Bee Cave Beehive

Today, we began the implementation of our online learning through Schoology for all of our Online Learning Curriculum. We will begin with “Week 0” - Thursday and Friday of this week. Schoology is widely used in our District and more commonly used in our older grade levels at BCE. Some of our students, mainly those in grades K-2, will be accessing Schoology for the first time. This information will help to get you better acquainted with Schoology. Please know that you may need to assist your child in navigating Schoology, as well as help facilitate many of these activities with your child.

Students will begin assignments Thursday and Friday of this week that are more "getting acquainted" activities. These are designed for students to complete at their own pace, on any day of choice as long as they are completed by Thursday of the current week (Friday of this week). This is to provide flexibility to you and your family with the understanding that some of you are still working, have multiple children in the household, etc.

Each week, students will be required to submit activities through Schoology for accountability purposes and grading. You can find these assignments under the MATERIALS tab and under each week’s folder. These will need to be submitted by the end of the day on Thursday (except this week - you will have until the end of the day on Friday).


Logging in to Schoology:
Username: Your student's ID starting with an S (Ex: S123456)
Password: Birth Date - YearMonthDay (Ex: 20120814)

Once you have logged in, click SAVE PASSWORD at the top right so that you do not have to continue typing in login information.

Once you are logged into Schoology, click on your teacher's course. You will find the resources needed each week under the MATERIALS tab. Announcements may be posted on the UPDATES feed as the following week’s lessons are posted. Teachers are able to see who is accessing Schoology and can communicate through this avenue. They will be checking weekly for completion of assignments and will reach out if assignments are missing.

Teachers will have "office hours" daily in a standing Google Hangout where they are accessible for questions, concerns, chats. Fridays will be used for grading, planning, and individual STUDENT meetings. The purpose of office hours is to connect with students, reteach content, and answer questions from students. The link for your teacher's Google Hangout is on their Schoology page. You just click on the link and it will bring you to a video conference call where your teacher will be “hanging out” in during office hours.

At times, there may be several students on the hangout together, so I ask that you please click the small red mute button at the bottom of your screen. This will help to eliminate background noise, but don’t worry, teachers all have a chance to unmute students and talk directly to you!

If you are having trouble with Schoology, the LTISD technology department/helpdesk is available to support you at 512-533-6565 or helpdesk@ltisdschools.org.

Office hours are intended to be time students can spend with teachers. Teachers have “office hours” twice a day. Times are according to grade level (see above). The purpose of office hours is to connect with students, reteach content, and answer questions from students or parents clarifying learning for the child. These hours must be done using Google Hangout for privacy concerns. Teachers are expected to be in a live Hangout for the duration of the hour, as well respond to emails that have come in from students or parents. Parents and students will access office hours through a the Google Hangout posted in the teacher's Schoology Course. Calendar invites will not be used to facilitate office hours.

Parents, you may have questions or concerns that arise throughout our learning. Please email the teacher directly with a need specific to your child.

Teachers will use Fridays to provide feedback to students and hold private conferences, as needed.

Things to consider when participating in a Google Hangout:

We will follow these Video Conferencing Etiquette Rules.

Quick tip #1: Ctrl-D will mute your microphone. You can also turn off your camera. Students should mute their microphones unless they are talking.

Quick tip #2: You can turn on “captions” at the bottom of the screen. This helps when the internet cuts a bit and you miss what folks are saying for some reason. “Captions” captures it!

Quick tip #3: Students should use the chat feature to post questions. This helps the teacher to see when similar questions keep popping up that need to be addressed, to control the order in which questions are asked, and to control the amount of potential talking over each other that can happen in an online meeting format. Meeting on a laptop or Chromebook will allow students to use the chat feature.

Be sure that you are on time.

More information about our online learning is available here.

• complete their choice board by the end of day Thursday for PreK-1st Grade
• complete their daily checklist by the end of each day for 2nd-5th Grade
• contact teachers with any questions through Schoology updates and Google Hangouts/Meet office hours.

• post weekly content folders for the next week by the end of day on Friday
• use Fridays to provide feedback to students
• participate in office hours throughout the week
• record progress in each subject each week for PreK, Kinder, First, and Second grade
• issue a weekly grade for each subject for Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade

Lake Travis ISD staff is providing free meals to children 0-18 years of age. Packaged breakfast and lunch will be available for pickup together between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. at each of our three middle school campuses:

• Bee Cave Middle School - 5400 Vail Divide, Austin, 78738
• Hudson Bend Middle School -15600 Lariat Trail, Austin, 78734
• Lake Travis Middle School - 4932 Bee Creek Road, Spicewood, 78669

Meals are provided in drive-through fashion at the bus drop-off location at each middle school campus. Parents will not need to exit their vehicle, but, according to federal guidelines, all children must be present in the vehicle to receive a meal. Please note, hot meals are not being provided. Instead, meals consist of packaged cereals, sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, fruit juice, milk and/or water.

While some of you may be eager to volunteer your time and services during our meal pickup, we must keep in mind and adhere to local and state restrictions limiting public gatherings. Our outstanding food service department has this under control. We sincerely appreciate your concern and willingness to help.

For more information, visit the Coronavirus section on the Lake Travis ISD website, or email foodservice@ltisdschools.org.

School Counselors are still available to support our students and families during this time of remote learning. Please reach out as needed.

For Young Students: Children take their cues for how to feel and how to act from their parents and caregivers. The following link gives simple ideas for staying calm and resilient.

How you and your children can de-stress during corona virus

For All Students: Boredom may be a new experience for many of our children who are usually busy and scheduled with many activities. Take advantage of the boredom and increased down time to learn more about each other, ourselves and how we respond to new events. Try some of the activities listed on this link to enhance this self-learning.

Simple Activites for Children and Adolescents

For Parents: When parents are OK, kids are OK. Parents have many worries and concerns right now. The link below can help with ideas about how to care for yourself during this challenging time.

https://www.virusanxiety.com/

Please feel free to contact our school counselor Courtney Trimmer at trimmerc@ltisdschools.org

BCE PTO offers enrichment programs, hosts community events, appreciates teachers, and funds tens of thousands of dollars of recurring annual expenses towards continued support of our BCE students!

Please join me in welcoming our 2019-2020 PTO Board:

President: Tiffany Greenberg

Vice President: Miko Tachibana

Treasurer: Jo Youngblood & Allison Fisher

VPs of Fundraising: Sarah Savage

VP Membership: Stefanie Boicelli

Secretary: Meagan Gafford

On behalf of the 2019-2020 PTO Board, THANK YOU to all parents for supporting our school with your time and resources. We truly have the best community here at Bee Cave Elementary!

Volunteering at BCE is the best way to get involved, meet new people, and directly impact your child's school experience. Check out all of our volunteer opportunities and sign up for the areas that interest you. Thanks in advance for your support of BCE! It’s going to be another amazing year!

Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/Domain/12
Location: 14300 Hamilton Pool Road, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-533-6250
Twitter: @BCEBobcats