Newport Heights Elementary - Back to School - 2025-26

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year Newport Heights Elementary School families!  

I hope that as the break winds down and your family prepares for the first day of school, you are savoring the last days of summer and making a few more memories together!  

For our families new to Newport Heights Elementary, welcome!  We are so glad you are joining our school.  To our families who are returning - we are glad to see you back! 

This first newsletter of the year highlights key information to get families ready to return to school.  

The Newport Heights and Bellevue School District website will create a machine translation of these posts for families who prefer to read these in a language other than English.  I will continue to share updates with you through early September to ensure we have a smooth launch of the school year.  

Following a mid-September update, I will switch to monthly newsletters that will be published on the first workday of each month.  I will send a link out to our school community for easy access.  However, should I receive information that needs to be shared immediately, I will communicate that right away to our school community.

For this first newsletter I am sharing updates on school supplies, lunches, drop-off and pick-up, buses, before and after-school childcare, key preschool dates, and class placement.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES*

 Newport Heights Elementary provides all basic school supplies such as pencils, paper, crayons, markers, and safety scissors.  We do ask that students come to school with a backpack that can carry a couple of books and a folder for papers.  Many kindergarten students also carry a spare change of pants and underwear in a bag in their backpack because accidents still happen at this grade level. 

LUNCH*

 Students at Newport Heights either bring lunch from home or participate in school lunch.  School lunches can be purchased by having money in a school lunch account or by participating in the Free/Reduced Meals Program based on a family's income.   If you would like to sign up for Free/Reduced Meals Program, information for the 2025-26 school year will be available on the Bellevue School District website after August 18th at:  https://www.bsd405.org/programs-and-services/nutrition-services/free-and-reduced-price-meals  Information about the cost of school lunches and setting up an online account can be found at:  https://www.bsd405.org/programs-and-services/nutrition-services/pay-for-meals.  Additionally, once the school year is underway, the main office of Newport Heights can also accept lunch money for student accounts. 

*Newport Heights's Family Engagement Specialist, Israel Perez Zamora (perezi@bsd405.org), will be happy to help any family that needs a backpack or assistance accessing items such as the Free/Reduced Meals Program.  He can be reached by email beginning the week of August 25th. 

ARRIVING TO SCHOOL

• Visitor Parking  - Access visitor parking from 119th Ave SE. Visitor parking is extremely limited.  Additional parking is located on streets that surround the campus.  
• PACIFIC program parking - If you require accessible parking due to mobility issues, please use the designated spaces in the visitor parking area. Otherwise, we reserve those spaces for families dropping off students attending our PACIFIC program who require accessible parking. 
• Preschool parking - The most convenient parking for our pre-school families is to park on SE 52nd Street.      This street borders the northern edge of our campus.  A short walk through the trees will bring you to Building 1 where our pre-school classrooms are located.
• Staff parking - The parking lot to the south of Building 3 and where the Car drop-off/pick-up lane is located is reserved for NHE staff. 
• Grade level entrances:  
  See the map above for the campus locations of the three different entrances used to admit students to the building.  Students will line up or gather at the designated locations and wait to be admitted to the building. 

• Main Entrance - Kindergarten
• Forest Entrance - Pre-school (Mrs. Salay's class enters at the NE building entrance), First and Second Grade
• Music Entrance - Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade

• Buses - Bus Routes for the 2025-26 school year will be posted online on Monday, August 18th at:  https://bsd405org.finalsite.com/programs-and-services/transportation/bus-routes#elementary.  Families of kindergarten students should receive information from the Transportation Department in the mail.  We have received[BM1]  envelopes with bus tags for Kindergarteners who qualify for bus service. There are a few students who were registered after this first batch was delivered. Transportation has this information so if your child doesn't get their bus tags and bands during Kindergarten camp they will get them on the first day of school. 

These identifiers help school staff place students on the correct bus as kindergarten students may not recognize their bus numbers at the beginning of the school year.  Please note that students in other grades will not be receiving these bands.  However, all students will have a card that they scan as they enter a bus which will help us track students.  These cards are delivered to the school and will be handed out by school staff on the first day of school.  There is also a new app for families to use to track their students as they ride the bus - Stopfinder: https://www.bsd405.org/programs-and-services/transportation/stopfinder

• Parent Drop-Off by car - The morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up lane happens in the parking lot accessed from 119th Ave SE.   In the morning, students exit the car independently from the passenger side onto the sidewalk.  All drivers must stay inside their cars.  If you choose to use this option, please make sure your child can exit the car independently, including the unbuckling of seatbelts.  We encourage you to give it a practice run prior to the start of school!

Please know that for arrival and departure, school staff are supporting students whether it be to find their bus, re-unite with their grown-up at car-rider pick-up or walking location, transition to after school childcare, or begin walking home safely on their own. 

