Student Activities
Associated Student Body (ASB)
Brownell's Associated Student Body represents all Bruins, and works to enrich the school day. With students meetings on a regular basis, we provide the students with countless activities to participate in.
- School Dances: The dances are open only to students attending Brownell. Students suspended during the time between dances may not attend. When attending school dances, students must bring their ticket, a signed parent permission slip, and a current school ID card. The school dress code is in effect at all dances, and students who arrive wearing clothing that breaks that dress code will be sent home. Parents MUST pick up students from dances promptly.
- Spirit Days: Held throughout the year, students have the opportunity to show their Bruin spirit by participating in a theme day.
Eligibility
Appropriate student behavior is a requirement for participation in all students activities, including ASB. Student leaders are expected to represent high ethical standards. Students must attend at least half of the school day to be eligible to participate in ASB and related activities. GUSD board policy states that to be eligible for a position of leaderships, students must maintain a 2.0 GPA or higher with no more than 1 failing grade. In addition, ASB students must have satisfactory citizenship. Eligibility shall be determined at the end of each quarter.
CURRENT ASB MEMBERS
OFFICERS - 2020/21
President: Paige DeRosa
Secretary: Stephanie Wong
Treasurer: Alina Carbajal
Parent Club Liaison:
Spirit Day Commissioner:
Dance Commissioner:
Kymberli Brower - ASB Advisor
email: kymberli.brower@gilroyunified.org
MEETINGS: TBD
UPCOMING EVENTS
Band
Brownell Band Director, Mr. Aaron Shemas: aaron.shemas@gilroyunified.org
Aaron Shemas joined the GUSD Band Team in fall of 2020 as Director of Bands at Brownell Middle School and Ascension Solorsano Middle School, as well as an Associate Director of Bands at Christopher High School.
Mr. Shemas is a native of Ohio and graduate of Dublin-Coffman High School in the Columbus Metro. Prior to coming to Gilroy, Mr. Shemas taught in both New Mexico and Texas, producing highly successful ensembles. Bands under Mr. Shemas’ direction
An accomplished clarinetist, Mr. Shemas has also performed in orchestral, chamber, and wind ensembles, as well as a soloist, in various collegiate, community, and professional ensembles across the United States. His experiences include performances at the College Band Directors National Association Conferences, numerous music festivals, and the 2018 Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago as part of The Woodlands Concert Band.
Mr. Shemas holds membership in the California Music Educators Association, the New Mexico Music Educators Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity. His primary teacher was Mr. Richie Hawley, Principal Clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Clarinet at the Rice University Shepard School of Music.
Mr. Shemas holds Bachelor of Music degrees in both Music Education and Clarinet Performance, as well as Master of Music Degree in Clarinet Performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of
Important Information and Forms
Bruins Believe in Kindness Club
Bruins Believe in Kindness Club with Mrs. Fortino
Schedule is TBD. You can make a difference!
Mission Statement: The club's main goals are to raise kindness awareness beginning on campus, then stretching into our community. Students will come up with their own ideas as I guide and facilitate activities.
Choir
The Brownell Choir received $4,621 from the Gilroy Foundation in 2019. Monies were received for this year's transportation as well as next year's transportation. Along with this, the grant money will allow our program to purchase a couple of instruments as well as a piano cover for the choir room, to keep it from going out of tune with the hot/cold temps. The Brownell Choir received $3,000 from Gilroy Assistance League (GALs) in 2019. This money will purchase performance gowns for the students for the first time in the history of the program! The program also received $519 from the Latino Family Fund grant in 2019! This will help purchase music and instruments that will encourage and celebrate our Latino community. The Brownell Choir and its Director, Mrs. Laurie Avey, are extremely grateful and honored by this community gift to our program.
Mrs. Laurie Avey has been involved in music since a very young age. After singing solos in church at the age of 4, she started playing the piano at age 8 and has never stopped! Mrs. Avey has taught piano since the age of 14 and still has a few students on the side. She has been in and involved with Choirs of all ages, many different musical groups, and she currently plays in the Worship Band at South Valley Community Church.
