Monday, October 4 is a Student Holiday. Enjoy the 3-day weekend! School resumes on Tuesday, October 5, at 7:30 a.m.

Westside HS Homecoming Parade

Friday, October 15

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Bush students will cheer on Westside HS as they celebrate Homecoming with a neighborhood parade. Streets leading from Westside HS to Bush ES will be inaccessible before and during their route to Bush. Please do not plan on picking up your child between

1:15 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.

We ask for your support by not blocking our students' view.

Please do not park along Westerloch Dr. or arrive for dismissal before 2:30 p.m.

This year there are several ways to shop!

• Online: October 3 - 16- shop anytime from the comfort of home

• In person for students: October 11-15 - classes will visit the book fair during class time. Students can purchase books in person two different ways:

• E-Wallet: Set your child up with an eWallet, a cash-free way to shop at the Book Fair. Visit the link now to create a free account and preauthorize a spending limit for your child to spend.

• Cash or Check made out to Barbara Bush PTO: Remember to factor in an additional 8.25% for tax.

Parents Only Shopping Day

Wednesday October 13 from 8 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Parents are welcomed to visit the Book Fair on Parents' Day! We are limiting 25 guests at a time. Hand sanitizer will be used upon entry and masks must be worn at all times. Students will not be allowed in multipurpose room on Wednesday. Families will enter the side doors of the Multipurpose room near the Bus Lane and will not be allowed into other areas of the school.

Visit the website for more details and sign up for your E-Wallet today!

Student Verification Forms for 2021-2022 are live! Parents please complete this verification form for any updates to student demographic and other information by Friday, October 22.

Parents who are new to HISD or who do not have parent portal accounts can set up their account by following the How-to videos on this page.

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.

Currently HISD's G/T application site is undergoing maintenance. If you would like to request GT testing for your child, please submit the completed application to our GT Clerk, Ms. Jessica Ayala at jessica.ayala@houstonisd.org. Deadline to submit G/T applications is November 11, 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 printer, please contact Ms. Ayala to have an application sent home.

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 received parking tickets from HPD this week because they were parking in a No Parking zone.

We have seen many students and some parents walking across the street not using the crosswalk. 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.

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.

Bush Elementary is not responsible for patrolling the streets in the Bush Elementary zone. However, we can ask for parents to "Be Kind" while waiting for the carpool lane to start moving and once the cars starting moving up in the carpool lane.

Please "Be Kind" when navigating around these parked cars. Have your carpool number displayed so the other cars will know that you're not one of the parked cars and won't attempt to pass you. Please stay in your car and be prepared to move once the line starts moving.

Please do not block any entrances to parking lots while stopped and waiting for the carpool lane to begin moving. Also, please allow the cars attempting to enter or exit the West Briar parking lots to do so.

Thank you for doing your part to keep the streets around Bush Elementary safe.

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.

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.

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

September – January Birthdays: Enroll during September

February – July Birthdays: Enroll during January/May

Each year we print a directory of all the families at Bush who wish to be included. All PTO members will receive one with their membership. Families often use this information to connect for birthday parties and playdates.

Please fill out this form to have your contact information in the directory. You can include as much, or as little information as you are comfortable releasing. The only required items have an asterisk.*

www.bbepto.com

Thank you for helping us collect this information.

Please submit your information by October 15.

(formerly known as Underwriting Campaign)

This year, the PTO’s goal is to provide new furniture and upgrades for the school library and a new STEAM lab which will benefit all of the students at Bush. The majority of our fundraising comes from our Bobcat Boosters.

Bobcat Boosters is a direct fundraising campaign which means:

• We will NOT ask you to sell promotional items such as gift wrap, cookies, et cetera…

• 100% of the funds given will support our school projects and programs

• Families can choose the level they wish to donate; any level of support will help!

• Some employers have a matching gift program which can double or even triple your donation
  
  

For more information or to sign up please go to our website: www.bbepto.com. If you have questions please email presidentbbepto@gmail.com . Please sign up by OCTOBER 15.

