I hope this newsletter finds you well. We're so grateful for our students and families at Cherry Crest. Thank you for entrusting us with your children each and every day. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

Please make sure to refer to the most recent communication sent via email about traffic concerns. To promote safety for all, please refer to the attached image outlining the approved routes for morning arrival at Cherry Crest. We sincerely care about our community and kindly request that you refrain from using side streets (125th, 126th, 127th, 124th) to cut into the drop-off car line on 32nd Street. While we understand that using 130th Street to access 32nd Street may take a little longer, this route is essential for ensuring the safety of our neighbors and pedestrians, especially on narrow side streets that lack sidewalks.

Why Do We Have These Approved Routes?
The primary reason for these approved and recommended routes is to ensure the safety of our students, families, and neighborhood pedestrians. It is vital that we adhere to these expectations.

How Can You Help?

• Be kind to one another.
• Follow the guidance of GSAs (wearing pink vests), staff members, and parent volunteers.
• Acknowledge and adhere to the approved routes.
• Arrive early, ideally between 7:35 and 7:45 AM.

How Do Tardies Impact Your Child or Family?

• Infrequent tardies do not significantly impact your child.
• However, frequent tardies can disrupt the morning learning routine for your child and their classmates, leading to lost instructional time. We recommend establishing a new morning routine and leaving home 5-10 minutes earlier.
• Ensuring the safety of our students and families is paramount. Unsafe driving and erratic behavior are unacceptable, regardless of how late a child may be to school. We must prioritize safety above all else.

You can hear more about these concerns and ways to be solution-oriented by listening to the December Principal Coffee.

Join Mrs. Stedman on 1/10 on teams at 9-10 AM

Join the meeting now

October Principal Coffee Link

November Principal Coffee Link

December Principal Coffee Link

Dec 6 || BBGC Family Night 4-6p in Cafeteria, Stage, and Gym

Dec 9 || Open Transfer/Choice School Application opens

Dec 9 || CE Animal Encounter 2nd Grade 8am-10am in Room 117

Dec 9 || CE Cedar and Salmon 4th Grade 8:25am – 2:10pm in Gym

Dec 9 || CE Nature Vision 3rd Grade 10am – 1:30pm in Gilbert & Wells

Dec 10-13 || Holiday Book Fair

Dec 13 || Shelter-in-Place Drill 1:30pm – 2:00pm

Dec 13 || CE Nature Vision 8am – 2:30pm in Pederson & Tatterson

Dec 13 || CE Animal Encounter 2nd Grade 8am-10am in Room 117

Dec 20 || PTSA Passport Club 11:00 – 12:30pm at Lobby

Dec 23 - Jan 3 || Winter Break

Jan 6 || Return from Winter Break

Feb 7 || SAVE THE DATE - School Dance 6:30-8 pm (See flyer below)

Cherry Crest Chargers, let’s come together this holiday season to put some good out into the world! We’re excited to launch a book drive to support underprivileged children who don’t have access to the same resources that we have. More specifically, there are 120+ million girls in India that are out of school due to poverty, social stigmas, or lack of resources. These barriers prevent young girls from reaching their full potential and dramatically limits their life options —but together, we can help change that.

This holiday season let’s collect new or gently used children’s books (fiction, non-fiction, picture books, etc.) to support girls’ schools in India. Our goal is to collect 750 books by December 19th.

Additional details:

• Dates for the book drive: December 3rd–December 19th

• Donation bins will be located in the school entryway

If we reach our goal of 750 books by December 19th, we’ll celebrate with a whole school recess and Otter Pops for the kids if we meet our goal in January!

On behalf of underprivileged girls in India, I’d like to thank you for your generosity and for supporting this meaningful cause.

Ishaan Mishra

Ex-Cherry Crest Charger, Empower with Education

PaperPie Bookfair is coming to Cherry Crest next week, from Tuesday 12/10 to Friday 12/13. The bookfair will be open on Tuesday and Thursday at lunch recess with a pass from their teacher AND afterschool on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (see exact schedule below). PaperPie offers books, crafts, puzzles, toys and activities for students aged pre-school to 5th grade. All proceeds directly support the Cherry Crest library in the form of new books. Many of you are aware of the budget cuts this year effecting our schools and in turn the school library. This year, more than ever, is a time when you can be especially impactful through your purchases for upcoming birthdays, holidays (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Los Posadas, Christmas, Yalda Night, Winter Solstice, etc.). Thank you in advance for taking the Cherry Crest library and reading into your consideration.

