Happy Monday Bear Creek Cubs,

We hope that you had a good weekend and are enjoying a little weather break from the upper 90s.

A special note that we will be asynchronous on Friday. This is school-wide. We potentially may go asynchronous next Friday as well. The purpose behind this is to allow us to get the classrooms up and running. The delay was just based on us receiving the certificate of occupancy later than expected.

We are here to help. Remember administration will have office hours and I will post those links in the office hour section which will be a little farther on down the line in this issue.

Also note that your grade level newsletters are now officially linked to this newsletter. This is truly one stop shopping for all your Bear Creek news.

AJ and David

Just click the icon for your child's grade level newsletter. These will be updated weekly.

Student nominations will be collected from parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, administrators, and other school staff for students. Parents are typically the main source of nominations.

Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade Nomination Window Is September 21 - October 2, 2020.

The calendar linked below has the entire timeline in detail.

GT Academic Calendar SY20-21

Parent Referral and Observation

Parents can notify teachers, GT Advocates, or other school/district staff about their wish to refer their children. Please include David Crissey on all correspondence.

Parents/Guardians must complete and return the AISD Parent Observation via email to David Crissey. Please note that submitting the AISD Parent Observation Form is your consent for this evaluation.

Parent Forms

Parent GT Observation(English)

Parent GT Observation(Spanish)

Parent GT Observation (Vietnamese)

Parent GT Observation(Arabic)

For SY20-21, Cogat Assessments Will Not Be Administered. Instead, For Grades K-4, The Most Current ISIP Score Will Be Used As The Quantitative Measure. For Grades 5-12, The Most Current STAAR Score Will Be Used As The Quantitative Measure.

If you have questions about the nomination process we will be hosting a Zoom meeting tonight at 430pm. The link is at the bottom of the page.

A special note that we will be asynchronous on Friday. This is school-wide. We potentially may go asynchronous next Friday as well. The purpose behind this is to allow us to get the classrooms up and running. The delay was just based on us receiving the certificate of occupancy later than expected.

Look for a PDF sent to your email for activities. All activities will focus on our core values of connection, integrity, resilience, courage, and empathy.

Please see the remote learning schedule below. If you have questions, please shoot us an email or give us a call. Please note this has not changed and we have full confidence that this is our final schedule.

We tried to be as consistent as possible across grade levels. Because our special areas (art, music, and PE) have to be synchronous, we had to spread them throughout the day as we would if we were on campus. Because there are different blocks for those special areas, the schedule cannot be the same for each grade level.

Please note that based on TEA guidelines the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade students have the same amount of synchronous instructional minutes and pre-k and kindergarten have the same amount of synchronous instructional minutes.

Also note that all grade level teachers will be in lock step with schedules and assignments. The schedule and these instructional expectations have been created intentionally to accommodate the multiple learning pods that are being formed to help the community distribute the logistical load of remote learning.

* Download the PDF for the clearest view of the schedule.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XztiUYbbk-k5WOi6SjLHBXB-JACuf7Dt/view?usp=sharing

Currently we have 431 responses with basically an equal split between remote learning and in person. The survey closes tonight. We need all 483 students accounted for :-)

Survey Link

https://austinisd.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3EKb4cCqXqzNC97

We still have plenty of iPads that are ready to go.

We also have several Chromebooks that are ready to go.

We also have a few several hotspots.

Let me know via email if you need assistance by emailing me at david.crissey@austinisd.org.

I know many of you do not use social media however there are several Facebook groups dedicated to the school and to specific grade levels. They are good places to connect. The main school Facebook group is primarily for branding and marketing as this newsletter has replaced it as a source of information.

Bear Creek School Page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1172057442989760/

Bear Creek PTA - https://www.facebook.com/groups/272116890829280/

Bear Creek Kindergarten - https://www.facebook.com/groups/284635179309301/

Bear Creek Kinder Immersion - https://www.facebook.com/groups/3194839180612842/

Bear Creek First Grade Immersion - https://www.facebook.com/groups/614658239467441/

Bear Creek First Grade - https://www.facebook.com/groups/784782732263559/

Bear Creek Second Grade - https://www.facebook.com/groups/335449904147942/

Bear Creek Third Grade. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/948900888893066/

Bear Creek Fourth Grade- https://www.facebook.com/groups/701523747356817/

Bear Creek Fifth Grade - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1102836326834460/

Hello Bear Creek Family!

