January 13, 2021
The Beehive
Issue 21

2020-2021
From the Principal's Desk 
Dear Blossom Hill Families,

Thank you for providing your intention/commitments for reopening schools in a “Roomers & Zoomers” Model. Our school is projected to reopen on January 25th pending the new state guidelines which states that Santa Clara County must have a 7-day average case rate of less than 28 Covid-19 cases/100,000 people per day in order to implement our reopening plan. The LGUSD Board of Trustees will review the data on January 19th once again prior to a projected reopening on January 25, 2021. 
Monday all families received a letter confirming the projected Roomer Cohort A (Monday/Tuesday), Roomer Cohort B (Thursday/Friday) and Zoomer schedule. Due to the complexities in creating this schedule, parent requests to switch between Roomer Cohorts cannot be accommodated at this time. LGUSD has built-in some “On-Ramp” dates where guardians of full-time remote learners can elect to request in-person instruction twice a week. The “On-Ramp” dates are projected to be March 1, March 29, and May 3. For planning purposes, site Principals will survey each class approximately 2 weeks prior to the “On-Ramp” dates to revisit the preference of each family. However, if your child is projected to be a “Roomer” and you decide that you would like your child to return to a “Zoomer” model, that is absolutely okay with advance notice. 
 
Alongside our phenomenal teachers and support staff, the LGUSD Technology Department, Facilities & Maintenance Department, and Student Services Team have been hard at work in preparing for a safe and successful return. Curative Testing for Covid-19 will be made available and we highly encourage students to be tested prior to returning in-person. Student testing is projected to take place on campus on January 19 for Cohort A and January 21 for Cohort B. Please watch for an email specific about Curative Testing for students coming later this week. This communication will include directions, times, and instructions. Additionally, more information will soon be provided regarding the 1:1 Chromebook program for grades 3-5. Our team is hard at work to ensure access at school and home for every student. 
 
As a friendly reminder, please make note of the following schedule changes in preparation for reopening school: 

Modified Virtual Zoom Instruction 
Thursday, January 14 -8:30-10:30 A.M.
Friday, January 15 - 8:30-10:30 A.M.
Monday, January 18 - No School (Martin Luther King Day)
Tuesday, January 19 - 8:30-10:30 A.M.
Wednesday, January 20 - 8:30-10:30 A.M.
Thursday, January 21 - 8:30-10:30 A.M.
Friday, January 22 - 8:30-10:30 A.M.

Please continue to do your part at home and in the community to stay safe and healthy. It takes all of us working together!

In education together,
Lisa Reynolds
Principal, Blossom Hill School
Phone: 408.335.2100

IMPORTANT
DATES
January/February

  • 1/13 - Science Fair Registration Opens*

  • 1/14-1/22 - Modified Virtual Schedule for All Students (8:30-10:30am)**

  • 1/14 - LGUSD Board Meeting, 6:30pm (online)

  • 1/18 - MLK Jr. Day - No School

  • 1/20 - Community Book Study - The New Jim Crow, 5:30-6:30pm (online)*

  • 1/21 - Science Fair "How To"for Students Presentation Make Up, 10:30am (online)*

  • 1/28 - School Site Council (SSC), 2:45-3:45pm (online)

  • 1/28 - Science Fair Parent Night, 7:30pm (online)*

  • 2/3 - Science Fair Registration Closes*

  • 2/10 - Picture Day*

  • 2/10 - Chipotle Fundraiser, 4-8pm (Blossom Hill location)*
*Scroll down for more details on these events.
**See details above "From the Principal's Desk"
IMPORTANT SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION
Office: 
408-335-2100

Attendance: 
408-335-2145

Office Hours: 
7:30 am - 4 pm

Blossom Hill Good News
Need some good news? Each week, check out the Wednesday morning announcements (found in your child's Google Classroom). Enjoy Mrs. Adams' special Blossom Hill song, fifth graders leading the Pledge and telling the "buzz" at Blossom Hill, important messages from Mrs. Reynolds, and funny jokes from our custodial staff. The Blossom Hill Good News will put a smile on your face.
Picture Day Has Changed, Again
Third time's a charm! Picture Day has been re-rescheduled for Wednesday, February 10th with the hopes that the current COVID numbers in our community will improve by then. Please see the schedule below for your time and entrance and exit gates. For those families who are not comfortable coming to campus for school pictures, an option will be provided. More information will be sent home.
BH Photo Scavenger Winners
The winners of the Blossom Hill Photo Scavenger hunt are:

Magnolia C. in Mrs. Payne's class
Helen H. in Mrs. Roshinski's class
Jeremy C. in Mrs. Milos' class
Leah W. in Mrs. Bertucelli's class

Winners will receive a Baskin Robbins' gift card in the mail. We'd love to thank everyone who participated in this fun activity. Participants said they enjoyed our town's parks, trails and historical sites with their families. People learned about the 9/11 heroes who grew up in town and they learned that the town was originally called "Forbes Mill." It also seems that people's favorite sweet shop is Loli & Pops downtown.  
Community Book Study
LGUSD is inviting the community to join in the conversation about equity, inclusion and race led by our Equity Action Team and Epoch Education. We are reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Pick up a copy of the book and get reading. We look forward to learning together.

