**Registration for the 2024-2025 School Year is now open.
Visit the Registration Hub**
**Registration for the 2024-2025 School Year is now open.
Visit the Registration Hub**

Important Dates

May 29

Memorial Day, No School

June 5

Muli-Language Principal Coffee, 9:30am

June 14

PTSA Meeting, 6:00pm

June 16

I-Connect, 6:30pm

June 19

Juneteenth, No School

June 21

8th Grade Promotion, 10:45am

June 22

Last Day of School, 7:45am-9:45am

Greetings Chinook Middle School Community,

Smarter Balanced testing continues next week. Please see the adjusted schedule below.

In Partnership,

James Peterson

Principal

[email protected]


Smarter Balanced and Modified Schedules

Students continue the Smarter Balanced Assessment as scheduled below:

·         May 16: Math Computer Adaptive Assessment

·         May 18: Math Performance Task

·         All 8th Grade students will take the Science Test (Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science—WCAS) on May 22 and May 23 during their Science class.

Students should come to school on these days with a fully-charged laptop and wired headphones (no Bluetooth/wireless headphones). Students do not need to make any other special preparations for the test apart from getting rest the night before and coming to school prepared to do their best.

More information about the Washington State SBA is available here. More information about the Washington State WCAS is available here.

We will use the modified schedule below on May 16, and 18.


Bellevue High Seniors to Give Advice at June I-Connect Meeting

If you and your child are curious what it is like being a student at Bellevue High School (BHS), please join the next I-Connect meeting, “Exit Interview: BHS Seniors Tell All,” where families will have the opportunity to hear from Class of 2023 “experts.” This will be an evening event on Tuesday, June 13, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Chinook Middle School library.

On the eve of Graduation Day, we will ask a panel of seniors to give us the unvarnished truth. What tips do they wish they had received as incoming freshmen? What advice would they give to parents of incoming freshmen? What were the most challenging issues they faced? How did the COVID pandemic affect their education? Is there anything they wished they would have done differently in middle school to prepare for high school?

Please arrive early to make your way to the library. We will begin at 6:30 p.m. sharp. No drop-offs allowed; students must be accompanied by an adult.

I-Connect is an award-winning program sponsored by Chinook PTSA. For more information: [email protected].


Incoming Bellevue High School Girls Soccer Players (current 8th graders)

We are excited to meet you and to potentially have you as part of the BHS Girls Soccer Program this summer!

There is a lot to know and learn as you prepare for high school and because soccer tryouts are this summer, we wanted to get you as much information as possible, so that you can plan, ask questions, and get all of your eligibility in before the end of the 2023 school year.

Key upcoming dates:

  • May 15 – Registration for Fall 2023 Girls Soccer opens in FinalForms (Bellevue athletic and activities registration portal)
  • May 17 – ImPACT testing for BHS Girls Soccer: Wednesday, May 17th at 2:00pm. Room 1113 (History Hallway)
  • ALL 8th graders should attend this. ImPACT testing is REQUIRED to play girls soccer at BHS. Just show up with your laptop. Pre-registration not required.

If you are interested in playing girls soccer at BHS (starts this summer), please fill out the interest form here to ensure that you receive critical program information: https://forms.gle/qC6HdHohptZahKDj9

Please see our website for other important dates, including tryouts (August 21, 22, 23) and summer captain’s practices.

http://www.bellevuegirlssoccer.com/

We look forward to meeting you!

Any questions? Email [email protected]

Varsity Coach Peter Cochran and BHS Girls Soccer Booster Club


PTSA Meeting- Save the Date

IMPORTANT!!! Please mark your calendars for our Final PTSA General Membership Meeting of the year on Wed., June 14th, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm in the Chinook Commons (TEAMS link will be provided as the date approaches). This a critical meeting to vote on next year’s budget and a new Executive Committee. We still need volunteers!


