Happy Sunday, Brentwood families!

This month, the school as a whole is focusing on National Black History Month, which, as President Joe Biden reminds us, serves as “both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history, Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America.” Did you know that Brentwood has a vision statement centered around diversity? In fact, one of the main aspects of our community is inclusivity and acceptance of others, no matter what one’s ethnicity may be. As Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations, says so eloquently, “we may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.”

“At Brentwood Elementary, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of who we are. We continue to build a culture that welcomes, celebrates, appreciates, and values the diverse voices of our community to ensure the success of every student. Brentwood is all of us.”
–Brentwood Elementary Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vision Statement

For the next few weeks, the diversity committee will be sharing information on education equity. Up first, school vouchers. Vouchers are education tax dollars that are diverted from public schools to families for use in subsidizing private school tuition. Here are some factors to consider when looking at vouchers through the lens of education equity:

• While some voucher programs require participating private schools to accept the voucher as full tuition, many do not. Families are obligated to pay the remaining private school tuition, which creates an imbalanced impact on lower income families. Additional hidden expenses from private schools, such as uniforms, transportation to school, meals, field trips, and other fees are not covered by vouchers.  
• Access to private schools varies widely between rural and urban areas.  Vouchers disproportionately benefit students living in urban areas due to limited access to private schools in rural Texas.
• Texas public schools are required to educate every child who shows up to their doors, regardless of income, disability, IQ, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, income, academic ability, or athletic ability. Not all private schools are bound by the same inclusion practices, and students with disabilities are not entitled to the same procedural safeguards as they are under the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA).

The annual Poetry Café, taking place February 12-23, will be an event you won’t want to miss. Our very own library will become a cozy coffee shop, where Pre-K through 4th grade classes will recite their poems and show off some impressive performance skills. Families and caregivers are welcome to bring a favorite poem to share! Complimentary coffee will be available. Check out this year's Poetry Café schedule to locate your student’s class time, and be sure to review communications from your teacher for any additional details. Please allow extra time to park and check in at the front office so you don’t miss a performance or disturb the readings. See you there!

Also, a reminder to our 5th grade parents, your students' Poetry Café will be scheduled for later in the school year.

Save the date: the next Brentwood Spirit Night is Wednesday, February 21. We are proud to partner with Fajita Pete’s, near MoPac and 2222. No special code is needed; all lunch and dinner orders will result in donations to Brentwood PTA. Click on the link above or call 737-332-5482 to pre-order. They ask that orders be picked up as they will be busy preparing our delicious food.  Get your orders in early and dinner can be solved, at least for one night! 

We’re raising money for our library and you can help. The Brentwood Used Book Sale is coming up on March 4-8. Please drop off your donations in the bins in the community room (just inside the school entrance on Yates) by Friday, March 1. Need someone to fetch your goodies? Email Meagan Sykes at meagan@moderndigs.com to schedule a pick-up.

Students can shop for goods, handmade by 2nd graders, on Wednesday, March 6. Everything will be priced between a quarter and 50 cents each; send your student with some pocket change in a clearly marked plastic bag with their name and their teacher’s name on it. The money that 2nd graders make will be put toward end-of-year parties and field trips. Support our students’ entrepreneurial spirit!

Don’t miss performances featuring the talented dancers of McCallum Fine Arts Academy on February 9-10 at 7pm at the AISD Performing Arts Center. The winter dance concert, entitled Progressions, will highlight the McCallum dance program, with dancers performing a range of genres from flamenco to modern, and choreography from guest artists in collaboration with the students. The Mac Knight Steppers, a club that has been organized within the high school, will also be featured. Get tickets here. Any interested individuals who need financial assistance can be accommodated by emailing boxoffice@mccallumdance.org.

Intro to Scratch Coding is now available for 3rd-5th grade on Mondays from 3:10-4 p.m. through May 13. Check out the PTA’s After-School Programs page for new offerings being added on a regular basis.  

The art department is currently collecting paper egg cartons (not styrofoam). If you'd like to drop them in the “Art Donation” box in the community room, they'd greatly appreciate it. Speaking of donations, any families wanting to donate to gym classes, please know that they are always in need of hair ties/hair bands. Thanks so much!

