Valley Middle School
January Newsletter
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL
Happy New Year! I hope your holiday happenings were joyful for you and your family and friends.
We are embarking on the half-way point of the school year. Wednesday, January 15 marks the end of the 2nd quarter and 1st semester. Grades will be submitted the first part of the following week and report cards will go home. Please take a good look at your child’s grades to date. Though we know the school experience is not all captured in grades, it does paint a picture of the engagement of your child in his/her learning.
The bitterness of winter will be upon us now. Please help your child prepare for this weather. We see far to many students arriving underdressed for the weather. If warm weather supplies are a difficulty for your family, please contact Dawn Kriewald, our school social worker. She has resources ready and available for support in this regard.
Planning for next year has begun and will ratchet up in the coming months. 8th Graders will be registering for classes at the high school very soon. Please support your child and get involved in this process to increase the chances for a positive experience as our students transition to the high school.
The 2nd half of the school year is filled with testing. In the next few weeks we will be doing our 2nd round of STAR testing. It is so important that students take these tests seriously. The data gleaned from these tests helps place students in classes where they are properly supported, measures our growth/gain from the beginning of the year, and informs us as to the success of programming we have put in place. Mid year adjustments are doable, but our data has to be as accurate as possible. Serious test taking by students is the first step.
In this newsletter you will see information regarding after school pick up of students. This is critically important. Please take a good look. Additionally, traffic around Valley after school is a nightmare. We are aware. Roads have narrowed with the snow. Our first priority is getting our busses here, loaded, and on their way. Parking, for any length of time, in front of the school on the north side of the road is not allowed. Adherence to the “no parking here to corner” signs is also so important. When cars park in those areas is does not allow busses nor cars to make turns on to adjacent streets. Our School Resource Officer is monitoring these things as best as he can.
Cell phones continue to be a major distraction and issue for us. Students are using them at the wrong time and for the wrong purpose. As a staff we are looking at our policy/practice. Changes are very likely forthcoming. We will communicate any changes in a timely manner. Your support in stressing the appropriate, proper, and mature use of cell phones will lend us a significant hand in tackling this issue.
The huge majority of our kids have had a great first semester. Our hope is that more students can experience that in the 2nd semester.
Regards,
Todd Selk
Attendance Line
A message from our SRO
Parents,
I am writing this to address some of the parking issues that surround our school during the day, especially during dismissal and arrival.
First, on the 5th Avenue side of the school there is a small parking loop, easily recognizable as it is where my car is usually parked. In this loop there are two handicap spots, with a no parking area in between them. Please abide by all of these signs, and do not park in them if you do not have a valid placard. Also, please do not block any of these handicapped spots by parking along that curb in the loop. I fully understand you are only planning to be there for a few minutes, but it is not a legal place for many of you to park, and it is causing problems for people who actually have a valid need for these spots. It is a one hundred dollar fine to park in, or block, a handicapped spot, and I don’t want to start writing those tickets. However, if the problem continues I won’t have a choice.
Second, please be aware of the “No Parking Here to Corner” signs in the intersections of 5th Avenue N and both N 21st Street and N 20th Street These are there to give our busses room to enter, and exit, the area in front of the building when picking up, or dropping off, students. Cars parked in these areas prevent the busses from being able to do so, and are causing traffic issues in the intersection.
I know the roads, and traffic ways, around our school add many complications to what should be an easy drop off, or pickup at the end of the day, but we work with what we have. Please help us make these busy times of day run more smoothly and efficiently. As a side bonus, abiding by these rules may save you a couple of dollars if I do have to get out the ticket book.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.
Jordan Drees
School Resource Officer
Valley Middle School
After School Dismissal
Valley Families:
This message is to bring your attention to a matter than has become an issue here at Valley Middle School. The issue is after school transportation home for our students.
Some background.
