Chinook News: February 3, 2023

Important Dates

February 20-24

Mid-Winter Break, No School

March 17

Professional Development Day, No School

March 21-24

6^thGrade Science Camp

Greetings Chinook Middle School Community,

Next week is National School Counseling Week. Chinook’s Counseling Team, Sam Glinsmann (A-E), Molly Mazur (F-M), and Jamie Johnson (N-Z), work tirelessly on behalf of our students. Their work includes supporting all students to remove barriers to learning by addressing students’ academic concerns and personal/social issues. They work individually with students and present classrooms lessons focusing on college planning, and much, much more. We are very appreciative of all the work that they do!

Other news and updates are below.

In Partnership,

James Peterson

Principal

[email protected]

Your Participation is Requested: Annual Family Engagement Survey

The Bellevue School District’s Department of Family Engagement is hosting its annual Family Engagement Survey from January 17 to February 14, 2023. Please look for an email from Panorama Education, dated Tuesday, January 17, 2023, with a survey link and instructions.

The purpose of the survey is to gather feedback from you, our families, around how our school informs, supports, and empowers you to contribute to your student’s success. Your valuable feedback is essential to the continuous improvement and advancement of the family engagement practices in our school community, and we thank you in advance, for your participation.

For more information, please visit: Family Engagement Survey

8^th Grade Promotion: Save the Date

8^th grade Promotion is scheduled for Wednesday, June 21^st, during the school day. This is the last full day of school (June 22^nd is a shortened two hour day). See the full District Family Calendar here. Please note: the date may change if there is an emergency school closure that extends the school year. More details coming soon.

National Random Acts of Kindness Day – February 17, 2023

Chinook students and staff will perform acts of kindness on February 17. National Random Acts of Kindness Day began in New Zealand in 2004 and is now celebrated in multiple countries around the world. Every act of kindness is significant. Sometimes the smallest gesture can make a difference in someone’s life and even change the world. The Random Act of Kindness Day reminds us about the importance of uplifting and encouraging others, including ourselves. See these resources to help make kindness the norm.

AVID

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is an elective course offered in most all Bellevue School District secondary schools. It is a nationally recognized program for motivated students to grow their academic, collaborative, and leadership potential so they can realize their College/Career goals.

During Advisory this month, students will learn about our AVID elective class and, if they are interested, will have the opportunity to complete an online application for AVID. In addition to the application, there is an interview component to determine if students are a match for the AVID elective class.

Learn more about the AVID elective class here.

February’s Advisory Focus

Community: Students will provide feedback on their Advisory experience, and advisories will have the opportunity to get together for some fun on Tuesday, Feb. 14^th.

Academic: 6^th and 7^th grade students will learn from current AVID students how they can benefit from the AVID elective. If they are interested, they will have time to complete an online application.

Social-Emotional: Students will participate in a lesson designed to build self-awareness.

Safety: We will have a school-wide safety drill on Thursday, Feb. 16^th.

6^th Grade Science Camp- Update

The presentation form our Family Information Session has been added to our 6^th Grade Science Camp web page here. This page is source for all information about 6^th Grade Science Camp.

Prize Store

Students can receive positive behavior points for demonstrating ROCKS and redeem points from the Chinook Student Store in the Commons during lunch every other Thursday.

R- Respect
O- Ownership
C- Compassion
K- Kindness
S- Scholarship

All prizes are 10 points (except lunch with a teacher = 20 points).

Thanks to a generous donation, a set of Apple AirPods Pro has been added to our prize store. Students may enter the raffle with just 10 behavior points. The raffle will be held Friday, April 7.

Save the Date: Bellevue Schools Foundation Spring for Schools, April 1

Join the Bellevue Schools Foundation to join us at Spring for Schools on April 1^st! This event provides critical programming for our school community and the total of 18,000+ students in every school in Bellevue School District. Here’s a snapshot of the Foundation’s support at Chinook.

Please be sure to indicate Chinook Middle School when you register here! With student performances, an Education Showcase, appetizers, and more, the evening promises to be a fun one in support of our students and community.

Learn more and register to attend.

Breakfast

Breakfast is available every day. Cost: $2.50 (free for students who qualify).

Daily Menu Includes: Assorted Cereals, Mini Bagels, Banana Bread, English Muffin Sandwiches, Cinnamon Roll, Pancake on a Stick, Oatmeal Round. See the full menu.

Donate to 6th Grade Science Camp

The expected cost for 6th Grade Science Camp has gone increased and is expected to be approximately $325.00 per student. You can help reduce the cost for all students by donating. Make a donation.

Counselor Caseloads Changing

We are excited to announce that have added additional staff time to our counseling department. As a result, counselor caseloads will shift slightly beginning second semester. See the new caseloads below:

Students A-E: Counselor Sam Glinsmann
Students F-M: Counselor Molly Mazur
Students N-Z: Counselor Jamie Johnson

Private School Applications

This is the time of the year when parents will reach out for support with private school applications. All private school applications are handled by the BSD Records Department.

For private school applications, please go to the Bellevue School District website for an explanation of the procedures.

https://bsd405.org/departments/records/private-school-applications/

Please use this link to submit your initial private school application.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=OUFKmQZ8HkmAmHkAbVdd4BMrUjpf_6pLkaCLhDpCyBVUQ0JHNVY0UjU1QlMwUUxYOEFCNUYwWkpESC4u

Please note that BSD will NOT be uploading records to third party vendors such as Ravenna and Gateway. The records department will forward your student’s records directly to the school(s) you list on the application, and you will receive a confirmation email once the request has been processed.

Commitment to Nondiscrimination

Bellevue School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:

Civil Rights, Racial Discrimination, and Gender Expression or Identity Discrimination:

Civil Rights/Nondiscrimination Compliance Coordinator Nancy Pham, (425) 456-4040 or [email protected]

Sex-based Discrimination, including Sexual Harassment: Title IX Coordinator: Jeff Lowell, (425) 456-4010 or [email protected]

Disability Discrimination: Section 504/ADA Coordinator: Heather Edlund, (425) 456-4156 or [email protected]

Mailing address for all three: 12111 NE 1st Street, Bellevue, WA 98005.