the beehive blossom hill school’s weekly newsletter 16400 ...€¦ · school will not be in...
TRANSCRIPT
Blossom Hill Vision Statement – (Abilities and skills we expect our students to acquire and take-out into the world)All students will have the necessary skills to become enthusiastic, life-long learners and productive, empathetic, respectful members of society.
Blossom Hill Mission Statement – (What we need to do as a school community to ensure this happens)The Blossom Hill School community takes pride in providing an enriched standards-based curriculum in a safe, nurturing environment. We strive to appreciate an awareness of students’ developmental needs to help them progress towards independence.
The BeehiveIssue 30
Blossom Hill School’sWeekly Newsletter 16400 Blossom Hill Road Los Gatos, California 95032©2014 Blossom Hill School April 2, 2014Page 1
The Beehive is written exclusively to inform the Blossom Hill community of school information. Articles, information, calendars, etc. may not be duplicated or reprinted in any manner without the permission of the Home and School Club and of the BHS administration.
CHECK IT OUTFun Friday Volunteer Sign Ups
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK
Dear Blossom Hill Families:
On October 2, 2013, Governor Brown signed AB 484, which suspends most standardized state testing (STAR) and implements the Common Core Smarter Balanced assessments for this school year. As of this spring, all California school districts are required to participate in the Smarter Balanced Field Test. At Blossom Hill, students in grades 3-5 will be testing.
The purpose of the field test is to test the performance of the test items and the online test delivery system. No paper and pencil option is provided as the field test is designed to mimic the real testing conditions, in which the test is conducted entirely on a computer. While the field test will not be scored, participating in the exercise allows the District to gauge readiness with our technology systems. It is also important for faculty and students to have exposure to the assessment system and how the technology-enhanced assessment items work.
The Smarter Balanced assessments are very different from the STAR assessments. Not only are there multiple-choice questions, but also matching, fill-in tables, drag and drop, graphing, short text, and long essay, as well as a performance task. Prior to the opening of the testing window, all 3-5 grade teachers provided students the opportunity to take a practice test and delivered instruction on navigating screens and utilizing tools. They also set students up for success by highlighting the fact that this is a field test and they will not have been exposed to all the information on the test. Content areas to be assessed by the field test were determined by the state and vary across grade levels. Last week, our 5th grade students participated in the math portion of the field test. This week, our 4th grade students are testing in language arts and math, and following Spring Break, the 3rd grade students will be testing in both subject areas.
If you would like more information about the Smarter Balanced assessment, please visit the Smarter Balanced website at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/ or contact me at (408) 335-2100.
In education together,
Lisa Reynolds, Principal
IMPORTANT DATES
April
4/3 - Project Cornerstone Meeting8:15 - 9:15 am, Flex Room
4/4 - Deadline for Claiming Lost & Found Items
4/7 - 4/11 - Spring Recess - NO SCHOOL
4/15 - 5th Grade Bike Rodeo
4/16 - LGEF Board Meeting5:30 pm, District Office
4/16 - Joint H&SC Member Meeting (Special Agenda - Student Devices Technology Plan)6:30 - 9:30 pm, Fisher Multipurpose Room
4/22 - Assembly: Quit It!**All Kindergarteners on AM schedule**
4/22 - Earth Day
4/22 - Parenting Continuum Speaker - Dr. Brad Sachs - Good Enough Parenting: “Creating Conversations that Change Children’s Lives”7:00 - 9:00 pm, Fisher Multipurpose Room
4/23 - 4/25 - Green Team’s Honeycomb Kids Clothing Collection
4/24 - School Site Council Meeting2:45 - 3:45 pm, Room C25
BEEHIVE SUBMISSIONSNeed an article, event or volunteer request published in The Beehive? Email your school related item on the Friday before the next week’s newsletter. Please submit articles or q u e s t i o n s t o o u r B e e h i v e e d i t o r a t [email protected].
