BFPP NEWS

Friday, March 28th, 2025

Principal's Corner

Dear BFPP Families,

Spring break is just around the corner....but wait, there is lots happening around BFPP before that. Please read through the newsletter for important information and events. We try to ensure that the newsletter is the main source for happenings and resources. It's our way of limited the exploding in boxes we all have to navigate by collecting everything in one place. Thanks for your readership and hope to see you all soon!

Until then hoping for sun, k

Counselor's Corner

Greetings BFPP Families,

Spring has sprung! This time of year is full of life, excitement, and a busy schedule! Feeling overwhelmed and want some tips? Here is a brief article that reviews 8 simple strategies to help manage feelings of overwhelm: 8 Strategies to Manage Overwhelming Feelings | Psychology Today. Feel free to reach out to me via email or phone if you ever want to check-in!

Spring Art

Come make some spring themed art!

Day: Thursday 4/3

Time: 12 – 1 pm

Location: Counseling Office (and outside if not raining)

Manga & Me Workshop – Final Series of the Year

Are you a fan of manga and/or graphic novels? Are you not a fan yet but interested in learning more? Come join in! In this four-part workshop series we will use manga and graphic novel styles to explore personality, relationships, emotions, and storytelling. We are going to meet every other week for this final series. Join in for any of the days whether this is your first time or you’ve already completed a series! Email me with any questions. Hope to see you there!

Days : Mondays

4/21 Part 1

5/5 Part 2

5/19 Part 3

6/2 Part 4

Time : 9 – 10:30am

Location: The Cabin (portable)

All ages welcome!

Wishing you and your family all the best!

Warmly,

Counselor Jess

Upcoming Events at BFPP

Mon. 3/31, 10am: Host Family Info Meeting

Mon. 3/31, 10:30am: Theater River Performance

Tues. 4/1, 10:30-11:30am: Salmon Release

Tues. 4/1, 1pm & 6pm: As You Wish Performance

Wed. 4/2, 10-11am: Forward Movement Club Continues

Thurs. 4/3, 12-12:30: MMM Finale Party

4/7-4/11: Spring Break - No Classes

Tues. 4/15: Music Classes w/Teacher Karen Begin

Tues. 4/15, 12:30-2pm: Family Sensory Workshop

4/15-4/16: School Picture Sessions

Tues. 4/22, 12pm: Earth Day Rally

Tues. 5/6, 12:15pm: Doktor Kaboom Show at MBT

School Climate Survey

Dear BFPP Families,

Please set aside 5-10 minutes and help us collect important information about how our families and students experience our school: School Climate Survey

Dear BFPP Students,

Your feedback is important too! Please be sure to complete the Student School Climate Survey by April 4.

We would love to hear from each of you about your experiences at the Partnership. We are always working to continuously celebrate where things are going well and improve the areas that are not working for you. Hearing from you is vital in this process. Thank you in advance for providing us with this essential information!

We use this confidential information to help us know what we’re doing well and how we can continue to grow and improve here at BFPP. Every school in the district participates with this survey. A more specific BFPP survey will also be forthcoming. Please participate in both!

Next School Year Plan 2025-2026

Please let your learning partner know what school your student is planning on attending for next school year, ESPECIALLY, if you have a 5th and/or 8th grader.

ALL Students: If you are planning on staying at BFPP for next school year please confirm that with your LP.

5th Graders: All 5th graders currently at BFPP will default to BFPP for next year UNLESS you tell us otherwise. Middle Schools send out important transition communications from here on out and thus it is important you let us know if you are planning on attending your neighborhood middle school so that you can be in that communication.

8th Graders: 8th Graders will default to their neighborhood high schools UNLESS, you tell us otherwise. If you are interested in going to a different BPS high school, other than your neighborhood one, please let us know. You will need to submit a transfer form 3131F Request for Student Attendance Area Transfer.

If you are planning on going to a private school or any school not part of our school district please let your LP know.

