VAIS Family Newsletter

3/31/2025 - Girls on the Run season begins, Mon/Wed

4/7/2025 - National Library Week Theme Day - Cozy/Pajama Day. Also: 9:30-11:30 AM in Library Classes: Meet, Greet, and Read to Therapy Dog Koda

4/9/2025 - National Library Week Theme Day - Dress as a book character or author day

4/11/2025 - National Library Week Theme Day - Bright and neon day

4/11/2025 - Bright, glowing, neon Dance Party with DJ Brent 5:30-7:30pm in the gym

4/14/2025 - Panda Storytime at the Verona Public Library, 6:30pm

4/15/2025 VAIS FUNdraiser at the Fitchburg Chocolate Shoppe 4-6:30pm

4/18/2025 FUNdraiser Euchre Tournament at Holiday Inn Express Verona 6-9pm

4/19/2025 - Verona Egg-stravaganza, 9am Verona Hometown Park

4/20/2025 - School newsletter info due to Miss Amelia by noon

4/21/2025 - Governance Council Meeting on Zoom 6:30-8:30pm

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.

Hi Friends, the Governance Council will be putting a call out in late April for new members for the 2025-2026 academic year. There will be several openings available and online voting will be held in early May. Look for more information in the next Newsletter.

Thank you,

Brandon Braithwaite, GC Secretary

Thank you all very much for your time, efforts, and support of our first mattress sale FUNdraiser earlier this month. CFS presented us with our check today for $2,950! The kiddo referrals totaled $455 cash and Joanne will distribute those directly throughout the next week. We appreciate your patience and assistance this past year in helping us make this a success to keep our VAiS going strong!

Kind regards,

Katie - VAiS FUNdraising Committee Member

On Sunday, February 23, over 100 NCS/VAIS students and family members headed to the Kohl Center to enjoy the UW Women's Basketball game against Northwestern. The Badger women won 73-68, and attendees enjoyed some great hoops action along with dancing, cheering, special performances, Bucky Badger sightings, and, of course, stadium snacks. Special thanks to VAIS parent, Jess Hamill, for coordinating! Pictured below are some of the attendees who gathered for a courtside photo. If you are interested in helping plan next year's event, please contact VAIS Family Engagement Chair, Tiffani Roltgen, at tiffaniroltgen@gmail.com Some families gathered at Chen's Dumpling House afterward, so we could consider some restaurant options for post-game fun.

We hope we see you 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!

Save the date! Tuesday, April 15th! VAIScream @ Fitchburg Chocolate Shoppe and playdate @ McKee Farms Park Kid's Crossing playground. Pick up ice cream and head over to McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg to socialize with school friends and families. Fundraiser starts at 4pm. Social time at McKee Farms Park approximately 4:30-6:30, feel free to pop by and say hi or bring dinner if it's nice and stay longer. See you then!

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!

Stop by the VAIS booth at the Verona EGG-stravaganza to make a spring lantern craft.

Saturday, Apr 19, 2025, 9:00am - 12:00pm

Hometown Festival Park, Verona

We are looking for donations of used dot markers (maybe your kids have outgrown them?). Email jennifer.tzeng@live.com to drop them off.

We are celebrating the wonderful staff and teachers of NCS and VAIS during the entire month of May. We need some help with supplying some treats/snacks for a couple of treat days, restocking the lounge and staff restroom, and helping the students write notes for the staff/teachers. Sign up here if you can help.

Help us chalk the walk for teacher appreciation week (May 5-8). Meet us at the front entrance of NCS/VAIS on Sunday, May 4th at 2pm to help write notes for staff/teachers to read on their way into school. If it is raining (or rain in the forecast) on May 4th, we will move this to Sunday, May 18th at 2pm.

Join us for Panda Storytime at the Verona Public Library. VAIS will provide a craft and help with a short Mandarin lesson about pandas! May 14 at 6:30pm at the Verona Public Libary

Panda Story Time with VAIS | Verona Public Library

Walk with VAIS in the Hometown days parade. Wear your VAIS shirts to show your school pride! Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 11:30am. The meet up spot and times for the parade will be communicated closer to the date.

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!

I am so proud of all of our students for their hard work preparing for the spring music concert. They have made a lot of progress this year with the music curriculum and their performances and I hope you enjoyed their concerts. Looking forward, 4th and 5th grade students will begin their recorder unit after spring break. 3rd grade students will learn about the science of sound and build their own instruments. 2nd grade students will begin a unit on Native American music. 1st grade students will focus on instrument families as well as focus on rhythmic literacy connections with stories. Kindergarteners will also continue combining their love of stories and singing/instrumental playing and engage in dramatic musical retellings.

Thank you,

Anya

General Music Teacher

We welcome you to National Library Week and our weeklong celebration of things books and book lovers. From Cozy Day to Neon Day, this week will share opportunities for special activities in the Library, in classrooms, with theme days and guest readers. See the schedule for our theme days below.

All books are due to the library here at school by Friday, May 16. The NCS/VAIS Library will be closed May 19-23 for inventory, repair, and ordering. Classes will resume the following week.

This process helps Ms. Roltgen to find and organize everything we need for next year.

Where have you been reading? With a dog? On a road trip? Outside on the deck? 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.

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.

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.

Welcome to the VAIS Mallard's game for the summer! Save the date for Wednesday, June 25. Students and families from NCS and VAIS are both invited. Vouchers for tickets went home in the Friday folders before Spring Break, and each voucher counts as one ticket to the game. You must use the code on the voucher provided, since these do not count directly as tickets, but count towards tickets. There will be a few extra here at each school so email us if you need one more, and feel free to wear your VAIS gear at the game to show your school spirit!

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 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.