Dear Falcon Families,

Welcome to March! Despite the wacky weather, spring is coming soon. This month brings the gift of four solid weeks of learning with limited interruptions. This is the start of the growing season for many of our kids. All of the seeds we've planted are germinating and beginning to sprout. Students that once struggled to read are reading fluently. Students that once struggled with math facts are now able to share a deeper understanding beyond the standard algorithm. Students that may have struggled to manage big emotions are becoming self-managers. It is an incredibly exciting time. In addition to the celebrations you will read about in the newsletter, we are looking forward to celebrating the growth our students are making at the upcoming Falcon Top 10 assemblies and Spring Conferences.

We appreciate your continued support. Make it a great day to be a Falcon!

Wade Jerdee, Assistant Principal & Adam Uhler, Principal

Spring conferences are quickly approaching. While we would like to meet with each and every family; however, we only have two half-days on March 28 and 29 to hold conferences. Teachers will request a conference with families that are new to VFE, or if their student is experiencing learning challenges and may not meet the end-of-year standards. Teachers will notify families that they need to conference with them on Friday, March 10. Families may also request a conference. The purpose of the conference is to build connections and partnerships that will help us ensure the learning of each student. Students are encouraged to attend their conference. We look forward to connecting with you about your student!

Like in the fall, Spring Conferences will be held in person at our campus on the afternoon of March 28 and 29. We realize that many parents and guardians may still be at work and Zoom conferences are available upon request. Report cards will be sent home with your student on Friday, March 23. Families that receive a request to conference with their child's teacher will be contacted by Candi to schedule their conference.

Registration is open for winter READY! for Kindergarten sessions! See below for the session dates or visit sumnersd.org/ready.

READY! for Kindergarten is a free program that offers age-appropriate targets, training and tools for parents and caregivers of children birth to age five that ensure success in school.

Register here: www.readyforkindergarten.org/sumner

If you would like to order pictures ahead of time, you can order through the Dorian website. Paper order forms will be sent home by Wednesday 3/8.

Please call the office if you have questions 253-891-4700.

March is always an exciting time at school. Students are flourishing and the sun is often out more. Which can also lead to a lot of excitement. We continue to support students making great choices- and in March, we have scheduled activities to really highlight those choices and being students of character. You should be hearing about Falcon Ticket challenges, Character Book Competitions, a Hot Spots Tournament for our older students and you will have a chance to talk about and share your ideas on what it means to be Safe, Respectful and Responsible at school. We will have a drawing and the winning families will win board games. Watch our Twitter and Facebook pages for opportunities to enter.

Check out our newest jam session with Mr. Payne! Officer Wolschleger joined our practice this week.

We are excited to announce a new partnership with Right At School, a nationally-recognized school enrichment provider for before- and after-school care for elementary-aged students at all of our elementary schools and the Sumner Early Learning Center starting with the 2023-24 school year.

About Right at School

Right at School provides families flexibility in enrollment options and a comprehensive enrichment curriculum to keep students engaged while they participate. Students will have a healthy snack, engage in dynamic fitness activities, student-driven projects, team building, leadership development, and have the opportunity to complete homework assignments.

Program highlights:

• Open from 6:30 am to 6 pm

• Flexible schedules and pricing options

• Tuition discounts available

• Childcare available during breaks, non-school days, and summer

Please visit Right at School’s SBLSD website for more information, including program offerings, curriculum, registration and billing, electives, camps and more.

Parent Information Night

You are invited to attend a virtual Parent Information Night hosted by Right at School to learn more about the program and to have your questions answered. The meeting will be recorded for those who are unable to attend.

• Date: Tuesday, Feb. 28

• Time: 6-7 pm

• Location: Via Zoom

  • Meeting link

  • Meeting ID: 885 2484 5162

  • Passcode: 7pa2Bm

One of the greatest joys of being a building leader nurturing and growing other leaders so they can make a greater impact at VFE and beyond. It is with this in mind that we wish Mr. Jerdee well as he embarks on his next leadership journey as the Assistant Principal at Crestwood Elementary starting July 1. Mr. Jerdee is excited about this opportunity and he is committed to continuing to make a positive impact at VFE for the remainder of the 22-23 school year. Please join the entire Blue Crew in thanking Mr. Jerdee for his tremendous work to build and sustain a positive learning environment for all Falcons.

