Welcome to the 23-24 school year! We can't wait to have everyone in the new school! Construction has gone as planned and teachers will be unpacking in the coming days to make their classrooms student ready for the first day of school on August 23rd!

The staff and I are looking forward to building and strengthening our partnerships with all of you and are committed to providing a safe and caring environment for your child(ren) in our new school. Our classroom and building-wide expectations for students and staff (Responsible, Safe, and Kind) will serve as the foundation for the 23-24 School Year.

Our district mission is Teaching All, Reaching All. We will strive to reach the academic, social and emotional needs of all of our students. Our professional skills and caring attitude are only part of the equation; thank you for partnering with us to provide an outstanding year for your child(ren) that will be full of growth, success and joy.

You will find several pieces of information below to guide the beginning of our school year.

Sincerely,

Lara Justmann, Principal

On August 9th from 4:00-5:00 pm bring your Kindergarten student and come visit teachers, tour the building, and learn what your student's day will look like.

I’ll be providing helpful information to you in the cafeteria while the kindergarten teachers work with the students in the classrooms. Everyone should report to the cafeteria initially. Please email me if you’re unable to attend at justmannl@urbandaleschool.com.

A great deal of consideration goes into creating class lists. Academic, social-emotional and behavioral needs are all factors that play into the process, as well as balance of numbers between sections at each grade level. We continue to receive newly enrolled students each week so we won't be emailing teacher assignments until Friday, August 11th.

Linked HERE you will find a video explanation of our new arrival and dismissal processes. It's important that everyone follow the expectations for safety and efficiency, and we hope the video explanation will be an easy way to learn them. Ongoing communication will be provided after we start the year as well.

Below you will find information about our new online program, "Pikmykid", that will support our dismissal process. Please watch/read the content included in the link to prepare for the school year. Feel free to share the links with others who may be helping you with your child's pick-up or drop-off.

We will be doing a trial run of the process on Monday, August 21st, 3:30 - 4:00 in the Valerius north parking lot. Please RSVP here by Wednesday, August 16th, if you would like to participate. You will be able to come to the main office to pick up your child's car tag starting August 17th to participate. This practice run will allow us to work out kinks before the first day of school on the 23rd.

PIkmykid Parent App Registration Information

Open House for all grades K – 5 will be held on Monday, August 21, from 4:30 – 6:00. We are encouraging families with last names A-K to come between 4:30 and 5:15, and families with last names starting with J-Z to come between 5:15 and 6:00pm. **Translators and EL teachers will be directing meetings onsite from 4:30-5:15pm.

Families and students will be able to drop off school supplies and meet their classroom teacher, pay lunch fees, learn about Adventuretime services and sign up for PTO volunteer events. *Note on supplies: Be sure to label each of your child’s supplies by first name or initials (each individual marker, pencil, colored pencil, scissors, etc.) so they don’t get mixed in with other students’ supplies as the year progresses.

**4:30-5:15pm Directed by EL teachers and Translators onside in a separate space.

Our school supply list can be found on the Valerius district webpage or HERE.

As a reminder, our First Day of School is Wednesday Aug 23, 2023 (Day 1). Class starts at 8:50am and doors open at 8:35am for breakfast. (Every Monday is a LATE START - Class starts at 9:55am and doors open at 9:40am.) School Dismisses at 3:40pm every day.

Beginning in the 2023–24 school year, we will be collecting payment for books, materials, and bus transportation fees via PowerSchool. We have created the following step-by-step instructions for this new process. Please review the instructions and contact Student Data Manager Sandy Walters at walterss@urbandaleschools.com or (515) 457-5011 if you need assistance.

Translated instructions for paying book/material fees in PowerSchool:

• Bosanski
• မြန်မာဘာသာ
• Laiholh (ဟားခါး-ချင်း)
• Español
• Kiswahili
• 
  

Please Note: Meal payments will still be made through LINQ Connect. All other payments will be accepted via RevTrak.

1. Teachers will again be using Seesaw as their main method of communication with you. Seesaw is used to record and share what's happening in the classroom. Instructions on how to enroll will be shared during Open House.

2. Use Google Calendar to access the number day cycle and school-wide events throughout the year. Paste links into your website to embed the calendar, “Valerius Family Calendar (Events and Activities)”. Links: Google Calendar or iCal for Mac

3. Follow Valerius on Facebook. Posts will be made that include such things as reminders about upcoming events and volunteer requests.

