Big Picture School Newsletter
October 21, 2021
Upcoming Events
Oct 28- 11th/12th grade SAT
Nov 5- End of 1st Qtr
Nov 11- Veteran's Day- No School
Nov 25, 26- Thanksgiving
Dec 20-Jan 3- Winter Break, No School
Counseling Office News
AP Exam Registration going on now! Deadline Nov 1st
In AP classes last week, teachers helped students register for AP exams. Advanced Placement exams are optional and are taken in May by students who are interested in earning college credit for the AP course they are taking. If your student is self-studying for an exam (isn’t enrolled in the AP course), have them see Beth in the counseling office for the course join code.
Carol Anne, Big Picture’s Registrar, has been working on adding the exam fee ($96) to student BSD accounts. (https://wa-bellevue.intouchreceipting.com/)
In the next few days, log into BSD’s online payment site to pay for the exam(s). Payment deadline is November 1st. If you don’t see the charge on your student’s account, have your student log into their College Board account (https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/) or contact Counseling Secretary Beth Zimmerman at zimmermanb@bsd405.org to make sure your student is registered for the exam. If your student registered for an AP exam and has decided NOT to take it, have them contact Beth immediately to cancel their registration.
If financial assistance is needed, there is a scholarship application available in the counseling office.
Exams ordered after November 15th will incur a $40 late fee.
Additional details can be found on the Counseling website. https://bsd405.org/bigpicture/resources/counseling/hs-counseling/ap/
SAT Testing
In order to support our students with the college application process, particularly our seniors, Bellevue School District will offer the SAT during the regular school day on Thursday, October 28. Seniors and juniors will have the opportunity to take the test on this day. There will be no cost to students taking the SAT on October 28.
All 11th and 12th grade students will be automatically registered to take the SAT on October 28 unless they communicate their plans via the survey that was sent out to participate in a different option on that day which includes the ASVAB test, off-campus internships or on-campus internship searching. Students should complete the form only if they do NOT wish to take the SAT on October 28. If students’ plans change and they want to no longer participate in one of the different options and instead take the SAT, by October 15th they may go back into the form and indicate they now want to take the SAT. Changes after that date may not be able to be accommodated.
College Financial Aid Info
Learn About FAFSA, WASFA, Washington College Grant, CSS Profile and the Financial Aid Calculator. Link to Join (Recorded Event)
View recorded Financial Aid presentations from the 2021 College Conference https://bsd405.org/about/initiatives/college/college-conference/
- Financial Aid from the College and University Perspective- James Flowers (UW)
- Paying for College Without Going Broke- Paula Bishop, Financial Aid Advisor
- Financial Aid- How it Works and How to Qualify- David Aramaki, Financial Advisor
Financial Aid Resources and Links:
Washington College Grant- Recent high school graduates and working-age adults from many low- and middle-income families can qualify to receive money for college or career training. WCG is available to eligible Washington residents, including undocumented students. An eligible student from a family of four making around $56,000 or less per year would receive a full award. Partial grants are available for families making up to the state’s median family income, around $102,000 per year. https://wsac.wa.gov/wcg
CSS Profile- The College Scholarship Service profile is an online application used by colleges and scholarship programs to award Institutional (their own) aid - https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/
Financial Aid Calculator- This tool calculates potential awards from the Washington College Grant and Pell Grant Programs - https://portal.wsac.wa.gov/a/aid-calculator/
School Announcements
From the Nurse: Covid Guidance Updates
Thank you for all your hard work to keep up with following guidance from Seattle King County Public Health and the state Department of Health. I know that it is hard to work with evolving science during an ongoing and ever-changing global pandemic but we’re doing a pretty good job.
On October 8th, DOH and SKCPH updated their flowchart for determining how and when symptomatic students can return to school. This means that it depends on the type of symptoms, the length of the symptoms, and number of symptoms a student has, to determine if testing is required or not. While this makes it more complicated to know what needs to be done to return after being out sick, it does reduce the strain on our testing system and strain on parents/students for getting tested for a singular short-term symptom. Though DOH has not explicitly stated their rationale for the change in guidance, my suspicion is that the burden on the testing system and community by requiring testing for any and all symptoms was not matched by a significant reduction in case numbers to make it worthwhile long term.
