Bee Cave Beehive
8.12.22
Dear Bobcat Parents,
Our teachers are back and these last days before your child[ren] return are quickly passing by. I wanted to reach out again with pertinent information for the start of school. We have changed our morning drop off and afternoon pick up procedures, so please see the maps and details below.
You will be sent a welcome email at 4pm this Friday, August 12th, from your child[ren]s 22-23 teacher. Please do not forget that our Meet the Teacher is Monday, August 15th. As noted later in this newsletter, second grade will have their Meet the Teacher in the cafeteria as a team. Please do not bring 2nd grade supplies to Meet the Teacher. Supplies for second grade will be welcomed on the first day. Please come for your child[ren]s designated time and honor the time that is allotted. Teachers will only be available during their designated time slot on Monday. You may bring your child[ren]s supplies at this time as well. At Meet the Teacher we will have tables to help answer questions that you may have from our Food & Nutrition department, BCE PTO, Lake Travis Education Foundation, Raptor, LTISD Transportation and car rider tags.
This newsletter has much more information in it that will help you plan as school is about to start. There will be more information about the start of school headed your way in the upcoming days.
Enjoy your last days of summer and we will see you soon!
Sincerely,
Principal Kellner
#bobcatssoar22-23
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August 12th .................... Email sent out to parents @ 4pm for 22-23 Teacher Assignment
August 15th .................... Meet the Teacher
************* IMPORTANT MESSAGE ************* FOR 2ND GRADE MEET THE TEACHER
Second grade Meet the Teacher will be in the cafeteria, not the classrooms.
Please do not bring your second grader's supplies to this event.
We are asking that you bring them on the first day of school.
August 16th .................... First Day of School 2022-2023
September 5th .................... Labor Day - Student/Staff Holiday
September 8th .................... Curriculum Night
K-2 5:30pm - 6:30pm
3rd - 5th 6:30pm - 7:15pm
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BCE 22-23 Parking, Arrival and Dismissal Information
PARKING
Parent parking for afternoon dismissal will be in the back of the school (as noted in the diagram below). Parent Pick-up will begin at 3:05 after the busses leave the campus.
**** PLEASE NOTE*** For the first week of school staff will be encouraged to use the back (car-rider) lot for parents of Kinders to park and walk their children in.
AM Arrival Drop-off Locations & Traffic Flow
Parents of 2nd through 5th graders are to drop of their student(s) in the back car rider lot. If the older child has a younger (K-!st grade) sibling, the younger sibling can join them being dropped off in the back lot.
There should not be parent/visitor traffic through the bus drive in the mornings.
PM Dismissal Locations & Traffic Flow
Car rider line this year will be one long line that enters and winds through the front lot, then continues on to the back of the school. This is to help pull more cars off of Hamilton Pool road. The student pick up spot will be in the back car rider lot (as noted below by the heart)
There will not be a student pick up option from/in/at the front of the school.
Where do I note how my child goes home each day?
SMART Tag
SMART Tag - Please register and let us know how your child will get home each Day!
We utilize SMART Tag's dismissal management system to provide you and us with your instructions concerning how your Bobcats(s) will go home at the end of the school day. When you provide instructions through SMART Tag, the classroom teacher will automatically receive your instructions.
Be sure to register in SMART Tag's Parent Portal and make certain that your default (usual way home) setting as of August 15 is correct for your Bobcat(s.) If the default dismissal type is already present, and it is correct, no change is necessary. If it is not correct, or it is blank, please update it by 6 pm August 15 so that we will know how your(s) go home on the first day of school. Parents have the ability to update the default information, temporarily, until the end of the day on the first day of school. However, after the first day of school, please contact our front office so it can be updated. In the event that you want to deviate from the usual way home on a particular day, however, you can ADD A DISMISSAL CHANGE for that day or for a series of days.
