Double Vaccinated?
Please make sure Nurse Guider
dguider@houstonisd.org has a copy of your child's proof of 2 doses of an approved COVID vaccination if you choose to vaccinate your child. Any student who has received 2 doses of the vaccine will no longer need to quarantine if the student is considered an exposure via contract tracing.
If your child does test COVID positive, then he/she must quarantine for at least 5 days regardless of vaccination status. If your child is COVID positive and showing symptoms, then he/she must stay home at least 5 days and until symptom free.
On Campus COVID Testing Every Thursday
Bush Elementary will have COVID testing available every Thursday for students, faculty, and staff. Parents must pre-register their child by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday in order to be tested on campus. This testing is completely voluntary and free and requires the student's parent/guardian to first provide a one-time digital consent at
https://bit.ly/HISDC19Test .
Once a parent has registered their child, then the child will be tested each time Fulgent comes to campus to provide COVID testing.
Welcome to Bush Elementary, Jewell Quinonez!
We are so happy to welcome Ms. Jewell Quinonez to the Bush Family as our new counselor.
January is School Board Recognition Month!
Our new School Board member is Mr. Kendall Baker. Welcome to our District VI Board Member! Thank you for your dedication to serve as an advocate for public schools!
Health and Safety Above All
Children that are sick, regardless of a temperature, need to stay home. Previously, the nurse’s message was if there’s no fever, but sniffles and a sore throat, the child could be at school. Now, those symptoms qualify as a presumed positive COVID case.
Please do not send your child to school if exhibiting any of the symptoms below.
COVID-19 symptoms:
- Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.00 F
- Loss of taste or smell
- Cough
- Difficulty breathing
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Chills
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Shaking or exaggerated shivering
- Significant muscle pain or ache
- Diarrhea
- Nausea or vomiting
For the health and safety of ALL students, faculty, and staff, 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. If your student complains of and exhibits any COVID19 related symptoms, they will be sent home.
Dress Code Reminders
Here are some quick reminders about our Bush Elementary dress code. Shirts must be solid colored red, white, or navy. The only t-shirts allowed are Bush Elementary t-shirts. Dress code pants are navy, khaki, or blue jeans. The pants must not have any holes, rips, tears, or designs on them, just simple plain blue jeans, navy pants, or khaki pants. Exercise pants, sweatpants, and yoga pants are NOT part of the Bush dress code. Leggings can not be worn as pants, only under skirts or jumpers. Please click on the link below for the complete dress code guidelines.
2021-2022 Dress Code Guidelines
Social and Emotional Learning with Ms. Jones
This week's focus is on PARENTS and how we can help our children at home with daily routines and social emotional needs.
Here are some helpful resources:
- 5 Ways to Support Your Shy Child
- There is nothing wrong with being shy. Shyness is a character trait, not a fault. It's NOT the same as social anxiety.
- Child Needs Bucket Analogy
- Your child is never "out to get you". Their misbehavior might be a sign they need you to fill their TWO important "buckets".
- Calming Bedtime Affirmations
- Sometimes when we're ready for bed, our brains are still busy thinking! A great way to slow down our brains and relax our bodies is to end the day with peaceful thoughts. These calming bedtime affirmations will help you prepare for a good night's rest.
Resources provided by Big Life Journal
Morning Arrival Reminders
Morning supervision of students starts at 7:20 a.m. At that time students are brought into the building and are seated in grade level lines. Morning bus lane drop off is reserved for our 5th Grade Safety Patrols and our students in our self-contained special education classes. These families have a special printed pass to enter the bus lane for morning drop off. All other students arriving by car must be dropped off in the carpool lane. The first bell rings at 7:30 a.m. and the students are tardy at 7:40 a.m. when the morning announcements begin.
We have started a new year so let's start the year by following our morning arrival procedures and being on time for school every day.
Dismissal Reminders
Please plan to pick up your carpool and walker students before 3:15. Our students are dismissed at 3:00 and our walker area 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 have received parking tickets from HPD in the past because they were parking in a No Parking zone. When cars park in No Parking zones, it is difficult for our busses and vans to turn into our bus lane.
We're asking for the parents of walkers that park their cars on the other side of Westerloch across from the school to NOT u-turn by the carpool lane entrance once they've picked up their child(ren) and are heading home.
We have seen many students and some parents walking across the street not using the crosswalks. 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.
We are so happy to see so many of our students riding their bikes to school. Please remember that all students are required to wear a bicycle helmet when riding their bikes to and from school. We want to keep all of our Bobcats safe.
