UPCOMING EVENTSDecember
17 Mon PTSA Board Meeting (8:15-9:45am) 19 Wed Cookie Blizzard event for the Chinook Staff 24 Mon - Jan 4 Fri Winter Break January 7 Mon Return to School after Winter Break 11 Fri PTSA General Meeting (8:15-9:45am) 14 Mon PTSA Board Meeting (8:15-9:45am) 15 Tue BSD Jazz Band Festival (8am) 21 Mon No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day 25 Fri End of First Semester 28 Mon No School - Professional Development Day Visit our CALENDAR PAGE for the complete Chinook School & PTSA calendar. 
(Note: If paying online, please check the box to give permission to pass your mailing address so we can mail you your donation receipt and thank you note.
Shine on Chinook PTSA Fundraiser - Update Dear Chinook Families, We have the most exciting news!! We raised another $2,149 for Shine on Chinook in just the last few days! This means we are only $851 away from reaching our goal of raising $3,000 by the end of 2018. Rather than wait until next week to share this announcement, we’re sending our latest update NOW! A few parents inquired as to how we arrived at this number. Here are the details: • We’ve collected (via PayPal, check or cash) donations of $42,361; • We’ve collected matching funds of $2,480; • There is still total of $9,934 from donations + company matching funds pending transfer to our account • We collected funds dedicated for a new piano totaling $1,456.45. • This totals $56,230 which is 87% of our goal of $65,000. For families that have not yet donated, please do it now. Time is of the essence!- DONATE NOW!!! Below please find our newest donors: Gold Level (greater than $250): Jung Joon Kim Honor Level: Trinity McDermott Tiffany Du Kimberly Goates Mary Ball Yin Wang Ivan Tang Again and again, ANY size of donation is appreciated. Thank you for your support. Donors will be listed weekly in the Kodiak Korner and on the Donor Honor Roll page of the PTSA website. Don’t forget to apply with your employer’s corporate matching program. If questions, please contact Joanne Yin Yin Wong & Lily Yuhong Li at vpfundraising@chinookptsa.org. View in Chinese (中文) View in Spanish (Español) View in Japanese (日本語) View in Korean (한국어) 
Cookie Blizzard
On Wednesday, December 19th, we are hosting our 3rd annual "Cookie Blizzard" event for our wonderful Chinook teachers and staff members. It is our way to say "thank you" to all who work with our children at this time of year. We are asking parents to contribute at least three (3) dozen homemade cookies, but the more the merrier! Baked goods are always a treat, however, store bought items are also welcome. Please do follow the link below to sign-up to donate cookies and/or with your time. You will find and sign up by following the link below: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B48AFA623A4F49-cookie3 Cookies may be dropped off at Chinook on Tuesday, December 18th from 2:00-2:45 or on Wednesday, December 19th from 7:45-11:00. At both times, a parent will be there to collect the cookies. Cookies can also be brought to the Chinook Office at other times. Cookies should be packaged in a disposable container/bag that will not be returned. Please label the cookies with the following information: *Name of parent(s) who provided the cookies *Name or type of cookie *Please note if there are nuts in the cookies. Please do consider baking some cookies for this special appreciation event. Also, please do join us for this festive event with your time. Thank you for your generosity! Linda Matsudaira and Becky Ryals, Cookie Blizzard Committee Staff Appreciation Committee Matsu4@comcast.net 
PTSA RUNS BEST WITH VOLUNTEERS
FIND YOUR PERFECT PTSA ROLE HERET’S Are you outgoing with lots of connections within the Chinook community? Are you good at asking people to help? Is a PTSA role that allows you to volunteer on your own schedule ideal? Chinook PTSA is looking for three PTSA members to form our Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee’s job is to identify, recruit and then nominate qualified candidates for the 2019-2020 school year. for the following elected positions: President(s), VP(s) of Fundraising, Secretary, Treasurer and Legislative Chair. Elected officers should represent the Chinook PTSA member community and be the voice for our students. If you are interested in the position or know of anyone who is the perfect fit, please contact president@chinookptsa.org or co-president@chinookptsa.org
Exchange Program Opportunity
Are you ready to spread your wings to France, Germany, Italy, or Spain? We offer a unique, two-way exchange program that gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in a new language and new culture AND to host your carefully matched exchange partner in turn. At ADOLESCO YOUTH EXCHANGE we will match you with a student about your own age in France, Germany, Italy, or Spain (your choice), you will decide exactly WHEN (whatever’s best for your schedule), and for HOW LONG (between 6 to 12 weeks) you want to go on exchange (and then to host) as part of our flexible and affordable nonprofit language immersion and cultural exchange program for qualifying students between ages 9 and 18. Please join us for an INFO MEETING on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 from 2 to 4 PM at the Bellevue Public Library, Meeting Room #3 (1111 110th Avenue NE Bellevue WA 98004) or on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019 from 1 to 3 PM at the Capitol Hill Branch Library, Meeting Room (425 Harvard Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102). RSVP marie@adolesco.org, and see www.Adolesco.org for more info. The application deadline is March 15, 2019, and matches will be announced by late April 2019. YOU can now learn French, German, Italian, or Spanish while living IN a new culture AND gain a great friend… for life! |
Counselor's Corner It’s December! Only 4 school weeks until end of the semester! This is a friendly reminder that we’re a little over half-way through 2nd quarter. We have one more week of instruction in December before Winter Break, and three weeks after. School will be closed for Winter Break for two weeks (see district calendar here: https://bsd405.org/wp-content/pdf/calendar/2018-19-calendar.pdf). We encourage students and parents to check grades together via Synergy weekly, and to check OneNote/Outlook calendars nightly. Many teachers make resources available for students via these two avenues that can assist students when they get stuck on homework. For example, our Algebra 1 textbook has online videos for each chapter that can assist students in problem solving at home. If that doesn’t work, we strongly recommend that students attend tutorial the next day and use their homework as a guide when asking for help from their teacher! If you’re not sure about how regularly your student attends tutorial, you can always send their teachers an email to check-in. We want to partner with you to help your student be an advocate for themselves and get the help they need from their teachers. Interlake High School Open House – December 18th Do you have an 8th grade student who is interested in attending Interlake High School next year? If so, the Interlake staff would like to extend a personal invitation to your family to visit Interlake High School on Tuesday, December 18, 2018 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. They look forward to meeting you and sharing information about our academic programs and activities. If you need information about Open Enrollment, please see the Interlake website, www.bsd405.org/interlake. For more information see the flyer HERE. Crossroads Community Center’s Annual Youth Holiday Party On Tuesday, December 18th, Crossroads Community Center will be hosting their annual Youth Holiday Party from 4:30-7PM. This is a free event for families in need that includes holiday entertainment, refreshments, and gifts. Please see the FLYER for more information. 