Our Home & School Club website just got a makeover! Check us out at http://hsc.blossomhill.org
The LGEF Board meeting, scheduled for Monday, April 21 has been changed to Wednesday, April 16 at 5:30 pm at the district office to coincide with the Sustainability Plan for Educational Technology for Student Devices meeting that same evening in the Fisher Multipurpose Room.
What’s the Buzz?
Together we help our children blossom!
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WEEKLY WISDOM
Spring RecessSchool will not be in session Monday through Friday, April 7-11, for spring recess. We will resume our normal schedule on Monday, April 14.
FAQ of the WeekQ. What is the speed limit in the parking lots?A. The speed limit in both parking lots is five miles per hour. For the safety of our students, staff, and families, please drive slowly and cautiously through the parking lots at all times.
Important School Contact InformationOffice: 408-335-2100Attendance: 408-335-2145Fax: 408-358-6438Office Hours: 7:30 am - 3:30 [email protected]
EARTH DAY IS COMING!
Blossom Hill School will be celebrating Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22. The Green Team has planned a campus cleanup during morning recess and students will plant the school garden during lunch recess that day.
Help celebrate Earth Day by walking, scootering, biking or carpooling to school. Pack a waste-free lunch in a reusable lunchbag and containers. Don't forget to drop off your “Upcycling” project in the library (please refer to the “Upcycling Show” article for more information).
Contact [email protected] if you have questions or are available to help out.
LOST! LOST! LOST!Deadline for Claiming Lost & Found Items
April 4
Have you lost something? Please take a moment to check the Lost and Found located by the Multipurpose Room.
On Friday, April 4, all unclaimed items will be donated to charity. If you have any questions, please contact Marci Cry at [email protected].
THE UPCYCLE SHOW
As part of Blossom Hill's Earth Day celebration, the Green Team is sponsoring an Upcycle Show. So come on kids, show us what you can do with trash! What could be more fun? Make something from things that go in the trash or recycle bin. Everyone who brings in a project will get a reward and be entered into a raffle to win a cool prize (12 winners will be drawn). Do an internet search for “upcycling” to get project ideas.
Please bring finished projects to the library starting Wednesday, April 16. Projects will be showcased all week and will be accepted through Tuesday, April 22. Prize winners will be announced during the Wednesday morning announcements on April 23.
Parents, this is a great project to do with kids on Spring Break!Contact [email protected] if you have questions.
YEARBOOK NEWS
Thank you to all parents for sharing your photos with the yearbook committee. All photos will be taken under consideration. We try our best to have photos of all kids from Blossom Hill appear in the yearbook. Thank you for your support.
Please pick up your CDs and flash drives from the box labeled “Yearbook” in the office. If you haven’t purchased the 2013-2014 yearbook yet, you can purchase one online at https://bhhsclg.wufoo.com/forms/blossom-hill-home-and-school-club-one-check-form/, or you purchase one in person during the last week of school in June.
THE GREEN TEAM’S 2014HONEYCOMB KIDS CLOTHING
COLLECTION
Who: The Green Team is collecting gently-used school clothing to donate to the Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose.What: We want our great students to go through their closets and donate clothing that they don’t need any more or have outgrown.When: April 23-25Where: Buzz on over to the collection boxes near the school office with your donations before and after school.
Needed: Kids clothing for grades K-8 including pants, shirts, skirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts and/or any other clothing that can be worn to school. PLEASE NO SHOES or TOYS. A bee may be small but a hive can make a BIG difference!
Thank you in advance from the Green Team. Contact Jeannine Torrecillas with any questions at [email protected].
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A Special Thank You (Again!) to the Hive 2014 Family Sponsors!
