Family Movie Night was a huge success! On behalf of the entire Bush Elementary family, we wholeheartedly would like to thank our amazing PTO for a wonderful Movie Night last Friday night. All of their hard work and organization behind the scenes helped to make this fun family event a spectacular success. Thank you also to all of our parents, teachers, staff and PTO members who pitched in and volunteered their time and energy to help with this event. We could not have done it without you.

For pictures from the Book Character Parade, please visit our website.

Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday, November 7th at 2:00 a.m. Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour.

HISD's academic calendar does have some days set as student holidays that tie in with some major religious observances. Not all major religious holidays are represented in the HISD calendar. If a student is going to be absent for a major religious holiday such as Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, or Hanukkah, the student can be counted present instead of an excused absence, if the parent submits in writing via an email or note explaining the upcoming or past absence was due to (list the major holiday) in our religion and then signed and dated by the parent.

If you would like to request GT testing for your child, please click on the link to the application below to request GT testing for your child. The parent portal is now up and running. The deadline to submit G/T applications is November 18, 2021. HISD will continue to test all kindergarten and 5th graders who have not been previously identified as being GT through our Universal Screening Process. Kindergarten and 5th grade parents do NOT need to complete an application.

G/T Application

If you do not have access to a computer, please contact Ms. Ayala in the front office to have an application sent home.

HISD screens kindergarten and fifth grade students who were not previously identified as gifted and talented in what is called Universal Testing. This process began the week and will continue through early next week.

The universal testing of kindergarten and fifth grade students allows identified students to receive G/T services in HISD’s Gifted and Talented Programs during the Spring of their current school year. All students who are identified as gifted and talented in HISD will retain their G/T status providing they subsequently enroll in an HISD Gifted and Talented Program upon identification and are continuously enrolled in an HISD Gifted and Talented Program thereafter.

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.

The State of Texas has a class size limit of 22 students to one teacher in Pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. This semester Bush Elementary requested class size waivers for the following classes that are over the 22:1 ratio – Baker, Myers, Nguyen, K.T., Castaneda, Baldwin, Carlin, Pham, McCleary, Sheth, Nguyen, J., Garza, King, Jones, Munk, and Diller.

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!

Cooler temperatures are slowly making their way to Houston! We have many jackets in our lost and found waiting to be picked up by their rightful owners. Parents, please label your child/children's jackets/winter clothing so that we can return their lost jackets to their classrooms. Also, please remember that in school, students need to have dress code jackets in solid red, white or navy. Their outside jackets worn for recess do not need to be in dress code colors, they can be any color.

Please plan to pick up your walkers before 3:15. Our students are dismissed at 3:00 and our walker line 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. Parents, 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.

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 during January/May

Thank you everyone who participated in the silent auction and Movie Night! Both were a huge success! It was so much fun seeing all of the kids in their costumes and enjoying each other’s company before the movie. Luckily the wind died down just in time and we ended up with pretty good, albeit chilly, weather.

Thank you to all the volunteers, including many of the staff members, who helped with the event. It is such a special treat for the students to see their teachers outside of school hours!

And a final thank you to all of our amazing donors and sponsors for the event:

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Pine Forest Country Club

Mathnasium

Tiff’s Treats

Stretch Lab

Kumon

Club Westside

Memorial Athletic Club

George’s Pastaria

Fogo de Chao

Chick-Fil-A

Pappa’s Restaurant

Top Golf

Taste of Texas

LeCorps Sculpting

Josephine’s Salon

Sylvia’s

Minuti Coffee

Venezia

Massage Heights

Matsu Restaurant

Spa World

Soccer Shots

Children’s Museum of Houston

AB Law

Febres Dentistry

Art Cellar

Dumpling Dudez

YMCA Camp Cullen

Mad Potter

Semiramis Fine Chocolate & Sweets

Bea Moreno, Coldwell Banker Realty

Memorial Wine Cellar

Freedom & company

Tiffany Jane Art

Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Kendra Scott

Dewberry Farms

Blue Willow Bookshop

Oriental Trading Company

Bush Families

Bush Students

Bush PTO

Save the Date! Our next nature center event will be on November 13. Check our Eblast this Friday for the link to sign up. Space is limited so be sure to sign up as soon as you see the link!

We are looking for some pictures for the yearbook. We need "Movie Night" and "Siblings" 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.

Did you know teachers spend hundreds of dollars each year using their own money to buy things for their classrooms and our children? The PTO helps by reimbursing expenses up to $300, but teachers usually spend much more than this. Consider helping to offset some of these costs by purchasing items from teachers’ wishlists. Check out teacher wishlists here. If your teacher does not have one listed, ask the room parent if they have received one.

The PTO Budget was unanimously approved by the PTO Board and PTO Members. If you did not get a chance to take a look at the budget, you may view it here.

If you have any questions or comments please direct them to our treasurer, MJ Gernale at bushpto.treasurer@gmail.com

School Store On The Go will be open this Friday, November 5 during lunch times. If you have any unused tickets from Movie Night, you may use these tickets at School Store On The Go.

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.