Phoenix Family News
December 15, 2023
Important Dates Ahead...
December 21: Winter Celebration and Sing-a-Long @ 2:15 pm
December 22-January 2: No School - Winter Break
January 2: No School - Teacher Workshop
January 3: School Resumes
Calendar and Schedule Updates
The latest calendar updates are available at sowashco.org/calendar.
Battle of the Books Reminders
Attention all families of Battle of the Books participants! The Battle is just over two months away, on February 23, 2024! Winter break is a great time for students to read (or re-read!) some of these great books. Please remember that when signing up, 2nd and 3rd graders committed to reading at least 4 books, and 4th and 5th graders committed to reading at least 5 books. This reading should take place outside of the school day. Please check in with your child about their reading progress.
Also, we have had some behavior concerns during Battle of the Books meetings. If unexpected behaviors occur during team meetings, students may be asked to end their participation in the program this year. Please remind your child to follow school expectations when at their meetings. If you have any questions, you can contact your child’s Battle of the Books coach, or Ms. Lanners, Battle of the Books Coordinator at slanners@sowashco.org.
Cell Phones and Smart Watches
We just wanted to remind families that students are not allowed to use cell phones, smart watches, or other non-instructional electronic devices throughout the school day. Cell phones MUST remain powered off and in backpacks throughout the school day. We have had a number of calls regarding incorrect alerts that have shown that students are off property. These alerts ARE NOT correct. Please know that if there is an emergency with your child, we will alert you immediately.
If you need to reach your child throughout the school day, please call the main office at 651-425-7500. Thank you for your understanding and help in talking with your child about these procedures.
Morning Drop Off Reminders
Please help us keep morning drop off safe and efficient!
- If you are in the front of the line, please drive all the way to the stop sign and park next to the curb before letting students out of the car.
- Please do not allow children out of the car before the cross walk.
- Please follow the directions from the crossing guard and staff member at the cross walk. It is important that you stop when the flag is out or if you are instructed by staff to stop. These adults are controlling the flow of traffic and those crossing the parking lot.
- The bypass lane should yield to the curb side lane during morning drop off.
Thank you for keeping our school community safe during drop off!
Emergency Closings and e-Learning Days
There may be some rare storms or situations that requires South Washington County Schools (SoWashCo Schools) to close all district buildings and cancel schools, programs and all learning activities due to wind chill, snow, ice, hazardous roads, inclement weather or other situations.
In the event that an e-learning day is called, families will receive notice of an e-learning day through an automated phone call, email and/or text message with at least two hours notice prior to the school start time. Teachers will be available online and by phone during regular school hours. During an e-learning day, students will log in to SeeSaw from home with their district-issued device (Chromebook or iPad) to access assignments. An e-Learning day helps minimize the disruption to academic progress due to an emergency school closure. It’s important to note that not all school closures will be designated as an e-learning day. If an e-learning day is called at the elementary level, on Day 1 and beyond, elementary students will choose activities through SeeSaw from a choice board. These choice boards and more information about emergency closings and e-learning days can also be accessed on the District Website under Emergency Procedures/e-Learning Days.
10 Days of Giving
The Student Ambassadors and school staff want to thank everyone for all of the generous donations to the Christian Cupboard Emergency Food Shelf during our “10 Days of Giving Campaign.” We collected an amazing amount of snacks for our school and schools across the district.
If your family or anyone you know could use some help with food or other items at any time, we encourage you to access the great food shelf in our community at Christian Cupboard. They have many different programs including a food delivery program. Check out their website https://ccefs.org/needhelp/need-help/ or call them at 651-233-1296.
Holiday Help
Giving gifts to our family during the holiday seasons can add a lot of extra expenses to our monthly budgets. If purchasing gifts for your children will create significant financial stress for your family, please reach out to one of our school social workers who can connect you with a local program for assistance.
