Football season is upon us. We love Friday Night Football in Van Meter. We want to remind fans that young students and kids should be supervised by their parents in areas that allow all fans to enjoy the game.

Some reminders to Van Meter Students:

• Footballs should not be brought to the game

• Elementary students are encouraged to watch the game either with their parents or at the north end of the bleachers.

• Middle school students should be with their parents or in the student section and not congregating on the grassy hill.

• High school students should watch the game from the student section.

Friday, August 30 will be our first game of the season. The #2 ranked 2A Bulldogs will take on the #4 ranked 1A Underwood Eagles with kickoff at 7:00 p.m.

There will be a few changes with traffic flow and parking for the 2024 season. As you know, we have a new parking lot that has 255 non-handicap parking spots east of our building with ample sidewalks and roadway for better pedestrian and vehicle traffic flow. However, we are no longer allowing thru traffic behind the industrial tech building and stadium, so use the appropriate entrance for the parking lot in that area. The lane will be blocked to allow for more safety for pedestrian traffic. We will still allow handicap, elderly and VIP (game staff, officials, visiting team bus, etc.) parking in that area as we have in years past. If you or a family member needs to park closer to the stadium for health reasons, please find one of our administrators to allow you to entrance into this area.

Vehicles can park in any of the designated areas on the image below as well as at the east athletic campus. Please use the tunnel and sidewalks when heading to the football stadium from the east athletic campus. There is ample sidewalks and we ask pedestrians to use those to help with the safety of all of our fans. Again, no vehicles will be allowed to flow thru behind the IT building and stadium. Follow all appropriate vehicle lanes to provide for the safest environment possible.

We love the big crowds, but we all need to do our part to make it an enjoyable experience for every fan.

GO DAWGS!

Regular attendance is a cornerstone of your child’s success in school and beyond. Each day of learning is critical, and even a few missed days can add up, affecting academic progress and social development. In Iowa, when a student’s absences—whether excused or unexcused—reach 10% of the school year, we are required to send a formal letter to families and notify the county attorney. This new measure ensures that every child receives the necessary support to stay on track.

If absences continue and reach 15% of the grading period, we will initiate an engagement meeting involving the student, their family, and school officials. This meeting is designed to identify any barriers to attendance and develop an absenteeism prevention plan tailored to your child’s needs. We’re committed to working together to remove obstacles and help every student thrive.

However, if a student’s absences escalate to 20% of the grading period, the situation becomes more serious. At this point, the child is considered truant, and legal action may be taken by the county attorney. We want to avoid this outcome at all costs, which is why early intervention is so important. Our goal is to support students and families before absences reach this critical level.

We recognize that these procedures may be new and may feel challenging, but they are in place to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed. Thank you for your continued partnership in making regular attendance a priority.

More information about SF2435 can be found at www.educate.iowa.gov and on the graphic below.

While we are in construction for the 24-25 and the 25-26 school years, parking will still be somewhat limited, so staff will need to use this lot as well. Freshman that drive will be required to park at the softball and baseball fields on the east side of the road. Mr. Lamoureux has shared information about student parking.

The construction will also impact student drop off and pickup. We will follow a similar procedure to previous years, but the families with students last names A-K will drop off and pick up at the east side of the north gym and exit to the east out the main east entrance/exit. This will be a change, but should allow us to move through drop off and pick up safely and quickly. Look at the image below to learn more. Contact Cody at cody.tibbetts@vmbulldogs.com if you have any questions.

The bids for the footings and site work came in a bit under budget. Work will start sometime in September, so access to the elementary side of the building will be limited until the 26-27 school year. All visitors will check in on the east side of the building at the secondary entrance for both the 24-25 and 25-26 school years. The new addition will be ready to go by August of 2026.

Bids for the construction of the building addition will go out in December of 2024. We will have a better idea of the timeline of construction later this school year.

More information about the plans can be found below. We are looking forward to a great finished project and we are excited for our students and staff. It's always a great day to be a Bulldog!

The District will provide busing to students who live on the west side of Van Meter, Crestview, or in other areas that are too far to walk to and from school. Quin Pelz at quin.pelz@vmbulldogs.com will be getting all route information out in the next few weeks if not sooner.

Transportation Director, Quin Pelz has contacted families who require bus transportation with more information, but in general, here is what you can expect:

• Seating will be assigned by the bus drivers.
• We will pick up rural students and drop them off at the school first. Pick-up times have been emailed by Quin Pelz. If you still don't know your pickup time, email Quin at quin.pelz@vmbulldogs.com
• Busses will then pick up Crestview, west Van Meter, and Daycare students at 7:55 a.m. and drop them off at the school.
• Parents can start dropping kids off at 7:55 a.m. Families with last names beginning with the letters A-K use the North Gym East Side. Students will enter at the Activities Entrance near the north gym concession stand. Families with last names beginning with the letters K-Z use the secondary side of the building to drop off their children after buses drop off.
• At 3:05 p.m., students who walk home from school will be dismissed.
• At approximately 3:10 p.m., Daycare, Crestview, and west Van Meter student bus riders will be dismissed from school and taken to their dropoffs
• At approximately, 3:20 p.m. rural student bus riders will be dismissed and taken to their homes.
• At 3:30, students who are getting picked up by their parents will be dismissed. Mr. Tibbetts and Mr. Lamoureux will provide more specific information on what pickup and drop-off will look like, but the image below should help. Parents should not arrive prior to 3:20 p.m. to pick their child up from school.
• The start time for HS students is 8:45 a.m HS students shouldn't arrive prior to 8:45 unless they have an early morning class.
• Any early dismissal will be adjusted to the corresponding times. i.e. 1:05 pm instead of 3:05 pm, etc.

For anyone who would like to learn more about advertising on the video board at the stadium, please email either Rick or me at

rick.roberts@vmbulldogs.com

deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com

All of the commercial spots are filled, but there is room for the two levels identified below. We'd love to have your support for our programs.

Options for supporting our programs are in the image below.

Lunch and Breakfast prices are listed below. There will be al a carte and snack items for purchase throughout the year as well. Contact Hayley Lincoln, our Food Services Director at hayley.lincoln@vmbulldogs.com with any questions.

Families that meet federal guidelines can qualify for free or reduced lunches. Forms to make applications for free or reduced lunches may be picked up at the Business Office after August 1st or downloaded below.

We have four organizations that do a great job of supporting Van Meter Schools. They are always looking for members. Be sure to reach out to them if you are interested in helping out.

Van Meter Education Foundation- Contact Luke Haverstick at lhaverstick@hotmail.com

Van Meter Elementary Parent Committee Contact Amanda Dougherty at mnddougherty@gmail.com

Van Meter Performing Arts Boosters Contact Scott Prickett at prickettsd@gmail.com

Van Meter Athletic Boosters Contact Amy Giesking at - amy.giesking@gmail.com

Email: firstname.lastname@vmbulldogs.com
Website: www.vmbulldogs.com
Location: 520 1st Avenue, Van Meter, IA, USA
Phone: (515) 996-2221
Facebook: https://facebook.com/VanMeterSchools/
Twitter: @vanmeterschools