Viking Pride
August 4, 2022
Hello Valhalla Community,
We hope you are enjoying every minute of summer; it is hard to believe the new school year is right around the corner.
The office is now open and many of our teachers have begun to set up their rooms and meet with their grade levels to collaborate on curriculum, projects, field trips, and more! District Trainings are set for our Staff Development Days on August 8th and 9th and we are excited to begin another school year! The first day of school is on August 11th and is a regular day: 2022-2023 Bell Schedule.
To our incoming families, WELCOME; we look forward to meeting you in August and having you join the Viking Family at Valhalla. To our returning families we are looking forward to seeing you again!
Thank you,
Theodora Pappas
Valhalla Principal
WE ARE GETTING READY FOR ALL OF YOU!!! 🌞
Hello from Mr. Ken, Miss Rebecca, Principal Pappas & Miss Melissa! We can't wait to see you on Tuesday!
Welcome to our new Valhalla Viking staff members!
Hello Mrs. Kellerhals, Kindergarten
Hello Valhalla Vikings!
Hello Mrs. Flores, TK instrucational assistant
Hello Mrs. Weber, SDC
Hello Ms. Sparks, third grade
Hello Mrs. Hui, School Psychologist
Hello Mr. Kilcourse, 4/5 STEM
Hello Ms. Quiroz, Speech & Language pathologist
Hello Mrs. Bromley, 5th grade instrumental music
All In One Day!
We are ready for All In One day! This is the time when the office collects required forms, you can purchase spirit wear, learn about VPFA, learn about 5th-grade Outdoor Ed camp, and pick up your child's teacher assignment.
Please do your best to come at your assigned time: Tuesday August 9th, 3:00-7:00 p.m.
Alphabetically by LAST NAME
3:00 pm-4:00 pm Q-Z
4:00pm-5:00pm M-P
5:00pm-6:00pm E-L
6:00pm-7:00pm A-D
Thank you!
2022 - 2023 Class Supply Lists
Fridays are our Spirit Days! 💙💛
Check out our cool Viking swag... throughtout the year!
Chromebooks: grades 2-5
If you are new to Valhalla this year, you will be given your own chromebook the first week of school!
If you are in second grade, you will be given your own chromebook as soon as our district provides them!
Donors Choose:
Please consider making a grant to our teacher's projects:
Mrs. Kellerhals: Kindergarten: Our classroom needs help, starting from scratch. Help me give my students a jump start with items like composition notebooks and pencils. Give them the chance to love writing. Click here to donate and for more info.
Mrs. O'Leary: Kindergarten: If You Give A Kinder A Computer Desk Help me give my students a comfortable place to do their computer station activities. Click here to donate and for more info.
*Thank you for fully funding Mr. Buell's "Calming Center and New Counseling Setup" & Ms. Fivey's "Carpet Time Is Critical!" WOW! 😊 🙏
Amazon supply/wish list:
Emily Fox , second grade, click here for her Amazon supply/wish list.
Tamara Robinette, second grade, click here for her Amazon supply/wish list.
How to help out at Valhalla!
MDUSD has approved parent volunteers inside and outside the classroom. Volunteers must have a valid TB test, fingerprints on file, & proof of vaccination. Please reach out to Mrs. Rebecca Gibbs, our secretary, to show proof of vaccination. Please reach out to your teacher for further information regarding helping in the classroom or sign up on Konstella to volunteer at lunch. (Link to sign up coming soon!)
Click here to apply to be a volunteer on campus including lunch duty, PE, classroom parents, the library, reading lab, the garden or to help at future field trips.
Please check out these positions here at Valhalla for the school year 2022-23:
Instructional Assistant - 18 hours per week.
Noon Duty Supervisor - start date August 11, 2022 click here for more info Hours are 11:30am - 1pm. What a great way to help at school and get to know our amazing students!
Crosswalk duty: morning and/or after school. Please call the office. 925-687-1700
Substitutes:
*Teacher: Substitute Teacher EdJoin Job Posting (Pay is $230/)
*Special Education Assistant Substitute (SEA SUB) -
Special Education Assistant Substitute (SEA SUB) click here to apply and for further information.
*Substitute Secretarial/Clerical: Click here to apply for secretary substitute and for further info!
*Noon Supervisor Substitute: Click here to apply for noon supervisor substitute and for further info!
Any ?s please see Miss Pappas! Thank you for your consideration!
Valhalla School Secetary needed!
If you or a friend are interested in being the "core" of our school, please apply here! Any ?, ask Miss Pappas.
Lunch Time Volunteers Needed! 11:30-1pm daily!
Calling parents, grandparents, friends or neighbors to help provide additional supervision during lunch and lunch recess. Please feel free to sign up for one shift or many (or all!). It's a great way to connect to our campus and see your kids in action!
Check in to the office when you arrive. Volunteers must be cleared by the district. (A valid TB test, fingerprints on file, & proof of vaccination.)
Please consider volunteering by signing up on the Konstella link ...if it is full and you are cleared to volunteer and want to come help...JUST COME ON BY!
THANK YOU!!!
Drop off & pick up safety guidelines: 🏫
Dear Valhalla famlies,
Thank you for following all of our safety procedures at Valhalla. There are two options to . drop-off and pick up your students. You can park in the neighborhood and walk together up to the blacktop or stay in your vehicle and utlize the traffic circle where Mr. Ken and Miss Pappas will be there to help. Here are some reminders to review:
Please do not turn left from Kiki Dr. into Valhalla's parking lot. Only school busses are allowed to turn left into the parking lot, due to safety issues such as children crossing the street. You're also cutting in front of families who have been patiently waiting in the car line to pick up their students.
