UPCOMING EVENTSAPRIL
16 Mon PTSA Board Meeting (7:45-9:15am, Main Office Conf Rm) 20 Fri 8th Grade Field Trip (UW Engineering Days) 20 Fri Principal's Coffee - (8:15-9:15am, Library) 20 Fri PTSA General Membership Meeting (after Principal's Coffee - 9:15am - 10:45am) 27 Fri Bellevue Schools Foundation Spring for Schools Fundraiser (12pm-1:15pm, Bellevue Hyatt Regency) MAY 18 Fri Principal's Coffee - (8:15-9:15am, Library) 18 Fri I-Connect - (TBD) 21 Mon PTSA Board Meeting (7:45-9:15am, Main Office Conf Rm) 21 Mon Multi-Language Principal's Coffee (9-10:30am, Library) 24 Thu Showcase Chinook 28 Mon No School - Memorial Day 31 Thu Japan Trip Meeting - (6:30pm in room 2511 - Japanese classroom) Visit our CALENDAR PAGE for the complete Chinook School & PTSA calendar. Message from PTSA President
Please put the morning of Friday April 20th on your calendar and join us in the Chinook Library. We are having our very important General PTSA meeting at 9:15 a.m. Our meeting follows the always interesting Principal’s Coffee which begins at 8:15 a.m. Please come as we need to vote in our Nominating Committee and other key items as we plan for next year. We want your voices, thoughts, and votes present. In January, we had our mid-year Financial Review which will briefly be overviewed at the meeting. Last newsletter I shared how you are a child’s safe base of support. So, what do we do when they push back or try to push us away? Below are some tips and ideas. It is common to hear, “I don’t need you” or “leave me alone”. It is also easy to feel like pulling away from our kids when we get frustrated or they push us away. Children repeatedly tell me how they really want their parents to accept them for who they are and to be around. Yes, I said that they want parents around. Kids want us to be available when they need us. They want to know we care and set reasonable rules. They judge our rules…they have told me.. that no or few rules means “you don’t care”, and too many rule.. ”you don’t trust me” or make that them want to push away more. It is challenging to find that middle. If we are consistent with basic rules, kids trust they know on what to base their decisions. Also, give them choices as often as possible (choice you can live with). “You can do your homework first or practice the trumpet.” If kids are in their rooms (especially “often”), I would have a chair, desk or place for you to sit and do work close by, but not in their space (a chair in the hallway is fine!). Kids need to know that parents are around and are available for them. We won’t always drop everything we are doing for them, but most of the time we are available when they want our attention. Some parents find that they get their best talking time with their kids when they are in the car. A great conversation starter is, “What was the best thing about your day and the worst thing about your day?” One of my favorite things a parent or family member can do to get and maintain closeness with any child (even young adults!) is the 15 minute activity. In this situation you are doing something alone with your child, at the level your child does it, and only expecting to have that experience/time with them. Ideally, 15 minutes per day…twice a week is great. Yes, not always the activity we want to do, not the way we want to do it.. For 15 minutes they tell us about their favorite super hero. For 15 minutes we draw with them at the level/ability that they draw. For 15 minutes we play chess or listen to the music that they like. Kids love it! I have heard stories of them requesting their “15 minutes” from their parents. You can go longer.. but make sure it is 15 minutes. Try it…and let me know how it goes!! Keep thinking about how you might get more involved at Chinook. We will have a bunch of leadership and co-leadership positions available for next year. To make a smooth transition, we line up volunteering this Spring for next Fall. Co-leadership positions make it even more collaborative and give you a more simple way to get involved.. even if you don’t think you “know enough” to do so. I smile.. because I was new to Chinook this year and jumped in as President. You don’t have to be that adventurous.. but I hope you’ll give us a chance and connect with me or another Board member if you might consider helping out. Warmly, Nancy 
Principal's Coffee This Friday
Friday, April 20, 8:15 - 9:15am in Chinook LIbrary Join Principal White and other parents for the next principal's coffee, this Friday from 8:15 - 915am in the Chinook Library. 
PTSA General Membership Meeting
Friday, April 20, 9:15 - 10:45am in Chinook LIbrary Please join us for the next PTSA General Membership meeting, which will be held this Friday right after the Principal's Coffee, from 9:15-10:45am. Along with our regular agenda items, we will be voting in the following three candidates for our Nominating Committee: Bella Guo, Liz Johnson and Mike Wong. We will also be voting in our new Legislative Chair, Arsenia Walters. We hope to see you there! 
