A Piece From The Principal's Puzzle

September

2 - Labor Day (No School)

12 - Progress Reports Sent Home

12 - Curriculum "Glowcase" @ 6 pm - Blossomwood Cafeteria

• ALL GRADES

19 & 20 Grandparents' Gathering

27 - 1/2 Day Students & End of Grading Period

Sept. 30 - Oct. 4 FALL BREAK

As part of our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, we recognize students that demonstrate our P.A.W.S behavior as well as the character word of the month. The character word for August was "patience," and according to their teachers, the following students displayed this in and out of the classrooms.

Kindergarten - Brandon Brown, Jr. and Kingston Williams

1st Grade - Brooklyn Miller and Wiley Collier

2nd Grade - Beau Rogers and Makynzi Lamar

3rd Grade - Hadley Murphy, Kyle Whetten, and Darian Smith

4th Grade - Jasper Wooten and Lizzie Maples

5th Grade - Ariana Cortes and Jessie Roberts

6th Grade - Tracey Alexander and Christina Pettus

To improve reading outcomes for students across Alabama, the Alabama Legislature passed the Alabama Literacy Act, which became law on June 10, 2019.

This legislation extends comprehensive information and other guidance for educators to focus concentrated and systematic efforts to improve the reading skills of all public school students in early literacy so that every student is reading at or above grade level by the end of the third grade.

To learn more about the Alabama Literacy Act and how you can assist your child/children at home, please click on the links below.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our reading coach, Mrs. Lauren Davenport (lauren.davenport@hsv-k12.org).

Links:

act2019-523.pdf (alabamaachieves.org)

Final_My Child Can! Kindergarten Booklet (alabamaachieves.org)

Final_My Child Can! First Grade Booklet (alabamaachieves.org)

Final_My Child Can! Second Grade Booklet (alabamaachieves.org)

Final_My Child Can! Third Grade Booklet (alabamaachieves.org)

The Alabama Family Guide for Student Reading Success - July 31, 202 0-2 SPANISH (alabamaachieves.org)

The main function of the house system is to develop a sense of identity or belonging and to celebrate achievements. Schools with a structure or system like this cite the positive impact it has on the educational experience and school culture. Students report how it helps them form friendships and closer bonds with peers, and teachers share that students seem to enjoy seeing a connection with students in other classrooms as well as other grade levels. As a school, we also believe our new House System supports our school mission statement and vision.

During the first week of school or upon enrollment, all of our students and staff have the opportunity to digitally "spin" the wheel to randomly sort each student into one of four groups or houses — Emerald, Garnet, Onyx, or Sapphire.

Our House System is designed to:

1. Create school-wide community by creating opportunities for students to connect to staff and students in other classes and grades that share their house. Older students become natural leaders by mentoring and supporting younger students. Mentoring also extends to teachers and school staff members who are also assigned to a house.
2. Create a culture of belonging as students are recognized for accomplishments both academically as well as their choices related to behavior.
3. Emphasize building character through a reward system that goes beyond earning a piece of candy for doing something good. Each individual achievement adds to the collective house/group, making the reward hopefully more meaningful and social.
   
4. Provide opportunities to praise and accentuate positives for both individual students and collective groups of students.