A Piece From The Principal's Puzzle

January

6 - Students Return for Second Semester

6 - Winter Holiday Learning Challenge Sheets Due

13-17 - i-Ready Testing Window (All grade levels)

20 - MLK, Jr. Holiday (NO SCHOOL)

It’s the beginning of a new calendar year and the halfway point in the school year. Take this opportunity to consider your child’s habits and make needed adjustments.

Ask how your child thinks the school year is going. If you set learning goals together at the start of the year, review them now. Is your child making progress? How can your child make the rest of the school year even better?

Then, help your child make some resolutions. Here are four to consider:

1. Recommit to routines. Has your elementary schooler’s bedtime begun to slip? Are mornings more rushed? Is your child’s regular study time now not quite so regular? Sleep and study routines make life easier—and help students perform better in school.

2. Spend more time reading. There is no skill that will help your child more in school. And reading ability, like other skills, gets better with practice. Encourage daily reading and let your child read about anything, from sports to favorite movie characters.

3. Take more responsibility for learning. Remind your child that to be successful in school, students need to complete assignments on time, participate in classroom discussions and ask for help when they need it.

4. Have an optimistic mindset. Positive thinking makes it easier to tackle challenges. To foster positivity, help your child manage stress, visualize a successful outcome and learn from mistakes.

Reprinted with permission from the January 2025 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2025 The Parent Institute®, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.

Each year we encourage our students to continue learning during the extended breaks such as Winter Break. Prior to the break, your child should have brought home a sheet in his/her Blossomwood folder (as pictured below) with the directions for participating in the voluntary Winter Break Learning Challenge which includes a reading, math, and family event challenge.

More specifically, one ticket can be earned for completing the reading challenge, one ticket can be earned for completing the math challenge, and/or one ticket can be earned for completing the family challenge. To be clear, a student can do one, two, or all three challenges. We will be giving away several donated prizes including gift cards for ice cream, wireless headphones, etc.

Please see below for additional details.

The record sheet (on the back) for the Challenge is due on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025 to Dr. Scott. An adult signature is required at the bottom of the completed sheet.

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.