VAMS Panther Paws Newsletter
May 10, 2019
Calendar
- Friday, May 10 - 8th Grade Dance 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. in VAMS Cafeteria
- Saturday, May 11 - 7th & 8th Grade Band Six Flags Trip
- Monday, May 13 - 6th & 7th Math STAAR Test and 5th & 8th STAAR Math Retest - Closed Campus
- Tuesday, May 14 - 6th & 7th Reading STAAR Test and 5th & 8th Reading STAAR Retest - Closed Campus
- Wednesday, May 15 - MS/HS athletic girls physicals at ATC @ 5:00 p.m. (more information below)
- Wednesday, May 15 - 5th & 8th Grade Science STAAR Test - Closed Campus
- Wednesday, May 15 - 7th Grade Field Trip to Collin County Adventure Camp
- Thursday, May 16 - 8th Grade Social Studies STAAR Test - Closed Campus
- Friday, May 17 - 6th Grade Band Field Trip to Pinstack
- Friday, May 17 - Star Card Treat After School
- Friday, May 17 - Begin Collecting Library Books for end of year inventory
- Friday, May 17 - End of Year Student Dance - 5/6 dance 5:30-7:00 & 7/8 dance 7:30 - 9:30 - Admission $5.00
- Monday, May 20 - 8th Grade Chromebooks will be collected
- Monday, May 20 - 5th Grade Awards Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria
- Monday, May 20 - 6th Grade Awards Ceremony at 2:00 p.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria
- Tuesday, May 21 - 7th Grade Awards Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria
- Tuesday, May 21 - Star Card Fun Day for students who earned 3 out of 4 Star Cards this year. 5th & 6th grade in the morning and 7th & 8th grade in the afternoon
- Tuesday, May 21 - 8th Grade Awards Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria - ALL 8th grade students will be recognized during this ceremony
- Wednesday, May 22 - MS/HS athletic boys physicals at ATC @ 5:00 p.m. (more information below)
- Wednesday, May 22 - Teach Like A Pirate Day
- Thursday, May 23 - Kids vs. Coaches Basketball Game 12:00 - 1:00 in VAMS Gym
- Thursday, May 23 - Last Day of School - Report Cards Go Home and Early Release at 1:25 p.m. (Buses will run 2 hours early.)
- Friday, May 24 - VAISD Graduation at 7:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium
Dress Code of Student Dances
STAAR Parent Portal
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The results of the 5th and 8th grade Math and Reading STAAR assessments are available online. Results for all other STAAR tests will be available sometime around June 11. Follow these steps to access your child’s scores from a laptop or computer (not a phone or tablet):
1) Go to the Texas Assessment Management System (TAMS), which is available at www.texasassessment.com.
2) Click “Log in to Student Portal” OR
3) Click “Lookup Student Access Code” and enter your child’s first name only, social security number (in the PEIMS ID field), and birthday and then click “Go” to get the Access Code.
4) The Access Code can then be used to log in, with your student’s birthday, on the previous screen.
5) When you successfully log in, you will see all of your student’s test scores. You can click on any test to get a break down of how your student did in each area of the test, the number of questions they got correct, and the level of proficiency obtained.
6) You can obtain your student’s Confidential Student Reports (CSR) by clicking the “Download PDFs” button on the top right of the page.
If you have difficulty accessing this information or get an error and are unable to login for any reason (e.g., an incorrect or absent Social Security Number), please contact our office at 903-482-8804.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kelly Moore
Principal
Van Alstyne Middle School
CLOSED CAMPUS FOR STAAR TESTING
Cell Phone Policy
Students are allowed to bring cell phones to school. They are allowed to listen to music and play games on their cell phones before and after school. Students must keep cell phones out of sight and turned off (not on silent) during the school day. Please reinforce this rule with your child so they are well aware.
Also, please do not allow your child to call or text you from school using their cell phone for any reason, including to come pick them up when they do not feel well. Proper procedure is to report to our nurse, Nurse Wilson, and allow her to use her training to make that determination. Misuse will result in confiscation of the cell phone and the parent will be required to come pick up the phone. If the student continues to misuse their cell phone, the student will be required to check their cell phone into the office each morning.
End of Year Awards Programs
Please see the dates and times below.
Please know that EVERY 8th grade student will be recognized and walk across the stage during the 8th grade awards program ceremony.
VA Dinner Theater Presents: "Final Answers"
This year the Theater Arts Classes and the Culinary Arts classes have decided to have a Dinner Theater. We would love for you to have an opportunity to buy tickets before we sell out.
We have two shows scheduled: Friday, May 10th and Saturday, May 11th
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m.
We will be serving a 3-course Italian Menu during the show. Tickets are $20.00 a person and Mrs. Young in the front office at the high school has tickets for both nights. You must purchase the tickets by the end of the day Monday, May 6th so will can get the proper amount of food bought. You cannot buy tickets at the door for this event. Thank you for supporting our students.
immunizations - attention 6th grade parents
In 2009, the State of Texas began requiring specific immunizations for all 7th graders.
The immunizations that incoming 7th graders need are:
1. Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap): All students entering the seventh will be required to have a booster dose of Tdap only if it has been five years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine.
2. Varicella (Chicken Pox): All students entering the 7th grade will be required to have 2 doses of varicella vaccine. The 1st dose must be received on or after the 1st birthday.
3. Meningococcal Vaccine (Meningitis): All students entering 7th grade will be required to have one dose of meningococcal vaccine.