Support teachers by stocking the Professional Learning Community Rooms. These are areas where they do a lot of work and planning and a caffeine or snack boost during these work sessions can make all the difference! Bring any of the following items to the front office and they will divvy them up and distribute to the workrooms:

• coffee/tea K-Cups
• regular tea bags
• bottles/cans of coffee, tea, soda, etc.
• packaged nuts, trail mix, fig bars, bite size/mini candy, muffins, etc.

You can also sign up to bring treats for teachers and staff on Valentine’s Day. Click here for a sign-up sheet. See below for more details.

What: Anything you'd like to donate for the staff (drinks, snacks, chocolate, etc.)
Where: In the Community Room
When: By 7:30am on Wednesday, February 14
How Many: 75 staff members total

Filling out a volunteer interest survey doesn't mean you’re eternally committed to any activity. PTA will simply follow up with you based on your interests and available time with specific opportunities you may be interested in. For example, teachers and staff could use help at lunch time currently. What fun it would be to spy on your student in their element! (Kidding, only kidding…) Becoming a volunteer is easy. Prior to visiting the school for your scheduled volunteer role, you will register here. Reach out to Melody Rivera, Brentwood Registrar @melody.rivera@austinisd.org or 512-414-2039 (ext. 53602) if you have any questions.

Sign up for the Brentwood Birthday Book Club. What is it exactly, you ask? During your child’s birthday month, they will come to the library and choose from a special batch of brand-new books to become their Birthday Book, complete with a personalized bookplate, and they will be the first person to check it out from the library. A photo of your child and their Birthday Book will be shown in the library and emailed to you. Questions? Call 512-414-2039 (ext. 52594) or email erin.tigelaar@austinisd.org and kate.slaten@austinisd.org.

This school year, only 3rd-5th graders will be allowed to bring devices home. This responsibility means that devices must come back to school each day. Loaner computers are not available due to limited availability. Thank you for making sure your scholar has all of the tools they need to be successful.

If you opted in to receive the Family Directory, you can now pick up your copy in the front office.

Feb 9: No School for Students/Spring Parent Conference Day

Feb 12-23: Brentwood Annual Poetry Café 

Feb 15: STAAR Interim Testing (5th: Science) 
PTA General Body Meeting/Bird Mural Rededication Ceremony (6:30 p.m.)

Feb 16: Makeup Testing (STAAR Interim Science) 
Incoming Families of Brentwood Campus Tour (8:30 a.m.)

Feb 19: Student & Staff Holiday (Bad weather make-up day if needed)

Feb 21: STAAR Interim Testing (3rd-5th: ELA)

Feb 22: STAAR Interim Testing (3rd-5th: Math)

Feb 23 & 26: Makeup Testing (STAAR ELA and Math)

Mar 4-8: Brentwood Used Book Sale (drop off donations in community room through March 1)

Mar 6: 2nd Grade Annual Market Day 

Mar 7: Brentwood Night (more info to come)

Mar 8: Incoming Families of Brentwood Campus Tour (8:30 a.m.)

Mar 11-15: Spring Break

Mar 18-22: AISD PRIDE Week

Mar 19-27: BOOSTER Bulldog Bolt Fun Run FUNdraiser (details coming soon)

Mar 23: Brentwood Elementary PRIDE Parade 
Brentwood ROCKS (more info to come)

Remember to subscribe to our new Brentwood Elementary Google Calendar to stay up-to-date on upcoming school events, holidays, and PTA activities.

Brentwood PTA runs an annual, one-time per year, no-hassle fundraiser called the  Bulldog Fund. This money is used for vital programming like literacy and math software, library books, music, art and more!

Have a program, event, or volunteer need that you want published in the Bulldog Bark, PTA website, or social channels? Email communications@brentwoodpta.com.

PTA Website: http://brentwoodpta.com

PTA Facebook: Brentwood Elementary PTA

Twitter: @BrentwoodAISD

Instagram/Threads: @BrentwoodBulldogs_AISD

Brentwood Website: http://brentwood.austinschools.org/