PAWPRINTS
BARBARA BUSH ELEMENTARY BOBCATS – SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
Houston Independent School District
www.houstonisd.org/bushelem
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September is National Literacy Month
September is Attendance Awareness Month - Attend school every day, achieve tomorrow!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
September 22
12:20 p.m.
Early Dismissal
HOLIDAY – No School
September 23
September 30
Individual Picture Day
October 3
3:00-6:00 p.m.
Bush Bingo Bash
October 14
9:00 a.m.
October 15
6:00 p.m.
Prospective Parent
Information Session
4th Grade Writing Night
October 27
9:30-12:30
October 28
12:20 p.m.
3rd Grade Museum of Fine
Arts
EARLY DISMISSAL
October 30
Report Cards Go Home
November 2-6
Book Fair Week
November 5
5:00-7:30 p.m.
Book Fair & Dinner Night
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The first Early Dismissal Day of the 2015-16 school
year is Tuesday, September 22. The school day will be
from 7:35 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. There will be an altered
ancillary schedule and lunch times will run one hour
and ten minutes earlier on these days only. Students
must be picked up at 12:20 p.m.
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Wednesday, September 23 is a holiday,
school will be closed!
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BOBCAT NEWS
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HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHTS
CONFERENCES
Parent/teacher conferences are a valuable tool to be used in helping
children to be happy and successful at school. Be sure to take
advantage of this tool! Because it is so important, please follow these
guidelines to ensure that you have the best possible conference with
your child’s teacher.
To arrange for a conference:
1. Make an appointment: write a note to the teacher, leave a message
on the teacher’s voicemail, or e-mail the teacher to arrange an
appointment time. Please give teachers 24 hours to respond since they
are teaching during the instructional day.
2. Plan to come to school: teachers can share work samples, clarify
assignments, etc. when personal rather than telephone conferences are
held.
3. Be “tuned in” to your child so you know when to request a
conference. Watch test papers, progress reports, etc. that signal trouble
areas.
4. Please do not drop in for just a minute at the beginning or end of the
day. These are especially crucial times when the class needs and
deserves the teacher’s full attention.
5. Please do not ask to have teachers called out of the class for a
conference. Instructional time belongs to all the students.
The entire handbook is available at:
www.bushelementary.org
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SPECTACULAR SCIENCE
The Spectacular Science Concept for the week of September 14 is
mass/weight.
REMINDERS
Parent Lunch Visitation Policy
Due to the severe overcrowding at Bush Elementary this school
year, we have made some changes to our parent lunch
visitation policy.
The changes are as follows:
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Parents are welcome to come and eat lunch with their
child(ren) in the courtyard on the picnic tables outside.
If you would like to come and eat lunch with your child(ren),
please check the weather and plan accordingly. If it is raining,
please drop off your child’s lunch in the office and plan on
having lunch with your child(ren) on another day. On rainy
weather days, we will be unable to accommodate you in the
cafeteria.
Only prekindergarten and kindergarten parents interested in
being a cafeteria lunch volunteer, please contact your child’s
teacher. If you would like to be a cafeteria lunch volunteer,
then you must be an approved Volunteers in Public
Schools(VIPS). Please check with the office regarding the
process to become an approved VIPS.
Birthday Celebrations: On your child’s birthday, parents are
welcome to come to the cafeteria and pass out birthday
treats to your child’s class. Then, if you would like to stay and
have lunch with your child, you are welcome to eat together in
the courtyard on the picnic tables outside. (Donuts, cookies,
and mini cupcakes are the perfect birthday treat!)
We appreciate your support as we try to ease the overcrowding
in the cafeteria and provide a safe environment for all our
students.
GREAT PARENTS’ NIGHT
Thank you to all the parents who attended Parents’ Nights. The
teachers shared a lot of valuable information about their classroom
policies and curriculum. The key to Bush Elementary’s success is the
incredibly strong partnership between parents, teachers, and
students. All Bush bobcats are working hard finding out how Learning
Makes Us All Superheroes!
VISITORS TO THE BUILDING
ALL parents, grandparents, and visitors who wish to enter the
school will need to have a valid state-issued driver’s license, a valid
state-issued picture ID, or a passport. Thank you for making Bush
a safe and secure campus.
PROSPECTIVE PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS
Do you have a child coming to Bush next year? Then come and join a
prospective parent information session that will answer all your
questions about Bush Elementary programs and curriculum. We will
tour the school and discuss all of the wonderful things Bush has to
offer. Please make alternate arrangements for your child(ren). If you
know a neighbor or friend who would like to attend one of these
information sessions, please pass the invitation on to them. The first
session for this school year will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday,
October 14.
