Bryant Bulletin
Weekly Campus Updates for Parents & Guardians
September 2, 2020
A Message from Dr. Rhodes, Principal
You may need to refer back to this newsletter in the future. We place copies of all Newsletters on our website under "Parent Resources." Within this newsletter, and all Bryant Bulletins moving forward, we have a specific KVA section of the newsletter which will provide KVA Bryant families with the specific information they need.
Please Note- All Phase I procedures are set at the district level to ensure safety and consistency across all elementary schools.
Again, this is a very dense newsletter. Please read through all information carefully. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher.
Meet Our Staff-Mrs. Samantha Bultron, Registrar
General Information and Reminders
Education Rights & Responsibilities During COVID-19
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has published a great resource for all school stakeholders. Please click the picture to the right to read.
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.
Parent Tech Help
Virtual Parent Help Meetings for Technology, Digital Resources & Device Support
Katy ISD offered meetings for parents at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. The meetings were one hour long, and covered how parents and students can access and utilize many of the digital resources available at Katy ISD. Please use the links below to access the meeting content:
- Link to Presentation slideshow: tinyurl.com/katyparents2020
- Link to recorded Presentation: Parent Technology Meeting Recording
- Enlace a la presentación grabada: Ayuda técnica para padres en español
- Link to FAQs: Parent Tech Meeting FAQs
*NEW* Technology Help Desk Contacts for Parents/Students Support Inquiries
- Online: Katy ISD Tech Help
- Or, click “Help” in Canvas
- Or, call: 281.396.7400 (6:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)
- Or, e-mail: parenttechsupport@katyisd.org
*NEW* “How to Guide” for Parents on the Home Access Center (HAC)
Need to know how to view a report card, student grades, or other information?
Check out our “how to guides” on the Home Access Center, or click below.
*NEW* Parent and Student Technology Support
From Nurse Osbourne...
Medications- Any student who needs medications on campus, either daily or as needed, should contact Nurse Osbourne ASAP. Medications will be collected by appointment only. We set aside this Thursday, September 3th, for drop and go. Please sign up here for an appointment.
We are also requesting that all forms be scanned and emailed to the clinic. You can email by clicking here or fax to 281-644-1967 at least one day prior to drop off appointment to speed up the drop off process.
To scan a document from an Iphone: Go to notes, click writing pencil in the bottom right corner then aim phone at document and click camera, choose scan (it will allow you to add multiple pages), and then it will allow you to send or share it.
Any questions or concerns please contact Christilynn Osbourne, RN, MSN at 281-234-4325
KATY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT Forms:
Daily medication with Doctor’s Order
Parent Questionnaire for a Student with Seizures (English)
From our Counselor, Mrs. Flores
PurposeFull People
This month we will introduce the character trait, Responsibility. Please help us kick off this trait by encouraging your child to wear orange on Wednesday, September 9th. Throughout the month, students will engage in conversations and activities that help develop and apply Responsibility in their daily lives! As we introduce Responsibility, we hope to instill new ideas and skills students will be able to apply and utilize in school and at home. We are using this definition at school-- Responsibility: to take action and understand how our choices affect others, ourselves, and the world. This is a skill that will change over time as students take on more and more responsibilities in their lives. If you are looking for ways to extend this trait at home, check out our K-2 resource (en Espanol) and 3-5 resource (en Espanol). For more information, contact Penny Flores, the School Counselor, at penelopewflores@katyisd.org.
Katy Virtual Academy (KVA)
District VKA Newsletter
KVA Curbside Grab and Go Meals - Beginning Monday, September 7th
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.
Face to Face Instruction
(Beginning September 8th)
Transportation Form to Be Completed by September 3rd
***DUE TOMORROW***
Student Lanyards
Clear ID Backback Tags
Please remember to attach your child's cruise ship tag/ID tag to their backpack. These were sent home in the back to school Grab and Go. Click here for additional details and directions.
