Upcoming Events
Wednesday, March 17, 5:30 pm: Board Meeting (Zoom Link)
Monday, March 22: Spring Break Begins!
Monday, April 5: School Resumes! See Administrators' Message for more detail
Friday, May 7: No School - Prof Development Day (No School)
Monday, May 31: No School - Memorial Day (No School)
Thursday, June 17: 1/2 Day Last Day
2020/2021 Calendar is always available here!
Administrators Message
Dear Families.
There is some good news and yet we must continue to be cautious and follow all protocols to ensure the safety of our children and staff on campus.
As of March 6, 2021 Lane County moved into the Moderate Risk Level. That means the rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 of population over 14 days was between 50-100. This week the metric is dipping into the low end of this strata. Percentage of test positivity over the previous 14 days was between 1% - 2%. Let’s work together to drive down the infection rate!
Many of our first and second grade students began on campus in-person learning this week. A big thanks to all the parents and children for following the protocols. The teachers report parents and children are rising to the task of maintaining a safe school environment.
Cohort Groups
If your child is in Grades 3-8 or Kindergarten, and it made a difference to you, we asked you to respond to a survey informing whether you needed a Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday cohort. If either cohort works for you, thanks for not responding. We have many variables to consider when balancing our cohort groups. The fewer requests we receive, the easier it will be to make balanced cohorts and to use our limited resources equitably. We will make every attempt to meet your requests, but it is not always possible to do so.
Dates for returning to school after Spring Break
April 5 & 6 -- Only grades 1 and 2 will be onsite (See Ms. Emily’s and Ms. Jennifer’s emails regarding their schedule). Grades 3-8 and Kindergarten will receive instruction via asynchronous learning, and their teachers will be spending their full work day preparing for on-campus, in-person, hybrid instruction.
April 7 -- will be a CDL instruction day for all grades 1-8. Parents of Kindergarten should watch for Ms. Denise’s email because on this day she begins the outdoor version of on campus, in-person instruction.
April 8 -- is the first day of on-campus, in-person, hybrid instruction for students in Cohort B for grades 3-6.
April 12 -- is the first day of on-campus, in-person, hybrid instruction for students in Cohort A for grades 3-6.
April 12 -- is the first day of on campus, in-person, hybrid instruction for students in Cohort A for Grades 7 & 8.
April 15 -- is the first day of on campus, in-person, hybrid instruction for students in Cohort B for Grades 7 & 8
Comprehensive Distance Learning remains for families and students that need to continue using the remote learning features our staff is offering.
Travel Advisory
Please don’t travel out of the state if it is not necessary. The Village School travel advisory is taken from the guidance provided by Oregon Health Authority, detailed here. The summary is:
While a 14-day quarantine is the safest option to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others, those who have traveled to Oregon or back home to Oregon can end their quarantine early if they have not had any symptoms after 10 days, without any testing
OR
After 7 days, if they receive a negative test result from an antigen or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that was conducted within 48 hours of the end of the 7-day period.
Please consider the above timeline if you need to travel out-of-state during spring break so that your child will not miss any days of school. PCR tests are available for free at University of Oregon.
Safety Protocols
It is absolutely necessary that each person observe the following requirements to avoid an outbreak on campus and to prevent a new surge in the rate of infection.
Wear a properly fitted mask the moment they step onto school property.
Watch your distance. Remain 6ft from other people -- even outdoors and wearing a mask.
Wash hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
Together we are slowly and carefully reopening our school. We have deep appreciations to each and every one of you and the part you play in maintaining our healthy school community.
Bob & Andy
Facilities Improvements
Work began this past week on the Playing Field Renovation project, the focus of last year's Annual Giving Campaign. Third grade parent, Justin Ross, who spearheaded the construction of the Outdoor Classroom, is turning his sights to improving our playing field. On Friday, first graders got to witness volumes of water diverted from the field as the drainage swale was taking shape. The project aims to build up the soil, level out the field, reseed the grass, and redirect the masses of water that normally collect in this part of the field.
