Eagle Update: September 30, 2022

Happy (almost) October. I hope you all have enjoyed the cooler mornings – we sure have! There are two “unusual” Fridays in October. Friday, October 7th is an Early Release Day and Friday October 14th is a Professional Development/Student Holiday. Please read below for more information regarding the Early Release Day.

I also wanted to remind you that the weekends of October 7 – 9 and 14-16 are ACL weekends. With the festival, please be aware of increased foot and vehicular traffic in our school community area. Additionally, roads you may typically use when coming to pick up your child at school may be closed or more congested. I've linked below the street closure map and schedule for ACL. Allow extra time for getting to and from Barton Hills on the ACL Fridays - we want everyone to be safe! Please keep that in mind particularly on our Early Release Day as staff has a meeting right at 1:45 and we need all students to be picked up on time.

Thank you for coming to parent teacher conferences. Your partnership and support continues to make Barton Hills the BEST school for teaching and learning.

Mrs. Achtermann

• What time does school start? We start at our regular time of 7:40.
• Will breakfast be available? Yes, breakfast will be available as usual.
• When does school release? The end of the day is 1:30. We will release Kinder a little earlier at 1:20.
• Where do I pick up my student? Pickup will be at the usual locations.
• What about Extend -A-Care and Earth Kids? EAC and Earth Kids will both start their programs at the earlier dismissal times and be open through their usual hours.
• What about lunch? All students will have a lunch time. Students may bring their lunch or buy from the cafeteria like any other day.
• What time should I pick up my student? No later than 1:35. Staff has a meeting starting at 1:45.
• What if I need to have someone else pick up my student or have made arrangements that are different than normal? If your child is going home with someone who they don’t usually go home with, or in a different way like walking instead of being picked up, please let their teacher know.

Vision and Hearing screening will be done for all Kinder, 1st, 3rd, 5th and any students new to AISD. Vision and Hearing screening will take place on campus by our Clinical Health Assistant,
Nancy Knedlik. Parents will only be notified of the results only if a student fails the screening.

The Austin ISD Section 504 & Dyslexia Department is excited to launch the 2022 Central Texas Dyslexia Conference on October 28th. This year’s conference will be virtual, on demand, and as always FREE for Austin ISD staff and external participants starting on Friday, October 28, 2022. The annual dyslexia conference brings together researchers, parents, dyslexia therapists, teachers, related service providers, advocates, and other professionals to build understanding and application of improved support and services for students with dyslexia.

Registration of External Participants

External participants will register through Eventbrite. Prerecorded presentations will be made available through a private YouTube Channel from October 28th through November 6th.

Austin ISD is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month with our 2022 Virtual Talent Show “Proud to be Hispanic. Join the Fiesta!” Please encourage your teachers, staff and families to participate in this open call with prizes of $250 and $500 for Class Performance. Categories are singing, music, dancing and art (drawing or painting) that involve Hispanic Culture.

Students can submit their videos or pictures at https://bit.ly/FiestaAISD22 until October 9. Accepted entries are being posted on Facebook (pictures and drawings) and YouTube (videos of Singing, Dance and Music categories).

Voting ends on October 12. More than $4,000 in prizes will be awarded in an in-person ceremony on October 15—Save the date!

The City of Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) will feature student artwork in the 2023 Emergency Preparedness Calendar. Central Texas is prone to many emergencies and disasters such as floods, wildfires, and extreme weather. Student artwork has the ability to inspire individuals, families, and communities to prepare for these emergencies and disasters. HSEM welcomes creations for the contest from all 1st through 8th grade students in the Central Texas area. Please see attached flyer and guidelines/resources at www.austintexas.gov/HSEMcalendar

We look forward to seeing all the student creations!

Electronic submissions: https://cityofaustin.formstack.com/forms/preparedness_calendar

Early voting in the 2022 Bond election begins Oct. 24. Election Day is Nov. 8. Please see the flyer below to see the proposals for Barton Hills. You can find more information on the Bond package and what is proposed for each campus/facility here.

October 7 - Early Release Day - students dismissal time is 1:30

October 12 - Bring your Teddy Bear to School/Work Day

October 13 - CAC 3:30 in the Library

October 14 - Student Holiday/ Staff Development Day

October 25 - Fall Individual Picture Day

October 28 - Vertical Team Night at House Park

November 5 - Carnival!

The GOLDEN SNEAKER is making its return!!!!

Students and families are encouraged to walk or bike to school this week. The class with the highest percentage of students who walk/bike to school each day will get to hold on to the golden sneaker. The winner will be announced daily on the announcements.

We know parents are excited to support our school through volunteer opportunities - and we're excited to have you! ALL school volunteer opportunities will start with the classroom teacher or sponsoring staff member. For example, volunteer opportunities for the Library will be coordinated through Ms. Ewing; classroom gardening, field trips chaperones, classroom guest readers will be coordinated through the classroom teacher. Once teachers are ready for volunteers the following will happen:

1. We will set up the volunteer opportunity on the APIE website.
2. Teachers/Event Sponsor will email parents the name of the volunteer opportunity and directions for completing the background checks.
3. Mrs Ewing will let you know when the background check is complete
4. You will bring your driver's license to Kathy Carr in the office for verification
5. Once verification is complete, Mrs. Ewing will let you and the classroom teacher know you are cleared to volunteer.

If you have questions about the volunteer opportunities please contact your child's teacher.

If your child needs to leave early for an appointment, please notify your child's teacher and the front office. When you arrive at the school, you can come to the front door or call from your car and then we will call for your student. We will not call for students until you are here. With our new schedules (and a new phone number system) please leave PLENTY of time (at least 10 minutes) from the time you call us to the time your child is ready to leave. If you have an appointment right after school, it is best to pick up your student no later than 2:45 to avoid the dismissal crunch. **If you have not had your driver's license scanned into our Raptor System in the last year, we will ask you to bring in your driver's license to the office***

Masks:

With the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, students, staff and visitors are not required to wear face masks when on school properties, unless they have tested positive for COVID-19. Note: Per CDC guidance, individuals with a positive COVID-19 result will be required to wear a mask for five days after returning from quarantine/isolation.

• Masks are not required, but are encouraged at any time of the school day or in any school space.
• Masks are optional at all times.Face masks will continue to be provided for any student, staff, or visitor upon request.

• All students, staff, and visitors will be allowed to make their own choice.
  

Close Contact and Contact Tracing

• Campus administrators will notify all families of positive cases on the campus using a standard notification letter. Individual classroom letters will not be sent home.

• With masking now being optional, all students and staff at the campus may be considered close contacts when there is a positive case identified.

• Campus Administrators will not be required to track close contacts.

• Any asymptomatic individual (except those who have tested positive) may remain at school as long as they are asymptomatic.

Testing Availability

• Testing sites are located at specified district sites and can be found on the COVID-19 district webpage.

• All sites will accept insurance, medicaid, and self-pay.

• Site will be updated whenever vaccines are available.

Temperature Guidelines

• Temperature guidelines have been established in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for students participating in outdoor activities at Austin ISD.

• The listed temperatures, heat indexes, and wind-chill factors are designated figures for terminating and/or modifying outdoor activities including: Athletics, Fine Arts, PE, and recess.

• AISD_Temperature Weather Guidelines_2022-2023
  

Our PTA is the best! Please check out the link for the latest PTA Newsletter below and sign up to receive them directly:

http://bheeagles.com/eagle-news/

Website: https://bartonhills.austinschools.org/
Location: 2108 Barton Hills Drive, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-414-2013
Facebook: facebook.com/BartonhillsPTA
Twitter: @bheeagles