How can it be March already?!? Our first week back following Mid-Winter Break has flown by and having TWO assemblies this past week made it extra special! We began last week with an incredible performance by Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, master musicians with a career spanning over 35 years. The two-time grammy award winners had just finished performing at the Bellevue Wintergrass Festival, and we are lucky to have them share their music at Enatai on Monday, February 26th. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental expertise and virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, and many other instruments. Their music is uplifting in a way that few can match. We are truly grateful to the Edelman family and Enatai’s PTSA for making Cathy and Marcy’s visit to Enatai possible. Cathy and Marcy performed two assemblies, one for our Prek – 2nd grade students and another assembly for our 3rd – 5th grade students. Below are several video snippets posted with permission of Cathy and Marcy from the assembly.
| The Clapping Lesson |
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The New River Train | |
| “We Come From the Fire” – Part 1 | “We Come From the Fire” – Part 2 | “Now, Not Then” – 2 Part Round, Grades 3-5 |
Note that our school videos are posted on a private YouTube site whose videos can only be accessed when we send the links out.
Our second assembly of the week was on Thursday when we kicked off the American Heart Associations’s Kid’s Heart Challenge. In this high energy assembly, our kindergarten through 5th grade students learned why we we engage in this challenge each year – to build our understanding of how to have healthy hearts and bodies and, if a family chooses, to engage in fundraising to support the research efforts of the American Heart Association to support the well-being of those who have “special” hearts. In our assembly we learned about Fin’s challenge where students engage in a series of learning activities to build knowledge about the heart, and we also got to hear from one of our own Enatai students who has a “special” heart, a survivor of heart surgery as an infant!
We have a HUGE goal of having 50% of our students signing up to participate in this challenge – to engage in learning. We hope you will help us reach for this goal! Look for email updates about the Kid’s Heart Challenge from Mrs. Kazarian Olson, Enatai’s Health and P.E. Specialist.
Tech at School
In recent weeks staff at Enatai have noticed a distinct increase in the amount of personal technology that students are bringing to school and attempting to use during school hours. This includes smart phones, smart watches, and ear buds. While we recognize that students may have ear buds and phones in backpacks due to where their afterschool activities, there is no reason for these to be out during the school day, and our school handbook states that they should remain in their backpack. Smartwatches can be worn, but students should not be texting or calling on them during the day. If possible, parents/guardians should be setting these in “school mode” during school hours. While we have given students a warning and reminder to keep items in backpacks or to not be texting/calling during the school day, if the challenges persist, we will be keeping these items at the front office and having students pick them up at the end of the day. Students who need to call home have always been able to go to the office to call a parent or call from their classroom.
Enatai School Handbook: General Information
Bingo Night
PTSA Member Bingo night is nearly here!!!
PTSA members join us for our first Bingo night Friday March 8th 2024 from 6-8pm! Not a PTSA member yet? Click here to join. This will be an event you won’t want to miss! We will have pizza, snacks and drinks while supplies last. Each PTSA member will receive four Bingo cards and if you bring an item for our food drive we are doing for Jubliee Reach that week to the event you will receive a fifth Bingo card.
Please RSVP for Bingo night here.
We also need volunteers to make this event happen so if you are able to help with this fun event please sign up for a slot here.
Have questions? Email [email protected]
K-2 Reading Letters
By Friday, March 8th, Kindergarten, First, and Second grade teachers will send home letters to families to communicate
about children’s reading progress based on our middle of year reading assessments. If your child is not yet at grade level standard, you will receive information about how your child(ren)’s teacher is working to support their specific learning needs and how they will be monitoring their growth over the upcoming weeks. If you have any questions about the letter you receive (again, these will go home by Friday, March 8th), please reach out to your child(ren)’s teacher as they want to work in partnership with you.
Have You Accessed Your Child’s 1st Semester Progress Report?
It’s okay if you just read that and answered “No” in your head. However, if you haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, this is a great time to go to ParentVue and take a look at the first semester progress report. Your child(ren)’s teachers have taken time to analyze their progress in each core content area and write comments about their progress. Additionally, if you have questions or concerns, teachers want to meet with you. While we strongly believe there should not be surprises on first semester progress reports, if there is a concern, we want to work together to address it and problem solve together. Also, if you need a paper copy of your child(ren)’s progress report, please just let us know – either ask the teacher or call our main office. Any of us at Enatai Elementary are happy to help you access this information!
Kindergarten and New Student Registration is Open for 2024-25
Kindergarten and New Student registration for the 2024-25 school year opened on March 1st. If you have an incoming kindergartner or know someone who has students who will be starting at Enatai, please encourage them to register their student(s) as soon as possible. Our staffing allocation, meaning the number of teachers we are initially given for next year, is determined by the initial enrollment projections, and the number of students who enroll early for next year factor into this projection. While registration is completely online via the BSD website, if you have any questions, please call us at 425-456-5200 as we are happy to help any family navigate this process.
Enrollment Link: https://bsd405.org/schools/enrollment/
Elementary Language and Literacy Adoption Update: Attend the Community Open House
We’ve been engaged in a two-year journey to adopt a new K-5 language and literacy curriculum. Beginning with a pool of 35 potential options, our Teaching and Learning team meticulously evaluated each against our established criteria, ultimately narrowing down to five promising contenders. Through rigorous assessment using a research-based rubric, the adoption committee selected ARC and Benchmark Education for experimental implementation.
