1. education
2. school

Natalie Tee Gaither, Principal
Chris Ng, Assistant Principal
Principal’s Message
May 2015
As we come to the end of the 2014-15 school
year, I’d like to express my gratitude for all the
hard work and dedication of our students,
teachers, staff members and parents. I’d also like
to thank everyone for making me feel so
welcomed during my first year at Brightwood.
A special thanks and congratulations to our
eighth graders: I wish you the best as you move
on to high school, and hope you will find the next
four years to be an enjoyable, challenging, and
fun adventure. Take advantage of the many
opportunities that come your way in high school.
Do amazing things and make us proud!
During summer, I hope all students will
continue learning by journaling, reading, and
participating in interesting and enriching
activities. Have a wonderful summer, and come
back to school rested and ready to learn.
Finally, I would like to announce the welldeserved promotion of our assistant principal,
Mr. Chris Ng, to principal at Granada School.
We will miss Mr. Ng at Brightwood, but we know
he will do a great job in his new position.
Congratulations and good luck, Mr. Ng!
Dates to
Remember
Enjoy your summer break! See you when school resumes on Friday, August 14th! New Butterfly Garden
Earlier this spring, Brightwood School’s campus
became a little more attractive with the addition of a
new butterfly garden (located between the D and E
MAY
buildings).
05: Instrumental Concert
Lead by eighth grader, Louis Tan, a group of
6:00pm Barnes Park
student and parent volunteers cleared weeds, bushes
06: School Site Council Mtg. and overgrown plants, added mulch to the soil, and
3:00pm Cafetorium
began adding new plants. Little by little, they will be
06: 8th Gr. Parent Meeting
adding more mulch and plants. Mrs. Ng (second-grade
6:30pm Cafetorium
teacher) will also be planting flowers in the raised bed
gardens. Louis has also been watering the garden and
08: Star Student Assembly
7:15am Cafetorium
helping to maintain it.
As the garden begins to grow, teachers will be
08: Brightwood Bucks
able
to use it as an outdoor classroom. We look
11-15: PTA Book Fair
forward to seeing the garden continue to grow and
13: Open House
flourish in the upcoming years.
15: PTA Elections
Special thanks to the support and contributions of
7:15am Cafetorium
Louis Tan, David Tan, student council officers, former
16: MPK Play Days Parade Monterey Park councilman Anthony Wong, Amanda
11:00am Garvey Ave.
Lin, Linda Wong and Spark Academy, PTA, and Jesse
19: Project RED Assemblies Chang and Kingdom Causes.
20: Minimum Day
23: Kindergarten Promotion
25: Memorial Day
(No School)
27: Eighth Gr. Promotion
29: Minimum Day
29: Non-Uniform Day
(Theme: Summer/Vacation)
OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday, May 13th
Classes Open 6:00-7:30pm
Food Sales 5:00-8:00pm
Come see the amazing things our students
have accomplished this year!
Important Announcements and Reminders:
☞ Permits for Next Year: If your child is currently on permit, but
you are not planning to have him/her return to Brightwood
School next year, please let the office staff know so we can plan
accordingly for our class placements for the 2015-16 school year.
Please remember that students must maintain satisfactory
attendance, grades and behavior in order to remain on permit.
Students who do not meet these requirements will be notified of
their permit revocation by the end of the school year.
☞ Monterey Park Play Days Parade: This year is the City of
Monterey Park’s 99th birthday. All Monterey Park elementary
schools will be part of the celebration by participating in the
parade on Saturday, May 16th at 11:00am. Please come out to
Garvey Avenue and cheer on our student participants. Many
thanks to parent volunteers Angela Villarreal and Miko
Hernandez for coordinating this year’s parade entry.
☞ T-dap Vaccinations: Students must receive their T-dap
vaccinations prior to the start of their seventh-grade year.
Current sixth graders who have not yet received their T-dap
vaccination should try to get it done before the end of the month
since the health office will not be open during summer. Seventh
graders who have not submitted proof of their T-dap vaccination
will not be allowed to begin school on August 14th.
☞ Instrumental Music Concert: Please come watch our talented
student musicians at an outdoor culminating concert this
Tuesday, May 5th at 6:00pm at the Barnes Park Amphitheater.
This concert will feature students from both Brightwood and
Monterey Highlands Schools.
☞ National School Nurses Day: This Wednesday, May 6th is
National School Nurses Day. If you see our health office staff,
make sure to take a few minutes to let our nurse (Mrs. AcostaPerez) and health aide (Ms. Corrales) know how much you
appreciate how well they take care of our students.
☞ Non-Uniform Day: The last day of school will also be a nonuniform day. Our theme will be summer / vacation. Students are
encouraged to wear a t-shirt from their favorite vacation spot.
☞ Lost & Found: Has your child lost a jacket or sweater this year?
Make sure to check the Lost & Found for it. Any unclaimed
items will be donated to a local charity at the end of the year.
☞ Daily Schedule: Students’ daily schedule (start/end times) will
be changing next year. More information will be coming soon.
☞ 2015-16 Enrollment: Parents of children who will be starting at
Brightwood School this August can call 626-570-6200 to make
an enrollment appointment. Students who are applying for a
permit must first obtain a release from their home school/district.
Please Visit the Brightwood School Website: www.BrightwoodElementarySchool.org
and the Brightwood PTA Website: www.BrightwoodSchool.Weebly.com.