The Newsletter of
Bellevue High School PTSA
June 15th, 2021
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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS
Letter from the Editor
We still have a few more editions of the Blast coming - this year the last edition will be on June 29th, 2021.

In preparation for the 2021-2022 school year, the BHS PTSA Board wants to continue to improve our communication with our BHS community. Please take a moment to take this survey and provide your inputs.

We would also like to send a special THANK YOU!!! to the parents and students who spend hours each week translating the Blast into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean so that we can reach even more members of our community. Your hard work, dedication, and amazing positivity reflect the best of this community which we are proud to support. 

Chinese Translation Team:
Japanese Translation Team:

Rachael Engen
Evan Glatz
Masaki Niitsuma
Naoki Niitsuma
Hana Okubo
Hinana Takashima
Kaiser Williams
Uina Yamaguchi
Ayano Yamaji

Parent volunteer:
Kayo Yamaji
Korean Translation Team:

Lorraine Cha
Ernest Chae
Wiliam Chang
Leo Choi
Eugenia Chung
Kelly Hong
Sienna Hwang
Marie Kang
Andrew Kim
Ashley Kim
Nicole Kim
Darren Koo
Matthew Kwon
Joanna Lee
Yoona Oh
Grace Park
Gloria Shin
Audrey Shim
Esther Yoon

Parent volunteers:
Jin Chae
Myonghee Lee
Eunsu Na
Ellen Wang
VOLUNTEER WITH THE PTSA!
We need you!

The mission of the PTSA is to make every child’s potential a reality. The BHS PTSA has a great Executive Board and many wonderful volunteers working together to help our school community achieve this mission.

One of the best ways to get involved in your kids’ school life is to volunteer in our PTSA. Currently we have several open positions for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Please feel free to contact our PTSA co-presidents to get to know the position.

Email to: Amy Reller & Jungyeol Kim ([email protected])

Open Positions for BHS PTSA of the year 2021-2022
 
Executive Board Member

-  Secretary (1 opening)
 
Other Board Members and Chairs

-  Nominating Committee (3 openings)
-  Wolverine Guard Assistant (1 opening)
-  Legislative Representative (1 opening)
-  Hospitality (1 opening)  
-  Staff and PTSA Awards (1 opening)   


Bellevue High PTSA
OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARDS
The following educators have earned the Outstanding Educator Award from the Washington State PTA for the 2020-2021 school year. We are thrilled to recognize these wonderful educators!


Mr. Anthony Marble

Mr. Marble has been an inspiration to the BHS community: his focus on students during the pandemic, and the thoughtful way he reassured students and answered questions and clarified district communication for parents. He was a staunch advocate for quality education for BHS students and served as a grounded voice of reason during a difficult year. 


Mr. Edd George and Mr. Will Harvey

In a year when Jazz Band was not allowed to be a graded class, Mr. Harvey and Mr. George chose to run it as a club and put in the same amount of time and effort as if it were a class, meeting 8th period, twice a week, all year. Their dedication to this group of kids was spectacular. Mr. Harvey and Mr. George have continually found ways to engage the students and figure out ways for the students to play "together," consistently showing tremendous enthusiasm this year, both in online classes and in hybrid. Putting together a piece of music from individual tracks takes an amazing amount of time, but these teachers did it to make band seem “normal” when nothing else this year did.


Mrs. Leigh Nelson

Mrs. Nelson displayed an outstanding level of commitment, dedication and positivity during these challenging times. She embraced the one-on-one Teams weekly meeting with her students, bringing energy and humor. In addition, Mrs. Nelson initiated a letter-writing campaign with the goal of having every student at BHS receive a hand-written note of support from a teacher during the fall/winter quarter to support and encourage the students during the most difficult part of the pandemic school year.

Mr. John Hill

Mr. Hill consistently found ways to allow student involvement in sports by creating socially distanced workouts and training during the fall. He checked students at fields and courts all over West Bellevue, regularly staying late at night to ensure things flowed smoothly so students could participate. As Athletic Director, Mr. Hill faced the monumental task of cramming three sports seasons into three months and pulled it off with great success!


Mr. Steven Blatt

Mr. Blatt showed great dedication and devotion to students. For those who have fell behind, he set up Teams meetings to explain in detail what the students needed to focus on and how to catch up. He is devoted to his students’ learning and success. His caring and professionalism has been inspirational to them all.


