Vermillion Elementary School
September 2024
A Note from the Principal
Dear Chameleon Families,
Welcome back! Summer seemed to FLY by this year!! We are quickly getting back into the swing of things at Vermillion Elementary. We have our Family Night event coming up very soon. Please get Tuesday, September 17th on your calendar! We hope to see all there!
Thank you to all of the families that were able to attend back to school parent teacher conferences. We received several forms with interest in being a part of the Vermillion PTO, Site Council and volunteer staff. Someone from each of these groups will be reaching out to you very soon. If you did not complete the Back to School form and would like to be a part of one of these groups, please email me at jnash@usd266.com.
Please be sure that you have looked over the Important Information for Vermillion Elementary that was sent out. This introduces you to many of the staff and also goes over details such as parent drop off and pick up, lunch, etc.
Before/After School Car Rider Line Process:
Please review our Before School Drop-off and After School Pick-up Procedures, Traffic Flow Map and watch our Car Rider Line Instructional Video. If you need a QR code please contact the school office.
Please note at parent pick up that you are to wait until you enter the east VES pick up drive to scan your QR code. As soon as you enter the QR code form a notification is sent to your child's teacher. The teacher then releases the student to come stand outside to be picked up. Scanning the code prior to being in the east pick up lane causes students to stand outside in the heat longer than necessary and also slows down car loading. Also, please notify the school office of ANY after school transportation changes by 2:00 p.m. M/T/Th/F and by 1:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Having your child at school every day is important! The attendance policy can be found in the student handbook. After seven absences, professional documentation will be required for an absence to be excused. The district encourages parents to obtain a note from a medical provider when appropriate. Find a complete definition of an excused absence in the handbook. This is important because Kansas Law requires the school district to report truancy after unexcused absences accumulate (three in a row, five in a semester, or seven in a school year). For more information on truancy, please see the Compulsory Attendance Law (K.S.A. 72-3120). Professional documentation can be faxed to Vermillion Elementary School at 316-722-5020 or send it by email to jdavis@usd266.com.
If you are looking for ways to be involved at Vermillion, please reach out to our wonderful PTO or your classroom teacher. I am also looking for volunteers for the Vermillion Elementary Site Council. School Site Councils play an advocacy role for schools. It is a group of parents and staff who work together to advise the school on matters such as student learning, education programs, school improvement planning, and accreditation issues. The Vermillion Site Council will meet here at Vermillion once per quarter at 6:00pm. Site Council meetings are generally on a Monday and will be scheduled soon. If you are interested in being part of the Vermillion Site Council please email jnash@usd266.com
We are looking forward to a wonderful 2024-2025 school year!
A Note from the Assistant Principal
We are excited to begin our WatchDOG Volunteer Program in October! You may sign up to be a WatchDOG during Parent/Teacher conferences October 9 -10. Calendars will be located outside of the front office to sign up (only ONE WatchDOG per day). We encourage our awesome Dads of Great Students to sign up!
Don't forget to complete the online Volunteer Background Check, which is required each school year. The background check must be approved prior to your volunteer date.
We ask that our WatchDOG volunteers wear a WatchDOG shirt on their scheduled day. It is recommended to purchase a shirt from the online WatchDOG store. We do have a few t-shirts available in various sizes to wear if you do not have one of your own.
From the Office
Visitors:
With the increase in safety and security in our schools, we are requiring everyone to show their driver's license when picking up your child from the school office.
When entering the school building as a visitor everyone will go through the Raptor security check system. Visitors will have an ID printed sticker that they will be required to wear while in the school during school hours. Your profile remains stored in the system and automatically updates based on your license information. Therefore, if we have scanned your driver’s license before, you are already in the system and we will simply input your name to print a badge. If we have never scanned your license, we will be glad to scan anytime you are in the vicinity of Vermillion Elementary.
Student ID Card & Lanyard:
Students are required to wear their District-issued student identification card at all times during school hours. ID cards shall be affixed to a District-issued school-specific lanyard, and worn so that the ID card and lanyard are visible. The ID badge is necessary for breakfast, lunch, and library check-out in addition to aiding safety/security.
If a student has lost their ID badge and/or school issued lanyard one will be issued to them and students will incur the cost of $3.00 each for replacing lost or damaged ID cards and lanyards. The replacement cost will be added to your child's Skyward account. Please reference the student handbook or contact the office if you have questions.
Counselor's Corner
We are so happy to see our returning families and meet our new families - WELCOME! We are your school counselors and are ready to help in any way. Here is a link that explains what we do at school along with our counselor classroom link VES Counselors.
We want to welcome our counselor intern, Greta Lies to Vermillion. She will be helping teach guidance lessons, seeing individual students and running some counselor groups. Here is her information page: Ms. G - Counselor Intern.
Our school wide behavior expectations program is called Chameleon Character. This link shows a rubric of the three words we focus on (Respect, Responsible, Ready to learn) and how they look in all aspects of school.
CARING CHAMELEONS is a network of Chameleons helping Chameleons. Vermillion Elementary Counselors are often notified of families in need of basic necessities. There are many caring Chameleon families who want to help but do not know what the needs are. Caring Chameleons can anonymously match needs with available donations. We are in desperate need of more provider families as many of our previous providers have moved on to the Intermediate buildings. We greatly appreciate your contributions!