4. Urbandale’s School Messenger automated email, text and voicemail system will be used by Superintendent Dr. Rosalie Daca , our secretary, Angie Jones, and me as an efficient form of communication.

5. Our district webpage at http://www.urbandaleschools.com holds a wealth of information with a “Quick Links” section to commonly searched items. Valerius Website

6. Valerius Weekly family newsletter will be emailed and posted on the Valerius Facebook page every Sunday at 8am. This newsletter will contain information about events for the upcoming week/month.
   

The Urbandale Community School District (UCSD) welcomes and invites parents/guardians to visit schools during the school day. "Visitors" include parents, guardians, volunteers, contractors, students from other schools, student teachers, student teacher advisors, outside counselors/EFR, and members of the community.

Overview

In order to maintain a safe and secure learning environment, visitors must report to the school’s main office, sign-in upon arrival, provide a U.S. government-issued ID for scanning into the Raptor system (or provide a legitimate photo ID and have name and date of birth entered into the Raptor system), and then receive a visitor’s badge/sticker which they will be required to wear during their stay in our schools. Visitors are required to sign-out and return the badge/sticker at the main office prior to leaving the school. (Note: Signing in via the Raptor system will not be necessary for individuals who drop-off or pick-up a student or materials in the main office.)

Visitor Management System

Beginning in the 2023–24 school year, the Raptor visitor management system will be implemented at all UCSD schools. The Raptor system establishes a consistent and uniform visitor check-in process as it has two main functions: 1) issues a dated visitor check-in badge/sticker complete with a name, photo, and destination, and 2) screens individuals against sex offender registries in all 50 states and several territories within the United States.

How It Works

• All UCSD visitors must report to the main office upon their arrival at the school and provide their driver’s license or other state or federally issued ID. (Note: Signing in via the Raptor system will not be necessary for individuals who drop-off or pick-up a student or materials in the main office.)

• The barcode on the ID will be scanned electronically and run through the Raptor system.

• If a visitor does not have a U.S. government-issued ID, the main office can use any form of legitimate photo identification and manually enter the person’s name and date of birth into the Raptor system.

• The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.

• If a match is identified, the building principal or designated representative will immediately be notified and respond according to district procedures.

• If an individual refuses to provide identification, the building principal or designated representative will immediately be notified and respond according to district procedures.

• If no match is identified, visitors will be issued a date-specific visitor’s badge/sticker that includes their name, photograph, and destination. The badge/sticker must be worn and remain visible at all times while the visitor is on school grounds.

• Children who do not have a valid ID are allowed to visit as long as an adult who has completed the check-in process accompanies them.

• All visitors are required to check-out and return the visitor badge/sticker at the main office prior to leaving the school.

Once visitors have been approved by the Raptor system, they will not need to provide an ID for each subsequent visit. Previously approved visitors will still need to check-in at the main office to receive a visitor badge/sticker to be worn while on school grounds. All visitors are required to check-out and return the visitor badge/sticker at the main office prior to leaving the school.

An important part of keeping students and staff safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us maintain safe and secure learning environments.

To be on a bus route for the first day of school, UCSD needs to receive your completed bus request form no later than August 1st. A bus request form needs to completed each year for every student. Durham will contact you with your bus information once routed.

23-24 Bus Request Form

The link to the online form is also located on the UCSD website under Quick Links (Bus Transportation).

Join the homecoming festivities with this years J-Hawk Mile Run & Tot Trot! This is an awesome way to show your school pride for the J-Hawks.

Each school competes against one another for the coveted traveling trophy. Last year it was Webster Elementary that took home both the boys and the girls trophy!

Get your student outdoors to enjoy this fun homecoming tradition and see how they compete against other elementary schools!

REGISTER USING THIS LINK!

Families with students in kindergarten through 11th grade currently enrolled in the district received an email May 1-14, with instructions for online registration. For families without email, a letter was be mailed to you with instructions for registering your returning student(s). Every students needs to register online every year. You must register each student every year!

Visit the UCSD website for more information about Registering your student(s) for current year.

Principal: Lara Justmann; justmannl@urbandaleschools.com

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