NCS Family Newsletter

12/5/2024 Outdoor Learning

12/11/2024 Tour for Incoming Families 9-10am

12/11/2024 K/1 Zoo to You visitors here at school

12/12/2024 Outdoor Learning - New Glarus Woods State Park

12/13/2024 2/3 Field trip to Aldo Leopold Nature Center

12/17/2024 Virtual Governance Council Meeting 6-8pm on Zoom

12/18/2024 5th grade field trip to the high school 10-11am

12/19/2024 Outdoor Learning - State Capitol and Henry Vilas Zoo

12/19/2024 January newsletter info due to Miss Amelia by Noon

12/19/2024 Texas Roadhouse fundraiser night

12/20/2024 District wide Sparkle Day

12/23/2024 - 1/1/2025 Winter Break

1/2/2025 School Resumes

1/2/2025 Outdoor Learning

Let's do all we can to help grow our New Century School family.

Upcoming events for us include:

Wednesday, December 11 9-10am - In person tour

Thursday, January 9th 6-7pm - VASD Kindergarten Night

Friday, January 17th 7:45-8:45am - In person tour

Please sign up on this sheet to help share your time at these events. Supporting these opportunities, and spreading the word to potential incoming families, are so important and we appreciate you. Thank you!

We are excited to announce the results of the recent Governance Council elections! Brit Ben-Zikri, Pat Gumieny, MaryRuth Kotelnicki, and Erin Shea-Paljieg have been elected to serve 2-year seats on the council. Additionally, Hannah Bassetti has been elected to a 1-year at-large seat. Congratulations to all our new members, and thank you to everyone who participated in this important process!

In this time of giving thanks, we wanted to share our gratitude for all you do for our school community and ask that on Giving Tuesday this year, you consider extending that support with a contribution to New Century Charter School’s annual fundraising goals. If you are able, please send funds to PayPal @New Century School Community Inc, or a check made out to:

New Century School Community Inc.

PO Box 930454

Verona, WI 53593

Checks and cash may also be dropped off in the school office. Please note that in order to be tax deductible, all donations must be made to our non-profit, New Century School Community Inc, rather than to the school directly.

Where have you been reading? At the dentist? With your chicken? On the beach? 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!

Your school library is happy to provide Sora, a reading app for students that offers age-appropriate e-books and audio books, for all NCS/VAIS students and staff! If your student brings home their school device, they can access Sora by going to Clever and looking under Library Resources.

Here are the instructions for downloading Sora to a home device. Students will use their school email addresses and three-letter passwords (they should know these - if not, Ms. Roltgen can help) to log in.

In library classes, students have learned how to borrow e-books and audio books, place holds, browse the collections, search for titles of interest, check their bookshelf, and personalize their profile. K-1 learners have been enjoying the "Read Along With Me" collection which allows them to see the pictures and watch the highlighted words as a narrator reads the book to them.

Going on a road trip? Sora titles can be checked out and downloaded ahead of time so no internet access is required while using the app. If you have any questions or trouble accessing Sora, please contact our Library Director, Ms. Roltgen, at roltgent@verona.k12.wi.us. Happy e-reading and listening!

We are selling our custom NCS shirts to show your school spirit. This year we have a selection of premium long sleeve, short sleeve and pull over sweatshirts. Please indicate what you would like to order using the form here, due by Friday, December 6th. Share this link with family and friends! Orders will be sent home with your child or you may pick them up at school. Sadly, orders cannot be processed without payment, so go online to help pay and for more info. We're excited to see you in your new gear!

Hey, take a look! We are doing a restaurant night at Texas Roadhouse on Thursday, December 19th. Support NCS from 3-8pm at the 10% donation night. We'll send a Blackboard email reminder on Tuesday, December 17th to remind everyone. You'll want to bring that flier in that email or that email on your phone with you to confirm your dinner that night goes to NCS. Thanks always, for supporting our school and our fundraising efforts!

NCS and VAIS shared Glow Dance Night in Friday, April 11, 2025 5:30-7:30pm 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! Magical treats will also be for sale and kids get to enjoy glitter tattoos and more!

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.

We love adult volunteers. Remember that in order to volunteer in a way that you'll be with students, you need a background check. This includes field trip chaperones. Here is the background check form for all volunteers.

This year starts our use of the Savvas program. This meets the standards of the new Wisconsin legislation, which is a requirement for our school, integrates reading and writing, and promotes reading topics across themes. Because it is the same curriculum adopted by the rest of the district, the funding will come from VASD rather than our school funding. Our teachers are amazing and will be assessing how well this program meets our students' and teachers' needs for improvement, growth, and autonomy.

Outdoor learning is planned for Thursday mornings. Adult volunteers are needed! If you have availability, check if there's a time that works for you: Outdoor Learning SignUp Genius

Bucky Books are on sale currently: $35/each

Please reach out to Jen to purchase your book today. We are happy to send home in your child's backpack or Jen can drop it off within the Verona area.

Bucky Books can also be purchased online and shipped directly to the you here. (There is a slightly lower return rate to the school for online sales.)

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.

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 doctor’s note is required for any activity restriction.

Our most current guidelines are found here.

Have you joined the New Century School Parent Community Facebook Group?

Current and incoming families are welcome to join “New Century School Parent Community” on Facebook. This is a great place to post summer events and pop-up playdates. This is also a great resource for new parents/guardians to ask any questions they may have.

Additionally, please like and follow our New Century School Facebook page here.

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

1) EMAIL NCS Attendance: ncs-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us

2) CALL the office at (608) 845-4500

Please do not email the school secretaries directly, we appreciate it! The attendance line/email is the best way to communicate with school.

Our health room helpers have reminded us how an extra set of clothes are appreciated here at school. All students, not just our kinders, run into needing a change from time to time. Milk spills, wet slides at recess, unexpected puddles all lead to a need for new clothes. If you can send a Ziploc bag with a pair of pants, socks and underwear it will come in handy over these next wet months.

And, always, we will happily take your donations of gently used sweatpants and bottoms that have stretchy waists. All colors, sizes, patterns are appreciated.

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:

NCS Google Public 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!

Learn more at https://bridgingbrightersmiles.org/

Let's show our appreciation for our teachers and staff at NCS and VAIS on Wednesday, December 4th, which is also National Cookie Day! There are two ways you can help:

1. Bake cookies or other treats for our wonderful staff. All the staff will receive a cookie tin so they can collect different treats to take home!

2. Volunteer to be a Super Helper in a teacher's classroom.

Sign up using this link if you are able to help!

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 bringing sunshine to our community please contact Tiffani Roltgen at roltgent@verona.k12.wi.us or Hannah Merryfield at merryfih@verona.k12.wi.us.