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3.14.25

3.14.25

Hello Bellevue Team & Community,

We’re just nine school days away from Spring Break! 🌸🌞 The finish line is in sight, and I want to take a moment to recognize the dedication and hard work happening across our district.

Every day, I see examples of students pushing themselves to learn and grow, staff going the extra mile to support and inspire, and families showing up to cheer on and encourage our young people. Whether it’s academic achievements, athletic competitions, fine arts performances, or acts of kindness in the classroom, there is so much to celebrate in Bellevue!

These next two weeks can feel like a sprint as we wrap up projects, prepare for assessments, and keep students engaged. One of the best ways students can set themselves up for success is by being here every day. Attendance matters—not just for keeping up with lessons but also for building strong habits, and staying connected. Let’s encourage our students to finish strong, show up, and stay engaged!

As always, thank you for everything you do to make our schools such a special place. Your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed, and I am incredibly proud to be part of this fantastic community.

Let’s make it a great week—Spring Break will be here before we know it! 💪🌿

School start and end times

Elementary Hours:

Doors open at 7:40, classes begin at 7:59. Dismissal at 3:05.


Jr/Sr High Hours:

Doors open at 7:30, classes begin at 7:49. Dismissal at 2:55.

Educator Excellence Awards

The Educator Excellence Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of teachers, administrators, and educational professionals who go above and beyond in shaping the future of education. These awards honor those who inspire, innovate, and dedicate themselves to creating impactful learning environments that empower students to succeed. By recognizing the hard work and passion of exceptional educators, we aim to highlight the profound influence they have on their students, schools, and communities.


The Years of Service category recognizes educators who have demonstrated unwavering dedication and commitment throughout their careers. This award honors those who have devoted significant time and effort to shaping the minds of future generations, consistently contributing to the success of their students and communities over the course of many years. Whether it’s through years of teaching, leadership, transportation, or support, these educators have made a lasting impact and set a standard of excellence in education.

  • 5 years: Sarah Hill, Vicky Sandburg, Steve Racine, Sarah Vandenheuvel, Jammie North Bills

  • Shannon Angus: 10 years

  • Briana Miller: 25 years


For Attendance, we want to recognize staff who have exceeded expectations to model for our students the impact of daily attendance. Of the course of the 2024-25 school year, these two have demonstrated and modeled reliability, punctuality, and a strong work ethic for our students. We are pleased to present the 100% Attendance Award to Olivia DuFore and Jessica Hall for their exceptional commitment and dedication to Bellevue Community Schools. Our staff who have 98% attendance or better goes to: Shannon Angus, Eric Bird, Aaron Huelsman, Cora Lorenz, Ellie Louiselle, Cortney Coats, Shelley Morgan, Jessica Hall, Olivia Orr, Heather Rose, Sarah Rugg, Sarah Vandenheuvel Amber VanDis, Stacey Van Nortwick, and Brandy Garvison.


Every person and every role is essential for the success of our students and buildings. We want to recognize the following people for leading our data informed teams to impact student achievement and school climate and culture. Thank you to Sarah Vandenheuvel and Eric Emery for the PBIS leadership and Sarah Rugg, Heather Rose, and Shelley Morgan for school leadership roles.


Lastly, the Above and Beyond award goes to the following people for their ability to lead numerous initiatives to impact student achievement, along with increasing school climate and culture for staff and students.

  • Eric Bird: numerous cookouts supporting athletics and community involvement. He volunteers his personal time to make Bellevue great

  • Heather Rose: organizing Camps, math data meetings, PTO involvement

  • Ellie Louiselle: willingness to accept a grade level to support staff and students. Her flexibility and patience has had a huge impact on our building. Plus, she brought her mom to work to read to students.

  • Gabe Guerrero: stepped into a classroom and has embraced all the learning to lead the room. His creativity for hand on learning has benefitted all of his students.

  • 2nd grade (Bellin and VanDis) had phenomenal math growth from fall to winter!

  • Ashley Richards is participating in learning opportunities to take a bigger role with Title I interventions monitoring and data analysis!

  • Briana Miller: mentoring new teachers, organizing 6th grade transitions, numerous field trips, leading PBIS initiatives/ assemblies/ skits, and staff activities during PD

  • Aaron Heulsman: PBIS initiatives, crisis response, and organized after school tutoring

  • Julie B: Data specialist, NWEA, field trips aligned with curriculum standards

  • Danny Brininstool: organizing 9/11 event with the community, city tours, field trips, and organizing Freedom Fridays for 7-9 grade

  • Brandy Garvison: creating students leaders to track our Bronco Stampede

  • Lisa Redmer: mentoring new teachers, running numerous assemblies, organizing presenters and field trips, and building teams to help with scheduling/ field trips/ initiatives

  • Gerrit Smith: mentoring new teachers, organizing SAT workshops and initiatives

  • Jen Collins: Mentoring new teachers, organizing the Washington DC trips


Academic Excellence Awards serve as a powerful reminder of the dedication, hard work, and passion that educators bring to their classrooms every day. Thank you, BCS Staff. Truly.

ATTENTION PARENTS AND STUDENTS

The 3rd quarter end date has been moved to March 21st. This is because we had so many days off due to weather cancellations. This will allow the marking periods to be more balanced. If you have any questions, please contact your student's building administrator.

Upcoming Events

  • 3/16/25

  • 3/17/25

    • Board of Education - Regular Meeting, 6:30PM

  • 3/18/25

  • 3/19/25

  • 3/20/25

  • 3/21/25

  • 3/22/25

Great News!

Jr/Sr:

  • Congratulations to the following who have received Academic Honor status for the Class of 2025!

  • Please join our After School Tutoring additional help or support with any of your classwork. Let us help you. Snacks included too!
Elementary:

  • As you know, March is Reading Month, and Ms. VanDis’ class is truly embracing the fun and magic that comes with it. They are making sure to check everything off on the reading calendar, participating in all the fun activities that help foster a love of reading. Our favorite is the Flashlight Fridays. Grab a flash light and book and enjoy the adventure!

  • We are thrilled to celebrate Ms. Isabella Fletcher this week! Isabella joined us this winter as an interventionist, and she has already made such a positive impact. She works with both individual students and small groups in math, providing personalized support and helping our students build confidence and skills.

District:

We had a great time celebrating our staff for years of service, attendance, and going above and beyond. We can't wait to continue celebrating our staff.


Reading Success Professional Development

Please check with your administrator to see if you can attend!

Come learn about the seven moves Lindsay Kemeny made in her classroom to ensure reading success for all her students. She will share seven ways teachers can modify what they are currently doing to transform their reading instruction. Each “mighty move” focuses on a critical area of foundational reading-from the most efficient ways to teach phonemic awareness and phonics to how to boost comprehension. Lindsay will briefly discuss each move and offer up a specific strategy for each one that you can implement right away.

Eric McCalla
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