VAIS Family Newsletter

5/2/25 Staff Appreciate S'mores and Trail Mix Bar - thanks, GC!

5/6/25 Community Gathering 7:35-8am *Volunteer celebration following the Community Gathering*

5/15/25 Kindergarten and new student orientation 6-7pm

5/16/25 All books due to the library

5/17/25 Final vaccine clinic at the Holtzman Center 10am-12pm

5/19/25 Governance Council meeting at VAIS Library 6:30-8:30pm

5/23/25 End of year picnic at McKee Farms Park 5-7pm

5/26/25 No school, Memorial Day

5/31/25 Girls on the Run 5k at VAHS, 9am

6/2/25 Governance Council meeting at VAIS Library 6:30-8:30pm

6/3/25 Sugar River FUNdraiser all day

6/5/25 5th grade celebration 1-2:15pm

6/6/25 Field Day 11:30am-1:30pm

6/8/25 VAIS walks in the Hometown Days parade 10:30am

6/9/25 Student start time 7:30am/full day of school

6/9/25 Kindergarten Celebration 1:20-2:15pm in the Library

6/10/25 Last day of school, 11:30am dismissal

6/16/25 Summer Playdate: Harriet Park, 10am

6/25/25 Mallard's Game

The month of May isn't only for teacher appreciation, but also for acknowledging all of the wonderful work that so many staff put into helping our schools run. From educational assistants to nurses to administrators to all kinds of amazing specialists, we're excited to give shoutouts to the awesome grown-ups that help our scholars thrive every day! Keep an eye out on our social media accounts and the bulletin board near the office for notes of appreciation to these heroes in our community:

• May 1 - National School Principal's Day
• May 2 - National School Lunch Heroes Day
• May 1-7 - National Physical Education and Sport Week
• May 8 - National School Nurse Day
• May 5-9 - Teacher Appreciation Week
• May 18 - National Speech Pathologist Day

Welcome to the VAIS spirit store! Choose from 3 different options (see links above): Option A: VAIS logo on the front, Option B: "Multilingualism is my Superpower" on the front, and Option C: VAIS logo on the front, plus Superpower design on the back. Please note that all sales are final once completed. Sizing charts are linked for all apparel items. However, if in doubt, it is recommended to go up a size to be safe.

Spiritwear orders are due online on May 23 and part of proceeds go to our school!

We are still waiting for the final results on Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Social but it was a very successful event. The owners said it was very busy!

For Euchre, we had a great turn-out. We raised a total of $3,355.19. Thank you to all that attended, volunteered and donated for VAIS!

VAIS is governed by a council of parents, staff, and community members named the "Governance Council" (GC). The council consists of 5-10 elected parent representatives that serve staggered 2 year terms and up to two appointed community representatives who serve 1 year terms.

The current council hereby calls YOU to consider running for upcoming open seats!

The council makes the high level decisions concerning the operations of VAIS. Functions of the Governance Council may include budget allocations, capital expenditures, grant proposals, personnel, curriculum, assessments, VAIS policies and procedures, committee responsibilities, strategic goals, and the future of VAIS. The GC usually meets once a month on an evening. You can serve on the GC and other VAIS committees at the same time.

If you are interested in serving on the Governance Council, please send an email to current GC Secretary Brandon Braithwaite (BranB1@gmail.com) and include a small paragraph or two introduction of yourself and why you would like to serve VAIS. This statement will be used as your ballot for the online elections held in May. Please let Brandon know if you'd like any more details.

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!

VAIS families can help with our bilingual welcome song, teach panda-related Mandarin words and wear panda or VAIS apparel!

May 14 at 6:30pm Panda Story Time with VAIS | Verona Public Library

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!

Join us for lunch or dinner on June 3, 2025 with Sugar River Pizza in Verona. 10% of all proceeds will go to our school, no need to mention VAIS.

Thank you, FUNdraising team and Kelsey for making this happen!

Walk with VAIS in the Hometown days parade. Wear your VAIS shirts to show your school pride!

Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 10:30am Sign up to walk in the parade or donate candy.

Save the date! Friday, August 22, 2025. Come join VAIS for a fun evening at Lake Louie Brewery located in Verona next to Costco. VAIS will be selling food via a food stand and 100% of the proceeds goes back to the school. There will be live music and outdoor seating. Wear your VAIS gear and support our school while enjoying a night out in Verona.

Each year, one artist from each school is chosen by their art teacher to be recognized for the Distinguished Art Scholar Award presented at the school board meeting in May.

Congratulations, Serafina Ray, for receiving this award for Verona Area International School!

We’d like to celebrate our K/1 Mandarin educator, Lumei Huang, who has been awarded a Herb Kohl Teacher Fellowship for her and our school.

She is 1 of 100 educators across Wisconsin to win this award. Congrats, Mrs. Huang!

Our final Community Gathering of the year is May 6 at 7:35am in the school gym.

Feel free to enter at Door 1, we are able to bypass the office on Community Gathering days.

Volunteer Recognition at/after Community Gathering

All 2024-2025 volunteers will be recognized during the community gathering and are invited to stay afterward for ~15 minutes to enjoy snacks and appreciation outside Door 1 (where you enter for the community gathering). Volunteers, thank you so much for the generous gifts of your time and energy. You make our school an amazing place of learning and fun!

As we enter this exciting time of year filled with special trips and celebrations, we want to extend our sincere appreciation to all our family volunteers. Your support helps make these opportunities possible for our students!

To ensure student safety, all chaperones for off-site events and trips must have an approved VASD Volunteer Background Check.

If you are considering chaperoning field trips or any off-site events this spring, please ensure your background check is approved in advance. This process is completed online using this link, and approval typically takes 7–10 days. However, there have been instances where processing takes longer, so we encourage you to complete it as soon as possible if needed.

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.

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? Under a tree? On the bus? Before school? 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 Eloise squeezing in a little outdoor reading time before school starts.

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.

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 April 11, 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!

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.