Self Control, while learning how these skills can help them successfully learn, play, solve problems, and build healthy relationships with others.

We continue to remind students that kindness is a choice we can make every day. Simple actions such as including others, using respectful words, listening to others, helping a classmate, and standing up when someone is being treated unkindly can make a meaningful difference in our school community.

School Violence Awareness Week | October 19–23

During School Violence Awareness Week, our focus shifted to creating a safe school environment and helping students develop strategies for managing their emotions, thoughts, and actions. Through morning meeting activities and classroom conversations, students explored the importance of self-management. The development of strong self management skills can help students control impulses, manage stress, and demonstrate perseverance.

Continuing the Conversation at Home

Families play an important role in helping children develop these skills. We encourage you to continue talking about CARES, kindness, respect, and self-management at home. Here are a few ideas for family conversations:

1. Talk about kindness and inclusion.
   Ask your child how they can make sure others feel included, welcomed, and respected at school and at home. Discuss what it means to be an upstander when they see someone being left out or treated unkindly.

2. Recognize self-management.
   Talk with your child about times when they successfully managed their thoughts, emotions, or actions. Celebrate their efforts and remind them that self-management is a skill that becomes stronger with practice.

3. Practice strategies for strong emotions.
   Ask your child what they can do when they are feeling angry, frustrated, or upset. Some strategies might include taking a break, taking deep breaths, counting slowly, talking to a trusted adult, using positive self-talk, or finding a safe way to calm their body.

4. Encourage responsibility.
   Create consistent routines and responsibilities at home for homework, chores, and household tasks. Helping children follow routines and complete responsibilities builds independence and reinforces the importance of being responsible for their choices.

5. Ask about their day.
   Instead of simply asking, “How was school today?” try questions such as, “Did you see someone being kind today?” “Did you help someone today?” or “What did you do today that made someone feel included?”

When students, families, and staff work together, we can create a school community where every child feels safe, valued, included, and supported. Thank you for partnering with us and for helping us reinforce these important messages.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. South Brunswick is committed to being a “dyslexia friendly district” with the ability to embrace and support the strengths and talents of our students with dyslexia.

Did you know that 1 in 5 people may have indicators of dyslexia? Or that 40% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic? On October 15th, you may see educators wearing red shirts to bring attention to the 1 in 5 statistic. Did you know that Dyslexia runs in families? Often it is undiagnosed because “dyslexia masks intelligence and intelligence masks dyslexia.” However, it is much more common than you may think!

Some history:

In September of 2014, NJ passed three laws related to dyslexia. The law requires two hours of mandated training related to dyslexia for appropriate school personnel; screening for any child who shows indicators of dyslexia or other reading disabilities early - by the end of the first semester of second grade with further comprehensive assessment and interventions to follow; and finally, dyslexia is now identified in the New Jersey Special Education Code of Law under the classification category of Specific Learning Disability.

Those who are dyslexic may experience difficulty with: learning letters and their sounds, decoding words, reading comprehension, written expression, grammar/mechanics, spelling, and rapid word retrieval. Early intervention can greatly increase success for these students.

Strengths for these students may include: verbal communication, visual arts, computer science, design, drama, electronics, mathematics, mechanics, music and/or sports.

If dyslexia runs in your family or you have concerns about dyslexia and your child, reach out to your child’s teacher or administrator.

If you are looking for some resources about Dyslexia for yourself or your child, here are some good places to start:

Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz (Book)

The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald Davis

On Social Media follow:

• Decoding Dyslexia NJ @DDNJ

• Dyslexia Advantage (FB)

• International Dyslexia Association (FB)

• Made By Dyslexia (FB)

• Bright Solutions for Dyslexia (FB)

Helpful Websites:

• https://dyslexiaida.org/ (NJ Branch of the International Dyslexia Association)

• Learning Ally https://learningally.org/

• Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity: https://www.dyslexia.yale.edu/

South Brunswick is fortunate to have exceptional staff members who make a difference in the lives of our students each day. We invite students, parents/guardians, staff, administrators, and community members to help us recognize these outstanding individuals by submitting a nomination for the NJDOE Governor’s Educator of the Year Program, which honors both educators and educational services professionals, or the SBSD Educational Support Staff Member of the Year. Please take a few moments to nominate a deserving staff member whose dedication, contributions, and commitment to our students and school community exemplify the very best of South Brunswick!

NJDOE Governor's Educator of the Year/SBSD Educational Support Staff Member of the Year