Alumna Shamani Stafford

Meet Shamani Stafford

Shamani Stafford graduated in 2011 from Brookstone Schools. While at Brookstone Shamani thrived, growing in her spiritual walk and academic success.  She learned to follow Christ more faithfully, and how to help share the Gospel with her friends. Shamani thanks Brookstone for teaching her how to read the Bible and apply it to her life.

She appreciates Brookstone for teaching her how to utilize tools that will lead to success. Shamani believes through the school she learned how to study and apply her education to her work.
 

“I know from Brookstone that nothing is impossible with God. I have learned that at times when you want to quit you just have to keep going. Things are going to get difficult in life but you just have to stay focused and keep pushing forward. God didn’t give up on us, so let's keep persevering.”
 

Shamani is excelling at Cramerton Christian Academy by utilizing the skills she learned at Brookstone. While she is on track to make the honor roll this semester, Shamani has also made the varsity and the JV high school volleyball team as a 7th grader. She thanks Brookstone for her study habits, organization skills, and ability to multi-task. Shamani hopes to be a veterinarian one day. We look forward to hearing more about our young alumna in the future!

Runway 5K Run

Our Brookstone Running Club ran their first race, a 5K on October 27, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Representing Brookstone were 4th grade boys Joseph, Jourden and Micka'l, and 5th grade girls Talajah, Justice and Elisah.



Leading up to the race, the Running Club trained on Mondays and Wednesdays with volunteer coaches Meg Hancock and Lynn Wilkerson. Not only did the students run during practice, but they also participated in character building activities and lessons, and learned to stretch properly.


 "The kids brought Lynn and I so much joy," Hancock said. Coach Hancock learned a great amount of patience and gained appreciation for our Brookstone teachers. She loved spending time with the children.

 

 

The coaches were particularly impressed by the turnout for the race. Only one of the students, Enchantiss, was unable to run due to a family commitment. "The parent and family support the day of the race was overwhelming!" said Hancock.



The coaches hope to have greater student turnout for cross-country next year. They would like to participate in a program called Cross-Country for Youth, which would allow the Brookstone team to compete against other elementary school teams.

We are so grateful for our volunteer coaches who gave so generously of their time to teach these students to set goals, persevere and run with joy!

A Right Fit

Brookstone Supporters Trent Andrews and Samuel Snapp, members of Matthews Orthodox Presbyterian Church, reached beyond traditional fundraisers to meet the needs of students in a unique way. 

After seeing young students at their church wearing ties too big, they organized a tie and belt drive to provide these items to our students.  On October 8th they delivered 21 youth-sized ties and 20 belts to the school. Trent and Samuel are currently organizing a Book Drive to provide teachers' classrooms and the school library with books they want the students to read. We are so thankful for these supporters and look forward to the Book Drive in November! 

Planting One Seed At a Time

Salsa created big smiles for Brookstone students on September 24. Our friends from St. Patrick Catholic School came to teach our 2nd and 3rd grade students about vegetables and health through Scissor Salsa. 

"I can't wait until we make spicy sauce with garlic in it because I'm going to be the happiest boy in the world,"said third grader Ramierre.

Starting in the garden, students and volunteers picked tomatoes, basil and green onions for the salsa. Elizabeth Stamas, our Brookstone garden committee co-chair, then gave a small nutrition lesson about the importance of vegetables in our daily diet. Afterwards, students cut the vegetables with scissors into their bowls and squeezed some lime. The volunteers added some peppers and garlic and the students mixed it all together to make salsa! They were provided tortilla chips to go with the salsa, making a healthy snack for the children.

 

The garden was also uprooted, cleaned out and replanted by the students for the winter crop on Friday, October 12. Children and volunteers planted many vegetables including: lettuce, radish, collards, mustard and specialty greens, carrots, dwarf grey sugar peas, swiss chard, spinach, cabbage, beets, broccoli, brussel spouts, shallots, yellow onions and elephant garlic.

Stundents are excited to see the harvest in the months to come, but are most excited about the sweet potatoes they also planted. Students in 2nd grade will dig up their sweet potatoes on harvest day on October 29. These will be used in a school-wide Sweet Potato Pancake Breakfast held in the cafeteria on November 20. The pancakes will be made by our garden committee members and Johnson and Wales University chef Megan Lambert.

We are so excited show off our garden in these upcoming events! 

Family of Musicians Inspire Our Students

Minds on Music brought the Smoak family, Brookstone partners, to our cafeteria to play the violin for our students on Thursday, October 11. Two of the Smoak children, Caroline, 9, and William, 7, take violin lessons not only to learn and enjoy, but also to give back to others through their music. 

Caroline and William played a variety of songs from "Happy Birthday" to classical pieces, accompanied by their mom, Beth. After they performed, Brookstone students asked questions about the violins, how they practiced, how they played and about the different sounds the strings make. It was a great opportunity for our students to identify with these young musicians. 

 

We are so appreciative that the Smoaks shared their gifts and talents with us!

Music Through the Halls

Classical music benefits children in wonderful ways. Music helps children to make better grades and think more creatively. Children have a chance to develop musical skills, discipline and self-esteem. Students learn the value of excellence while they explore creativity and expression through music making.

