VAMS Panther Press Newsletter

• Monday, February 21 - NO SCHOOL - Professional Development day for staff
  
• Tuesday, February 22 - Mandatory Cheer & Mascot Tryout Meeting during lunch for 6th & 7th grade students interested in trying out. 6th graders will meet in Mrs. Meaders' room during lunch and 7th graders will meet in Mrs. Hensley's room during lunch.
  
• Tuesday, February 22 - Bus Driver Appreciation Day - Show our bus drivers some love!
• Tuesday, February 22 - 8th Grade Dance Planning Meeting at 5:00 PM in the cafeteria (more information below)
• Wednesday, February 23 - 6-8 Grade Reading Benchmark
• Wednesday, February 23 - House Games from 1:15-3:30
• Wednesday, February 23 - VAMS Cheer & Mascot Tryout Parent Meeting at 5:30 in the VAMS Cafeteria
• Wednesday, February 23 - VA High School Cheer & Mascot Tryout Parent Meeting at 6:00 in the VA High School Multi-Purpose Room
• Thursday, February 24 - Personal Graduation Plan Meetings with 8th Graders (sign-up information below)
• Friday, February 25 - Deadline to return applications for office aide, library aide, STC aide, Partners PE, and yearbook. Please know, office aide, library aide, and STC aide are available to 8th graders only. Partners PE and Yearbook are available to 7th & 8th grade students.
  
• Friday, February 25 - UIL Contest at Princeton Southard Middle School from 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Friday, February 25 - Star Card Break the Dress Code
• Monday, February 28 - 6th & 7th Grade 3rd Quarter Science Test
• Tuesday, March 1 - 6th & 7th Grade 3rd Quarte Social Studies Test
• Wednesday, March 2 - Symphonic Band Sounds of Spring Competition in Princeton
• Thursday, March 3 - Concert Band Sounds of Spring Competition in Princeton
• Friday, March 4 - Star Card Hat Day
• Tuesday, March 8 - 8th Grade Science Benchmark
• Wednesday, March 9 - 8th Grade Social Studies Benchmark
• Friday, March 11 - End of 3rd 9 Weeks
• Friday, March 11 - Star Card Break the Dress Code
• March 12 - March 20 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break

8th Grade Parents,

We are so excited to begin the first step of welcoming your eighth graders to VAHS! What an exciting chapter of life this will be! We would like to schedule about 15 minutes to visit with you and hopefully your student about their schedule options for next year and answer any questions you might have. We will have meetings on campus on Thursday, February 24. Click the link below to sign up. Please make sure you join us!

Our quarterly exam schedule will look a little different the 3rd nine weeks. STAAR-tested areas will be giving full benchmark exams (4 hours) to help pinpoint students needing interventions before STAAR testing time, while non-tested areas will be giving regular cumulative quarterly exams.

Parents, we wanted to make you aware of the rigor of the quarterly exams that your child will be taking. We pattern the quarterly exams after the STAAR tests, which are at a very high level. Don't be alarmed when your child brings home a grade lower than what they are accustomed to getting on normal, everyday assignments and tests. To compensate for the difficulty of the tests, the state lowers the passing standard to below 70%, and we allow every student the opportunity to correct their tests for half of their credit back. Please communicate with your child's teacher if you have a question or concern.

6th Grade

Wednesday, Feb. 23 – Reading Benchmark

Monday, Feb. 28 – Science Quarterly Exam In Class

Tuesday, Mar. 1 – Social Studies Quarterly Exam In Class

Tuesday, Mar. 22 – Math Benchmark

7th Grade

Wednesday, Feb. 23 – Reading Benchmark

Monday, Feb. 28 – Science Quarterly Exam In Class

Tuesday, Mar. 1 – Social Studies Quarterly Exam In Class

Tuesday, Mar. 22 – Math Benchmark

8th Grade

Wednesday, Feb. 23 – Reading Benchmark

Tuesday, Mar. 8 – Science Benchmark

Wednesday, Mar. 9 – Social Studies Benchmark

Tuesday, Mar. 22 – 8th Grade Math & Algebra Benchmark

All students are taking a reading benchmark on Wednesday, February 23. Below are the lunchtimes for that day.