The default dismissal is how your student will be going home unless you make changes in SMART Tag to update the dismissal setting for that day. SMART Tag is the go-to tool for Parents/Guardians to update the following:
absences
early departures
late arrivals to school
after school activities (enrichment classes, scouting, gymnastics)
transportations changes (changes can be made up until 1pm)
SIGNING YOUR STUDENT(S) OUT EARLY
Dismissal is at 3:00pm. If you need to sign your student out early on a particular day, please make certain that the student's departure time from school will be prior to 2:30 pm.
Please do not pick up your child early every day for the convenience of avoiding the traffic. Our system works only if everyone participates. Our front office is NOT a daily dismissal pick up location and your child would be missing over two hours a week of their education. If it is brought to my attention that this is occurring frequently, then I will be reaching out to schedule a conference. Some important points to remember:
SMART Tag- There is an option in SMART Tag that you can select which will notify us that your student will be leaving early. Notifying us of an early departure via SMART Tag is helpful in that your student can have their items (lunchbox and backpack) ready to go when you arrive. To select this option, you will log into your Parent Portal, select 'View Profile,' select 'Add Attendance Change,' and then select 'Early Dismissal.' You may even add a note to indicate the time that you plan to pick up the student. If the pick up time is going to be before 1 p.m., please email your child’s teacher as well.
Security of our students is a priority, so when signing a student out from school you will need to have your have your photo ID scanned into our Raptor System as a designated guardian for that child, it will have to be confirmed that you are a designated guardian or that you are listed on the student's emergency contact list. Once confirmed, we will need one of the following to scan into the Raptor security system:
Valid Driver’s License (any state)
Passport
State-Issued Identification Card
Work Visa Green Card
We want to make sure your student does not miss any of their important classroom curriculum or school activities; so when picking up a student early (before 2:30) I will call for your student when you arrive in the front office.
When picking up a student early, students might be in their Specials Class, Lunch or Recess so it's best to arrive a few minutes early to give them time to grab their backpacks and lunch boxes from their classrooms.
VISITORS & VOLUNTEERS
After the first day of school, parents, guardians and others who have scheduled appointments are welcome to visit our school on or after August 29.
Once your photo ID has been scanned into the Raptor Visitor Management System, it should retain your personal information, making it possible for you to obtain your own visitor or volunteer badge at one of our Raptor kiosks without a need to have your photo ID scanned into the system again. The kiosks are located in the Front Office.
Once you have obtained your visitor or volunteer badge, please be sure to wear your visitor or volunteer badge while you are on our campus. As you depart, you can electronically sign out and return your badge to the Receptionist.
When signing in, It's important that you correctly identify yourself as either a visitor or volunteer. The Raptor system helps us to track your volunteer hours of service, and we like to recognize our volunteers for their service. We don't want you to miss out on any opportunities to be appropriately recognized and thanked for your service.
Volunteers can perform any job that does not require working alone with students. Note: If volunteers plan to work alone with one or more students, they must agree to a complete criminal background check to be conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Inquire with the campus Volunteer Coordinator for more details.
Volunteers will be required to sign in through Raptor each time they visit.
Volunteers will be required to sign a Confidentiality Pledge each school year. (inside Volunteer Handbook)
Volunteer opportunities are available as soon as the campus is ready to receive assistance.
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Elementary (Recess/Playground) Monitors Needed - Please Apply
The district has approved 4 new recess and lunch room monitor positions to support our Bobcats. Please consider joining our Bobcat Team and support your Bobcat Students.
Job Description – Cafeteria/Playground Monitor and Office Aide. This help and support will give our teachers the opportunity to have 20 additional minutes a day for planning.
Primary Function: Under the direction of the Principal, assists students in the cafeteria during the lunch period and maintains order. Establishes control in the cafeteria and playground and insures students a safe and pleasant environment. Provides support services to the staff in the area of duplicating, mail distribution, telephone answering, preparation of teaching materials, and supervision of students.
Please go to this link for a full job description and go to this link to apply.
We are also in need of ...
