Principal's Message 08-15-22

Dear Blossomwood Families,  

Thank you again for all of your help at home as we all learn how to make each day a valuable one. We encourage students to get smarter each day and make each day count which includes reading for 15-20 minutes each night at home.

We have had several parents ask for some advice on how to help their students at home. Here are a few tips that might enhance your child's learning experience each day:

• Find a quiet, comfortable location in your home to learn/work in each day.
• Establish some routines; including going to bed and getting up at the same time (Mon.-Fri.).
• Provide a level of supervision suitable to your child's age or stage of development.
• Refrain from doing the thinking/work for your child. For example, think or struggle time is often part of the learning process. This is so difficult for us adults.
• Monitor how much time your child is spending online. Frequent breaks can be helpful.

Fall School Pictures

The portraits that will go into our school's yearbook will be taken on Friday, August 19. A make-up date of October 27 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. This year Greg Machen Photography in Madison will be taking the portraits. Their contact information is 256-461-0827.

Our Children Need You

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.

Instagram - @BlossomwoodParentOutreach
Facebook - BlossomwoodParentOutreach

Reminder for All Visitors

All school visitors must check in through the front office using his or her driver's license, so please have it with you if you plan to visit and/or check out your child.

Overview of Our House System

As part of our Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS), this school year we are implementing a structure called "House Systems" which several of our teachers have learned about from a similar structure from the Ron Clark Academy, and our sixth grade teachers piloted the program the last couple of years with success. Therefore, we wanted to try expanding it to the entire school.

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:

• 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.
• Create a culture of belonging as students are recognized for accomplishments both academically as well as their choices related to behavior.
• 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.
• Provide opportunities to praise and accentuate positives for both individual students and collective groups of students.

Sincerely,
Bradley A. Scott, Ed.D.
Principal