Attend the Community Open House to experience the two curricula up for adoption.
Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Time: 4-6 p.m.
Location: Wilburton Instructional Service Center, Rainier Room
Street Address: 12241 Main Street Bellevue, WA 98005
Information About Language Placement Tests for 2024-2025 School Year
For information about finding the right class for middle school Arabic, Chinese, Hindi and Korean, visit the Information about Language Placement Tests for 2024-25 School Year webpage. There are different formats/sites for each of the languages. The sites are intended for students who already have a little or a lot of the language.
Spring Panorama Social Emotional Learning Survey
Each spring, students in grades 3-12 take a follow up survey to a student survey given in the fall. The survey, known as the Panorama survey, provides insight for staff into how students are perceving school – interactions with peers, staff, and their overall perception of belonging at school. As a school, we use this information to guide our supports both as a whole school but also for grade levels and for groups of students. Additional information about the Spring 2024 Panorama Survey can be found in this letter: Panorama SEL Survey Family Letter Spring 2024.
Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue Spring Athletic Programs
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue offer a wide array of spring athletic programs for students. Students can select from programs like basketball, flag football, volleyball, track and a special clinic for little athletes ages 3-6. Spaces fill up quickly so sign up today! Scholarships are available for those who qualify.
*Please note that we do not typically advertise after school activities for organizations outside of the Bellevue School District; however, the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club is a partner organization of the Bellevue School District and work to provide key opportunities for our students.
Daylight Savings Time is Coming
Just a gentle reminder that the change to Daylight Savings Time is coming in one week – early in the morning of Sunday, March 10th clocks will move ahead one hour. If your child(ren) struggle with this time change, please plan ahead for this. This is the time change that tends to be the most challenging as clocks move ahead but children’s internal clocks do not immediately adjust. As a result, bedtime arrives on Sunday evening and children are not tired, bedtime becomes a challenge, and ultimately, children end up with less sleep than usual – often for a few nights. One suggestion from veteran parents is to do whatever you can to get outside – rain or shine – on Sunday, March 10th – and be active. Several families have shared that this seems to help reset their kid’s internal clocks and lessens the challenges at bedtime (often because the kids are worn out). Other advice has been to focus on keeping the bedtime routine consistent and avoid stimulating activities in the hour or two prior to bedtime. In particular, the blue light from screens can interfere with the brain. The blue light signals the brain telling it that it is daytime even though it is night/bedtime.
Bellevue Schools Foundation: Spring for Schools
With mid-winter break in our rearview mirror, I am looking forward to a vibrant spring, including Spring for Schools on March 30th! Registration for Bellevue Schools Foundation’s annual fundraiser is free. The event not only offers a chance to explore student initiatives funded by the Foundation, it’s a fun evening to connect with fellow BSD families, teachers, and celebrate our community. As a reminder, Bellevue Schools Foundation provides critical funding to our school– you can take a look at the programs supported in our classrooms here.
Hopefully you saw Dr. Aramaki’s note about the importance of funding from BSF at this time. Community donations to BSF will safeguard the transformational opportunities that set BSD apart nationally. I hope to see you at Spring for Schools on March 30th! If you want to learn more about BSF and/or the event, please don’t hesitate to contact [email protected]
Join the Bellevue School District Team
We have been asked to share the following job opportunity in case someone in our community is looking for a part-time position. The following position is at Medina Elementary School:
Medina Kitchen Assistant
2.5 hours/day: M, T, TH, F 10:45-1:15 pm Wed 9:45-1:15 pm
$18.91/hour; $21.01/hour after a 90 day probation period
$350 annual clothing allowance for work uniform and shoes.
Work schedule follows school year calendar; paid holidays; sick leave.
Apply online by going to https://bsd405.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=5696
Read Across America Spirit Week
As we head into the first week of March, we will be celebrating Read Across America Week at Enatai with a spirit week focused around reading. Here’s what is on tap for each day of our Read Across America Spirit Week!
| Day of the Week Theme | What it Sounds like |
| Design Your Own Bookmark
Monday 3/4/24 |
To kick off Read Across America Week and celebrating diverse readers, eagles are invited to design a bookmark that get their week of literary adventures started on the right page! |
| Eagle Spirit Wear
Building Our Community with Literature
Tuesday 3/5/24 |
Wear your Eagle gear!
We are Enatai Eagles and WE fly together like birds of a feather!
Enjoy a series of literary pieces that highlight the importance of community (Books will be shared by staff) |
| Dress As Your Favorite Book Character
Wednesday 3/6/24 |
Eagles are invited to share their literary heroes!
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| Comfy and Cozy Reading
Thursday 3/7/24 |
Dress up in your comfiest clothes because we love to read comfortably!
Consider turning off the lights and turning reading into an adventure with flashlight reading with your class |
| Book Scavenger Hunt
Friday 3/8/24 |
Take a look, it’s in a book! Embark on a literary adventure to see how many books you can find that match the bingo board!
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This has been a lengthy newsletter, but as we begin all the “happenings” that occur in the later months of a school year added to the news and preparation for the upcoming year, the newsletters sometimes get a little longer! Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. Our success as a school community rests with the strength of the partnership between our staff and families.
Here’s to a great March!
| Amy MacDonald
Principal, Enatai Elementary
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Stephanie Mathias
Assistant Principal, Enatai Elementary
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