Cherry Crest Chronicler
September 10
Hello Charger Families!
It is so great to have your children back at school! I can’t express how special it was to receive hugs, high fives and huge smiles as students excitedly walked through the school doors last week. To top that off, we welcomed three classrooms of new kindergarten students on Monday. Busy and exciting times! Through these first days of school, we have been diligently teaching, modeling and reinforcing common school wide expectations and your children are doing a fantastic job of learning and following direction. Some of what they are learning, and much more, is contained in our Cherry Crest Community Handbook. I’d like to suggest you take a peek at the table of contents for an idea of what and how we are doing at school.
In late August, teachers engaged in a number of professional learning days. During that time, we reaffirmed our collective commitment to our mission statement “to prepare all students to become life-long learners through inquiry, collaboration, and discovery. Each student will feel a sense of belonging in our Comm(UNITY) while learning social-emotional and academic skills to be successful in an ever-changing and diverse society.” In particular, this year, we continue our emphasis culturally responsive teaching and learning focused on relationships and “sense of belonging”. As principal, it is my desire that this sense of belonging extend to our parents and families as well. As a starting point, I’d like to extend a personal invitation for each and every family to attend our Cherry Crest Curriculum Night this Thursday September 12th from 6:00 – 7:10. Additional details on Curriculum Night are included below.
For those of you new to Cherry Crest, you are reading the September edition of the Cherry Crest Chronicler. The Chronicler comes out monthly and is my way, as principal, of sharing important information, dates and announcements related to our school. Thank you for taking a few moments to read the newsletter. In addition, I encourage you to regularly visit the school and PTSA websites for the most current information.
https://bsd405.org/cherrycrest http://www.cherrycrest.my-ptsa.org
Dusty Steere, Principal Cherry Crest Elementary
IMPORTANT DATES
September 12 Cherry Crest Curriculum Night
September 17 PTSA General Membership Meeting: Social @ 6:30 Meeting @ 7 pm
September 19 K/1 Family Potluck @ 6 pm
September 24 Grade 2 Family Potluck @ 6 pm
September 26 Grade 3 Family Potluck @ 6 pm
September 30 Grade 4/5 Family Potluck @ 6 pm DATE CHANGE
October 1 School Picture Day
October 4 Walkathon
October 11 No School for Students: Teacher Professional Learning Day
October 14,15,16 Early Release Days @ 12:15 pm for parent-teacher conferencing
Please remember to regularly visit the Cherry Crest & PTSA websites for the most current information.
https://bsd405.org/cherrycrest http://www.cherrycrest.my-ptsa.org
Please join us for Curriculum Night Thursday September 12th, 6:00 pm – 7:10 pm. Curriculum Night is a wonderful opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher and to see and hear about all of the wonderful learning that will take place this year.
| Grades K, 1, 2 | Grades 3,4,5 |
| 6:00 – 6:30 Principal and PTSA presentation in the gym | 6:00 – 6:30 Teacher presentations in classrooms |
| 6:40 – 7:10 Teacher presentations in classrooms | 6:40 – 7:10 Principal and PTSA presentation in the gym |
No Childcare is available for this event. This is an informational night for parents and students are encouraged to stay at home. Curriculum Night is also not a time to individually discuss your child specifically. Individual parent/teacher conferences will be scheduled later in October and November. If you would like to meet prior to that time, please contact your child’s teacher directly.
Parking Reminder
As parking will be tight at Curriculum Night, we encourage families to carpool and arrive early. When parking on nearby streets, respect our neighbors: park legally (do not park, even partially, on sidewalks or block driveways or fire hydrants) and allow ample room for emergency vehicles to pass.
PTSA General Membership meeting on Tuesday, September 17th at 6:30pm in the library. Coffee and treats are provided. Come meet your PTSA Board of Directors, re-approve the 2019-20 budget and start planning for an awesome school year. If you haven’t already, visit the Cherry Crest PTSA page to join or renew your PTSA membership.
Grade Level Potluck Dinners. Meet your child’s new classmates and reconnect with friends at the potluck dinner! Cherry Crest PTSA is hosting potluck dinners for each grade level and will supply paper products, water and dessert. Families are asked to bring a salad, vegetable or main course that serves 6-8 people. Store bought items welcome! For home-made items please provide an ingredient list to help those with food allergies. Questions? E-mail Kathy Hotchkies at [email protected].
Bring your food contribution to the Cherry Crest Cafeteria and get to know each other!
Kindergarten & 1st Grade Thursday, September 19 @ 6:00 p.m.
