Cougar Chronicle 8.29.25

The first of three "first days of school" is fast approaching, and Clyde Hill Elementary has been bustling with activity!  Classrooms have been decorated and desks arranged, the many learning spaces around our school have been organized for the year ahead, and we are ready to welcome our Clyde Hill cougars back for the 2025-26 school year!  It has been wonderful seeing so many of you this past week with our various events - Kindergarten Camp, New Family Tours, and the Family-Teacher Meet & Greet!  There has been so much excitement that it is hard to wait for Tuesday!  We look forward to seeing our 1st - 5th graders on Tuesday, September 2nd, our kindergarten students on Friday, September 5th, and our preschool students on Monday, September 8th.

As we prepare for the year ahead this newsletter has a few items to help ensure a smooth start as well information that are important opportunities that all families need to know about.  First, most of the key "Back to School" Information can be found in the previous two newsletter that are posted on the Clyde Hill website at:  https://clydehill.bsd405.org/our-school/news

 

Transportation

The biggest question that has been out there for families has been around bus transportation.   Information has been posted on the BSD website and those families eligible for bus transportation (those living more than a mile from their school) received email invitations and setup instructions to the app Stopfinder in August 2025 to prepare for the 2025–2026 school year. The new app will go live before the first day of school.  The Stopfinder app  provides families with bus schedule information, near-real-time location updates, and notifications.

• What to do if you cannot find the invitation to Stopfinder?  If you are the primary or secondary contact for your student as designated in Synergy ParentVUE, your email is up-to-date, and you checked your Junk/Spam folder, please contact the Transportation Department transportation@bsd405.org or 425-456-4512. 
• If your invitation to the app has expired, call 425-456-4512.

Additionally, if you would like to see all the bus routes for our school district, including Clyde Hill, these can be found online at:  https://www.bsd405.org/programs-and-services/transportation/bus-routes

 

School Meals

Also now available on the BSD website is the September lunch menu.  You can find it and other information about school meals at:  https://www.bsd405.org/programs-and-services/nutrition-services/menus-and-nutritional-information

 

Complete a School Meal Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals

The 2025-2026 Child Nutrition Eligibility & Education Benefit Application (CNEEB) is open. Qualification for free or reduced-price meal benefits is based on household size and income. Families, including those with students attending schools where meals are available at no cost, are encouraged to complete the CNEEB application to establish eligibility for school meal benefits.

Families must reapply every year. If your student(s) qualified for free or reduced-priced meals last year in the Bellevue School District, their prior year eligibility is extended for the first 30 school days to allow time for a new application to be completed. The final day they may use their prior year eligibility is October 14, 2025. After this date, meals will be charged at the paid meal price if eligibility for free or reduced-price meals has not been reestablished.  

It’s More Than a Meal Application

Did you know that completing an application for free or reduced-price meals can assist with more than just meals at school? Unlock benefits for your student, family and school with an approved application. Learn more about the benefits of applying.

 

A Note from Our Nurse

From your School Nurse Amy, “This is just a friendly reminder to turn in your students’ required health documentation for the “good-to-go, green-light,” start for the 25-26 school year! All paperwork and medications must be at Clyde Hill for the first day of school attendance.

If you have a returning student with health documentation, all the forms were sent to you in June. Please email borberga@bsd405.org if you need the email sent again. Remember that the pharmacy can also take up to a week to provide medications, so don’t let that delay the first day start.

If you are a new to Clyde Hill family, with a student who has indicated a “life threatening health condition” like food allergies, asthma, or seizures that require medication, please visit the Bellevue School District Health Services page on their website: https://www.bsd405.org/programs-and-services/health-services.”

Nurse Amy Borberg

 

Extracurricular Opportunities

Our first extracurricular opportunity of the year is on the horizon - the Cougar Run Club!

Cougar Run Club is here!  Join us starting September 15th for this free 6-week program open to all Clyde Hill Elementary School students. Designed for all skill levels, we'll meet every Monday and Friday morning at the Clyde Hill Elementary School Field from 8-8:40 am. Led by enthusiastic coaches, kids will build fitness, confidence and friendships through exercise and games.  Interested in volunteering?  Contact us at cougarsrunclub@gmail.com and help make this program a success.  See you out there!

More information coming soon...  

 

Additionally, more extracurricular opportunities will be shared in the very near future!

 

Bellevue School District Communication

Another exciting technology advancement is the new BSD app - the easy way to access school district information on your phone.

Download the BSD Mobile App

It’s here! The Bellevue School District mobile app is now available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Stay connected, informed and supported — all in one place:

·       Language access — choose your preferred language

·       Easy access to payments

·       School meal menus

·       Bus information

·       District and school news and events

·       Follow one or multiple schools for important updates

·       Technology support

·       Connect to BSD social media and more!

 

Download today and take BSD with you wherever you go.

Download on the App Store               Download on Google Play

 

Enjoy these final days of summer vacation, and we look forward to seeing you as we launch the 2025-26 school year in just a few days!

 - Amy MacDonald

Principal, Clyde Hill Elementary

 

 

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.