Viking Pride - February 10, 2021
From Principal Pappas
A Note from Principal Pappas
I wish you all a safe and fun four day weekend! Please send us pictures of any of your festivities or outdoor fun to share in the yearbook or the next Pride at valhallaoffice@mdusd.org.
Love,
Miss Pappas
Lunar New Year~ The Year of the Ox, February 12th, 2021
Many Asian cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year! Celebrations are festive and tend to last from several days to a couple of weeks, with a theme associated with each day of the celebration. In Chinese traditions, this typically lasts 15 days culminating in the Lantern culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 26th, 2021. Other cultures celebrate over shorter time frames, such as 3 days in Vietnamese cultures.
The mythology: This is the year of the Ox. The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Ox was about to be the first to arrive, but Rat tricked Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox. Thus, Ox became the second animal.
Given its role in agriculture, the Ox is often associated with positive characteristics, such as hard work, honesty, strength, intelligence, diligence, persistence, and tolerance.
In the spirit of the Ox, by having patience and dedication as well as a desire to make progress, one can achieve life goals and cultivate strong personal relationships. It is this steady and powerful energy embodied in the ox that manages to get through even the most difficult of times.
Click here for a list to learn more and to participate in local/area events.
*Thank you Dr. Quy Tran for helping me with the narrative above and the list of resources and activities!*
Please send pictures of celebrating Lunar New Year to
Update from HR... Please welcome our new Secretary:
Rebecca Gibbs! Mrs. Gibbs is new to our district and comes very highly recommended! She made a strong impression with the interview team and we can't wait to have her here at Valhalla as our Attendance Secretary! We know that she will make a positive addition to our Valhalla Viking family! We are working with HR to bring here officially hopefully next week! 🤞🏻
Thank you VPFA hospitality! Jack's lunch was so delicious!
Thanks for popping by Schine Family!
We miss you!
Thank you for picking us VPFA!
Dine and support! 2-26 through 2-28 Another opportunity to support Valhalla while helping local business and enjoying delicious pizza! 🍕
Friday 02-26-21 thru Sunday 02-28-21
716 Contra Costa Blvd
Pleasant Hill
925-798-3355
Delivery or Take Out
Supporting our local schools with 20% from your total order!
*Offer excludes lunch/dinner specials or any other promotions, discounts or coupons*
Yes, you have seen the information below before! Thank you!
Black History Month 2-2021 Resources
BLACK HISTORY MONTH RESOURCE GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS AND FAMILIES
Click here to see video Martin Luther King Jr. Rap Song for Kids (grades 2-4)
CCCOE Resources for Black History Month
The Contra Costa Board of Education adopts resolutions throughout the year that recognizes a variety of cultures and calls for further education about the contributions of various populations. The Curriculum & Instruction team develops instructional materials to support those monthly resolutions. The materials are intended to provide resources and prompt discussions as part of the Social Justice Standards in elementary and secondary grade levels. Please click here for resources: February— Black History Month (PDF)
Click here for a Virtual Black Lives Matter Library with books that you can click on and are read to you. The topics include equity & activism, self-love and empowerment and these are also books in Spanish! Thank you to the VPFA Equity committee & Holbrook Language Academy (HOLA) for sharing this resource with us.
Click here for a list of 12 Exceptional Kid Lit Books to Read for Black History Month.
Here is the MDUSD Resolution on African American History Month:
Anti-Bias Anti-Racism (ABAR) Committee:
IN A WORLD WHERE YOU CAN BE ANYTHING.... BE KIND
Its random acts of kindness month: February 2021!
Check out our new Valhalla hoodies!
We've got spirit! How about you?
Get ready for Valentine's Day!
Sprit Days!
See you at Jacks on Tuesday, 2-16! 🍔🍰🍟🍝🍤🥗🥘
Pastries with Pappas
is the 2nd Friday of the month. (I moved it to the third Friday, due to the school holiday). Our next meeting is Friday, February 19 via Zoom. Hope to see you there to meet me, have questions or want a school update. I'll be live on zoom from 8-9am.
