Bush Elementary has a Teacher Assistant vacancy. This position involves supervising students before school, at lunch, and after school. In addition, the teacher assistant supports the teachers by working with students in class.

Here are the requirements and details about this position:

60 hours of earned college credit documented in an official transcript

Fluent in written and verbal English, other language ability is always a great plus.

Duty hours are 7:30 a.m.– 3:45 p.m.

Duty schedule is the same as the teacher’s which is a few days longer than the students

If you’re interested, please send your resume to Zonia Flores at zonia.flores@houstonisd.org

Way to go, Bush Elementary students and families! PTO's membership goal was met and the students have earned free dress on Monday, October 3. Clothing worn on this day must still be acceptable for school use (such as no images of weapons or inappropriate words). Also, the footwear must be safe meaning tennis shoes should be worn as students have track and recess every day.

October 4-5 are Student Fall Holidays

This means no school on October 4 and 5.

School resumes on Thursday, October 6, at 7:30 a.m.

Paw Prints will not be published on October 5 or for the week. The next edition will be published on October 12. Please keep the link to this edition handy so you'll have all that you need about upcoming events and the Book Fair the week of October 17.

Picture Day is Tuesday, October 11. On Individual Picture Day, students do not need to follow dress code guidelines. However, students do need to be dressed appropriately for a regular school day. Ball gowns, party shoes, and suits are not practical for children to wear to school.

Picture Order Form please use code 69431Y.

Westside HS Homecoming Parade

Friday, October 14

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 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 12:45 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.

Mark your calendars for our Fall Book Fair: October 17-21.

The book fair will be available online from October 14-26.

Visit the scholastic link to preview books and shop online: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/barbarabushelementaryschool

Watch for more details about the Family Dinner Event on Tuesday, October 18.

Please make sure your dismissal tag is visible, preferably hanging from your rear view mirror, when you get into the carpool dismissal line. If you don't have your number, then write it on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper so it can be easily seen by Ms. Rose when she is recording the number. Then, keep that number displayed until your child enters your car. The ladies on dismissal duty want to ensure the students are going into the correct car and this will greatly help if they can see the dismissal number too.

The Student Annual Verification is now available on the HISD Connect Parent Portal and must be completed by Friday, October 28.

The Student Annual Verification allows parents and caregivers the opportunity to verify or update their information—such as home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and emergency contacts—to stay connected to their student’s school.

If a parent or caregiver indicates that their home address has changed, the campus will contact them to obtain an updated statement of residence.

Parents and caregivers who have not set up their HISD Connect Parent Portal account and do not have their access code may contact their student’s school to obtain their student’s access ID.

As a reminder, the HISD Connect Parent Portal is a tool to track information related to students’ schedules, grades, attendance, academic history, and more.

Houston Independent School District will host nine community town halls at selected campuses to provide an overview of progress being made on the district’s five-year strategic plan.

Following last year’s Listen & Learn tour where community feedback was collected and guided the development of the new strategic plan, HISD leaders will speak with and hear from community members including parents, students, and educators.

Spanish interpretation will be available at most meetings, with the exception of October 3, 4, and 11

Volunteers are needed to help supervise and assist students in the cafeteria at lunch. This is an active volunteer time and not a time to sit with or stand by your child. Parents will be supervising and helping all students in the cafeteria. Only the parent, and no younger or older siblings, may take part in the cafeteria supervision.

There are 2 requirements that must occur before parents may volunteer in the cafeteria.

1. VIPS approved - online approval process

2. Attend training that happens on Mondays at 10:30 a.m.

Please use the link below to sign up to volunteer once you're VIPS approved. This is not a once a month time to volunteer, but rather we need consistent volunteers showing up on a a regular basis at lunch time.

Please make sure you bring your driver's license to sign in to enter the building. Also, be prepared to show a copy of the certificate/email that shows that you're VIPS approved at your first time volunteering.

We look forward to having cafeteria volunteers at lunch time.

BBE Lunchroom Helpers

The Gifted and Talented department will hold three Family Information Sessions in the upcoming weeks via Microsoft Teams. Please click on the link for additional information.

GT Family Information Sessions

Grades 1-2 Name That Book is a five-member competition team. Interested students must request a permission form from the library and return it with a parent signature by September 30 giving students permission to take the qualifying test in October. Students must score high enough on the test to qualify for the five-member competition team. This challenging test is designed for students who have read and reread the 25 books on the required list. Team meetings will be on Thursdays after school.

Grades 3-5 Name That Book Club is for students who have read the 25 required books and are interested in trying out for the Name That Book Team in December. The purpose of the club is to prepare students for competition. Applications are available in the library and are due by September 30. The club will meet on Tuesdays after school beginning in October. A qualifying test will be given to club students on December 6 to determine the six-member competition team. Only team members will continue to meet in January.

For more information, visit the Houston ISD Library Services page.

Please be advised that walker numbers are finished being inputted at 3:10 p.m. Walker parents will need to go to the front office to pick up their child starting at 3:10 p.m.

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.

