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Writer's pictureChrissy Barry

Village Voice - Volume 22, Issue 11


Upcoming Events

  • Wednesday, November 15th, 5:30pm Board Meeting, in Library

  • Scholastic Book Fair 11/28, 11/29, 11/30, 12/1, 12/2

  • Thursday, December 1st, Reading Celebration Event and Book Exchange

  • Tuesday, December 13th, 5:30pm Parent Council Meeting Zoom

 

Administrator's Message

Greetings Village School Community!


We hope this edition of the Village Voice finds you in good health and in joyful spirits. What a week we had! We had a Parent Council meeting, Walk & Roll to School, a sixth grade mushroom foray, and the Kindergarten Lantern Walk, all on a four day week. So much for lazy winter days! We are keeping on our toes for sure.


It’s that time of year when the blustery winds are blowing and people are huddling closer together. We’ve had a small, but noticeable uptick in positive COVID cases in our community. Please pay close attention to primary symptoms– fever or chills, new cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell– and keep ill students at home. Help us keep our community strong and vibrant as we approach winter break!


Thank you for being such a fantastic, eclectic, supportive, and compassionate community. This work would not be possible without you, for obvious reasons, but also some less obvious reasons as well: to be able to show up at work each morning and know that we share a commitment to help these young people grow and thrive is invaluable.


Cheers!


Andy, Roz, and Shannon


 

Thank You!

A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers who help us every day to make this school the amazing place it is! Because of you, we were able to pull off the most amazing Día de los Muertos Festival! We appreciate you!! Thank you also to Maestras Sarah and Toña, without whom the festival would not have been possible. We are beyond grateful for this beautiful community.



 

Walk & Roll

Thank you to all that participated in our first Walk and Roll event of the school year! The winner of the golden bicycle display and bike powered smoothie party prize goes to 5th grade!!



 

6th Grade Field Trip

The sixth grade took a trip out highway 58 for a mushroom foray last Tuesday. We took along two preeminent local mycologists, Lee Yamada and Joe Spivak, from the Cascade Mycological Society. We found chanterelle, oyster, amanita, dyer's polypore, turkey tail, short stem russula, Zeller's bolete, reishi, artist's conk, and many more! It was a great trip. Thanks Lee and Joe and Cascade Mycological Society!


 

Walkathon

Congratulations to our fabulous fundraisers! Students and families have so far raised $15,300! This is more than our goal of $12,000. If you have pledges to turn in, please do so as soon as you can. Funds can be turned into the office or via village.raisely.com




 


Title I Reading Celebration and Book Fair



Come One! Come All to our Title 1 Reading Celebration!


We have a couple of exciting events coming up! First, the Title 1 Program is sponsoring a Reading Celebration in the commons from 5:30-7:00 on Thursday, December 1st. We will start the evening by all gathering in the commons for a welcome and a very entertaining guest speaker. After that we will have various activities to celebrate reading that you can travel through at your own pace. Pizza slices will also be served at this time. Please allow families with grades K-2 students to be served first to avoid crowding. There will be enough for everyone, at least one slice, and maybe more!


Here’s how it works:

  • Enter through the front door of the commons from 5:15-5:30.

  • Sign the sign-in sheet and make sure each child, grades K-5, receives a “passport”. If the children visit and engage with all the activities (5 in all), they will receive stamps on their passports which they can redeem for prizes back in the commons).

  • Find a seat in the commons where there will be a welcome and guest speaker.

  • After that, proceed to pizza eating and visiting the activities.

  • The activities will include:

    • Bookmark making (in the Commons)

    • Book exchange (in the lounge next to the Library)

    • Cuddle Up and Read (in the library) Bring a book from the book fair or book exchange and cuddle up to read in a quiet, cozy place.

    • Musical Book Circle (in the gym) Move around the circle to music, stop on the lucky number and you win a brand new book!

    • Scholastic Book Fair (in the gym) You can do holiday shopping at the book fair, and at the same time benefit our school. There will be a huge variety of books and other items. (See below)

  • No later than 6:50 p.m., redeem stamped passports for prizes back in the Commons.

  • The event will conclude at 7:00 p.m.

We can’t stress enough how important it will be for the families to stay together and enjoy the activities together. We ask that children not be allowed to leave their families and run around the inside or outside of the building. Remember, it’s about the joy of reading!


Our second exciting event will be the Scholastic Book Fair. The fair will be taking place at the Celebration, as well as after school in the gym (Nov. 28, 3:00-4:00; Nov. 29, 2:00-3:00; Nov. 30, 3:00-4:00; Dec. 1, see you at the evening celebration!; and Dec. 2, 2:00-3:00). Children will get a chance to browse the fair at school, but purchasing must be done after school on the above times and dates. We will have baskets for each grade level if you would like to purchase books and donate them to your child’s classroom.




We hope to see you all at these two fun-filled events!



