September 23, 2020
The Beehive
Issue 8

2020-2021
From the
Principal’s Desk 
Dear Blossom Hill Families:

Please consider this "Parents Need SEL Too" opportunity. Team LGUSD is committed to supporting all stakeholders during this time. Together, we will continue to learn and grow.
 
In education together, 
Lisa Reynolds
Principal, Blossom Hill School
Phone: 408.335.2100
IMPORTANT
DATES

September/October

  • 9/24 - SSC Meeting, 2:45-3:45pm (online)

  • 9/24 - LGUSD Special Board Meeting, 5:30-7:30pm (online)

  • 9/29 - Parents Need SEL Too Meeting for Grades K to 2, 9-10am*

  • 9/29 - Parents Need SEL Too Meeting for Grades 3 to 5, 10:30-11:30am*

  • 10/1 - Upper Grade Chorus rehearsal, 3:15-4pm (online)

  • 10/6 - Virtual Math Night, 6-8pm (online)*
*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 - 3:30 pm

Student Residency Questionnaire/Affidavit
We are conducting a residency census to ensure that all of our students have access to the services to which they are entitled. Please see the attached document. If your answer to the first question is "no", please complete the form and send it to the district office, care of Sarah Tellez, [email protected]. This will enable us to provide the appropriate support to you and your family. 
Keep Your Bucket Full Series from Parenting Continuum
Part One
“I used to be so resilient,” confides C-suite executive and mother of a 2nd grader. “All balance is gone. We’re just in survival mode” confesses project manager and father of 7th and 9th graders. “I’m exhausted. Now I am expected to be a teacher, executive assistant, IT support, chef, cleaner, friend, and mom.” shares mother of 4 school age kids spanning elementary, middle, and high school. Conversation after conversation with stellar leaders, role models, and parents all grappling with the same issue. 

Grace and grit alone are not cutting it.

In this series, we will explore how to keep your bucket full as a parent during unprecedented times. In the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Community, we are familiar with this concept of “being a bucket filler”. 

Every time you focus on positivity (empathy, gratitude, curiosity, joyful creativity, calm, etc.) you fill your bucket. And every time you focus on negativity (stress, anxiety, frustration, anger, disappointment, shame, guilt, etc.), the bucket is depleted. When you have a full bucket, you respond and make choices that feel more like “the real you”. You are being the best version of yourself even when times are hard. But when the bucket is low, you respond in ways that hurt yourself, hurt others, and often make the situation worse instead of better. If you have noticed that your bucket feels lower than usual, here’s why.  

Your bucket may be drained more frequently. Consider where you spend your time, what you see, what you hear, and what you discuss. You may be spending more time worrying (and at times even obsessing) about topics like your children’s education, the pandemic, social issues, political differences, and difficulties with work or finances. This is a sign that your bucket is being depleted more quickly.

Your bucket may not be filled in the same ways. Think of those things that bring you joy like dinner with a friend, yoga class, browsing a bookstore, swimming, taking a hike, travel, etc. You may not be doing them as frequently or at all. If you are, you may have needed to modify them like wearing a mask on your hike, doing yoga over Zoom, or assessing the health-and-safety risks of a location before a social-distance visit. Chances are you may be doing less of them and when you are, they may not fill your bucket at the same rate.

Your bucket may not be getting from or giving to your network in the same way. Consider a time in your life when you were having a tough time coping— moving, job loss, new baby, ended relationship, death in the family. Your friends and family leaned in to boost you up and add to your bucket. And you do the same for them. They may not be adding to your bucket and you might not be adding to theirs at the same rate. We are in this together.

Discover how full your bucket is with the Positive Intelligence (PQ) assessment. In our next segment, we will share strategies to “Drain Less” and “Fill More”.