Please refer to the attached flowchart regarding return to school following having symptoms. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at fergusoner@bsd405.org or if your student is going to be absent due to illness, please contact our attendance secretary Kelley Hoang at bpattendance@bsd405.org and let her know what symptom(s) your student is staying home for so she can help you determine next steps for the quickest return while keeping our community as safe and healthy as possible.
Family Connections Center
Hello! Big Picture Panthers Family
My name is Judy Hunsberger, and I will be your Family Engagement Support Specialist for Big Picture. I can assist getting you resources for basic needs (housing, food, health, and clothing) and other essentials such as legal/immigration resources. Just couple updates, due to pandemic many agencies have guidelines that we have to meet for families to qualify. Also, resources are limited due to funding and limited donations. I will do my best to see how best to support this Panthers Family.
Helpful Hints:
- We realize meals are free to every student. Please complete a 2021-2022 Free and Reduced Form to get additional assistance with: Family Connections Centers, Fee Waiver, and Nurse/Health Services. Please make sure to do Part 5 of this Free and Reduced form. www.bsd405.org/services/nutrition-services
- Holiday programs( Lifespring Safeways vouchers and other programs) will be starting and it is very important to do the Welcome Form if you are NEW to BSD or have not completed a form last year… *Signing up does not guarantee families will get that service. It will depend on agencies availability and guidelines. https://familyconnections.bsd405.org. Please complete before October 29th…
- New Hours: The Family Resource Center at Highland Middle School will be modifying the hours of operation. They will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and closed Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Please feel free to call or email me for any clarifications or questions.
Judy Hunsberger 425-456-5679
Winter Sports is Coming to Sammamish HS. If you are in our Attendance Zone, this is for you:
Save the Date: 1st day of Winter Sports TRY-OUTS is November 15th.
Deadline to register: October 31st.
Winter Sports consists of: Boys & Girls Basketball, Co-Ed Wrestling, Gymnastics and Boys Swim & Dive.
Have your parent/guardian register you NOW on Final Forms https://bellevue-wa.finalforms.com/students if you want to participate in any Winter sport or club. We will send out communication to students and families through Final Forms, so if you are not registered on Final Forms you will miss important information about your season. I can help with any sports related questions! Please email me or stop by my window (Andi Tomlinson) at tomlinsona@bsd405.org.
Final Forms
Final Forms is our online registration that is used for all sports and clubs at Sammamish. There is a link on our BSD website, and it is so helpful! There is a “Click here to register online through Final Forms” https://bsd405.org/sammamish/redhawks/athletics/
IMPACT Testing
Our Impact test is a computer baseline concussion test that is needed for contact sports. Like the physical, this test is valid for 2 years. This must be done by the first day of practice for all contact sports. We hold testing sessions here at Sammamish and this year we are doing it by sport. We will be holding IMPACT sessions after school in our SHS Cafeteria. Dates will be announced in October. A charged computer is required for the test.
Deadline to REGISTER for Winter Sports is October 31st.
Sports that need Impact
Boys Dive
Boys & Girls Basketball
Wrestling
Gymnastics
Sports that DO NOT need Impact
Boys Swim
Sports Physical
You must have a sports physical signed and dated by a doctor turned into the office in order to participate in all sports at Sammamish High School. You can upload a copy to Final Forms or send a scanned copy to my email and I will update your student’s registration. Here is the link to our form.
https://bsd405.org/wp-content/pdf/health/sports-medical-history-physical-exam.pdf. This must be done prior to the first day of practice. Most of our winter sports are cut sports. We will not allow late arrivals due to lack of physical or IMPACT testing.
All new students (transfers) to SHS, Running Start, Private School and Home School athletes will be required to fill out additional paperwork.
Big Picture Clubs and Activities
Please check out the listing of clubs and activities here:
Volunteers Needed
We're in need of volunteers to support our students, staff, and school programs throughout the year. Please let us know if you are interested in any of the following:
- Front Office Support
- Lunch Activities
- Jubilee Afterschool Sports
- Yearbook
PTSA News
Our Annual Poinsettia & Wreath Sale is Back! Order yours by November 4th!