Out of District Students: Current students that are outside our district boundaries need to apply for a Choice Transfer every year. Here is the link: eds.ospi.k12.wa.us/ChoiceTransferRequest

If you have any questions or are unsure of what to do please feel free to contact me at

Peggy.gallegos@bellinghamschools.org

Host Family Opportunity ~ 3/31

Bonjour ! Andégo Internships Abroad is welcoming a small group of French teens in Washington from Annecy, France for about two weeks. Andégo is currently seeking host families for these high school visitors from Lycée Saint Michel. Students arrive on Monday, April 14th and depart on Thursday, May 1st. Would you be interested in serving as a host family and meeting a new French friend?!

Please email Tia Sharp at tia@andego.org with any inquiries or apply to host by clicking on this link: Apply to Host. All families are welcome to apply 🙂 Having a teen in the home or studying French are not requirements to participate in this program.

Tia will be at BFPP this Monday, March 31st at 10am to share about this opportunity and answer questions.

Theater Class Experience ~ 3/31

3rd-5th Grade Theater Performance ~ 4/1

Goodbye Salmon! ~4/1

Come help us release our salmon into the creek at Fairhaven Park on Tuesday, April 1st from 10:30-11:30am.

Forward Movement Club ~ 4/2

Continuing through April!

*Friday mountain bike meet-ups are canceled due to higher interest in Wednesday movement club at BFPP*

Music Classes with Teacher Karen

Family Sensory Workshop ~ 4/15

Spring School Pictures ~ 4/15 & 4/16

Sign up for Spring Pictures Here!

Please contact Amanda with questions.

Earth Day Rally ~ 4/22

Doktor Kaboom ~ 5/6

Mt. Baker Theater has generously awarded BFPP 50 scholarship tickets to the Doktor Kaboom Show on Tuesday, May 6th at 12:15pm.

Please ONLY sign up for these free tickets if you are committed to attending.

Sign up HERE!

Questions? Email Heidi at heidizollner@hotmail.com.

Healthy Tech Presentation

Parent groups and PTAs from Wade King, Happy Valley and Lowell elementary schools recently hosted a panel of local experts at Wade King to help share information, resources and advice for families about healthy use of technology.

The panel of experts included Bellingham Police Department detectives April Mitchelson and Taylor Allen, internal medicine/pediatric specialist Dr. Stephen Weinberger, child psychologist Aaron Williams, psychologist and behavior specialist Dr. Sara White and Bellingham Public Schools director of safety and security Russ Robinson.

These experts tackle important topics such as screen time and brain science; advice for combatting online predators; and gaming, anxiety and ADHD.

Dozens of families attended the evening event, and we wanted to make this information available to all families to help inform and arm parents with information and strategies to support our children. We encourage you to watch or listen. (Content may not be appropriate for a younger audience. Please preview before watching/listening with your family.)

Our schools and district thank our elementary parent volunteers who have been working with district and school leadership to provide resources and support about health use of technology. Please check out our website for additional resources.

Lost & Found

Recognize any of these tiny Lost & Found Items? Visit Sheri to claim them! And don't forget to check the growing pile of jackets and water bottles in the Lost & Found Pile outside the Global Citizen Room.

BFPP High School Options

Coming up soon....a meeting regarding BFPP High School Options for Home School Families.

Stay tuned for dates and details.

Writing Consultations

Nurturing and Scaffolding the Writing Process (for all levels): Thursday consultations with Erin

Please reach out to schedule a one-on-one or small group consultation for support with how you guide and nurture the writing process at home with your learner(s). RSVP to Erin to schedule a Thursday morning 11-12pm time slot.

Art Exhibit Opportunity

Calling all artists! Exhibit your art at the Whatcom Art Center. The theme is "From the Mountains to the Sea." Pieces may be as large as 20x24 and need to be ready to hang, but not necessarily framed. Artwork must be dropped off at the Whatcom Art Center on Thursday, May 22nd, from 1-5 pm.

Summer BAAY Classes

Enjoy a creatively fun summer with BAAY! Registration is now open for their summer programming. Opportunities abound for kids ages 2 to 18 to explore drama, music, art, dance, comedy, and costuming.

Please visit BAAY's website to view a complete list of summer camps, classes, and plays for each age group.

Summer Camps for Teens

Calling young poets, writers, and Shakespeare lovers! The Fairhaven Program is offering summer programming for teens. Our day camps are week-long literary adventures that combine reading and writing (or acting!) with time in nature. Join us this July for Shakespeare and creative writing camps. Register Now