VAIS Family Newsletter

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

1/2/2025 School resumes

1/7/2025 Community Outreach Committee Meeting at Verona Public Library 7-8:30pm

1/9/2025 VASD Kindergarten Night at Sugar Creek 6-7pm

1/13/2025 Governance Council Meeting - VAIS Library 6:30-8:30pm

1/17/2025 School Tour 9-10am

1/20/2025 No school - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/20/2025 School newsletter info due to Miss Amelia by 12pm Noon

1/22/2025 Verona Culver's Fundraising Night 5-8pm

1/25/2025 Chinese Mini School here at VAIS 9-10:30am

1/31/2025 Spring Gala / Lunar New Year Celebration at Badger Ridge PAC 12-1:30pm

2/8/2025 Lunar New Year Celebration at Verona Library 9:30-11:30am

Ways you can help this recruitment season:

• Share your VAIS experience with friends and social media. Link to our website (https://www.vaisverona.org/) or this article about our school's ranking: VAIS ranks #7 among Wisconsin elementary schools | News | veronapress.com

• Post a VAIS sign in your yard: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSf7bOV7rTT.../viewform...

• Sign up to volunteer at recruitment events - tours, Mini school, and Kindergarten Night

• Help out at our Lunar New Year Storytime at Verona Public Library

• Tell everyone about our recruitment events:

• January 9th 6-7pm - VASD Kindergarten Night

• January 17th 9-10am - In person tour

• January 25th 9-10:30am - Chinese Mini School in person

• February 6th 7:45-8:45am - In person tour

• February 6th, 4pm-6pm - Head Start Outreach Night

• February 8th, 9:30-11:30am - Lunar New Year at the Library

Show your school spirit and spread the word about our incredible school by getting a yard sign! Let’s come together to showcase our vibrant community and attract new families.

How to Participate:

1. Purchase a yard sign.

2. Proudly display it in your yard or a highly trafficked area.

3. Take a photo with your sign and share it on social media.

4. Tag a friend and invite them to share their sign too!

VAIS signs can help us reach more families and showcase what makes our school special!

To help with the future of the school, the VAIS Governance Council (GC) is in the process of setting up a new VAIS Foundation for receiving FUNdraising money. This Foundation is almost established and will be a 501c3 to benefit the future of the Verona Area International School. There will be a formal announcement once it is established and a brainstorming session for the parent community to decide ways we can collectively raise funds for the school.

Giving Tuesday update: We are still seeking Giving Tuesday donations through the end of the year. A grand total of the amount raised will be announced after the campaign closes.

So far we have raised $9062!! We are now more than halfway to our total goal of $21,000!

Spirit wear: There is a new option to purchase VAIS spirit wear. This year we have three options to choose from. A portion of all sales is donated to VAIS.

1. VAIS logo only

2. Multi-lingualism is my superpower on the back

3. VAIS logo and "Multi-lingualism is my super power" on the back.

Our Lunar New Year Showcase for the Verona Area School District is Friday, January 31 at 12pm at Badger Ridge Middle School PAC, door 5.

Students of all ages will perform and be done around 2pm. If you will pick your child up early this day, be sure to email your child's teacher and the attendance line at vais-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us.

This event features Mandarin-speaking students from VAIS, Badger Ridge and the High School and includes songs, dance, skits and lion and dragon dancers, and more. Come see all our Mandarin and Lunar New Year celebrations. Families and community are welcome!

Lunar New Year at the Verona Public Library will be February 8 from 9:30 to 11:30am

We are thrilled to share this vibrant Chinese holiday with our community! This year we will celebrate the Year of the Snake.

Save the date, spread the word and sign up to help: VAIS: Lunar New Year Storytime

Join with other families from NCS/VAIS to enjoy a UW Women's Basketball Game. The game is at 2pm on February 23rd and the Badgers will be playing vs. Northwestern.

