November Newsletter 2020
Valley View Elementary School
From Principal Kuhlman
I hope everyone is safe and healthy as we move into the second quarter of the year. As you may have heard, the school board and district administration made the decision to keep us in Heights from Home for quarter 2. The numbers in Columbia Heights are extremely high and make it very risky to bring back large number of students. Your safety is our number one concern. With this in mind, we also know students may be struggling with the social isolation that comes from distance learning. We are working on possible solutions to this need. Currently we are bringing in small groups of Special Education and English Language Learners. As numbers decrease, we will look at bringing in more students. If you or your child are having social emotional needs, please reach out to myself or Ms. Carlie. We are here to support you.
As we begin quarter 2, we will be hosting another materials distribution. Teachers have been working very hard to collect and organize materials your child will need for learning in quarter 2. On November 4th, 5th and 6th, families will need to come to school to pick up their child’s supplies. Supplies may be picked up between 8 and 3:30 on Wednesday and Friday and between 8 and 6 on Thursday. It is critical for you to pick up your child materials, as they will need them for essential learning that will be happening.
I would like to thank you for a wonderful conference cycle. Even though we are in the middle of a pandemic, we were able to make meaningful connections with families to discuss student progress. We were able to utilize a new conference sign-up platform, use Zoom to make the virtual meeting possible, and a new interpreter service to ensure all families had access. I couldn’t be more proud of our Valley View community to pull this off. Together there are no limits to what we can accomplish. We are Valley View Strong!
We're an AVID School!
At Valley View, we strive towards teaching students life-long skills. We are an AVID school. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. To us, AVID supports students’ efforts by providing strategies for rigorous teaching and learning that empowers students with life skills to grow by their own hard work. Please talk with your students’ teachers to learn what AVID looks like, sounds like, and feels like in each grade level.
There are several essential parts of AVID you will see woven into your students daily learning. Some of the essential parts include writing in all content-areas, inquiry and higher-level questioning, collaboration, organization, and reading. These skills tie in with the Columbia Heights District 13 life skills that we are committed to helping develop for all of our learners.
First Grade
First graders are in the groove! We have been learning about number bonds and turn-around facts, new sight words, and writing sentences. We recently started our weekly spelling words and are learning how to take a spelling test online. This past month we completed fun fall activities that included reading books, writing sentences about leaves, and completing art projects.
We want to thank families for all of your support, patience, and flexibility during this unprecedented school year. We have enjoyed meeting with you during our fall conferences to discuss your child’s progress so far this year.
Second Grade
Wow! We have been successful!!!! Second grade teachers and students have been having a wonderful time working together during Heights at Home! We have been working hard to make connections during our reading, learning about place value of digits in numbers, as well as mastering the skill of writing complete sentences. We are settling into the routine of our day and have been loving it! We are getting to know each other during our morning meetings as well as our breakout sessions. Everyone has been working so hard. It has been fabulous seeing how independent and successful the students have been; It is a learning time for all of us! AND parents…We so appreciate your support with your child’s education as well as your support and patience with us as teachers! Now ---let’s continue on!
Music
It’s Mr. Chao, music teacher at Valley View! I’ll be giving you small snapshots of what each grade has been doing in music. This year for music has certainly looked a lot different than previous years. Although challenges arise (singing together, playing instruments etc.), we strive to bring a similar music experience and education to the students at home with the help of our online curriculum.
Kindergarten: We are exploring different sounds and movements in music, while practicing finding and feeling the beat. We will continue to build upon this and add music literacy.
1st grade: We are practicing feeling the beat, and move to a variety of music. We are also training our ears to identify opposites (high/low, fast/slow) and our voices to be able to sing simple melodies.
2nd grade: We are practicing reading and performing different music rhythms, talking about form (how music is organized), and singing simple melodies. We will also be learning several instruments in the orchestra and analyze how music can sound happy or sad.
3rd grade: We are practicing reading and performing different music rhythms, singing simple melodies, and using games to enhance our learning. We will also be doing some improvising (making up music as you go) and creating different patterns and eventually learn note names.
4th grade: We are currently practicing reading note names on the staff and reading different rhythms. This is in preparation for recorders, their first instrument that they can take home. We will be sending these in their tote bags as well as a recorder packet. We won’t officially start them until next month, so please keep them in the bag until we need them.
5th grade: We are currently working on reviewing note names, reading different rhythm patterns and creating different movements for a variety of songs. We will also be doing some bucket drumming the next couple of months. The plan is that 5th graders will receive a bucket and a pair of drumsticks to take home. We are currently working out how to gather them and send them home. I will keep you informed via Seesaw on the status of them.
Art
Valley View students learned about the local artist, @Mows510. They were asked to decorate their own door with images and symbols that were important to them and then install them with contact paper. Here are the 4th graders creations.
PTO Information
We've almost made it through Quarter 1! Thank you to all of the families who have supported our school through fundraisers this month, including the Chipotle fundraising night, virtual book fair, and the Believe online catalog fundraiser.
There are still a couple of days to support the media center through the book fair and the PTO through the Believe online sale!! Both fundraisers end on November 3rd. You can access the virtual book fair at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/valleyview. You can register your student, purchase catalog items and share your sale with friends and family at www.ShopFund.com.
Did you miss the Chipotle fundraiser? Not to worry! The PTO is sponsoring upcoming fundraising nights:
November 18th, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at Noodles and Company (5220 Central Avenue NE)
December 10th, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at Panera Bread (8601C Springbrook Drive)
Vice President Nominations
PTO is in search of a vice president! We have a vacancy on our executive board for the position of vice president, and we will hold an election at the next PTO meeting on November 12th. If you would like to run for the position, please complete this nomination form by Tuesday, November 10th.
Next PTO Meeting: Thursday, November 12th via Zoom
Our next PTO meeting will be held virtually through Zoom on Thursday, November 12th, at 6:00 p.m. To join us for the meeting, please email valleyviewmnpto@gmail.com for a meeting link, or join our mailing list! We hope to see you at PTO!
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