Bryant Bulletin
Weekly Campus Updates for Parents & Guardians
September 9, 2020
A Message from Dr. Rhodes
If you are a new parent or guardian to our school, we welcome you. I can't wait until we can have an event where all guests can attend and you can see the inside of our amazing school and meet more of our outstanding staff. If you have questions or concerns, we are here to help. The classroom teacher is always your best contact, but our administrative staff is available to help in any way.
This week the newsletter is a bit shorter, but I am also linking last week's newsletter below in case you need to get back to all the procedures and details discussed.
Meet Our Staff-Mrs. Staci Dakus, Textbook Clerk and Reception
General Information and Reminders
Changes of Transportation
Reminder- Changes of Transportation must be either sent in with your student on the day of the change by filling and printing out this form, emailing bryantelementary@katyisd.org from a registered email on your student’s account, or by coming up to the vestibule of the school with your valid ID to verify guardianship before 2pm. If emailing, please be sure to include student’s name, grade, teacher, change of dismissal (include bus #, address, and stop location if changing to bus), and the date(s) of the change. NOTE- emails sent to teachers for Changes of Transportation are not accepted. Please use the email address above.
Bus Riders
Can My Child Go to School?
MyOn Reading
We have an exciting, new reading program that is available to all Katy ISD Elementary Students! Students can access MyOn using their Katy Cloud Login information. Renaissance MyOn Readers is a student-centered, personalized literacy environment that gives students access to more than 6.000 enhanced digital books. Titles are dynamically matched to each individual student’s interests, grade and Lexile reading level. MyOn fosters student engagement and achievement. MyOn is a great resource for students to use to complete their 20 minutes of daily reading outside of school. When a child logs in for the first time, the student will be prompted to complete a reading interest inventory and a quick reading assessment. This helps the system to match your child to texts that match their interests and reading level. Stay tuned for Campus MyOn Challenges that will be coming soon! Happy Reading!
Service Animal Information
We would like to make you aware that one of our students is in need of a service dog for health reasons. The service dog has been individually trained to perform specific tasks for individuals who have disabilities.
While we want to make sure our students and staff are introduced to the dog and are aware of the dog’s function on the campus, the children will not be allowed to interact with the dog.
Fun Friday Jokes
Katy ISD COVID-19 Dashboard
The Katy ISD webpage now contains a dashboard which provides daily updates on the number of overall self-reported COVID-19 positive cases throughout the district, and by campus. The Dashboard can be viewed at any time by visiting the Katy ISD website homepage and clicking on the COVID-19 Case Dashboard icon or by clicking below.
Katy ISD Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Screening Deadline
Now through October 2nd, parents of kindergarten students in Katy Independent School District who would like their child to be part of the Challenge (Gifted and Talented, GT) program may refer them for screening. This week, kindergarten parents will receive information detailing how to refer a student. Referral information can also be found on the Katy ISD GT and Advanced Academics website and is due on October 2, 2020.
“The State of Texas defines a gifted and talented student as a child or youth who performs or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience or environment,” said Katy ISD Director of Gifted, Talented and Advanced Academic Studies Joan Otten. “The Katy ISD Kindergarten Program emphasizes the development of critical and creative thinking skills,” added Otten.
Kindergarten services will begin by March 1, 2021 and will include students attending a Challenge classroom for 60 minutes a week. Students identified in kindergarten move into the elementary pullout program in first grade. Parents with questions can contact our Counselor or our campus Challenge teacher.
Parents of students who are referred and screened will receive placement notification during the last week of February 2021. Kindergarten GT Parent Information presentation will be available on our website by September 29, 2020.
From our Counselor, Mrs. Flores
PurposeFull People
This week's kindness challenge is to write a thank you note or letter of appreciation to someone that has helped you in a meaningful way.
At Bryant, we strive to cultivate a culture of kindness and care. Each month, we plan to highlight our Bryant Bengals for extraordinary acts of kindness. In order to capture all of the great things our Bengals are doing, we have created virtual kindness nominations. Students attending face-to-face will have the option of completing a paper form, and the virtual kindness nominations will be used for both KVA students and face-to-face students. If your child sees one of our Bengals exhibiting extraordinary kindness, please take the time to nominate them. The nomination form can be found by clicking here.
On a note of kindness, one of our teachers, Jeanne Horner (5th Grade), and her class were honored as the sweepstakes winner for the Certified Kind Classroom Challenge. This allowed them to donate $500 to a charity of their choice. Last year, classrooms throughout Bryant participated in the Certified Classroom Challenge and many of them completed kindness challenges to become a Certified Kind Classroom. We look forward to achieving these distinctions again this year!
Today, we kicked off the month by learning about Responsibility. One activity that can be found in the Responsibility Newsletter ( K-2 resource / en espanol and 3-5 resource / en espanol)) is called the "Responsibility Jar." For this activity, brainstorm a privilege or special treat that you’d like to work towards as a family. Then, write out specific ways everyone can show Responsibility around the house daily, weekly, or monthly. Create a Responsibility Jar and decorate it together. Each time someone completes one of the responsibilities on the list, place a small item like a bean or a coin in the jar. When the jar is full, celebrate with your special treat!
Upcoming Events
9/14- KVA Grab and Go (see below)
9/15- KVA Grab and Go (see below)
9/15- PTA Spirit Night @ Freddy's (see below)9/17- PTA General Membership Meeting (see below)
9/23- College/Future Career Shirt Day
Katy Virtual Academy (KVA)
District VKA Newsletter
A Parent's Guide to Navigating the KVA Classroom
While the KVA experience has opened up a whole new world for parents to see the educational world our kids live in, it does come with its challenges as well. What we have to remember is, though we are able to be right beside our child and hear more than we ever have before, this is still your child's educational experience.