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Celebrating Birthdays
To celebrate birthdays, the classroom teacher will provide the student with a special birthday ticket (shown at the top of this section) that entitles him/her to a free, yummy, healthy treat from the cafeteria during lunchtime. (Summer birthdays or birthdays falling on other days that are not school days will be recognized so that no one is left out of the fun!)
We are respectful of parents' concerns about food being shared which is why we celebrate with special lunch treats in the cafeteria in lieu of cupcakes, cakes, flowers, and gifts being distributed in the birthday Bobcat's classroom.
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Assemblies Friday Mornings
Bobcats will enjoy assemblies in our Gym once a week from 7:40 - 8:00 am. If parents want to join our assembly, they MUST sign in in the office first. Please bring your ID.
During our assemblies, Bobcats will be recognized and rewarded appropriately for positive behavior and achievement.
Students will sing songs, hear announcements, and recognize special events throughout the school year. We often will have HBMS fine arts program present during our Friday morning assemblies.
This year we will continue having our assemblies by alternating Fridays for grades Kinder-2nd and 3rd-5th. Our first assembly for students grades Kinder-2nd will be on Friday, August 26th, however for many, this will be there first assembly ever and it will be more of a practice. We would like to begin inviting parents to assembly on Friday, September 2nd with grades 3rd, 4th and 5th. Then again for the Kinder through 2nd grade on Friday, September 9th.
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From the School Nurse
Emergency care plans must be updated every school year. Please see the following forms if your child has asthma, seizures or allergies requiring epinephrine. Any forms completed over the summer can be faxed to 512-533-6251 or emailed to fosterj@ltisdschools.org .
If your child is getting vaccines over the summer, please make sure all records are signed/stamped by the doctor. Feel free to email fosterj@ltisdschools.org or fax the records to 512-533-6251. All 5th grade medical files will transfer over to the middle school campus nurse. Any updated vaccines should be sent to the middle school nurse :) !
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First Day of School: Aug. 16th
- Doors open at 7:20am
- School Day 7:40am - 3:00pm
- Kinder parents may walk their child to their class for the first short week. 1st through 5th grade Parents may walk their child[ren] to class on the first day. On the first day ONLY, parents can forgo signing in. However, the rest of the week and all year, we must abide by our safety and security protocols and have all visitors raptor in. Please plan accordingly.
Reminders for Day 1
2) Please make sure that your child[ren]s teacher knows how our child[ren] is/are going home the first week.
3) If you are choosing to pick your child up through Parent Pick-up, that is now located in the back of the school and students will be called out to leave with their parent when the buses leave at 3:05pm.
4) Your student's teacher[s] will communicate to you when your students will have PE. Please remember to have your students wear tennis shoes on those days.
5) We are excited for our families to join our Bee Cave community. It is such a wonderful place to be! My staff is completely understanding of the nerves the students will be feeling, especially for new to campus students, and will meet them with kindness and compassion. We will have numerous adults available to help navigate the students to their classrooms. The teachers will be waiting outside their classroom doors to greet them.
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Are you in need of school supplies ???
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LUNCH INFORMATION
IMPORTANT NOTE
Visitors for lunch are welcome to start on Monday, August 29th. You MUST raptor in at our front office kios each time you come to eat lunch with your child[ren].
It is our elementary practice across the district to hold off visiting for lunch until we have made it through the first two weeks of school. The reason for the requested delay is that we have found that the children need to spend time with our staff learning lunch account information, finding their seats in the cafeteria, lunchroom etiquette, and arrival and dismissal routines. This time is sacred for us to establish routines in the lunchroom.
Also, please be respectful of other families' privacy concerns. Please do not take photos inside the school unless it is of you and your child[ren]. Please be careful not to have other students in any photos.
Kindergarten.......10:15 to 10:45
1st Grade............11:30 to 12:00
2nd Grade...........12:05 to 12:35
3rd Grade............10:55 to 11:25
4th Grade............12:40 to 1:10
5th Grade..............1:15 to 1:45
Please visit the Bee Cave website to access the district’s Food and Nutrition (FANS) website to add money to your child’s lunch account, view your child’s purchases, access the daily menu, and to set restrictions for your child’s lunch. It is not permissible for the cafeteria and school staff to restrict your child’s purchases. Please take the time to review the FANS site and establish your child’s lunch account. It is suggested that all students have an account with a few days credit on it in case lunches or money are misplaced or forgotten.
