Cougar Chronical 9.5.25

It has been an AMAZING first week of school for our students at Clyde Hill Elementary!  I cannot begin to tell you how impressed we are with them.  The school year is off to a very smooth start, and we look forward to welcoming our preschool students to Clyde Hill on Monday, September 8th!  This newsletter highlights information that will support families as we begin the school year, and I am also including an update from the central office of the Bellevue School District.

 

Class Size & School Counts

During the first weeks of school and throughout the first month, we take several key counts of students that have impact on our staffing and funding.  At the state level, our October 1st count is critical as it directly impacts our funding from the state.  Here in Bellevue, our staffing - the number of teachers we have - is directly impacted by the daily attendance we take throughout these first couple of weeks of September.  It is incredibly important for students to be in school.  

Additionally, I know that families at some grade levels have noticed larger than usual class sizes.  As our superintendent Dr. Aramaki shared in an update the week prior to school starting, we are needing to wait to see who has shown up to school to make any adjustments to staffing.  These decisions are made with a district-wide lens.  While one school may have a larger-than-anticipated enrollment another school may have registered fewer students than anticipated.  It is a complex problem to solve with impacts on many schools.  Should Clyde Hill's staffing change, I will keep our school community updated on next steps.  

 

Curriculum Night - Tuesday, September 16th

Clyde Hill's Curriculum Night will be on Tuesday, September 16th.  The schedule for the evening will be:

5:30 - 5:55 - Principal Presentation in Cafeteria

6:00 - 6:30 - Grades 3rd, 4th, and 5th

6:35 - 7:05 - Grades PreK, K, 1st, and 2nd 

Your child(ren)'s teacher will let you know the exact location and specifics of their presentation.  We look forward to seeing you there.  Information about childcare during Curriculum Night will be shared early next week.

 

Before & After School Activities

Before and After school enrichment activities will be starting in the near future.  These are additional opportunities, not school activities, that families can choose to participate in. Some enrichment activities are free while others have a registration fee.  Additionally, some are limited in their capacity.

 

Cougars Run Club starts September 15!

Welcome to the FREE Cougars Run Club at Clyde Hill Elementary. We are thrilled to have you join us for our first season.

Here are the key details:

• When: Mondays and Fridays, 8:00–8:40 a.m., from September 15 to October 24.

• Weather: We will run rain or shine.

• Register: Email your child's name and grade to cougarsrunclub@gmail.com.

• Waivers: These will be available at drop-off and sent to you via email upon registration.

• Drop-off/Pick-up: You will sign in your child at drop-off. Coaches and volunteers will walk children to the school entrance at 8:40 a.m. for sign-out.

Happy Running,
Amanda and Francesca

 

Jubilee Soccer:  Grades 4 and 5

Jubilee Soccer will also be starting this fall with Clyde Hill's Jubilee Reach coaches.  This year, Clyde Hill's Jubilee Coaches are returning coach Louisa Borresen and new-to-Clyde Hill coach Seth Erickson.  This fall soccer will be for students in 4th and 5th grade.  In the spring, there will be a soccer season for students in 2nd and 3rd grade.  Information will be sent home via 4th and 5th grade classrooms.  Jubilee Soccer is a free opportunity but space is limited and therefore uses a lottery to determine which students get spots.

 

Chess Club by Excel With Chess

*Please see the flyer attached to the email sent to families.  This opportunity is provided for a fee through a private company.

Clyde Hill will be hosting our before school chess program at Clyde Hill Elementary on Monday, September 29:

Mondays: 8:00am-8:55am

First Class: 9/29

Last Class: 12/8

Off Dates: 11/10

Registration Link

The club is planning on having 3 groups (with 3 Instructors) this Fall: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Kind regards,

Coach Lane

Lane Van Weerdhuizen

 

iCode

*Please see the flyer attached to the email sent to families.  This opportunity is provided for a fee through a private company.

iCode will be offering Robotics/Coding classes on Mondays for students in grades K - 2nd and Thursdays for students in grades 3rd - 5th.

Below are registration links for each of the programs:

3-5: https://secure-portal.icodeschool.com/Base/EmbeddedUrl/FE645F855A

K-2: https://secure-portal.icodeschool.com/Base/EmbeddedUrl/B36CE32DE5

 

*Both Chess Club and iCode have limited scholarship opportunities.  If you are interested in a scholarship for one of these programs, please let me know. 

 

Coming in October - Art Adventures for Kids!

More information including registration information will be shared about this enrichment class in the upcoming weeks!

 

Field & Playground Access After School and Weekends

This week all elementary schools were informed by the facilities department that our fields and port-o-potty are to be locked after school and on the weekends.  These facilities are reserved for those who rent them from the district.  I know that families have enjoyed being able to access the playground and undercover play area, and I will work to see what possibilitliles exist for our school to keep playground access on the weekend.

 

Safety Practices at Clyde Hill

At Clyde Hill we practice a different safety drill each month to prepare us for the unlikely event of an emergency.  This next week we will have our first safety drill of the year, our first fire drill.  We have this planned for Thursday, September 11th in the morning.  This will give all of our students time to be comfortable at school and our teachers time to teach what happens during a fire drill.

We use our training from these drills throughout the year as different situations arise.  For example, when a neighbor calls and tells us a coyote was spotted along the fence, we use our safety procedure training to assess the area, notify the neighboring schools, and make sure the area is safe before students are allowed out for recess.  This is an example of what happened prior to recess on Friday and is a common occurrence in this neighborhood where coyotes are frequent visitors around school grounds.  We will send out a notification to families if a wild animal like a coyote or bobcat is spotted close to arrival or dismissal time.

Bellevue School District Information

2025-2026 Official Notices

The 2025-2026 Official Notices are now available on the district website and can be found on the Official Notices  webpage. Families are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the district's 2025-2026 Official Notices, which include:  

• Student Education Records (FERPA & Directory Information)  
• Notice of Rights Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment  
• Notice of Students and Staff Rights and Responsibilities  
• Non-Discrimination  
• Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying    
• Notice of Child Find  
• Notice of Complaint Resolution  
•  Notice of Pesticide, Asbestos and Lead  
•  Weapons  
• Truancy   
• Career and Technical Education
• Office of the Education Ombuds services

 

Bellevue Family Hub Relocating to Sherwood Forest Elementary

The Bellevue Family Hub at Stevenson Elementary School is relocating to Sherwood Forest Elementary School and will open on September 2, 2025.

BSD’s Family Hubs at Sherwood Forest Elementary and Highland Middle School are a partnership between the district and Bellevue LifeSpring, and serve as central locations for BSD families to receive support through programs that provide food, clothing, case support, and emergency assistance including but not limited to rent and utility assistance.

Visit the Hubs

Sherwood Forest - Monday & Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Highland – Wednesday & Thursday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

 

Again, it has been a wonderful first week with students, and our staff is looking forward to another great week at Clyde Hill!

Amy MacDonald

Principal, Clyde Hill Elementary School

 

The 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 phamn@bsd405.org

Sex-based Discrimination, including Sexual Harassment:Title IX Coordinator: Jeff Lowell, 425-456-4010 or lowellj@bsd405.org

Disability Discrimination:Section 504/ADA Coordinator: Karen Dejong, 425-456-4277 or dejongk@bsd405.org

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