Cherry Crest Chronicler

April 3, 2020

Charger Families,

It has been a wild and crazy ride this month what with the Coronavirus, school closures and transitioning to remote learning.  I’m so grateful for the tremendous efforts of our district and Cherry Crest staff working overtime to redesign educational experiences for our students.  I also have great respect and empathy for what you as parents are doing to support your children and their learning during this closure.  As a parent of 3 students in the Bellevue School District (11th grade, 8th grade and 4th grade), I am experiencing first hand the overwhelming deluge of information and instruction that teachers and schools are sharing.  Over time, things are beginning to settle down and we are getting into a routine.  I pray the same for you and your student.  Speaking of students, I miss your children immensely.  Please send them my best!

Before I sign off, I am linking a guitar song I sang for my staff about making the transition to remote learning.  It’s a fun song set to Gloria Gaynor’s classic “I Will Survive” with updated lyrics from Missouri History professor Michael Bruening.

I hope this makes you smile!   Keep up the great work, you are doing an amazing job!

Video: Mr. Steere sings I Will Survive (CoronaVirus Version)*

* If you are prompted to login, make sure that you use your child’s username and password. 
   Need assistance:  [email protected] 

Dusty Steere, Principal Cherry Crest Elementary

Please remember to regularly visit the Cherry Crest & PTSA websites for the most current information.

https://bsd405.org/cherrycrest      https://www.cherrycrest-ptsa.org/

Online Family Forum Q&A with Principal Steere.  Over the last few weeks, families submitted questions to the principal via a PTSA form submission.  Click below to see a video and presentation from Mr. Steere with answers to those questions and more.

Cherry Crest Principal COVID-19 Q&A Video *

* If you are prompted to login, make sure that you use your child’s username and password. 

Calendar Clarifications. 

• Spring Break will stay take place from April 13 – 17 and there will be no remote learning lessons or teacher communication during this time.
• Regardless of school closures, the last day of school remains June 22.
• The first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year is Thursday September 3rd (Grades 1 – 5) and Monday September 9th for kindergarten.

Online Behavior Expectations for Students.  The changes to our learning environment require each of us to further develop our understanding what is acceptable behavior in the digital/online environment. Please read this letter outlining Communication Expectations for Online Learning.

In particular, I want to highlight the following components for student and family knowledge:

Educator Stream (i.e. teacher videos):

• Educator’s streams are intended to be used only for educational purposes.
• Streams provide an opportunity for students and teachers to connect and support learning.
• Streams should not be shared by students except with their parents/guardians to support their learning.
• Educator streams are the property of the BSD and any further recording or dissemination is not authorized.

Direct Calls and Chats:

• Students will have access to Direct Chats and Calls this coming week; allowing students to set up their own communication with other students not moderated or managed by BSD staff.
• Additionally, the camera will be available for students to choose whether to include their image as part of Direct Chats.
• Chats and calls should be limited to educational purposes.
• All chats will be recorded in the BSD secure system.
• Students should refrain from recording of these private calls in any form.

Technology Support during the Closure.  Cherry Crest and Bellevue School District are committed to providing equity and access to educational content and services during the closure.  This includes computer hardware and internet access as well as online and in person technology support. Follow the link below for additional information and support.

https://bsd405.org/departments/district-technology/closure-tech-support

Counselor Transition at Cherry Crest.  I want to express heartfelt gratitude for the stand up job that substitute counselor Katelyn Fiorillo has done filling in for Marissa Krauskopf during her leave the last three months.  Mrs. Fiorillo has supported students, families and staff during this winter and into the school closures.  Mrs. Krauskopf returns to her role after spring break April 20th. 

Thank you and Goodbye video from Mrs. Fiorillo.

Free meals for Kids and Teens. Lunch and breakfast is available to any child under the age of 18 and can be picked up Lake Hills Elementary, Stevenson Elementary and Sammamish High School.  Meals can also be ordered in advance and picked up at Cherry Crest or 31 other bus stop locations.

Free Grab & Go Meals for Kids and Teens

Microsoft Office 365 Free for Families.  Microsoft has made Office 365 free of charge for Bellevue School District students and staff. You will be able to install Office on up to five devices. With Office 365 you will have access to the latest version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and much more.

https://bsd405.org/departments/district-technology/microsoft-office-365/

Child Care Needs. Due to school closures, Bellevue Boys and Girls Club is offering extended programming for families to help support our community as we move through the quickly changing Coronavirus situation.

Bellevue Boys and Girls Club website

Spring Auction Update.Due to the ongoing global threat of COVID-19, we are transitioning our auction this year to be a virtual/online event that opens on Tuesday, April 21st and ends on Saturday, April 25th. We want you to know that we are acutely aware of the disruption and shift in priorities every family has faced over the last several weeks. The mission of the Cherry Crest Parent Teacher Student Association has always been to provide support for the educational success, health, and well-being of all of our children through strong family and community engagement. Now, more than ever, our families and our community need our support. The funds we raise in our annual auction give us the flexibility to support our students, teachers, and families in the most impactful ways we can imagine – now, in the Fall, and beyond. This year, in particular, we encourage everyone to join us at the general PTSA meeting that follows in May to lend your voices and ideas for how to allocate our resources going forward to best serve our community in these difficult times.

We sincerely hope that you will join us in this novel incarnation of an important annual tradition. Please refer to our auction website for the updated auction event details and look for our email, chatter, and Facebook communications over the next couple of weeks.

From your PTSA Co-Presidents & the Auction Team,

Karin Harogrove, Britt Heath, Greg Smith, Amy Karlson & Ksenia Tshahhirov

Smarter Balanced Testing Cancelled.In light of school closures and remote learning, all State Testing for the spring of 2020 has been cancelled.

Bellevue Schools Foundation annual luncheon goes virtual. The developments around COVID-19 have put our most vulnerable students and families at risk. The Bellevue Schools Foundation has been asked to release $50,000 for emergency food for 3,500 students who normally rely on their school for nutritious meals. Additionally, the Foundation is paying for counselors that are providing virtual and phone counseling to secondary students facing anxiety and depression. Please donate in any amount today at http://www.bellevueschoolsfoundation.org/donate/.  Thank you in advance for your support!

Our Virtue of the Month for April is  “Flexibility”.  Flexibility is being open to change. It means not always having your own way. It is being open to the opinions and feelings of others.  With flexibility, you are willing to change your mind.  If something doesn’t work, you try a new way.  Flexibility is making changes for the better.

Without flexibility, people keep doing things the old way when new ways are needed or possibly better.  People who are not flexible in their thinking get angry and upset when things do not go their way.  When you are flexible, you adjust and adapt to new ideas and situations.  You bend like a tree in the wind. You listen to others’ ideas and consider multiple perspectives and solutions.

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.