Greetings BPES Community,

As we prepare to welcome incoming kindergarten families during Kindergarten Registration Week next week, please remind your friends and neighbors with children who will be 5 years old as of September 1, 2020 to visit the HCPSS website and begin the registration process. While registration for kindergarten and all grades is ongoing throughout the spring and summer, the earlier we know our enrollment numbers, the better we are able to plan staffing and instruction for students in the fall! For questions about registration, please call the front office.

We were honored to welcome our superintendent, Dr. Michael Martirano, twice during the month of February. We were able to show off and share the amazing work that our staff, students, and community are doing at Bushy Park! Dr. Martirano visited our final Family Book Club meeting on February 19, where he engaged with students and parents as we concluded our discussion of the book, Save Me a Seat. If you were not able to participate in this Family Book Club, please be on the lookout for announcements about future opportunities. It was truly a special opportunity for parents to engage with their children, for the children to meet new friends, and for our community to get together around a thought-provoking book. On February 20, Dr. Martirano visited our school during the day, and got the chance to see our students and teachers engaged in community circles at the beginning of our school day. He also stopped by the kickoff to our spring staff book club!

We hope that your family is able to join us for one or more of our upcoming March events!

Fondly,

Julia Bialeski, Principal

Keith West, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates:

March

3/4 - PTA Meeting (in-person) - 6:30-7:30pm - Media Center

3/6 - Q3 Interim Reports sent home with students

3/6 - PTA Sweetheart Dance

3/9-3/13 - Kindergarten Registration

3/11 - PTA Science Fair

3/17 - Spirit Day - Wear Green for St. Patrick's Day

3/23-27 - Spring Book Fair

3/24 - Class Pictures/Spring Portraits

3/25 - Spirit Day: Maryland Day

3/26 - PTA Ice Cream Social - 6:30-8:00pm

There has been a lot of attention in the news and on social media related to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19, a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. This is an evolving situation, and HCPSS will follow the guidance of the Howard County Health Department who will continue to provide updated information and guidance to HCPSS leadership as it becomes available.

The school system has posted information on the website related to the Coronavirus.

Mostly, it is important that we are all doing everything that we can to keep our children and classrooms healthy. The Howard County Health Department officials have shared several recommendations to ensure that we are taking appropriate and effective actions to stay healthy and prevent the spread of all person-to-person viruses. These precautions also have been shared by the CDC, and include:

1. Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
2. Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
3. Avoiding close contact with people who are sick
4. Staying home when you are sick
5. Covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
6. Cleaning and disinfecting frequently-touched objects and surfaces

If you have concerns regarding your child’s health, please contact Denie Gorbey-Creese, our cluster nurse, or Traci Duvall, Health Assistant. Thank you for all of your efforts to help us maintain a safe and healthy school.

We have had a large increase in reports of students using cell phones, iPads, and other electronic devices on school buses. Time on the bus is considered during school hours, so HCPSS Policy 8080 applies to the bus rides as well. This week, we have had multiple reports from students that there is cell phone use taking place on the bus, including the use of social media apps such as Tik Tok, students making prank phone calls, and students taking photographs of others without their consent.

HCPSS Policy 8080 states:
The HCPSS has the following expectations for individuals using personally- owned technology during HCPSS-sanctioned activities:
a. Individuals will use personally-owned devices in accordance with all HCPSS policies. Failure to comply with these polices may result in the removal of temporary or permanent use privileges in addition to any disciplinary action.
b. Individuals will use devices in a responsible, civil, ethical, and legal manner.
c. Individuals will assume full responsibility for their personal technology devices and the content stored on these devices.
d. The HCPSS may, without cause, revoke the privilege of using personal technology devices at any time.

Please review with your child that at the elementary level, cell phones are to be turned off in backpacks at all times during school hours, including on the bus ride to and from school.

Thank you for your assistance and partnership. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mr. West or Mrs. Bialeski.

We would like to take the opportunity to remind families that we have a strict no food sharing rule in our cafeteria at all times. The purpose of this rule is to minimize the risk of anaphylactic and other allergic reactions, limit the possibility of students sharing germs, and ensure that parents are aware of what their children eat during lunch. This rule applies both to students and to adult visitors to our cafeteria. We appreciate your cooperation with our cafeteria staff when you visit and request that you revisit this expectation with your child at home so that he or she understands why we cannot share food in the cafeteria at school. Thank you.

In collaboration with our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee, we are exploring a partnership opportunity with the Alpha Achievers and Delta Scholars at Glenelg High School, where students from these organizations would come over to BPES to buddy up with some of our African American students.

The purpose of the partnership would be to build a bridge between the elementary and high schools for our future Gladiators, and to provide our students with mentorship and positive connection with a high school role model.

If you are interested in nominating your child for participation in this program, please complete this quick form. For more information about Alpha Achievers, check out https://www.alphaachievers.org/.For more information about Delta Scholars, check out http://rhsdeltascho.weebly.com/about.html.

Bushy Park Spring Book Fair Hours

March 23 – 27, 2020

Monday, March 23, 2020

Raffle Night 4:00pm – 7:00pm

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Grand / Special Someone Morning Event 8:30am – 9:10am*

*Special morning hours for Book Fair. Visitors may ONLY visit the mini auditorium.

Regular Hours 4:00pm – 6:30pm

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Regular Hours 4:00pm – 6:30pm

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Ice Cream Social 4:00pm – 8:30pm

Friday, March 27, 2020

Last Minute Purchases 8:30am – 9:10am

Students will be visiting the Book Fair during the school day to create their Wish List and to purchase books.