The Tigers Telegram

Just in case you missed Curriculum night or have not yet booked a time to meet with your child's teacher. Family Teacher Conferences will be held this month starting on Saturday, November 23rd, Monday, November 25th, and Tuesday, November 26th. Students will not be in school from November 25th to November 29th. While our teachers prefer to meet in person, we understand everyone's busy schedule, so meeting online is also an option. So please book your conferences ASAP. Please contact your student's teacher if you would like to schedule a different date or time for your conference.

If you missed school picture day, please don't worry. For those of you who need to redo school pictures or missed school picture day, mark your calendars for December 4th.

With all the recent changes to pickups and drop-offs, we understand that there might be some confusion regarding the use of the front door. We ask that families refrain from using the front door for pick-ups unless they need to speak with front office personnel. Please use the doors on Hill St. or enter through the back doors at the lower playground. At the end of the day, we have so many students leaving the building who need to get on buses through the front doors. It makes it hard for staff as they need to use this area to make sure all our kiddos are getting on the correct buses.

Dismissal Locations:

- For kindergarten pickups, please use the stairs and the door on Hill Street.

- For first through third graders, enter through the back playground area.

- For fourth and fifth graders, please pick them up on 14th Street.

Thank you for your cooperation!

We are in full swing for our Fall After-School Enrichment Program, and the kids seem to be enjoying this year's offerings. However, we have noticed that our After-School Enrichment teachers are staying later, so please make sure that children are getting picked up on time which is 3:45pm.

Our Bike Rodeo was a tremendous success, thanks to Heather Graves, Brooke from Safe Routes to School, Odessa Brown, S Dot, and our many amazing BHIS volunteers. The event reached its goal of giving out 140 helmets to BHIS students. Many students experienced their first Bike Disco as well as rode a bike for the first time.

Thanks to everyone who donated a coat for the Coat Drive this year. We have already given out a few and expect to give more as the weather begins to drop. Thanks to you, hopefully, no child will be cold outside this winter!

We are excited to have a guest teacher this year from Spain. He has been a fantastic asset to our school community. We had a host family for the first trimester. We are looking for a host family for the remainder of the year (December 20, 2024, to June 18, 2025).

If you may be interested in hosting or if you would like to find out more, please get in touch with Sahnica Washington at smwashington@seattleschools.org

Message from the Current Host Family:

We are hosting Miquel currently, and can't speak highly enough about our experience. Miquel is kind, responsible, and a joy to host, and our children (3.5 and 5.5 years old) adore him. We would happily extend our hosting agreement except we have family visiting and travel in the new year. If you are considering hosting but hesitant or want to hear more, you are welcome to reach out to me at meisner.julianne@gmail.com.

Miquel’s Bio:

Hi, I’m Miquel. I’m from Barcelona, Spain, and I’m 24 years old. I have two younger sisters, aged 22 and 19. I consider myself a family-oriented, active, and committed person. My friends describe me as sensitive, sociable, and with a good sense of humor, while my colleagues at work say I’m responsible, dedicated, proactive, and fun. I’m passionate about music: I play the guitar, ukulele, and love to sing. In my free time, I enjoy playing card games, board games, and reading. When I was younger, I used to play chess and tennis. I want to live new experiences and to learn a lot!

If you want me to tell you more about myself, just let me know. Thank you so much.

Miquel

Hello BHIS Families!

The 5th-grade Global Leadership Team (GLT) students are organizing a plastic film recycling drive! This is a way for students, families, and teachers to recycle more plastic through education and action.

When: Monday, November 4 to Friday, November 8

What: Bring your plastic film* to school during the week of 11/4-11/8. Plastic film includes grocery bags, zip-top bags, Amazon shipping envelopes, and many other thin, flexible plastic items. The GLT will collect it in the library, and Ridwell will pick it up the following week.

