March 17, 2021
The Beehive
Issue 29

2020-2021
From the Principal's Desk 
Dear Blossom Hill Families:
                           
Our school was buzzing last week when students shared their scientific investigations during our first ever virtual Science Fair.  The goals of the event were to provide an opportunity for students to BEE CURIOUS while fostering enthusiasm for science, engineering, and an understanding of the scientific method.   Without a doubt, the goals were met!

An enrichment event such as this could not take place without the sponsorship of our Home & School Club and the dedication and commitment of the incredible parents who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.  Heartfelt appreciation goes to our committee leaders Melissa Crow and Nicole Duke who began planning last fall to ensure this highly anticipated annual event took place regardless of the pandemic.  Other talented parents who generously shared their time and professional expertise include: Michelle Avlas, Raju Subramanian (website designer), Nicole Hancock (t-shirts), Ling Law, Amy Gregor, Cortney Franz, Abhijeet Ghadge, and Jennifer Shapiro (tireless coach, problem solver & cheerleader).  What a team!

The grand finale included an assembly last Friday evening for all Blossom Hill and Lexington families.  David Hagerman, scientist and wizard extraordinaire, created wonder and awe by highlighting the ways magicians use science to make magic.  (I must share I spent the hour watching our students watch the presenter.  Their expressions and eager participation were priceless and filled my bucket to the brim!)  

To extend the joy for learning created by the Science Fair, I encourage you to explore the following resources. The Bay Area Science Festival website maintains a year-round calendar of fun science and nature related events at: http://www.bayareascience.org/calendar/ and the Stanford Graduate School of Education sponsors a project called “Playful Science” at: http://www.playfulscience.org/families.  Collaborating together, we can promote a sense of curiosity in our children and encourage them to ask questions and use their imaginations to create a future where they generate solutions for everyday life and potentially answer the great mysteries of the universe.

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

IMPORTANT
DATES
March/April

  • 3/24 - H&SC Member Meeting, 9am*

  • 3/24 - Special Musical Guest - Music Choice Block (online)*

  • 3/24- LGUSD Equity Action Team Community Book Study, 5:30-6:30pm (online)*

  • 3/31 - Eric Kimmel Virtual Author's Fair (online)*

  • 3/31 - Willow Street and Main Street Burger Give Back Day*

  • 3/31 - One Community LG Campaign Deadline*

  • 4/2 - Deadline for submitting photos to the yearbook*

  • 4/5-4/9 - Spring Break (No School)
*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 friends. The Blossom Hill Good News will put a smile on your face.
Guest Musician Robert Witmeyer
Please join us on March 24th during your
Wednesday choice block to hear this amazing assembly!

Grades 3-5 10:45-11:25
Grades TK-2 11:30-12:10
Guitarist Robert Alan Witmeyer

"Born in Los Gatos, Robert Alan Witmeyer wears many hats- literally and figuratively. Though his degree from UC Davis is in Political Science, Robert is currently a professional musician, educator, and entrepreneur.  His company, Blue Skool Records, offers original music through platforms like iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and more.  Blue Skool Records also produces hand-made effects pedals for professional musicians, and the company partners with other music manufacturers to create original circuits and designs.  After teaching elementary school, high school, and summer school, Robert is now a private music teacher and store manager at Keith Holland Guitars in Los Gatos, where he teaches classes on Guitar, Bass, Upright Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Piano, and "Build Your Own FX Pedals!"  Finally, Witmeyer is an avid writer, and produces articles for myriad publications including Guitar Player Magazine."
Kudos Korner - Science Fair
Our first Virtual Science Fair was an incredible success. Congratulations to all the students who submitted projects! The students did an excellent job using the scientific method to answer many real world questions such as "Do face masks get worse if you wash them?, Which brand of sunscreen is the best?, and How do bike gears work?" The Home & School Club extends much gratitude to the Science Fair Co-Chairs Melissa Crow and Nicole Duke for assembling an extraordinary team who planned and coordinated this beloved event. The Science Fair committee also arranged for the amazing Virtual Extreme Science Show with David Hagerman last Friday night. David is an amazing 21st century wizard who uses science to amaze and astound. Students delighted in watching David demonstrate the power of electricity with his Tesla coils, learn how a bike tire is really a gyroscope, and explode pure hydrogen. If you missed seeing the show, you can check out this YouTube video of clips from previous live shows. It was a magical night that was the perfect end to our Virtual Science Fair.
New Student Registration 2021-2022
Spread the Word!
Student registration for the 2021-2022 school year is now open online for grades TK-5. Please go to lgusd.org and click on the Registration link for full instructions.
If you have any questions, please contact BHSreg@lgusd.org.
Jokes Needed for Blossom Hill Good News
Does your child have a funny (or punny) joke that he/she would like to share with the Blossom Hill community in the Wednesday morning announcements? If they do, please share your jokes with Mrs. Sheehan on her padlet:
Photos Needed for Blossom Hill Good News
Science Fair Photos
Did you participate in the Science Fair this year? We would love to see photos of you and your experiment or of you proudly wearing your Science Fair t-shirt. Please send your photos to Mrs. Sheehan at jsheehan@lgusd.org to be included in the Wednesday morning announcements. Don't forget to also upload your pictures to your yearbook account at Treering. We are in need of many more pictures for the yearbook.
St. Patrick's Photos
St.Patrick's Day is here! We would love to see the pictures of your leprechaun traps, drawings of rainbows and shamrocks, and anything else exciting you are doing for the holiday. If you would like your photos or drawings to be part of our Wednesday morning announcements, please send your pictures to Mrs. Sheehan at jsheehan@lgusd.org. Don't forget to also upload your pictures to your yearbook account at Treering. Thank you for helping to spread the good news!
St. Patrick's Day Outreach to the Terraces
Blossom Hill Elementary School continued our outreach to our friends at the Terraces with posters for St. Patrick's Day. Thank you to 5th graders Kate, Tuleen, Kiley, and Annika for painting the uplifting posters now on display in the common areas of the Terraces.
No Cost Giving Update
Thank you to all the families who have designated the Blossom Hill Home & School Club as their charity with Amazon Smile. This past quarter we received $379.13 through this No-Cost Giving program. To find out how to register for this and other No-Cost Giving Programs, please visit the BH H&SC website.
Project Cornerstone
Lesson #4 - The Story of Ruby Bridges
Theme: Open Your Heart—
Take a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes

