Coho Connection 08/26/25

Dear Sakai Families,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. The first day of school is only a week away. Woo hoo! We are SO EXCITED to welcome your students to this school year and begin community building and learning. I want to give a huge shout out to all the families who showed up to our garden party last week. We appreciate you so much!

This Thursday, from 12:30-2:00, I hope to see you at the Ice Cream Social. This is a fun time for you and your student to meet their teachers, see the building and reunite with friends. I did want to note that the timing of this year's Meet and Greet events are a day ahead of usual. As such, classrooms are still a work in progress. You will get to meet your teacher in their classrooms, but the physical space will not be completed yet. 

 

Last week I shared with you the Sakai Family Handbook which has important information on school procedures, such as arrival and dismissal. I encourage you to please take a moment to read through this before the year starts to ensure a smooth transition back to school. Below you will find some additional information on  Flex time and an introduction to our “Family Dare”. 

At Sakai we have scheduled a 40-minute instructional block for each teaching team called “Flex”. The goal of Flex is to carve out daily time for teachers to flexibly and intentionally address the wide range of student learning needs beyond what they already do in their core instructional blocks. During this time students may be served by supporting services, such as our Title program, receive small group or individual instruction, work on enrichment or extension assignments, or even silently read. Because of the intention of this differentiated learning block, Flex will look different from student to student and will change for each student throughout the year. 

In addition to Flex and daily core subjects (Math, ELA, Science, and Social Studies) students will have a specialist block each day. All 5th-grade students have PE, Music, and Art as full-year courses. 

6th-grade special rotation depends on if they are in Band or Music. 6th-grade students in Band also have PE as a full-year course. 6th-grade students in Music also have PE and Art as full-year courses. 

Our school’s social-emotional curriculum is called CharacterStrong. An aspect of that curriculum is character “Dares” or challenges we will be giving our students. An example is, “give 5 genuine compliments to people throughout your day.” As we partner in cultivating compassion and belonging in our community, I also have some Dares for you all! Each Family Dare offers families the opportunity to engage in challenges designed to increase connection and conversation at home. Look for the first Family Dare next week. 

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday at the Ice Cream Social!

Drew

Please join us for our annual before school event where students get to familiarize themselves with the school, meet their teachers and meet the PTO Board. Our wonderful PTO will be serving popsicles and selling Sakai shirts and sweatshirts.

WHAT: Ice Cream Social and Scavenger Hunt

WHEN: Thursday, August 28th, 12:30-2:00 pm

WHERE: Sakai

Please print the scavenger hunt map and bring it with you. Follow the numbers to get to know the school.  

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This is a one-stop resource for all the information you need about Bainbridge Island School District:

This information is also available in the Family Handbook section on our website, where it can be translated into the language of your choice.

The Annual Back-to-school Check-in (ABC) process has been completed for 81% of students. This annual process lets us know that your student(s) are returning to our schools for 2025-26 and allows parents/guardians to review annual information. 

The ABCs must be completed for all students attending BISD schools in 2025-26, including both new and returning students. Access the ABCs by logging into your Family Access account. It should take about 15 minutes (or less!) to complete. 

If you need assistance with the ABC process (such as translation, accessing technology, or other questions), please get in touch with the office manager at your student's school. 

NOT RETURNING? If your K-11th grade student is not returning to BISD schools this fall, please inform your school's office manager.

28: Meet & Greet Ice Cream Social from 12:30-2:00 p.m.

1: Labor Day (BISD Closed)

2: First Day of School

16: 5th-grade Parent/Guardian Night from 5:15 to 6:30 pm.

17: 6th-grade Parent/Guardian Night from 5:15 to 6:15 pm.

23: School photos during the school day