Why: Plastic film can’t be recycled curbside, so millions of tons end up in landfills yearly. The plastic film we collect from our school community will be recycled by Ridwell, keeping it out of the landfill.

Learn more about Ridwell and our recycling drive!

Let’s get rid of stuff, well!

Thank you,

The 2024-25 GLT and Ms. Kumasaka (tdkumasaka@seattleschools.org, or TalkingPoints)

*We are recycling plastic film, not multi-layer plastic. A good test for plastic film is that you can push your finger through it! Here are some examples of what the GLT can collect:

Every year, Beacon Hill International School gathers in November to celebrate reading! The Read-A-Thon is a fun day at school for students, emphasizing the joy and diversity of READING. This is an opportunity for students to connect with parents, caregivers, community members, teachers, and each other over the joys of reading.

This year’s Read-A-Thon will be held on Friday, November 22nd, during school hours. Students are invited to wear their pajamas and bring a stuffed animal/blanket to school for the Read-A-Thon. We are also thrilled to invite families (parents, caregivers, grandparents, etc) into the building to read to students.

There will be opportunities for families to come and read to their children’s classrooms. If you would like to sign up, click here to sign up to be a Read-A-Thon volunteer reader: https://read-a-thon-volunteer-sign-up-copy.cheddarup.com

Note: You MUST be a registered to volunteer at the Read-A-Thon.

The Read-A-Thon is one of our largest fundraisers. Donations support each and every Beacon Hill student. Last year’s Readathon raised $9,500, which helped support the families, community building, and student enrichment programs the PTA coordinates. Thank you for considering a contribution!

You can also help us by spreading the word about the fundraiser with your community! Consider posting to your social media, asking friends and family to contribute, or reaching out to local businesses to ask for support and to post the attached Read-A-Thon Poster in their window. Beacon Hill is an integral part of our community, and we would love to engage the whole community in supporting our students!

https://2024-read-a-thon.cheddarup.com

This year, the Read-A-Thon will also include the “Wall of Books.” Families are encouraged to bring in all the children’s books they no longer read to collect in the library, making a “Wall of Books” along the Library/Hallway Island. The BHIS Librarian, Ms. Kumasaka, will add many of these books to the school library. On the day of the Read-A-Thon, students will get to pick from the remaining books to take home books from the “Wall of Books.”

SpiritWear is Here! Show your school spirit and order your spiritwear today! https://stores.wearepromosapien.com/beacon_hill_spirit_wear/shop/home Contact info@beaconhillpta.org with any questions. Go Beacon Hill Tigers!

We are so close to reaching our goal! Please continue to donate and share our QR code!

November 1st is International Stress Awareness Day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Stress is a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. It is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. However, how we respond to stress significantly impacts our overall well-being."

Here are three resources to support both your child's and your mental well-being this month. They provide information about stress, its warning signs, and effective ways to manage it.

1. Stress in children: Signs, common causes, and how to help
2. Stress | Mental Health America
3. Childhood Stress: How Parents Can Help (for Parents) | Nemours KidsHealth

For the SPS 2024-2025 Academic Calendar, click here.

November

November 6 End of Quater 1

November 11 Veterans Day Observed (NO SCHOOL)

November 14 Healthy Family Chat (5:00pm - 6:00pm)

• Latinx Family Council from (6:00pm -7:00pm @ School)

November 15 Chinese Family Council (2:30pm-3:30pm @School)

November 20 Black Family Council Meeting (7:00pm - 8:00pm online)

November 22 Read-A-Thon

November 25-27 Family-Teacher conference days in elementary and K-8 schools (NO SCHOOL)

November 28-29 Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day (NO SCHOOL)

UPCOMING DATES

December 3 BHIS Dental Sealant Day (Entire School - more information to come)

December 4 School Picture Retake/Makeup Day

December 12 Last Week of After-School Enrichment

December 13 Principle/PTA Chat (8:00 am Cafeteria)

December 20 (1-hour Early Dismissal)

December 23 - January 3 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)