Bush Elementary is not responsible for patrolling the streets in the Bush Elementary zone. However, we can ask for parents to "Be Kind" while waiting for the carpool lane to start moving and once the cars starting moving up in the carpool lane.

We know there are cars parked in front of West Briar Middle School and the Parkway Plaza Senior Living Center that block a lane for the afternoon dismissal line up. We've repeatedly asked both organizations to ask their employees to park either in the school's parking lot or the other side of the street respectively.

Please "Be Kind" when navigating around these parked cars. Have your carpool number displayed so the other cars will know that you're not one of the parked cars and won't attempt to pass you. Please stay in your car and be prepared to move once the line starts moving.

Please do not block any entrances to parking lots while stopped and waiting for the carpool lane to begin moving. Also, please allow the cars attempting to enter or exit the West Briar parking lots to do so.

Thank you for doing your part to keep the streets around Bush Elementary safe.

The carpool lane and Westerloch are very busy places between 2:50 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. The intersection at Westerloch and Parkway Plaza is extremely busy as you have the crossing guards crossing parents, walkers, and bikers while allowing the cars to pass through.

We're asking for the parents of walkers NOT to U-turn by the carpool lane entrance once they've picked up their child(ren) and are heading home. All these extra cars from the walker parents U-turning and going through this busy intersection causes the carpool lane to slow down and back up.

When driving home, walker parents who drive are requested to drive straight down Westerloch towards Eldridge and make the right on Eldridge and then the right on Briar Forest. Eldridge is not busy at this time in the afternoon.

Monday, September 6th is Labor Day! Enjoy your 3-day weekend with your family and friends. School resumes on Tuesday, September 7th.

Safety continues to be our top priority, and while we love our furry visitors, we ask that you keep them at home during arrival and dismissal. We have several students, faculty and staff members who are allergic to dogs and cats and students who are very afraid of dogs. Please keep them at home.

At the end of last school year we were required to notify the parents via the School Messenger system if there was a confirmed positive COVID case on campus. This year's policy states we will only inform parents of a COVID positive case if their student came into direct contact with someone on campus that was confirmed COVID positive. Our nurse investigates and begins the contact tracing process on our campus, and documents all confirmed COVID 19 cases. The nurse contacts the parent of any child that has been in contact with a COVID positive individual. That student is then told to quarantine for 10 days and to sign up for the Temporary Online Learning (explained in the article below). Information regarding active COVID cases may be found on the Houston ISD COVID Dashboard site located on the HISD website.

As HISD prepared for the return to in-person instruction on August 23rd, the district launched a COVID-19 dashboard to keep the community informed about the impact of the pandemic.

Within this section, parents have access to multiple resources such as:

• 2021-2022 Ready, Set, Go Plan
• COVID19 Dashboard

Our Parents' Nights will be virtual this year. There will be a brief virtual PTO informational session followed by the teachers' live Parents' Night sessions on TEAMS. The classroom teachers will send out a link to the Microsoft TEAMS events.

September 9, 2021 is the third - fifth grade Parents' Night starting at 5:00 p.m. via TEAMS

September 14, 2021 is the PK - second grade Parents' Night starting at 5:00 p.m. via TEAMS

Every student brought home a large manilla envelope on the first day of school. This envelope contains homework for the parents. Parents need to complete the forms for each child that attends Bush Elementary. Thank you to all parents who have returned their completed forms. If you have not already done so, please return the completed forms to your child's teacher at your earliest convenience.

Throughout the school year, this section of the newsletter will highlight key points from the Bush Parent Handbook. School begins at 7:30 a.m. Students arriving after 7:40 a.m. are tardy. Students arriving after 9:00 a.m., without a doctor's excuse, are marked absent.

• Rolling backpacks will not be allowed this school year.
• No water bottle drop offs, bottled water is available upon request.
• No lunch drop offs, lunch is provided free of charge to all HISD students.
• No backpack, sweaters, or technology drop offs.

Please ensure your child is prepared to start their day. Bush ES strives to keep our faculty and staff healthy, therefore we will only allow glasses to be dropped off at the front office.

