Cherry Crest Chronicler
March 1, 2022
Dear Charger Families,
I hope you and your family were able to enjoy some downtime during the mid-winter break last week. I certainly did! Yet, as I tried to unplug, my head and heart turned to the invasion of Ukraine and the resulting images and stories flooding news channels and the internet. After two years of helping students cope with the challenges and complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are faced with a new hurdle of supporting our children through the biggest attack on a European state since World War II. At Cherry Crest, we recognize that some of our students may have family and friends in the war zone while other students may have questions about what they see and hear on TV or from friends. As parents and educators, our job is to provide kids with accurate, age-appropriate information, while reminding them that they are are safe and they are loved. Families can find below some of the same guidance and resources that I shared with our staff as they returned from break on Monday.
- Resilience in a time of war: Tips for parents and teachers of elementary school children: This article from the American Psychological Association can help adults guide their young children beyond fear and to resilience.
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When Bad Things Happen: “When there is ongoing news of war, political violence, community violence, loss—or government actions that make some students feel unsafe—kids are aware. They may want to discuss it. Here are tips for doing so with care.” – from Learning for Justice
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How to Talk to Kids about the Ukraine Invasion: “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting and less scary” – from PBS SoCal
If you have questions about how to talk with your child or concerns about how they may be responding to trauma, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to our school counselor, Mykela Fantone ([email protected]).
The newsletter below is full of important information and upcoming events. Thank you for taking a few minutes to read and respond. As always, if you have any questions, reach out me directly ([email protected]).
In partnership,
Dusty Steere, Principal Cherry Crest Elementary
IMPORTANT DATES
March
7-10 Scholastic Book Fair
7-11 Schoolwide FoodDrive to Benefit Renewal Food Bank in Bellevue
14 Odle & Highland Counselors visit 5th graders with MS registration information
18 No School for Students – professional learning day for teachers
25 Virtual Principal Chat @ 8:30 am Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
April
1 Cherry Crest Walkathon
11-15 No School (Spring Break)
22 Yearbook order deadline
Please remember to regularly visit the Cherry Crest & PTSA websites for the most current information.
https://bsd405.org/cherrycrest https://www.cherrycrest-ptsa.org/
Masks Update. Consistent with Dr. Jarvis’ 2/18 message to families, masks will no longer be required outdoors at Cherry Crest starting Monday March 7th. Until further notice, masks will continue to be required for students and staff indoors. With some students choosing to remove their masks when they are outdoors, we anticipate an uptick in loss or misplacement of masks. Teachers are instructing students to put masks in their pocket, on their arm or on their face. We appreciate families ensuring that students have an extra mask or two in their backpack should they lose or misplace their mask outdoors.
Bellevue School District leadership is working through additional plans to the removal of masks indoors including classrooms, common spaces, elementary students, secondary students, vaccination status, special needs, staff safety, and many, many more specifics. We will share finalized plans when all public health agencies have published guidance and will communicate additional information, the week of March 7.
Spring Book Fair! We are thrilled to announce this year’s Spring Scholastic Cherry Crest Book Fair! It will be held in-person from Monday March 7th– Thursday March 10th in the Cherry Crest library.
- Students ONLY will be able to shop at their lunch recess with a pass from their teacher (to limit the number of students in the library at a time).
- Parents/families are able to shop during afterschool hours.
- This year we are highly encouraging a CASHLESS system through a program called eWallet provided by Scholastic. This will allow parents/guardians/family members to set up an account for their student(s) with a preset amount of $ ahead of time for them to spend. We hope to avoid lost bills/change at school and upset students. In addition, using this program will help avoid the loaning/sharing of $ with non- siblings (against school rules). If this won’t work for your family we will have one register open for cash sales. See below for more details.
Prefer to shop online? Go to: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/cherrycrest from 3/7-3/20.
More information on eWallet and FAQ’s go to: LINK
IF you would like to volunteer for book fair, please go to: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E044AA8A92FA7FA7-scholastic
Parents/Guardians are welcome to come AFTER SCHOOL and shop with their student(s) 3/7-3/10 and use a credit card, cash or check. We will have a ‘family afternoon’ on Wednesday 3/9 and be open from 3-6 p.m. and encourage you to walk/bike to the fair if you can!
