Greetings BPES Community!

We have had an amazing time welcoming your children for the first week of school! Our first day began smoothly with students excitedly entering the building and immediately getting started building community in their classrooms. As we walked around to each classroom on Tuesday morning, we found students engaged in community circles, sharing highlights from their summer, and learning about one another.

Students are learning many new routines and procedures this week as they prepare for a great year. In addition, our staff will focus on developing each child's social emotional learning in a variety of ways. One of the ways we teach and foster social emotional learning is through daily Community Circles, which take place immediately following the morning announcements. As you talk with your child about their school day, we encourage you to ask them about their Community Circle topic that morning.

We look forward to a terrific year of building community with you and your family. As always, please reach out to either of us at any time. As we told the children on our classroom visits this week, the best part of our jobs is that we get to be the "Lead Helpers" in our school. We are here to help your children and your family have a wonderful year.

Fondly,

Julia Bialeski, Principal

Keith West, Assistant Principal

Upcoming September Events:

9/9 Parent Volunteer Orientation - 9:30am or 6:30pm

9/9 PTA all-day spirit day at Chick Fil A of Clarksville - 6:00am-10:00pm

9/9 PTA Meeting - 7:00-8:30pm

9/12 Kindergarten Back to School Night (informational evening for parents only) 6:00pm

9/13 PTA Back-to-School Picnic - 5:00-7:00pm

9/23-9/27 PTA Fall Book Fair

9/25 RECC Back to School Night - 6:30-7:30pm

9/30 School and Offices Closed

Revised Learning Behaviors will be reported on all K-5 report cards beginning this school year. Learning Behaviors are learned actions that enable students to access learning and interact with others productively in the community. These behaviors are developed in and outside of school. The report card will now include information on the degree to which your child demonstrates interpersonal skills, responsibility, perseverance, collaboration, and initiative.

Additionally, Learning Behaviors help with understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and making responsible decisions, which are essential life skills. They complement the curriculum content taught in the elementary grades and are a natural part of learning about oneself while interacting with others.

These behaviors were drafted and revised several times based on feedback from teachers, administrators, curriculum staff, and parent advisory committees. For details on the new learning behaviors, report card language, and indicators, please click on the button below.

We are excited to partner with the PTA's new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee this year! Chaired by BPES parents Christina Lawrence, Audra Miller, and Mya Frye, the committee's mission is to strive towards advocating for the uniqueness of all students.

The committee will work with the executive board of the PTA to provide specific educational opportunities for every student and staff member in an effort to embrace diversity (respect others' differences) and acquire the skills, knowledge, and confidence to positively influence the larger community within and outside Bushy Park Elementary School.

We would especially like to thank the PTA and the DEI Committee for purchasing culturally-responsive book packs to donate to our school! These texts were purchased with funds earned from last year's Scholastic Book Fairs and will provide both our Carson Reading Room and classroom teachers with new titles to add to the BPES collection.

Together, we look forward to promoting an inclusive environment at Bushy Park where every student belongs!

At Bushy Park, we have a special feature on our playground - the Buddy Bench! The Buddy Bench helps promote inclusion on the playground by ensuring that everyone has someone to play with at recess!

Students are encouraged to plan for what they would like to do at recess. Once outside, if they do not have someone to play with, they can sit on the Buddy Bench to show that they are looking to join a game. If students see someone sitting on the Buddy Bench, we teach them to invite those sitting down to join their activity. Additionally, we teach students that if they are invited to join an activity, they should not decline.

The Buddy Bench is not a place to sit and rest or cool off during recess, and it is not a place to hang out with friends. We will ensure that all students receive a refresher on how to use the Buddy Bench to start our school year. We encourage you to ask your child, "Was anyone using the Buddy Bench today?" to start a conversation about inclusion and kindness at the dinner table!