About the Author:
Erin McAuley is a leadership expert and change coach trained in neuroscience and positive intelligence (PQ). She coaches working parents, leaders, and teams to thrive in the now and achieve their “what’s next”. She and her husband Jeff live in Monte Sereno with their 2nd and 3rd grader who are attending virtual school at home. “Our kids are constantly teaching us lessons in self-discovery and change agility.”  www.bechange.coach
Notes from the Victor Pacini & Deanna Hynes
Informational Meeting on September 14th
Monday September 14th, Victor Pacini and Deanna Hynes spoke with the Blossom Hill Community and shared their advice on how to both talk with our children about the recent news and reiterate the language and body safety rules that our children learn during the school programs presented by Victor and his team.  

A few key points from this meeting were:

The clean and healthy rule is important for all children to understand.  No one may see or touch a child’s private parts unless it is to keep them clean and healthy.  If it is not in the context of clean and healthy, a child should understand that they should not be asked to show or touch their private parts.  

Children should be able to identify a trusted hero team.  A trusted hero is a person who they feel comfortable sharing their concerns.  It may be a parent or a teacher or a coach.  A child needs a team of trusted heroes so that they have multiple sources if their preferred hero is not immediately available.

Children should listen to their “inner sirens.”  The yucky feeling or their gut telling them that something is not right or makes them uncomfortable.  Children should understand that they should be seen and heard if they find themselves in a situation that seems wrong.
 
Developmentally appropriate terms used in the Be Seen and Heard presentations change as students get older.  With kindergarten, first and second grades, we speak about safe and unsafe touches.  With third and fourth grades, we transition to appropriate and inappropriate touches.  It is not until fifth grade that the term sexual abuse is ever used.  For all grades, safe touches are high fives, handshakes and the like.  

Let your children lead the discussion.  If they do not ask about recent events, you should not feel obligated to tell them.  If they do ask, reassure your children that they are safe and most trusted heroes are good people.  

For additional resources to help you use the developmentally appropriate language and reinforce the ideas that are presented to students each year, please use these links:
  • This is the Be Seen and Heard-Peace of Mind Video that parents had access to last year in which you can hear how Victor addresses the language for each grade level.  
  • This is a Review of Be Seen and Heard content and language for each grade level.  
  • This is a copy of the book that Victor reads with each grade level during the presentation. Many students have a book from past presentations. You can download the book here.  

Show your Blossom Hill Pride!
Thank you to everyone who has proudly displayed their Blossom Hill Pride yard sign and sent pictures to both the yearbook and [email protected] to be printed and hung in the school office. Second grade, we have not forgotten you! We were unable to distribute yard signs to the 2nd grade at their materials pick up last Friday due to the poor air quality. Signs will be available for pick up at 2nd grade's next materials pick up day. If you would like your sign sooner, please contact Jennifer Shapiro at [email protected] and we will make arrangements to get your sign to you. Any family who has not received a yard sign and would like one is also welcome to make arrangements to pick up a sign.
Thank you
Ken's Top Notch Produce!
Organic Fruits and
Veggies Donation
Ken's Top Notch Produce has agreed to donate some leftover organic fruits and vegetables at the end of the Los Gatos Farmers Market to LGUSD. Through the help of our wellness committee and food service staff, we are able to preserve, clean and package this fruit on Sundays and Mondays. This allows us to provide a package of free organic fruits and vegetables to those who participate in our food programs. For those interested they will be available, while supplies last, with our meals on Mondays. Come participate at the Fisher drive through (on Roberts Road) meal pickup. Breakfast pickup is at 8am and lunch pickup is at noon. 
One Last Chance!
Chorus registration is closed, but we still have spots if your child is interested.
Please email the Producers at [email protected] to register. Registration will officially close on Friday, September 25th. 
No Cost Giving at
Amazon Smile
No Cost Giving is easy! Visit smile.amazon.com, designate Blossom Hill Home & School Club as your charitable organization, and shop away! Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Blossom Hill H&SC. Last quarter, Blossom Hill Home & School Club received $270.81. Thank you!
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,