Please remember to plan your family vacations and trips during regular school holidays like, Thankskgiving, Winter and Spring Break. Family vacations cannot be considered excused absences by the State of Texas. As a result, they are recorded as unexcused absences. All students must have a 98% attendance rate. Every day at school is important. All students must attend school up to and including the last day on June 7, 2022.

Please do not plan to pick up your child after 2:30 p.m. from the office. To ensure a safe dismissal, students will not be called to the office to be picked up after 2:30 p.m. Thank you for helping to make dismissal safe for all our students.

Please do not send your sick child to school. If your child has a fever, pink eye, or upset stomach, please keep him/her at home. We have lots of folks under our roof every day. For the health and safety of ALL students, it is very important that children stay home when they are ill. Students who have thrown up during the night or who are running a fever cannot be sent to school. Students must be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication before returning to school. When your child returns to school, please send a signed note stating the days your child was absent and the reason for the absence.

When dropping off or picking up your child, please be considerate of the homes neighboring Bush Es. Be a good neighbor and remember the following parking rules:

• Do not block driveways
• Park at least 20ft. from an intersection.
• Don't park in front of a fire hydrant.

Help your child celebrate their birthday and support the library and other programs that enhance the educational experience of Bush students by joining the Birthday Book Club.

Your child will be given a personal "Happy Birthday" greeting during the morning announcements and Paw Prints shout out from Ms. Rose! The donation will be recognized with a nameplate in a new book from the library. A group photo of all the other BBC members with the same birth month will also be displayed in the library display case.

It only costs $20 for a Birthday Book Club Membership (Add Electronic Marquee display for $10 more). Please visit www.BBEPTO.com for more details or to make your purchase.

Enrollment Schedule

August Birthdays: Enroll during August

September – February Birthdays: Enroll during August/September

February – July Birthdays: Enroll during January/May

We are looking forward to a wonderful year ahead and what better way to get started than by signing up for PTO membership. We have new options this year which are only available through September 15th. And if you sign up by September 15th you will be entered into a drawing to win an hour massage gift certificate OR a free 1 month scholarship certificate (includes registration, assessment and instruction) to Mathnasium! Your PTO membership directly benefits our school and children.

Visit our membership page on www.bbepto.com to sign up now and see more details about each level.

This year we are offering 3 levels of membership to choose from:

Cub Level $20

Paw Level $30

Bobcat Level $50

Contact Michelle Jackson in you have questions or need more information at bushpto.vp@gmail.com

At this time the PTO Board and committee members are able to volunteer in the school to help make the school better for our students. We have several board positions available as well as openings on our committees and we need your help! If you are interested in volunteering at the school, helping build a better future for our children, and showing off your talents, sign up here.

If you have any questions or would like more information on a position, please email Val Shaikh, the PTO President at presidentbbepto@gmail.com.

Did you receive our PTO E-Blast last Friday?

If not, be sure to sign up for PTO Weekly E-Blasts today at www.BBEPTO.com and add Publicity@BBEPTO.com to your safe sender list.

Like “BBEPTO” on Facebook so you never miss an important post!

We are excited to be back to school and are looking for some pictures for the yearbook. We need "First day of school" photos. If you have any, please share them with us! Please send no more than 5 photos to bushptoyearbook@gmail.com and label pictures with your child's grade.

A big thank you to all who have shopped online and in person at the Welcome Back event. All these proceeds will directly benefit our school and children! Due to such high demand, please be patient with us while we process refunds and address exchanges or back orders. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Check out our new spirit shirt, polo shirts and fleece jackets! How about a BBE umbrella for those rainy Houston days or to block the sun while waiting at school pick up? At this time the school store is only open ONLINE - www.BBEPTO.com. Shop from the comfort of your home and items will be delivered every Friday directly to your child’s classroom. New stock will be arriving periodically. Follow us on Facebook @BBEPTO to learn when new stock arrives.

If you have a student in 5th grade, be sure to check your emails about the 5th grade fee. You can pay the fee at www.BBEpto.com. Contact your 5th grade coordinator, Eliza Machala at fifthgradebbe@gmail.com