All meetings will be from 5:30-6:30pm.
December 16, 2021 – Preface and Introduction
January 6, 2021 – Chapter 1: The Rebirth of Caste
January 20, 2021 - Chapter 2: The Lockdown
February 3, 2021 – Chapter 3: The Color of Justice
February 24, 2021 – Chapter 4: The Cruel Hand
March 10, 2021 – Chapter 5: The New Jim Crow
March 24, 2021 – Chapter 6: The Fire This Time
Blossom Hill Traffic Calming
The Town of Los Gatos hired Hexagon Transportation Consultants to provide options for changes along the Blossom Hill traffic corridor in front of the school. The goal of the project is to make the roadway safer for all users. The plan can be viewed on the Town's website by clicking on the link below:
The Town will be holding a virtual community meeting on January 28 at 6pm to review the plan and to gather feedback from community stakeholders. The meeting will be held via Zoom. After a short presentation, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns either verbally or via the meeting's chat function. The Zoom link is available below. 
"Bee" Safe with Blossom Hill Masks!

All students received a Blossom Hill mask at their last materials pick up courtesy of the Home & School Club. Please be sure to write your child's name and classroom number on the label inside the mask, as all masks do look alike. Let's all "bee" safe and "bee" healthy.
The Science Fair Registration Opens Today!
Visit the Science Fair website to learn more about the Virtual Science Fair and accompanying events. Key dates include:

  • January 13 to February 3 - Registration open

  • January 21 at 10:30 am - Make up Zoom of "How to" presentation for students. Register your student by emailing [email protected]


  • March 1-5 - Project slides and videos due for upload

  • March 11 and 12 - Virtual Science Fair website live for participants

  • March 12 at 6 pm - Virtual Science Night "Extreme Science" show for all Blossom Hill families
Hybrid Learning Support Aides/Health Screeners Needed!
We are working towards opening for in-person instruction. In order to support our schools and staff members, we are hiring additional staff to act as in-class aides to facilitate the “Rooming and Zooming” model, and to provide on-campus support. While we know many would be happy to volunteer their support, to ensure adequate training and provide consistency, we will be hiring the assistants. These positions will begin when in-person instruction classes begin. The details and how to apply are listed in the job posting. 
Project Cornerstone
Lesson #3 - Sebastian's Roller Skates
Theme: Keep Going—Another Try Might Change Everything 

Social and Emotional Learning Message
(Self-Awareness) 

This book shows how perseverance and hard work can bring about great leaps of confidence and skill. Shy Sebastian gains confidence while practicing a new activity: roller skating! His newly developed confidence empowers him to speak up and participate more fully in other areas of his life. 
The goals for this lesson are:
  • Students will reflect upon and identify the support students receive from their peers, family, and community.
  • Students will understand that as they persevere through something difficult, they gain confidence. 
  • Students will provide support to their peers, family, and community. 

The following questions go along with the Cornerstone video:

Pause 1: 
1. What do you notice about Sebastian’s thoughts? (Dark colors, lots of thoughts, they are hidden, they don’t stand out, they are jumbled and messy.)

2. Does Sebastian have the confidence to share his thoughts? How do you know? (He is not making eye contact, he is looking at the floor, he says “fine.”)

3. Why do think he is not sharing his thoughts? (Scared, shy, etc.) 
 
4. Tell students to pay attention to Sebastian’s thoughts in the illustrations as we read the rest of the story.  


Pause 2:  
1. How did Sebastian feel after he tried to skate? (He’s not good, skating isn’t for him.)
2. What is a way Sebastian could have used his personal power to change how he was feeling? (Positive self-talk, “I can’t skate…yet,” he could’ve kept trying.)


Pause 3: 
1. Why was Sebastian sad? (He is not as good as other skaters, he got a little discouraged.)
2. How did Sebastian respond the next day? What did he do? (He returned to the park, he kept trying, he skated slowly, he put one foot in front of the other.)
 
Pause 4: 
1. What do you notice about Sebastian’s thoughts now? (Bright colors, lots of thoughts, they stand out.)

2. Does Sebastian have the confidence to share his thoughts? How do you know? (He is looking at the neighbor speaking to him.) 
Community Sponsor Spotlight

The Home & School would like to thank this week's Spotlight Community Sponsor, Hall & Burnett Orthodontics. We are greatly appreciative of Hall & Burnett's continued support. Hall & Burnett not only support our H&SC, but all of four of the Los Gatos elementary schools' H&SCs as well as Fisher H&SC and LGEF through our One Community LG campaign. If you would like to become a Community Sponsor, please contact Jennifer Shapiro at [email protected].
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. 
Blossom Hill Elementary School
16400 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Lisa Reynolds, Principal | [email protected]
Phone: 408-335-2100 | Fax: 408-356-0887 | Attendance Line: 408-335-2145
Blossom Hill Home & School Club
Jennifer Shapiro, President | [email protected]  
*The Beehive newsletter is approved by Principal Lisa Reynolds and the H&SC Board and is written exclusively to provide the Blossom Hill community with pertinent, weekly school information. Articles, information, calendars, etc. may not be duplicated or re-printed in any manner without the permission of the Home & School Club or the Blossom Hill school administration.

Submissions can be made to The Beehive editor, Jennifer Shapiro,