Blakely Newsletter - May 11, 2026

Hello Bulldogs, 

I speak for our staff in sharing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love and appreciation during Staff Appreciation Week. The smiles, beautiful flowers, thoughtful cards, and delicious treats and food made every single staff member feel truly celebrated. Your kindness and generosity reminded us why Blakely is such an incredible community. We felt the love all week long, and it means the world to us. Thank you! 

As usual, I'm including a few quick updates and information for you- thank you for reading. 

Bike to School Day is on Thursday, May 15th! We encourage all students who are able to bike, scooter, or walk to school that morning. Please see the flyer below for more information about how this works at Blakely. 

Just a reminder- we opened our Family Input survey for class placement last week. This survey helps us hear more about your child's learning needs, social-emotional strengths, and any important information that will support a successful placement for next year. As a reminder, we carefully consider all family input as we thoughtfully build balanced classrooms; however, we do not take requests for specific teachers or for specific students to be placed with your child. Filling out the survey is not a guarantee of the information shared within. Our placement team works diligently to create the best learning environment for every student, and we appreciate your trust in this process.

Attendance Update:

As we head into the final weeks of the school year, it’s very common for children to feel tired and a bit less motivated—especially as summer gets closer! While the end-of-year slump is normal, coming to school each day still makes a big difference for your child’s learning, routines, and confidence. A few simple ideas can help make mornings smoother and support strong attendance through the finish line:

Thank you for partnering with us to help your child push through the last stretch of the school year and finish strong.

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 this Friday, May 15th!

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