Bransford Blast
August 20, 2017
Setting the Stage for an Amazing School Year
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! What a delight it was to see so many of you at our meet the teacher events last week!
The staff has spent the past two weeks setting the stage for an amazing school year! We look forward to seeing each of our Texans tomorrow morning for the first day of school. School starts at 7:40 a.m. Students may enter the building starting at 7:15 a.m. Family members may walk students into the building on Monday and Tuesday. Starting Wednesday, all adults entering the building need to first sign in with the office. Thank you for bringing your driver's license each time you visit Bransford. Please see below for specifics on dismissal procedures.
The BES staff and I hope you and your Texans enjoy a memorable first day of school. We look forward to an incredible year as we build an excellent school together!
Back to School Coffee
* For ALL parents, new and returning
* Meet fellow Bransford families and celebrate the school year
* Hear from our principal, Jamie Halliburton, about exciting plans for our school
* Learn the latest about Colleyville road construction and traffic affecting our area
* Learn helpful information, and have the opportunity to ask questions
Solar Eclipse
Our generous PTA has purchased certified safety glasses, with the code ISO 12312-2:2015, for students to wear in order to view the eclipse safely. However, you may have concerns and not wish for your child to participate. Please complete this form,https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbfyxtzLiy5pN_r2036S3qwr3IaVWIfFb8fdCbzoNgje1qHQ/viewform?usp=sf_link, to let us know if your child may or may not participate in the viewing the eclipse outside.
Thank you for responding as soon as possible and indicate your preference for your child's participation!
Drop Off Procedures
- ALL students are dropped off in the front drive.
- The back drive is for buses and staff parking.
- If your student needs assistance unbuckling, please park and walk them to the crosswalk.
- Students will exit their vehicles on the side where people are standing ready to assist. For example, if you are in the lane closest to the building, students need to exit from the passenger's side. If you are in the lane closest to the parking lot, students need to exit from the driver's side.
- If you need to get out of the vehicle during drop off, please park.
- Thank you for not dropping your Texans off in the parking lot or on Bransford Road.
- Thank you for talking with your Texans about parking lot safety!
- Thank you for not using your cell phone while in the drop off lanes.
- Thank you for your patience during drop off as we work together for the safety of our Texans!
Dismissal Procedures
We are excited to greet your students as they return to school tomorrow morning. In order to be prepared for dismissal, please take a moment to read below before Monday afternoon.
Student safety is our top priority. Thank you for your patience and understanding during dismissal.
Please call the front office, 817-305-4920, by 2:00 p.m. if there is a change in how your student(s) will go home.
Students leaving early for the day will need to be signed out by 2:30 p.m.
Dismissal begins at 2:55 p.m. with students exiting their classrooms.
Thank you for not using your cell phone while in the dismissal lanes.
Bus and Day Care Vans
Meet in the cafeteria and walk out to the back bus lane.
The back drive is only for buses, day care vans, and staff parking. Thank you for not parking or driving through the bus lane.
Walkers and Bike Riders
Meet in the cafeteria and walk out to the crosswalk and bike rack together.
Car Riders
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade car riders will sit by grade-level outside the main entrance of BES.
Pre-K & Kindergarten car riders will wait inside their hallways during dismissal.
Cars are to use the entrance on Bransford Road and form two lanes once they enter the parking lot. Cars are not allowed in the pick-up line before 2:35 pm. If you arrive before 2:35 p.m., please park in the parking lot.
If you choose to park, please walk to meet your child at their designated dismissal spot. Students will not be walking to the parking lot by themselves.
Thank you for modeling safety for our students by using the crosswalk.
Cars pull up all the way to allow for loading of multiple cars at once.
Display the car tag sign in the front window with student name(s) and grade level(s). If you did not receive a car tag at meet the teacher, you will receive one on Monday afternoon.
Any person picking up a child without a car tag sign will have to park and walk to pick up their student(s)
Staff will call the names displayed on your car tag(s) to inform students of where to meet their ride.
Cars exit on Glade Road. If you are in the right lane, you will exit right. If you are in the left lane, you will exit left. Thank you for not switching lanes in the front drive.
Thank you for refraining from utilizing your cell phones in the school zone.
If you arrive after 3:05 p.m., you must park and sign your child out from KidzU.
Meet Our Newest Texan Staff Members
- Amanda Weast, Psychologist
- April Kirchenbauer, Special Education Para
- Ashley Allenbaugh, Kindergarten Teacher
- Ashley Benson, Music
- Chika Aluka, PPCD
- Jenna Fox, 2nd Grade Teacher
- Kate Applequist, PE
- Kelsey Boatwright, 1st Grade Teacher
- Megan Harris, 4th Grade Teacher
- Michaela Gilmore, 1st Grade Teacher
- Stephanie Copeland, Diagnostician
- Tessa De La Rosa, Reading Specialist
Volunteer Background Check
In order to volunteer at BES this year in classrooms, during school-wide event, or as a field trip chaperone, please review the new volunteer handbook and complete the required background check. Thank you for understanding that this process must be repeated each school year. Now is a good time to complete this process and encourage all family members who might want to volunteer to complete it, too. For the protection of students and staff, all volunteer applicants must read the Volunteer Handbook and complete the online form authorizing the district to obtain a criminal history background check.
