VAIS Family Newsletter

9/3/2024 First Day of School

9/16/2024 Governance Council Meeting - 6:30-8:30pm

9/19/2024 Moon Festival 1-2pm

9/26/2024 Picture Day - 8-11am

9/28/2024 Verona Color Run

9/30/2024 No school / Education Professional Development Day

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.

Bus routes are ready, please check infofinder for stops and times, and we'll see you Tuesday!

VASD provides bus transportation for K-5th grade students who live 1.25 miles or more from their school and 6th-12th grade students who live 2.0 miles or more from their school. Visit our Infofinder transportation application tool to confirm First Student route information. The site has a link to detailed instructions and is updated daily, allowing you to find the most up-to-date bus route and stop information, including stop times. https://www.infofinderi.com/ifi/?plot=1&cid=BBL-V2DNLLT74P

To enable us to provide accurate bus stop information, we request your help. Always inform your school secretaries of any address changes. Routes and stops are subject to change. Please check this site before calling First Student. Please note that this site will not display transportation information for 4K students or students with special needs. Direct other questions to First Student at 608-341-2799 or the district transportation website.

Making sure we have a safe and efficient school arrival and dismissal is a priority for everyone. We ask that we all work together to ensure this happens for our students. We appreciate your patience and cooperation.

A visual of our car rider arrival and dismissal procedures are here.

Arrival:

• Supervision starts at 7:15 and the bell rings to enter at 7:30 am. Students should not arrive before 7:15 am as they will not be supervised during this time.
• Students who walk, bike, or arrive by a care wait in front of school at Door 1. Students who arrive by bus enter in the back through Door 5.
• Car Lane- Our car lane is designed for families to be able to drop students off quickly and leave. For safety, students only should enter and exit on the curbside of the car. Families are asked to stay in their vehicles and not exist to assist. Use the parking lot if more time is needed or others are exiting the car during the drop off.

Dismissal:

• Our dismissal time is 2:25 pm. We do have our K/1 students exit the building a few minutes before other classes to better support their dismissal.
• Staff members walk our students out of the school during dismissal. If a student is being picked up, then the teacher looks to make visual confirmation of the caregiver or caregiver's vehicle before dismissing students. Staff members walk our bus riders to the bus door.
  
• Car Lane- Our car lane is designed for families to be able to drop students off quickly and leave. For safety, students only should enter and exit on the curbside of the car. Families are asked to stay in their vehicles and not exist to assist. Use the parking lot if more time is needed or others are exiting the car during the drop off.

Tuesday, our first day back at school, is a great day to return your summer library books. We are so glad you got to read over the summer, and we'll happily collect those goodies in the black bins as you walk in this week.

Join us at the Fall Carnival for food, games, and prizes on Friday, October 25th!

4:30-6:30pm at Veteran's Park, 201 Lincoln Street here in Verona.

A volunteer sign-up genius for 1-hour station rotations for games will be distributed in late September.

Kids are welcome to wear costumes.

Are you interested in helping recruit new families to VAIS? Have ideas to get the VAIS name out in the community? Join us for the first Community Outreach Meeting of the Year!

When: Tuesday, September 17th at 7:00pm

Where: Verona Public Library, Study Room 123B. Or join via Google Meet with the timed links below.

7-8 pm https://meet.google.com/dco-ozps-hwm

8-9pm https://meet.google.com/zcs-miva-vna

Where: VAIS (400 N Main St.)

Date: September 28th

Time: 9:00 am is registration

Sign up at: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/vaiscolorr

Waiver: https://forms.gle/7Ksaxcbrbu2gZZS3A

Cost: Donations with no minimum to participate. Overall school goal of $2,000

The event will be on Saturday September 28th with registration beginning at 9am and the first wave starting at 9:30am. Waves will be by grade level and depart every 2 minutes with a family run at 9:45am. This event is open to K- 8th graders.

Futura - Where SPANISH comes alive! Registration is now open for 2024-2025 – All new material and lessons!

Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity for your student to practice Spanish in an interactive bilingual classroom!

Enroll today: https://futuraadventures.com/wisconsin-region/

Our school is participating in Wisconsin Harvest of the Month! Harvest of the Month is a statewide campaign that encourages students to eat more fruits and vegetables. Each month, our school will feature one Wisconsin-grown fruit or vegetable that is seasonally available. We will encourage students to taste, explore, and learn about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables in the classroom and cafeteria.

Watch the school menu, for more information about the Harvest of the Month fruits and vegetables. We will feature fruits and veggies from this list.

Ask your child about Harvest of the Month foods and prepare these foods at home. Providing many opportunities for your child to try new foods is important for building healthy eating habits and adventurous eaters.

We hope you join us in this opportunity to promote eating fruits and vegetables!

VAIS School Supplies for 2024-25: Children will need a backpack, headphones, clean gym shoes and a large, old shirt for art class. Please purchase as many items as possible under your student’s grade level. THANK YOU!!!

VAIS School Supply List

Reading Corps is a beneficial program for students throughout VASD. We have had great support for this program from caregivers, especially grandparents. Sugar Creek and Core Knowledge are both hiring tutors. As a Reading Tutor, your impact the lives of children and offer vital assistance to those who need extra help reading at their grade-level. Your commitment during school hours for the entire academic year ensures a profound impact.

Sugar Creek Tutor Position

Core Knowledge Tutor Position

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).

Mendota Elementary: October 7, 12-4pm

Holtzman Learning Center: October 19, 10am-2pm

Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with Madison Metropolitan School District and SSM Health this spring to offer three 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 out in the community. 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, or take a look at our website here.

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.

VAIS will have a booth at the Verona Fall Festival on Friday, September 27 from 4 to 7pm. We are looking for volunteers to help teach the community about Mid-Autumn festival and share information about our school.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C44A9A828A4FA7-51012489-fall

Join VAIS for a story time at the Alicia Ashman Library before the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association perform a Lion Dance on Saturday morning October 5 (exact time TBD). A VAIS teacher will run a story time about the Mid-Autumn festival and lion dancers.

We are looking for volunteers to lead a craft, share info about our school, and pass out coloring sheets.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C44A9A828A4FA7-51011963-vais

At VAIS, our vibrant community of teachers, staff, students, and families thrives through events celebrating Chinese culture and expanding our presence in Verona. To ensure the success of our charter school, we rely on volunteer support. Consider joining a committee to actively engage with VAIS!

Governance Council

Contact: James Kokalj <jameskokalj@gmail.com>

The VAIS Governance Council makes the high level or “big picture” decisions concerning the day‐to‐day operations of VAIS. Functions of the Governance Council include, but are not limited to budget allocations, capital expenditures, grant proposals, personnel, curriculum, assessments, policies and procedures, direct committee responsibilities, and goals and future of VAIS.

Parent Engagement

Contact: Tiffani Roltgen <tiffaniroltgen@gmail.com>

This committee will offer a wide variety of ways for families and community members to engage at VAIS including volunteer opportunities, staff/teacher appreciation, school parties/events and student/family social activities.

Community Outreach

Contact: Jenn Tzeng <jennifer.tzeng@live.com> or Kendall Li <kendallrwagener@gmail.com>

This committee will focus on ways to create sustainable student enrollment and retention, including social media plan, outreach and marketing, and 4K ambassador list.

FUNdraising

Contact: Joanne Mueller <joanne.j.huang@gmail.com> or Amy Kennedy <amykennedy247@gmail.com>

The FUNdraising Committee is in charge of raising funds for the charter school materials such as Chinese curriculum, special events, extra materials for teachers, etc. We achieve this through a variety of events, direct fundraisers, and community events.

Budget

Contact: Evan Henderson <evan.a.henderson@gmail.com>

This committee works with the VAIS Director to plan and manage the annual school budget.

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.

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 dorshorh@verona.k12.wi.us.