It was a great first week of school with a family and staff picnic to wrap it up! Thank you for sending your lovely children to us! Here are a few photos from the week.

School starts (Tues - Friday) at 8:50am and doors open at 8:35am! Dismissal is 3:40pm every day.

PLAN AHEAD-- Every Monday is a late start. Doors open at 9:40am and school starts at 9:55am.

UCSD Calendars (Quick-View)

UCSD will be conducting a district-wide notification test at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 31, 2023. During this test, parents/guardians and staff will receive an email, phone call, and text message (if you have opted-in to receive text messages). The District Notification Test will be sent to parents/guardians who registered to receive notifications; it will NOT include emergency contacts. We will also post an alert on the District Facebook, District Twitter and District website.

The notification test is to ensure we have your correct contact information in our system. If you do not receive the text/phone/email message, parents/guardians should contact their school to request their contact information be updated; staff should contact Kate Johnson to request their contact information be updated.

As a reminder, if you’d like to opt-in to receive text message notifications, please text “Y” or “YES” to 67587. The 67587 is a short code that connects directly with School Messenger (our district notification system).

Linked HERE you will find a video explanation of our new arrival and dismissal processes. It's important that everyone follow the expectations for safety and efficiency, and we hope the video explanation will be an easy way to learn them.

Below you will find information about our new online program, "Pikmykid", that will support our dismissal process. Reminder that only families picking up in a vehicle will need to use the orange car tags. All families may make updates on the app if there are changes to a student's pick-up plan (i.e. bus student who needs to walk home, walker who needs to be picked up by car, etc.). The app will not allow changes to be made after 2:45 p.m. Please also call the office to make these daily changes.

PIkmykid Parent App Registration Information

Pikmykid App Registration

Students in grades 2 - 5 will be issued individual lockers on their first day of school. Locker use is only for storage of coats, boots and backpacks. No personal items such as mirrors and other locker trinkets will be allowed. Daily school materials (pencils, folders, notebooks, textbooks) will be kept in students' desks in their classrooms. There are no locks on lockers.

The Urbandale Community School District (UCSD) welcomes and invites parents/guardians to visit schools during the school day. "Visitors" include parents, guardians, volunteers, contractors, students from other schools, student teachers, student teacher advisors, outside counselors/EFR, and members of the community.

Overview

In order to maintain a safe and secure learning environment, visitors must report to the school’s main office, sign-in upon arrival, provide a U.S. government-issued ID for scanning into the Raptor system (or provide a legitimate photo ID and have name and date of birth entered into the Raptor system), and then receive a visitor’s badge/sticker which they will be required to wear during their stay in our schools. Visitors are required to sign-out and return the badge/sticker at the main office prior to leaving the school. (Note: Signing in via the Raptor system will not be necessary for individuals who drop-off or pick-up a student or materials in the main office.)

Visit the UCSD Website to view full article.

1. Teachers will again be using Seesaw as their main method of communication with you. Seesaw is used to record and share what's happening in the classroom. Instructions on how to enroll will be shared during Open House.

2. Use Google Calendar to access the number day cycle and school-wide events throughout the year. Paste links into your website to embed the calendar, “Valerius Family Calendar (Events and Activities)”. Links: Google Calendar or iCal for Mac

3. Follow Valerius on Facebook. Posts will be made that include such things as reminders about upcoming events and volunteer requests.

4. Urbandale’s School Messenger automated email, text and voicemail system will be used by Superintendent Dr. Rosalie Daca , our secretary, Angie Jones, and me as an efficient form of communication.

5. Our district webpage at http://www.urbandaleschools.com holds a wealth of information with a “Quick Links” section to commonly searched items. Valerius Website

6. Valerius Weekly family newsletter will be emailed and posted on the Valerius Facebook page every Sunday at 8am. This newsletter will contain information about events for the upcoming week/month.
   

Principal: Lara Justmann; justmannl@urbandaleschools.com

Dean: Derek Wilkins; wilkinsd@urbandaleschools.com

Principal Secretary: Angie Jones; jonesa1@urbandaleschools.com

Office Secretary: Caley Jo Schroeder; schroederc@urbandaleachools.com

Nurse: Katie Scandrett; scandrettk@urbandaleschools.com

Guidance Counselor: Liz Donner; donnere@urbandaleschools.com

FFO: Maddy Punsalan; punsalanm@urbandaleschools.com

Website: https://www.urbandaleschools.com/schools/valerius-elementary/
Location: 3305 92nd St, Urbandale, IA, USA
Phone: 515-457-6500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valeriuselementary