November is here! We continue to look forward to seeing our families at the special events that lie ahead in the next few weeks: American Education Week and Parent Conferences. Thank you for supporting our Halloween Celebration!! It is so special to see you here at school and participating in events!

Report Cards will come home next Tuesday, November 14th. Please take that opportunity to reflect on this first quarter of school and set goals with your child.

Please note the information provided below for visiting with us for American Education Week and reserving a time for Parent-Teacher Conferences. We are excited to have two opportunities to collaborate with you on the progress of your child!

The following students were recognized for November 9th. Congratulations to:

• KINDERGARTEN
  
• Mrs. Bohn's Class- Reagan Zamudio
  
• Mrs. O'Leary's Class- Claire Fohl
  
• Mrs. Powell's Class- Bailey Gasch
  
• Mrs. Wilson's Class- Casey Libber
  

• 1st GRADE
  
• Mrs. Bruner's Class- Reesha Prabhugari
  
• Mrs. Hintz' Class- Evelyn Rutledge
  
• Ms. Huyetts' Class- Carinna Navalta
  
• Mrs. Lambros' Class- Reid DeEugenio
  
• Mrs. Payne's Class- Capri Lipple
  

• 2ND GRADE
  
• Mrs. Follmer's Class- Kiran Razvi
  
• Mrs. Hogan's Class- Sara Shapley
  
• Mrs. Keats' Class- Mary Garcia
  
• Mrs. Stumpfl's Class- Troy Heath
  

• 3RD GRADE
• Ms. Griffin's Class- Dexter Feldman
  
• Ms. Hewitt's Class- Blair Heusser
  
• Mrs. Hovis' Class- Sam Tong, Jacob Baer
  
• Mrs. Pickett's Class- Rebecca Neumann
  

• 4TH GRADE
  
• Ms. Lyter's Class- Lia Dolce
  
• Mrs. Perry's Class- Sai Dudyala
  
• Mrs. Richmond's Class- Kofi Amponsah
  
• Mr. Wilson's Class- Morgan Ringley
  

• 5TH GRADE
  
• Mrs. Cole's Class- Matte Duignan
  
• Ms. Landry's Class- Tanya Landry
  
• Mrs. Little's Class- Miriam Girguis
  
• Mrs. Stanton's Class- Batool Rizvi
  
• Mrs. Yakscoe-Markle's Class- Will Staley
  

On Thursday, November 8th, The Council of Elders Celebration of Academic Achievement honored students of African and African-American heritage who are currently in grades 4 - 5 and achieved A's or B's for all four quarters in Mathematics and English Language Arts during the 2017 – 2018 school year.

Thank you to families who joined us to commemorate the occasion! Together we celebrated the achievement of these amazing students:

• Bashir Abou
• Elijah Anderson
• James DeBose
• Marciana Frye
• Chelsea Jensen
• Maia Hanes
  
• Amiyah Lambert
  
• Rebecca Lemon
  
• Skyler Mitchner
  
• Gabrielle Okojie
• Kiara Robinson
  
• Mariah Talley
  

Our Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held in less than two weeks November 19th-November 21st. Students will have a 3-hour Early Dismissal at 12:47 p.m. both Monday and Tuesday of that week, and will not have school on Wednesday in order to allow teachers to meet with every family during the conference time.

Please see the information below regarding how to access Synergy to schedule the perfect conference time for you with your child’s Homeroom or Block Teacher!

• Starting at 9:00 AM on Friday, November 9th, parents can log into HCPSS Connect http://www.hcpss.org/connect to view and select a conference time slot provided by the teacher.

• Fall conferences will be scheduled for RECC & Prekindergarten Homerooms and Language Arts teachers for grades K – 5. Each teacher has 30 conference slot times available.

• Parents can register for conferences online through Friday, November 16th at 9:00 PM. If you experience any issues, please submit your issue using the Help feature on the HCPSS Connect page at http://www.hcpss.org/connect.

• NOTE: Conferences will be scheduled in 20 minute increments; however, that includes a 5 minute transition period. Conferences will last 15 minutes and then the teachers/staff will have 5 minutes to transition between conferences.

If you need directions, a helpful video has been created. Please click the following link https://youtu.be/QcMwkkIgkls to view this short video showing “How to Schedule Conferences”.

We are in hopes that every student at BPES has a parent schedule a conference. These parent/teacher conferences are an important link between home and school. Let’s celebrate your child’s accomplishments together!

As we look forward to American Education Week, we also prepare to ensure security measures are in place and communicated for the safety of students, staff and families visiting.

HCPSS has shared best practices and guidelines for all schools to follow. This will increase consistency and raise awareness of what is needed as you prepare for your visit.

When visitors arrive next week, there will be a check-in/check-out table in the front foyer. Every visitor will be asked the purpose of their visit and what classroom they plan to visit. Visitors will also be asked present their license for identification. You will find BPES Administrators

• Upon arrival at the school, all visitors will state the nature of their business for visiting the school and register in the front foyer before proceeding to any other part of the building.

• As part of the registration process in the front office, all visitors will be asked the purpose of their visit, sign the visitor’s log, and provide their driver’s license or other state-issued photo- identification for verification purposes.

• Once signed in, the visitor will be issued a visitor’s badge that must be displayed at all times while the visitor remains in the school building or on school premises.

• Visitors must remain in approved areas only and at all times act in a manner appropriate to the safe functioning of the school environment.
  

• Upon conclusion of the visit, the visitor must return to the building office, sign out on the visitor’s log and return the visitor badge.

We work hard to balance a safe and welcoming environment and appreciate your ongoing support! We feel you right beside us in those efforts!

Award-winning author and songwriter Barry Louis Polisar will be visiting our students on November 15th. Barry has performed at The White House, The Smithsonian & The Kennedy Center. He hosted the TV Show Field Trip and sings the opening song “All I Want is You” in the movie Juno. Barry’s books and CDs will be available for students to purchase and have been personally autographed.

To take advantage of this opportunity, look out for our form in your Monday folder and attach a check made out to “Bushy Park PTA”. Barry’s visit to our school supports our efforts in promoting a love of reading and writing. Be sure to ask your child about Barry’s visit. To find out more about him, visit Barry on the web at www.barrylou.com.

Mrs. Laura Smith, BPES reading specialist, is excited to share the opportunity of all young authors to showcase their best story or poem! The powerpoint slides above are part of a presentation teachers will give to their students. Help us spread the joy at home by encouraging your students to participate! See the Information below!