Social and Emotional Learning 
(Relationship Skills)

For our children, racial tensions and struggles to achieve civil rights may sound like ancient history. But, as you know, our collective struggle to overcome injustice of all kinds is ongoing.  

Clearly, intolerance and injustice continue today. We hope that by encouraging discussion of past intolerance and injustice, we can help guide our students toward actions that will build a more caring, just, inclusive, tolerant and safe school community for all.  
The goals for this lesson are to:  
  • Promote discussion about the importance of accepting differences.
  • Develop empathy by thinking about what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes.
  • Understand how people can use personal power to be an upstander.

The following questions go along with the Cornerstone video:

Pause 1:
  1. How do you think Ruby Bridges felt when she found out she was going to be the only African American child to go to her new school? (scared, excited, happy, afraid, proud, worried, etc.)
  2. How do you think her parents felt? (it says that they felt proud, but they probably felt other emotions)

Pause 2:
  1. Look closely at the illustration on these two pages. What do you see? How are these people feeling? (people are angry, signs with Whites Only, crowded, all of them are white people)
  2. How do you think their actions are making Ruby Bridges feel? How would you feel if you were in her shoes? (scared, afraid, confused, sad, alone; personal answers will vary)

Pause 3:
  1. Imagine how you might feel if you went to school and no one else was there because they didn’t like the way you looked. How do you think you might feel? Do you think you would want to continue going to school? (student answers will vary)
  2. Mrs. Henry was the only teacher willing to teach Ruby Bridges, even though other people thought she shouldn’t. Why do you think Mrs. Henry made the decision to help Ruby Bridges learn? (she was an upstander, she wanted to do the right thing, she believed everyone was equal, she wanted to follow the law)

Pause 4:
  1. Why are the marshals frightened when Ruby stops in front of the crowd? (they are afraid the crowd might hurt Ruby, people might get out of control, the crowd is angry and they are outnumbered)
  2. What do you think Ruby is saying to the crowd? How do you think she is feeling while she is standing in front of all of the angry people? (students answers will vary; scared, lonely, afraid, brave, confused, strong, proud)

Discussion for All Grades:
  1. How was Ruby an upstander? Who else was an upstander? (she went to school every day, she persevered even though people were angry; her parents, Mrs. Henry, the marshals)
  2. Who were the caring adults in Ruby’s life? (her parents, Mrs. Henry, the marshals, her family, the judge)
  3. What words would you use to describe Ruby? (brave, strong, caring, upstander, hero, changemaker)
  4. How did Ruby’s courage help others? (it allowed others to stand up, eventually students of all colors could go to the same school, her experience helped other people learn to accept differences)
  5. How does walking in someone else’s shoes help you to understand and accept people who may be different from you? (helps people to accept differences, gives you an understanding of how other people feel, empathy)

Additional discussion for 4th -5th:
  • What effect does Ruby’s experience have on your life today? (we get to go to the same school, people are learning not to judge others by their differences, we have all different types of people in our government, schools, doctors, sports teams, etc.)
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 Masks for Sale

Need more masks for returning to in person instruction? We've got you covered. 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.
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 | lreynolds@lgusd.org
Phone: 408-335-2100 | Fax: 408-356-0887 | Attendance Line: 408-335-2145
Blossom Hill Home & School Club
Jennifer Shapiro, President | president@blossomhill.org  
*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,