A Piece From The Principal's Puzzle

August

19 - iReady & STAR assessment window begins

21 - Fall Picture Day

30 - 1/2 Day Students

September

2 - Labor Day (No School)

12 - Curriculum Night @ 6 pm - Blossomwood Cafeteria

Thank you to everyone that came out to join us for the Celebrate Education Parade on Saturday, August 17. We were well respresented, and it was a great time with a large crowd lining the streets!

Thank you to State Representative Laura Hall for the beautiful new Japanese maple tree that she donated to Blossomwood! It is beautiful as the photograph doesn't do it justice. We would also like to thank the Blossomwood Garden Club for planting the tree and our sixth grade helpers that have been watering it each day! #Teamwork

Our wonderful teachers are always striving to learn more and attempting to fine-tune their craft. Many of our teachers attended professional development this past summer at various locations. While we have "Community Time" (faculty meetings) once a month that provides teachers an opportunity to learn across grade levels, we also have weekly grade meetings during which teachers have time to collaborate, share teaching ideas, review data, and plan. In the pictures above, you will notice three of our teachers sharing new teaching strategies with our faculty during our August Community Time. Over the next few weeks, Mrs. Collier will be leading our grade levels through professional development related to helping students master grade level standards.

We have the best school staff! Thank you, Blossomwood Teachers!!!

Please take a couple of minutes to complete this parent survey for our district accreditation process. It will also be used for our school improvement plan. The survey will be open until August 30th. Thank you!

Please make sure you select Blossomwood Elementary as the school.

• Parent Survey Link

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.

The HCS Special Education Department is hosting the last in a series of Parent Training Sessions on August 28: Navigating Special Education: Understanding Eligibility Criteria in Alabama's Administrative Code.

The series was designed to empower parents with valuable insights, tools, and resources to better understand and address the unique needs of students with disabilities to foster a collaborative and supportive community.

One of the many reasons that we have a fantastic school is we have great volunteers! Each school was asked to create a volunteer plan in an effort to provide some helpful guidance for our volunteers and the classroom teachers . In coordination with our school leadership team and our PTA Board, we have come up with a basic plan that provides some fundamental guidance of "Do's & Don'ts" accompanied by an acknowledgement sheet.

Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of everyone in our building and the success of our volunteer program, please follow the guidance outlined in our volunteer plan. Copies will be available in the front office, the PTA website, and you can also find it below. All volunteers must sign this form to participate.

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.