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
Arrival Instructions
Bell Schedule
Doors open: 8:00am - Students walk straight to class.
Grab 'n' Go Breakfast will be available for purchase in Cafe and will be eaten in the classroom.
Tardy bell: 8:25am
Attendance bell: 9:50am
Dismissal bell: 3:35pm
Late Arrivals
Per district guidance, students who arrive to school late will have a Bryant staff member conduct a pre-screening before allowing them entrance into the school. Late children must be escorted by a parent/guardian until the pre-screening is complete.
Children displaying any of the above symptoms in the self-screening checklist or who have had exposure to someone who has tested positive or suspects they have COVID-19 should not report to school.
Dismissal Instructions & Procedures
Please click the picture below to view the dismissal map.
This year we continue to offer each family a unique dismissal tag color and number. For example, if you have 2 children at Bryant living in the same household, you received a dismissal number with one set of car tags for your family (tags were inside Grab & Go Bags that should have been picked up 8/17 & 8/18). This system allows us to account for each student and maintain proper security measures. Student safety is always a priority!
Car Riders:
Car riders stage for dismissal via double stack lanes in our car rider lane which wraps behind the school. Staff members will be entering your dismissal number and color into a Google Doc which is shared inside the school. It is imperative that once you have entered the left or right lane, you cannot change lanes. This causes great challenges because staff members are staging students inside using the order recorded in the Google Doc. If you are picking up your child as a car rider, please use the HANGING TAGS provided for you. If families are carpooling, a great idea is to use a hanger with clips to show more than one dismissal number on your rear-view mirror. Please hang the tag(s) from the rear view mirror, not in the corner of the window. If you do not have the physical number for the child or children you are picking up, you will not be able to pick up a child from the car rider line. See map below for more directions. Please watch this video for an overview of our car rider system.
Daycare Riders:
On our transportation survey above, you can tell us your child’s teacher and the name of their daycare bus.
Walkers/Bike Riders:
Students in PK-1st will be released to an adult only. If you have a PK-1st grader that you would like to walk home with an older sibling, please see the directions in the manila envelope provided during Grab & Go. The older sibling will not need a dismissal number to pick up their younger sibling. Parents MUST have the physical dismissal number in your hand in order to pick up your PK-1st grade child from school. If you do not have the number in your hand you will be asked by a staff member to go to the front office. Students in 3rd-5th will leave campus on their own, and will not need a dismissal number in order to exit the building.
Bus Riders:
To check a bus route visit: http://busroutes.katyisd.org/wqliveweb/webquery/
Please review the directions at this link for how to install the app and track our buses: http://www.katyisd.org/dept/transportation/Documents/Edulog_Parent_Portal_Lite_Instructions.pdf
Bryant's GPS district code to use in the application is: 69167016
Changes of Transportation
*New and Improved Process- 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.
Front Vestibule Drop Boxes
Phase I Procedures: September 8th - October 16th
Visitation: No campus visitation will be permitted. Campus appointments will be used in special circumstances and only when approved by campus administration. Please do not show up to school expecting an appointment right away. Meetings, conferences, and other school business can be conducted through phone calls and/or Zoom.
Masks & Facial Coverings: *Updated by district last week. Students in PK - 5 will be required to wear a mask or facial covering under the following conditions:
- While riding to and from school on district transportation
- While walking in the hallways of our building
- To and from the restroom
- To and from lunch
- To and from recess
Classroom mask/facial covering usage: *Updated by district last week.
- Students in PK - 3 will be required to wear a mask/facial covering in the classroom, when it is developmentally appropriate and when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
- Students in 4 and 5 will be required to wear a mask in the classroom.
Students are not required to wear their masks/facial coverings at the following times:
- While in P.E. or at recess
- While eating
- A doctor's note is required to be provided to the school nurse if a child is unable to wear a mask/facial covering.
- All students' masks/facial coverings should be provided by parents and labeled with the student's name.