Faith Schulze at fschulze@sowashco.org
Megan Vesel at mvesel@sowashco.org
Phone: 651-425-7699
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
2023-24 Yearbooks
Order your yearbook today from Josten's! Prices go up late December.
Car Rider Signs
Thank you to the many families that are displaying their car rider signs in the passenger window during pickup! These signs help us get the correct student to the correct car quickly! If you need a purple/green/orange car rider sign to display, please contact your child's homebase teacher to get one. Thanks!
Art to Remember
Art to Remember orders will be coming home with students next Monday, December 11th. If you have any questions or concerns about your order, please contact Ms. Nutting at anutting@sowashco.org, Seesaw message or 651-425-7622. Thank you for your support!
Student Clothing Donations Needed
The health office is in need of donations of spare clothing, please use THIS LINK for specific items requested. Also, if your student is sent home with clothes borrowed from the health office, please wash and return them at your earliest convenience. It is helpful to pack an extra set of clothing to keep in your student’s backpack or locker in case of spills, slips, or accidents. Thank you for your help in keeping our students comfortable during the school day!
Lunchroom Visitors
Valley Crossing welcomes lunch time visitors between October 2nd – May 24th this school year. Based on space and safety requirements, a family member listed in Parent Portal may sign up using our monthly Reservation Link to accompany their child at our guest lunch table. Here is the Dec/Jan/Feb VCES Lunch Link for lunch visitors. PLEASE only sign up for one spot a month to allow for other families to sign up as well.
We ask families to review the process below for visiting your child at lunch:
- Sign up for the visit no later than the day prior to your visit.
- Upon arrival for the visit, present identification and complete the Raptor screening.
- Wear the visitor badge so that it is visible during the entirety of the visit.
- Go directly to the lunchroom and eat in the guest space with your student.
- No friends or additional students will be permitted to join the guest space.
- Visitors may not visit recess time.
- The visit is limited to guest space during the student’s identified lunch period.
- Any outside food brought in can only be shared with your student.
- Do not take pictures, record, or film while at school. Use of cell phones is strongly discouraged for safety and privacy.
- PLEASE only sign up for one spot a month to allow for other families to sign up as well.
VCES Celebrations
Valley Crossing Elementary is committed to celebrating the following this coming school year:
Fun Run Week - October 9-13
Unity Day - October 17 - wear orange
Veteran’s Day - November 10
10 Days of Giving - December 1-14
Winter Sing-a-long - Dec 21
Half-Way Celebration and Student Council Spirit Week - January 22-26
Friendship Day - February 15 (note: no Valentines please. Students will be making cards at school. More information to come!)
100th Day - February 21
I Love to Read Month - Book Character Day on February 29
Earth Day - April 22
School Hours
8:00 am - School office opens
9:00 am - School opens to students
9:15 am - School day begins
3:45 pm - School day ends
4:00 pm - School office closes
NOTE: The earliest students can arrive at school in the morning is 9:00 am. All students must be picked up at 3:45 pm if not riding the bus home.
VCES Contact Information
Connha Classon, Principal: cclasson@sowashco.org / 651.425.7503
Joy Peterson, Assistant Principal: jpeters4@sowashco.org / 651.425.7523
Merita LaPlante, Office Coordinator: mlaplant@sowashco.org / 651.425.7501
Jen Gackstetter, Office Assistant: jgackste@sowashco.org / 651.425.7507
Faith Schulze, School Social Worker: fschulze@sowashco.org / 651.425.7699
Ashley Boatman, School Psychologist: aboatman1@sowashco.org / 651.425.7661
School Website: https://vces.sowashco.org/
District Website: www.sowashco.org
VCES Office: 651-425-7500
VCES Attendance Line: 651-425-7506
VCES Health Office: 651-425-7502
VCES Fax Number: 651-425-7515
District 833 Student Information: 651-425-6218
District 833 Transportation: 651-425-5303
Valley Crossing Elementary
Website: vces.sowashco.org
Location: 9900 Park Crossing, Woodbury, MN, USA
Phone: 651.425.7500