A Piece From The Principal's Puzzle

Dear Blossomwood Families,

It was wonderful seeing everyone last week for Camp Panther and the return of students on the first day of school! We had a large crowd at Camp Panther, and the first two days were extremely smooth.

I would like to extend a special thanks to several folks:

• First, Cornerstone Church Women's Ministry provided our faculty and staff with first day back goodie/snack bags and bottles of water. These came in handy!
• Second, Life Church made a monetary donation of $2500 to help with various costs that we encounter at school. We are blessed to have strong and generous community partnerships.
• Third, our PTA and so many parents have helped the last couple of weeks with getting ready for the students. In fact, the PTA provided the teachers with a welcome back breakfast that they thoroughly enjoyed on their first day back (July 25). Success does not occur by accident! Teamwork!
  

Each Sunday I will send you a brief principal's message with information about current and/or upcoming opportunities for our families as well as information that will help you know what is occurring at Blossomwood Elementary. In addition, we will use this effort to highlight and brag on our students! They are our reason for being here!

As always, if I can help you with anything, just let me know!

Sincerely,

Bradley A. Scott, Ed.D.

Principal

August

17 - Celebrating Education Parade - Meet at 8 am at Dollar General on Blue Spring Road

• See Coach Nick Jones, Dr. Scott, or Mrs. Collier for more details.

21 - Fall Picture Day

26 - iReady & STAR assessment window begins

30 - 1/2 Day Students

September

2 - Labor Day (No School)

The portraits that will go into our school's yearbook will be taken on Wednesday, August 21. A make-up date of October 16 has been arranged in case your child is absent. Please note that with all of the portrait sales, a percentage of your purchase goes back to support Blossomwood.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the school or the photographer. Again this year Greg Machen Photography in Madison will be taking the portraits. Their contact information is 256-461-0827 and gregmachenphotography.com.

If you would like to volunteer and become more involved at Blossomwood, please reach out to our parent coordinator, Ms. Tesha Crump. She will be glad to help find a role just for you! In fact, part of her role as parent coordinator includes establishing a parent advisory committee, hosting parent events, leading parent trainings, building relationships with all parents in our school, and acting as a liaison between the parent community and the school.

Email - Tesha.Crump@hsv-k12.org

Instagram - @BlossomwoodParentOutreach

Facebook - BlossomwoodParentOutreach

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.