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Phoenix Family News
February 9, 2024
Important Dates Ahead...
February: I Love to Read Month
February-March 15: ACCESS for ELs Testing
February 16: No School - K-5 Prep Day
February 19: No School - President's Day
February 20: Rollerskating begins for grades 2-5
February 22 & 29: Conferences
Calendar and Schedule Updates
The latest calendar updates are available at sowashco.org/calendar.
Roller Skating Reminders
Roller skating for all 2-5th grade classes begins the week of Tuesday, February 20th through Friday, March 1st during regularly scheduled Phy Ed classes.
- If you have not done so already, please return the permission slip to your students homebase teacher as soon as possible.
- Students should bring their helmets for skating Tuesday February 20th and leave them on top of their locker for the duration of the unit.
Kindness Week - February 12-15
Next week we will be celebrating Kindness Week! Each day will focus on a different theme. The students will be hearing messages from our Kindness Connection Group on VNN with daily kindness messages and challenges. The Kindness Connection Group will also be sharing and recognizing individuals for showing kindness.
- Monday February 12: Be Kind to Yourself
- Tuesday February 13: Be Kind to Your Teacher
- Wednesday February 14: Be Kind to Your Classmates
- Thursday February 15: Be Kind to Your School Community and Friendship Day (Wear VCES Fun Run Shirt)
VCES Friendship Day: February 15
Valley Crossing has an upcoming friendship celebration day on February 15, and we are celebrating our friendship with others on Friendship Day! As you know, we have many celebration days throughout the year to have fun and build some amazing memories.
Please do not send in any items for Valentine's Day or Friendship Day as your child will not be able to share any items from home with other students. Instead, students will be celebrating friendship in their homebases by making cards, sharing compliments, and participating in Buddy Up activities. Be sure to watch for more information from your child's homebase teacher. We want to celebrate all the great friendships we have built at Valley Crossing and make sure that everyone is part of our school community.
VCES Art Show
We are excited to announce that we will have an Art Show during conferences coming up at the end of February. All students participating in art class will have a piece on display. The art will be hung in the hallways and locker bays around the school. Three-dimensional artwork will be displayed in the Media Center. Student names and teacher names will be on each piece. We hope you will be able to enjoy all our students’ hard work. Questions, please contact your student’s art speciatlist: Alissa Nutting anutting@sowashco.org or Tess Soucheray tsoucher@sowashco.org.
Spring Conferences - Feb 22 & 29
The conference sign-up link for your child's teacher was sent via email. If you did not receive your conference link or if you need help signing up for a conference, please call the main office at 651-425-7501.
Snacks Needed
Please work with your student(s) to remember to pack a nut-free snack and water bottle for school every day.
We are also running low on emergency snacks to give out to students who forget their snack. If you are able to donate, we would really appreciate donations of individually wrapped packages of Goldfish or Saltine crackers to replenish our supply. Snacks can be brought to the main office or sent to our School Social Worker, Faith Schulze.
Scholastic Book Fair Voucher Nomination
Please note that the vouchers will be available on a first come, first served basis, and vouchers will only be able to be used towards the purchase of a book.
PTA News: Scholastic Book Fair!
Save-the-date! Our fall Scholastic Book Fair will be held February 22-March 1. We will hold two family shopping events during conferences: Thursday, February 22 and Thursday, February 29 from 4-8 p.m. The family shopping events are the only opportunity to use cash or checks. Credit cards (or tap-to-pay) or eWallet are ALWAYS accepted. Students will not be able to use cash when shopping during the school day. Please create an eWallet for your student if they wish to shop during school.
To create an eWallet, visit our book fair website Book Fair Homepage (scholastic.com) Note: any unused funds from a previous eWallet were converted into an eGift card on your Scholastic account. You need to create a NEW eWallet for each fair and can use the eGift card balance to fund the eWallet.
We will need volunteers to make this book fair a success! Working the book fair is fun—most positions require no previous experience. Kids are allowed to work with you or stay in the parent room during your shift. Sign up here!
I Love to Read Month
February is I Love to Read Month! We celebrate reading at Valley Crossing throughout the month in many ways. This week all students received a packet of information during their Media Class. This packet includes information on a February Reading Goal, getting a Washington County library card, the opportunity to Adopt a Book for the Media Center, and more! A link to the full packet can be found here.
