Panther Print

Hi Panthers!

I can't believe fall is upon us and Halloween is just a week away! This weekend I am so thankful for the love, support and positivity of our community. And the cooler weather!

We look forward to welcoming additional students back to campus on Oct. 26th, Nov. 2nd, and Nov. 30th. Please email me with any questions.

I know there must be some mixed feelings from our kiddos about dressing up, trick-or-treating changes, Fall Carnival looking different, etc. Staff is feeling it as well. As always, we will not allow students to wear costumes on campus. If your child is doing remote learning, please encourage your child to remain in regular "school clothes" during the academic days this week. It will help us all to focus on learning.

Thank you for attending the Principal Chat and for your thoughtful questions. We will continue to meet regularly. If you were not able to attend, I posted the recording on Friday afternoon. During the meeting we discussed the extensive vandalism and littering that is occurring almost nightly. In addition, we found both drugs and alcohol on campus. Because of this, the entire campus (including the lower field) will be closed to the public at all times, including evenings, weekends, holidays, etc. AISD will be patrolling often and monitoring our cameras daily. Individuals on school grounds without administrative permission can be charged with criminal trespassing. Thank you for helping to keep our students and staff safe!

Report cards will be mailed on Thursday. Teachers are working diligently to provide meaningful feedback to students. Due to COVID, many students have had to change teachers numerous times, teachers have had to change grade levels, and things are just generally wonky. We know that due to all of these factors, we are not able to get a full picture of all that our amazing Panthers can do. Know that teachers are completing grades as accurately as possible, but that as always, our number one focus is the health and well-being of students. If you have any questions about grading, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Hoping your week is wonderful!

Emily

Hi Panthers,

The last phase of students returning to campus has been successfully completed. We continue to adjust our procedures to meet the particular challenges of the times. The extraordinary staff at Bryker Woods is constantly looking for ways to improve. Our focus continues to be on the health and safety of everyone in the Bryker Woods Community. The students have been doing a fantastic job of washing their hands and wearing masks.

One of the benefits of having a neighborhood school is the ability to walk or ride bikes to and from campus each day. This can lead to some traffic congestion in front of the school during daily dismissal. Having a staggered dismissal for our students has helped provide some relief; that said, it is still important for all of us to stay diligent in providing for student safety.

Here are two important safety reminders:

1) Everyone should use the crosswalks when walking across the street or the circular drive.

2) IF you ride your bike to school, please get off your bike and walk with it on the sidewalks in front of the school.

Another important topic revolves around health and well-being. During this school year, all students are eligible for free school breakfast and lunch. Any student wanting a school meal will receive one. Additionally, in our commitment to ensure students have meals for seven days a week, food is available to take home for the weekend as part of our Friday dismissal. Thank you to our Cafeteria Manager, Ms. Tammy, for her leadership in providing delicious and nutritious meals for our learning community.

Every day when I walk into classrooms, both virtual and in person, I am impressed with the work our teachers are doing. The Bryker Woods teachers and staff are working very hard under challenging and ever-changing conditions. There’s just so much more for our teachers to consider than planning a great lesson. And, sometimes it can be hard to know what can we do to support them. Something to remember is a kind word goes a long way. I would encourage you to take every opportunity to let our Bryker Woods teachers know how much you appreciate their effort, time, and sacrifice.

David Foyt

Monday, Oct. 26

• Continued phase-in of students

Tuesday, Oct. 27

• Student Mock Election on BLEND

Thursday, Oct. 29

• Report cards mailed home

Nov. 1

• Daylight Savings ends

Nov. 3

• Election Day, Student holiday

Nov. 10

• PTA Meeting, 5-6 pm

Each year there is an opportunity for families to nominate their student for the Gifted and Talented/Talent Explore or "GATE" program. Please see the attachments below if this is something you may be interested in pursuing. If you have any questions or wish to nominate your child, please email Emily Murr @ emily.murr@austinisd.org.

General Information

AISD Advanced Academics Site

Join Ms. Gee and 5th Grade students for Morning Announcements each morning on BLEND! Please note that you must be signed into the Student Portal to view morning announcements.

Newsletter 10.19.20

Texas requires that all students in grades K-12 meet the minimum state immunization requirements. This applies to students receiving both in-person and virtual learning.

It is important to note that there have been no exceptions made to these immunization requirements, due to COVID-19, by the State.

All immunization requirements should be met by families by October 5, 2020, for both in-person and virtual learners.

You can find more information about the minimum Texas Immunization Requirements here: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/immunize/school/school-requirements.aspx. Please reach out to your Campus Health Room Staff for more information on resources that can be given to families and any questions you may have.

