Happy Holidays Charger Family!
From all of the staff at Cherry Crest Elementary, we wish you and your families a safe, healthy and restful winter break. The return to in person learning in 2021 has not been without it’s challenges and we recognize that students, staff and families are weary. 2021 has truly been a “deer of a year”. We pray you are able to rest and recharge this holiday season and we look forward to a new start when school resumes on Tuesday January 4th, 2022.
Dusty Steere – Principal
Erin Stedman – Assistant Principal
Computer Science and Coding resource for families. Students in nearly every classroom participated in Hour of Code Activities last week. Families interested in ideas for CS/Coding activities at home can check out this website.
- Games
- Books
- Free coding programs
- Robots
- Other interactive toys and tools
https://sites.google.com/view/familycsresources/home
Thank you to Cherry Crest Read-a-thon Participants! Thank you to all students and families who participated in the Cherry Crest PTSA Read-a-thon! With your generous support we met and exceeded our fundraising goal. Altogether, students read over 216,000 minutes with families generously providing funds to support instructional assistants, virtual field trips and other PTSA-sponsored programs. Learn more about Read-a-thon on our Cherry Crest PTSA website here. Thank you for your support.
Winter Break Tips and Activities. While the winter break is a great time to relax and recharge, it is also a two-week break from the daily educational demands of school. Here are some tips to make sure your child will be ready to go when school resumes in January.
• Try to keep a consistent schedule. Don’t stay up too late because it will make for a very difficult adjustment period when it is time to head back to Cherry Crest.
• Find time to stay active. Regular exercise is good for the body and the mind. Walking the dog, going on a hike, skiing, or ice skating are all great ways to stay active.
• Read a good book or two.
• Write in a journal. This a great way to practice writing skills while also keeping an account of all the fun and excitement experienced over break.
• Visit some of the museums that the greater Seattle area has to offer.
• If you exchange presents, consider giving gifts that promote learning. Books are always an excellent gift ideas but also consider science experiment kits or making a pen-pal kit (a plastic container with colorful pens, paper, envelopes, and decorative postage stamps).
20 Fun Learning Activities for the Holiday Break
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/12/holiday-learning-fun
District News: Open Transfer & Choice Schools. The Open Transfer period is an opportunity when Bellevue School District RESIDENT students may apply to attend a school other than their neighborhood school. All students in the Bellevue School District are guaranteed a spot at their neighborhood school. If you are interested in learning about the process, please read on.
Open Transfer Timeline. This year, Open Transfer applications will be accepted from Monday, December 6, 2021 at through Friday, January 14, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.
Choice Schools and Programs Timeline. Choice Schools and Programs Applications are accepted on the same timeline as Open Transfer.
As a reminder, the definitions of these two processes are:
- Open Transfer – the time when students can request to attend a school other than their home attendance area school. Click here to see a list of schools and their open enrollment status. All applicants will be placed in a lottery. Transfers will be approved or denied based on projected enrollment numbers for the building and grade level at both the neighborhood and requested school in addition to projected staffing levels and building capacity at the requested school.
- Choice Schools and Programs Applications – the time when students can apply for our choice schools – Big Picture (6th grade entry), International (6th grade entry), Jing Mei – Mandarin dual language (Kindergarten entry), Puesta del Sol – Spanish immersion (Kindergarten entry), Spanish Dual Language Program (Kindergarten entry). Acceptance is generally by lottery.
We are once again using an online application process. Additional details and applications are available on the district website: https://bsd405.org/departments/student-placement/open-enrollment/
Reporting Safety Concerns. Bullying and safety concerns can always be reported to any staff member at school. The Elementary Level Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Incident Reporting Form is available to all families in the office. Finally, Bellevue School District also utilizes an anonymous reporting tool called SafeSchools Alert through which anyone can make a verbal or written report of harassment, intimidation or bullying. Information on how to submit a report via any of these methods is available on the district website at www.bsd405.org/help/report.
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.