Kindergarten Welcome Letter August 2025

August 2025

Dear Clyde Hill Kindergarten Families,

Welcome to your child(ren)’s kindergarten year at Clyde Hill Elementary School!  We are so excited that you will be joining our K-5 program.  For those of you who are new to the Clyde Hill community, we are delighted you are joining us, and for those of you who are a returning family, welcome back! 

With the beginning of the school year less than a month away, I wanted to share some key information regarding important dates in August.  Next week, I will begin to send my regular Principal’s Newsletter, the “Cougar Chronicle” (yes, for those of you who are returning families, I have retitled it!).  During August and early September, I will provide weekly information to support a successful start of school and then move to a monthly newsletter beginning in October.  

Key Dates:

Below are key dates and descriptions of these events that are important for kindergarten families. 

• Monday, August 25th Kindergarten Camp – Students enrolled in kindergarten at Clyde Hill Elementary are invited to one of three sessions:  8:30 – 9:15, 9:30- 10:15, or 10:30-11:15 where they will have an opportunity to meet and engage in a classroom activity with our kindergarten teachers while parents/guardians meet with school leadership to learn about a typical kindergarten day at Clyde Hill.  This includes information about breakfast, snack, and lunches; recess; bus-loading; end of day pick-up, a typical day's schedule, and more! 

After students and adults are reconnected, students will have an opportunity to ride a school bus around the block (this is a great photo opportunity!).  You can sign up for your preferred time using the following SignUp Genius link.  Please sign up for only one time slot. 

SignUp Genius Link:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4CAEAE28A20-57845012-kindergarten 

• Tuesday, August 26th New Family Tours - Join Clyde Hill Elementary staff from 5:00 – 6:30 PM as we lead families new to Clyde Hill Elementary on tours of the school.  During these tours we will create groups based on the grade levels of students present to also support building connections between students and families.  Tours will begin outside the main entrance of Clyde Hill Elementary (near the cement benches).  Tours last 20-30 minutes. 

 

• Tuesday, September 2nd – Thursday, September 4th Kindergarten Welcome Conferences – Following your child(ren) being placed with a kindergarten teacher, you will receive a welcome email from your child’s teacher asking you to schedule a welcome conference.  This conference allows us to learn from you – the expert on your child – prior to having them join us at school.

 

• Note that kindergarten teachers will not be present during a Meet & Greet that is taking place on August 28th as they will be “meeting and greeting” with you on these dates.

 

• Friday, September 5th – First Day of School for Kindergarten – This is the day we have all been waiting for!  School doors will open at 8:40 AM for breakfast and 8:50 AM for all other students.  Families are welcome to walk with their student(s) to kindergarten on the first day of school, and our Clyde Hill PTA will be waiting to welcome you with coffee and tissues outside the main office after you have said goodbye to your child(ren).  Do not be surprised if your child(ren) is ready for you to leave before you are ready to leave.  We will talk about strategies for leaving on the first day at the parent/guardian session at Kindergarten Camp!

In next week’s first Cougar Chronicle I will share information about school supplies (the quick version – we take care of them, all you really need is a backpack and we can help with that too!), lunches, drop-off and pick-up, buses, before and after-school childcare, and class placement.  Enjoy these last weeks of summer, and I look forward to meeting you at Kindergarten Camp!

 

Sincerely,

Amy MacDonald

Principal, Clyde Hill Elementary School

 

 

 

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.