To shop online: www.bookyourshelf.com

Book Fair Dates/Times*:

12/10 Tues. Open at lunch recess for students with a pass from the teacher

Open afterschool from 2:30-3:00 with an adult

12/11 Wed. Open afterschool from 12:15-12:45 with an adult

Open for evening shopping from 5:00-6:30

12/12 Thurs. Open at lunch recess for students with a pass from the teacher

Open afterschool from 2:30-3:15 with an adult

12/13 Fri. LAST DAY!

Open afterschool from 2:30-3:15 with an adult

*Come by Cherry Crest this week to also view all the amazing 2024-25 Reflections Art submissions from Cherry Crest students that will be displayed outside the library during the week of 12/10-12/13. The theme this year is “Accepting Imperfections”.

The Open Transfer, Choice School and Choice Program Application period for the 2024-2025 school year will open on Monday, December 9, 2024. Students and families are invited to learn more about Bellevue School District schools and programs during upcoming open houses and information events.

· Each school will host an open house during the Open Transfer and Choice School/Program application period.

· Families are invited to the Language Programs Fair on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, to learn more about the variety of language offerings available for students.

· Families with students between the ages of three to age five are invited to attend a Preschool Information Session on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, or Thursday, December 5, 2024.

· Upcoming Open House Dates for the next two weeks:

o December 10, 2024 – Lake Hills Open House, 8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

o December 10, 2024 – Cherry Crest Elementary Open House, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

o December 11, 2024 – Tyee Middle School Open House, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

o December 11, 2024 – Big Picture High School Open House, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

o December 12, 2024 – Big Picture Middle School Open House, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

o December 16, 2024 – Jing Mei Elementary Open House, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

o December 17, 2024 – Stevenson Elementary Open House, 8:15 - 9:15 a.m.

For all open house and information session dates, times and locations please view the open house webpage.

For kids (and adults!), returning to school or a regular schedule is hard following a break. Yet, there are some things that parents can do to help ease their child's transition. Before the first morning back (Monday January 6th), start planning for any triggers that might lead to a difficult return. Tips for sleep, travel, and emotional support are provided below.

SLEEP TIP: Sleep schedules often shift toward staying up and waking up later over breaks, which leads to problems getting to sleep at a reasonable time after break. Whenever possible, encourage your student to keep a consistent routine of going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. If this isn't realistic, do your best to slowly move up bed and wake times until your child is sleeping and waking at the desired times for school.

TRAVEL TIP: If your family has been away, plan to have at least one day at home for your student(s) to relax and recoup before their first day back at school.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TIP: It is common for kids to feel anxiety about returning to school. Parents can help their student work through these feelings by 1) Actively listening and validating the child's feelings of unease, 2) Reminding the child that it is completely normal to feel uncomfortable during times of transition, and 3) Reinforcing that as their parent, you have full confidence in their ability to handle the transition back to school."

We are excited to announce that we will be adding a new Parent Partnership Program component to our Bellevue Digital Discovery elementary to support elementary age students and families who engage in homebased learning. This new program component will serve students through an Alternative Learning Experience model which includes a personalized learning plan developed in partnership with the student, teacher and family. Students will engage in learning at home, online and in-person at our new Bellevue Discovery learning lab. Together with members of the community, Kristin Tinder and Tom Duenwald are leading the co-creation of this new program component of Bellevue Digital Discovery.

We invite interested families to learn more at our upcoming Bellevue Discovery Open House, January 13 at 6:00 p.m. online, or to contact us directly at ppp@bsd405.org

Enrollment for the 25-26 school year for this Bellevue Discovery program begins Monday, December 9, and the link to enroll can be found on the Enroll at BSD webpage.

Thank you in advance for your support of this new program in BSD as we continue to diversify our learning options to meet student needs.

Postponed: Test of BSD’s Emergency Communication System
This test has been postponed, due to the emergency communications for the recent power outages and school closures. However, families are encouraged to check their phone and text message histories and email inboxes to determine if they received the districtwide closure message shared with families November 20-24, 2024.

If you did not receive the emergency messages to your primary email and phone number on file in ParentVUE and the “Contact Allowed” box is checked, please contact parenthelp@bsd405.org. Your email or phone number may be blocking BSD messages, or other technical issues could be occurring (including challenges due to widespread network outages caused by the storm).

