September Newsletter 2020
Valley View Elementary School
From Principal Kuhlman
Valley View Families,
I would like to sincerely thank you for your patience and flexibility as we figure out the start of this very abnormal school year. Life as we know it has dramatically changed since the pandemic started. We are caught in the middle of living our lives as best we can and battling to prevent the spread of COVID. This struggle has affected all aspects of our lives, including school. We are constantly analyzing how best to support you and your child in learning, while also keeping everyone as safe as possible. Our highest priority is to keep you and your child safe. That being said, we are going to start the year in “Heights at Home.”
Heights at Home is a new improved version of distance learning. We listened to feedback from parents, and then implemented a new model during summer school to arrive at Heights at Home. Learning will be more “live.” Students will be expected to be online and zooming with their teacher at 8:30 every morning. Teachers will then transition over to a prerecorded lesson or live lesson to instruct students in either math or literacy in the morning and afternoon. Your student’s classroom teacher will be teaching 4 days a week, with gym, music and art providing instruction the fifth day.
In order to make this happen, Columbia Heights had made the decision to provide every student with a school issued Chromebook to use at home for the 2020-21 school year. About 100 devices are on back order until the end of September, so Columbia Heights Public Schools will be issuing devices to PreK 4, Kindergarten and Grade 1 on an as needed basis (only take a device now if you don’t have a home device for your child to use). As soon as the devices arrive at school we will contact families who did not get a school device for pick up.
Instead of a whole school in-person open house, classroom teachers reached out to families to schedule a time during the week of September 8-11 to pick up supplies and to participate in a 30-minute orientation session. Teachers will meet with students and parents to give them their device, demonstrate how to connect to Seesaw and the internet as well as answer any technology questions. We will also be showing students how to access our online FAST assessment to take benchmark assessments in Math and Reading. All students will be required to take these assessments in the first two weeks of school. Students will be receiving all the supplies they need to begin learning from home and, as in other years, we are requesting a $20 donation per student for supplies.
All family members attending the orientation session must wear masks and socially distance. Please limit family members to a parent and student of Valley View. It is important you arrive on time to limit the number of people during the handout. We are stressing to families to attend to begin fostering the relationships between families and teachers. We know these relationships are the foundation for student success. To continue building these relationships, there is a virtual open house for families to visit on the school website.
Thank you,
Jason Kuhlman
Hopes & Dreams
Talk with your student to see what they are interested in working on. Parents and families can also set a hope and dream for their children. Valley View will be teaching and encouraging students to have a growth mindset as they learn. A growth mindset is one where people believe that their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Growth mindsets are important to have when working towards a goal. Check-in with your students throughout the school year and see how they are progressing towards their hopes and dreams, along with any other goals they have. If they have reached them, help them set new, more challenging goals to work towards!
Check out Valley View's staff hopes and dreams in the video below!
Seesaw
School Supplies
Technology & Internet Use Agreement
PTO Information
Welcome to the Valley View Elementary School Community! Whether we are welcoming you back or this is your first time at Valley View, we are glad that you are here, and we’d like to tell you a little bit about the Valley View Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO).
The PTO consists of teachers and parents, guardians, and families of students enrolled at Valley View. Everyone who cares for a child at Valley View is welcome to join! The PTO is one way that parents and families can learn more about students’ education and build a strong school community, through fundraising, advocacy, and educational/social activities. With distance and uncertainty impacting us all this year, the PTO is committed to serving as a point of support and community throughout this unprecedented time. We welcome a diversity of perspectives and experiences - the more family involvement we have in PTO, the stronger our school community. Join the PTO mailing list here.
PTO meets once a month - for now, we are meeting virtually through Zoom. Our first meeting will be held on Thursday, September 10th at 6:00 p.m., and we invite you to join us. We are holding officer elections at this meeting - get more information about running for a position here.
Columbia Heights Recreation Department
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