WOLVERINE GUARD 2020-21 SUMMARY
We are happy to report that despite there being a global pandemic for the entire Wolverine Guard cycle for this past year, 83 BHS students have earned Wolverine Guard!  
 
For those who aren’t aware, Wolverine Guard (WG) is a Bellevue High PTSA sponsored award that recognizes students who perform 100+ hours of community service in the 12-month period from May 1st to April 30th
 
This year’s 83 WG recipients performed a total of 9370.5 hours of community service for the year! This is quite impressive, especially given the challenges that COVID-19 brought upon all of us! All 83 WG recipients are listed below. 
 
We want to draw special attention to the five seniors who have completed Wolverine Guard for all four years of high school! They are noted below. Two of those seniors, Ethan Lee and Andrea Luis, have written statements to highlight a favorite aspect of their WG experience over their four years at BHS. You will find links to those below. 

Thank you to all who participated in WG for 2020-21. This was a year of tremendous need and each of you stepped up in a myriad of different ways to help! We are so grateful for your service and your example!  
 
Best wishes, 
 
Nancy Gese and Annie Roth 
BHS WG co-chairs 2020-21 
 
PS Wolverine Guard recipients – in recognition of your accomplishment, you will be receiving a WG certificate. Please be watching your BSD email in the next couple of weeks for a PDF attachment of your certificate.  Thank you! 
Wolverine Guard Recipients 2020-21 
Class of 2021: 
 
Betemariyam Gessesse
Ethan Lee* 
Andrea Luis* 
Carlos Marquez 
Tyler Nelson* 
Jo Ponto 
Gracie Scribner 
John Van Horn 
Cameron White* 
Heather Wu* 
 
*Four-year Wolverine Guard recipients 
 
 
Class of 2022: 
 
John Baker 
Ernest Chae 
Alex Cho 
YiLin Choi 
Fernando de Torres 
Megan Dedmon 
Cole Ederer 
Emily Furr 
Kaiser Williams 
Noelle Keto 
Ashley Kim 
Ella Kim 
Jiyong Kim 
Matthew Kwon 
Andrew Lee 
Jessica Lee 
Joanna Lee 
Rena Lee 
Martin Li 
Amy Lu 
Lauren Maring 
Owen Mead 
Brooke Moloney 
Britt Nordstrom 
Ellie O'Hara 
Yoona Oh 
Grace Park 
Josie Quinn 
Rebekah Roth 
Audrey Shim 
Trudy Silver 
Kaili Tam 
Allie Van Appledorn 
Maggie Wang 
Emi Williams 
Class of 2023: 
 
Athena Bao 
David Chang 
Sonali Dash 
Graham Ederer 
Joon Eom 
Mary Fisher 
Allison Hall 
Emma Huang 
Jungho Park 
Alicia Siebers 
Blane Stauffer 
JC Van Appledorn 
Grant Wilwerding 
Ayano Yamaji 
Esther Yoon 
 
 
Class of 2024: 
 
William Chang 
Ivy Chen 
Leo Choi 
Tara Cunnington 
Guy Gese 
Steven Gese 
Elsa Gui 
Sienna Hwang 
Ben Jack 
Safiyah Khan 
Hailey Kim 
Nicole Kim 
Nathan Kwon 
Richard Li 
Kaia Liffick 
Michael Masters 
Elyse Morris 
Rohan Saraiya 
Philip Tang 
Kosha Upadhyay 
Alice Wang 
Amy Zhang 
Kate Zhou 
WEIGHT ROOM FUNDRAISING 2021
Dear WOLVERINE Community, 
 
We are sooooo close to our goal!!!  We have asked our community for support to raise funds for a new gym build out at BHS.  To date we have raised $90,000. We have just $10,000 left to raise for the targeted gym improvements!   Monies raised will go to complete upgrades to the walls, ceiling, weights, equipment, and necessary other pieces to make a BHS Wolverine Spirited workout gym.
 
The Bellevue Sports Boards have planned together to improve the BHS weight room for all 1500+ students attending BHS. Working side-by-side, BSD & the various sports & school programs want to make sure the fitness center is outfitted to support each and every student. To date 20+ BHS Sports Boards, BSD and doners have raised over $90,000. To make the targeted improvements requested the financial goal was set at $100,000.
 
