A Message from the Department of Communications and Community Relations

We hope your family is having a wonderful summer. We look forward to welcoming you back to Bellingham Public Schools at the end of the month. Here is some important information to help prepare you for the coming school year.

Summer Hours and Registration 
The District Office is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday through Aug. 11. Regular hours (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.) resume Monday, Aug. 14.

For school and attendance area information, visit bellinghamschools.org/attendance-areas or call 360-676-6400 until schools reopen. Click here for school contact information.

High school offices are open 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, through Aug. 11. Starting the week of Aug. 14, high school offices will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Elementary and middle schools reopen to the public from 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17 until the first day of school. New families can register their children online and assistance is available at buildings that are open over the summer, including the District Office at 1306 Dupont St.

Back-to-School Family Block Party, Aug. 19 
Bellingham Public Schools will host a Back-to-School Block Party, a resource fair for all district families, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. The event will be onsite at Bellingham High School, located at 2020 Cornwall Avenue.

School and community partner tables will provide important resources for starting the school year. The event will include signups for Operation School Bell, a program of the Assistance League of Bellingham that supplies new school clothes for families, and child immunizations, sports physicals and haircuts. Additional information about the Block Party will be communicated ahead of the event.

Thank you to the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation, the Whatcom Community Foundation, WECU, Molina Healthcare, PeaceHealth and the Mount Baker Foundation for supporting this community event. We look forward to seeing you and your children there.

Starting the School Year 
The first day of class for students in grades 1-12 is Thursday, Aug. 31. For school start and end times, and for the middle and high school A/B day calendar, please visit our calendars webpage. 

The first day for kindergarten and Promise kindergarten students is Tuesday, Sept. 5. This is a regular school day and students will follow the regular elementary schedule: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We encourage all eligible kindergarten bus riders to take the school bus home on these first days to learn how. The first day for preschool is Wednesday, Sept. 6.

For information about Bellingham Virtual Learning and online options for students, visit the BVL webpage.

All registered district families will receive the Family Handbook and Calendar (Spanish) to their homes in August. Additional copies will be available in school offices. The handbook/calendar contains important information about district and school programs, annual legal notifications required by federal and state law, and the following information:

• The school year calendar and school schedules;
• Information on school meals; and
• Skyward Family Access and the annual update forms for attendance, privacy opt-outs, military families, the student housing questionnaire and the elementary return home plan.

General Information 
Please visit Families on the district’s website for the following information or click on the links below:

• Which school a child should attend based upon school attendance areas
• School supplies
• Online calendars for the district and schools, including middle and high school A/B calendar.

For other school-specific information, contact your school or visit the school website.  For general district information, call 360-676-6400.

Bellingham Public Schools uses a communication platform called ParentSquare, an app-based, web-based system that enhances two-way communication. Find out more online at bellinghamschools.org/parentsquare.

Bus Routes 
Routes will be posted at bellinghamschools.org/transportation by Monday, Aug. 21.

Transportation is currently updating bus routes to safely serve student transportation needs and to operate as efficiently as possible. Eligible riders will receive an email notification when bus routes and times have been set for 2023-24. Preschool and special education transportation information will be mailed home mid-August.

Please check this information carefully because your child’s service area, bus stop, and pick-up and drop-off times may have changed from last year. Please call Transportation after Aug. 21 if you have any questions about bus transportation.

Elementary School Registration 
Elementary school offices reopen Thursday, Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. until school starts.

Children eligible to attend kindergarten must be 5 years old on or before midnight Aug. 31. Kindergarten-age students must show proof of birth date. In addition, the immunization law requires that on or before the first day of attendance, the school must be provided with proof of full immunizations, initiation of a schedule of immunization, or a certificate of exemption for each child.

For kindergarten information, visit the Early Childhood Education webpage, contact your neighborhood school or call 360-676-6488.

Elementary schools will share “meet and greet” information, as well as fall open house information, in coming weeks.

Middle School Orientations 
Middle school offices reopen to the public Thursday, Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. until school starts.

Fairhaven Middle School
Grade 6 student orientation – 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 23
New to FMS grade 7 and 8 orientation – 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 24
Curriculum Night for all grades – 6 p.m. Sept. 14

Kulshan Middle School
Grade 6 student orientation – ­9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 24 (students only); 11 to 11:30 a.m. (optional self-guided family tour)
New to KMS grade 7 and 8 orientation – 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 23
Fall Open House – 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26

Shuksan Middle School
Grade 6 student orientation – 9 to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 24
New to SMS grade 7 and 8 student orientation – 5 to 6 p.m. Aug. 22
Back-to-School Night – 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21

Whatcom Middle School
Grade 6 student orientation - 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 24
New to WMS grade 7 and 8 orientation - 10 to 11 a.m. Aug. 25
Back-to-School Parent Night – 6 p.m. Sept. 21

High School Registration, Orientations and Sports Clearances 
Starting the week of Aug. 14 high school offices will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Families can register new students online.

Orientation schedules are listed below for high schools. Sports clearance information can be found on school websites. Links below by school.

Bellingham High School
Registration appointments for new Bellingham High students can be made by calling 360-676-6470 ext. 7110.

Freshman and new student orientation – 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 24
Fall Open House – 6 p.m. Sept. 13 (tentative)

Bellingham High Athletics
BHS fall sports clearance information can be found online.

Sehome High School
Appointments for new SHS students can be made by calling 360-676-6470, ext. 5205.
Freshman orientation – 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Aug. 24
New student orientation tour – 1 to 2 p.m. Aug. 24
Fall Back-to-School Night — 6 p.m. Sept. 13

Sehome High Athletics
SHS fall sports clearance information can be found online.

Squalicum High School
Online registration is encouraged, but registration packets for new SQHS students may be picked up at the main office any day during office hours. A registration appointment will be scheduled prior to the start of the school year.
Freshman orientation – 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 24
New student orientation – 8:30 – 10 a.m. Aug. 24
Fall Back-to-School Night – 6 p.m. Sept. 20

Squalicum High Athletics
SQHS fall sports clearance information can be found online.

Options High School
Returning students will receive information by mail in mid-August. New students interested in attending Options may pick up application and enrollment materials at Options High School during the summer. Applications are also available online. Once the application packet is returned completed, prospective students will be scheduled to meet with the principal to determine their acceptance.

Freshman and new student orientation – 10 to 11 a.m. Aug. 22
New and returning student and family open house – 6 p.m. Sept. 12