Blakely Newsletter - May 4, 2026

Dear Blakely Community,

We are officially in the month of May! This month, our students will be immersed in learning more about the character trait of COOPERATION. 

Cooperation means working together, listening to others, and contributing to a shared goal, even when it can feel challenging. Students will have opportunities to practice skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and respectful communication. 

You can support this learning at home by encouraging your child to take turns, help with family tasks, and engage in discussions about what it means to be a good teammate. We’re excited to see our students grow as collaborators!

Student placement is one of the most important processes at Blakely, and we dedicate a great deal of time and care to ensuring each child is placed in an environment where they can thrive. Our goal is to create balanced, supportive learning communities for all students.

To ensure a fair and consistent process the following steps are used:

Most students are well prepared to adjust successfully to a variety of classroom environments, and we are committed to supporting each student during this transition.

We value the important perspective that families bring and invite parents/guardians to share information that may help us create the most supportive placement for their child. This may include:

REMINDER: While we carefully consider all input, we are not able to accommodate requests for specific teachers or placement with particular friends.

Parent/guardian input should be submitted in writing using the electronic Google Class Placement Input Form.

Thank you for partnering with us in this thoughtful process.

With Care, 

Blakely will be celebrating its Walk and Bike to School Day on Friday, May 15th! Join other families in celebrating the beautiful weather and practicing alternative ways to get to school that promote health and help the environment. So get outside, get out of your car, and get your kids off the bus for the day!

Join us in one of four ways!

To ensure that all bikers are safe, we request that a parent or trusted adult rides or walks with your student in the bike or walk train. If you can’t take your child, you can get support from another parent or trusted adult who may already be riding. Please contact Brenda Hodges-Howell bhodgeshowell@gmail.com or 206-940-5309 with any questions or if you need help finding an adult to ride with your child.

The bike trains will NOT return at the end of the day. So please remember that if you biked your child to school, you’ll need to bike them home or connect with another adult who can be responsible for your child and their bike. Be sure your child knows their plan to get home at the end of the day, and all transportation changes are communicated to the Blakely front office. 

Finally, be sure to give your kiddo’s bike a safety check before the day of the ride. Check brakes, tires, and gears! Bainbridge Bike Co. is having a bike safety check on Saturday May 9th, from 9-10:30am! 

Looking forward to seeing walkers and riders out on May 15th!

If you know your student will not attend BISD in the fall, please let us know by contacting the school office, or by sending an email to: studentrecords@bisd303.org with your educational plan so that we may adjust our records accordingly.

 

Our Annual Back to school Check-in process (ABC) is now open and is available by logging in to your Family Access account. Look in the left menu and choose: ABC 26-27 to move through the steps to complete this process ASAP.

It should take about 15 minutes (or less!) to complete the process for each child in your household.

This data collection allows BISD to gather information regarding your students’ plans for the upcoming year. Having an accurate understanding of the number of expected students helps us determine staffing needs, class size and building capacity to better serve our students. In addition to this valuable information, it allows BISD to fulfill its annual notification requirements for public schools in Washington state.

The ABC 26-27 process must be completed for ALL students in the district whether they are brand new to the district or returning.

*NOTE: For students with more than one family, ONLY the Primary Family will have access to complete the ABC’s. Guardians of Non-Primary Families will have “read-only” access. If this is a hardship for your family, please contact the school office for guidance, or send an email to studentrecords@bisd303.org. All families have the ability to make changes to their specific demographic information at any time via Family Access>Student Info>Change Requests link (in the top right corner).

Looking for things to do around town? Visit our Community Events page for local happenings, classes, and family activities—updated regularly.