2nd Grade Tuesday, September 24 @ 6:00 p.m.
3rd Grade Thursday, September 26 @ 6:00 p.m.
4th & 5th Grade Monday, September 30 @ 6:00 p.m. DATE CHANGE
Getting to School. With just one entrance and exit to our school, pickup and drop off at Cherry Crest can be frustrating. As such, we strongly encourage eligible students to utilize BSD transportation. Find your bus route on the BSD transportation page here.
If you choose to drop off or pick up your child from school, please review and follow the Cherry Crest Pick Up and Drop Off procedures.
Would you like to know when your student’s bus is going to be late? On Tuesday afternoon bus 34 was delayed as a result of an accident. There were no injuries, and little damage to the bus, when a car rolled into the back of the bus at a stop light. Police were called to the scene. This delayed the bus and students about 45 minutes which caused consternation for families.
Bellevue School District Transportation is using the Bus Bulletin notification system to notify parents and students if there are bus delays. For more information, or to sign-up and start receiving notifications, please visit: www.BusBulletin.com/parents
Right time. Right place. The school doors unlock each day at 7:40 am. Class begins at 8:00 am and concludes at 2:30 pm (12:15 pm on Wednesdays). Student SAFETY is of utmost concern so we ask that students do not arrive on campus before 7:40 AM. Limited supervision is provided prior to the start of the school day.
- Arriving to school prior to 7:55 am:
- K-2 grade students enter the building through the cafe doors on the north (playground) side of school to be picked up by their classroom teacher when the warning bell rings at 7:55 am.
- 3-5 grade students line up by grade in the covered area near the playground on the north side of the school.
- Teacher Pick Up
- The first bell rings at 7:55. At this time, teachers will report to the cafeteria and undercover area to escort students to the classroom.
- Students arriving after 7:55 should enter the school through the front doors and proceed directly to their classroom, waiting outside the room until their teacher returns with the class.
- At 8:00, the second bell rings, indicating the beginning of the school day. The front and back doors of the school automatically lock. Any students arriving after 8:00 must enter through the main office doors and sign in.
End of the Day
-
- The dismissal bell rings at 2:30 (12:15 on Wednesdays) at which time teachers walk their students to the front of the school. Along the way, identified students are released to After Care or Boys and Girls Club.
- Once outside the school, students proceed to the busses or to the pick up waiting area.
- During dismissal times, parents should wait outside the school doors in order to avoid congestion in the lobby and Charger Stadium areas.
- Students and parents must follow direction from the Cherry Crest Support Staff and Student Safety Patrols directing car and foot traffic.
Volunteering at CHERRY CREST. Family involvement is a critical aspect of our school success! If you are not currently a volunteer in our school community, we invite you to find a way to get involved. The research overwhelmingly demonstrates that parent involvement in their children’s education is positively related to academic achievement. The research also shows that the earlier in a child’s education that the parent/caretaker gets involved, the more powerful the effects will be. In addition, your child will be excited to see you active in the school house and it is just plain fun to spend time with children.
There are many ways to get involved. If you need ideas for where you could start your volunteering journey, contact your child’s teacher and/or speak with Denise Anderson in the main office.
BSD has transitioned to an online volunteer database and parents complete have a completed volunteer application on file through the Verified Volunteers website. Volunteers need to renew their application every three (3) years. Finally, please remember to always sign in and out at the main office when volunteering.
Advanced Learning Identification. The BSD Advanced Learning Department is accepting testing applications to determine students in need of advanced learning opportunities. Applications for advanced learning testing for students in grades 1-11 will be available online beginning Sept. 3. District families interested in applying for testing should submit an application before the Oct. 31 deadline. The application will be available on the Advanced Learning webpage. Parents of BSD Kindergarten students do not need to apply as these students will be considered for advanced learning services through the Kindergarten evaluation process.
Services provided for students in need include the following:
- Domain-specific services in Literacy and Mathematics (K-1)
- Domain-specific services in Literacy, Mathematics and Nonverbal Ability (2-3 during 2019-20 and 2-4 during 2020-21)
- Self-contained services in Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies (2-12)
- Differentiated services in Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies for students identified for self-contained services, who choose to attend their neighborhood school (2-12)
To learn more about Advanced Learning Services, please visit their webpage.
Questions? Contact Lorena McHugh
Cherry Crest Elementary prepares all students to become life-long learners through inquiry, collaboration, and discovery. Each student will feel a sense of belonging in our Comm(UNITY) while learning social-emotional and academic skills to be successful in an ever-changing and diverse society.