Feel free to reach out to either one of us with concerns or questions!
Jolene Chapin - Counselor for Kindergarten, 1st & 3rd Grades
Email: jchapin@usd266.com
Andi Shipman - Counselor for Kindergarten, 2nd & 4th Grades
Email: ashipman@usd266.com
Music Matters
Welcome back to school and welcome back to music class! Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Jeffries, are having so much fun sharing music with your children! Mrs. Merkel is teaching grades 1st - 4th and Mr. Jeffries is teaching all of our Kindergarteners. Please check this spot each month for music updates! Here are a few important details:
Quaver:
We LOVE our Quaver music curriculum! In addition to lessons we use in the classroom, it also has an at home feature so that students can explore music through games and activities using a computer, Chromebook or mobile device at home. First through fourth graders all have been registered in Quaver for the current school year and they will be bringing home a letter with more details soon.
Music Programs:
We are thrilled to have music programs scheduled this year on the following dates. Please add these dates to your calendar and stay tuned for more information as these dates approach.
Third & Fourth Grade Concerts: Thursday, November 14, 2024
Maize Performing Arts & Aquatic Center (MPAAC) - 1055 Academy Avenue, Maize
6:30 p.m. - 3rd Grade
7:45 p.m. - 4th Grade
First & Second Grade Concerts: Thursday, March 13, 2025
Maize Performing Arts & Aquatic Center (MPAAC) - 1055 Academy Avenue, Maize
6:30 p.m. - 1st Grade
7:45 p.m. - 2nd Grade
Kindergarten Concert: Thursday, April 17, 2025
Maize Performing Arts & Aquatic Center (MPAAC) - 1055 Academy Avenue, Maize
6:30 p.m.
Doreen Merkel (1st-4th)
Ethan Jeffries (Kindergarten)
Update from Coach
We're excited to have your kids in P.E. this year and we'll be doing some fun things! For safety, please make sure your child has tennis shoes on their P.E./Music day. Please find below the P.E. days for your child's classroom.
Monday:
Fischer/FrancoFridley/Kraxberger/Stroh/Chalashtari/Bollenbach/Lenk/Stamper/Jakubov/Shurtleff
Tuesday:
Maddy/Ochsner/Nardi/Dick/Busker/Foes/Doerflinger/Paul/Galliher/Konda
Wednesday:
Davis/FrancoFridley/Tauer/Stroh/Sailors/Bollenbach/Best/Stamper/Graff/Shurtleff
Thursday:
Maddy/Ochsner/Nardi/Dick/Busker/Foes/Doerflinger/Paul/Galliher/Konda
Friday:
Fischer/Davis/Kraxberger/Tauer/Chalashtari/Sailors/Lenk/Best/Jakubov/Graff
Please take a moment to view the P.E. Amazon Wishlist.
Coach Trail
Coach Schuette
Library News
It has been a busy time in the library! Students have started checking out books, learning about parts of the library, book care, and so much more! International Dot Day is in September. Students will be learning about author Peter H. Reynolds who wrote The Dot and Ish and will participate in Dot Day activities in the library and in STEAM.
Mark your calendars for the LEGO Scholastic Book Fair. Shopping days will be October 7-10.
You can order your 2024-25 yearbook online now and the cost per yearbook is $25. Visit inter-state.com/order and enter code: 90890V. The deadline to order your yearbook is March 26, 2025.
Steph Hills, Librarian
From the School Nurse
Welcome back to school everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic summer. As this school year starts, there are some important things we will need for the nurse's records. You can view more information regarding our district health services, policies and forms.
Immunizations and Health Assessments:
Please turn in your child’s most up-to-date immunization records as well as an updated health assessment (physical) if this is the first time your child has been in a Kansas school.
Skyward Health History:
It is the parent’s responsibility to update health conditions in Skyward and notify the school nurse as needed for any health concerns.
Medications:
Under certain conditions medication may be given at school per the Board of Education Policy. A new medication form must be filled out EVERY school year BEFORE any medication is administered at school.
Nurse Jaime Smith
Email: jsmith@usd266.com
Phone: 316-350-2810 / Fax: 316-722-5020
STEAM Lab News
Students have been learning about the Engineering Design Process (EDP), along with teamwork. The students learned what it means to collaborate and compromise within a group. The students built towers, learned different ways of communication within a group, and had to turn an object into something other than what it was. This next month, the students will continue to learn about different types of engineers and careers, basics of block coding, and complete more EDP challenges. The students have also enjoyed watching our 3D printers print articulated animals for our Chameleon vending machine.
I would love to get parents involved with my career bulletin board. I am creating a spotlight board of different careers and would love for anyone to fill out the form, so we can let students know about all the careers our parents/guardians/grandparents at Vermillion hold.
Thank you to everyone that continues to contribute to the STEAM room. We are always looking for recyclable and consumable materials.
Items we are in need of:
- Empty water/soda/Gatorade bottles
- Paper towel/toilet paper rolls
- Empty yogurt, fruit, apple sauce cups
- Straws
- Cans (vegetable, fruit, etc.)
- Tape
Please take a moment to check out the STEAM Amazon Wishlist!
Melissa Love
Twitter: @LoveSTEAMDream
