Welcome to the 2024-25 School Year!

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year!

I hope this newsletter finds you and your family looking forward to the upcoming school year. Preparations for the year are already underway at Clyde Hill Elementary, and we are eager to have your child(ren) back at school!

In this newsletter I want to share with you key back to school events, when to expect the next newsletter, and officially introduce Clyde Hill’s Assistant Principal Deborah Coney. When the 2023-24 school year ended, we knew that the originally named Assistant Principal, Mrs. Genisha Branch, was moving to our Human Resources Department to become the Director of Employee Relations and that a new assistant principal would be named. In the days following the close of the school year, Mrs. Deborah Coney was named the new Assistant Principal of Clyde Hill Elementary School. Mrs. Coney most recently served as an Assistant Principal at Tyee Middle School during the 2023-24 school year; however, she partnered with me during the 2022-23 and 2021-22 school years as Assistant Principal at Enatai Elementary School. We are excited to be reunited as an administrative team. Additionally, fourth grade families at Clyde Hill may recognize Mrs. Coney as she stepped in during the 2020-21 school year to teach kindergarten at Clyde Hill during the pandemic. Her full introductory letter has been emailed to Clyde Hill families. Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Coney to the Clyde Hill community!

As we prepare for the beginning of the school year, school staff are engaging in professional learning both at Clyde Hill as well as with colleagues from across the district. The weeks of August 19th and 26th are filled with professional learning for staff. However, we have also carved out time during the week to connect with Clyde Hill families. The following are key dates for Clyde Hill families to be aware of:

• Monday, August 26th New Family Tours, 5:00-6:30
  • These tours are geared towards students and their families in first through fifth grade who are new to Clyde Hill Elementary School.
  • Preschool and Kindergarten students have their own unique events on later dates.
  • Tours will be provided by Clyde Hill staff.

 

• Tuesday, August 27th Kindergarten Camp
  • Kindergarten families will have the option of signing up for one time, 8:30-9:15 AM, 9:30-10:15 AM, or 10:30-11:15 AM during which their student will spend time with our Clyde Hill kindergarten teachers and parent/guardians will meet with Clyde Hill administrators to learn about the first days of kindergarten.
  • Kindergarten families can sign up for one session of Kindergarten camp at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4CAEAE28A20-50727675-kindergarten
  • Kindergarten students will also have an opportunity to ride a Bellevue School District school bus around the block either before or after their Kindergarten Camp session.
  • Kindergarten teachers use Kindergarten Camp to gain information about students to create balanced kindergarten classes rather than simply assigning an equal number of boys and girls to each class. This allows us to create more thoughtful, supportive classes that should enhance and strengthen student learning.

 

• Wednesday, August 28th Professional Learning Day #1 for Clyde Hill Staff
  • At the end of this professional learning day, classroom teachers in Grades K-5 will send an email to families welcoming students to their classroom and inviting students in grades 1-5 to the Classroom Meet and Greet on Thursday, August 29th from 3:00-4:30 PM.
  • If you do not receive an email, please come to the Meet and Greet at any time between 3:00-4:00, and our office staff will make sure we have the correct email address for you and connect you with your child(ren)’s classroom teacher(s).

 

• Thursday, August 29th Clyde Hill Teacher Meet & Greet: 3:00 – 4:30 PM - Grades 1-5
  • Students and families will be able to meet their teachers and visit their new classroom for the upcoming school year. We hope you will be able to join us as we get ready for the 2024-25 school year!
  • Kindergarten students and their families will be meeting with their teacher and visiting their classroom during the family conferences on September 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

 

• Tuesday, September 3rd First Day of School for Grades 1st – 5th
  • Kindergarten families will be meeting with kindergarten teachers for WA Kids family meetings.

 

• Thursday, September 5th & Friday, September 6th: Family Conferences for Preschool Students
  • Preschool Teachers will be scheduling conferences with the families of students in their classrooms.

 

• Friday, September 6th First Day of School for Kindergarten
  • The Clyde Hill PTA will be hosting a Kindergarten family meet up after the beginning of the school day outside main office. Come join other kindergarten parents/guardians to celebrate your child(ren) launching into kindergarten! Coffee (and tissues) will be provided.

 

• Monday, September 9th First Day of Preschool

 

• Monday, September 30th: Curriculum Night
  • The exact schedule of the evening is still being determined. The date of Curriculum Night is determined centrally to ensure that schools within a “feeder pattern”, e.g. Clyde Hill, Chinook Middle School, and Bellevue High School, do not have these events on the same night. More information about this event will be shared in early September.

In the next newsletter which will be sent to families at the end of next week, key information about morning arrival and afternoon pick-up, the school’s daily schedule, and other helpful information about day-to-day life at Clyde Hill Elementary School will be shared.

While I have only had a chance to meet a handful of you so far, I can speak for both Mrs. Coney and I when I say that we are excited to meet both you and your child(ren) as we head into the upcoming school year! We look forward to seeing you at Clyde Hill very soon!

 

In partnership,

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.