Queen/King Bee • DJB Construction (The Fiorentino-Boyd Family)
Combo Queen/King Bee• The Thomson-Slater, Sullivan, Saban, Gerst-Rosenberg and Borland Families• The Lazovsky, Black, Ricci, Vernale
and Powell Families• The Schweitzer, Gardner, King, Garwood and Schaper Families
Bumble Bee• The Prakash Family
• The Wentzien Family• The Buckland Family
Honey Bee• The Cross Family
• The Sitko-Johnstone Family• The Thompson Family• The Dillehay Family• The Saunders Family• The Morley Family
Blossom Bee• The Bomann Family• The Babbitt Family
Thank You (Again!) to All The Hive 2014 Company Sponsors!
• Slater Thomson Intero Real Estate Services (The Thomson-
Slater Family)• Bells ’n Whistles Event Planning (Jen Black)
• DJB Construction (The Fiorentino-Boyd Family)
Thank You (Again!) to All the Companies that Donated to The Hive!
• Time Out Clothing, Ginger Rowe• Nick’s Next Door• Benovia Winery
• Spring Mountain Vineyard• Red Mare Wines• Ridge Vineyards
• Rotten Robbie, Eileen and Steve White• Four Brothers Winery, The Sullivan Family
• Artisan Wine Store• Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills
Thank You (Again!) to All the Families that Donated to The Hive!
• Julie and Bruce Black• The Yu Family
• Wayne McIntyre• The Buckland Family
• Lisa and Alan Reynolds
A special thank you to Beth and Bill Wilson, who not only enabled several couples to attend The Hive by providing babysitting services, but also donated the babysitting proceeds to the H&SC. THANK YOU BETH & BILL!
Fund-a-NeedThis year’s call to “fund-a-need” at The Hive did not generate as much money as it has in past years. In fact, we raised approximately $19K less than our goal. Many of you may not realize just how important fund-a-need is to our school. Many of the “basics” - things like copiers, paper, ball bins, balls and musical equipment - have all come out of fund-a-need. Tax dollars alone are simply not enough to fund all the resources needed for a top-notch education, and we rely on parental funding to cover a lot of these basics.
If you were unable to attend The Hive but still want to donate money to help the amazing programs supported by the Home & School Club, it’s not too late! Donations can still be made at https://bhhsclg.wufoo.com/forms/hive-2014-signup-parties-fund-a-need/.
No amount is too small, and any amount is appreciated. Thank you for your generosity.
This school year, your donations to the Home & School Club are funding:
Literacy• Accelerated Reader STAR diagnostic reading tests• Read Naturally Program (Mr. Lux) - reading intervention for 2nd through 4th grades
Educational Support• New and replacement books for the library• Scholarships enabling low income 5th grade children to attend Science Camp
Physical Education• K-3 PE program (Mrs. Senter)• Mileage Club - enabling our students to meet the fitness standards expected of children their age• Noontime sports program
Student Enrichment• Special assemblies • YSI field trips for 1st through 4th grades• Science camp for 5th grade• Author’s visit (April)
Technology• Technology supplies (printer ink, etc.)
Wellness & Safety• Safety and Emergency Coordinator (Mr. Lux)• Health clerk
Community Involvement & School Spirit• Movie Night• Buzz Book• Bee Factor Talent Show• Boot Camp (May)
Other H&SC Programs and Events that are Self-Funded• Green Team, Safe Routes to School, Honeybee Choir, 3rd-5th Grade Chorus, Musical, Colonial Days, Yearbook, Spirit Wear
THE HIVE SIGN-UP PARTIES
If you weren’t able to make it to The Hive, but want to attend some of the fabulous sign-up parties, you are in luck! There are still spaces available at some of our parties:
These parties are all sure to be a great time. And remember, all money raised goes straight to our school. If you are interested in signing up for any of these parties, please contact Julie Schaper at [email protected] or sign up at https://bhhsclg.wufoo.com/forms/hive-2014-signup-parties-fund-a-need/.
Together we help our children blossom!