Educationally speaking, she has a minor in music from Sonoma State University. In 2000, she was hired by GUSD to teach Choir and Physical Education for Brownell Middle School. This continued for 5 years, until Solorsano Middle School opened and a teacher was hired to teach Choir at all three middle schools. Programs changed, things evolved, and Brownell is back to having its own Choir, beginning the school year of 2011-2012.
Mrs. Avey’s goals are to spread her passion for music to her students. She hopes they find music to be an expression they can turn to when times that are tough, that music can give them opportunities to do things and meet people that they might not do or meet otherwise, that the confidence they gain from this experience, will spill into many other aspects of the students’ life. She hopes that many will continue their music learning and involvement at the upper levels of education and beyond!
A Sampling of Choir Events
Performances:
- District Concerts, which included singing with and listening to elementary choirs, elementary honor choirs, other middle school choirs, and high school choirs
- Concerts with our own Brownell Bands
- Memory Lane Concert, with just our Choir, singing songs from the entire year. This is also the Choir where alumni from past Brownell Choirs join us on one song, "From the Heart."
- Sing the National Anthem for Brownell's Promotion Ceremony.
Field Trips:
- Vocal Arts Festival at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo (CalPoly) where we sing and listen to other middle school choirs in California
- Disneyland (if accepted), where we sing at the California Adventure Backlot Stage and attend a vocal workshop with their professional musicians
- Live Oak Adult Day Center in Gilroy, where we spread holiday cheer
- One of the High Schools to attend their Chamber Choir Class (advanced choir)
- Building the Bridge for Music - where we visit the elementary schools and share about Brownell's music program.
Other:
- Caroling through the classrooms
- 1-3 students are selected to sing in the CMEA (California Music Educators' Association) Conference in January
- 1 or 2 fundraisers, including the Spaghetti Feed held by the Choral Boosters at Gilroy High School
- We get our picture taken with a professional photographer. Individual photos and Buddy photos are also available for purchase.
CONTACT INFO
School Tel: 669-205-5100
Cell: 408-828-2995
What Students Say Besides singing, what else do we do in the Choir class? We sing WARM-UPS to increase our breath control and to work on our pure vowel sounds. We play creative games and share in reading and answering questions from our Music Book, to help with understanding the written part of music, so we can improve our scores for our Quarterly Assessment. We get to invite friends to come and check out choir. We have had guest presenters. We get two extracurricular activities stickers, one per semester, which allow us to participate in fun activities at Brownell. |
~~CALLING ALL CHOIR ALUMNI~~
We are so excited to have you join us for our Memory Lane/Legacy Concert. Each year, at the end of May, or beginning of June, we perform all of our songs for the entire year. Included in that, is our Choir legacy song, “From the Heart,” for alumni to sing with us.
VIDEO LIBRARY
From the Heart accompaniment
From the Heart both parts
Part 2 - Altos and Tenors
Part 1 - Sopranos and Basses
ATTENTION All Returning
6th and 7th graders!
If you are interested or possibly interested in joining Choir next school year, please let Coach Avey know. You can reach her during your PE class or through a current Choir Member. We are getting ready to recruit all incoming 5th graders and we don't want to give away spots you may want for yourself.
You are always welcome to check out Choir by coming to one of our Choir classes, held from 2:45-4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We would LOVE to have you join this Fearless and Focused Family!"
MORE INFO/FORMS
-Upcoming Choir Schedule-
WEDNESDAY, June 3rd @ GHS - 8th Grade Promotion. More info to follow!
Cooking Club
CJSF
Founded in 1967, CJSF fosters high standards of scholarship, service and citizenship in the middle school grades. Like CSF, CJSF emphasizes service to the school and the community while fostering pride in scholastic achievement.
CJSF Fabulous five OFFICERS - 2020/21
(elections to be held soon)
Barbara Kalman, Advisor
Meeting days and times are TBD