BLUEBERRY HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
275 BLUEBERRY HILL ROAD | LONGMEADOW | MASSACHUSETTS | 01106 P 413-565-4280 | F 413-565-4283
“Our mission is to ensure that all students excel in learning, succeed in life, and enrich our community.”
"All students, regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or homelessness, have equal access to the general education program and the full range of any occupational or vocational programs offered by the district."
SCHOOL HOURS
8:30 AM - 2:45 PM
TO REPORT AN ABSENCE
PLEASE CALL 413-565-4280
SUMMER HOURS
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Week One Done!
Posted September 19, 2020
Dear Blueberry Hill Community,
As we wrap up our first full week of remote learning, with all of the technical bumps, I want to thank our kids' grown ups for supporting them this week. Grown ups include parents, grandparents, nannies, pod teachers, older siblings, foster parents, BHS staff, aunts and uncles, babysitters, tutors, close friends ... so many who are required to help get through this pandemic. There were many glitches beyond our control (IT is aware of these and working on them around the clock) that required you to model and practice patience and flexibility. I also received feedback on the following from families and staff:
1. Chat rooms: These are for student use only as a means of appropriately engaging with the teachers and staff. We are teaching the kids how to use this feature as we know not every child has familiarity with it. If a grown up has a question for a teacher, privately email the teacher/staff member.
2. Quiet space for learning: We are sharing our homes during these remote and hybrid times, so please be mindful that if grown ups at home are having conversations near students learning with their teachers and classmates, students, staff and other families at home can hear you. Kindly take your private conversations to another location.
3. Next week begins our hybrid learning for many of our students. We welcome Cohort A students Monday and Tuesday and Cohort B students Thursday and Friday. Wednesdays continue to be a remote learning day for all right now. We anticipate the need for more patience and flexibility. It's also important that you review our Blueberry Hill Reopening Plan. This link will detail more specifically our new arrival and dismissal procedures. Please review your own family's arrival and dismissal plan for the upcoming week. And let's hope for good weather!
I hope you enjoy this day and upcoming weekend! As the local mail carrier tells me each morning when he drops off the mail here at Blueberry: We are hopefully one day closer to something better!
Be well,
Amy Stec, Principal
Blueberry Hill Reopening Plan
Posted August 22, 2020
Below is a link our Blueberry Hill School Reopening Plan. It provides information regarding guiding principles, learning expectations, logistics, safety information, etc. as it applies to the 2020-2021 school-year. We are certain things will continue to evolve and this will be a fluid document, subject to updates. More detailed information/instructions will also be sent out to students and families about topics such as the upcoming student orientation. This document will aid in starting to understand the logistics to this unique year.
Thank you for your patience and partnership as we embark on this school year, as our work together is paramount this year more than ever!
Amy Stec, Principal
Frequently Asked Questions & Answers from BHS
Good afternoon, Blueberry Hill Community,
August, although such a different feel this year, brings joy and excitement about an upcoming school year, a fresh start and new opportunity to meet new staff, friends and families. I hope you are still able to look ahead and prepare for some of this anticipatory joy. I appreciate your patience as many important decisions are being made to ensure the safety of all children and staff as we prepare to return to school. As you likely are aware, this summer, administration has met with groups of teachers and staff, a Reopening Task Force (composed of parents, staff, administration and town personnel), individual parents and colleagues to address numerous safety, academic, social and emotional concerns. Our collaborative work is of the utmost importance this summer.
From our conversations, we have heard and answered some similar and frequent questions. Here is information gathered from these "FAQs" in the past few weeks that I hope find helpful.
* September 4 - Families/caregivers will be able to log into the parent portal through PowerSchool to get your child’s classroom assignment for the upcoming school year. Kindergarten students will receive PowerSchool log in information from the school prior to September 4th via email or US Mail.
* September 9, 10, 11- Student Welcome and Orientation: teachers and staff will meet students and families in small groups. Stay tuned for your assigned day, time and format for the Orientation Sessions.