FACULTY AND STAFF PARKING LOT
Please do not park in the faculty and staff parking lot; it is
reserved for Bush Elementary faculty and staff ONLY.
PTO NEWS
Want to volunteer at school, join the PTO and/or sign up for Birthday Book
Club? You can do this and more on our PTO website BBEPTO.com.
PTO MEMBERSHIP
Thank you to the families that have joined the PTO. If you have not already
joined, please consider doing so as the PTO funds provide financial support to
enhance all Bush students´ education. The PTO form was sent home in your
child´s red communication folder, and it is also posted on the school web site. If
70% of the students join, everyone will have a popsicle party, and the class in
each grade with the most members will get a pizza party!! As of today, we still
need 123 families to join the PTO to meet our 70% participation goal! Every
family that joins will receive a Bush directory. Please send the form as soon as
possible because the due date is this Friday, September 18. Thank you for your
support!
UNDERWRITING CAMPAIGN
Has your family made a donation to the 2015-16 Underwriting Campaign? No selling
wrapping paper or baked goods. 100% of your gift goes directly to helping your child’s
school. Gifts from the BBE community are essential to the success of our
school. Please take a moment to think about how you can help support our super faculty
and staff, and enable us to continue to offer the best education possible for our students.
Please go to www.bbepto.com. How Can I Help? Donate to PTO. If you have any
questions, or need additional information, please contact BBE PTO Fundraising at
donatetobush@gmail.com. Thank you, in advance, for your contribution!
DIRECTORY AD SPACE
Parents, do you or someone you know own a business? The PTO is now
selling ad space in the BBE Student Directory. Over 500 Bush families all
in the 77077 zip code will receive the directory this year. Deadline for ads
is September 30th. Email bushdirectory@gmail.com for more
information.
EARLY PICK UPS
Please do not plan to pick up your child between 2:25 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.
The doors will be locked at 2:25 p.m. every day to get ready for
dismissal. To ensure a safe dismissal, students will not be called after
2:25 p.m. Thank you for helping to make dismissal safe for all our
students.
RAINY DAY PLAN
Make a plan for rainy or “bad” days. Be sure you have a rainy day plan for your
child. Make sure that your child knows what he or she is to do if it is raining at
dismissal time. Please do not call the school office with instructions and
messages. This should be handled in advance. As the weather in Houston is
very unpredictable, it is highly recommended that parents purchase an inexpensive
fold-up rain poncho and place it in their child’s backpack. This poncho can be
“saved for a rainy day.” We can load more students into cars if they can walk
farther down the driveway to enter waiting cars.
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HISD NEWS
4th GRADE PARENTS
Preparation for a magnet middle school begins NOW for your child!
Encourage your fourth-grader to take his/her studies seriously this school
year to help increase the range of middle schools your child has to
choose from when applying for a HISD magnet program next year. A
student’s grades, attendance, conduct, and standardized test scores in
4th grade are used to determine his/her magnet program qualifications.
To learn more about your student’s choices for magnet schools, please
visit Houstonisd.org/SchoolChoice.
BUSH SPIRIT DAYS
Wednesday, September 16: Bush Spirit Day at Marco’s Pizza (all day).
Pick-up, dine-in, or carry-out your order.
Every Monday is Bush Spirit day at Beans Café, and especially for
Bush students, the Bobcat smoothie (red raspberry) is offered on Spirit
Days.
Tuesday, September 22: Bush Spirit Day at Monkey Joe’s (12:30pm7:00pm) - come out and play on Early Dismissal Day.
For PTO events calendar please visit, www.bbepto.com
SCHOOL STORE HOURS
Tuesdays from 7:35-8:00 a.m.
Fridays from 7:35-8:00 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Stay connected and like us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/BBEPTO
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SCHOOL NEWS NETWORK
(articles submitted by other area schools)
Westside High School invites you to Dance With Pride!
Join Westside High School’s Pride Dance Team for an exciting performance
experience! Come join us on Saturday, September 19 th from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
for the dance clinic, and then DANCE ON THE FIELD AT HALFTIME that
evening!!! Price is $40/person and is open to BOYS AND GIRLS, ages 4 and up. Pickup a registration form from the front office or for more information, please contact
Pride Director, Brooke DeMartino at bdemarti@houstonisd.org., or Maria Carillo at
malala.68@gmail.com
BUSH BOBCATS – LEARNING MAKES US ALL SUPERHEROES – 2015-16
It is the policy of the Houston Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, color, handicap or disability, ancestry, national
origin, marital status, race, religion, sex, veteran status, or political affiliation in its educational or employment programs and activities.