Enjoy your Winter Break! See you back at Bush Elementary on Monday, January 3, 2022 at 7:30 a.m.

Enjoy your Winter Break and still take the time to read at least one book and practice math skills and/or literacy on Imagine Math and Literacy that is available to all first - fifth graders. Math facts are easy to practice over the break too. I was able to meet my reading goal over Thanksgiving break and I read 2 books. My goal for the Winter Break is to read 4 books. How many books will you read over the break? I also plan to write in a journal every day over the break. Children can easily write and or draw a summary of each day over the break to keep up their writing skills.

To make the transition back to school on Monday, January 3, try to adjust back to school routines on the weekend before we return so it won't be so difficult to get up, get dressed, have breakfast, and arrive at school at 7:30 a.m. as we return to our learning at Bush Elementary.

We have a Winner!

Congratulations to the following third, fourth and fifth grade super spellers who participated in the Spelling Bee this morning:

3rd Grade - Logan Shaikh, Kiara Sequeira, Princeton Kelly, Irene Sarlis, Sai (Karthik) Kandukuri, Tanvi Mahajan

4th Grade - Darren Liu, George Kotochigov, Rowan Nelson, Mayukha Uppalapati, Evey Mendoza-Monty, Samuel Nowowiejski, Hana Huynh

5th Grade - Nicolas Gonzalez Pulido, Daniel Broncano, Saanvi Bandi, Lydia Smith, Samuel Coronado

After 12 exciting rounds, Kiara Sequeira was the winner.

Runner Up: Mayukha Uppalapati - 4th Grade

Kiara will be representing Bush Elementary at the HISD Spelling Bee!

Just as a reminder about our Bush Elementary dress code. Shirts must be solid colored red, white, or navy. The only t-shirts allowed are Bush Elementary t-shirts. Dress code pants are navy, khaki, or blue jeans. The pants must not have any holes, rips, tears, or designs on them, just simple plain blue jeans, navy pants, or khaki pants. Exercise pants, sweatpants, and yoga pants are NOT part of the Bush dress code.

2021-2022 Dress Code Guidelines

Morning supervision of students starts at 7:20 a.m. At that time students are brought into the building and are seated in grade level lines. Morning bus lane drop off is reserved for our 5th Grade Safety Patrols and our students in our self-contained special education classes. These families have a special printed pass to enter the bus lane for morning drop off. All other students arriving by car must be dropped off in the carpool lane. The first bell rings at 7:30 a.m. and the students are tardy at 7:40 a.m. when the morning announcements begin.

We have a new year in January and let's start the year with following our morning arrival procedures and being on time for school every day.

Please plan to pick up your carpool and walker students before 3:15. Our students are dismissed at 3:00 and our walker area has been finishing before 3:10 on most days. If you arrive after 3:15, please come to the front office to sign your child out as a late pick up.

Please abide by the No Parking signs on the streets around our school and our neighboring schools. Several parents have received parking tickets from HPD in the past because they were parking in a No Parking zone. When cars park in No Parking zones, it is difficult for our busses and vans to turn into our bus lane.

We're asking for the parents of walkers that park their cars on the other side of Westerloch across from the school to NOT u-turn by the carpool lane entrance once they've picked up their child(ren) and are heading home.

We have seen many students and some parents walking across the street not using the crosswalks. This is extremely dangerous and we ask that all walkers and bike riders use the crosswalks. Westerloch Dr. and Parkway Plaza Dr. are very busy streets during morning arrival and dismissal. If you cross between parked cars, ongoing traffic cannot see you.

We are so happy to see so many of our students riding their bikes to school now that the weather has gotten nicer. Please remember that all students are required to wear a bicycle helmet when riding their bikes to and from school. We want to keep all of our Bobcats safe.

The Westside feeder pattern of HISD has opened food pantries at two of our neighboring elementary schools. If you are interested in visiting one of these food pantries, please see the dates, times and addresses of the two schools listed in the flyer below. You will need to sign in at the front offices of these schools and ask for their wraparound specialists.

If your child is absent from school, please make sure you send in a note explaining the absence date(s) and reason for the absence upon return to school. We will need this note even if you're at home quarantining or a Positive COVID-19 case. Please email your absence excuse note to the homeroom teacher and our registrar, Ms. Rosales at arosale3@houstonisd.org

If a note is not received within 3 days, then the absence is recorded as unexcused.

COVID-19 vaccines are now available for children ages 5-11. If you choose to vaccinate your child, please email a copy of the vaccination record card to dguider@houstonisd.org or send documentation to Nurse Guider so she can update your child's immunization record.

Houston weather is often unpredictable and we would like everyone to stay prepared for a sudden rain shower. Please make sure your students pack rain protection, i.e., umbrella, rain jackets, and/or poncho in their backpacks, especially if they are walkers!

On September 10, HISD School Choice opened up the system to apply for the PK lottery for next school year. The Bush PK program is only for families that are already enrolled at Bush Elementary and have another child who will be 4 on or before September 1, 2022. Students must meet PK eligibility requirements such as being economically disadvantaged or qualifying as English as a Second Language.

The site will accept applications from September 10, 2021 - March 10, 2022. Families will be notified by HISD School Choice on April 7, 2022 if their child was accepted into Bush Elementary's PK program or if their child is on the waitlist. Go to HISDChoice.com to apply. Bush Elementary's PK program is only one class with 22 students that must be comprised of siblings of currently enrolled Bush students. The only way to apply for and be part of the lottery for Bush Elementary's PK program is to apply online at the address shared above.

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.

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.

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.

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:

February – July Birthdays: Enroll through January

We are looking for some pictures for the yearbook. We need First day of school, Nature Center, Friends, Siblings and Holiday Spirit Week photos. If you have any, please share them with us! Please send no more than 5 photos for all events to bushptoyearbook@gmail.com and label pictures with your child's grade.

School Store On The Go will NOT be at lunches this week. We will be back in January on Friday the 14th.

Bush Buddies Walk- February 18

Field Day- March 11

We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday break. We will see you back at school next year!

Don’t forget to link your Amazon and Kroger or Randalls account to BBE PTO and use Box Tops for all of your holiday shopping!
For any questions PTO related please contact Val Shaikh, presidentbbepto@gmail.com.

The Houston Independent School District is closely monitoring COVID-19 pandemic and is in contact with the Centers for Disease Control, Texas Department of State Health Services and Houston Health Department to ensure all students and staff members are safe and updated with the latest information. For more information please visit, https://www.houstonisd.org/healthalerts

HISD's COVID-19 protocol has been updated in regards to terminology use and reporting. At all HISD campuses, this means that when there is a positive case in your child's homeroom class you will be notified in writing by the principal. The message you will receive is below. Please note that this message will be sent after the nurse has worked to identify close contacts, and, is simply for notification and does not require further action (i.e. quarantine). I want to thank you all for your diligence in ensuring that students are wearing their masks and that we are all remaining healthy.

Sample Message: This message is to inform you that an individual in your child's homeroom has reported testing positive for COVID-19. Your child has not been identified as a close contact and there is no action required of you at this time. This notification is for your awareness only. Due to privacy requirements, we cannot release the name of the COVID-positive individual or details that may identify them; however, it is important for you to know this individual is self- isolating until they are cleared to return to our campus. As a reminder, HISD has health and safety protocols in place to help prevent the spread of illness. We are asking our staff and families to do their part by adhering to these protocols, and not reporting to their worksite or sending their student(s) to school when they are ill. We appreciate your continued support as we work together to ensure the safety of our students and staff.