Thank You PTSA & Volunteers - Pacific Science Center at Chinook
On Tuesday, April 3rd, Chinook students were able to experience a day full of science. Thank you to our wonderful Chinook PTSA and our outstanding volunteers for making our day with the Pacific Science Center a success. Students were engaged as the immerse themselves in engineering with hands on activities in their science classroom. Thank you again! Mrs. Kathryn Mattila 7th Grade Science Chinook Middle School |
Get involved at Chinook
Chinook’s PTSA is looking for parents/family members of incoming 6th graders to join our Board. We have a variety of positions including Co-President, Co-Vice President of Communications, Legislative Chair, and Co-Secretary available. Middle school is a critical time for kids to know their parents/families are involved and to see them being active at Chinook. Middle school PTSA is less time intensive than elementary PTSA’s can be. We have most of our PTSA positions for 2018-2019 split into Co-leadership positions. Our hope is to continue the tradition of teamwork, overlapping years of service for stability and shared knowledge, and to have fun while service our community. A core of our Board members are returning to serve next year. We still need about 6 or 7 new Board members. We’d love your involvement! If you have interest in exploring how you might be a part of the Chinook PTSA Board, please contact Nancy Huenefeld Gese at president@chinookptsa.org Looking for a New Walkabout Coordinator
As many of you know, the Walkabout Program at Chinook brings extra adults into the school during the lunches with the intention of making a positive impact on the school culture at Chinook. This latest version of the Chinook Walkabout Program was started by parent, Annie Roth, three and a half years ago. She has been the Walkabout coordinator ever since. Her youngest child is an 8th grader this year, so Annie will be moving on to BHS in the fall. As a result we will need a new coordinator. Here is a message from Annie: I have really enjoyed my family’s time at Chinook and the Walkabout program has been a big part of that. I think that I have felt much more connected to the life of the school because of the opportunity to be at school so consistently as a Walkabout volunteer. I am very eager to see the program continue after I leave! I hope there is a parent in the Chinook community who might be interested in taking over as the Walkabout coordinator next year. Coordinating the program is not highly time consuming. There is the on-going work of updating the schedule and sending out weekly reminders which isn’t very demanding. There is a bit more work getting the program started each new year and recruiting new volunteers, but this is very doable and can be adjusted as needed. I will be around in the fall and would be most happy to help a new coordinator get the program started for next year. If anyone is interested in learning more about this role, please let me know! I would love to chat with you! If you are interested in volunteering for this role or simply would like more information, please reach out to Annie at annie@roth-family.net. Thank you! 
Volunteers Needed - Pacific Science Center @ Chinook
Tuesday, April 3rd, from 6:45AM to 3:00PM at Chinook On Tuesday, April 3rd, the Pacific Science Center is coming to Chinook! All of our students will be participating in this fun-filled day of science and engineering. All of our students will be going to an assembly to start the day and will explore hands-on and engaging exhibits in their respective science class. The Chinook PTSA is graciously contributing $1500 for all of our students to share in this experience. THANK YOU PTSA! Volunteers NEEDED! We need volunteers to help set-up the equipment for the assembly and exhibits, assist with running the exhibits, and helping tear down equipment at the end of the day. We would greatly appreciate if you can come help for half the time or all day. As part of volunteering, the Pacific Science Center would like to thank you with 2 free admission passes to the Pacific Science Center. If you are interested and available to help with us on Tuesday, April 3rd, from 6:45AM to 3:00PM, please mark the day on your calendar and email Kathryn Mattila mattilak@bsd405.org. In your reply, please include your first and last name and when you would like to volunteer. 
PTSA Nominating Committee - Chinook Needs You!
Are you interested in being engaged at Chinook….a position that is a short commitment but is very important? Chinook PTSA is looking for three PTSA members to form the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee’s job is to identify, recruit and then nominate the best qualified candidates for the 2018-2019 school year. The elected positions are President(s), VP(s), Secretary, Treasurer, Legislative Chair and should represent the Chinook PTSA member community and be the voice for our students. Our hope is that the Nominating Committee members will have “reach” into our community to find those who will represent our students well. If you are interested in the position or know of anyone who will do a fabulous job, please contact the PTSA President, Nancy Huenefeld Gese. How to Report a Safety or Bullying Concern
Bullying and safety concerns can always be reported to any staff member at your school. The Bellevue School District also utilizes an anonymous reporting tool called SafeSchools Alert through which anyone can make a verbal or written report of harassment, intimidation or bullying, contact a school administrator or any staff member. Information on how to submit a report via any of these methods is available on the district website at www.bsd405.org/help/report. |
Donate to Chinook with AmazonSmile - It's Free and Easy to Setup
When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. All you need to do is: 1) Start your shopping each time at smile.amazon.com 2) On your first visit to AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), select Chinook Middle School PTSA 2 3 115 as the charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. 3) Shop as you normally would. That's it! Just remember that you must start your shopping at smile.amazon.com for your purchase to be eligible for donations. For more information, visit smile.amazon.com/about |
Helpful Links
Here are some useful links: |
|
|
Chinook Middle School PTSA * 2001 98th Avenue Northeast, Bellevue, WA 98004 * Contact Us
--