Poinsettias: Beautiful, locally grown plants offered in red, pink and white.* Each plant comes in a 6.5-inch pot with a protective sleeve. Perfect for holiday gifts for family, co-workers, teachers, and neighbors. Just $15 per plant! We are keeping our prices the same as the last 2 years and this is the best deal around! Please order your items through the "Holiday Shop" on our our PTSA Website.
Fall is here and the holiday season approaches. Now is a great time to get your holiday decorating order taken care of while supporting our Senior Class of 2022. The Big Picture PTSA is launching a poinsettia and wreath fundraiser with funds raised earmarked for the Senior Class' graduation events. We are once again partnering with our favorite local nursery, Squak Mountain Nursery in Issaquah. Poinsettias and wreaths are of superior quality and very long lasting!
Wreaths: Locally made of mixed noble fir, berried juniper, and red cedar. A generous 24 inches in diameter, they are incredibly fresh, fragrant and long lasting! Just $25 per wreath! Same price as before, same great deal!
Staff Gifts/Raffle: With staff back on campus, we are once again able to offer items to be purchased for individual staff gifts, or for the all-staff raffle. When ordering online, you will have the option to type in a specific staff name, or you can select “raffle”. The Senior Party Planning Committee will deliver these items to the staff on November 22nd. They will confirm all gift/raffle orders with you via email and can include a special note with your item.
Order Deadline: Orders accepted today through Thursday, November 4th
Order Pick-up: Items will be available for pick-up at Big Picture on Tuesday, November 22nd, which is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Time of delivery window still to be confirmed, but should be right around the end of the school day. We will update this soon!
If you would prefer to order items directly from the committee with either cash or check, please contact the Senior Party Planning Committee and they can coordinate that with you.
*Photos are from a previous year and this year’s colors can vary, especially with the pink plants. Last year’s pink, although called “Bubble Gum Pink”, ended up being a very dark pink… Still beautiful, but a surprise to us, as well as to Squak Mountain Nursery!
BP PTSA Newsletter
The PTSA is so pleased to announce that we have a new website! This is a very long overdue project that we are so excited about. Our past co-president and current co-treasurer, Hope Schoenbacher, has been researching and working on our new website for the past few months. It is a brand new, more modern platform, and just looks fantastic! Thank you Hope!
The address for the new website is the same as before: https://www.bellevuebpsptsa.org
SpiritWear - Show off your Panther Pride!
You asked! We listened! SpiritWear is BACK! We have new colors and new styles that we think you will love. Just follow the link to our store. Happy shopping!
District Announcements
How to Report a Safety Concern
Bullying and safety concerns can always be reported to any staff member at your school. Reporting forms are located in the main office. The Bellevue School District also utilizes an anonymous reporting tool called SafeSchools Alert through which anyone can make a verbal or written report of harassment, intimidation or bullying. Information on how to submit a report via any of these methods is available on the district website at www.bsd405.org/help/report.
MATHEMATICS LINKS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL FAMILIES:
The Bellevue School District adopted the Desmos mathematics curriculum this past spring, and with that adoption came online materials to help families engage with the mathematics their students encounter in class. The links below lead to online parent resources for IMT1 and IMT2. Our new curriculum includes information specifically for parents and guardians to reference as your student works through each unit! Among other things, each unit includes prior skills information, explanation of new skill goals, practice problems, and extension problems. Please feel free to reach out to one of the Mathematics Adoption Committee members listed on the webpage below with feedback at any time!
P-7 Mathematics Update Adoption Committee: https://bsd405.org/departments/curriculum/curriculum-adoption/p-7-mathematics-update-adoption-committee/
IMT 1 RESOURCES: https://bsd405.sharepoint.com/:o:/s/curriculum/Math/Eh5kKnhl13tIntdLKM0Ue1kBeCrPb3iYHOURxax78t_hfw
IMT 2 RESOURCES: https://bsd405.sharepoint.com/:o:/s/curriculum/Math/EoWszw65r5dBhdhCrpNSPasBq4QuyC2CTHap5n7zPXOYmA
Questions? Contact Info.
Bethany Spinler, Principal
Matt Stokes, Assistant Principal
Karen Penewell, Office Manager
Carol Anne Yamamoto, Registrar
Kelly Hoang, Attendance