Upcoming Events
Tuesday, October 6 - 6:30 pm Virtual Principal Tea
Thursday, October 8 - 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 pm 2nd Grade Class Meetings
Friday, October 9 - No School, In-Service Day
Tuesday, October 13 - 5:30 Virtual Principal Tea (link to be provided)
Wednesday, October 14 - 5:30-6:30pm Virtual Parent Council Meeting (link to be provided)
Wednesday, October 14 - 5:30-6:30pm Grade 4 Class Meeting
Thursday and Friday, October 29th and 30th - No School, Parent Conferences
Principal Tea will take place every Tuesday at 6:30 pm with a Zoom link to be provided!
2020/2021 Calendar
Please check the full calendar for the dates for future events.
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Today we began our third week of Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL). All things considered, it is going well. Our teachers and staff are committed to making this as successful as we can for the students. Please continue to keep an open line of communication with your classroom teacher and the school office. We are here to assist in all ways possible.
Our school community must continue to keep our guard up to protect one another from the spread of COVID-19. According to the Lane County Department of Health, weekly cases have increased by 700% since mid-August. The positivity rate of testing has increased from 5.2% to 7.1%. Most recently it is important to note the population range with the greatest increase in cases are in the range of 11 to 20 and 21 to 30 years of age. Link Here to LCDH
Our Parent Council is committed to doing its part to build and maintain a healthy school community. The work of the Parent Council is especially important during this time of CDL and recurring Zoom meetings. The next parent council meeting is scheduled for October 14, 5:30 to 7:00 PM. It is a Zoom meeting and I hope you will be able to attend. All parents are encouraged to attend and contribute your ideas.
Working together we can care for one another and keep our community safe and strong.
Sincerely,
Bob Kaminski
Principal
Principal's Tea!
Chat with Bob Kaminski about upcoming news, how children are doing with their learning and get to know the community at the school!
Zoom Link:
Ms. Shannon's Fourth Grade Class
Last week the 4th graders completed an autobiography project. The project included writing, collage art, and a presentation to their classmates. It was a great way to get to know each other!
4th graders Luca, Leah and Hazel share their stories with classmates by making collages.
Parent Council
Parent Council will be having our second meeting of the school year on Wednesday, October 14. Please send questions and ideas about the current school year and how we can support our school community to parentcouncil@eugenevillageschool.org.
The notes from our last meeting can be found here.
Our focus for the October 14th meeting will be 3 points:
1. How to build community and engagement through CDL time.
2. The mental health of our middle schoolers.
3. Examining the needs of the elementary grades.
Every Village School parent and guardian is a part of Parent Council - you do not have to be a class representative to attend meetings or to contribute ideas. Every parent is invited to Parent Council meetings when they occur. We hope you will soon be able to come meet with other caring and committed parents who want to share ideas, build our school community, and contribute to the vitality, growth, and evolution of OUR VILLAGE SCHOOL!
Engage with us on Facebook!
The Village Vine is a collective community forum for the Parent Council which includes all families of the Village School. This is a place for sharing information regarding our school and respectful discussion in support of our children and in support of each other as parents. This is a space to connect and build OUR VILLAGE community. There are some new and adjusted guidelines that will be posted in the group so be sure to make sure to check those out! Please feel welcome to post and share in that spirit. Click the link to be added to our group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevillagevine
1# Help Wanted: Administrator for Parent Council Facebook page, The Village Vine
Village School Parent Council is seeking a person that can impartially manage the Village Vine Facebook page. This person needs to be able to communicate clearly with the moderator and all users of the Facebook page so as to ensure posts and comments adhere to the guidelines and values of the page. During this time of Comprehensive Distance Learning, a skilled Administrator is needed more than ever to sustain and perpetuate the goals of the Parent Council and our school community.
Please submit an email message of interest to the Parent Council, parentcouncil@eugenevillageschool.org and me at bkaminski@eugenevillageschool.org
#2 Help Wanted: Moderator for Parent Council Facebook page, The Village Vine
Village School Parent Council is seeking a person(s) to serve as an impartial moderator of the Village Vine, Parent Council’s Facebook page. This person must be able to use the Village Vine guidelines as they approve or deny membership requests and postings to the group. They will also have the responsibility of removing and blocking people from the group. This is an excellent opportunity to volunteer for the school and to assist in building and maintaining a vibrant school community.
Please submit an email message of interest to the Parent Council, parentcouncil@eugenevillageschool.org and me at bkaminski@eugenevillageschool.org
Village School Kitchen News
Village School Kitchen News
We received quite a photos this week of students and their food creations. It is enlivening to connect with our community through good food even when we can't sit and eat together every school day.
