Tiger Tales
Newsletter #26 - March 8, 2024
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Dear Families,
Happy International Women's Day! We honor the remarkable women who contribute their talents, resilience, and passion in our community and globally across the world.
We have lots of things happening this week, with Ramadan starting the evening of March 10 as well as Daylight Savings Time. For those who observe Ramadan, if your child needs a space to pray or an alternative location from the cafeteria while they fast, please reach out to us or your child's teacher so we can support you and your family.
Finally, we are excited to end next week with the PTA Auction, Swing into Spring! The purpose of the auction is to raise funds to support additional classified staffing and curriculum enhancement opportunities such as supplemental curriculum materials and field trips to name a few examples. Regardless of whether you are able to contribute, we just appreciate our partnership with you. If you are able to attend the event, we look forward to be in community with you that evening.
With gratitude,
Kati & Betty
Upcoming Events
March 14: Chinook and Odle MS staff visits Medina
March 15: Auction, Overlake Golf & Country Club, starting at 5:30pm
March 22: Regular School Day
March 27: Pastries with Principals, Topic: Science and Social Emotional Learning, 8:15-9:15am, Room 152
April 8-12: No school, spring break
May 1: Pastries with Principals, Topic: Social Studies and SEL, 8:15-9:15am, Room TBD
Tech at School
In recent weeks staff have noticed a distinct increase in the amount of personal technology that students are bringing to school and attempting to use during school hours. This includes smart watches and personal devices such as phones and eReaders.
While we recognize that students may have smart watches and phones to connect with families for their afterschool activities, our school handbook states that personal devices should remain in their backpack. Smartwatches can be worn, but students should not be texting or calling on them during the day.
If possible, parents/guardians should be setting these in “school mode” during school hours. While we have given students a warning and reminder to keep items in backpacks or to not be texting/calling during the school day, if the challenges persist, we will be keeping these items at the front office and having students (or families) pick them up at the end of the day. Students who need to call home have always been able to go to the office to call a parent.
Getting Ready for Daylight Savings TIme
On Sunday, March 10th clocks will move ahead one hour. If your child(ren) struggle with this time change, please plan ahead for this. This is the time change that tends to be the most challenging as clocks move ahead but children’s internal clocks do not immediately adjust. As a result, bedtime arrives on Sunday evening and children are not tired, bedtime becomes a challenge, and ultimately, children end up with less sleep than usual – often for a few nights.
One suggestion is to do whatever you can to get outside – rain or shine – on Sunday, March 10th – and be active. Several families have shared that this seems to help reset their kid’s internal clocks and lessens the challenges at bedtime (often because the kids are worn out). Other advice has been to focus on keeping the bedtime routine consistent and avoid stimulating activities in the hour or two prior to bedtime.
While we may not like losing the one hour of sleep, it means spring is coming and daylight stays around longer!
This Month's Safety Drill
This coming week our classes will be discussing and practicing what to do in the event that there is an active threat on campus. We will be very intentional about not frightening students, and we want to provide students guidance on specific steps they can take such as running and hiding should an emergency like this occur. We will be sending you additional resources separately in an email, and should you feel that your child needs additional support or a check-in from our counselor, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Education Support Professionals Week
The week of March 11-15th is dedicated to our amazing classified staff! This includes the following:
- Front Office
- General School Assistants
- Custodians
- Nutrition
- Tech Specialists
- Paraeducators
- Bus Drivers
Please join us in thanking them for their dedication to our students and for their daily work in ensuring our students are nourished, safe, and set up for success! We appreciate our classified staff!
Resources for Women's History Month
This month honors the significant contributions of women in the United States throughout our country's history. Women's History month offers opportunities to teach children about the role of women in furthering our society in the arts, sciences, education, and other fields.
Here are some ideas to celebrate Women’s History Month at home with your family:
- Learn about the history of women's rights and successes such as Elizabeth Blackwell (first woman to graduate from medical school) and Jeannette Ranking (first woman to be elected to the US Congress). Here are additional milestones related to the history of women in this country.
- Visit the Women's Rights National Historical Park (virtually).
- Read children's books written or illustrated by female authors and artists. Additional list here.
- Help your child generate a list of strong women in their lives and let them practice making thank you notes.
- Watch videos about Women's History Month (PBS Kids: Women’s History Month and Sesame Studios: Marvie Talks About Women’s History Month)
- Check out this website on National Geographic for Kids.
Information for Soon-to-be Chinook 6th graders and their families
Please refer to the following resources in case you missed it from Chinook's Principal James Peterson.
If anyone has questions or needs more details, they can check out the Registration Hub on our Chinook Middle School website. Here's the link: Registration Hub – Chinook Middle School (bsd405.org).
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.