Tickets will be $5 per/person and we will be purchasing tickets as a group so we can all sit together. Any questions, contact Jessica Hamill (jessica.corine@gmail.com). Sign up here!

VAIS and NCS shared Glow Dance Night on 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!

Where have you been reading? With a dog? On a road trip? In a dream? 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!

Here is Niko, from a visit to the Verona Library's Reading with Dogs program. In this photo, he’s reading with a therapy dog named "Bear."

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!

I just want to throw out a reminder that after winter break we will be starting the Swim Unit on January 7th - February 21. A few items that the students will need to bring are a swimsuit, a towel, a bag for their wet swimsuit, and goggles if they want. The students should not bring any floating devices or swim toys to the pool. The pool provides those already. If the student forgets any of the items that were listed the pool does have those items for the students to borrow. If any questions please ask. I will send out another reminder after break.

Hope you all have a good winter break,

Mr.Dresen and Ms. Kottemann

It's time for everyone's favorite fundraising game of chance! Toss in $10 per square, and get ready for the opportunity to WIN BIG during this year's Superbowl on Sunday, February 9, in NOLA. This is a great fundraising ask to extend to family and friends to make watching the big game that much more fun!

Please fill out the linked form and then choose cash or Venmo as your payment option. Payment must be received before squares are confirmed. Once all 100 squares are purchased (they go fast!), you will receive a copy of the Superbowl Squares board. If any quarter's score of the Superbowl ends in your numbers, you win as detailed below OR you donate your winnings back to VAIS and win even bigger (our undying admiration)!

Quarter 1 = $100 Prize

Quarter 2 = $100 Prize

Quarter 3 = $100 Prize

Final = $200 Prize

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.

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.

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 note from a medical provider is required for activity restrictions.

Please use the following Verona Area School District guidelines to help in decision making (attached here).

Have you joined the VAIS Facebook Groups?

All Current families are welcome to join “VAIS Parents Group” on Facebook. We will be posting events and pop-up playdates in this group. This is also a great resource for new parents/guardians to ask any questions they may have. Please also like and follow our VAIS School Facebook here, or take a look at our website here.

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

1) EMAIL VAIS Attendance: vais-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us or

2) CALL the office at (608) 845-4500 (If you are making a change after 11:00 am the same day, then please call the office).

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

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:

VAIS Public Google 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/

Family volunteers help make VAIS the vibrant place it is and are so appreciated! Please consider signing up for one or more of the opportunities below. If you plan to volunteer in ANY capacity in the building this school year, NOW is a great time to take a few minutes to fill out the required background check form so you are ready to go when asked. Please note background checks must be completed no later than 1 week prior to the event. Once passed, this background check is valid for 2 years.

Interested in helping recruit new families to VAIS? Have ideas to get the VAIS name out in the community? Join our Outreach committee meeting on January 7, 2025 at 7 pm at Verona Public Library

Volunteers for Recruitment events

Sign up to volunteer at our recruiting events. We need parents to share info about our school at tours, minischool, and kindergarten night.

Our upcoming tours are the first opportunities to help out:

Tour: VAIS teachers and staff will guide a tour of our school and explain our immersion program.

Thursday, January 9th 5:45-7:15pm - Kindergarten night at Sugar Creek

Friday, January 17 at 9am

Thursday, February 6 at 7:45am

Have dinner with your VAIS friends and family at the Culvers in Verona on January 22nd at 5-8pm and help a portion of sales come back to VAIS.

Volunteers are needed to help run orders. It's not too bad, we promise. They will give us aprons or gear to wear and they will "train" us when we get there on how to walk orders around.

Sign up here.

Join a committee and support VAIS! Volunteers are key to our success and it's a super rewarding experience. Opportunities include: Governance Council, Family Engagement, Community Outeach, FUNdraising and Budget. To get involved, email jennifer.tzeng@live.com.

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.

Canned drinks and packaged snacks are always welcome in the teacher's workrooms, feel free to drop those off any time.

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.