October Newsletter 2020
Valley View Elementary School
From Principal Kuhlman
Valley View Families,
Thank you for all your patience and flexibility as we start off our year. It was a start of school like no other. I cannot express how happy I am with how orientation sessions went. I felt excitement and eagerness from students and families to begin learning with Heights from Home. I truly feel our current learning configuration is the next best thing to having students in school.
As we are engaging in learning through Heights from Home, it is important your child follow the schedule provided by their teacher. We are asking all students to be online, ready to go for Morning Meeting by 8:30 am. They will meet together as a class for about a half hour and then transition into Literacy or Math instruction. This block will consist of a 15-20 minute whole group lesson taught live by the teacher or through a pre-recorded video. Students will then transition into small group instruction or independent work time. We are asking students to be connected to Zoom the whole time so they may ask the teacher questions and get feedback when needed. If students are working independently they are not required to have their camera or microphone on, but are expected to stay connected to the Zoom meeting. At 11:00 am, student will break for lunch and to stretch their legs. Students are expected to log back in at 12:00 for the rest of their instruction. This session will last from 12:00-2:30 pm. Students are given multiple brain breaks, as well as movement breaks, during both sessions.
Your child must attend both sessions to ensure learning in both math and literacy. I believe we are all in a love or hate relationship with technology. We all love it when it works properly. For the most part we seem to be connecting and engaging in learning online. However, sometimes a technology issue happens. If you are having technology problems, please reach out to Columbia Heights Technology Support. Their number is 763-528-4598. If you cannot connect in the morning, please reach out to our attendance line to alert us you are not absent, but rather having technology problems. This way your student will be marked present instead of absent.
I want to acknowledge how hard this is on all of our families. We can agree the best place for students to do their learning is at school. We are constantly analyzing the numbers, and looking at how we can safely return students to school. We are slowing going to bring back small numbers of students over the next few weeks to get added support. This will be a critical time to see what it will take to move to the next stage of learning. Please be patient. We are doing our best to weigh in-person learning and safely bringing students together during this outbreak.
With much respect and admiration,
Jason Kuhlman
Math in Focus Workbooks
Fifth Grade
PROUD! This is the underlying feeling we have for our students, families, and staff after the first official week of distance learning. In fifth grade, we spent this week Zooming daily, completing Seesaw activities, and talking about our Hopes and Dreams. Although we wish we could be seeing one another in person, we feel incredibly proud of the resiliency of our students and how well adapted they are after just a few days.
Coming up, fifth graders will be learning about the traits of writing, place value, and The Constitution of the United States. We will also continue to get to know our classroom community and establish classroom rules for the year.
Fourth Grade
Each afternoon we end the day with a read aloud and closing circle. Each student received a copy of the book Holes, our grade level read aloud. We enjoy reading the story altogether and reflecting on our learning as we wrap up each day.
Students are creating an autobiography book in writing. Students are learning how to use the writing process to complete this project. We look forward to students sharing their autobiography books with each other when they are finished!
Third Grade
Greetings Grownups!
It’s been a busy start to the new school year. We want to thank families for all your support and patience during this unprecedented school year. We couldn’t do this without you! It was uplifting to meet with students during Valley View’s Orientation Week. The time we took to practice logging on noticeably helped students navigate Heights from Home. Teachers are very proud of the effort and focus 3rd graders have shown all ready. We’d like to remind families that school starts promptly every day at 8:30 am. Students can find the daily Zoom link on Seesaw to join our morning meeting, which is when daily attendance is also taken.
We are spending the first several weeks of school getting to know each other, building class community, and establishing expectations. In September, all Columbia Heights 3rd graders will be taking online math and reading assessments to help teachers understand how to meet student’s individual needs. As tempting as it may be to help our children when we see them struggle, teachers need to know what the children can do independently. So, when your child is taking an assessment at home, please do not assist them. They are used to guide instruction and determine growth.
Teachers understand that many of us are feeling anxious and confused this month, but teachers are determined to make this a successful and positive experience for students. We are still a school community and care deeply about the academic and social-emotional experience of each child in 3rd grade. Please reach out to us any time you have questions and concerns.
