VAIS Family Newsletter

12/21/2023 Sparkle Day, Classroom Winter Parties 1-2pm

12/22/2023 Asynchronous Learning Day for students, learning from home.

12/23/2023-1/1/2024 Winter Break

1/2/2024 Return to school after Winter Break

1/8/2024 VAIS Governance Council Meeting 6:30-8:30pm

1/11/2024 K Informational Meeting Night 6-7pm

1/15/2024 No School - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/18/2024 Incoming K School Tour 9-10am

1/27/2024 Chinese Mini-School 9-11:15am

2/9/2024 Chinese New Year Classroom Celebrations 12:30-2pm

2/10/2024 Chinese New Year Celebrations - Verona Public Library 9:30-11:30am

2/13/2024 Battle of the Books District Wide Competition

It’s that time of year when we are recruiting students for Fall 2024. For the 2024-25 school year, we have 14 spots in Kindergarden and 2 spots in 1st grade to fill (without any Mandarin experience). We can also fill spots in upper grades (in classes with less than 22 students), but the school does ask about language proficiency for those entering 2nd-5th grade.

In January there are two VAIS recruitment events: 1) School Tour on Thursday, January 18th at 9am and 2) Chinese Mini-School at VAIS on Saturday, January 27th at 9am. If you know of any 3k/4k families, please feel free to share these events with them.

If you have any ideas for Recruitment Season, please join us Monday, January 22nd at 7:30pm for the next Community Outreach Meeting on Zoom.

Oops! Please note time change for January tour

Please note that the January VAIS Tour will be on Thursday, January 18th at 9am (not 8am). Due to a printing error with the district calendar, we have moved our tour time to coincide with what the district printed. We appreciate your flexibility.

Community Outreach Next Meeting

The next Community Outreach will be Monday, January 22nd at 7:30pm via Zoom. Our agenda will include an update on recruitment season and preparing for the Chinese New Year at Verona Public Library. We hope to see you then!

VAIS Yard Signs

With next year's school enrollment just around the corner, the Community Outreach committee has an annual goal to make sure we fill the incoming Kindergarten class.

Please help by sponsoring a $10 VAIS yard sign! Signs can be proudly displayed in your yard any time of year, but are especially valuable during recruitment season in January and February. We want the public (especially incoming kindergarten families) to see them and "Say YES! to VAIS." If you already have a yard sign in good condition, please consider sponsoring an additional sign for a high-traffic area, OR refreshing your sign if you don’t have the latest designs. Preview the signs and order via the Google form found at https://www.vaisverona.org/resources/yard-signs/ Signs will be delivered in January. Thanks in advance for your support!

VAIS Governance Council

The VAIS Governance Council makes the high level or “big picture” decisions concerning the day-to-day operations of VAIS. The Governance Council generally meets on the 2nd Monday of the month. The next meeting is Monday, January 8, 2023 at 6:30pm on Zoom (no in person meeting in January). The agenda will include the director’s report, committee updates, and recruitment season. For more information, please join us on the 8th or email us at gc@vaisverona.org . Thank you for your time and consideration!

See your art on the street! This year's theme is What I Do For Fun in the Verona Area. Submissions are due Friday, January 12 in the New Century School office.

Both digital art as well as black and white or colorful drawings on 8.5x11" paper are welcome.

Original art must come with an artist's release. This, and more information about the banner contest in general, found on the district website: https://www.verona.k12.wi.us/community/vaef/banner

Join us at the Verona Aquatic Center on January 12th at 6pm for a Dive-In Movie! Please register at the Aquatic Center's RecDesk.

Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with Madison Metropolitan School District and SSM Health this spring to offer two more school vaccine clinics to get students up to date on their school vaccines ahead of the 2024-25 school year. These clinics will take place on Saturday, February 10th and Saturday, May 11th 2024. Both clinics will be from 10am to 2pm at the Holtzman Learning Center in Madison. It is highly encouraged that appointments are scheduled through the website listed on the flier attached. Vaccine Clinic

Here is the link to a Google Public Calendar with this year’s updated NCS events:

VAIS Public Google Calendar

This calendar will be updated continually throughout the year with school events, such as swim and gym days, library days, Picture Day, Back to School Night, field trips, parent/teacher conferences, days off of school, Governance Council meetings, and so much more! We hope that this will make things easier for you!

Have you joined the VAIS Facebook Groups?

All Current families are welcome to join “VAIS Parents Group” on Facebook. We will be posting events and pop-up playdates in this group. This is also a great resource for new parents/guardians to ask any questions they may have. Please also like and follow our VAIS School Facebook here. Alumni families are welcome to join the “VAIS Alumni Parent Group” Facebook Group.

Additional resources for new and current families are here and here.