In the afternoon, school ends at 3:30 p.m. sharp every day and students are dismissed at that time. The staff work day ends at 4:00 p.m. Most staff will leave then or shortly thereafter. Many, many parents/guardians are here from 3:30-3:45 p.m. daily to pick up their child. Thank you. Our busses arrive around 3:30 p.m. as well for students to load and depart our school around 3:45 p.m.
By 3:45 p.m. most students have been picked up and the busses have departed from the school. This works well for the vast majority of our students. But, we have some students/families where this isn’t working.
Often times students remain at school well after 4:00 p.m. waiting for rides. Some students have been here as late as 5:30 p.m. waiting. Very simply, we do not have the manpower to supervise students after 4:00 p.m.
Effective immediately the following protocol/procedure will be enforced:
1. By 4:00 p.m. students are to have cleared the building and departed for home either by bus, walking, or parent/guardian pick up.
2. If not gone by 4:00 p.m. students will be expected to be either with a teacher, in an after school activity supervised by a coach or advisor, or in our ENCORE program. Students will not be allowed to simply wait by the front door for a parent/guardian/family member to pick them up.
What is ENCORE: this is a purposeful after school program sponsored and supported by the school district to assist families that need care for their child beyond the school day. It is supervised with planned programming, including an afternoon snack. Cost is minimal. See attached document for registration procedure.
We appreciate your attention to this matter. For most of you this is a non-factor, but for some families we will need you to address this matter from your family’s perspective and work a plan that meets your needs while also falling inside the parameters set forth by the school.
Regards,
Todd Selk
Eagles Update
Technology Education - We are ending the year and starting a new one. The semester ends January 15th and I, Mr. Stempinski, will be ending my year with the Eagles and switching to the Mustangs team. We are wrapping up the semester with Robotics, some classes decided on Car Soccer and others Balloon Battle, it is an exciting way to end the semester. The incoming Mustangs will start with the Design Process and measuring/using Standard and Metric measurement.
English - We are working on our argumentative papers. We are focusing on finding credible evidence, and incorporating it into our writing to support our claims.
Earth Science - We will be exploring how the water cycle works within Earth's atmosphere and how energy transfer and gravity drive the process.
US History - We are studying the US Constitution and the branches of the Federal government. We are discussing checks and balances and the different rules/limitations placed on the government.
Pre-Algebra - We just finished a unit on proportional relationships and writing equations for graphs. We are using that information to transition into FUNctions. We are going to examine functions and where we see functions in real life. We will finish this up by interpreting graphs into real-life situations and vice versa.
Geometry - We are testing to determine who will represent Valley at the Math Counts Competition! This is an exciting time! Once we finish those up, we are going to go back into properties of triangles. Along with that, we will continue to work on our critical thinking skills by writing proofs.
Wolf Pack Report
As our first semester comes to a close, we have a few announcements, changes, and exciting happenings to reflect on!
Right before we went on winter break, the Wolves participated in a full day of service and fun. During RT, we had a team wide dodgeball tournament (which both adults and students alike enjoyed). During the morning session, students were able to choose from baking goodies to bring to houses in the neighborhood, going to West Elementary to read to students and help them with their last day activities, creating vinyl decals, or relaxing and watching a movie. Then in the afternoon, the Wolves went to Red Ray to do some bowling! And WOW, are there some excellent bowlers on our team!
Considering our first semester (and the second quarter) ends on January 15th, the Wolves will be finishing up Literature with a unit on The Outsiders, which is always a favorite, and moving onto World Languages! This may be a helpful reminder to your students as they wrap up the quarter.
Wolfridge Info!