MOVIE NIGHT AND SILENT AUCTION

On October 29th, we will be having an outdoor movie night and silent auction to raise money for our new STEAM Lab. The movie playing will be SING! We will also be holding a Costume Parade. In line with this year’s school motto, the theme of the evening will be “Dream Big.” So dress up as something that you DREAM of… whether that's being a firefighter when you grow up or you dream of unicorns and mermaids! The sky is the limit!

This will be a great chance to gather safely outside and enjoy some activities with fellow Bush families. We will have bounce houses and concessions as well as Pizza- available for PRE-ORDER. This event is limited to 500 people, so you must purchase a ticket in advance on our website. Get your tickets and pre-order your pizzas here.

If you own a business or have connections to a business who would be willing to donate items for the silent auction, please contact Michelle Jackson at bushpto.vp@gmail.com

Limited time offer for ADULT FLEECE JACKETS!

Please order by Friday, October 1. The jackets are for PREORDER and will be delivered in October.

Order here: www.bbepto.com

School Store On-the-Go Students please bring money to school on Friday's if you would like to purchase items from the store. School Store On-the-Go will be available every Friday. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for the latest school store updates! @BBEPTO

5TH GRADE PARENTS

Contacts for 5th Grade Coordinator Eliza Machala:

email: fifthgradebbe@gmail.com

5th Grade Whatsapp Group:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/FSoS38eUu5q7hJExTUlctp

5th Grade Celebration Fee

Parents are asked to pay $40 5th Grade Celebration Fee, which includes: a custom Fifth Grade T-shirt that can be worn all year as part of Bush dress code, Holiday Party contributions, a memory stick of pictures and a giveaway gift bag to be distributed at the end of the year.

This can be purchased on the PTO website (www.bbepto.com) or through this link Fifth Grade Celebration. Deadline is end of September. Shirts need to be ordered as soon as possible, so students can wear them most of the year.

You can still join the PTO and help support our school, however only the Cub level is available for purchase. Join here.

Friday October 1st is an important date:

• *Free dress day for those classes who reached their goal! If your child's class is awarded a free dress day, their teacher and you will be notified this Wednesday via communication folders and through the room parent or teacher. Students will be allowed to wear non-uniform clothes to school. Free dress is only for specific classes, not the entire school.

• T-shirts for anyone who signed up for Bobcat Level membership. We will take inventory of t-shirts we have and any we need to order by the end of this week. You should receive your t-shirt no later than Oct.1st.

• Luggage tags for anyone who signed up for Paw or Bobcat Level membership. We will take inventory of our luggage tags and send them out no later than Oct. 1st. Bobcat Level members will receive their t-shirt and their luggage tag at the same time.
  
  

Sign up at www.BBEpto.com or contact Michelle Jackson at bushpto.vp@gmail.com for more information.

ATTENTION: A handful of Bush Teachers are in need of Room Parents:

If you have a child in the following classes please consider being the Room Parent.

1st GRADE:

• Jaime Simone

3rd GRADE:

• Katy Frietsch

As a Room Parent you can do everything from your fingertips.

• Room parents emails other parents in their class and communicate the needs of the teacher

• Forwards emails from VIPS Coordinators related to what's happening at Bush

• Coordinates gifts for teachers

Simple Right? Please Volunteer Today!

*** If you have not been contacted by your class room parent please let your teacher know. The room parents share a lot of important information and you do not want to miss out on these communications!***

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

At the end of last school year we were required to notify the parents via the School Messenger system if there was a confirmed positive COVID case on campus. This year's policy states we will only inform parents of a COVID positive case if their student came into direct contact with someone on campus that was confirmed COVID positive. Our nurse investigates and begins the contact tracing process on our campus, and documents all confirmed COVID 19 cases. The nurse contacts the parent of any child that has been in contact with a COVID positive individual. That student is then told to quarantine for 10 days and to sign up for the Temporary Online Learning (explained in the article below). Information regarding active COVID cases may be found on the Houston ISD COVID Dashboard site located on the HISD website.