We are still running one lunch line, so if you can send your child with a lunch that can give your child more time to eat. However, please know that your child can stay in the cafeteria to finish eating after the lunch is over if they need to.
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Water bottles & Other Personal Items
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2022 - 2023 New Student Registration
- Go to www.ltisdschools.org/enrollment
- Click on Students New to the District: 2022-2023 School Year
- ·Have the following documents ready to upload into the online enrollment:
- Certified copy of birth certificate (incoming kindergarteners must be 5 years old by September 1)
- Proof of residency (i.e. lease agreement, closing documents, property tax statement, or property deed AND a current utility bill – water, electricity or gas – with matching address)
- Immunization records – Signed by a doctor
- Social Security Card (preferred, but optional)
- Photo ID of parent/guardian enrolling child
Questions regarding filling out online enrollment form in Skyward email skyward@ltisdschools.org
Questions regarding enrollment requirements: email BCE Registrar Pam Mylius-Anderson at myliusandersonp@ltisdschools.org
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CAMPUS SECURITY
Safety and security is our top priority. We believe relationships are critical to successful schools, and ultimately, our families and students are the best partners in keeping our campuses safe. Our principals and school administrators investigate every reported tip or threat. We work with law enforcement and take quick and appropriate action, including notifying families, if there is a valid danger on campus.
We ask all of our families and students to please share any information regarding school or student safety by either directly contacting a school staff member or by using the Cavs Who Care Tip Line, our anonymous alert system. As LTISD grows, we will continue to explore and collaborate with other school districts to find new ways to improve safety and security at our campuses.
Standard Response Protocol
A critical ingredient in the safe school recipe is the classroom response to an incident at school. Weather events, fire, accidents, intruders and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by students, teachers, staff and administration.
LTISD is expanding its safety program to include the Standard Response Protocol. The SRP is based on these five actions: Lockout, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter and Hold. In the event of an emergency, the action and appropriate direction will be announced on the PA system.
Students and staff will be trained and the school will practice these drills over the course of the school year.
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Absences
Consistent school attendance is critical for the development of your child. When they miss school, we miss them! The entire school day is needed to deliver the full instructional program. Students need to come to school and attend the full day unless they have fever, a communicable disease, or family emergency. Help us communicate the importance of daily attendance to your child and schedule necessary appointments around school hours. When an absence is necessary, report the absence using Smart Tag. For questions regarding attendance concerns, please e-mail Betsy Russell at russellb@ltisdschools.org. A note explaining any absence is required upon the student’s return to school.
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From Our Amazing PTO
Dear Parents,
The BCE PTO newsletter is automatically sent out to everyone who has an active account on our PTO website, bcepto.com. If you haven't yet registered or need to update your information, please do! You won't want to miss out on all the important updates for PTO meetings, volunteer opportunities, fundraisers, and more!
Our BCE PTO Board
Mari Muters - President
Tiffany Greenberg - Vice President
Tiffany Bennett - Treasurer
Jeana Champman - Membership
Natalie Nugent & Becky Winters - Fundraising
Meagan Gafford - Secretary
Click here PTO News Letter to access the most recent issue.
Need Tech Support? Here is where to go.
Skyward Questions skyward@ltisdschools.org
Schoology schoology@ltisdschools.org
Technology issues - password resets, computer issues 512 533 6545
Technology webpage https://www.ltisdschools.org/Domain/27
TEA on Minimum Standard Health Protocols on Visits to Schools During Campus Closures
https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/covid/minimum-standard-health-protocols-for-school-employees-in-school-building-during-campus-closuresBee Cave Elementary
Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/Domain/12
Location: 14300 Hamilton Pool Road, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-533-6250
Twitter: @BCEBobcats