Bear Creek Elementary Newsletter
October 30, 2017
Reminder: No Costumes Allowed on Tuesday, October 31st
Important Dates
Wednesday, November 1st - College Spirit Wednesday - Wear your favorite college, CJH or MCHS spirit shirt
Thursday, November 2nd - Fall Picture Day
Friday, November 3rd - BCE School Spirit Day - Wear a BCE spirit shirt; 4th Grade Math DLA; PTA Executive Board Meeting @ 8:30am
Sunday, November 5th - End of Daylight Saving Time @ 2am - set clocks back one hour
Monday, November 6th - Wear Yellow for Core Essentials Trait of Gratitude; Cougar Pride Celebration in the Gym at 8:05am
Tuesday, November 7th - Election Day - Go Vote!; Bridging the Digital Divide Parent Meeting - Learn How to Check Out an iPad for Home Use - 4:00-4:30pm; Fuddrucker's Spirit Night (7250 Hwy 6 North) 5-9pm
Wednesday, November 8th - College Spirit Wednesday - Wear your favorite college, CJH or MCHS spirit shirt
Thurstday, November 9th - Chick-fil-A Spirit Night - Hwy 6 from 5-8pm
Friday, November 10th - Veteran's Day Program @ 8:20am - Wear Red, White & Blue
Saturday, November 11th - Mayde Creek High School Donation Distribution from 8-10am @ MCHS; Cardiff Junior High Pop-up Thanksgiving Market from 3-6pm @ CJH
Monday, November 13th through Friday, November 17th - Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, November 15th - Donuts with Dads (any male role model welcome!) @ 7:30am; College Spirit Wednesday - Wear your favorite college, CJH or MCHS spirit shirt; 4th Grade Outdoor Learning Center Field Trip; 5th Grade Science DLA
Thursday, November 16th - Bringing Books to Life Parade @ 8:30am; Bringing Books to Life Literacy Carnival: 5:30 - PTA & Title I Meeting; 6:00 - Literacy Carnival; 7:00 - We've Got to Read Dance / Video Creation in the Gym; Book Fair Open 8am-8pm
Friday, November 17th - BCE School Spirit Day - wear a BCE spirit shirt
Monday, November 20th through Friday, November 24th - Thanksgiving Holidays - No School
Wednesday, November 29th - 3rd Grade Reading DLA; College Spirit Wednesday - Wear your favorite college, CJH or MCHS spirit shirt; No Homework Night
Meal Charges Resume on Wednesday, November 1st
Katherine Tyra Library Pop-up Sites
Katherine Tyra @ Bear Creek Library Weekly Pop Up Schedule:
- Tuesdays from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM @ the Bear Creek United Methodist Church Village: Room Hope 1, 16000 Rippling Water Drive, Houston, TX 77084
- Thursdays from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM @ Clay’s Restaurant, 17717 Clay Road, Houston, TX 77084
Join Us Tuesday, October 31 at the Bear Creek United Methodist Church for:
* Storytime at 11:15 AM - Theme: Pumpkins Halloween Costumes are encouraged, but not required!
* Makerspace Project: Monster Bookmarks
* Internet Cafe
* Library Material Returns
* Library Material Check Out
* New and Replacement Card Services
We love seeing our patrons. Pop in and say hello then enjoy all that's going on at the Katherine Tyra @ Bear Creek Pop Up Libraries.
If you have any questions please contact Melinda or Shandy at 713-466-4438.
Why do we take arrival & dismissal safety so seriously??
Changes to PK through 1st Grade Walker Dismissal - Effective November 27, 2017
- The person picking up a Pre-K through 1st Grade walker should have the matching transportation tag in order for students to be released at the walker corners. All students were assigned a transportation tag in August. This number should be on your child's backpack. If you need a replacement tag, please contact the front office.
- If Pre-K through 1st Grade students will be picked up by an older sibling, please inform us of this in writing. Older siblings will still need the matching transportation tag in order for children to be released.
- Teachers at walker corners will have a list of students who are to be picked up at that location.
- If someone is not at the walker corner (or playground gate for Walker 3 or Walker 4) to receive the student, or that person does not have a transportation tag with them, then the staff member returns the student to the front office and a parent/guardian is contacted. Students will only be released to a parent/guardian or a sibling with written permission.
Bayou City Relief Homeowner Education Night - BCE Cougar Cafe
From Bayou City Relief: Our program consists of three speakers: A real-estate agent, a mortgage broker and a residential appraiser. This panel will give a realistic view of the current market conditions and will educate homeowners on how to make it through the steps necessary for a full recovery.
Our goal is to provide the education to help keep the current homeowners living in the area and provide them the knowledge they need to prevent being taken advantage of.
Thursday, Nov 9, 2017, 06:30 PM
Bear Creek Elementary School, Hickory Downs Drive, Houston, TX, United States
Challenge (GT) Important Information
Attention parents/guardians of 1st – 4th grade students. It’s time for the annual screening for the Gifted and Talented Program (Challenge). If you would like to refer your child to be screened for the Challenge program, you may pick up a Parent Checklist from the campus counselor or the front office. This checklist needs to be returned to Mrs. Abbey, Golbow Elementary Challenge Facilitator no later than December 6, 2017. Checklist received after this due date will not be accepted. The Parent Checklist can also be accessed on the Katy ISD website at: www.katyisd.org/dept/gt/Pages/default.aspx.
Please consult the GT Parent Checklist information sheet before completing the checklist. Follow the directions carefully. Note that when selecting a response of 3 or 4 on the checklist, you must provide an example of characteristic behavior in the space provided. If you do not provide an example, only a credit of 2 will be given. There is a difference between a high achieving student and a gifted learner. The information on the back of the letter sent home may help clarify these differences. Since the elementary Challenge program is a one day a week pull-out program, children identified for the program will miss out 20% of their instructional time in their regular classroom EACH week.