If your child has already had these immunizations, please send a copy of the immunization record from the health clinic or physician. It must include the month, day and year as well as validation by a physician or public health official.
*Immunization records must be received before schedules will be released for the 2019-2020 school year*
Immunizations are available from your family physician, the Grayson County Health Department 903.893.0131, 515 N. Walnut Sherman, Texas, Collin County Health Department 972.548.5000 N. McDonald St, Mckinney, Texas or local medical/rural health clinics. Please call the health department for hours and availability.
If you have a medical or religious reason that conflicts with these requirements, please contact the school nurse. Information on obtaining a conscious exemption can be found at the following website:
https://corequest.dshs.texas.gov/
Thank you,
Lorie Wilson, LVN
Van Alstyne Middle School
903-482-8878
All state requirements may be found at www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize
8th Graders Interested in The Bass Fishing Team
Kids Eat Free Summer Program
Dress Code Reminders
- No skin can show through holes in jeans. Leggings must be worn under jeans that have holes in them.
Shorts, skirts, and dresses must be no more than 2 ½” above the knee.
All outer garments must have sleeves (cap sleeves are permitted). “Spaghetti straps” or “tank tops” are not allowed. No see-through garments are allowed unless the undergarment beneath meets the school dress code. Shoulders must be covered.
Anything form-fitting, such as: spandex shorts, bicycle shorts, tights, leggings, yoga pants, and leotards may only be worn under shorts or skirts that meet the school dress code.
Athlete Physicals
Physicals will be held at the ATC on the following dates for $10 each:
MS/HS athletic girls on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 5:00 pm
MS/HS athletic boys on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 5:00 pm
Summer Performance Course for Middle School & High School Athletes
Performance Course (PC) is an opportunity for summer strength and conditioning courses that will be taking place at Van Alstyne High School this summer. This program was developed by PC in partnership with Van Alstyne ISD Athletics to offer athletes the opportunity to develop both physically and mentally.
PC takes a goal-oriented approach to develop speed, agility, mobility, functional strength and power. Performance nutrition, character development, mental preparation, and goal setting techniques are also included in the curriculum to develop the whole athlete. See the flyers below for more information on specific times, dates, prices, and locations.
The courses will take place four days a week for 6 weeks and will begin in June.
We want to ensure all athletes have the opportunity to participate. To receive more information from PC, please fill out this link: www.tinyurl.com/vanalstynePC
Online registration & course details also available at https://www.performancecourse.com/school-district/van-alstyne-isd
For more information about Performance Course please visit www.performancecourse.com
If you have any questions or need help with registration, please contact jclark@performancecourse.com and we will be glad to assist you. We hope your child has the opportunity to participate!
VASA Sports
Cafeteria Charges
Please know that beginning May 1st, money must be in your's child's cafeteria account for a meal to be purchased. Meals cannot be sold on accounts with insufficient funds. You can check the balance of your child's account and make deposits through the My School Bucks system. Please click HERE to access My School Bucks.
STARRY Counseling Services
My name is Tara Willson, and I am the current STARRY counselor for Grayson, Cooke, and Fannin counties. STARRY offers FREE professional counseling for children, individuals, and families. No insurance is required, and there are no income limits for our clients. We accept children from 6 years old through graduation from high school, and provide both individual and family counseling. We work with families with a variety of needs, including but are not limited to: bullying, parenting, childhood depression, anxiety, grief, school challenges, Trauma-Informed Care, & ADHD.
We are also available to lead parent training and guidance classes or to implement school and community training about mental health subjects.
As the school year comes to a close, you may find yourself thinking about students that may need mental health support over the summer months. If you know of a student or a family in need of our services, please have the child’s parent or legal guardian call our regional office in McKinney at (469)617-7476 to schedule an intake. Intakes and regular office visits are available in Sherman and Bonham, and will be available in Gainesville in May 2019. Most intakes are scheduled within 7 business days. Also, if you have any questions regarding our service, feel free to call me at 903-965-3242 so I can help you in any way I can.
Please let us know what we can do to help you, your school, or your community!
Sincerely,
Tara Willson, M.A., LPC Intern | Star Counselor
Supervised by Paul Jurek, PhD, LPC-S, LMFT-S
STARRY 2150 S. Central Expressway | Suite 160 | McKinney, Tx 75072
Additional Locations in Sherman, Bonham, Gainesville
Phone (469) 617-7476 ext. 8417 | Fax (469) 617-7479
Parent Portal Resource
As our district grows, our goal is to allow parents to be as connected as they can be. Parent Portal is one a wonderful resource for parents. Click the link below to access a Parent Portal assistance page. It has videos and a pdf overview of Parent Portal.
Attendance
Please know that family vacations, out-of-town activities, and non-school related activities/competitions will be documented as unexcused absences. If your child is absent, please send a doctor's note to school within 3 days of the absence. Notes sent after the 3-day window may not be accepted, therefore, your child's absence will be documented as unexcused. If you have questions or concerns about attendance, please contact Glynn Smith at 903-482-8804 or gsmith@vanalstyneisd.org.
CAFETERIA MENUS
Volunteer Approval Form
Click the button below to access the Volunteer Approval Form. We appreciate our volunteers!
Van Alstyne Middle School
Website: www.ms.vanalstyneisd.org
Location: 1314 N. Waco Van Alstyne, TX
Phone: 903-482-8804
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/VanAlstyneMiddleSchool
Twitter: @vamiddleschool