* September 14- First day of school for elementary students (all REMOTE)
* September 21- First day of in-person school for Cohort A
* September 24- First day of in-person school for Cohort B
Cohort Information:
* Cohort A: Last names beginning with letter A through LaP******. These students will come to school in person Monday and Tuesday; everyone is fully remote on Wednesdays; Thursdays and Fridays are remote learning days for Cohort A students.
* Cohort B: Last names beginning with letter LaR**** through Z. These students will come to school in person Thursday and Friday; everyone is fully remote on Wednesdays; Mondays and Tuesdays are remote learning days for Cohort B students.
* Cohort C: Students who have opted out of in person learning and are remote Monday- Friday will receive their teacher assignment on September 4th via PowerSchool and a schedule with all other cohorted students after September 4.
Note: We have received requests to change cohorts due to family circumstances. At this time we are not in a position to honor any request to change cohorts. The cohorts have been formed in an effort to safely balance class size, and meet students academic and social needs.
* Supply lists have been posted to our website, https://bhs.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/home, on the front page.
* The Blueberry Hill Elementary School Reopening Plan will be posted on our school website later this week. The reopening plan includes detailed arrival and dismissal procedure, additional safety and cleaning measures and protocols, technology information, student orientation information, Social Emotional Learning supports, food service update, and other pertinent information that has been thoughtfully developed over the past several months. We will continue to update, reflect, refine any and all information as needed for the safety of all members of our teaching and learning community.
Please know that you can reach out with questions should they arise. Your questions help to inform and formulate our solutions and I am grateful for our continued work together.
Be well and enjoy this beautiful day,
Amy Stec, Principal
One Book, One School Summer Read
Posted July 15, 2020
Thanks to your generosity, our PTO has once again sponsored our One Book, One School Summer Read. I hope that you and your family will take some time this Summer to read Shine! by Chris and J.J. Grabenstein.
In a school full of stars, is there room for more?
BHS Supply Lists
Posted June 25, 2020
Back to school means back to school shopping!
BHS Summer Reading Portal
Posted June 24, 2020
Research shows that the best way to grow in reading is to read, read, read!
These summer reading ideas and opportunities will encourage plenty of summer reading. ENJOY!
How to Talk to Your Kids About Becoming an Antiracist
Posted July 7, 2020
It is important that we, educators and parents, talk with children about race, racism, and the history of racial oppression in the United States. These are not easy conversations to have but this does not mean we do not have them. We hope these articles help jump start the discussion. By no means is this list exhaustive, but other things you can do to start and continue the discussion about race and racism include: diversify your bookshelf (look for stories featuring and written by people of color), seek out media created by people of color (movies, music, etc), build news literacy (talk with your children about what kinds of stories get the most attention? How are language and images used differently to depict people and incidents depending on the news outlet), and do not forget to reflect on your own beliefs and biases, do your research, and acknowledge what you do not know while reassuring your child you will look into it and learn together with your child.
From The National Museum of African American History and Culture
From the American School Counselor Association, Race and Equity Resources
How to Help Kids Embrace Mask-Wearing
Posted June 30, 2020
Teach your children to feel safe and proud when they wear their masks, because they deserve to. They will be helping make a safer world. Read the article from The New York Times.
2019 DESE Report Card for Blueberry Hill School
Posted January 30, 2020
Click Here for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 2019 for Blueberry Hill.
Blueberry Hill School Improvement Plan
Posted December 20, 2019
At Blueberry Hill Elementary School, we believe that every child can and will succeed. Through our District vision of “Eyes on the child, learning”, we strive to create an environment that values the individual needs of each student. By creating a caring, creative, and safe learning environment, we promote confidence in our students to reach their highest academic, social and emotional potential.
To read the 2019-20 BHS School Improvement Plan, click here.
To see a listing of School Council Committee members, click here.