Tiger Tales
Newsletter #15 - December 1, 2023
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Dear Families,
We hope you all enjoyed a safe and restful time this past weekend, at home or far away. While Thanksgiving has come and gone, we continue to be grateful for this community and your partnership as we head into a very busy December. There are many celebrations this month, from Las Posadas, Hanukkah, to Christmas and Kwanzaa that add even more excitement and festivities in the weeks to come.
Before we know it, it will be December 31st and we may wonder where all the time has gone. So, before we head to January with new year resolutions and goals, make every day in December count. We look forward to learning from and with you as we celebrate our students' uniqueness that make our community so special.
With love and gratitude,
Kati & Betty
Upcoming Events
December 4-8th: Scholastic Book Fair
December 6: Pastries with Principals, 8:15-9am, Room 152
December 6: Book Fair Family Night & Reflections Art Show, 5:30-7:30pm
December 20 - January 1: No school, winter break
January 2: School resumes
January 15: No school, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 19-23: No school, mid-winter break
March 22: No school for students, District Professional Day for staff
April 8-12: No school, spring break
Pastries with Principals
Please join us for an in person session with Curriculum Developers Eric Nelson and Amber Anderson. They will be presenting an overview about the Science of Reading with connections to Social Emotional Learning, and provide information about the upcoming literacy curriculum adoption.
When: December 6, 8:15-9
Where: Room 152
Ordering School Pictures
Looking to place an order for your child’s image from school picture day? Please visit the link below. You can place an order at any time during the school year. Have any questions? Please contact 1-800-993-4929
Book Fair Is Coming: December 4-8!
The Scholastic book fair returns to Medina Elementary next week! This year, students will have time to shop with their class as well as with their family. Book fair brochures are online, and a paper copy will be sent home with your student. We suggest you preview the brochures to help your student plan their limited shopping time.
Please check with your child’s teacher for the classroom’s shopping day and time.
- Family Shopping Night is Wednesday, December 6 from 5:30 - 7:30pm. Ms. McClelland and Ms. Mitchell will be there as well!
- If you’d like to give a gift to your child’s classroom, look for the Teacher Wish List which lists books the teachers would like to have in their classroom library.
Paying for the books
Cash is accepted, but payment through e-wallet is preferred, especially during class shopping time. During Family Shopping Night, parents and guardians can pay with cash or credit card.
Setting up an eWallet
Please set up your child’s eWallet today so they are able to buy a book during their classroom shopping time! Set up and preload your student’s account with a fixed dollar amount using this link: https://account.scholastic.com/my-scholastic/profile/create-ewallet.html?fairID=5439915 (Login or create an account and make sure to refresh the page).
More information can be found here: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/medinaelementaryschool2
Volunteer Opportunity
We are looking for volunteers to come support students at lunch and recess! Volunteers would help monitor the lunchroom and outdoor play spaces with the support of our General School Assistants. You can choose the grade level and day of the week that works best for you and each volunteer slot runs for approximately 2 months at a time (but you can always volunteer for as many slots are you want!) In-person training is required and all volunteers must be cleared every 3 years through our BSD Background Check Process. (This is in addition to the general volunteer training offered by the Principal, since this is tailored to the lunch and recess contexts).
Recess and Lunch Volunteer Training – 12/13/23, 11:45am-12:15pm
The first round of volunteering will begin January 4th. Our volunteer time slots are below and a sign up will be presented at the meeting. An additional training will be provided for those that wish to sign up for the 2nd or 3rd volunteer slot. Those dates will be communicated closer to that time. Thank you for your consideration!
Volunteer Slot 1 – January 4th – March 1st
Volunteer Slot 2 – March 4th – April 26th
Volunteer Slot 3 – April 29th – June 14th
Lost and Found
Please remind students to check the lost and found if they are missing anything. Unclaimed items will be donated on December 18, right before winter break.
Resources from our Counselor
Dear Families,
With changing routines due to Thanksgiving and winter breaks, we sometimes see heightened feelings of anxiety from students. "Families and caregivers are, arguably, every school's most important partners in growing a child's social-emotional learning (SEL)" (from Panorama Education). The research backs this up: The positive outcomes of SEL curriculum can amplify when it extends into the home. Family members who reinforce and model the same SEL skills and competencies that are taught in the classroom can accelerate a student’s social-emotional development.
Over the school year, we will be sending out SEL activities you could use with your child at home. Many of these activities will come from Centervention.com. Resources from this website are typically used in a classroom or small group setting. However, many of these lessons could be also used in the home setting.
Centervention provides lessons, activities, and printables in the following areas: Communication, Cooperation, Emotional Regulation, Impulse control, and Social Initiation. This week we are focusing on Coping skills for anxiety.
Coping Skills For Anxiety - Centervention®
Thank you always for your partnership and support!
District & Community News and Resources
Cultural Calendar
- December 2, 2023 – National Special Education Day
- December 4 – 8, 2023 Computer Science Education Week
- December 16, 2023 – Las Posadas
- Las Posadas is a Mexican festival that commemorates the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a safe refuge for Mary to give birth to the baby Jesus.
- December 7 (sundown) – 15, 2023 Hanukkah
- Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem with an 8-day “festival of lights”. In Jewish households, celebratory events include nightly menorah lightings and special prayers.
- December 25, 2023 – Christmas Day
- Christmas is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus. It has evolved into a celebration observed in both religious and secular settings.
- December 26, 2023 – January 1, 2024 – Kwanzaa
- The Kwanzaa celebration brings together African and African American culture and is centered around seven core principles. This African American and pan-African holiday is a seven-day cultural festival celebrating family, community, and culture.
Real Madrid Foundation Summer Camp for BSD Students July 15-19, 2024
This soccer summer camp is open to students between the ages of 6 and 17, of all playing levels from beginner to advanced. The camp will be hosted at Highland Middle School from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (with an option to extend the time from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
The Real Madrid Foundation is offering fifteen scholarships, and there will be additional scholarships added if funding is available. To request a scholarship, please fill out the Scholarships Application Form before January 15, 2024. On January 29, you will receive an email if you have been granted the scholarship.
Bellevue School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:
Civil Rights, Racial Discrimination, and Gender Expression or Identity Discrimination:
Civil Rights/Nondiscrimination Compliance Coordinator Nancy Pham, (425) 456-4040 or phamn@bsd405.org
Sex-based Discrimination, including Sexual Harassment:
Title IX Coordinator: Jeff Lowell, (425) 456-4010 or lowellj@bsd405.org
Disability Discrimination:
Section 504/ADA Coordinator: Heather Edlund, (425) 456-4156 or edlundh@bsd405.org
Mailing address for all three: 12111 NE 1st Street, Bellevue, WA 98005.