Vacations

Please remember to plan your family vacations and trips during regular school holidays like Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring Break. Family vacations cannot be considered excused absences by the State of Texas. As a result, they are recorded as unexcused absences. All students must have a 98% attendance rate. Every day at school is important. All students must attend school up to and including the last day on May 31, 2023.

Early Pick Ups

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.

Nurse's Rule

Please do not send your sick child to school. If your child has a fever, pink eye, or upset stomach, please keep him/her at home. We have lots of folks under our roof every day. For the health and safety of ALL students, it is very important that children stay home when they are ill. Students who have thrown up during the night or who are running a fever cannot be sent to school. Students must be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication before returning to school. When your child returns to school, please send a signed note stating the days your child was absent and the reason for the absence.

Safety is our number one core value. We must be safe before we can teach, learn, and grow. Safety

policies and procedures are constantly reviewed and revised as needed. ALL adults entering

the building MUST show a government issued photo identification at the front office every time entering the building.

The identification will be run through a background check device before an adult may receive a visitor’s

pass. If parents are coming into school to volunteer and/or to attend field trips, then they must be VIPS approved. Information about being VIPS approved is available on the HISD website and in the Parent Handbook.

View the 2022-2023 Back To School Guidelines

The Spectacular Science Word for the week of September 26th is hypothesis.

Ms. Rose would like to wish a very special birthday to:

Andrew G. who turned 9 years old on September 27 and is a third grader in Ms. Mayces' class.

Netharu Yashein B. who turns 8 years old on September 30 and is a second grader in Ms. Carlin's class.

McKenna S. who turns 8 years old on September 30 and is a third grader in Ms. Goodwin's class.

Happy Birthday and Welcome to the Bush Birthday Book Club!

Have you ever tried something for the first time, and it was extremely difficult? Have you ever been frustrated when something doesn't quite turn out the way you envisioned it to?

Not succeeding can be frustrating, but it is important to understand that with patience and effort we can continue to grow in our endeavors.

When something is difficult for children, they need to understand that anything that feels hard will eventually get easier with time and effort. It is important that they see life's challenges as necessary and even helpful in pushing them to be an even more resilient version of who they are today.

This week's Printable by Big Life Journal

How to View a Challenge?

New challenges can be stressful!

Sometimes we come across obstacles in our lives and we have to learn how to cope with challenges that may arise. Families can use these posters to reflect on how challenges get easier over time and to remind your child with a powerful, inspiring message.

Positive Parenting Program works one-on-one with parents and caregivers to look at why children misbehave, how to get children to behave, what to do when children misbehave and how to parent positively in real-world, everyday situations.

Every parent needs a little help sometimes. Maybe your child doesn’t listen to you. Maybe he throws tantrums at the drop of a hat. Or maybe she just won’t go to bed. Well, you aren’t alone. The truth is, while there are many kinds of families, they all have one thing in common: raising children can be tough sometimes.

This training won't don’t you how to be a parent. Instead, it will offer simple and proven ideas to help you deal with problem behavior, making raising your children easier and your whole family happier.

Go from timeouts to time together.

Interested? Please email maria.quevedo@houstonisd.org to sign up for this free event.

Date: TBD

Time: 11:30 - 12:30 p.m.

Location: Bush Elementary

By now, you have hopefully chosen to take the first step in supporting our students and school by joining the PTO, and we want to say THANK YOU! Because of your generosity, our students have earned a FREE DRESS DAY next Monday, October 3rd!

Families who join the PTO take pride in the fact that their membership fees help to make the work of the PTO possible. However, in order for us to fund all of the programs and projects that the PTO undertakes, we ask that – if possible – families consider making an additional contribution to the PTO during our Bobcat Boosters Underwriting Campaign (going on now through October 15th, 2022).

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
  
  

Because of the past generosity of BBE families, we have been able to fund key non-budgeted projects and programs that enrich and supplement our children’s curriculum and add value to their time at BBE. The critical funds raised during Bobcat Boosters have supported technology for classrooms; art, music, library, and physical education resources; special advancement programs; safe and reliable transportation for field trips; campus improvement projects; important programs and events (such as the school’s anti-bullying campaign and special performances for our students); and professional development/advanced education opportunities for all BBE teachers.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

School Store On-The-Go is back! School Store OTG is a time for the students to put their money skills to use and pick out a fun item or two to use in the classroom or take home.

School Store OTG will be set up a little differently than last year. We will only be open for ONE grade level each week, so be sure to check the calendar so you know when your student will have it.

The store will be open in the afternoons (not during lunch) on the following Fridays:

September 30 (this week!)- 3rd grade

October 7th- 2nd grade

October 14th - 1st, Kinder and PK

If you choose to send money with your student on their given day, please be sure it is in a safe location, such as their backpack, until the end of the day. The PTO and staff are not responsible for any lost money. Also discuss with your student how to act appropriately with money and be considerate of those who may not have as much or any money that day.

Remember to always BE KIND.

Families can also shop our school store online or visit us in person every Wednesday morning from 7:30 to 8:30am.

Purchase apparel and select school supplies such as agendas, zipper pouches, notebooks etc. Items purchased online by Thursday at 5:00pm will be delivered to your child’s classroom on Friday.