The Reading Goal sheet encourages students to complete a variety of reading activities throughout the month of February. We encourage all students to set a “Star Goal” and complete as many of the reading activities listed as they can. One reading activity = one star! They can circle or mark off stars as they go, and if students complete their goal number of stars by the end of February, they'll have their photo taken in our Magical Photo Corner in the Media Center!
Also, save the date for Flashlight Reading in Media Class! Please have your child bring a flashlight on their class’s scheduled day. If you don’t have any flashlights, we do have some extra, but not enough for everyone. Thank you!
- Feb. 13: DiPrizio, Schwieters, Rodgers, Matulka, Caldwell
- Feb. 14: May, Wills, Krenner, McDowell, Hommez
- Feb. 15: Pendergrass, Singleton, Ryan, Balza, Billmeyer
- Feb. 20: Fjelsta, Mondry, Anderson, Warden, Stueve, Harper
- Feb. 21: Bryant, Bovee, Clear, Polifka, Ellsworth, Franzen, Casey
If you have any questions about I Love to Read Month, please contact Ms. Lanners, Media Specialist or Ms. Marrier, Reading Specialist. Happy Reading!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
2023-24 Yearbooks
Order your yearbook today from Josten's! Prices right now begin at $21.00.
SoWashCo CARES Literacy Contest
During “I Love to Read Month” in February, SoWashCo CARES is sponsoring a literacy contest that is open to all SoWashCo Schools students.
To participate in the contest students are asked to submit a book recommendation video.
The video submission will act as your entry to win a three-month subscription box of books tailored based on your interests.
To submit your video visit https://flip.com/f50dacd9 and record your video.
Video Submission Guidelines
1.5-minute (or less) video
State your name and your grade
State the name and author of the book
Give a brief overview of the story or topic of the book
Tell us your favorite parts about the book
If you have a copy of the book, please show it during the video
Have your phone/camera in landscape mode
We recommend that you practice first and speak clearly
The deadline to submit your video is Thursday, Feb, 29.
You can feel free to use out-of-the-box recommendations, graphic novels, picture books, non-fiction, novels or whatever book you are passionate about!
The winners will be announced Thursday, Mar. 14 in the family newsletter following the week of spring break.
We can’t wait to see your book recommendations, and thank you to SoWashCo CARES for sponsoring the contest.
Help Ensure a Safe Ride to and From School
Please take the time to review the bus rules with your child/children to ensure all students have a safe and comfortable ride to and from school.
- Be on time and be clear of the "Danger Zone."
- Follow the driver's instructions while riding.
- Remain seated and facing forward at all times.
- Fasten your seatbelt, if equipped.
- Your head and arms must remain inside the bus.
- Cell phones are allowed, but taking photos or recording with any device is not.
- Be courteous of one another. Bullying will not be tolerated.
- Please eat and drink before getting on the bus.
- Help keep the bus in good shape by clearing your personal items (including trash) and treating the bus as your own.
- Please do not throw objects inside or out of the bus.
- Like in school, dangerous objects or weapons are not allowed.
- If needed, the bus driver may assign seats and/or use "zone seating" (older students in rear/younger students in front).
Please remind your child/children to follow the bus rules. Unsafe, inappropriate and/or distracting behavior will be addressed by the bus driver and/or reported to the SoWashCo Transportation Department for follow up. Consequences for unsafe, inappropriate and/or distracting behavior may include assigned seating, parent contact, school administration contact, bus suspension, school suspension and/or removal of transportation privileges.
For further information about the bus rules and bus safety, please review the SoWashCo School Bus Safety Video.
VCES MCA Testing Window: Grades 3-5
- April 15-19 – Reading
- April 22-26 -Math
- April 29-May 3 – Science (5th only)
ACCESS for EL Testing
All students identified as English Learners (EL) will be taking the ACCESS assessment between January 30th and March 22nd, 2024. This assessment is a federal requirement to assess English proficiency for students learning English. There are four domains tested Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. The testing will occur on the following dates:
Jan 30-Feb 2: Kindergarten
Feb. 2-Feb 9: Listening Gr. 1-5
- Feb 9-15: Reading Gr. 1.-5
- Feb. 15-Feb 26: Writing Gr. 1-5
- Feb 26-March 1: Speaking Gr. 1-5
- Makeups: March 12-15
To learn more about the ACCESS test, please visit our District Website. If you have questions, please contact Katie Behrend (651) 425-7648. Thank you!
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 in classroom newsletters)
100th Day - February 21
I Love to Read Month - Book Character Day on February 28 (Please notice date change due to conferences)
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