The Good Samaritan Food Pantry serves the residents in the Van Meter School District, ADM School

District and anyone with a Redfield, Dexter or Linden address and served approximately 1,450

households last year!

Let’s help “Pack the Pantry” next week by bringing a shelf stable food item (non-expired) or personal

care item to the VM Bulldogs vs Clarinda game on Friday, September 20 th . You’ll see a tent located outside the stadium where you can drop of items or provide a monetary donation.

A bucket in the secondary office will also be available at the school during the school week to drop off food or personal item donations if you can’t make it to the game.

Thanks for supporting the Good Samaritan Food Pantry!

The Van Meter Performing Arts Boosters would like to invite the Van Meter Community to our 3rd annual fundraising concert, Beauty and the Geek, featuring the Dweebs!

The concert will be held at Des Moines Golf and Country Club on Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 8pm. Tickets are $50. Prior to the concert, we will be holding a special VIP event starting at 6:30pm. VIP tickets are $150. This VIP event will have a private concert put on by the Performing Arts staff, drink tickets and hors de’vours. You don’t want to miss this great event! Check out The Dweebs website for more information.

Tickets for Beauty and the Geek can be purchased HERE

Another great way to support the Van Meter Performing Arts Boosters is to become a member! Just follow this link to purchase your membership for the 24-25 school year!

The VMPAB is proud to support your children in the Performing Arts! These include band, jazz band, choir, show choir, chamber choir, plays, musicals, speech and debate. Through the generous contributions of our members and business sponsors, we strive to provide our students in both the elementary and secondary schools top programs. The Boosters lead efforts in fundraising, volunteering, and community engagement in direct support of the performing arts.

To our past and current booster members, we offer a sincere thank you. 100% of the money raised through membership supports the performing arts at Van Meter Community Schools.

Some of the ways the Boosters have supported our students are listed below:

• Student scholarships for graduating seniors

• Improved chairs

• sound and lighting upgrades to the Performing Arts Center

• Choir risers

• Stage extensions for drama productions and show choir

• Continuing education for directors

• Music arrangements and copyright fees

• Costumes and props for elementary, middle school, and high school productions

Regular attendance is a cornerstone of your child’s success in school and beyond. Each day of learning is critical, and even a few missed days can add up, affecting academic progress and social development. In Iowa, when a student’s absences—whether excused or unexcused—reach 10% of the school year, we are required to send a formal letter to families and notify the county attorney. This new measure ensures that every child receives the necessary support to stay on track.

If absences continue and reach 15% of the grading period, we will initiate an engagement meeting involving the student, their family, and school officials. This meeting is designed to identify any barriers to attendance and develop an absenteeism prevention plan tailored to your child’s needs. We’re committed to working together to remove obstacles and help every student thrive.

However, if a student’s absences escalate to 20% of the grading period, the situation becomes more serious. At this point, the child is considered truant, and legal action may be taken by the county attorney. We want to avoid this outcome at all costs, which is why early intervention is so important. Our goal is to support students and families before absences reach this critical level.

We recognize that these procedures may be new and may feel challenging, but they are in place to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed. Thank you for your continued partnership in making regular attendance a priority.

More information about SF2435 can be found at www.educate.iowa.gov and on the graphic below.

While we are in construction for the 24-25 and the 25-26 school years, parking will still be somewhat limited, so staff will need to use this lot as well. Freshman that drive will be required to park at the softball and baseball fields on the east side of the road. Mr. Lamoureux has shared information about student parking.

The construction will also impact student drop off and pickup. We will follow a similar procedure to previous years, but the families with students last names A-K will drop off and pick up at the east side of the north gym and exit to the east out the main east entrance/exit. This will be a change, but should allow us to move through drop off and pick up safely and quickly. Look at the image below to learn more. Contact Cody at cody.tibbetts@vmbulldogs.com if you have any questions.

The bids for the footings and site work came in a bit under budget. Work will start sometime in September, so access to the elementary side of the building will be limited until the 26-27 school year. All visitors will check in on the east side of the building at the secondary entrance for both the 24-25 and 25-26 school years. The new addition will be ready to go by August of 2026.

Bids for the construction of the building addition will go out in December of 2024. We will have a better idea of the timeline of construction later this school year.

More information about the plans can be found below. We are looking forward to a great finished project and we are excited for our students and staff. It's always a great day to be a Bulldog!

Families that meet federal guidelines can qualify for free or reduced lunches. Forms to make applications for free or reduced lunches may be picked up at the Business Office after August 1st or downloaded below.

We have four organizations that do a great job of supporting Van Meter Schools. They are always looking for members. Be sure to reach out to them if you are interested in helping out.

Van Meter Education Foundation- Contact Luke Haverstick at lhaverstick@hotmail.com

Van Meter Elementary Parent Committee Contact Amanda Dougherty at mnddougherty@gmail.com

Van Meter Performing Arts Boosters Contact Scott Prickett at prickettsd@gmail.com

Van Meter Athletic Boosters Contact Amy Giesking at - amy.giesking@gmail.com

Email: firstname.lastname@vmbulldogs.com
Website: www.vmbulldogs.com
Location: 520 1st Avenue, Van Meter, IA, USA
Phone: (515) 996-2221
Facebook: https://facebook.com/VanMeterSchools/
Twitter: @vanmeterschools