Be sure to follow @bbepto on Facebook or Instagram for the latest updates when we get new stock!

Anyone entering the building will need to present a photo ID at the main office.

As mentioned at Parents’ Night, all BBE PTO members are eligible to vote on the fiscal year 2022-2023 Budget. Please review the budget here and cast your vote here. Voting will close after September 30, 2022.

Thank you to those who helped create a colorful Rock Garden in the Nature Center last week! We're looking forward to seeing you at our pumpkin painting event in the next couple of weeks.

Please see below regarding our upcoming events. All students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Events are weather permitting and space is limited. Sign up soon!

Friday, October 7 - 3:15 - 4:30 p.m. - Pumpkin Painting + Planting

Friday, October 14 - 3:15 - 4:30 p.m. - Pumpkin Painting + Planting

Mark your calendar for the 2022 Book Fair! The Book Fair will run from October 17 - 21.

Look for more information coming soon, and please contact ptobbelibrary@gmail.com with any questions about the Book Fair.

Join us on October 18 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. for a fiesta to celebrate the return of the Annual Book Fair Dinner!

Come and shop the Book Fair, and feast on delicious beef, chicken or potato flautas, Mexican-style rice, and refried beans, plus condiments, drinks, and a dessert. The cost is $10 per person and tickets are ONLY available via ONLINE presale by October 12th.

The Book Fair will be open during the event, and you may come and shop even if you are not dining with us.

Please contact family.hospitality.bbe@gmail.com with questions about the Book Fair Dinner.

Join BBE PTO Board members at our inaugural First Fridays and Second Saturdays Social Hours! We would love to get to know fellow BBE parents and guardians, and it’s time to rectify our lack of connection with one another after the forced isolation of the last few years. There are two opportunities to chat and relax, so please attend whichever fits your schedule– or come to both!

First Friday: October 7, 8:30 a.m. @ Minuti Coffee, 1275 Eldridge Parkway, Suite 200

Second Saturday: October 8, 5:00 p.m. @ The King’s Head, 1809 Eldridge Parkway

We are now collecting the 5th grade fee on the BBE PTO website. This fee covers the 5th Grade t-shirt (dress code approved), holiday party contributions, and the End-of-the-Year Celebration and gift bags. There is also the option to “Help a Friend’ if you would like to donate to help cover the cost for families who do not have the means.

This year, we have also added the option of donating to the holiday teacher gift in advance. Donations for this are available in $5 increments. This donation is entirely voluntary.

Please purchase your 5th grade fee and any add-ons HERE.

What is the Volunteer of the Month? Each month the VIPS Directors will recognize people who come up to the school to volunteer in any aspect.

How do you become the Volunteer of the Month? Show up, help out and lend a hand. VIPS will be keeping track of who is signing in on the binder in the front office and who goes above and beyond to make Bush great. Each month we will randomly select the winners.

Can I nominate someone for Volunteer of the Month? Yes! Send an email to bushpto.vips@gmail.com with the volunteer name and why they should be recognized. Even if your nomination doesn't get picked this month we will share the nice note with the person nominated.

Spreading kindness starts with parents. This is a fabulous way to show our kids that small acts of kindness have big impacts.

A big THANK YOU to our sponsors for donating the prizes!

Common Bond Bakery on Eldridge

Nothing Bundt Cakes on Memorial

We are looking for 2022-2023 Room Parents!

Room Parents help facilitate communication between the classroom and families at Bush. Get your background check completed now so you're ready to roll!

The following teachers is still in need of a Room Parent:

Ms. Pusparani- PSI

Please consider volunteering as an alternative Room Parent for other teachers in need. In the past, some of our fabulous teachers have not had this type of help.

By volunteering your time, you make the experience for every student at Bush extraordinary!

Please contact bushpto.vips@gmail.com with any questions about becoming a Room Parent.

Join the Birthday Book Club and make your student’s day extra special! Your student will receive a personal birthday greeting from Ms. Rose during the morning announcements, and have their name printed in the weekly Paw Prints newsletter, in a book for the library, AND on the electronic marquee during the week of their birthday.

We would love for families to send in any photos from the first day of school, or other events happening in your child’s classroom. If you have any, please share them with us! Please send no more than 5 photos to bushptoyearbook@gmail.com and label pictures with your child's grade.

Please contact bushpto.partnerships@gmail.com for more information on becoming a business sponsor.

Subscribe to the PTO Events Calendar through iCal or Google

For any questions related to PTO please contact Amy Gnau, presidentbbepto@gmail.com

22-23 Faculty and Staff

Counselor - Jewell Quinonez

(P) 281-368-2150 (ext: 275212)

Jewell.Quinonez@houstonisd.org

Click here to visit the BBE Counselor Corner

FOR RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH -

Wraparound - Maria Quevedo

(P) 281-368-2150 (ext. 275105)

maria.quevedo@houstonisd.org

FOR ATTENDANCE -

Registrar - Adriana Rosales

(P) 281-368-2150 (ext. 275104)

arosale3@houstonisd.org