Here is 3rd grade student Cassidy with her meal of pupusas, rice and cabbage using ingredients from her food bag:
And here is 1st grade student Elijah enjoying last week's chickpea tandoori:
Local foods this week include plums from Tom at SLO Farm, honey whole wheat bread from Gordo at Great Harvest, gluten free baguettes from Jessie at Elegant Elephant, garbanzo spread from The Bread Stop, and for the first time ever we partnered with Crossroads Farm for some delicious winter squash!!!! Crossroads Farm has been operating in the Willamette Valley for more than 30 years. Debbie and Ben Tilley began farming the property in the early 80’s, raising their three boys on the land. Over the years Debbie began specializing in chili peppers, and they now grow almost 50 different types. You can find their smoked pepper powders, fermented pepper sauces, and roasted chili peppers at the Farmer's Market and Holiday Market. They also grow gorgeous butternut, delicata, red kuri and acorn squash among other varieties.
Last week the House of Representatives and US Senate passed a Continuing Resolution which provides an extension of the Pandemic-EBT Program through Fiscal Year 2021. We have heard from a number of families that have received these benefits at vastly different times. The Village School administration passed along all qualifying families' information to ODE for processing of benefits. If you have not received benefits that you are expecting you may email your query to this address: ebt.schoolmeals@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Warmly,
Toña
Toña Aguilar The Village School Eugene, Oregon w - 541-345-7285 c - 541-510-8604 taguilar@eugenevillageschool.org
Title I Reading and Math Services, 2020-2021
Every fall, winter and spring our Title I staff and teachers are required to administer 4j’s Easy CBM reading and math assessments to each of our students. If a student scores below the 30th percentile, she/he may be recommended by our team to receive instructional interventions in reading and/or math, with his/her progress monitored. If we feel that it is in your child’s best interests to receive additional reading or math instruction, we (classroom teacher or one of the Title I Coordinators) will notify you.
Free and Reduced Lunch
Please Check and See If You Qualify!
The new free and reduced lunch income requirements have been significantly expanded so please apply, even if you think you may not qualify!
If you have not yet done so, take a moment to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch Application, and turn it into the office. Extra copies are available in the office.
Part of our school’s Title I funding is based on the number of qualified households we have, so it is crucial that everyone see if they qualify.
If you received a direct certification letter from the school district that lists your student(s) eligibility, please turn that into the office instead of the free and reduced lunch application.
Contact Tristin in the office for details at office@eugenvillageschool.org
Free Comcast Internet Essentials
The Village School is partnering with Comcast to provide 6 months of free Internet Essentials services to Village School families that
qualify for free and reduced lunches under federal guidelines,
live in an area served by Comcast, and
have not subscribed to Comcast in the last 3 months.
Please contact support@eugenevillageschool.org for more information.
Another resource that might be helpful to families is free cell phone service (for those who qualify). It is called Lifeline phone service through Assurance Wireless. Those who qualify will receive a free Android smartphone that can text, access the internet, etc. There is no charge for the phone or service. https://www.assurancewireless.com/lifeline-services/states/oregon-lifeline-free-government-phone-service
Supply Contribution Forms
Be sure to get your supply contributions to Tristin soon! This contribution covers art supplies and other class needs that every student enjoys. If you are able to contribute more than the suggested $80 amount it will go a long way toward providing supplies for all Village School children.
Supply Contribution Form. You also can make your contribution online here
A Message From Coyote Kids!
We are excited to again be offering our popular Coyote Kids! after-school nature program to your students. We've been providing outdoor programming to students all summer with the utmost attention to COVID-19 safety and we are excited that we've been able to arrange for a location to run our afterschool program that is accessible (downtown) and affordable, especially since we've seen what a huge impact nature-based programs have had on students this year. We hope your families will continue to see Whole Earth Nature School as a valuable resource of your school until we can return to picking up students in your schoolyard.
Registration for our Fall 2020 season ends October 11th!
___________________________________________________ New Semester of Coyote Kids! All-Outdoors Enrichment Program Begins Soon! Your child will explore skills in bushcraft, naturalist skills, nature hikes and cooperative awareness games—children work together in small groups gaining knowledge of plants, mammals, tracking, birds, and survival, as well as increasing their overall nature awareness. all right in the heart of Eugene! Fall 2020 Coyote Kids! begins the first week of October.
Registration ends October 11th. Ages: 5-13 When: Once a week every for two hours.
Where: Skinner Butte and surrounding natural areas. Time: 3:00-5:00pm For more info and to register: WholeEarth.org Cost: Four monthly payments of $79.00. Scholarships are available! -- Alicia "Foxfire" Rose (she/they) Programs Manager Whole Earth Nature School Cofounded 2009 by Anna & Matt Bradley, Rees Maxwell 541-937-KIDS http://WholeEarth.org