Thank you for all you are doing to ensure your students are here, ready to learn and thrive. March begins the “Be Healthy, Be at School” campaign. We will be focusing on healthy habits in the classroom so that we can be at school and learning. We know that students who miss more than 10% of a school year (18 days total) are at risk of losing ground academically, as well as socially/emotionally. At the end of the month, the healthiest grade level will have a celebration. Then, in April, we will have the “Attendance Cup” where the healthiest elementary will be awarded the coveted Attendance Cup. Last week, 85% of our students did not miss any school. If we can keep that up, our students will continue to thrive socially and emotionally, and we will get to celebrate with a trophy.

One of the great parts of our location is that we are set within a neighborhood. But, for those commuting to campus by car and our neighbors living on 188th, our location and traffic create real challenges. Recently, we've experienced an increase in concerns from our neighbors on 188th and those driving on Rhoades Lake Road during dismissal. While we cannot control that we only have one egress, we can do some things to help our neighbors.

• We can be mindful of where we park while we wait. Please keep all driveways clear on 188th. Our neighbors need to be able to safely exit their driveways at all times.
• With over 280 families with car tags, we need to arrive in stages during dismissal. Please arrive on campus no earlier than your group's scheduled time.
• Tags 0-90 arrive on campus 2:50-3:10 pm
• Tags 91-181 arrive on campus at 3:15 pm
• Tags 181+ arrive on campus at 3:20 pm

We appreciate your support and effort to be a respectful neighbor.

We are fortunate to be part of an active and engaged community. Many of our neighbors actively support VFE, even when they no longer have children here. However, recently, we are experiencing some challenges and we are reaching out to our families that pick up their children at our back gate for help. A few of our neighbors in Fennel Ridge have shared ongoing concerns and have asked for help. We know you will agree the following requests are reasonable and we can and should make a commitment to meeting them. And, we know that many of you are consistently meeting these requests already.

• Please keep all driveways clear. Our neighbors need to be able to safely exit their driveways at all times.
• Please park in areas that are conventionally accepted as appropriate parking areas. This means that we will not park in front of fire hydrants, driveways, or too close to intersections and corners.
• Please follow the speed limit and drive even slower when in a congested area.

We appreciate your efforts to be respectful neighbors.

Victor Falls Elementary PTO’s spring fundraiser with Otis Spunkmeyer kicks off this Friday, March 3rd. Our goal is to raise $15,000.00 to finish the purchase of modern band instruments and start playground upgrades. Students will come home with information packets at the end of the week.

We are asking parents to pre-register their student(s) here:https://www.shopfund.com/parentregister Any student that is registered and gets 10 shares clicked will be entered into a drawing for over $100,000 worth of prizes from the Believe Kids Fundraising Group. Students will also receive small prizes for items sold over the next few weeks at lunch.

Our fundraiser will end Monday, March 20th. Frozen products ordered and student prizes for items sold will be picked up at school Friday, April 28th. Our limo ride and pizza lunch for grand prize earners will be that Friday as well.

Some of our students rewrote the lyrics of "We Will Rock You" to talk about selling cookies to kick off our Cookie Fundraiser. Check out the YouTube link below to see it.

https://youtu.be/dHixZOxS0d8

Thank you so much for your support!

Thank you to all the parents who donate items to the Staff Appreciation Days planned by the PTO! They couldn't plan such elaborate and fun staff appreciation meals without the help of our parents! We appreciate you!

Spring Scholastic Book Fair is coming up! The book fair will be open from 3/27-3/31 in the VFE Library.

Here are the hours that the book fair will be open:

Monday: 10-3

Tuesday (Early Release Day): 12-4

Wednesday (Early Release Day): 12-4

Thursday: 9-3

Friday: 11-1

The PTO is asking for volunteers to help during the book fair. Please use the link below to sign up.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094EABA62CA1F49-vfebook

Parent contact information while on vacation- If you are heading out of town and your students are staying with someone else, please send an email to the office staff. Please include the name of the adult, their contact information, and the dates that your student is in the care of another adult. This is important information for the school to know incase of an emergency.

Please send an email to any of the following: candi_vaughan@sumnersd.org, vanessa_wiest@sumnersd.org, luciana_roorda@sumnersd.org.

We have resources to help families in need. Would a weekend food bag, clothing, or meal support during the holidays for your student be helpful? Please send an email to the school counselor at courtney_arbaugh@sumnersd.org to assist you with getting support.

Please check our website for updates.

For other key dates, check your mailbox soon for the 2022-23 school year calendar.

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