B.E.S.T. PTA
- Website: Check out Bransfordpta.com to keep you up to date on all the fun things happening at our school.
- If you would like to join B.E.S.T. PTA, visit www.joinpta.org.
Spirit Days
BES Spirit Fundraisers
- Red Barn BBQ on Thursday, August 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Teddy's Burger Night on August 29 from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Spring Creek BBQ on September 12 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Construction Update
2017-2018
Let's Talk
Let's Talk! may be found on our campus homepage, or by visiting
http://www.gcisd-k12.org/domain/4579.
Bransford Garden Club
Students grades 1-5 are invited to join our garden club. We will meet after school 3:00-3:45. The meeting spot will be inside the building at the benches near the 1st grade hall. Parents will pick up the kids at 3:45 in front of the building. The meeting are on Mondays: 9/11, 9/25, 10/16, 10/30, 11/13, 11/27, 3/5, 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, and 5/14. Parent please pick up your student promptly at 3:45, the volunteers who run the program have to pick up older kids at CMS. Thanks for your letting your kiddos participate.
Students will learn the basics of gardening. They will weed, fertilize, plant and finally harvest the fruits of their labors in the school garden. New for this school year we will be planting flowers to attract pollinators in our revamped butterfly garden. We will also be planting seasonal flowers in the new pots in front of the school.
If you have any questions or would be interested in volunteering, please contact Andrea Hickson at andreahickson@sbcglobal.net.
Pre-Registration for Online Free & Reduced Lunch
In accordance with program guidelines, the Free and Reduced application will be available online as part of skyward registration. When registering for the 2017-2018 school year, parents or guardians should complete the Free and Reduced application. The application may also be filled out anytime electronically at www.schoollunchapp.com. For those parents that still would like to complete a paper application, your campus will receive a limited number of paper applications for free and reduced meal benefits the week of August 7th.
GCISD Updates Student Device Cost
As Grapevine-Colleyville ISD expands it’s 1:1 program to include all students in kindergarten through twelfth-grade, technology services has made a change to the fee structure. Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, families will be provided with a device at zero cost.
“We are always looking for ways to provide our students with the necessary technology to support their learning without placing a financial burden on our families,” said GCISD Chief Technology Officer Kyle Berger. “We are so excited for the changes to the student device cost agreement and look forward to the ways this will help streamline our integration of technology into the classroom.”
While the initial device is provided at no cost, there are fees assessed based on incident repairs. The first incident will be repaired for free for all students. For students that paid a $50 student fee in the 2016-2017 school year, their second incident will also be repaired at no cost. Students that did not pay the fee last year will be charged $15 for the repair after the second incident. For all students, after the third incident the fee will be the full cost of the device repair. In the instance that the damage to the device is intentional, the cost of the repair will be based on the damage regardless of how many incidents have occurred.
Technology Services has been working to integrate the fee device management with Skyward Family Access to generate any fee related communication to parents. If you have any questions about changes to the student device fees, please use Let’s Talk to submit your question to Technology.
Texas Student Assessment Testing Calendars
The approved 2017-18 & 2018-19 Texas Student Assessment Testing Calendars are posted on the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) website at http://tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/calendars/
Based on TES’s review of comments received regarding the draft calendars, the approved versions include these changes:
The administration window for the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) has been extended and is scheduled for February 26–April 6, 2018, and February 25–April 5, 2019.
The April administrations of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) assessments have been moved. STAAR assessments will be administered April 9–13, 2018, and April 8–12, 2019. Report dates for those administrations have been updated.
The May administrations of the STAAR grades 3–8 and end-of-course (EOC) assessments have been split into two separate weeks. STAAR EOC will be administered during May 7–11, 2018, and May 6–10, 2019. STAAR 3–8 will be administered May 14–18, 2018, and May 13–17, 2019. Report dates for those administrations have been updated.
Dates to Know
- August 21: First Day of School & Back to School Coffee (see above)
- August 24: Red Barn Spirit Night 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- August 25: First Dad's Club High Five Friday
- August 29: Spirit Night at Teddy's Burger
- September 4: Labor Day, Student and Staff Holiday
- September 12: Spirit Night at Spring Creek
- September 15: Laps for Learning Pep Rally
- September 19: Fall Picture Day
- September 21: PTA General Meeting
- September 29: Laps for Learning
- October 6: Student Holiday, Staff Learning
- October 9: Student and Staff Holiday
Bransford Elementary
Email: jamie.halliburton@gcisd.net
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/1354
Location: 601 Glade Road, Colleyville, TX, United States
Phone: 8173054920
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bransford-Elementary-School-353295401423635/
Twitter: @BESTexans