Bertram Family Connection
March 30th, 2020
News from Bertram
Distance Dawgs: School at Home Starts This Week
Dear Parents and Families,
I hope all of you found some outside time on this beautiful Spring day. It has been quite a week for all of us. As a collective effort we have built a virtual learning environment from the ground up in less than 2 weeks!
As you start on this new journey with your child, I encourage you to embrace the idea of GRACE. Grace for your child, grace for yourself, and grace for your child’s teacher. We are all going to be doing many new things over the next few days. It will be imperfect and that is okay! We are all striving and trying and will extend grace throughout this time. Please do not be too hard on yourself or your child as we navigate a whole new experience. Our teachers have worked countless hours last week to create engaging learning experiences that will meet the needs of all students and families. Please let us know if you have questions or need additional support during this time.
We know that “School at Home” is not the same as “homeschooling” and that many families have increased stress and home demands during this time. For these reasons, during this time at home, we have planned for PreKindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade students to be engaged in school activities for about 1 to 1.5 hours per day. For 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade students, school work should take about 2 hours per day. This includes contact time with teachers and independent study time. Keep in mind that some students might finish more quickly.
Teachers will be hosting Google Meet groups. Groups meet Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays starting Monday, March 30th, 2020. Students are welcome to join any group/teacher in their grade level. We ask that each student join a Google Meet twice per week. Groups will last about 20 minutes.
For students with limited internet (i.e. cannot stream), please connect to Google Meet by phone. The phone numbers and pins are provided below. This will allow your child to stay connected to their classmates and teachers.
For students with no internet connectivity, we have mailed student work and teachers will call the families to invite them to join the Google Meet by phone. To reduce the chances of spreading the virus, the option to have items mailed home is reserved only for families with NO internet capacity in their homes. Thank you for understanding.
For students in specialty classes including Gifted & Talented (Ms. Taylor), Resource (Ms. Graves & Ms. Appah), Life Skills (Ms. Stevenson & Ms. Ftiz), Social Skills (Ms. Ostroff) and Dyslexia (Ms. McKinzey), your specialist teacher will communicate the schedule of those groups.
The format for student work/assignments during this time is called Choice Boards. These are grids with 6-9 choices that students can complete at home with limited materials and support. During the first week, we ask that students choose one activity from each subject to complete each day. Each board also contains a variety of enrichment activities that students are invited to try but are not required. During our Google Meets, teachers will be checking in with students on their progress. For all students, We ask that you download the choice boards from the BCISD Distance Dawg Elementary webpage. Over time, your teacher will adjust the work expectations based on your child’s grade.
On Tuesday, March 31st, BCISD will be passing out basic school supplies during Grab & Go meals. Supply bags will include a notebook, pencils, glue, crayons, scissors, and folder. Meals continue to be passed out from 10am-11am at locations around the district. The District Distance Dawgs: General Information site provides information about meals as well as a list of common questions as we enter this time of learning at home.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email your child’s teacher. They will email or call you back based on your needs. You can also contact the office using the email addresses below. The school voicemail box is being monitored if you need to call and leave a message, we can call you back.
Below you will find a variety of tools and information including:
Bertram Master Schedule of Google Meet Times (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays)
Schedule by Grade Level with links to Google Meets and Phone Numbers
Google Meet General Information and Etiquette
Information for Turning In Student Work
Student email
All students have a district email powered through gmail. To log in, students will use their student IDs (lunch number) for the username and district issued passwords.
EX: username: studentid@burnetcisd.net
password: bcisd*** (3 numbers)
*Please email your child’s teacher if your child does not remember his/her log-in information.
Turning Work In
Your teacher will give specific instruction for turning work in. We will provide a variety of options including being able to send a picture, discussion with teachers during Google Meet, and other options. Teachers will specify the preferred method. If your family cannot access that method, simply communicate with your teacher and they will work with you.
This Weeks Birthdays!
Braxten L.
Yoleny M.
Isebel R.
Ryder M.
Cheyenne A.
Adriana C.
Cameron E.
Landon E.
Clayton K.
Kody M.
Lynnlee S.
Selah B.
Trentin B.
Lillian H.
Audrey H.
Jazmine W.
Hope H.
Joseph S.
Kolby Z.
Seianna G.
Cristal M.
Brody D.
Yolanda H.
Eddie M.
Albert H.
Bella P.
David R.
Stade V.
Outdoor Broadband Provided By BCISD
Contact Us During the Closure
You can also email the campus leadership team at the email addresses below.
Alicia Harris, Principal, aharris@burnetcisd.net
Angela Schreiber, Assistant Principal, at aschreiber@burnetcisd.net,
Ann Marie Wyatt, counselor, at awyatt@burnetcisd.net .
We will strive to return email within 24 business hours.
Looking Ahead
Bertram Elementary School Building Closed through April 13th.
CANCELLED March 26th: Special PTO Meeting to vote between independent PTO or PTA, 6pm in the Library
CANCELLED April 7th: PTO Meeting at 6pm with Special Guest Keith McBurnett to discuss the May 2020 BCISD School Bond Proposal
CANCELLED April 9th: 1st Grade Field Trip to Inks Lake
CANCELLED April 10th: Early Release for Students at 12:15pm
April 13th: Student Holiday - NO SCHOOL
Bertram Elementary School
Email: ber-transportation@burnetcisd.net
Website: https://bes.burnetcisd.net/
Location: 315 Main Street, Bertram, TX, USA
Phone: 512-355-2111
Facebook: facebook.com/bertramelementary
Twitter: @BurnetCISD