PLEASE help us meet our goal for all students at BHS!!!    Donate here: https://www.bellevuewolverinefootball.com/weightroom   OR
Send a check made out to “Bellevue Football Club” to save on 2.2% fees and indicate Weight Room Project on your check: PO Box 105, Medina, WA 98039
*All donor names will be displayed on a plaque in the new weight room facility. *
 
The Bellevue High School Athletic Boards
SPORTS
BHS GIRLS SOFTBALL
The BHS varsity softball team finished their amazing 2021 season undefeated, with an 11 – 0 record. In dominating fashion, they outscored their opponents 150 runs to only 16 runs
 
Ace pitcher Rachel Treves threw every pitch for the varsity squad this season and finished with an incredible 111 strikeouts and an ERA at 1.29.
 
Offensively, Claire Seats led the team in batting average (.513), hits (20), home runs (5), and RBI’s (30).
 
In was truly a special season and we are already looking forward to next year!
JOIN THE BHS PTSA!
Help us support our students and teachers in this challenging time. 

Sign up online at
   
OR download the form here: Join Bellevue High School PTSA 2.docx.
Calendar Of Events
ASB
CLASS OF 2021
Here are this week's Family Graduation Events:

Senior Salute (June 16th, 1pm - 3pm)
Amazing news! This student event will be streamed live from BHS Stadium! Parents and families, don't miss seeing the class awards and seniors looking their finest. You can watch the event by subscribing to the NFHS network. The cost is $10.99 unless you already have a monthly pass. Watch Senior Salute here.

WOLVERINE RIDE (June 17th, 7pm - 8:30pm)
Please join us as we celebrate our Seniors and their last Ride through Bellevue High's campus. Arrive no later than 6:45pm and park in Parent Parking areas. Head down to the Family Zone on Wolverine Way and cheer on every Senior as they drive by. Additional details and map can be found here. For non-Class of 2021 BHS community members, head over to Old Main Street and make reservations at your favorite restaurant. When you see a Class of 2021 car drive by, be sure to make lots of noise and cheer them on!

FAMILY PHOTOS (June 20th and 21st, 4pm - 8pm)
Grab your grad and get your photos by appointment - free of charge! Professional photographers will be available on campus to take a photo of your graduate in their cap & gown along with family members in your household if desired. Digital images will be provided to you for download at no cost. Please reserve your family spot today! Sign up here.

For up-to-date information on all senior activities, visit IMPORTANT DATES or follow our Class of 2021 web page.

Thank you!
Stephanie Dash and Thien-Di Do
Class of 2021 Parent Advisors
DIPLOMA/TICKET DISTRIBUTION
Graduation tickets, graduation programs, and diplomas will be available for student or parent pick-up from 10:30-12:00, June 21st outside the PAC Foyer. Also available will be any remaining caps/gowns and cords.  Diplomas will not be mailed home this year.
CLASS OF 2022
Class of 2022 Fundraiser

Hey junior parents! As we rapidly approach summer, the junior class officers are closing off the year with a Touchbase fundraiser from May 31st to June 11th. Simply use the link below and you will be taken to a donation page on Touchbase. Under “I want to donate to”, select ASB class of 2022 to donate any amount of money to the junior class. We know many of you donated to our Touchbase fundraiser in January and we cannot express our gratitude enough! If you did not, this is another opportunity to support your students. As it seems like we will be able to have a relatively normal senior year, we want to make it as memorable as possible, particularly by putting together the best prom we can! All of your money goes towards this goal. We greatly appreciate any amount you can donate! Thank you for your endless support throughout this weird time.
If your company matches donations: use Benevity to log in to your portal to request matching gifts with your donation. Make sure to add a note designating the donation as one for this fundraiser for the class of 2022.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email Ruby Mathis at [email protected].
PTSA EXECUTIVE BOARD / QUICK LINKS
PTSA Presidents


PTSA Vice President Fundraising

PTSA Board
Committee Chairs
PTSA Vice Presidents Communications


PTSA Secretary


PTSA Treasurers

BHS Administration

Principal:
Asst. Prin: Katie Klug
Asst. Prin: Thomas Gangle

BHS Athletics/ Activities
Director: John Hill
Athletic Trainer: Andrew Chan

BHS Main Office

425-456-7000