We are going strong into week three! Hopefully you are feeling a bit more comfortable with all the technology and changes of this year. From where I am sitting, you all are doing fabulous!

While navigating online school is improving for our students, there will still be some "glitches" that can throw them (and us) off track. However, some of those "glitches" may just be out of their control. Here are some friendly reminders of how to help our students manage situations out of their control and ways to remind them how to proceed.

I will be continuing my Meet The Counselor meetings this week. If none of these times work for you this week, please reach out and I will try to accommodate. My hope really is to meet all our students here at Bear Creek. 🙂

With that being said, if anyone would like to reach out for ANY reason, please do not hesitate. I am here for you all for any reason.

Link to sign up--------> https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4cafa62aa1fbc25-meet

Zoom link (will be included in the sign up email, but just in case) ----------->

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81241245698?pwd=WlhLR21tbkFnYXhxYThWWG40K0ZNZz09

Meeting ID: 812 4124 5698

Passcode: Bearcubs1

Be encouraged we are all in this together. 💙🐻

Alyssa Sheeran- alyssa.sheeran@austinisd.org

Join us for our first PTA General Membership Meeting + Family Game Time on Tuesday, September 29th from 5:00- 6:30 PM. After a brief meeting to update you about the PTA's plans for the year ahead, stick around to play virtual Scattegories with the entire family. Prizes will be given, all you need to do is log-in. You and your kiddos won't want to miss this fun!

PTA General Membership Meeting + Family Game Time

Tuesday, 9/29

5:00-6:30 PM

Meeting ID: 912 4697 1235

Passcode:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://austinisd-org.zoom.us/j/91246971235?pwd=amRSdGU2dHgzRFBMSXVSekpMQ2pJQT09

Want to get involved in the PTA or help at Bear Creek? Even though volunteering looks a little different this year, we have several opportunities to serve on committees and help the school in other ways. Fill out this Google form to let us know where you are interested in helping. (NOTE: If you filled out the earlier form posted on Facebook back in June, you do NOT need to fill this out again. We already have you down!)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIHQmEwccYkutbfjL_xx9_x0LMyBDyir2wfg7Ewdo2x9EtNQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

***

Still need to join the PTA? Our membership drive continues through the end of September. Join today in order to be a voting member of the PTA and to take advantage of the many nationwide discounts offered to PTA members!

https://joinbearcreekpta.cheddarup.com

Parent Video For Attendance

https://www.screencast.com/t/ghb1amDe

Elementary How To For Students and Parents

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTQDgFfesYkFHDcCy19qsyd2W5AR47yeNVvaDhAPCHuRBVWWh8nzfraQGSmjiZvCfpCa07AEu5eTgsu/pub

Blend Parent Tour

https://aisdblend.instructure.com/courses/105825

AJ and I will be available from 2pm - 3pm each week day to answer your questions. These office hours and the office hours scheduled by your teacher should become your BEST FRIEND as we traverse the remote learning landscape.

David Crissey is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Bear Creek Office Hours

Time - 2pm - 3pm (Monday - Friday)

https://zoom.us/j/92989899258?pwd=NnJYVk96NTZIeVFJdkVwRHhLRWh4QT09

Meeting ID: 929 8989 9258

Passcode: 0kJKBH

One tap mobile

+13462487799,,92989899258#,,,,,,0#,,792421# US (Houston)

Hunter 5K Halloween Fun Run

Registration is open for the second annual Hunter 5K Halloween Fun Run, honoring Hunter Henderson! The event this year will be virtual.

The Hunter 5K was created to honor and celebrate the fast and free spirit of Hunter Henderson, who tragically passed away in December of 2018. Hunter was a vibrant member of the Avana/Circle C community who loved Halloween and dressed up in costume throughout the year. Funds raised from this year’s virtual event will go to Dell Children's Medical Center who helped the Henderson family immensely during Hunter’s stay. Register today at https://thehunter5k.com/.