Facial coverings include non-medical and medical grade disposable face masks and cloth face coverings (over the nose and mouth). Full-face shields may be used in place of a mask to protect eyes, nose, and mouth and must cover one’s face, extending below the chin.
Students will wear a face covering in common areas, when entering and/or exiting the gym, playground, or activity space and when not actively engaged in physical activity.
Non-Compliance with Mask Requirement
Katy ISD is offering parents the option of virtual or in-person instruction. Students who do not comply with safety protocols in place for in-person instruction will be transitioned to Katy Virtual Academy for the duration of the grading period. KVA students participating in in-person school related activities before and after the start of the instructional day must also follow the same safety protocols. Students who do not wear masks/face coverings as required by District safety protocols will not be allowed to participate in school related activities. Should a student have a medical condition that would preclude him/her from wearing a mask, the parent is requested to provide the campus nurse documentation from their medical provider.
Staff:
- All staff are required to wear a mask/facial covering.
Lunch and lunch deliveries:
- Students will eat lunch in the cafeteria with use of physical distancing practices and procedures.
- Students may bring lunch from home with them as they enter the building in the morning.
- No outside food deliveries are allowed. Parents may not drop off lunch from a restaurant or bring a forgotten home lunch during the school day at this time.
- Lunch visitation is not allowed during Phase I restrictions.
- Please register with https://www.schoolcafe.com/katyisd to conveniently pay for school lunches.
Deliveries and birthday treats:
Due to safety and health protocols, no student may share food with other students.
At this time, children nor parents/guardians are allowed to bring birthday treats for the class to share on their birthdays.
A child may bring with them (in the morning) one special snack/treat for themselves on their birthday.
We will still recognize student birthdays on morning announcements and in class to make it a special day.
Recess:
- Students will participate in some form of daily recess with use of physical distancing practices and procedures. No classes will be able to mix during this time.
- Due to health and safety regulations the playground structures are closed at this time.
- Students may not bring equipment from home and students will not be sharing equipment while playing outside.
- Students do not have to wear their mask while engaging in physical activity during recess. Students must wear a mask to and from recess.
- Classroom teachers will monitor their classes in organized play within specific designated locations throughout the campus grounds separated from other classes.
- Extreme temperature guidance set by the district will be followed. If it is too hot for outdoor recess, students will have indoor recess which will include some physical activity.
Water bottles & drinking fountains:
Water fountains are only used for filling and refilling bottles. Students may not drink directly from the water fountain during Phase I restrictions.
Students should bring a water bottle each day.
Bottles should be clearly labeled with the child’s name and have a cap/closed lid the child can easily open.
Bottles may only contain plain water.
Specials - Music/Art/PE:
Specials will occur but will utilize physical distancing protocols. Students will participate in Music, Art & P.E. classes on a rotational basis. Students will also be limited in equipment usage and no sharing of equipment will take place.
Early check-outs:
- Anyone checking out a child must be on the child's enrollment notification as a parent/guardian. In the event you need a person on your emergency contact list to pick up your child, a note and/or notice from the parent is required.
- Parents must wait in the front vestibule. Use the call button to talk with one of our office receptionists.
- Your valid and unexpired ID will be verified from the front vestibule. An iPad will be used to enter your information for checkout. Please wipe the device with a provided wipe when done. Your child will be brought to the front vestibule to meet you.
- It is imperative you provide adequate time to go through this process. There will be no short cuts taken because a student is late to an appointment.
Katy ISD School Safety Demonstration Videos
Cafeteria & Food Services Protocols
Campus & Classroom Protocols
COVID-19 Notification Alerts
General Information
Transportation Protocols
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.
News From the Bryant PTA
The PTA is looking for volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering, please click here or email us at bryantptavolunteers@gmail.com.
Join us on September 3rd for our Virtual Volunteer Kick-off! Register here to receive the Zoom link via email. Please notice that the time has been changed to 4:00pm.
Visit Us Online
Click here for PTA Facebook.
Click here to follow PTA on Twitter.