Afterschool hours: Mon. 3/7 2:30-4:15 pm
Tues. 3/8 2:30-3:45 pm
Wed. 3/9 12:15-12:45 + 3:00-6:00 pm
Thur. 3/10 2:30-4:15 *Last Day*
If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or Mrs. Lux at [email protected]
Principal Chat on Friday 3/25 @ 8:30 am. Cherry Crest families are invited to attend monthly virtual meetings hosted by Principal Dusty Steere and PTSA leadership. All chats will be hosted online via Microsoft Teams and include information from the principal as well as ample time for questions and comments. Use this form to submit a question or topic for the next Principal Chat.
Chats are scheduled on the following Fridays from 8:30 – 9:15 am: March 25, Apr 29, June 3
Save the date: Walk-a-thon Friday, April 1! Cherry Crest is thrilled to welcome back our Walk-a-thon April 1st. The Walk-a-thon is a long revered community building event as well as one of our major fundraisers. We hope to see all students and families join us on Friday, April 1 from 2:30 to 4:30pm at Cherry Crest. The main event has our entire school comm(unity) coming together to walk laps around the school track. It’s an opportunity for walking, dancing to the DJ’s music, socializing, munching on snacks and meeting our school mascot Champ!
This year’s Walk-a-thon is combined with an online auction of memorable curated items sure to delight you and your child. Students encourage family and friends to donate to Walk-a-thon and/or bid in the online auction. All donations count towards fundraising prizes for students. Students need to meet their grade level’s lap goal and/or raise $150 or more to count towards participation prizes.
Lastly, this year we have a special addition – the Cherry Crest time capsule. Delayed by Covid, the time capsule will be unearthed in time for the contents to be displayed at Walk-a-thon and students can make suggestions for what should go in a new time capsule this year!
More details will be announced at our kick-off school assembly on Thursday, March 17. Questions? E-mail [email protected]
Order Yearbooks. The Cherry Crest Yearbook captures your child’s memories of the school year. It will contain snapshots of the events of the year with a page dedicated to each classroom – this includes your child’s photo and name!
Place your order as soon as possible to secure your child’s copy of the yearbook. Kindly note that no extra copies will be available for purchase beyond the order deadline.
- Price: $20.00 each
- Spring Pre-Order Deadline: Friday, the April 22nd
- Order Online Only – Lifetouch https://bit.ly/3GLceVt
- Yearbook ID code: 1577522
2022-23 School Calendar. Next year, school starts on Thursday, September 1st. For planning purposes, a printable 2022-2023 Calendar of School Dates is available on the BSD website here.
Smarter Balanced Testing. This spring students in grades 3-5 are required to complete the Smarter Balanced Assessment for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics online per WA State law requirements for public schools. 5th grade students are required to also take the MSP Assessment for Science.
The schedule below outlines our current draft of our testing schedule this spring. Please avoid scheduling vacations or time away from school during these important assessment windows. Vacation requests may not be granted if they conflict with state standardized testing.*
*Please note that dates may change
| English Language Arts (ELA) | Math | Science | |
| 3rd Grade | May 16-20 | May 23-27 | N/A |
| 4th Grade | May 2-6 | May 9-13 | N/A |
| 5th Grade | April 18-22 | April 25-29 | May 12 |
We will complete any final makeup days on May 31st through June 2nd. The Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program website contains test-related resources for parents and students: https://wa.portal.cambiumast.com/summative-smarter-balanced.html. You can also try out a Smarter Balanced practice or training test at home!
For more information, contact Cherry Crest Assistant Principal, Erin Stedman ([email protected]), or Chris Lindberg, BSD manager of state testing ([email protected]). To opt out of testing, you can complete a form and submit directly to Erin Stedman. If you’d like to receive a copy of this form, please email Mrs. Stedman ([email protected]) and she will work with you on next steps.
Proactively Report Absence, Illness, Appointments. When your child will miss all or part of a school day due to illness or an appointment, please email Cherry Crest Attendance by 8 am at [email protected], or phone 425-456-4902. Please be sure to include your child’s first and last name and the reason for the absence.
Washington State law requires schools to report student absences as excused or unexcused. BSD Policy 3122 clarifies valid reasons for excused absences. If no excuse is provided or the excuse does not fall within those outlined in the policy, student absences will be marked as unexcused.
For prearranged absences of three of more days, a prior approval form submitted to the teacher and principal must be completed two weeks prior. Prearranged absence forms can be picked up in the main office and accessed on our website here.
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.