Complete Health Forms for 2023-2024 School Year

Want your student to start school on time next year? Make an appointment now to complete:

  • Vaccinations – Sign up for MyIR (My Immunization Record) to see if your student needs any school required immunizations.
  • Individual Health Plans (IHP) for asthma, diabetes, life-threatening allergies, seizures and other life-threatening conditions (complete yearly)
  • Medication authorization paperwork for medicine taken at school (complete yearly)
  • Sports physicals if your student will play high school sports (complete every two years)

Make your appointment NOW. Clinics are booked MONTHS in advance.

Many clinics charge $20 or more to complete paperwork outside an appointment.


Community Notice: Annual Budget

The district is preparing the 2023 Annual Budget for constituent review and school board approval. Funding supports our learning community and ensures that students, staff, and families receive the support necessary for the 2023-24 school year. This is an annual process, and the dates below are when our school community can hear more specific information and hear from administrators and school board members about how we will continue vital programs and services as we manage through declining enrollment.

·         May 18: Presentation to the board

·         August 3: Full budget review

·         August 17: Board vote

Policy 6000 Budget Preparation requires notice and conduct of a budget hearing before approval. A proposed budget must be available to the public by July 10. The annual budget must be adopted by August 31. Legal notifications for certificated staff must be completed by May 15.

Learn more about this annual process.


In Case You Missed It


May’s Advisory Focus

Academic: Advisory will be canceled during school-wide testing (ELA and Math) on May 9, 11, 16, and 18. After testing, students will learn tips for organization from AVID students, and they will have a grade conference and work time.

Community: 8th grade students will learn about an opportunity to be a speaker at the 8th Grade Ceremony, will learn about the ideas coming from the Reimagining Middle Schools committee and have the opportunity to respond to the Make Middle School Better survey, and all students will have a play date or game day on May 30th.

Social-Emotional: On May 4th, students will prepare to take the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). Teachers will share logistics and expectations, and students will have an opportunity to practice so they become familiar with the format and tools.


BSD Summer Programs

It’s time to register for BSD Summer Programs, which include:

  • Credit Recovery: (Current 9th – 12th Graders)
  • Elementary Summer School: (Transitional K, 3rd – 4th Graders)
  • Middle School Jumpstart: (Rising 6th Graders)
  • Arts, Tech, and More Summer Camp  (Rising 7th – 8th Graders)

See the BSD Summer Programs website at 2023 Summer Programs K-12 – Bellevue School District (bsd405.org)


Humane Society Donation Drive

This is a message from Mr. Wells’ advisory class. We are starting a school wide drive for the Seattle Humane Society, and we need your help! We are seeking food, toys, and blankets for dogs and cats to help struggling families who want to keep their pets in the Bellevue area. Our goal is to reach 600 lbs of pet food – which is enough to feed the families in need in the Bellevue area for one month. We are calling on everyone to help us meet our goal! Donations will be accepted in the front office.


Become a Bellevue School District Interpreter/Translator

Would you like to become an interpreter/translator for the district? Interpreters/translators are needed for a variety of languages for school and district events.

Currently we have three different job positions* open. If you are a bilingual/multilingual member of our community, you may be interested in applying.

·         Language Access Interpreter: Languages other than English (on demand and in person)

·         Language Access Translator: Languages other than English (on demand and remote)

·         Curriculum Translator Multilingual Department: Spanish, Mandarin Simplified and Arabic (on demand and remote)

*A proficiency test and training will be required.


Become a School Board Director

Are you interested in student, staff and community well-being? Consider a candidacy for becoming a school board director.

The Bellevue School Board of Directors is made up of five community members, one from each geographic region of the district. Districts 1,2 and 4 are open for election in 2023.

Candidates who are interested in running for a school board position must file a Declaration of Candidacy with the King County Elections office during the filing period. The filing period begins the Monday two weeks before Memorial Day and ends the following Friday. There is no filing fee for school board positions. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to King County’s Candidate Manual.

IMPORTANT: The State of Washington requires all candidates and elected officials to a file a financial disclosure statement and report all campaign finances to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).

Qualifications and additional resources can be found on the district’s Become a Board Member webpage.

Hear from Board President, Sima Sarrafan.


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.

The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.