August 19, 2019
What you need to know this week:
  • Welcome to new faculty and staff!
  • Introducing Sra. Vidal, early childhood Spanish teacher.
  • Donate now to the Bright Fund.
  • Parking and car line reminders.
  • Bonanza shirts for sale.
  • Join the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts at Bright.
  • Volunteer for the Happy Cart room.
  • A few spots left for fourth and fifth grade handbells.
  • Registration is open for fall music lessons through Cadek.
Welcome New Faculty and Staff
Seated: Elizabeth Jackson, receptionist; Cindy Beirne, music; Teresa Vidal, Spanish; Delaney Driver, kindergarten assistant, and Sydney Graham, kindergarten assistant. Standing: Ashley Linehart, P.E.; Marla McDaniel, speech-language pathologist; Kelly Jennings, nurse and secretary; Molly Young, kindergarten assistant; Claudia Dickerson, PK assistant, and Matt Lauer, fifth grade math.
Introducing Sra. Teresa Vidal in Early Childhood
We are pleased to welcome a new teacher to our Early Childhood Center. Sra. Teresa Vidal will be teaching Spanish daily to JPK, PK and kindergarten students. She replaces Sra. Claudia Rodriguez, who left to teach at GPS.

Sra. Vidal will be teaching 20 minutes daily for JPK and 25 minutes daily for PK and kindergarten. A native of Colombia, she was a kindergarten assistant in Georgia for 10 years and recently was a substitute and Spanish tutor at St. Peter's.

We appreciate all the parents who completed the foreign language survey over the summer. Your feedback is very important, and we will use it as we continue to evaluate our programs.
Give Now to the Bright Fund
The Bright Fund is vital to the school's annual operating budget. We're urging all parents to donate to the Bright Fund, and our goal is 100 percent participation by this Friday, August 23. Children will celebrate your support with a fun Splash Day! Any amount, large or small, counts toward our goal. Show your Bright love and give today! Click below to donate online.
Parking and Car Line Reminders
Parking
Please do not park in the two spaces near the columns entrance that are reserved for the auction purchasers. These spaces are reserved all day, every day. Also, please do not park in the admissions space, which is reserved for prospective families.

Car Line Signs
If you need another car line sign, please email Brooke Moore at [email protected] or Elizabeth Jackson at [email protected] and
send in $3 (cash or check payable to The Bright School) with a note of your name and child's name to the office by Friday, August 23.

Car Line Do's and Don'ts
Please do not block the driveway of the house on the right coming into school. Remember to give your full attention to the car line. Don't pull around other vehicles that are still unloading or loading. Avoid the rush! Come earlier in the morning and arrive later in the afternoons. Usually, there is little congestion before 7:45 a.m. and after 3:15 p.m.

Grades 1-5
Older siblings who walk their younger siblings into the Early Childhood Center building are not allowed to go to their classroom through the gym. These students must exit the ECC, walk down the sidewalk, and enter the main building through the concourse.
Bonanza Shirts Still Available
If you did not purchase a Bonanza shirt at Registration Day, there are still plenty left. Bonanza chairs Germaine Ehlinger and Jill Rafiee will be selling shirts during morning car line on Thursday and Friday (August 22 and 23). Shirts are $15 each or three for $40.

What is Bonanza? Bonanza is a carnival-like event for students and their families on September 20 from 4-7 p.m. at the school. That is a half day, and all students dismiss at 11:30 a.m. There will be no Bright Afternoons.

Students may wear their Bonanza shirts on these Fridays: August 30, September 6, September 13 and September 20. Shirts are worn with any uniform bottom or shorts or skorts sold in the Bright 1913 Bookstore (see photos below). This is not a free dress day.
Bookstore Information
The Bright 1913 Bookstore will be open regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:15 a.m. to 8 a.m., starting after Labor Day, and it will be open on Parents' Night on August 29. If you need items before then, please contact the office or bookstore volunteers Ashley Davenport at [email protected] or Courtney Valentine at [email protected].
Get Involved
Parents' Association-Happy Cart
The Parents' Association organizes volunteers to help stock the Happy Cart rooms for faculty. Parents bring treats, drinks and food for faculty and store them in the room in the main office and behind the front desk in the Early Childhood Center. If you are interested in signing up, please view the information on the Parents' Association website and use the Sign-Up Genius link. For more information, contact Allison Cyrus at [email protected].  
Scouts
Cub Scouts
We are hosting a new parent interest night for Cub Scouts on Wednesday, August 21, at 6 p.m. in the dining hall. Boys are welcome but not required to attend. Point of contact for anyone interested that can’t make it is Matt Hitchcock at  [email protected] . Returning Scouts are not required to attend. 

Girl Scouts
The Bright Girl Scout troop will hold an interest meeting for parents at drop off on Wednesday, August 28. If you would like more information, please contact Samantha Lunn at [email protected].
Music Activities
Handbells
Grades 4 and 5 are invited to join Mrs. Cindy Beirne for handbells once a week. There are a few spots remaining! Fourth graders will practice on Monday or Tuesday mornings before school, and fifth graders will practice Wednesday or Thursday mornings before school. Beginners and all skill levels are welcome. Students perform several times a year. The cost is $10. If you are interested, please email Mrs. Beirne at [email protected].
Music Lessons
Registration is now open for fall music lessons through Girls Preparatory School's Cadek Conservatory of Music. Last year, 80 boys and girls took lessons through Cadek at Bright. New students should contact director, Albert Whiting, at [email protected] before registering. Returning students may begin registration at this link.
Asbestos Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency requires that information pertaining to the school's asbestos management plan be made available each year. The Bright School has a plan on file. Parents interested in the plan should contact the Business Office.
August 29
Parents' Night
5:30-7:15 p.m.
(students do not attend)

Grades JPK-1: 5:30-6:15 p.m.
Grades 2-5: 6:30-7:15 p.m.

August 30
Bonanza T-shirt Day
September 2
No School: Labor Day

September 6
Bonanza T-shirt Day

September 12
Parent Literacy Night
Grades 3-5
6 p.m.
September 18
Middle School Heads Panel
Grades 3-5
5:30 p.m.

September 20
Early Dismissal
11:30 a.m.
Bonanza 4-7 p.m.
What's for Lunch? Click here for the menu.
Bright Scene
Put on your boots and be Bright! You may have seen this photo on the banner along Hixson Pike and on the back of our buses. This represents the new eco-literacy initiative in early childhood this year. Students in JPK, PK and kindergarten will be spending more time outside to learn and explore. From left are Yousef Alani, Ellie Brown, Emma Anderson and Jeremiah McGraw.