If you did receive the emergency messages but would like to update your contact information, please complete online student data verification to update your record. If you need support accessing data verification, please reach out to your school’s office manager (elementary) or registrar (middle and high).

Receive additional tips for receiving district messages, including how to sign up for text message alerts.

December 13 Vaccine Clinic at Sammamish High School

We are excited to an upcoming Vaccine Clinics in partnership with Albertson’s to help keep our community healthy and safe! This event is open to all BSD students, staff, families and community members and will offer:

· Flu Vaccine

· COVID-19 Vaccine

· Tdap Vaccine (protection against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis or whooping cough).

Event Details

Date: Friday, December 13, 2024

Time: 4:00-9:00 p.m.

Location: Sammamish High School, Commons Area

Address: 100 140th Avenue SE, Bellevue, WA 98005

Sign up online.

Other Things to Know

Please register in advance so Albertsons can anticipate how many vaccines to provide. Walk-in appointments will be available for flu and COVID-19, but registration is required for DTap and Tdap vaccines.

Most insurances are accepted. Participants must bring their insurance card to the event.

Getting vaccinated is a key step in protecting your family and our school community. Here’s why these vaccines are so important:

Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

Did you know that Washington state has seen a significant rise in whooping cough cases this year, with over 1,533 reported statewide as of November 27, 2024? Babies and young children are especially at risk, and the best way to protect them is by staying up to date with the Tdap vaccine. Whooping cough can cause severe coughing fits and even life-threatening breathing issues, especially in infants.

The DTaP and Tdap vaccines protect against three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. The “P” in DTAP and Tdap stands for pertussis. These vaccines help your body build defenses to fight off whooping cough and prevent its spread to others.

Students attending Bellevue School District should have received a total of 5 doses of DTaP by the age of 4 or before starting kindergarten. Students should receive a Tdap booster before the start of 7th grade.

If you are not sure if your child is up to date on their required school vaccines, please contact your child’s medical provider or log into MyIR Mobile.

Flu and COVID-19

Flu and COVID-19 are more than just colds - they can cause serious illness, especially in children, older adults, and those with health conditions. The flu vaccine can reduce severe illness by 40-60%, while COVID-19 vaccines continue to lower the risk of serious symptoms.

Let’s work together to keep everyone healthy this winter.

While attendance matters, so does spreading illness...Please know that if your child is truly ill, we'd rather they remain at home. Thanks for helping us slow the spread of sickness at Cherry Crest!

How to Know When You’re Too Sick for School

As we enter the time of year when colds and fevers tend to appear unexpectedly, the Bellevue School District wants to remind families of some important guidelines regarding when students should stay home from school. Students experiencing certain illnesses may be required to stay home to rest and recover.

The Bellevue School District's nurses and attendance team have provided helpful guidance on which symptoms indicate a student should remain at home and when they may safely return to school. Keeping sick students at home, along with encouraging regular handwashing, helps protect everyone—especially those with fragile immune systems or acute medical conditions. Learn more on the Too Sick for School webpage.

Battle of the Badges: Holiday Lights
Join the Bellevue Police Department and the Renton Police Department for the largest ever Battle of the Badges Holiday Lights display. Walk through rows of decorated public safety vehicles from across the region. Enjoy music, food, and holiday fun. This interactive experience will be held at Renton Technical College on Saturday, December 14, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Learn more on the City of Renton website.

Bellevue Downtown Ice Rink
Let’s skate! November 15 – January 12, Downtown Bellevue Park plays host to the annual ice rink. Free parking is available at two downtown parking lots. Online tickets are available on the Bellevue Ice Rink website. Tickets include skate rental. Enjoy free evening skating lessons compliments of Microsoft.

Families:

• Make a family map together – How have the rights your family members and the people within our larger communities changed over time? What caused these changes? And/or what changes do you think still need to be made?
• These conversations may bring up a lot for students as human rights are disrespected in many parts of the world. I’ve created a new subpage on my website with resources about talking to children about politics, global crises, and war that I hope could be helpful here as well.

Families:

• The Center for Parent Information & Resources has a whole host of ideas for increasing disability awareness within yourself and your family.
• Borrow from the library, purchase from a local book store, or find a read-aloud on YouTube of the book “Just Ask” by Sonia Sotomayor. This is a great place to start conversations! You can read a short summary about the book HERE.

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