Happy Monday Bear Creek Cubs,

We are very excited to open the doors on Monday, October 5, 2020. Please note that if you plan on returning to the building we really need you to attend one of the two sessions devoted to opening on Thursday or Saturday. There is a lot of information to review.

A special note that we will be asynchronous on Friday. This is school-wide. The purpose behind this is to allow us to get the classrooms up and running and our reopening plans finalized.

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.

AJ and David

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

Please take some time to review this detailed plan.

https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/communications/Open%20for%20Learning/V4%20Draft%20Open%20for%20Learning%20092420.pdf

On Monday we will be welcoming approximately 100 students on campus. These students include Pre-K, Kindergarten, and their siblings along with children of AISD staff members.

On October 12, 2020 we plan on welcoming first and second graders along with their siblings and any student receiving specialized services.

On October 19, 2020 we plan on welcoming third and fourth graders along with their siblings.

On October 26, 2020 we plan on welcoming the rest of our students :-)

Tomorrow afternoon (or sooner) we will be sending out an email to the PRIMARY CONTACT of each student who is on the Week One Roster. If you do not get an email and feel as if you should be on the roster contact David Crissey via email at david.crissey@austinisd.org. There are bound to be some omissions so if you are in the populations welcomed back we will take care of it quickly.

On October 5, 2020 we will be implementing our new master schedule.

The district has committed to provide a more blended learning experience for all children starting on October 5 which is the first day of the phase in for the school year. Because we are welcoming students into the building we will be implementing our final master schedule which supports both at home and in-person learning.

To support this blended learning experience we are adopting a new instructional schedule that has three instructional cycles throughout the day. Each cycle will have a 15 minute mini-lesson and then children will rotate through four stations which includes a teacher lead small group and three additional stations which include practice, processing, and the traditional asynchronous assignments you are used to.

Beyond the three instructional cycles each class will have a 30 minute recess, a 30 minute lunch, and a 45 minute special area class.

A minute by minute breakdown is below. The minutes of teacher interaction is the same for a remote learner as it is for an in-person learner.

We will have our school supply lists out tomorrow. We plan on having an online option through Yubbler again.

Beginning Saturday, September 26, Austin ISD iPads will have two layouts for the home screen, which change by day and time. There is a “school layout” and a “home layout.”

School Layout:

• Activated from 7:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Friday
• This is the layout that has been on the iPads for the past couple of weeks.
• The layout of the apps is the same for all iPads across the District. This lets teachers easily reference the location of a desired app. (For example:, “Click the second app in the first row.”)
• Families are NOT able to delete or rearrange apps during the “school layout” hours.

Home layout:

• Activated during all other hours
• The iPad will return back to the family’s customized iPad organization. This lets families organize the apps in a way that makes the most sense to them.
• Families WILL be able to delete unwanted apps and rearrange apps during the “home layout” hours. To delete or organize apps, press and hold an app icon.

Please note: The iPads have 32GB of storage, approximately 13GB of which is required for District configurations. Families who run out of storage should delete apps and videos during “home layout” hours.

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 MAP Score Will Be Used As The Quantitative Measure. For Grades 5-12, The Most Current STAAR Score Will Be Used As The Quantitative Measure.

A special note that we will be asynchronous on Friday. This is school-wide. The purpose behind this is to allow us to get the classrooms up and running.

Your child's teacher will be planning lessons and delivering that information to you via their normal communication methods.

A huge thank you to EVERY family for completing the Return To Learning Survey. The results indicate that 43% of our families are choosing face to face learning and 57% are opting to stay at home.

We still have plenty of iPads 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.

Note that we do not have devices at Bear Creek - as in we have ZERO computers or iPads. The district is now a 1-1 district so you need to request a device from the parent portal. Once you have done that let me know and we can arrange for pickup.

Hello Bear Creek,

Last year ended so quickly that many students were unable to return books that were borrowed from the Kiker Library. If you still have library books from Kiker, we would like to provide you with an opportunity to return your books. Please drop the books off at Kiker between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Just press the buzzer at the main doors then drop the books in the marked bin that is in the lobby of the school.

If you are unsure if you have library books or need to know what the titles are, please email Mrs. Smith at zonia.smith@austinisd.org

Thank you for returning your library books.

Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Smith

Kiker Co-Librarian

Hello Bear Creek Families!

We are cruising into week 4 feeling confident only for things to change next week. While schedules may change, the care and support from our BCE staff remains the same.

We are here for you!!

During bouts of uncertainty, focusing positive attention on others is a great way to lift your spirits and those of all involved. Below you will see a cute calendar that encourages an act-a-day of kindness.

As the school counselor, my goal remains the same. To get to know each student at BCE. I am forgoing the sign-up sheet this week as I want to cater to schedules that may not have fit into my schedule previous weeks.

Want to meet with me? Please email me at alyssa.sheeran@austinisd.org to set up a time for me to meet with your student(s). Don't hesitate, I WANT to hear from you!:)

I truly look forward to hearing from you and meeting you soon!

Join the Bear Creek PTA tomorrow evening via Zoom for our first PTA General Membership Meeting + Family Game Time. 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 for the quickest thinkers and fastest clickers, so bring your game face! All you need to do it log-in.

PTA General Membership Meeting + Family Game Time

Tuesday, 9/29

5:00-6:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting:

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

Meeting ID: 912 4697 1235

Passcode: 006042

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)

We will be hosting two meetings this week focusing on operations and protocols. We will be reviewing our parent handbook, arrival, dismissal, safety procedures, screening stations, traffic flow and many logistics. While we cannot mandate you to attend one of these it is extremely important that you do.

Opening a new school is challenge and doing so in a pandemic is unique - if you do not have a clear picture of what will happen it is going to be very difficult for everyone involved.

Meeting information is below.

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/.