Bobcat News
March 2020 -2021
Greetings Bobcat Families,
Happy March! Hopefully, this is the last of the snow for a while! Although the sun is shinning, we recognize that many of you are still going through the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri know we are here for you! You've reached out to our counselor, staff and teachers with needs or knew of a family needing our assistance therefore, raising the bar of neighbors helping neighbors - awesome! I am grateful for our parent community - your patience and understanding as we slowly reverted back to work routines, teaching and learning undoubtable made for a seamless return to the new norm.
It’s hard to believe that we are already in March. March is a busy time for teachers in grades 3-5 as we are preparing for the spring assessments . These assessments are intended to capture how well students have mastered their grade level standards. My concern at this time is not whether teachers have taught the standards but, rather, whether students have developed the rigor to meet the level of progress needed to master the assessments. That being said, teachers will continue the work of building critical thinking skills during the next couple of months.
In our lower grades, we are continuing the focus on exposing students to the next grade level standards. I am very impressed by the writing in grades K-2. Including, in math and science as they use Constructed Responses and Claim and Evidence ( Kinder class was featured in our Bobcat Student Broadcast completing this task back in December) to evaluate their reasoning. Our students are writing with volume and purpose and our goal is to challenge them. I am very proud of the work going on in the Early Childhood. Our teachers have been supporting students with Phonics instruction, which is having enormous impact on the levels of word vocabulary and writing.
Being aware of how the social and emotional well-being of our students and how it can impact learning success is a priority here at BES. Our teachers and teacher leaders are working to ameliorate their knowledge and skills using Restorative Practice, Second Step, and PBIS ( Positive Behavior Intervention Support). We also have a cohort of teacher leaders involved in Micro messaging. By clicking on the links you can read a briefly about the programs.
Inclusivity remains a big part of our core values at BES with our celebrations and acknowledgement. Moreover, virtual parents, if you have any ideas please don't hesitate to reach out. We need pictures of your child's learning and event participation. When I capture these moments from my point of view - doesn't do it justice. You are welcome to send them directly to me via email or the your child's class teacher.
Lastly, we have some fun events planned this month to bring families and staff together. This includes, Read Across America, Diversity Fair, spring break, March Madness, PTO spirit fundraisers, class and school wide events, and more!
We received a special treat from our PTO this past week - just what we needed at the time! As always, thanks for all you do for both our school and our Brookhollow community.
Lisa Harris, M.Ed.
Principal
#Bobcat Pride...Continuously Improving!
Need to Know...
- BES Fourth 9-Weeks Method of Instruction Change March 1-5
- Pflugerville Education Foundation - BES participating in Talent Show and need your vote! click here to register. Event is March 6
- PfISD Parent Letter
- BES Virtual Diversity Fair this Friday, March 5th ( see below and teacher email)
- Winter Storm: If families are displaced contact the Project Hope office at 512-594-1953 or text to 512-815-3730 so we can assess the needs of the families.
- Your pictures are needed for our 20-21 Brookhollow Elementary Yearbook. Link
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- PfISD Board approved Calendar B for 2021-2022 school year.
- PreK Registration 2021 ( click on link for more information when to register)
- Extend A Day afterschool child care
Family Access Notifications in Skyward: parents can set up personal settings in Skyward for notifications for grades, attendance and behavior.
When and How Long to Quarantine- COVID-19
Events
Continuously Improving ~ Teaching and Learning
PTO - Yearbooks 2020-2021
We are continuing to work on the yearbook and we are getting some fun photos! We are wanting to include both on-site and virtual students in a Zoom screen photo with their classes. The teacher's could easily take these during a class. Our email address for yearbook photos is yearbookbespto@gmail.com. We want to include everything that has happened at Brookhollow this year and show what a robust and fun school year we've had, even with all of the challenges! Please use the link above to send any photos you have for the yearbook as well.
Contact your child's teacher for more information or questions. Teachers will set aside "Parent Contact" time to assist. We will still have access to Google classroom within Canvas. Canvas is designed to organize students’ classes and resources in one easy to access location and help communication between parents/guardians and teachers. As a parent or guardian, Canvas will allow you to observe your child's classwork, assignments, and grades.
Parents and students should have received these Instructions for Parents and these Instructions for Students to guide them how to access the Canvas training courses. Parents will need to be an observer to log in and get access to the training course. You can use these instructions (English), Instructions (Spanish), or this video to set up a Canvas account to observe their students. You can use the Instructions for Students with your students so that they can locate and log in to Canvas. Remember you need to publish your courses so students can see them.
BES PTO Board
Secretary: Kantrelle Burkland
Co-Treasurers: Melissa Lathrop and Mary Friesenhahn
Vice President: Rani Sabban
President: Haley Ashcroft
Our hospitality team consists of Yolanda Ferguson, Kandice Friestman and Kantrelle Burkland
Communication
We highly encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher as the primary for learning assistance. Our teachers are including celebrations like birthdays, learning rewards, and affirmations for social and emotional participation.
Please let your child's teacher know if you haven't been getting the emails from BES messenger or PfISD Communications. Our office staff will be happy to check your email and update any new emails for you in Skyward.
Below is a list of ways to reach out and stay informed with up-to-date information.
BES Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrookhollowES/
PTO Remind 101: 81010 and text this message@BESPTO18
- Grades: access to your child(ren)’s grades and attendance through the Skyward district software student information system.Parents - Family Access Instructions (download PDF)
Need your Skyward Family Access User Name?
Send an Email to: parentportal@pfisd.net
Subject Line = Skyward Family Access Account