Temperature Checks Before Boarding Bus:

• As part of AISD's health screening protocols, the transportation team will check students' temperature before boarding the bus.
• Students who have a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be asked to return home with their guardians.
• If students are alone at the bus stop, they will travel to school on a second bus. Guardians will be asked to pick up students from the campus. ·
• Please ensure guardians accompany students to bus stops.

Bus Safety/Updates:

• After each trip, bus drivers will clean high-touch areas.
• Expect delays during the first few weeks as campus communities, including team members, students, and families, adjust to the new protocols.
• Transportation team members also are adapting to further processes, including additional duties and routes.

2020-21 Bus information

• Families whose students are eligible for transportation are receiving their bus information by email or letter.
• The district's "Bus Stop Finder" is live right now.
• Families whose students have special needs will receive information in-person from their bus teams.

If you need to request a device, please reach out to Ms. Kettler.

carly.kettler@austinisd.org

Device pickup procedure at BW

You will need to provide:

1. Your child’s student id number

2. The type and number of devices you are expecting to receive

(chromebook, Ipad)

When you arrive in the circle drive in front of the school please park and call the library office at 512-414-7593. You will be asked to provide your child’s full name, student id number and the type of device you are expecting. Please remain in your car while your device is being issued. Once the process is complete your device will be placed in a bin outside the library courtyard where you can then collect your items.

Video Tutorial: How to Request Technology on the Parent Portal

Family Technology Q&A

iPad Home Screen/Layout Settings by The Time of Day

Beginning Friday, September 25, Austin ISD iPads have settings restrictions that vary by time of day. From 7:00 am-4:00 pm, Monday to Friday, apps will appear in the current pushed layout. Outside of those hours, the apps will revert to any customized layout caregivers have set, AND they will be able to delete apps they have added. (Note that the iPads have 32GB of storage, and currently 13GB is taken up by District-required content.)

Lost/Stolen student devices:

Families should follow the procedures outlined here.

Student devices in need of repair:

Families can take iPads, Chromebooks, and hotspots in need of repair to either your school or to one of the Curbside locations, where they can be swapped out as long as supplies allow.

“Power wash” Chromebooks to Update Zoom:

Students may notice that Zoom is out of date on their Chromebooks. Students and caregivers that Chromebooks must be “power washed” (restored to Austin ISD default settings) for Zoom to update automatically. Here is a step set as well as a link to a video.

MackinVia and Dreambox added to iPads:

The MackinVia and Dreambox apps have been added to iPads. Apps on the student iPads will soon be organized into logical folders to streamline student access and hide infrequently used apps and system apps.

Students use the Canvas Student app to access BLEND (and then Seesaw)

A video in English demonstrating this process can be seen here. A video in Spanish is in progress and a link will be provided as soon as it is available.

Student iPad Security and Student Safety

Please note: District-wide safety restrictions can be seen on the iPads under Settings> General > Device Management > JamfSchool MDM Management Profile > Restrictions. Families may see other options under Screen Time, but despite appearances, no Screen Time setting can be less restrictive than the General Restrictions pushed by the District. A flyer for distribution is available here.

Handbook for BLEND/Seesaw

We will begin to celebrate our amazing Panthers every Friday with our Panther Proud awards. Our Panther Proud Awards are a way for us to shine the light on the MANY wonderful things our young panthers do every day. It could be showing empathy, responsibility, respect, being an upstander, speaking out, showing perseverance, or many other skills. We would like to honor our students and celebrate their hard work.

Any grownup that works with our Panthers is able to nominate a student. Please fill out the following Panther Proud Award Nomination and they will be read during Friday Morning Announcements.

Panther Proud Award Nominations

• Sign up for a PTA Committee- BW PTA Committee Signup Sheet
• Reach out to our PTA president for additional information- jennrustgi@gmail.com

As you may have suspected, this year at school is going to look a lot different...but hopefully we can find some ways to keep our Bryker Woods community strong!

One way is the new BW Buddies Program, where families new to Bryker Woods are matched with a returning "support" family via email. The support family can welcome the new family to Bryker Woods, and help answer any questions they may have. Hopefully, this partnership will make transitioning to a new school a little easier, and provide both parties with another connection during this time of distance learning.

If you are interested, you can sign up here: BW Buddies Program Sign-Up

Questions? Contact Dana Singh at danasingh@gmail.com or through Living Tree.

• AISD Covid-19 Updates
• AISD Summer Meals Sites
• BW Website
• AISD Asbestos Letter (see attachment below)

Email: kristina.muehling@austinisd.org
Website: byrkerwoods.austinschools.org
Location: 3309 Kerbey Lane, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-414-2054