We are excited to announce that our students are enjoying Minds on Music, a unique music education program which features a new composer each month.  Every morning when students arrive at school, classical music rings through the halls. This month our featured composer is Beethoven, and the children are enjoying learning about his music and life.

Our Suziki Violin Program is off to a good start. Violin teacher, Jessica Ker, is teaching lessons before school on Mondays and Wednesdays to a group of enthusiastic kindergarten and first grade students. We are excited to see the Lord bless these children through music. 

 

Help Needed!  Brookstone's children are in need of violins and funding for the program. If you have any small violins (sizes: 1/10 through 1/4) or would like to donate to provide violins, our students would be greatly blessed. To get involved and offer these students an opportunity in classical music please contact Nancy at nancy.turbeville@brookstoneschools.org.

Straight to the Top!

Brookstone's 2012 Summer Learning & Enrichment Camp

 

Over the years, God has led us to see the creative ways we can witness to the world through the doorway He has provided for us at Brookstone.  We believe God has a tender regard for marginalized children and their families. As Jesus commands, “Let the little children come unto me…” (Matthew 19:14). The path of duty is plain for us.



In June 2011 we launched our first summer camp and mobilized church teams to make it happen. It was a great success, thanks to God’s sustaining grace, hard work, and the collective action of many faithful volunteers.

The Counselors and Staff

This summer we doubled the number of children (daily attendance - 70 campers) which included Brookstone students and children from the Reid Park neighborhood around the school.  Straight to the Top provided Christian teaching, reading instruction, field trips, and enrichment in the arts and athletics.

Straight to the Top boosted reading skills; provided underprivileged children with enrichment through the arts, athletics, and Christian teaching; provided educational field trips (e.g. Reedy Creek Nature Center, NC Transportation Museum, Schiele Museum); and built social skills through strong adult-child relationships.

    Thanks to the help of so many, we were able to nurture the mind, body, and spirit of each child in our camp this summer. Our special thanks goes out to our volunteers and donors...

Mebane Charitable Foundation

C. Ray & Cynthia M. Kennedy Foundation

Anonymous

Roy & Susan Goode

Jill Dahan

Rose Chauffeured Transportation Ltd.

Christmas Village Toy Store

Robert Haggart

Jonathan Bacon

Matthews Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Reformed Theological Seminary

Davidson United Methodist Church

CROSS Ministries-Myers Park Presbyterian Church

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Southlake Presbyterian Church

Seek the City-Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church

In Kind Gifts

Bob Lee

Ann Tarwater

Vesta Gray

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated

Carrie Luke Photography

St. Patrick's Student Holds Raffle For Brookstone

Continuing their strong friendship, students from St. Patrick’s Catholic School and Brookstone were set to attend Junior Achievement’s BizTown in Charlotte this May. However, before the trip, we were not sure we would be able to transport all of our excited students to BizTown. When St. Patrick’s students were told the news, fourth grade student, Brian Stieglitz, was particularly concerned. To solve the problem, Brian decided to hold a neighborhood raffle to raise money for Brookstone.

Brian’s raffle involved a homemade poster hanging from his neck, a finely decorated collection box, a pad and paper to record ticket sales, and determined travels door-to-door throughout his neighborhood. Brian raised a total of $50 dollars and after subtracting his grand prize of $15, Brian was able to donate a total of $35 to Brookstone.

In order to make sure the donation was delivered to us safe and sound, Brian brought the money over personally. Upon his arrival, news of Brian’s story was buzzing around the halls of Brookstone. Students patiently waited, and soon in walked the bright-eyed, eager, young man, ready to present his donation. While Brian can rest assured that the money will be put to good use, he says he wants the money to go towards “anything the school needs.” When reflecting on his overall experience, Brian says he was “just happy to help.” Brian also adds, “I learned that I can help too, and that if you have a good cause and work hard, people will help.”

We are extremely impressed with Brian’s efforts and selfless, giving heart; both Brian’s family and Brookstone plan to continue a strong and positive relationship in the upcoming years.

Brookstone Student Rises Above Adversity

While literacy has always been a priority and concern for the nation, recently, much attention has been paid to making children repeat a school year to ensure they are proficient in reading. At Brookstone, we address literacy issues when they surface, sometimes as early as kindergarten or first grade. We believe that students held back earlier rather than later, are able to ‘bounce back’ quicker than those held back in later grades.



Jeremiah with his lunch buddy, Stephen Neill

Jeremiah is a perfect example of the wisdom of early intervention. A current Brookstone second-grader, two years ago Jeremiah was in first grade, but severely struggling with math, reading, and writing, and subsequently acting out in class. According to his first grade teacher, Elisabeth Alvarado, “It was apparent Jeremiah was becoming very demoralized and discouraged.” As the year reached its close, his teachers and parents decided that repeating first grade would be the most beneficial for Jeremiah’s success.

Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, Alvarado was elated to report that it was as if Jeremiah “was a different child. He has been able to be the leader in this class instead of the one who is always struggling.” When speaking of Jeremiah’s attitude, Alvarado states, “It's evident that Jeremiah’s much happier and that’s a huge part of his confidence and success.” Unlike the previous year, this time around Jeremiah has many friends and has an overall happy and excited demeanor.

We work tirelessly to ensure the success of all our students, personally meeting their needs, so that every one will reach their God-given potential.