There are several new aspects to the Ascend survey everyone is filling out each morning. There is a new question about tests for household contacts and new symptoms included in the list.

If your child has a symptom that is normal for him or her or can be explained by seasonal allergies or soreness from an athletic practice, you do not have to mark it on the survey. If you are unsure, contact nurse Rachel Gentry at [email protected] or seek further advice from your child's doctor. Please continue to complete the survey each morning even if your child is not at school.

Our students are doing well with wearing face coverings during the day. Please do make sure they have face coverings that fit well and stay up. Also, face coverings should be washed frequently.

We ask that parents or others dropping off or picking up children please wear face coverings in the car line. Teachers are opening vehicle doors and often talking with the drivers. Protect our teachers by wearing masks.

If you have scheduled or plan to schedule a telehealth visit for your child, you are welcome to keep your child in school and use a room at school for the telehealth call. Please contact Elizabeth Jackson at [email protected] in advance of your child's telehealth appointment.

Parent-teacher conferences will be held on September 24 and 25. September 24 is a half day, and September 25 is a full day off. Parents may choose to attend conferences in person or via Zoom. A link for sign ups was included in teacher blasts on Friday. All conferences will be with homeroom teachers, including fourth and fifth grades.

All parents are invited to learn more about our special area classes. There are Zoom meetings scheduled with each special area teacher on September 24 and 24. These meetings are optional but a great way to learn more about your child's experience at Bright. To sign up for a special area meeting, please click here.

We are offering Bright Afternoons on September 24 and 25 if enough children are signed up. Due to smaller numbers, children will likely be grouped by grade. The deadline to sign up is this Friday, September 18. Click here to sign up.

We are not offering drop-in care as we have in the past. If your child comes with you to your conference, he or she will need to wait outside the classroom.

Please consider helping with the Happy Cart this year! Due to new policies and procedures, the Happy Cart is no longer a room, but an actual cart! Volunteers are needed to not only stock the cart but also to push it around the school to faculty and staff. For those that are new, or haven't signed up for the Happy Cart before, it is a snack and treat area for our amazing faculty and staff. They truly appreciate this small gesture of appreciation and always look forward to a little 'pick me up' from the Happy Cart. A more complete description (as well as item suggestions) is available when you sign up. Signups can be done through the link below; please feel free to text/call/email Missy McKenna with any questions. Thank you in advance for volunteering for the Happy Cart! Click here to volunteer.

The bookstore is taking pre-orders for these great new t-shirts that come in navy or green. The back says "Developing Wise and Compassionate Citizens of the World." Shirts are $15 and come in child sizes from 3T to YXL and in adult sizes.

Order forms will be sent home with your child this week. The next Bright School t-shirt day is October 16.

Individual school pictures will be taken on September 23 by Lifetouch. If you have ordered from Lifetouch in the past, you have probably already received an email notification. You may pre-order photos online or with the order form your child brings home. These individual pictures are used in the yearbook. Purchases are not required.

The 2019-20 yearbooks are coming. There was a delay in the printing, but the books should arrive this month. Yearbooks will be sent home with children whose parents pre-ordered. Thank you!