October Principal Newsletter

Dear Ardmore Families,

We can't believe we’ve already finished our first month back this year! Students have been settling into routines and learning so much. We are so proud of our kids and all their hard work.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to take a moment to recognize and honor the valuable contributions of our Hispanic community here at Ardmore. We’re proud to celebrate the richness, diversity, that our Spanish-speaking families bring to our school.

One of the most special things about Ardmore is our multicultural and diverse community. Our kids hold multiple identities, which is so special, and they get to interact with each other every day. We want to ensure that our students learn with and from each other. We do this by ensuring we respect each other’s beliefs and values and by celebrating that diversity. During the month of October, we are focusing on unity by respecting each other’s diverse perspectives and ways of being. We believe this is something learned at a young age, becoming a lifelong skill that helps students grow into true global citizens. This month, students will be engaging in the Bullying Prevention Unit, Unity Day activities on the 16th , and Anti-Racist lessons as part of their SEL block. In addition, we will be launching Kindness Day every Thursday, where we recognize students for showing kindness toward each other.

We hope to continue upholding this value throughout the year and would love to partner with you. If you would like to support us by collaborating on our school-wide assemblies to provide enriching opportunities for our kids to celebrate different cultures, please let us know. We would love to partner with you!

Sincerely,

Tina Bogucharova-Principal

Yusra Obaid-Assistant Principal

Ardmore Community Handbook Ardmore-Community-Handbook-2024-2025.pdf

 

Save the Date

10/18:  FCC event:  Parent Principal Connect 8:30am-9:30am

10/25:  PTSA Family Event "Trunk or Treat" 6pm-7:30pm

11/5:  MLL Coffee 8:30-9:30

11/11:  Veterans Day:  No School

Please follow our Calendar for future events https://ardmore.bsd405.org/our-school/calendar

Family Connection Center Event:  Parent Principal Connect

Parents and guardians are welcome to join Mrs. B for a time to connect and get questions answered.  We will meet in the Art Room then take a quick tour of the school.  

Please RSVP here:  https://forms.office.com/r/vPn87DcsVC

FCCCommunityEventPoster_1.pdf

 

Family Event:  Halloween Trunk or Treat

Please join us for this fun and safe way of celebrating Halloween!

The Ardmore parking lot will transform into a trick or treating community where kids can wear costumes and get candy from decorated trunks.  Car decorations can be as simple or elaborate as you want.  You can hand out candy, nonedible treats, stickers, pencils, etc.  

Sign up for a spot in our parking lot for your decorated trunk:  Trunk or Treat 2024 (google.com)

HalloweenExplainer.pdf

 

Curriculum Night Resources

Thank you for coming to Curriculum Night!  In case you missed it, here are some resources about our Instructional and Student Support programs:  Ardmore Curriculum Night Resources | News Details (bsd405.org)

Spotlight on Bilingual Education

English and Hindi

English and Arabic

Students in all our kindergarten classes are learning about the different elements of story as part of our Literacy curriculum.

Students in our Arabic and Hindi programs are learning key vocabulary words of the different elements of a story in English and Arabic and in English and Hindi.

Spotlight on SWPBIS

Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a system that supports our education and support of student behaviors.  We balance positive reinforcement and proactive instruction to help students make the right choices at school. 

At Ardmore, we continue to ensure that students grow in social awareness and social-emotional regulation by navigating conflict in positive ways. We always promote restorative practices for resolving conflicts among students and have proactive, positive behavior interventions. One of the ways we promote this is by rewarding students for positive behavior with various rewards. For whole-class recognition, we use Golden Eagle tickets, and all classes work towards a collective class reward. Ask your child how many Golden Eagle tickets their class has earned and what they are working towards!

 

Vaccine Clinic @ Ardmore

We will be partnering with Rite Aid to offer vaccination on campus.

Clinic Date: OCTOBER 23, 2024

Clinic Time: 12PM-2PM

Clinic Location: Ardmore Elementary School, 16616 NE 32nd St Bellevue, Washington 98008

Vaccinations Provided: Flu and Covid

RAImmunizationConsentForm.pdf

InfluenzaVIS.pdf

Safety Drills

Washington state law and Bellevue School District policy require all schools to hold at least one drill per calendar month while school is in session. This month, we will be conducting an earthquake drill and practicing what we would do if we were at school in the event of an earthquake.

 

In the United States, the recommended actions to take in the event of an earthquake are Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

Please talk with your student about preparing for emergencies and disasters such as earthquakes. Encourage them to talk about their concerns and express their feelings. Emphasize that even though sometimes things happen that we may not expect, there are lots of things we can do to help us stay safe.

