Tiger Tales
Newsletter #19 - January 12, 2024
· Language Access: Español | 简体中文 | Pусский | Tiếng Việt | 한국어 | العربية
Dear Families,
Thank you for the delicious brunch on Wednesday with Taiwanese pastries and other healthy options! It was a great way to connect with colleagues and start the day feeling so loved by our families. We ended this week with a thoughtful and inspiring Martin Luther King Assembly led by our Student Changemakers Club. In thinking about Dr. King's vision for a Beloved Community, we made connections to Global Goals such as Ending Poverty and Hunger. While we observe Dr. King's impact and legacy, we are inspired by the prospect of our students leading the world toward inclusion, love and justice. Truly, working in a school like Medina with you as incredible partners, we feel that we are touching the future.
We wish you a weekend of rest and reflection.
With gratitude,
Kati & Betty
Upcoming Events
January 15: No school, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 17: Pre-school and Kindergarten Open House, 5:30-6:30pm, Multi-purpose Room
January 26: World Culture Night, 5-7pm
January 26: Pastries with Principals, 8:15-9:00am, in person and virtual option
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
PTA Grant Awards
We are excited to announce the following grants are approved by Medina PTA, thanks to YOUR generous donations and the support.
Coding Program Grant
With this grant, your student is receiving the following extra coding opportunities this semester:
- CodeMonkey is an award-winning block- and text-based coding curriculum for grades K–5. Through animated games, students learn basic coding concepts such as sequence, loops, events and conditionals, before continuing on to variables, functions, objects, and arrays. Code Monkey’s text-based lessons use both CoffeeScript and Python. CoffeeScript is a language that compiles into JavaScript but has an easier to learn syntax for new coders.
- Ozaria is a standards-aligned curriculum built with 6-8th grade in mind but extends below and above those grade levels. It takes a game-based approach to teaching text-based coding in Python or JavaScript. The game is framed by a fantasy adventure narrative, told through illustrated scenes which lead to a puzzle game that students must complete to advance the storyline. The curriculum is well-structured and includes a mix of whole class instruction, independent practice, group work, and creative opportunities.
Community Garden Grant
The Student Changemakers Committee, a leadership club of 4th and 5th graders led by Mike Saltz, strives to make positive changes in our school and community. They have been tirelessly planning to develop a garden that will serve our students this spring.
Each Medina student will be involved in the gardening process. Classes will be invited to plant seeds, help with weeding or harvesting, and to just enjoy the garden itself. Classrooms will be able to visit the garden to make observations, perform experiments, and supplement our wonderful, hands-on science curriculum.
Stem Week Grant
With this grant, your student is receiving these extra programming this semester, including:
- Ooey-Gooey Exhibit from KidsQuest
Students will conduct experiments to explore interesting chemical reactions through hands-on exploration and group demonstrations. Watch things change from a liquid to a solid or even into a gas right before our eyes!
- Rocket Science: Water Rockets from Museum of Flight
Learn about the history, science and design principles of rockets. Then work as a team to build a rocket out of a 2-liter bottle and water.
- Blood and Guts Exhibits from Pacific Science Center
Students build a skeleton, test their senses, and see specimens up close in this exhibit set that tours the human body.
Your contributions at various Medina PTA fundraising efforts including Annual Giving, Halloween Festival, and Spring Auction have made this possible, directly impacting our students' learning experience and opening new avenues for their creativity and problem-solving skills.
We are immensely thankful to each of you for your support and dedication to our school community. This achievement is a testament to what we can accomplish together for the betterment of our children's education.
Sincerely,
Shafiqa Darani, Bridget Greenberg
Tech Specialists
Michael Saltz
Instructional Technology Curriculum Leader
Betty Nhan
Principal
Snow Sports After School Activity
Thank you for a successful launch to Snow Sports! Just a few reminders based on last week's experience.
- If you are meeting your child to help them change, please let them know where they should wait for you - front entrance, car loop, or bus back lot.
- If you are driving your child for snow sports, please communicate to the teacher the after school plan. Will they be taking the bus home or be picked up?
- Please do not leave your car unattended in the car loop or change your child in the car while in the car loop.
Snow Routes During Inclement Weather
Families with students who ride buses should be aware that there are also districtwide snow routes, which impact all general routes (1-59) and special needs routes (901-932). The City of Bellevue plows streets and roads accordingly, and for the safety of our students and buses, all bus routes will stay on major streets that follow the city’s plow schedule. Please visit the district’s Snow Routes webpage to learn how and when bus stops may be moved to accommodate for inclement weather.
Monthly Safety Drill Practice
Washington state law and Bellevue School District policy require all schools to hold at least one drill per calendar month while school is in session. This week, we will be conducting a shelter-in-place drill and practicing what to do in the event of a hazardous materials release near our school.
During a shelter-in-place drill, classes will be evacuating to another location inside the school, typically the cafeteria and gym. Once there, students sit quietly while staff simulate sealing the room to limit outside air exchange. Shelter-in-place procedures would only be used if officials determine there is not enough time to safely evacuate people out of the danger zone.
Please talk with your student about preparing for emergencies and disasters. Encourage them to talk about their concerns and express their feelings. Emphasize that even though sometimes things happen that we may not expect, there are lots of things we can do to help us stay safe.
For more information on shelter-in-place, you might want to visit the Washington Department of Health website at
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/BePreparedBeSafe/SevereWeatherandNaturalDisasters/ShelterInPlace or the Washington Emergency Management Division at https://mil.wa.gov/hazardous-material.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Information about WIDA Testing for our Multi-Lingual Learners
We have many students at our school who speak multiple languages and are learning English as an additional language. We celebrate the cultural and linguistic diversity of our students and families. Our multilingual students take an annual English language development test called WIDA ACCESS each year. This year, MLL students will be tested between January 29th-March 22nd under the guidance of the MLL Department.
- The test provides information about students’ English language abilities in school.
- Educators use this information to make instructional decisions about students’ education.
- ACCESS measures what students know and can do in English in the domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
- Students do not need to study for the test, but rather, focus on demonstrating their language abilities.
Community Partnerships
Attend the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Health Fair on January 15
The City of Bellevue’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Health Fair, presented in partnership with the Bellevue alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., returns as an in-person event on Monday, January 15 (MLK Day), 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at Crossroads Bellevue, 15600 NE Eighth St.
After three virtual events 2021-2023, the 2024 celebration will feature health vendors and wellness presentations, along with performances from local artists and remarks from city councilmembers and other community leaders. The theme of the event is “health equity.”
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.