A child learns so much more than academics at school. They learn independence, confidence and they begin to develop their thoughts, beliefs and ideas about who they are and who they want to become.
In the end... they grow.
Growth comes when we are faced with challenges we must solve, not by someone providing the solution. Growth comes from running into obstacles so we learn how to avoid them, and make our own path, not by someone removing everything in our way.
It is difficult to watch a child deal with an obstacle or a struggle. However, if we truly want full growth for our kids, we must learn how to navigate this new world where your child would normally be in the driver's seat.
Trust, communication, patience and understanding with one another will help us see it through so your child is the focus and their GROWTH is our goal.
Please see this list (click here) of a few Do's and Don'ts as you work with your child and their teacher through this KVA process.
KVA Grab & Go
We will be hosting a KVA Grab & Go on Monday, 9/14 and Tuesday, 9/15 from 4-5. The day and time will be assigned according to the color of your student’s car rider tag. The students will be receiving a Ziploc bag that will include Consumable Textbooks, paper copies of future assignments, and other instructional materials. We are asking that you hold on to the Ziploc bag and return the empty bag at our next scheduled Grab & Go. We will be distributing the bags from the Gym Doors. Please pull through the teacher parking lot with your car rider tag hanging from your rear-view mirror. A teacher will bring your child’s bag to your car.
Monday, September 14th 4:00-5:00 pm:
Lime
Green
Orange
Purple
Tuesday, September 15th 4:00-5:00 pm:
Yellow
Blue
Red
KVA Curbside Grab and Go Meals
Students enrolled in Katy Virtual Academy (KVA) will be able to pick up breakfast and lunch meals, curbside from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, beginning Monday, September 7. Pick up is available at these four sites: Morton Ranch HS, Mayde Creek HS, Cinco Ranch HS, or Seven Lakes HS. Meals are packaged to be heated and eaten at home. Meals are to be picked up a day prior to the intended use. For example, a breakfast and lunch picked up on Tuesday evening would be consumed Wednesday morning/afternoon. Meals are charged based on the student’s eligibility (free, reduced, or full pay).
- Breakfast: $1.25 ($.30 reduced) Elementary Lunch: $2.25 ($.40 reduced) Secondary Lunch: $2.75 ($.40 reduced)
- Parents/students may pick up meals at any of the four sites. Student ID or current proof of enrollment is needed for meal service.
- Meals may also be pre-ordered through SchoolCafe.com. Parents/students who pre-order will need to pick up their meals at the site assigned to them on SchoolCafe.com during the online pre-ordering process.
- Menus and nutritional information are available on SchoolCafe.com.
- Cashless payment is encouraged using Pay N’ Go.
KVA Second Grading Period Opt-In and Opt-Out Dates
The next available opportunity to opt-in to in-person instruction or Katy Virtual Academy (KVA) instruction for the next grading period will be from August 31 - September 11 (secondary) and September 21 - October 2 (elementary). The opt-in commitment link will be available on our campus home page. All opt-in changes are in effect at the beginning of the second six week (secondary) and nine week (elementary) grading period. We appreciate your support, as we have worked extremely hard to schedule and balance in-person and virtual learning classes for the first grading period. If you have any questions regarding the next opportunity to change your child’s learning option for the second grading period, please email KVA@katyisd.org.
News From the Bryant PTA
Calling all parents! Are you a paid PTA member who has wondered what the PTA does? Join our next General Membership meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 4pm via Zoom. Join and make your voice count! https://forms.gle/bESTYgMUqVe1Gmnw7 (Please use this form to register to attend our VIRTUAL Bryant PTA General Meeting. All attendees must register to attend, to allow the PTA to verify their membership. Registration will close on Monday, September 14, 2020. After registration closes, you will receive a confirmation email along with meeting information from our PTA Secretary. Thank you for your continued support.)
Freddy's Spirit Night- September 15th
Visit Us Online
Click here for PTA Facebook.
Click here to follow PTA on Twitter.
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Important Reminders From Previous Bulletins
Front Vestibule Drop Boxes
Required Daily Self-Screening of Student
For the health and safety of all students and staff – parents are required to assist their children with a daily self screening for COVID-19 symptoms and fever before arriving to school, or boarding school transportation.
Per TEA “In evaluating whether an individual has symptoms consistent with COVID-19, consider the following questions: Have they recently begun experiencing any of the following in a way that is not normal for them?"
Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit
Loss of taste or smell
Cough
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Headache
Chills
Sore throat
Shaking
Exaggerated shivering
Significant muscle pain or ache
Diarrhea
COVID-19 Self-Reporting App, Notifications & Information
The District has a COVID-19 Reporting System in place to allow staff, students, and parents to self-report if they have received a COVID-19 positive test result. The self-reporting system enables the District’s Emergency Management team to conduct contact tracing, as well as call and notify individuals in Katy ISD buildings who may have been directly exposed to the infected person. A general email notification is also sent to campus staff and families whenever the district is informed of a potential “indirect” COVID-19 exposure in their building. Receipt of the general notification alone indicates that the recipient was not in close contact to the COVID-19 positive case reported for their building. If there is direct exposure due to improper use of PPE, individual families will be contacted.
Students and staff may report positive COVID-19 results using the COVID-19 Self Reporting app on MyKaty Cloud.