DISMISSAL FROM SCHOOL 

• Preschool - In the afternoon, preschool students can be picked up from their exterior classroom doors, with the exception of Ms. Salay's students, who should be picked up at the northeast entrance.
• Buses - Students will wait at the bus loop in the visitor parking lot for their buses to arrive.
• Walkers - For families with students in grades kindergarten through fifth. who choose to walk home, you can meet your student near the main entrance/flagpole area. If you prefer to park on a side street and walk to campus, please meet your student near the main entrance/flagpole area.
• Parent pick-up by car - Similar to the morning drop-off by car procedure, in the afternoon, students will enter their car from the passenger side independently. All drivers must stay inside their cars.  If you choose to use this option, please make sure your child can enter the car independently, including the buckling of seatbelts. 

BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CHILDCARE

Bellevue Boys and Girls Club provides the majority of childcare services to Newport Heights families.  I am including the link to their website as they are partners with the Bellevue School District:  https://www.bgcbellevue.org/Programs/Project-Learn-25-26 

PRESCHOOL

This year, the first day of preschool at all preschools in the Bellevue School District will be Monday, September 8th!  Families in our preschool classes should anticipate receiving a message from their child's preschool teacher in late August inviting you to the Open House the afternoon of Thursday, August 28th.  This will be an opportunity to meet your child's preschool teacher and share information with one another to ensure a smooth start to the school year. 

CLASS PLACEMENT

You may have read in a recent Bellevue School District news update that student placements/schedules are visible online as of August 15th.  While one can dive into the system and possibly find this information, I strongly encourage you to wait to do so.  First, our enrollment at the elementary level across our district is changing which means staffing and classroom configurations are changing.  Second, over the summer, we keep a list of possible changes to make once teachers return and review these changes with fresh eyes.  Teachers will not return until later next week, therefore, these changes have not yet been made.  There will be changes to class rosters.  

If you see a teacher's name attached to your child's name at this time, it is only a draft and is very much subject to change.  Sharing a teacher's name with your student now and having it change could lead to disappointment and an unnecessarily difficult start to the year.  If you have already shared this information with your child, please remind them that this information, like past years, is just a draft.

Student assignments will be sent by email to families late in the afternoon of Wednesday, August 27th for grades 1st - 5th.  

AUGUST 28TH - OPEN HOUSE

We will host a New Student orientation for 1st through 5th grade students and their families at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, August 28th. This will be followed by the Open House for all families at 3:15 p.m.  This will give students and families an opportunity to meet the teacher and see the classroom.   At 3:45 p.m., our wonderful PTA will host a popsicle social on the playground! 

*For kindergarten families, information about class placement was sent in the kindergarten welcome letter.  Families who were recently enrolled can find this letter now posted on our website at:   https://newportheights.bsd405.org/our-school/news/news-details/~board/newport-heights-elementary-school-news/post/welcome-newport-heights-kindergarten-2025-2026-families  

KINDERGARTEN FAMILIES

Kindergarten camp is scheduled for this coming Friday, August 22nd.  You should have received information about what to expect on that day. 

On Friday, August 22, from 8:00-11:00, we are hosting Kindergarten Camp! The purpose of this camp includes:

 

• Welcoming our Kindergarteners to school.
• Creating excitement and hopefully ease any first day nervousness.
• Provide an opportunity to meet the Kindergarten Teachers.
• Get an experience of what Kindergarten will be like!

Your child's attendance and the opportunity to meet our school community will help ease the transition to kindergarten. Prioritizing this date is important, but we understand not all of you will be able to come. Below is a link to an important form that will be part of your child's kindergarten classroom placement. 

It is important that all Kindergarten families complete this form.  Please complete this FORM (even if you are unable to attend). 

During our time together, students will be coloring, listening to a story, and playing with other incoming Kindergarten students and teachers. Families and siblings will be meeting our Student Support Team and PTA members. They will learn a little bit about our school and our PTA while students are at camp. There will be an opportunity for students to experience a short bus ride. 

Following Kindergarten Camp, the kindergarten team will be working on student placement and creating balanced classrooms. Once placement is completed, no later than 5:00 pm on August 22nd, families will receive a welcome email from your child's teacher. Your kindergartner and guardian(s) will then have an opportunity to participate in Family Connection Meetings with your child's teacher on the following dates: September 2, 3, 4 (with the sign up included in the welcome email from your child's new teacher). These Family Connection Meetings will be a special time to begin creating and establishing partnerships and relationships.

 Look for an email on August 20th for further information and logistics regarding Kindergarten Camp. 

 Thank you! We are looking forward to partnering with you and kicking off a wonderful Kindergarten school year! 

KINDERGARTEN TEACHER ASSIGNMENTS

During the first few weeks of school, we closely monitor class size, student needs, and peer dynamics. If we find that a small adjustment would better support student learning and classroom harmony, we may rebalance classrooms (i.e., move a few students between classes). If this becomes necessary, you will receive prior notice, and we will support your child's transition with care.

Why we may rebalance:

• To keep class sizes equitable
• To align student support needs and services
• To ensure positive peer groupings and a calm, productive learning environment

Our goal is a strong start for every child with minimal disruption. Thank you for your understanding and partnership. If you have questions, please reach out to the school office.

The Newport Heights staff is excited to have our Dolphins return to the POD in just a couple of weeks!  

Enjoy these final weeks of summer vacation!

Kris Hagan

Principal, Newport Heights 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.