Scholastic Book Fair Success!
The Scholastic Book Fair wrapped up today at Chinook with a profit of over $1,850 for our library! Thank you students, families, and Chinook staff for your generous support of our once-a-year fundraiser! Fundraisers can only happen with the gift of time and talent from a committed group of parents. A huge Thank you goes to our Book Fair Chair, Dana Kaefer, for taking on this challenge with lots of positive energy while taking care of the details, and for working at the Book Fair every single day. Special Thank Yous to an amazing team of parent volunteers who worked alongside Dana: Denise Snowden, Debbie Kalpakidis, Keiko Hutson, Carrie Ruckhaber, and Carrie Browne. Please, thank them for helping enrich the lives of our students and of those to come! Happy Holidays and thanks for your support! Ms. Kawaguchi
Help Volunteer to make the Holidays brigther for Families
At Hopelink, they believe every family and child should enjoy a happy holiday season. Hopelink’s holiday gift rooms can help you do just that. Every December, their food banks are transformed into holiday wonderlands that are filled with a variety of gifts and stocking stuffers – enabling parents and grandparents to shop, at no cost, for their children or grandchildren. Hopelink gift rooms help parents who may not otherwise be able to provide presents during the holidays. If you want to volunteer for this at Hopelink.. Here is a link to the volunteer page: https://www.hopelink.org/take-action/volunteer Here is the link to the specific activities mentioned above: http://signup.com/go/mqyfzmU We asked about ages and here is what we found. The food bank supervisor said 12-16 years old (middle schoolers) must be accompanied by adult and can’t be ‘personal shoppers’ which means they can’t interact with clients and help them choose gifts, they can only sort and restock. High schoolers no need to be accompanied by adult and I believe they can help clients. Looks like 7 year olds can volunteer too, which is great :) 
Backpack Meals for Kids
Childhood hunger is a fact of life in Bellevue. One in five students in the Bellevue School District qualifies for free and reduced price meals at school. For some of these kids, school meals represent the bulk of their weekly nutrition. On weekends, they used to go hungry. Since March of 2012, Backpack Meals for Kids has been working to eliminate the tragedy of weekend hunger. We started in two schools, providing weekend meals for 20-30 students weekly. Today, we serve 28 schools, all grades, and provided 72,654 meals in the 2017-2018 school year. The Muslim Community Resource Center now provides for Sherwood Forest Elementary School exclusively, packing food for 2 months and funding the rest of the school year, a value of approximately $10,000. Learn More: http://backpackmeals.org/ Volunteer: http://backpackmeals.org/?page_id=72 
Registrar's Corner
Private School Applications Every year at this time, several Chinook families launch the private school application process for the following school year. This process generally asks for input from the Registrar, a Counselor, and/or teacher(s). We have developed some simple guidelines to help families request this input from Chinook staff. The key point is to ask for our assistance well in advance of the private school deadlines. You can find the guidelines here. Student Date Verification Starting in early August, parents were asked to verify their student’s data on the Synergy parent portal – ParentVUE. The ability to update data is available throughout the year. You will see the link at the top of the ParentVUE home page: Use this tool to change phone numbers, email address, emergency contacts, privacy settings, etc. If you move, you may enter the new address but will still need to complete a Change of Address form and re-establish residency in the Chinook attendance area. |
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 |
Bellevue Ski School
Who Is Eligible? Bellevue School District Middle School Students 6th thru 8th grade Programs for Everyone! • Recreational Skiing • Recreational Snowboarding • Park and Pipe Program • Ski Racing Ready for the 2019 season? Registration is now OPEN! 
Helpful Links
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Chinook Middle School PTSA * 2001 98th Avenue Northeast, Bellevue, WA 98004 * Contact Us
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