For more information on earthquakes and general preparedness, you might want to visit the Washington Emergency Management Division (https://mil.wa.gov/personal) or Great Washington ShakeOut (https://www.shakeout.org/washington/index.html) websites. You may also find the https://www.ready.gov/kids site helpful.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

BSD Advanced Learning

Applications for Advanced Learning Services Now Open for 2025-2026

Applications for Advanced Learning Services for the 2025-2026 school year are open now through October 18 at 4:00 p.m. for students currently in grades 1 to 11. Please note that this is an earlier date than in previous years.

About Advanced Learning Services

Bellevue School District's Advanced Learning Services provide identified students with academic services at an advanced level and accelerated pace. Instruction is designed to meet students' cognitive and academic needs at the appropriate level. Centered program services begin in second grade at select schools. Domain Specific services are available to students in grades 1 - 9 at all schools. We welcome you to consider Advanced Learning Services for your student.

Who Should Consider Applying for Advanced Learning Services?

Students in need of advanced learning services have an exceptional ability to learn and reason beyond their same-age peers. These children exhibit a high ability to make meaning out of complex concepts or problems.

You may want to consider applying for services for your student if you have noticed these characteristics:

· advanced vocabulary for their age

· strong reading skills two or more grade levels above current grade in school

· demonstrates high interest in numbers at an early age

· is imaginative

· finds interesting solutions to problems

· understands information quickly

· may prefer to interact with adults or older children

Apply Now!

Visit the Advanced Learning Services webpage to learn more about Advanced Learning Services and to apply for your student.  Please note that if your student is currently receiving Advanced Learning services, there is no need to re-apply. All kindergarten, 2nd and 5th graders enrolled in the district will be considered automatically for advanced learning services through our universal screening program.

 

BSD Communication

Update Your SchoolMessenger Preferences for Important Notifications

BSD uses the SchoolMessenger communication notification system to send regular announcements and urgent alerts such as school delays and closures. Families may receive SchoolMessenger communication via phone call, text message and email.

You do not need to create an account to receive notifications, as you will automatically receive them to the phone number and email address listed in your student’s record. However, if you choose to set up a SchoolMessenger App account, you may adjust how you prefer to be notified. You may also view messages from the last 30 days online or by setting up the app on your IOS or Android smartphone.

Important: Families should sign up for SchoolMessenger with the same email address used for Online Student Data Verification through Synergy ParentVUE.

The following tips may help if you think you are not receiving important messages from the district or your school:

• Email Tip: Check your Junk/Spam folder. Depending on your email provider, you may need to mark email from the Bellevue School District as “safe,” or “move to inbox” to ensure future messages will not go to hidden folders.
• Phone Call Tip: Save the phone number 425-456-4072 in your contacts to ensure that calls show up as “Bellevue School District.” There have been reports from some families who receive the calls as “Potential Spam.”
• Text Message Tip: Create a SchoolMessenger account and manage your contact and notification preferences. To receive SMS texts from SchoolMessenger, send a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587. You will then receive a confirmation that you have registered for SchoolMessenger notifications.

 

BSD Japanese Language Program

Elementary Japanese Language Program

We are excited to share that BSD is exploring the launch of a new Japanese language program for our elementary students in the upcoming school year! To ensure this program meets the needs and interests of our students and families, we are seeking your perspectives and insights. Join us for a family and community listening session on Wednesday, October 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Jing Mei. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to reach out to Languageprograms@bsd405.org. Kindly RSVP.

 

BSD Interpreters Needed

Are you interested in becoming an on-demand BSD INTERPRETER? Are you bilingual? Do you have an advanced proficiency in a language other than English? Bellevue School District is committed to improving meaningful, two-way communication and promoting access to district programs, services and activities for students and parents/guardians who require communication in a language other than English. For that reason, we are looking for: 

• Language Access Interpreter: Other languages than English (On-demand and in-person - $35/hr) 

The positions are paid hourly and on demand. Please apply. If candidates don’t have previous professional experience as an interpreter, they will need to pass a proficiency language test. If you need additional information, don’t hesitate to contact Marta Trilles, BSD’s Language Access Coordinator, at languageaccess@bsd405.org. 

 

BSD Career and Technical Education Advisory

Support Career and Technical Education by Joining an Advisory Committee

The Bellevue School District Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is seeking business professionals to join our CTE Program Advisory Committees. There are 12 program advisory committees seeking members for the 2024-2025 school year. These committees are designed to meet state and federal guidelines for career and technical education programs and ensure that CTE programs are aligned with current industry needs and trends.

The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Newport High School. CTE teachers from across the Bellevue School District will partner with industry professionals and provide guidance and advice for district programs. Please confirm your interest in a committee and RSVP for the kickoff by October 16, 2024.