Your signature on the Parent Checklist gives the district permission to collect the data necessary to screen you child for the Challenge program, and to serve your child in the program if he/she is identified.
Again, Checklists will not be accepted after December 6, 2016 in order to meet screening schedules.
If you have any questions, please call the Challenge teacher or the counselor at your child’s campus: Mrs. Kathryn Abbey at 281 237-5498
Computer Lab 20 Open at 7:45am for Dreambox and I-Station Before School
Dreambox - Math
Driven by Intelligent Adaptive Learning™ and continuous formative assessment, DreamBox analyzes thousands data points per student for an online math experience that's always "just right." DreamBox ensures students understand concepts before moving on to new lessons.
I-Station - Reading
What is Istation Reading? It's a comprehensive computer-based reading program that maximizes students’ reading fluency, comprehension and retention, and academic success.
MyKaty Cloud - Student Resources
Outdoor Physical Activity Before School
InfoSnap Returning Student Update
Transportation Reminders
Transportation Tags: Each family at BCE will be assigned a transportation tag number that will be color coded based on the youngest child at BCE. This year, Pre-K students will receive white tags. Kindergarten has been assigned purple, 1st is red, 2nd is orange, 3rd is yellow, 4th is green and 5th is blue. On the first day of school teachers will place a backpack tag on each student’s backpack that matches their assigned transportation tag. This will be used for all car riders as well as walkers. Pre-K through 1st grade parents will need to bring the tag to the appropriate walker corner in order to quickly match up children to parents. If additional tags are needed, please contact the front office so we can print one.
Bus riders and students with before or after school care: The district school buses and daycare vans use the front drive on Hickory Downs for drop-off in the morning and pick-up after school. Bus riders will follow district safety rules and day care riders will follow their daycare safety rules. Violations of safety rules will have enforceable consequences.
Car riders: Car-riders will drop-off and pick-up using the back driveway (through the staff parking lot) off of Whispering Falls. This allows the staff to expedite dismissal, as well as provide safety from the elements to the staff and students. As always, there is no left turn into the driveway from 7:45AM until 8:45AM and from 3:15PM until 4:15PM.
*Post your car rider pick-up number when the teacher is gathering car rider information. The car rider number must be displayed by hanging it on the rear view mirror in order for the child to be released to a vehicle.
*Help your child memorize his/her car rider number. Practice in a variety of ways. For example, if the car rider number is Red 120, it may called “one-twenty”, “one-two-o” or “one-two-zero”.
*If your child will ride with someone other than their usual ride, this person’s name must appear on your child’s emergency contact form and they should display the correct car rider number.
*Help us to load your child into the vehicle quickly. Move forward out of the car rider line to fasten seat belts or car seats.
*Pull all the way forward and stop at designated cone, not where you can see your child. We will bring your child to your car.
*Talk with your child about looking and listening for their number to be called.
Walkers: In the best interest of the safety of our students, there will be no parking allowed on the streets in the school zones or at the walker intersections. If you are meeting your child to get into a car, your child will be sent to car rider beginning the next day of school. Parking at intersections causes serious safety concerns for students, drivers and also blocks the streets. This includes all 4 of our designated walker dismissal areas-Walker #1: Hickory Downs at Rippling Water, Walker #2: Hickory Downs at Whispering Falls, Walker #3: Rippling Water at Boulder Oaks and Walker #4: Whispering Falls at Boulder Oaks. Walker students will be escorted by teacher(s) to the corner to be crossed by the crossing guards at dismissal time. Siblings will be matched up prior to leaving the building. Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st Grade Walkers must have an escort home. Older siblings and family members are permitted. Adults or older siblings (not those at BCE) meeting our young students will need to show the transportation tag for the students that are being picked up. Effective November 27, 2017, PK through 1st grade students will not be released without this tag and students will have to be picked up from the front office after showing an valid ID. Crossing traffic, even with an adult, is not permitted unless at crosswalks. Students will no longer be released to parents at the area that they exit the building. We are asking that you wait on the opposite corner of the street and allow your child to cross over to you. Please encourage your child to not cross the street if they do not see you waiting for them. Pre-K through 1st grade students who walk home using Walker #3 or Walker #4 should be met at the gate exiting the BCE playground before proceeding to the crosswalk. Children should never be walked across in the middle of the street, walked between cars or loaded into cars on the street. BCE does not permit roller blades or scooters to be brought to school.
Bikers: Students who are bike riders go directly to the bicycle racks in the front of the school to walk their bikes across the street at the crosswalks. Bicycles may not be ridden on school grounds. BCE cannot be held responsible for lost or stolen bicycles.
Thank you for working with us and helping us have the safest arrival and dismissal procedures for our children possible!
Parent Curriculum Resources & Instructional Videos
There is also a site with instructional videos for math, reading and word study that can be accessed by parents. Click here to view the "A View into Elementary Curriculum" site.
Information is added to both of these sites on an ongoing basis.
Birthday Messages on the BCE Marquee
WatchDOGS (Dads of Great Students) Sign-up Link
Support Bear Creek With BoxTops for Education
Follow Bear Creek Elementary on Social Media!
Instagram: www.instagram.com/bcecougars
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bcecougars
Bear Creek Elementary
Email: bcecommunications@katyisd.org
Website: www.katyisd.org/campus/BCE
Location: 4815 Hickory Downs Drive, Houston, TX, United States
Phone: 281-237-5600
Facebook: facebook.com/bcecougars
Twitter: @bcecougars