We’re asking for your help to keep all children safe near and on Main Street. Our city is growing, our schools are growing, and Main Street is at times very busy. We have, combined, nearly 1,000 elementary students attending our three schools here on Main Street, including many students who are walking or biking in the area. Our close neighbors on this campus, Core Knowledge Charter School and Badger Ridge Middle School, have an additional 1,200 students. We need your help to keep each and every child safe, and that means:

• Recognize that you are in a school zone, and please follow the posted speed limit.
• Be aware that this area is populated by … children. They are small, not as careful as they should be, and need all of us adults to keep them safe.
• Accept that a school zone will naturally result in times when there is a great deal more traffic.
• Increase your awareness around crosswalks for pedestrians and bikers.
• Be on the lookout for buses. We support our drivers at Sugar Creek, New Century and VAIS! They are trying their best to get their riders to and from school on time and safely.
• Please obey crossing guards. We are so lucky to have the great team we do, including Laurie and Rhonda, pictured above.
• Conditions will generally deteriorate as we move into autumn and then winter, as our world becomes darker, snowier, and colder. It is imperative that drivers give themselves more space and time to stop in the event of an emergency.
• We team with the Verona Police Department. They know our concerns, our suggestions, and our busy times, and they have been good partners.
• Drive like every child you see was your own child.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Our students experience having two different classroom teachers throughout the day. It can be confusing for families to know which teacher to communicate with at times. If you are reaching out to your child’s teacher, please include both teachers on any communication.

The Bridging Brighter Smiles program is a safe, affordable, accessible way to meet a dental hygienist... right here in Verona Area School District!

Learn more at https://bridgingbrightersmiles.org/

If you need assistance with lunch costs please visit our Free and Reduced Lunch application for information on income levels and an application for assistance.

If your student is ill, has an early morning appointment or early pick up, or will be late arriving to school for another reason, in addition to notifying their classroom teachers please make sure that you contact one of the following PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SCHOOL DAY:

1) EMAIL VAIS Attendance: vais-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us or

2) CALL the office at (608) 845-4500 (If you are making a change after 11:00 am the same day, then please call the office).

Please do not email the school secretaries directly if possible.

Our last in-person school day before the New Year is Thursday, December 21. Then, we will be asynchronous and learning from home on Friday, December 22. Our school will be closed through January 1, including the school office. All staff and students will return on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

We wish you, your family, your friends and loved ones a relaxing Winter Break, and tons of new energy in the coming year.

The swim unit is on its way! We will be swimming this year next door to NCS and VAIS - this will give us more time to swim!

We will send out the specific schedule before January 8th.

One of our best outreach efforts is our current families. We encourage you to share with other VASD families about VAIS. We want families to know their options.

The charter school lottery for new incoming families the ‘24-’25 school year will be open from January 11 - February 14. (Pre-existing students do not need to complete the lottery again, only the first time into the charter school.) In addition to our incoming K class, we usually have some openings in grades 1-5. If you know any VASD families with incoming K students, or students in grades 1-5 who are interested in attending VAIS, please have them enter the VASD Charter School lottery. In order to be eligible for openings in grades 1-5, families still need to join the Charter School Lottery now.

Students enrolling in grades 2-5 should have some Mandarin experience. We have had more families enrolling at VAIS with Mandarin experience, so we have been able to fill more of those openings.

Families can find more information about enrollment and the lottery from our registrar’s office.

Join us for the Winter Parties in classrooms this year. December 21 from 1-2pm. Also, save the date for the Spring parties on February 15 from 1-2pm. These parties are a great way for parents to get in the classroom and work with students. The children (and teachers!) love the festivities. Parents will plan, prepare and lead activities, with 3 volunteers for each game. We hope you join us!

We need your help to have a great Chinese New Year Event at Verona Public Library on Saturday February 10th. Volunteers are needed from 8:15-11:45am, though crafts will run 9:30-11:30am and story times will be 10 and 11am. The volunteer Sign-up Genius for Chinese New Year at VPL on February 10th can be found here. All positions would be MS/HS student friendly, so VAIS alumni are also encouraged to join us. We hope to see you there! Verona Area International School: 2024 CNY Celebration (signupgenius.com)

Save the date for Wednesday, January 10 from 4:45pm to 8pm. Help deliver orders to tables and/or cars for our fundraising at Culver's in Verona. We need a minimum of adult volunteers each hour. VAIS students can also volunteer with an adult. They have so much fun!

Interested in getting to know our kiddos and helping to build community within our schools? Do you have a couple of hours to spare occasionally or is your time flexible enough that you can come once a week? We would love to have you assist in our lunchroom.

All volunteers will need to be background checked through the district here.

Please complete this short survey with your availability.

Volunteers keep the library running smoothly and our 9,583 books organized.

They are so appreciated! Please consider signing up for a one-hour shift on our updated Sign Up Genius link.

The Sunshine Committee is made up of many amazing family members of students from our schools whose mission is to spread kindness and support for families and school staff. They do this by providing support in the form of cards, meals, gift cards, and other resources to families and staff in need of a little pick-me-up. They also have provided support to our school through stocking those awesome bathroom supply baskets in our staff bathrooms and by helping organize our winter clothes.

For more information and to assist in brining sunshine to our community please contact Shannon Ratchman.