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Eat, Drink, Bee-Witched! The 2nd Annual ultimate girls’ night out at the Lazovsky home. Enjoy being served by your witchy potions and bite-sized treats by Blossom Hill hostesses. Don’t leave your witches hat at home - it’s your ticket in!When: Friday, October 10 at 6:00 pm
Price: $100.00
Can’t Read My Poker Face? This is the ultimate guys’ night out! Great eats and good drinks as you face down as many as 40 poker players. No experience necessary - rules will be explained. Prizes will be awarded, and, who knows, you may end up as the night’s poker champion!When: Friday, August 22 at 6:00 pm
Price: $200.00
Jasmine Way LuauGrass skirts, loud shirts, torch lights and tropical delightsThese things and more, it’s trueA luau is in store for you!The evening will include unique Hawaiian food and entertainment. When: Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Price: $200.00
Game, Set, Match! You deserve a fun-filled day of tennis and treats at Courtside Club. Make new friends and hang out with old ones too as you have a wonderful afternoon of great tennis with other Blossom Hill tennis players. Tennis is followed by a catered lunch, adult beverages and prizes! Players are teamed up by ability so games are both friendly and competitive. Come join us!When: Tuesday, May 27 from 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Price: $75.00
Hey Honey, Wanna Be a “Queen Bee for a Night”? Moms, you’ll have a honey of a time at this party! We’ll treat you like a Queen Been with a shopping party at Time Out Clothing! Professional stylists from Salon B will give your hair a little love with a great blowout. Rebecca from Kiss & Make Up will do a mini makeup touch-up. And you’ll enjoy a 20% discount on all of your fun purchases at Time Out Clothing! Adult beverages and nibbles, courtesy of Centonove, will be served.When: Wednesday, April 2 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Price: $50.00
ART NOTES WITH MRS. MARTIN
P l e a s e v i s i t M r s . M a r t i n ’ s A r t b l o g a t h t t p : / /www.mrsmartinartclass.blogspot.com/ for updates on what is happening in your students’ art classroom, student artwork from across the district and parent child activities that connect to each lesson!
LGUSD Elementary Art Program is funded by LGEF
LOOKING FOR 2014-2015AUTHOR VISIT CHAIRPERSON!
We are so fortunate at Blossom Hill to be able to bring professional authors on campus to speak to students. It’s exciting for kids to be able to interact with a published author, hear their wonderful stories and learn more about the creative process that goes into writing a book. The Home & School Club is looking for a new Author Visit Chairperson for the 2014-2015 school year. Please contact Kelly Duvall at [email protected].
TURN YOUR EMPTY INKJET CARTRIDGES INTO MONEY FOR BLOSSOM HILL SCHOOL!
Many of you may be aware of the new items that West Valley Collections is allowing us to recycle through curbside pickup. This is great news to most of us since less waste is going into our landfill. Although you can now recycle your INK JET/TONER CARTRIDGES, we would appreciate you still bringing them to the school and dropping them in the box in the WORK ROOM so we can recycle them for money.
Typically we receive about $60 a month through our collaboration with Staples & Office Depot. That is over $700 a year for the BH H&SC for something you would normally just dump in the recycling bin. Thanks for making the extra trip to the school work room! [email protected] for questions.
BEE Informed
Together we help our children blossom!
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On behalf of the Los Gatos Education Foundation (the Foundation), we would like to thank the following Blossom Hill Elementary School parents who have generously supported our campaign as of March 28, 2014.
We are currently at $550,000. We still have a way to go to fulfill our campaign goal of $900,000.
If you have not yet donated, please help us fund school programs such as science, music, art, technology integration, and student support services across the district.
Make a gift to the Foundation today -- www.lgef.orgIf you don’t see your name and you believe you have already donated to the 2014 campaign, please call Debbie Sacks at the office at 408-335-2229.
