Valerius Weekly
December 18 - 22
No School Dates for December & January
Please make note of the following dates in December 2023 and January 2024 when school will not be in session.
District-Wide
- Monday, December 25 through Tuesday, January 2: No school due to Winter Break. Learn more about the Winter Break Adventuretime All Day Program for Preschool – 5th grade students. School resumes for all UCSD students on Wednesday, January 3.
- Monday, December 25, Tuesday, December 26 & Monday, January 1: District Administration Office closed due to Winter Break.
- Friday, January 12: No school due to a Professional Development Day.
- Monday, January 15: No school in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. School resumes for all UCSD students on Tuesday, January 16.
- Monday, January 15: District Administration Office closed in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Toys for Tots
The Urbandale School District and Valerius Community definitely showed up these last two weeks by filling a donation box to the brim with toys and books for the Toys for Tots drive! The donations gathered by Valerius are the "unofficial" winner of the Des Moines area. What an amazing accomplishment! Thank yoU to everyone who donated and to Corporal Jayme Fisher (pictured), United States Marine Corps, & Paige Fisher, for picking the toys up. The Fisher family has been helping with Toys for Tots for the past 13 years and this is the largest donation they have ever received.
Also, GIANT thank you to our very own FFO, Miss Maddy, for making this possible for Valerius this year. We hope to continue and grow this tradition for years to come! #thankful4U #ValeriusPride
Why do we need a district-wide communications tool?
Teachers, coaches, schools, and the district place a high priority on school-to-home communication. Building strong relationships and keeping families informed contribute to student success.
Up until now, there has not been a district-wide communications tool which has resulted in numerous third-party apps/solutions in use across classrooms, activities, schools, and the district. This has created confusion among parents, a lack of oversight, and communications not always being translated. Translation is a high priority as we have approximately 10% of parents who request translated communications.
With ParentSquare, we’ll be able to consolidate numerous tools whose primary function is communication (e.g. Band, GroupMe, Remind, SchoolMessenger, Talking Points). We’ll be able to link to key content such as Canvas, Pikmykid, PowerSchool, SeeSaw, J-Hawks.com, district website, and other important resources for you to have at your fingertips.
Our version of ParentSquare will be branded with Urbandale colors/logo making it easier to find in the App Store/Google Play and easier to find on your phone. You won’t have to remember ParentSquare—you’ll only need to remember Urbandale as our app widget will be the red and navy split U (Urbandale CSD app powered by ParentSquare)! We look forward to sharing more about ParentSquare in upcoming newsletters. Learn More
Outside Recess
Recess will be held outside unless the temperature (including windchill) falls below 10 degrees. Temperature checks will be made 15 minutes before all recesses at www.weather.gov .
⛄ Winter Classroom Parties on December 22nd!
The Valerius Classroom Winter Party is coming up- Friday 12/22. There are several ways you can help!
1. Join us!! More hands are always welcome to help with crafts and activities or just to join in the fun. Please add your name and DOB to your classroom list below as an attendee. Plan to visit the office with your ID to load it into our Raptor visitor system a few days before the party. On the day of the party please be a few minutes early to check into the office and receive your visitor badge. (If you have already given your Driver's License to be entered in to Raptor you do not need to come in before hand.) *There is no on-site parking so plan to park at Walker Johnston Park or surrounding neighborhood and walk over.
Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EA9AA2BA5FCC25-46734969-winter
2. Can't make it to the party? You can still help by donating to the classroom party funds. Do so through the square store: https://valeriuspto.square.site/?fbclid=IwAR2TgOpYukq3Vy-OJxJmEMomfbqUcsoC6KhYKKPGtSKKLcehxDnXXM_LK3M
Grade Level Parties are at different times this year, check table below closely.
- K ~ 1:45-2:35
- 1st~ 2:15-3:15
- 2nd~ 2:15-3:00
- 3rd~ 2:45-3:30
- 4th~ 2:10-2:55
- 5th~ 2:45-3:30
Questions- contact your Classroom Party Coordinators at Valeriuspto@gmail.com
Thank you for your support!
Pikmykid Dismissal App Registration Information
Menus/ Payments
To access menus and make meal payments, you will need to visit LINQConnect.com and/or download the app in your app store.
Visit the UCSD Website for more information.
Free & Reduced Meal Application
School Fees
Beginning in the 2023–24 school year, we will be collecting payment for books, materials, and bus transportation fees via PowerSchool. We have created the following step-by-step instructions for this new process.
Translated instructions: Bosanski , မြန်မာဘာသာ, Laiholh (ဟားခါး-ချင်း) , Español , Kiswahili
VALERIUS ELEMENTARY
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