VAIS Family Newsletter

3/4/2025 Community Gathering 7:35-8am

3/4/2025 Mattress Sale Kickoff Meeting in the cafeteria 6:15-7pm

3/6/2025 Tai Chi

3/8/2025 VAIS at the International Festival, Overture Center

3/11/2025 Outreach Committee Meeting, 7-8pm at the Verona Public Library

3/13/2025 Tai Chi

3/15/2025 Bedding Fundraiser in the cafeteria 10am-4pm

3/17/2025 Governance Council Meeting 6:30-8:30pm in the Library

3/20/2025 School newsletter info due to Miss Amelia at noon

3/21/2025 Spring Concerts

3/21/2025 End of Quarter 3

3/24 - 3/28/2025 Spring Break

3/31/2025 Resume classes

Thank you so much for helping during recruitment season this year! We connected with many families at our tours, mini school and events. The 25-26 charter school application is now closed. If you talk to any incoming kindergarten families who are interested in VAIS, please direct them to Director Sally Parks for next steps.

Tuesday, March 4th

6:15 to 7 pm

VAIS cafeteria

$5 will be raised for every adult who attends the meeting

Free pizza and childcare (K-5) provided

RSVP with Katie Bhandare at katiejbhandare@gmail.com

Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/share/14MdBkTbCJ/

Join us at the VAIS booth at the International Festival at the Overture center. The festival will have amazing performances, food booths and vendors from cultures around the world. Help us spread the word about VAIS.

Please sign up for a booth slot on March 8. International Festival Sign Up

Saturday, March 15th, 10am - 4:30 pm

VAIS Cafeteria

A portion of all proceeds goes to VAIS

Respond on our Facebook event online: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BmW7RgsaD/ (share this on your personal pages and help spread the word!) or email katiejbhandare@gmail.com with questions.

Save the date for the next VAIS and NCS family engagement event on Friday, April 11, from 5:30-7:30 pm in our school gym! Join us for a glowing night with DJ Brent spinning tunes on his tables, princesses ready to party with us, and free pizza and drinks. Wear your bright white and neon clothes and dancing shoes! If you have a song request that you'd like to hear the DJ play, you can submit it here! Magical treats will also be for sale with 10% of proceeds coming right back to NCS/VAIS, and kids get to enjoy glitter tattoos and more! Please note this is a family event, so students must be supervised at all times. We ask for your kind assistance in encouraging the gym as a dancing/observing space only. The playground will be available for students and their grown ups who need bigger movement breaks. Donations and volunteers are needed to make this the best party of the year. Please sign up here!

Join us Friday, April 18 for the annual VAIS Euchre Tournament. We'll see each other 6-9pm at the Verona Holiday Inn, 515 W Verona Ave, here in town. This event is a FUNdraiser for our school and all grown ups are welcome.

There will be more info to come so save the date for now and start practicing with your partner!

All families are welcome to join us Friday, May 23 at McKee Farms Park, 2930 Chapel Valley Rd, Fitchburg. Most families arrive at 5pm to share a picnic dinner and stay to play and talk until around 7pm.

Our rain date will be Saturday, May 24th, same times, same park. Bring your bubbles, your snack or dinner, maybe a friend or frisbee or two and come hang out with your VAIS family!

When families register in the summer, students are naturally opted into all photos we take, within our building and across the district. These pictures go in newsletters like this one, the weekly staff-only email, our social media like Facebook and X, the District's Instagram page and our yearbook. The Verona Press or the Verona Area Ed Foundation also sometimes come to take pictures within our school to feature all the amazing work we are doing for kids.

If you wish to be opted out of future pictures, you can email vais-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us to ask to "opt out". This would mean your child is out of all future pictures and picture-related projects this school year, including the yearbook, for the rest of this school year. Thank you for your understanding.

Congratulations to students whose work was submitted to Verona Area School District's Youth Art Month exhibit! Support our student artists and art programs by visiting the exhibit at the Verona Public Library between March 1st and March 23rd to view their work. Parents, also look for your student's work to be on display at the dance on Friday, April 11th!

Student work displayed:

VAIS

Ellie O - Kindergarten

Zac L - First Grade

Emma T - Second Grade

Arthur T - Third Grade

Trudy C - Fourth Grade

Etta H - Fifth Grade

Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with VASD, Madison Metropolitan School District and SSM Health again in a month to offer another school vaccine clinic to get and keep students up to date on their school vaccines. This clinic will take place at the below time and date in Madison.

Saturday, May 17 - 10am-12pm - at Holtzman Learning Center

We recommend that people schedule an appointment. Scheduling is very simple through the website below, and there is important information in the appointment confirmation and reminder emails to help families prepare for the clinic so that it’s a faster and more positive experience for everyone.

Find more information on the attached flyer, or via publichealthmdc.com/schoolclinics.

Where have you been reading? At a park? In a cozy spot? At the library? Please share a photo by emailing our Library Director, Ms. Roltgen, at roltgent@verona.k12.wi.us You may be featured on social media, in the library, or in a future edition of the newsletter!

Here is Kennedy reading with a furry friend at Fitchburg Public Library's Read to a Dog program. You can sign up for this program by calling 608-729-1762 or stopping by the Youth Services desk the next time you visit the Fitchburg Public Library.

The VASD Elementary School Family Handbook is a good resource for families. Families are encouraged to review this information and refer to it throughout the school year. It is also available on our website.

It is not always easy to decide if your child is sick enough to stay home or well enough to be in school. Children who come to school are expected to participate fully in school activities including recess and physical education. A note from a medical provider is required for activity restrictions.

Please use the following Verona Area School District guidelines to help in decision making (attached here).

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, or take a look at our website here.

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, we appreciate it! The attendance line email is the best way to communicate with school.

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.

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, 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!

The Bridging Brighter Smiles program is a safe, affordable, accessible way to meet a dental hygienist... right here in Verona Area School District! Bridging Brighter Smiles will be at Badger Ridge on April 9. Sign up below if you need dental support for your child. Learn more at https://bridgingbrightersmiles.org/

Family volunteers help make VAIS the vibrant place it is and are so appreciated! Please consider signing up for one or more of the opportunities below. If you plan to volunteer in ANY capacity in the building this school year, NOW is a great time to take a few minutes to fill out the required background check form so you are ready to go when asked. Please note background checks must be completed no later than 1 week prior to the event. Once passed, this background check is valid for 2 years.

Join the Outreach Committee Meeting, March 11 2025 at 7 pm. Interested in helping recruit new families to VAIS? Have ideas to get the VAIS name out in the community? Join our Outreach committee meeting on March 11, 2025, at 7 pm at Verona Public Library.

Join a committee and support VAIS! Volunteers are key to our success and it's a super rewarding experience. Opportunities include: Governance Council, Family Engagement, Community Outeach, FUNdraising and Budget. To get involved, email jennifer.tzeng@live.com.

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.

Canned drinks and packaged snacks are always welcome in the teacher's workrooms, feel free to drop those off any time.

For more information and to assist in bringing sunshine to our community please contact Tiffani Roltgen at roltgent@verona.k12.wi.us or Hannah Merryfield at merryfih@verona.k12.wi.us.