Bennett Bear Business Newsletter
Week of April 20, 2020
Dear Amazing Bennett Families,
As you heard from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, face-to-face school is cancelled for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. But, that won't stop our awesome Bennett school family from coming up with creative virtual ways to celebrate our BEARS at the end of the school year.
So, we need everyone to put on their thinking caps, and complete the google form below to provide your feedback, ideas, and suggestions. It's going to be GREAT because of YOU!
Proud to be a BEAR,
Amy
A Community Message from Dr. Rick McDaniel
UPDATED MISD Grab & Goal Meals for ALL Students
Bennett's Spirit Week - April 20-24
Join Us for Our April Friday Live - Virtual Style - at 2:30PM
So, get dressed in your Bennett spirit wear, gather up the family, and watch us on Facebook Live on our Bennett Elementary Facebook page, at 2:30PM. We can't wait to celebrate our amazing BEARS!!!
Exciting Events Happening in the Learning Commons
Happy National Library Week!
Be sure to watch this week’s morning announcements to discover the top 10 books checked out at Bennett this year, and the homerooms and students who checked out the most books.
Please use the links below to access the reading programs available to students during Distance Learning.
- K-2nd Starbooks Café: Sip, Taste, Read! http://gg.gg/K-2ndStarbooksCafe2020
- 3rd-5th Starbooks Café: Sip, Taste, Read! http://gg.gg/3rd-5thStarbooksCafe2020
- K-2 Texas 2X2 eLearning Challenge: Participation information and a collection of these books read online may found at http://gg.gg/hshz5
- K-5 Major League Reading Challenge: Participation information may be found at http://gg.gg/elearningMLRchallenge
- Student Book Recommendation Google Site :https://sites.google.com/mckinneyisd.net/welovebooks/home
- The Bennett Learning Commons Virtual Reading Hall of Fame https://sites.google.com/mckinneyisd.net/reading-hall-of-fame/home
Complete Your Child's Bennett Learning Styles Form for 2020-2021 School Year
In order to best meet your child's needs, we invite parents to complete the Bennett Learning Styles Form 2020-2021. We know parents have great insight into the needs of their child and appreciate you taking the time to respond, so we can make the best placement for your child next year.
While we value your input, requests for specific teachers will not be honored or accepted. This will be your only opportunity to provide input so we encourage you to please complete and submit the form below by Friday, May 1, 2020.
NEW to McKinney ISD Student Registration is OPEN
Hello, Parents of Future Bennett Bears!
Have you visited McKinney ISD’s School Locator to see if your home address is zoned for Bennett Elementary? If so, you are ready to enroll your new student(s) for the 2020-2021 school year through our McKinney ISD online registration process!
Registration forms for new students entering kindergarten through 5th grade are available. To access these registration forms:
- Go to the McKinney ISD website at www.mckinneyisd.net
- Click the "Enrollment" tab
- Click the “2020-2021 New Student Enrollment”
While completing your online enrollment, you will be asked to upload the following documents:
- Current Proof of Residency – Must be a utility bill, gas, water or electric, house contract with closing date and/or lease with signatures.
- Student’s Social Security Card (optional - if you choose to not provide your child's Social Security Card, the state will assign your child a unique ID #)
- Student’s Birth Certificate
- Updated Shot Records
If you do not have scanning capability, you may take a photo of your documents and upload the photos in the online enrollment site.
If the above documents are not received in the online enrollment site, the registration will be incomplete. Questions about the registration process or uploading your documents? Email Bennett Elementary Registrar, Susan Jakobsen, at sjakobsen@mckinneyisd.net.
We can’t wait to meet our new BEARS when we return to campus! Take care and stay safe!
Pack Assorted Colors for Kids - Week 2 - April 20-24
April's Gratitude Calendar
April Student & Staff Birthdays
20th - Carter
21st - Yazmeen, Drake
23rd - Ithiel
24th - Camden
25th - Kaleb, Graeson
26th - Helene, Sarah
27th - Jaxton, McCall, William, Carly, Mrs. Scheidhauer - Speech Teacher
28th - Mrs. Woods - Dyslexia Teacher
29th - Jase, Rylee, Adalynn, Kendrick
30th - Georgia, Connor, Jack, Rhyan
Bennett Elementary Virtual College & Career Fair
Our social distancing won’t keep our Bennett Bears from learning about some of the many career options available to them, so here’s the link to sign up for our VIRTUAL College and Career Fair!https://forms.gle/CXsDbED1ux7Rk9br6
Warm regards,
Christie N. Thompson
School Counselor
504 Campus Coordinator
469.302.5437
Connect with Bennett Counselor, Christie Thompson - Virtual Counseling Sessions
Dear Bennett Parents,
I am happy to share that I will be available to consult with parents and communicate with students during the COVID-19 school closure, and I’ll be providing daily tips on announcements and weekly guidance lessons.
Here is more information about my virtual school counseling services:
REMIND alerts https://www.remind.com/join/thompsl (See attached pdf for more detailed instructions.)
- I will use Remind to alert parents when I’ve added a new guidance lesson, video, or resource to my site.
- This is a one-way communication tool, so email me if you need to reach me.
ZOOM or WebEx video meetings – I can consult with parents (and visit with students for up to 20 minutes beginning March 30th).
- Complete and submit this form for videoconferences: https://forms.gle/rxiJLiNU4qUrp1Dk9
- Confidentiality: to mitigate the confidentiality limits we’ll face, I will not record or save any of our meetings, but remember that it is occurring over the Internet where 100% security is not guaranteed. Also, I will still be required by law to report any instances of suspected abuse/neglect, or if I believe a student is a danger to themselves or to others.
a. If you, your student, or anyone in your family needs additional support, there is a nationwide
Crisis Text Line that you can access 24-7 by texting home to the number 741-741. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds from a secure online platform.
b. Please call 911 in the case of mental health emergencies.
Videos & Resources – I’ll be reading and sharing some books about topics like worrying, accepting ‘no’ for an answer, technology usage, flexible thinking, gratitude, etc.
- When a new video or resource is ready, I’ll upload it to my site and send an alert through REMIND. I’ll also provide these to teachers to upload to See Saw.
- Here’s the first one! It’s about worrying and anxiousness > https://youtu.be/aQlMcNLWtwI
- Please see the attached COVID-19 Resources for students.
504 Meetings –I will contact parents and teachers who had/have meetings already scheduled for after spring break to reschedule them. You’ll hear from me soon!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I will be maintaining virtual office hours Mondays-Fridays from 9-11 and 1-3.
Warm regards,
Christie N. Thompson
School Counselor
504 Campus Coordinator
469.302.5437