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The Brookline Early Education Program is pleased to offer:

A monthly support group for parents and caregivers of BEEP students. This is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to join a community of people going through shared experiences. This group will meet at BEEP at Lynch and is open to all BEEP families.

Where:
Lynch Center, 599 Brookline Avenue, 3rd Floor Conference Room (on street parking, ring bell to enter)

When:
Wednesdays from 8:30-9:30AM

Dates:
11/19/25, 12/17/25, 1/21/26, 3/18/26, 4/15/26, 5/20/26

Lead by:
Danna Leibensperger, LICSW
BEEP Social Worker

If you have questions, please email or call Danna Leibensperger at:

Danna_Leibensperger@psbma.org or 617-713-5474

Dear BEEP Families,

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday Break I want to send my thanks and appreciation to all BEEP families. Thank you for sharing your children with us and for being a part of our BEEP community. Children bring joy and wonder to each day and their energy and curiosity sustain me and remind me of all that is good and right in this world.

My thanks and appreciation to Erin Hurney and Rachel Craigen, BEEP’s program coordinators. I learn something new each day working alongside these incredible administrators and educators. Salahaldin Wise and Stacey Dorsey make the work possible each day! How we appreciate them.

The true heart and soul of BEEP beats in the teachers, paraprofessionals, team facilitators and specialists. They bring the learning to life, guide families through the education process and provide safe and supportive environments for children-places to learn and play. I told the BEEP educators that among the things in life I am most thankful for , the thing I count among my blessings, is my work in BEEP. My thanks and appreciation to each and everyone of them!

May you find time for the things that bring you joy, may you find time for family and friends this holiday season and if you are far from home or missing someone in your life may you find comfort in memories and remembering.

With thanks and gratitude,

Margaret

Some reminders and upcoming events:

Thank you to all the families who completed the application for next year. This helps us plan for the lottery-which opens on December 1. Thanks to all the families who supported the food drive. Many thanks to Drea Barlow for all her work organizing the drive and then collecting the food.

Be sure to mark your calendar for our 3rd Annual International Potluck Gathering!

International Potluck and Winter Clothing Swap

Digital Well Being Playbook Parent Presentation

In partnership with the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, the district will be offering a parent presentation on social media. You can find the details below. Consider registering and learn about how to support your child/family in the ever-changing landscape of technology and social media:

The Digital Well-being Playbook
December 10th, 2025, 7:00 pm over Zoom
Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/RX8DloUYRT arhQoFvpiEjA

Do your kids spend a lot of time on Tiktok, YouT ube, or playing Fortnite? Do you as parents struggle to understand everything that is going on in their online lives? You may also be wondering how your own relationship with technology might be healthier. You’re in the right place! Coming out of the pandemic, many of us have spent more time on screens than ever before, and the lines between home, work, and school are blurry, making it challenging to unplug from our devices. Join us as we discuss navigating this balance with tips and tools to:

• Achieve sustainable, positive digital practices with family and at work.
• Optimize your digital habits forbetter mental health and family connection.
• Prevent and recover from sensory overload and digital overwhelm.
• Positively shift your relationship with your devices so they fuel vs. fatigue your relationships.

Date and Time: December 10th, 2025, 7:00 pm over Zoom

About the speaker
Nina Hersher, MSW, is Chief Learning Officer at the Digital Wellness Institute, author of the best seller, Your Playbook for Thriving in the Remote Work Era, and a highly sought after speak er. A leading expert in Digital Wellness, Hersher holds a specialized Master of Social Work in Digital Culture and Program Development. Hersher is al so Co-founder of annual Digital Wellness Day, reaching over 7 million people in 36 countries.

Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/RX8DloUYRT arhQoFvpiEjA

Family Guide

The Federation for Children with Special Needs compiled this Family Guide to help families navigate the special education process. The guide is available in 10 languages.

You’ll find the information you need in helpful, bite-sized sections on:

• Supports available in classrooms
• The special education process
• Your role as a parent on the IEP or 504 team
• Understanding the Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
• What to know for multilingual learners with disabilities
• And more!

The Family Guide also includes a translated glossary to support better communication between families and schools. See you all in December! Have a great break.

It was a spooky Halloween Evening as I walked Orion around my
neighborhood. The waxing moon peeking out between billowing clouds
that you could still see in the night sky. The wind whipped the leaves all
about, drying up what remained of the rain. I hope that if you celebrate
Halloween you had a fun time with family and friends.

Hello November:

November dawns with much uncertainty in our country and in our
communities, as the government shutdown continues to impact daily living
for so many. We know that possible reductions in Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Programs will impact many in our community.