Salamander designs by 4th graders, Rylan, Luka, and Juni
Art by Kindergartener, Lilyanah Sutton
Student and Sibling Enrollment Forms
Please check your email for surveys inviting you to re-enroll your children in the Village School for 2021-22. If you have siblings to enroll please also complete the attached form for sibling enrollment and return ASAP. The form can be filled out online, saved, and emailed back to us. This form is not required for students who are already enrolled in the Village School.
Village School Kitchen
We have exciting news to share this week!
The federal waivers which allow us to run our Supplemental Food Program have been extended through the summer! This means we will continue delivering free food every week until school starts in September. Woohoo!!!
Third grade student, Cassidy Jecklin, has fun with her Buddha's Hand.
This week's food bags feature corn tortillas, salsa, bean dip and avocados among other yummy items. We also added in some Cara Cara oranges, our school's favorite citrus, before they are done for the season.
Local spring crops are growing fast and this week we are thrilled to purchase Crunchy Royale radishes from Groundwork Organics. Their farm stand is open to the public on weekends and you can also find them at the Saturday Farmers Market in downtown Eugene's park blocks.
Don't forget to email me if you will be gone on an upcoming Tuesday and do not want food delivered. The sooner I know, the better so I can plan and order accordingly.
In joy, Toña Aguilar
The Village School Eugene, Oregon w - 541-345-7285
Library News
Congratulations to this year's OBOB participants!
Oregon Battle of the Books at the Village School looked much different this year, taking place via zoom with library books delivered by myself or with food deliveries. I had so much fun meeting with students, hearing what books they enjoyed, and seeing how much information they recalled from the books they read. I hope all the students are proud of the effort and dedication they put into reading and preparing for the battles.
We are wrapping up the 3-5 grade division tomorrow afternoon with a battle between the Book Bunnies and the Wandering Wolves. A combined team battled against Holt Elementary earlier this month. The 6-8 grade division team, the Page-Turning Prodigies, battled Eugene Waldorf School last week and will engage in a few more battles this week. Congratulations to all the participants!
3-5 division
Wandering Wolves:
Pax Kaiser-Ross
Opal Stocki
Logan Wilson
Cassidy Jecklin
Book Bunnies:
Piper Seigal
James Sell
Juniper Vold
6-8 division
Page-Turning Prodigies:
Nico Cabrera
Rosie Redmon
Isadora MacRhodes
Ginger Stover
Books for the 2021-22 year have been chosen. Take a peek at the new titles on the OBOB website! Thank you to all the food delivery volunteers, teachers, and parents who helped support this program!
Molly Bautista, VS Librarian
Parent Council
Parent Council will be having our next meeting Wednesday, April 14th. Please join us and send questions and ideas to parentcouncil@eugenevillageschool.org.
Zoom link:
The notes from past meetings can be found here.
Every Village School parent and guardian is a part of Parent Council - Join in on the Virtual Parent Council Meetings that are open to all parents and guardians on the 2nd Wednesday each month!
Engage with us on Facebook!
Free Comcast Internet Essentials - Extended
The Village School is partnering with Comcast to provide free Internet Essentials services until June 30th, 2021 for Village School families that
qualify for free and reduced lunches under federal guidelines,
live in an area served by Comcast
Previously, you could not be an existing Comcast/Xfinity customer, but this condition has been lifted.
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
Calendar
Please check the full calendar for the dates for future events. We have updated the calendar through the end of the 2020-21 school year. Due to the delayed start the Monday after Spring break is a school day.
Monday, March 22, 2021: Spring Break
Monday, April 5, 2021: School Resumes
Friday, May 7, 2021: No School - Prof Development Day (No School)
Monday, May 31, 2021: No School - Memorial Day (No School)
Thursday, June 17, 2021: 1/2 Day Last Day