6th Grade - 11:25-11:55

7th Grade - 10:45-11:15

8th Grade - 12:25-12:66

Yearbooks are $35 until March 5

$40 until March 26

$45 until April 26

You can send a check, in an envelope marked YEARBOOK AND your child's name to the office made payable to VAMS or you can ORDER ONLINE, starting next week.

Online orders: https://link.entourageyearbooks.com/my/VAMS2022

VAMS Track Schedule

March 1 - Sanger - Time TBA

March 8 - VA - Time TBA

March 22 - Pottsboro - Time TBA

March 29 - Girls District in Sherman - Time TBA

March 29 - Boys District in Celina - Time TBA

Coach Voris, Middle School Girls Athletic Coordinator - jvoris@vanalstyneisd.org

Coach Sedlacek, Middle School Boys Athletic Coordinator - dsedlacek@vanalstyneisd.org

Backpack food programs provide nutritious, non-perishable, easy-to-prepare food to children to ensure they get enough food on weekends and holidays to avoid hunger when they can’t depend on school meals. Each student will typically receive 2 breakfast items, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 snack type items. Click the link below to access a Feed My Sheep Pantry Form. Return the bottom portion of the form to the school counselor if your family would benefit from the weekend backpack program.

In 2009, the State of Texas began requiring specific immunizations for all 7th graders.

The immunizations that incoming 7th graders need are:

1. Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap): All students entering the seventh will be required to have a booster dose of Tdap only if it has been five years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine.

2. Varicella (Chicken Pox): All students entering the 7th grade will be required to have 2 doses of varicella vaccine. The 1st dose must be received on or after the 1st birthday.

3. Meningococcal Vaccine (Meningitis): All students entering 7th grade will be required to have one dose of meningococcal vaccine.

If your child has already had these immunizations, please send a copy of the immunization record from the health clinic or physician. It must include the month, day and year as well as validation by a physician or public health official.

*Immunization records must be received before schedules will be released for the 2022-2023 school year*

Immunizations are available from your family physician, the Grayson County Health Department 903.893.0131, 515 N. Walnut Sherman, Texas, Collin County Health Department 972.548.5000 N. McDonald St, Mckinney, Texas or local medical/rural health clinics. Please call the health department for hours and availability.

If you have a medical or religious reason that conflicts with these requirements, please contact the school nurse. Information on obtaining a conscious exemption can be found at the following website:

https://corequest.dshs.texas.gov/

Thank you,

Lorie Wilson, LVN

Van Alstyne Middle School

903.482.8878

All state requirements may be found at www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize

• Water fountains — All water fountains will be turned on this year. We still encourage students to bring a water bottle from home if they are able to. There are three water bottle refill stations that are accessible to students. Please make sure your child's water bottle has their name on it.
• Masks are optional
  
• Sanitizing stations — Students will be encouraged to use hand sanitizer throughout the day. Desks will be sanitized between classes.
• Visitors will be allowed — We love our parent volunteers and visitors! Parents and guardians are welcome to come and eat lunch with their child. All visitors will need to check in with Mrs. Twila in our front office where their temperature will be taken.
  
• Restrooms — We have signs posted on all restrooms asking students to limit 4 people at a time. We will also encourage students to wash their hands for 20 seconds before they leave the restroom.
  