Absence Notification
If your child is absent from school, please make sure you send in a note explaining the absence date(s) and reason for the absence upon return to school. We will need this note even if you're at home quarantining or a Positive COVID-19 case. Please email your absence excuse note to the homeroom teacher and our registrar, Ms. Rosales at
arosale3@houstonisd.org
If a note is not received within 3 days, then the absence is recorded as unexcused.
COVID-19 Vaccine - Elementary Students
COVID-19 vaccines are now available for children ages 5-11. If you choose to vaccinate your child, please email a copy of the vaccination record card to
dguider@houstonisd.org or send documentation to Nurse Guider so she can update your child's immunization record.
Bush PK Lottery 2022 - 2023
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.
Pets at Bush
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.
Handbook Highlights
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.
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.
Spectacular Science!
The Spectacular Science Words for the week of January 10 is magnetism.
Bobcat Birthdays!
Ms. Rose would like to wish a very special birthday to:
Stella Joy K. who turned 7 years old on January 19, and is a first grader in Ms. Mi's class.
Julia A. who turns years 8 old on January 22, and is a second grader in Ms. Brown's class.
Happy Birthday and Welcome to the Bush Birthday Book Club
Birthday Book Club
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:
February – July Birthdays: Enroll through January
NOTHING BUNDT LOVE!
We will be partnering again with our local Nothing Bundt Cakes shop to bring you a Valentine’s Day Fundraiser. We will be selling individually wrapped mini bundt cakes which will be delivered to your students. Students will enjoy their cakes at home; they will not be eaten in class. Purchase bundts for your students or their classmates. You can also order for non-Bush siblings, yourself or other friends and family members! You have the option to include a short personalized note with each bundt. We will also be collecting donations for staff to ensure that ALL of our wonderful Bush staff members are able to take home some cakes as well. The bundts will be sold for $5 and they will be delivered February 10.
Order your cakes by February 4 at www.BBEpto.com.
YEARBOOK SALES
Order your 2021 - 2022 Yearbook Today!
$30 (Price will increase to $35 on March 12th)
CLICK HERE TO ORDER
Yearbooks will be NOT be sold after March 20th, so please order now!
Do you have a graduating 5th grader? Give them a shout-out in the yearbook! Dedications are $20 for 25 words or less. Order on the website at www.bbepto.com before March 5th. (Dedications are available for 5th graders only.)
YEARBOOK PHOTOS
We are looking for some pictures for the yearbook. If you have any, please share them with us! Please send no more than 5 photos for all events to bushptoyearbook@gmail.com and label pictures with your child's grade.
FIFTH GRADE FAMILIES
The West Briar PTO board is starting to plan for next year's slate. If any 5th grade parents who are moving to WBMS are interested in being involved with PTO, please email westbriarpto@gmail.com for more information.
SCHOOL STORE
Unfortunately due to some new restrictions in place, the School Store On-The-Go will not be available until further notice. At this time our online school store is still open and items will be delivered to the classrooms on Fridays. Visit the store at www.BBEpto.com
PTO CHANGES
The PTO will be reviewing their constitution and making some changes. If you are a dues paying member and would like to be involved in this process, please fill out this form.
For any questions related to PTO please contact Val Shaikh,
presidentbbepto@gmail.com.
We are now on Instagram! Follow us for the latest updates @bbepto. And Don’t forget to sign up for our Weekly E-Blast!
Continued Focus on Safety 2022
COVID-19 Updates, News, and Resources
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 Update to COVID-19 Positive Notification
HISD's COVID-19 protocol has been updated in regards to terminology use and reporting. At all HISD campuses, this means that when there is a positive case in your child's homeroom class you will be notified in writing by the principal. The message you will receive is below. Please note that this message will be sent after the nurse has worked to identify close contacts, is simply for notification, and does not require further action (i.e. quarantine). I want to thank you all for your diligence in ensuring that students are wearing their masks and that we are all remaining healthy.
Sample Message: This message is to inform you that an individual in your child's homeroom has reported testing positive for COVID-19. Your child has not been identified as a close contact and there is no action required of you at this time. This notification is for your awareness only. Due to privacy requirements, we cannot release the name of the COVID-positive individual or details that may identify them; however, it is important for you to know this individual is self- isolating until they are cleared to return to our campus. As a reminder, HISD has health and safety protocols in place to help prevent the spread of illness. We are asking our staff and families to do their part by adhering to these protocols, and not reporting to their worksite or sending their student(s) to school when they are ill. We appreciate your continued support as we work together to ensure the safety of our students and staff.
