Eagle Update: December 16, 2022

Hello BHE Families,

Wasn't the Winter Fine Arts Nights amazing? We were so glad to have the opportunity to share student work and talents with you. Students worked so hard over the week to make those shows shine!

This will be the final newsletter of this semester and of 2022! Next week is a short week and we are looking forward to ending our semester together on Wednesday with our now-annual Jingle Bell Run. Parents are welcome to come to watch students run - we ask that you stay on the outside of the track and do not run with students or jump on the track to take pictures. When the grade level run time is over we ask that parents exit the grounds as students will be returning to class and we will end our day with a school-wide Zoom Dance Party. We will dismiss at our regular times. Here is the run schedule for the Jingle Bell Run:

• 1:30 - 1:45 4th/5th/6th grades
• 1:50 - 2:05 2nd/3rd grades
• 2:10-2:25 Kinder/First
• 2:40 - 2:55 School Wide Zoom Dance Party in classrooms

On Thursday we had the honor of announcing our Barton Hills Elementary Teacher of the Year. The Teacher of the Year is selected by the staff at Barton Hills and will represent our school in the AISD Elementary Teacher of the Year process. Please help us celebrate and congratulate Ms. Mary Onak as our 2022-2023 Barton Hills Elementary Teacher of the Year!

Please check the calendar sections and Latest News for current updates about our school. I wish all our Eagle Families a Wonderful Winter Break with plenty of time for fun and family. Thank you, as always, for all of your support and for being a part of this community.

The online registration for the 22-23 school year and the 23-24 school year will be open concurrently starting January 9th (new this year). Families enrolling in the current school year will not have to complete paper registration packets. In addition, out of district families will be able to register online.

Here are the important links for these two activities:

1. Enrollment landing page: https://www.austinisd.org/enroll

2. Important dates and deadlines: https://www.austinisd.org/transfer/dates-deadlines

3. For questions, please use the districts Let’s Talk https://www.austinisd.org/letstalk and click on “Student Services: Enrollment, Records, & Transfers”

Looking for a new activity to do with family and friends over winter break? Want to extend learning at home? The Creative Learning Initiative has adapted two arts-based Creative Teaching strategies used in classrooms — Model Making and Soundtrack — for our community members to use for fun, engaging conversations. Click this link for these activities in Arabic, Burmese, English, Kinyarwanda, Mandarin, Pashto, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese.

With many Austin ISD students living in food-insecure households, access to healthy food may be challenging when the district is closed. Families can use the community resources below to find free meals in their area while Austin ISD offices and schools are closed for the winter break:

• Central Texas Food Bank

• United Way for Greater Austin - ConnectATX

• Texas Health and Human Services - Call 2-1-1 or (877) 541-7905 to speak to a live operator.

El acceso a los alimentos puede resultar difícil para muchas familias cuando el distrito cierra. Las familias pueden usar los recursos de la comunidad para encontrar comidas gratis en su área, mientras que las escuelas de Austin ISD están cerradas por las vacaciones de invierno:

• Banco de Alimentos del Centro de Texas

• United Way for Greater Austin

• Salud y Servicios Humanos de Texas - Llame al 2-1-1 o al (877) 541-7905 para hablar con un operador

Please join and share with your community regarding the 2023-2024 Austin ISD upcoming budget discussion. Please see below for scheduled sessions:

Virtual

Monday, December 19, 2022.

English from 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Spanish from 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Budget Community Conversation

Virtual

Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

Spanish from 12:00pm-1:00pm

English from 6:00pm-7:00pm

Budget Community Conversation

We will host several in-person meetings throughout January, February and March to further talk about the 2023-2024 budget. Stay tuned for more information.

ESPANOL

Únase y comparta con su comunidad sobre la próxima discusión del presupuesto 2023-2024 de Austin ISD. Consulte a continuación las sesiones programadas:

Virtual

Lunes, 19 de diciembre de 2022

Inglés de 12:00 a 13:00

Español de 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Budget Community Conversation

Virtual

Miércoles, 11 de enero de 2023.

Español de 12:00pm-1:00pm

Inglés de 6:00pm a 7:00pm

Budget Community Conversation

Organizaremos varias reuniones en persona durante enero, febrero y marzo para hablar más sobre el presupuesto 2023-2024. Estén atentos para más información.

We are excited to announce the Barton Hills Science Fair for 2022/2023. It will be held at Barton Hills on January 19, 2023. All grade levels are welcome to participate, however, only Grades 3-6 will advance to the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival. Teachers have started conversations in class about science fair projects in class. The link for all instructions is below. Please reach out to your classroom teacher with any additional questions.

https://sciencefest.org/elementary/elementary-parents-students

The Fine Print:

Who:

All Barton Hills Students are encouraged to enter. Judges will select the top three projects in the third through sixth grades to advance to the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival.

Why:

To explore a scientific question that a student may have. To apply the scientific method. To enhance the learning experience. To discover the wonders of the natural world.

What

Experiments, Demonstrations, or Collections that meet the safety guidelines (see website) are permitted.

When and Where

BHE Fair in the library on Thursday, 1/19/23

Regional Fair at the Palmer Events Center on 2/24 & 2/25

Project due dates may vary by teacher.

Resources

ScienceFest links: Website www.ScienceFest.org

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/austinenergysciencefest Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sciencefestatx/ Twitter https://twitter.com/ScienceFestATX

December 22 - January 9 - Winter Break for Students

January 10 - Begin the 3rd Nine Weeks/ School Resumes for students

January 12 - CAC Meeting

January 13 - Spirit Day - Sports Day!

January 16 - MLK Day - Student and Staff holiday

January 19 - BHE Science Fair

February 3 - BHE Spirit Day - "BEE" Kind

February 6 - 10 - Counselor Appreciation Week

February 15 - 16 Parent Teacher Conference Week and Evenings

February 17 - 1:30 Early Release Day

February 20 - Student and Staff holiday - Bad Weather Make-Up day

March 13 - 17 - Spring Break

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