Physical Education
It is such a pleasure to welcome all the wonderful families to Valley View this year. I am so excited to continue our PE program through Heights at Home. My name is Mrs. Ostrander AKA Mrs. O. I look forward to getting to know your child/children and having them in PE this school year. Each classroom 2nd – 5th will have 60 minutes/1 hour of PE once a week. K & 1st will have 45 minutes of PE once a week.
The goal of Physical Education at Valley View Elementary is to teach students to develop healthy living habits that will last a lifetime. I accomplish this by having students participate in a wide variety of activities, sports, and challenges that will increase their physical, social, and mental abilities, as well as teamwork and cooperation skills. I hope to provide a safe, fun, and motivating class that will encourage all students to want to participate, have fun and try their best.
I understand these are difficult times but I am very glad that we are not skipping a beat. Students should have received a beach ball, jump rope and chalk in their supply bag the first week of school to use in our Zoom meetings. PE is still able to meet the needs of our student’s healthy lifestyle and I will make sure the students are still meeting the standards even while we are teaching Heights at Home.
PTO Information
Greetings VV Families! It has sure been a busy month for all of us. We hope that your families are doing well and that school is off to a solid start. The Parent-Teacher Organization held our first meeting of the year on September 10th and elected new officers. Our next meeting will be held virtually on October 8th at 6:00 p.m. We will be discussing fundraising and updates about our school. We would love to have you there. A reminder that a Spanish interpreter is available at all our PTO meetings. Whether or not you can attend PTO meetings, we encourage you to join our mailing list.
If you would like to help with our current fundraising efforts for the school, consider using the Box Tops for Education app to scan eligible grocery purchases. The fall book fair is also coming up, and though it won't be held in-person in the media center this year, we're excited to be able to offer a virtual book fair! The book fair will be open October 22nd-November 5th. Look for more information coming soon!
Fall Book Fair: October 21st-November 3rd
Our Book Fair is online! Support our school and help your child discover new books, favorite characters, value packs, and more! Orders are delivered right to your home and you can take advantage of FREE shipping on book-only purchases over $25.
It's a new school year... let's instill a new-found love of reading!
Check out the fall book fair October 21st-November 3rd!
Attendance During Heights at Home
Regular attendance is essential for learning. While many students are learning from home at this time, daily attendance is still required. Daily student engagement plays a key role in your child’s well-being.
Attendance information for all students K-12th grade: In the event that there is a valid excuse for your child’s absences, you must notify the school EACH DAY your child is absent by calling the attendance line 763-528-4204.
Under Minnesota State Law, legal reasons to miss school include serious illness (COVID, throwing up, fever, diarrhea), medical appointments, religious holidays and family emergencies (death in the family, house fire, etc.).
Absences that are NOT excused include:
-Family vacations
- Needed at home/babysitting
-Another sibling is ill or parent is ill
-Overslept
-Car Trouble
-Weather
-Missed bus
-Not immunized
Truancy- A student is considered unexcused (truant) if they are absent from class without a legal excuse or without communication to school. Parents will receive truancy warning letters at three (3) days and five (5) days and if improvements are still not made the school may make a referral to the Educational Neglect/Truancy Program in the county in which you reside.
*A student who is absent more than ten (10) days per year due to illness will receive a letter notifying the parent/guardian of the excessive absences and the requirement of a doctor/clinic verification of any further illness. We will require a doctor’s statement which explains your child’s illness or medical condition and how it affected/affects your child’s ability to attend school. If verification is not provided the absence will be marked unexcused.
*Open enrolled students with a significant number of absences may not be allowed to return for the 2021-2022 school year.
You are not alone! If you have any questions regarding attendance or if you would like support in improving your child’s attendance please contact the attendance team: Carlie Ross- 763-528-4246 or rossc@colheights.k12.mn.us.
If you are having technology issues please contact the Technology Help Line at 763-528-4598 and a technology staff person will return your call as soon as possible.
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About Us
All Belong, All Succeed
Email: KuhlmanJ@colheights.k12.mn.us
Website: https://www.colheights.k12.mn.us/VVES
Location: 800 49th Avenue Northeast, Columbia Heights, MN, USA
Phone: 763-528-4200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VVisd13