• Symptom and Temperature Monitoring — All students will be required to enter through our south entrance (8th grade hallway). This entrance has a camera that checks the temperature of each individual that enters the building. A staff member will be at this entrance monitoring the camera. If someone has a fever, they will be asked to go to the nurse for further evaluation. All faculty and students are required to monitor symptoms and no one is permitted to come to class if they are displaying symptoms.
• Building sanitized nightly
• Buses will be sanitized after each route

Please notify our nurse, Lorie Wilson.

lwilson@vanalstyneisd.org

Our clinics must have a Medication Parent Consent Form on file for students requiring medication administered during school hours. This form must be signed by parent/legal guardian. Medication must be kept in the ORIGINAL bottle. (see links below)

Children who have the following symptoms should stay home and not come to school until these symptoms have been gone for at least 24 hours without the help of medication.

• Fever (100 degrees or higher)
• Sore Throat (with fever or swollen neck)
• Persistent Vomiting or Diarrhea
• Rash (with fever and itching)
• Conjunctivitis/Pink Eye (your child can attend school 24 hours after starting medical treatment)

A child with a typical cold, but no fever or green drainage, may come to school.

If a student becomes ill during the school day, he or she must receive permission from the teacher before reporting to the school nurse. If the nurse determines that the child should go home, the nurse will contact the parent.

We love our parent volunteers! Our parent volunteers help organize student events, organize and run our book fair, host teacher appreciation luncheons, and run a spirit wear store. If you are interested in helping out, please click the link below and complete the form for the parent volunteer group to get your information to help get you plugged in!

Promoting community service is a goal of VAMS! In order to promote and foster serving our community and others, students can earn a community service award at the end of the year awards assemblies to recognize students who give their time, talents, and hearts.

Find opportunities throughout the school year for your child to work on their community service hours. Make sure your child is documenting their community service time on their hour log.

VAMS Community Service Hour Logs are due on Friday, May 1st. Hours are documented digitally. Click the link below to access the digital hour log.

Click on the link below "VAMS Community Service FAQ Flyer" for more information.

All volunteers, including parents, have to fill out a Volunteer Approval Form to have a background check before volunteering (ex: attend field trips, volunteer on campus, help with testing, etc.). This form must be filled out EVERY school year. The entire process, from submitting the form to receiving approval, can take as long as two weeks. This process must be completed before being approved to volunteer. If you have students at multiple schools, only one application is required.

Click the button below to access the Volunteer Approval Form. We appreciate our volunteers!

It is important for us to provide avenues for parents to stay informed. Here are the communication tools we use at VAMS to ensure you know what is happening throughout the school year.

Middle School Website: Click HERE to access the VAMS webpage.

Social Media: Want to see what goes on at VAMS during the week? Want to see pictures of students doing awesome things? Want to see what learning looks like on our campus? Be sure to like us on Facebook, Van Alstyne Middle School, and follow us on Twitter at @vamiddleschool

Digital Newsletter: We email parents a digital campus newsletter every Friday. If you are not currently signed up to receive our weekly newsletter, click HERE.

Grade-level Remind Accounts: Please sign up for the appropriate Remind accounts below to help keep you informed. We also recommend having your child sign up as well. Teachers use Remind to communicate important dates and information.

Just a few reminders about attendance:

Please send a note giving a detailed description of the reason for the absence within 3 days of any absence. Notes received after 3 days will result in an unexcused absence. Please send a doctor's note anytime your child misses school for an appointment. If your child is absent longer than 3 consecutive days because of personal illness, you must bring a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the student's extended absence. If you have any questions, please send an email to vamsoffice@vanalstyneisd.org.

As most of you are aware, school districts around the country have been plagued by students participating in TikTok challenges. These challenges ask students to destroy/vandalize school property, steal things, and do other things that can lead to legal consequences. Our youth are better than that! In an effort to combat the negative challenges on social media, VAISD challenges our youth to make a positive impact in our school and our community. Our youth can do great things! #takebacktiktok #supporteducation #VAISD #KindnessChallenge

Complete the Google Form below if you participated in the VAISD Kindness Challenge! We want to hear about the great things our youth are doing!

Website: www.ms.vanalstyneisd.org
Location: 1314 N. Waco Van Alstyne, TX
Phone: 903-482-8804
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/VanAlstyneMiddleSchool
Twitter: @vamiddleschool