The date of our annual trip to Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center is fast approaching! Our students have been working very hard the past 2 years to raise funds for this week of education and adventure. A few details to keep in mind for this year’s trip:
Cost: $275 per student
Dates: March 30-April 3, 2020
Eligibility: Students’ citizenship grades will determine eligibility. Within the last 6 weeks preceding the trip, if your student is ineligible due to citizenship 3 times, he or she will not be able to attend.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to take this trip. Our students get to experience beautiful Lake Superior, embark on night hikes, learn the skills of orienteering and winter survival, defy gravity on a 35’ high ropes course, scale rock walls, and many other activities! For many, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and is a wonderful, exciting week among peers and friends. For more information, check out https://wolf-ridge.org or contact Mrs. Rokke at crokke110@mygfschools.org or Ms. Rogne at krogne300@mygfschools.org. More details (packing lists, student fundraising dollars, informational meetings, etc.) are forthcoming.
Science Fair
The local science fair will be held at Valley on Wednesday, January 29. This event will take place in the small gym and will be open to the public from 2:40-3:00pm. All of the 7th and 8th grade enriched science students are participating. Future dates to be aware of: Tuesday, March 17 is the Northeast North Dakota Regional Science Fair at UND and the ND State Fair will be held at UND from April 2-3.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Mrs. Rokke at crokke110@mygfschools.org.
Student Leadership
Counseling Corner
The Valley Middle School Counseling Department recently completed 8th grade career/high school transition conferences. This involved meeting with every 8th grade student, which Valley MS currently has 214 8th graders enrolled in school. During these meetings, the counselors go over information regarding career decision. To guide this conversation, counselors referred to results from an interest inventory that students took during 7th grade. The students also received guidance on the high school transition process with counselors highlighting key differences in high school academics versus middle school. These conferences are district mandated, and meet the state requirement for middle school students to receive a one on one conference with their school counselor.
In addition, the VMS Counseling Department recently conducted their first Advisory Council meeting. This was done to get feedback on how the VMS Counseling Department operates, as well report out on some data and goals that we have set as a department. We invited a variety of stakeholders, including Jacqueline Hoffarth, a GF School Board member, who is also a parent of two our our very own Royals. Janean Skajem, a partnership case manager from Northeast Human Services, also was in attendance. They, along with Mr. Selk, Mrs. Crocker, Mrs. Kriewald, and Mrs. Weston, provided great feedback on ideas that will be beneficial to help our VMS Counseling Department better serve our students.
Royal Activity Day (RAD)
Musical Auditions
Last Chance for Yearbooks!
Now is your last chance to order your 2019-2020 Valley Yearbook! All orders are due by January 31st. You can order your yearbook online at jostensyearbooks.com, or you can bring a check or cash to Miss Westrum in room 1. Yearbooks cost $18. Checks can be made payable to Grand Forks Public Schools.
Orchestra News
Sources of Strength (SOS)
January is Healthy Activities month! To start the new year off, Sources of Strength is sponsoring a number of healthy activities to get students moving, thinking, and independent from electronics.
THROWBACK THURSDAYS:
On Thursdays, students will have the opportunity to learn and play traditional card games while they socialize with peers and work on communication skills.
If you would like a deck of cards to have in your home, please email aweston210@mygfschools.org. We would be happy to send one home with your student!
We are fortunate to have Tiffany Johnson from Blue Cat Yoga coming to Valley on Friday mornings this month to introduce students to the healing and therapeutic value that Yoga can provide. Participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis. If your student is interested, please have them pick up a registration form in Room 101.
Dodge, duck, dip, dive, dodge! Students will get to participate in a school-wide dodgeball tournament this month. Registration forms are due on Monday, January 13th at 4pm. Rounds of games will be played on Thursday mornings, with a championship game held at a special assembly.
In Royal Time students will be discussing the power that the mind has over our physical health, and the power that a healthy body has to promote peace and happiness. If you would like to view the lesson that your student will be taught please let Mrs. Weston know.
Central Course Fair Flyer
Dates to Remember
- January 15 - End of Quarter 2
- January 20 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- January 23 - GF Central Course Fair / All City Orchestra Festival at Red River
- January 29 - Science Fair
Attachments
- Middle Years
- Dispute Resolution Policy
- Parent and Family Engagement Policy
- Written Notification of Interactive Dashboard