In Brookline, in BEEP and in the wider Public Schools’ Community we
have been working together to gather information and organize resources
to support families. Here are some things that families can continue to
count on:

• Please know that all PSB schools will continue to offer free, nutritious breakfast and lunch every school day for all students. These meals will remain available without interruption to all students, regardless of circumstance.
   
• Brookline Thrives: https://brooklinefoodpantry.org/about/brookline-thrives/. Brookline Thrives is committed to continuing its Weekend Food Bags: Brookline Thrives provides FREE WEEKEND FOOD BAGS (including breakfast, lunch, milk, fruit and snacks) for students in BEEP and Brookline K-8 Schools. Any family who feels they can benefit from additional weekend food options may participate. Bags can be picked up by your child at school, or alternative arrangements can be made if preferred.
   
• Brookline Food Pantry: If you need extra groceries, please know you can shop at any of the Brookline Food Pantry locations. For the first visit please bring along a form of identification and let the staff know you are receiving Thrives bags at the school. They will issue you with a pantry card and you can shop once a week at the following sites:
  
  Clients may come to the Pantry one time each week at either location. Our hours and locations are as follows: 226 High Street, Tuesday 3-7pm, 15 Marion Street, Wednesday 2-5pm, Thursday 10:30am-1pm, Friday 10:30am-1pm
  
  Some additional resources for families:
  
  Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline: https://projectbread.org/foodsource-hotline
  Counselors are available in 180 languages to connect families with resources such as the WIC Program and local food pantries.
  
  Centre Street Food Pantry:
  https://www.centrestfoodpantry.org/
  We are here to help support families and connect families to resources they may need. Please reach out to one of us (Margaret, Erin or Rachel) and/or our social worker , Danna Leibensperger (danna_leibensperger@psbma.org). If we wrap our arms around each other and lean into the power of community we never have to worry alone.

Partnering with the PTO

Our PTO is working with other PTOs in town to organize food drives
and support the local food pantry. We already had one successful food
drive at our Fall Festival!! In addition, the PTO is donating gift cards for
local supermarkets that will be available to help families bridge the gap in
food assistance. Thank you to Andrea Barlow and the entire PTO for their
support and generosity. Thank you to all the BEEP families who support
the PTO.

BEEP Teaching and Learning Updates

The first eight weeks of school have allowed us to build a strong foundation for learning. We focused on the Three R’s of early education: Relationships, Routines and Repetition!! Students are comfortable in the classrooms, have established some solid routines and expectations and will continue to build on these skills with repetition and practice. We hope that you will sign up for a Parent T eacher Fall Check In Conference with your child’s teacher(s). We are eager to hear from you about how things are going and to share about your child’s growth and progress!

Parent Support Groups:

You should have received information about two parent support groups we will offer this school year. I have attached the flyers with more information to this email. One support group will be a general support group for BEEP families and the other is for parents or caregivers of children living with autism or other complex special education needs. We hope these support groups will provide opportunities for you to meet other BEEP families and share in the joys and challenges of raising young children! Please reach out to Danna or Riva (contact information on the flyers) for more information!

Professional Development Day:

BEEP educators will participate in professional development on November 4th. PSB is closed that day. BEEP educators will spend the morning together out at our Putterham Location engaging in a workshop on Social and Emotional Learning: for adults and for students. In the afternoon we will have opportunities to think together about literacy in BEEP! We are also participating in some district wide professional development with the Office of Student Services! We are looking forward to learning together and bringing that learning back to our classrooms.

Early Dismissal Days: Dismissal is at 12:40 pm We have several early release days this month: November 6, November 12 and November 20. Extended day programs at all BEEP locations will run on these days!
We will send a reminder on the morning of an early dismissal days.

Looking forward to 2026-2027:

Believe it or not we are busy preparing for 2026-2027 . We are making some slight adjustments to our enrollment process this year and registration for currently enrolled families will open two weeks before the application for prospective/new families. We will send currently enrolled families the link for the application on November 15. By making this slight change we will have a better sense of the number of seats available to prospective families for SY 26-27 .

Siblings will continue to have priority for enrollment and applications for siblings will open on December 1, 2025 when the application period for 2026-2027 begins.

Thank you to all of our BEEP families who tell others in the community about their positive experiences. Partnering with families and sharing in their time in your lives is an honor and privilege. Thank you for being a part of the BEEP family.

Wishing you all the best November possible.

With gratitude,
Margaret, Erin and Rachel