Please do not turn left out of our parking lot. Again, we have children and families using our crosswalk and it can be very dangerous. Our top priority is the safety of our students and families. Please turn right ONLY out of our parking lot.
Please do not park in our staff parking lot (it is for staff only). Please park on the street when you drop off or pick up your child. Every single staff space is assigned to a staff member and used during the school year.
Please do not walk through the parking lot. We have staff cars and busses moving through the parking lot and it is a big safety concern to be walking through our parking lot. Please instead use our walkways.
You can walk your student to their spot on the blacktop in the morning. You are welcome to stay through the pledge of allegiance on the blacktop in the back. Once the pledge is over, we ask that you quickly leave campus so we can get our students focused and ready for the day.
You can come and pick up your child from their classroom after school, however, please do not come onto campus until 2:40pm (M/T/Th/F) and 12:55pm (Wednesday) as to not distract from learning.
We thank you for your cooperation - our students' safety is our top priority!
August 19 - Fall Picture Day 📸
Save the date: Back to School Night!
Wednesday, August 24, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
6-6:30 grades TK, K, 1 & 2
6:35-6:55 Principal Pappas in Thor Hall
7-7:30 grades 3, 4 & 5
August Calendar
9 - All In One
9 - Dine & donate @ Jack's PH!
11 - First Day of School
18 - Water Assembly - 8:15am (Tk-2), 9am (3-5)
19 - Fall Picture Day
24 - Back to School Night 6:00pm - 7:30pm!
VPFA Corner:
*VPFA Fundraising:
- General Fund - click here for more info & to donate! 💰
- See's Candy - click here for more info & to purchase! 🍫
A Note from VPFA President, Tiffany O’Sullivan
Dear Valhalla Families,
Welcome back Vikings! I hope your summer has been restful – let’s get ready for an exciting year at Valhalla! On Tuesday, we will be holding All-in-One which will be your chance to learn more about what VPFA does, make your contributions, buy some spirit wear, and find out your students’ teachers for this year.
The VPFA board is working hard to make sure we hold all of our awesome events this year, but we need your help. In the coming weeks, open positions and committees will be posted in Konstella so please take a look and sign up where you can help out. The teachers, staff, students and families are what make Valhalla great and we all have to do our part.
Our first VPFA meeting will be September 14 at 6:30pm in the library. You are automatically a member of VPFA (Valhalla Parent Faculty Association) just by having a student at Valhalla. While no membership dues are required, your attendance at meetings is incredibly helpful so you can be informed and help us decide the direction of our organization and how we affect the school.
I encourage you to stay informed and there are several ways to do so:
Attend VPFA meetings
Join the Valhalla Facebook Group - www.facebook.com/groups/VPFA.PH
Join the grade level Facebook for your children
Install Konstella on your phone and look out for Konstella emails
Read the Pride from Ms. Pappas
Read ParentSquare communications
If you have any questions about VPFA, what we do or how you can get involved, I encourage you to check out our website at www.valhallavpfa.com . There you can find loads of information as well as contact info for all board members. I am always available as well at vpfapresident@gmail.com .
Thank you,
Tiffany O’Sullivan
VPFA President
Friday treats for Valhalla's staff! 🥯🍩🧀🍪☕🥪🍕
Let's show our teachers and staff how much we appreciate them by bringing treats every Friday. Please sign up for a slot to bring a treat for the staff to the teacher's lounge on a Friday morning.
We have approximately 40 staff members. Click here to sign up! Thank you!
5th Grade Outdoor Ed: ⛺🥾
Outdoor Ed is an immersive science and nature experience for 5th grade students. They spend 3 nights and 4 days in nature and learning about life science and biology. This year the dates are March 20th - March 23rd.
- click here for more info about Walker Creek Ranch! 🌞
- click here to donate! 🏕
- click here for FAQ! ❓
Thank you for helping us get all of our 5th graders to camp this year!
From MDUSD:
* Covid 19 info
*Breakfast & lunch info & menus
MDUSD to host free 2022-23 Parent Conference on Saturday, Aug. 13th!
The Mt. Diablo Unified School District will host a free 2022-23 Parent Conference for families of students in grades TK through high school from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Loma Vista Adult Center, 1266 San Carlos Ave. in Concord.
For questions, please contact:
Mt. Diablo Adult Education Parent Education Office
Phone: (925) 685-7340 ext. 6720
Email: parented@mdusd.org
Attachments:
Parent Conference Flyer - English Parent Conference Flyer - Spanish
COVID-19 Information:
COVID RESPONSE INFORMATION can be found on our District Website HERE
MDUSD covid student guidelines click here.
Breakfast & lunch info: 2022-2023 MEALS AT NO CHARGE!
At Valhalla, breakfast will be served at morning recess. Lunch is served at lunch!
In order to secure our funding and support our LCFF, the Alternate Income Form needs to be filled out in the Aeries Student Information System, Homelink, under "Notifications and Messages".
Click here for MDUSD's Food and Nutrition Services Department.
Click here to learn more about California Universal Meals: This includes background, policy, provisions, webinars, resources, FAQs, and contacts regarding California’s Universal Meals Program.
Follow us on Twitter
Email: PappasT@mdusd.org
Website: https://ves-mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/
Location: 530 Kiki Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA, USA
Phone: (925)687-1700
Twitter: @VikingPridePH