-LGEF Board of Directors
Blossom Hill Families Anonymous (7)Aravandy FamilyJenny and Jason BillerBillingsley FamilyMark and Yasmin BomannMauro and Julie BonomiLisa and Scott BorlandEric and Janelle BoyengaDr. C.D. Brown and Natasha RosenbergMark A. BrownAlice and Creighton ChinChung FamilyAndrew Cohen and Victoria Doll-CohenRoderick and Dena CrawfordQi DaiMark and Tiffany DaviesFamily del Prado GarciaJustin and Debbie DeSantisDhawan FamilyRobert and Meilei EnnsFrances Cowe FergusonChanning and Nancy FlynnKen and Michelle FolsomTim and Stacy FondillerDan and Kari FreedThe GoldsGreenberg FamilyHarrell FamilyShannon and Renee HartKevin and Yumi HiroshimaMark and Ann HollandAnita and Zelidrag HornungTraci and Andrew HorwitzSteve and Susie HotellingTammy and Daniel IsaacsHector Jacome
Anders R. Johnson and Jennifer KretschmerKris KamaliSanjivini and Chitti KeswaniKing FamilyDavid and Juel LazovskyAbigail LeLebedenko FamilyJim and Joanne LongJianjun LuoDaniel MadsenPriti and Neeraj MalhotraAlan Marks and Mary KimThe Martin FamilyVic and Jonna MelinauskasSharma FamilyMongiello FamilyJim and Dyah MooreChris and Gretchen MooreEric Morley and Holly Hunter-MorleyReilly and John MusserParsin FamilyShane and Catherine PlaxtonRamirez Greene FamilyMark and Wendi RedoRemley FamilyLynn and Tom RobinsonShawn and Kari RobinsonKevin and Barbara RoganJim and Sharon RogersRyan Rosenberg and Maria GerstDani Salzer and Kenneth SwartzPrasenjit SarkarJulie and Clay SchaperMarico Sayoc and Jeff ScottSharma FamilyRussell and Julie SheehanSlater Family
Craig and Angie SmithRobyn and Eric StoneDavid and Dawn SullivanSure Product ConsultingMonika and Edward TauThomas FamilyTom and Alyson TimkoKeith and Theresa UchidaVenezia FamilyVivian FamilyYujun Wang and Jia LiuCarrie and John WeiSonya Moore-Wells and David WellsGreg Welsh and Cynthia JaenThomas and Erin WentzienTsung-Ju Yang and Mavis ChenYanwu Zhang and Ling YiCarol and Howard Zolla
Community MembersDiana and Edward AbbatiAnonymous (9)Kathy and Mike BaysScott and Gwen BroomfieldRanae DeSantisFisher FamilyBill and Peri FrantzTina Orsi-Hartigan and Jim HartiganBruce and Evy HortonJian Jin and Peilan LiMichael and Leigh-Anne MarcellinThe Montoya Family Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community FoundationTom O'DonnellKate Paisley and Eric RaffTalal Sohail
Together we help our children blossom!
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Los Gatos Union School District Our Community, Our Students, Our Future
Est. 1863
Learn more about
The Sustainability Plan for Educational Technology for Student Devices
Wednesday, April 16th from 6:30 - 9:15 p.m.
Principals and teachers will share their perspectives on the need for implementing various technologies and resources to enhance the learning experiences for your
child in developmentally appropriate ways.
You are cordially invited to join Board members of the…
Blossom Hill Home & School Club Lexington Home & School Club Daves Avenue Home & School Club Van Meter Home & School Club Fisher Home & School Club Los Gatos Education Foundation
for a discussion and vote on the plan for purchasing student devices.
Agenda 6:30 – 7:00 pm Technology Showcase: Presentation by teachers 7:00 – 7:45 pm Presentation: Sustainability Plan for Educational Technology 7:45 – 8:30 pm Q & A Session: Principal Panel: Lisa Fraser, Kit Bragg,
Lisa Reynolds, Vivian Martin and Karen Tamsen 8:30 – 8:30 – 9:00 pm Recess for individual meetings of the HSCs and LGEF to vote
9:00 pm Reconvene for approval 9:15 pm Adjourn
Join us at R.J. Fisher Middle School in the Multipurpose Room Refreshments will be provided.