The Final Night of Spring Conferences is on Tuesday, (March 5th) from 4-8pm.

There is still time to sign up: https://ptcfast.com/schools/Valerius_Elementary

The sign up link from PTCFast. com was sent through ParentSquare. You can also access the sign up link on the Spring Conference Newsletter or Valerius Website under Announcements.

Check out the PTO Corner section of the newsletter for information about the Book Fair and how you can help teachers feed the teachers during conferences. Don't hesitate to call the main office with any questions 515.457.6500.

Join us on the morning of March 7th for a reading event to kick off the Spring Break Reading Challenge. During spring break students will record how many minutes they read to help meet our goal of 100,000 minutes.

Families will go to their child's grade level pod to find a cozy spot to read together. Enjoy hot chocolate and muffins while you read. Teachers will be present in pods to help pick out a book, answer questions and hand out resources.

Our Spring Break Reading goal is for Valerius staff and students to collectively read 100,000 minutes over the break! If we meet our goal, every grade level will earn an extra recess with either Mrs. Justmann or Mr. Wilkins.

We're launching our challenge at the Literacy with Loved Ones event on Thursday, March 7, from 8:15 to 8:45. Students can record their reading minutes on their tracker during the event to kick off their spring break reading! Reading trackers were distributed during conferences, and additional copies will be available at the family event. Happy reading!

Please make note of the following dates in March 2024 when school will not be in session and when school resumes:

District-Wide

• Friday, March 8: No school due to a Recess Day
• Monday, March 11- Friday, March 15: Spring Break
• Adventuretime Spring Break All Day Program available March 8, March 11- March 14 (registration was due by March 1)
• Friday, March 15: No Adventuretime and District Administration Office is closed
  

School resumes on Monday, March 18 for all UCSD students except Karen Acres. Reminder: Every Monday is a late start.

School registration for the 2024–2025 school year is open! Please review the following information for registering your child for school in the Urbandale Community School District. We know this is a busy time of year for students and families. Thank you in advance for taking time to register your student(s). We’re looking forward to welcoming your child(ren) and family this fall!

Preschool Students
Preschool Pre-Registration opened January 30, 2024. Click here to review detailed Preschool Pre-Registration Information for the 2024–2025 school year. Please Note: Preschool Pre-Registration will not only pre-register your student, but will play a key role in determining facility and programming needs for the 2024–2025 school year. Pre-registering your student does not guarantee your student a spot in the Urbandale Preschool Program. Once all facility and programming decisions are confirmed, you will be contacted regarding your acceptance into the Urbandale Preschool Program by April 12, 2024.

Parents/Guardian please refrain from sending students to school in shoes with wheels on them. The shoes are becoming disruptive to the over all operations and education process of the school. You can view additional information for UCSD 'Dress Guidelines' in the UCSD Handbook linked below. Thank you for your partnership to ensure a safe learning environment for all.

• English UCSD Handbook 2023-2024
• Bosnian Priručnik za roditelje/staratelje i učenike
• Burmese မိဘ/အုပ်ထိန်းသူနှင့် ကျောင်းသားလက်စွဲစာအုပ်
• Spanish Manual Para Padres/Tutores y Estudiantes
• Swahili Mwongozo wa MzaziMlezi na Mwanafunzi 2023-24

Also refer to Board Policy 541 - Student Appearance

We’re using the Urbandale app (powered by ParentSquare) to share news, updates, and alerts. Please take a few minutes to activate and set up your account. You can then search for 'Urbandale' in the App Store or Google Play & download the app. From there you can set your notification preferences.

What You Need To Know

• You’ll receive news and updates (called 'Posts') from your school(s) and the district (and eventually from your teachers and coaches when Phase 2 begins this fall).

• Posts can be received as an email, text, and/or app notification. They can be received instantly (as soon as they are sent) or as a 'digest' which means you’ll receive a summary of each day’s communications at 6:00 p.m.

• You can enable/disable notifications by modality (email/text/app) and set your desired time to receive notifications (instant or digest). These settings only apply to 'Posts.'

• Your preferences for receiving news/updates will not impact your ability to receive Alerts (e.g. inclement weather). Alerts will still be delivered via email, text, app, and voice depending on the situation. (Note: UHS students will not receive text/voice notifications as student cell numbers are not included in PowerSchool.)

• **IMPORTANT** Please keep 'School Alerts' enabled (turned on) if you would like to receive inclement weather and other time-sensitive notifications. If this is disabled (turned off) you will not receive these important notifications.

Learn more about setting your notification preferences by viewing the video below or reviewing set-up instructions here. If you have questions or need help with ParentSquare, you’re welcome to complete our UCSD ParentSquare Help form.

Awesome sales at book fairs have allowed for every child to pick a free book this spring from the fair! Classes took their time shopping and having a bit of fun in our Wonka theme. There's one last chance for families to shop the book fair! Tuesday March 5th from 4-8 the fair is open in the Maker Space at Valerius. Come find that perfect book and support the Valerius library!

Online shopping is available from until March 7th on the fair homepage: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/valeriuselementaryschool1

Volunteers are needed to run a successful fair. If you’re available please check out volunteer times here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EA9AA2BA5FCC25-47680129-breakfast

If you have any questions about the Book Fair, please contact your fair chair: valeriuspto@gmail.com

Thank you so much to all that donated to feed our teachers for last week PTO provided dinner from Chick-fil-A. You are always so generous. We still have one more night of conferences (Tuesday) and there is still time to donate.

• Sign up to donate here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EA9AA2BA5FCC25-47881841-feed
• To make a monetary contribution, click here: https://valeriuspto.square.site

Thank you so much - We couldn't do all this without your help!

There are new Covid 19 guidelines. It is now being treated like any other respiratory illness like influenza. The student needs to be fever free for 24 hrs without fever reducing medication and improving respiratory symptoms. No more out for 5 days.

Nurse Katie Scandrett

scandrettk@urbandaleschools.com

515.457.6503

PIkmykid Parent App Registration Information

Pikmykid App Registration

Parents and Guardians can now report their students absence using Powerschool Parent Portal. Click on the link below for step-by-step instructions. Web Browser ONLY.

English | Español | Bosanski | Kiswahili

Dean: Derek Wilkins; wilkinsd@urbandaleschools.com

Principal Secretary: Angie Jones; jonesa1@urbandaleschools.com

Office Secretary: Caley Jo Schroeder; schroederc@urbandaleachools.com

Nurse: Katie Scandrett; scandrettk@urbandaleschools.com

Guidance Counselor: Liz Donner; donnere@urbandaleschools.com

FFO: Maddy Punsalan; punsalanm@urbandaleschools.com

Website: https://www.urbandaleschools.com/schools/valerius-elementary/
Location: 3305 92nd St, Urbandale, IA, USA
Phone: 515-457-6500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valeriuselementary