February 9, 2024 – NHE Family Newsletter

Community Awareness – Rise in Cyber Kidnapping Schemes

Cyber kidnappings aim to get an individual to believe that a loved one has been kidnapped, are in immediate danger and a ransom must be paid. These schemes often involve the use of technology such as artificial intelligence voice spoofing, caller ID spoofing, and social media activity to convince unsuspecting victims to pay money. BSD Safety and Security provides some guidance to our learning community in the event they become impacted by a cyber kidnapping scheme.

BSD Safety and Security

BSD Impacts from City of Bellevue Closure of Factoria Blvd.

The City of Bellevue is planning a stormwater conveyance improvement project along Factoria Boulevard. BSD educators, students and families will be heavily impacted by road closures resulting from the proposed project. The City of Bellevue indicates that impacts include:

·       Variable work hours, up to 20 hours/day, 6 days/week.

·       Heavy truck traffic and noise from construction machinery.

·       Heavy traffic delays.

The first phase of the project began the second week of January 2024, for initial construction activities. The project’s primary phase is set to take place from March 8, 2024, and continue through July 8, 2024. During these four months northbound lanes will close completely, and one southbound lane will close (to be utilized as a northbound lane). This will effectively leave Factoria Blvd with one lane in each direction. Additional intermitted northbound and southbound lane closures are expected from August to December 2024.

Currently, district transportation is experiencing increased travel times by 20-25 minutes (each morning and afternoon) on south Bellevue routes resulting from the impact of the City’s closure of Lakemont Blvd and the overflow of traffic on to Coal Creek Parkway. The closure of Factoria Blvd. will have transportation impacts which may increase the time that students ride the bus by an additional 25-30 minutes. This has the potential to impact total student travel times by 50 minutes each day, to and from school. The proposed closure will highly impact the arrival time at the following schools:

·       Newport Heights Elementary School

·       Newport High School

·       Odle Middle School

·       Somerset Elementary School

·       Tyee Middle School

·       Woodridge Elementary School

 The district is in the process of addressing breakfast provisions for students impacted by this transportation project, who may arrive late to school because of anticipated delays.

 

District leaders have shared their concerns with City leaders and proposed the following suggestions. At this time, the district has received no update on the suggested mitigations. More information and updates on the proposed suggestions will be communicated when available.

 ·       Postpone the project start date. If the project were to begin in mid to late May 2024, students, families and community members would experience a month of impact versus three and a half months of prolonged impact.

 ·       Prioritize school zone signage around Newport High School. This safety measure will remind drivers that students are present and require drivers to adhere to a decreased speed limit to ensure and preserve student safety.

·       Formal traffic control. To adequately support student safety, uniformed traffic control personnel are needed to direct traffic away from BSD schools. There is significant concern that without adequate City personal in place, drivers may utilize the Newport High School campus as a thoroughfare— brining physical danger to potentially 500 students who transition between the main campus and portable classrooms Monday – Friday every 50 minutes from 7:30-3:00 p.m.

·       Limit roadway closure times for construction. While schools remain in session, limit road closure times to begin after 9:00 a.m. and finish by 2:30 p.m. This will decrease the peak times when students, staff and families are utilizing the impacted roadways to travel to and from BSD campuses.

·       Signal time improvements. Ensure that traffic lights are held longer to alleviate heavy congestion during peak times (beginning and end of school day) especially at intersections that directly impact Newport High School and Tyee Middle School.

 

Information Event: Real Madrid Foundation Summer Camp

The USA Real Madrid Foundation Project Manager, Marcos Lerma, will host an Information Event at Highland Middle School on February 14 from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. to meet with all the families who would like to learn more about the Real Madrid Foundation Summer Camp, to be held July 15-19 at Highland Middle School. They still have around 50 more applications available. Mr. Lerma will be selecting an attendee to give a FREE full uniform. Don’t miss it!

Real Madrid Foundation Summer Camp,

 

 

In Case You Missed it – Messages From Previous Weeks

 

Attend the BSD Certificated Staff Job Fair

Join us for the Certificated Staff Job Fair on Saturday, February 10, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Highland Middle School to learn about certificated positions in the district. Representatives from schools and departments throughout the district will be available to answer questions about working in Bellevue. Screening interviews will be available.

 

Certificated positions include: Administrators, Elementary and Secondary Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Counselors, Social Workers, School Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, and School Psychologists.

4th grade Social Studies Textbook Adoption

4th grade social studies classes are engaged in experimental use of new materials during the 2023-24 school year. The resources include The State We’re In: Washington (Grades 3-5 Edition) textbook and Washington, By and By: A Community Planning Graphic Novel.

 

We invite community members to explore the resources using the links below.

The State We’re In: Washington (Grades 3-5 Edition)

Washington, By and By: A Community Planning Graphic Novel

 

Feedback Survey

Thank you for providing feedback on the resources: 4th Grade Social Studies Curriculum Adoption Family & Community Survey.

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual opportunity to recognize the significant role Black Americans have played throughout history and celebrate African American achievement. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) devotes its 98th Annual Black History Month theme to African Americans and the Arts. This theme examines the wide array of history and lives of African American arts and artisans. African American art is infused with African, Caribbean and the Black American experiences. In honor of Black History Month, the City of Bellevue will exhibit a public art display featuring the work of 17 Pacific Northwest-based Black artists during the month of February. The “Elevating Voices” exhibit is available to the public at the Bellevue City Hall concourse, Monday through Friday, during business hours and evenings when City Hall is open for public meetings or events. Learn more about the exhibit. 

February Celebrates Career and Technical Education

Each February, the achievements and value of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in schools is acknowledged during National CTE Month. CTE provides BSD students the opportunity to engage in career-connected learning through a wide variety of programs. Students participate in authentic, meaningful experiences that connect their learning to real world applications. The 2023-2024 Career Pathways Catalog identifies ten different career pathways students can explore. Follow along on BSD social media  (Facebook and Instagram) as we spotlight CTE in BSD throughout the month of February. 

New Affordable Housing in Bellevue

Polaris at Eastgate, located at 13300 SE Eastgate Way, is a brand-new community in the heart of Bellevue that is available to qualifying families. In the spring of 2024, there will be 360 available units, and they will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested families can learn about the documentation requirements to qualify. For assistance with the application, contact Bellevue LifeSpring. For more information on qualifications, call 425-946-2562 or email [email protected]. 

Register for Spring for Schools, Hosted by the Bellevue Schools Foundation

I’m excited to share that Spring for Schools 2024 registration is live! You are invited to attend Bellevue Schools Foundation‘s annual event on Saturday, March 30 at 5:00 p.m., and I truly hope to see you there! 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. {Insert a line about a favorite program of yours/why you believe funding from BSF is critical} The evening will offer attendees a chance to connect with one another and teachers, and explore the initiatives funded by BSF in their signature Education Showcase.

 

Event registration is free, and childcare will be provided as capacity allows. Additional event details can be found here. The purpose of the evening is to raise funding so that BSF can continue to provide transformational opportunities for our students and teachers — please consider making a donation here.

Have a wonderful weekend!  In partnership,

Edmund and Alison