It has occurred to me that I have never told you my "why" and that is important. I grew up in Las Vegas, NV. My first language was not English and so when I went to kindergarten, at first my teacher was so excited to see me and I felt so welcome . . . until she realized I did not understand her. All I knew is that she started to look at me and treat me differently. I did not know why, but her body language told me I was no longer welcome. That affected me deeply. My brain is linguistically inclined so I began to pick up English rapidly (it helped my dad was from Wisconsin and spoke it as his first language) and also started to learn Spanish from my friends so by 2nd grade found myself placed in the Gifted and Talented program, where again teachers looked at me and treated me differently. Las Vegas is incredibly diverse, especially the area I grew up, so I wondered why my friends who didn't look like me but had the same, or better, answers weren't in the Gifted and Talented program too. I began to question a lot of things happening in education. I decided at a young age that my education was enhanced by all of the diversity and that if I wanted every student to feel welcome, every student to see themselves in their classroom, every student to know they can achieve and accomplish their dreams then I needed to get into education.

I believe in the beauty in all humans. I have not just travelled but lived and/or taught in many different countries and there are so many ties that bind us all together. Every person adds a beautiful piece to the tapestry of life.

Monday, September 11th: Football versus Murphy at Kimbrough Stadium @ 6pm

Monday, September 11th: 8th Volleyball versus Wilson at Bowman 6 pm

Thursday, September 14th: PICTURE DAY!

Thursday, September 14th: 7th Grade Volleyball at Wilson 6 pm

Friday, September 15th: UIL grade check

Friday, September 15th- Sunday, October 15th: National Hispanic Heritage Month

We will have our first Pep Rally of the year on October 6th. Right now every student is able to come. I will be sending out what choices that a student makes that will remove that privilege.

October 6th is the last day of the first quarter of school.

October 9-13: students will be off for fall break

PTA is working on a winter dance, so more to come in the future on that as well.

Students will not be allowed to have their cell phones, earbuds, or other personal devices out during the school day. We will be asking for them to keep these items in their backpacks during school. We will be reminding students about this procedure during the first few days of school. Please discuss this with your child prior to the start of the school year.

Please note that Chromebooks will not be used in the cafeteria during lunch periods this school year.

If you need to contact your child during the school day, please contact the front office (469.752.4800) and we will relay the information to them.

Attendance at school is important for student success. Please help us ensure your child is attending school each and every day. If they do feel ill or have fever, keep them home! They will be able to complete missing work on their return to campus.

Please ensure your child is at Bowman, in their classroom before the start of class each morning. Please note that school starts at 8:25 am, which means students should be in their classrooms ready to learn by that time.

We understand that some doctor's appointments need to be made during the school day. Please follow these procedures:

• Send a handwritten, signed note with your child that says something similar to “please send [your child’s name] to the front office at [time you need your child to report to the office] to meet me for an appointment.”

• Instruct your child to give it to the teacher whose class they are in during the time listed on the note.

• Meet your child in the front office to sign them out of the building.

• Do not send anyone to pick a student up that is not on the emergency contact list.

When your student returns to school (same or next day), they must bring a doctor’s note to the front attendance office for an absence excuse.