ID: 84754476410
Password: 53537299Ei
TK & K registration!
If your child was born between 9-2-2016 to 12-2-2016, you can register for TK!
We appreciate you sharing this information!
Please check out our school webpage and look under "2021-2022 KINDER REGISTRATION" and follow the step by step directions. Click here. Thank you!
SAVE THE DATE: Valhalla Read-a-thon March 31 to April 14!
In two months, we will launch the biggest fundraiser of the year:
The 2021 Valhalla READ-A-THON is sponsored by The Friends of the Pleasant Hill Library, from March 31 to April 14, 2020
It's an EPIC win win: READING as much as we can while RAISING MONEY for our school!
The Read-a-thon launch (exactly two months from now) will feature Pleasant Hill Library's storytime rock star, Senior Community Library Manager Patrick Remer.
Gift certificates donated by the Friends of the Pleasant Hill Library to the Friends Bookstore in downtown's Crescent Plaza will be awarded to top readers and top fundraisers. Everyone who participates will get a prize.
So start getting ready, Valhalla Viking families! You have TWO WHOLE MONTHS to dust off those reading glasses, make those book lists, and maybe start a safe book swap. You even have time to sign up for a free Contra Costa County library card where you can borrow up to 100 books at a time. The Read-a-thon is open to all students in all grades and students can participate even if they do not fundraise.
*More details (including a website with FAQs and forms) coming soon.*
LifeTouch Pictures
Friday, March 12, 2021 - 5th grade promotion pictures, 3-7pm in Thor Hall. You can choose to wear LifeTouch's cap and gown (steam sanitized between each use) or to wear your best clothes!
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 - Spring photos from 3-7pm in Thor Hall. This is a great time to get photos if you missed them during the Fall photo session or if you'd like new ones.
You are more than welcome to reach out to LifeTouch at: (800) 736-4753 or at https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch for live chat 24/7.
The office will update families as we find out more information. Thank you for your patience and flexibility! 📸
February Calendar
11 - Celebrating Valentine's Day & Valentine Spirit Day! 💕
12 - No School
14 - Valentine's Day 💘
15 - President's Day No School
16 - Dine and Donate at Jacks! 🍔
17 - VPFA 6-7 pm via zoom, info to follow
19 - Pastries with Pappas
22 - SSC Meeting at 3 pm
MDUSD Library Resources
Our MDUSD Librarians worked hard to gather resources and launched a website with resources and information for our families. Check it out HERE.
Photos needed for yearbook! 📔
Dear Valhalla Families,
I am so excited to be working on this year's yearbook but more than ever...I need your help! Could you please send pictures of your Valhalla Viking? Right now I am looking for pictures of students:
1- Doing distance learning
2- Enjoying the outdoors
Please send pictures to valhallayearbook@mdusd.org
Please see the attached flyer to order your yearbook and customize two pages for your child.
Thank you so much,
Tamara Robinett
Yearbooks with TreeRing
We are excited to start our new partnership this school year with TreeRing. With each yearbook purchase they donate a tree. You can also create two custom pages, free of charge, per child.
Tamara Robinett will be in charge of the yearbook this year. Please send any photos of your student that you would like to be considered for the yearbook to: valhallayearbook@mdusd.org and please put "Yearbook" in the subject line. Please also include your students name and their current teacher.
This will be a year to remember!
ORDER HERE:
All Children 18 and Younger Can Now Get FREE Meals!
ALL children 18 and under can get FREE meals! Including meals for the weekend. MDUSD wants to make sure all families are fed during this uncertain time. You drive up, tell them the number of children (no questions asked) and they give you the meals needed.
Want to see the weekly menu? Click here and then check out the right hand side column for the menu.
DUE TO THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS - SCHEDULES MAY HAVE CHANGED, PLEASE CLICK HERE
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