 

Book Exchange

Coming Soon to the Village School - All School Book Exchange

Start sorting through your bookshelves for loved but no longer read books to exchange with others during our one day only book exchange. On Thursday, December 1, an all school book exchange will happen during school and during the Title I literacy evening. More information will come home with your child next Monday. If you are interested in volunteering for the book exchange, please let chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org or sarah.lewenberg@eugenevillageschool.org know.



 

8th Grade Fundraiser

To support the 8th grade trip, there will be wreaths for sale: locally made with multiple fresh greenery juniper berries and cones for $28. Pre-sales are going on now through 11/21.


Ways you can order:

  • Find an 8th grader and order directly from them.

  • Order online at the village school store

  • We will have a table set up outside the office for any last sales, as well as for pickup.

We are hoping to be able to hand out wreaths on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.




 

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinners

Each year, A3 High School has offered full turkey dinners to families who could use them. If you would like to receive a dinner on 11/21, please fill out this form by Thursday, 11/17.

This will be subject to availability.


 

Library News

Check out the Book lists for the Battle of the Books!




 

Volunteering!

As we work toward reuniting our Village School community, more opportunities to volunteer are coming up! Be sure to watch your email, the Village Voice and the Village Vine for messages from Parent Council, your class coordinator, your child's teacher and the Village School Kitchen, to see the volunteer needs that are coming up for you to enjoy. Some upcoming events that need volunteer help are:


  • Reading Celebration Event - 12/1

  • Scholastic Book Fair - 11/28, 11/29, 11/30, 12/1

  • Winter Concert - 12/8


If you haven't filled out your volunteer paperwork yet, please stop by the office to pick up a packet.


Another way to contribute to our school community is by attending Parent Council Meetings! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, December 13th at 5:30 PM. We are still holding these meetings by Zoom so they are easy to attend (even while making dinner or folding laundry) and every parent and guardian's voice is valued in decisions about what Parent Council funds are used for, events that are held and collaborations with departments and teachers at the Village School!


We adore our volunteers! Village School would not be what it is without you. Thank you so much for making Village School the incredible community it is!


Don't forget to sign in to HelpCounter and report your hours so we can see the amazing contributions from our Village School Families



 

The Village Kitchen



This Friday we are honored to be welcoming special guest chefs Soheila and Javad Kazemi to our school kitchen! Soheila and Javad moved to Eugene from Tehran in 2016, Tehran is the capital of Iran which is a beautiful country in the Middle East. They moved to Eugene to be near their only grandchild, Spencer who is a third grade student at our school.

Soheila shares the following: "Our family loves to celebrate Nowrooz (Persian new year/ first day of spring) and Shabe Yalda (winter solstice). When we moved to the US we brought some Persian rugs and some handcrafted items with us to remind us of home. We have many varieties of fruits, nuts, and vegetables in Iran that can be found here such as persimmon, pomegranates, pistachios, and more. I think one of the most famous nuts from Iran is the Persian pistachio and also the best saffron comes from Iran. Our grandson Spencer likes all kinds of Iranian dishes but one of his favorites is KEBAB. He is a great helper at cooking Kebabs, but the best part is having a meal together with my family. We are looking forward to making a meal for the Village school this coming Friday and sharing a bit of our culture with you." Soheila and Javad will be preparing feta from scratch along with Barbari and Adasi, a traditional Persian flatbread and lentil stew. We are excited to share out kitchen with them!




November Breakfast and Lunch Menus are now available to view below!



 


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. 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 do not qualify for free meals, payments can be made in the office or at schoolpaymentportal.com.


If you qualify via direct certification (ie, food stamps), you should have received a letter confirming eligibility for free meals. Please let us know if you have not received this letter.


Contact Tristin in the office for details at office@eugenvillageschool.org



 

Parent Council

The next Parent Council Meeting will be on Tuesday, December 13th at 5:30pm!

Please join us and send questions and ideas to parentcouncil@eugenevillageschool.org.


The notes from past meetings can be found here.


Every Village School parent and guardian is a part of Parent Council - The Virtual Parent Council Meetings are open to all parents and guardians on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.

You can also engage with Village School families on the Parent Council Facebook page, The Village Vine!


 


Village School Lunch Diaries

Spaghetti with chickpeas, broccoli, fresh greens and a pear. That sprinkling you see on the pasta sauce along with the parmesan cheese is nutritional yeast--one of the many condiment options that students have to top off their meals.


Wednesdays are for Yumm Bowls!


Fresh, focaccia pizza is a lunch that many students and staff eagerly look forward to.


Bean and cheese tacos with quinoa and avocado and all the fixings!


 


Help Wanted


Substitute Teacher & Substitute Educational Assistant


Duties: Serve as substitute teacher or substitute classroom assistant.

Qualifications: Experience working with groups of children. Knowledge of Waldorf curriculum a plus.

Teachers require Valid Oregon Teaching License:

[Main lesson (K-8), Movement/PE, Spanish, Music, Handwork]

Instructional Assistant (BA and fingerprint background check required) Willingness to get CPR training Background check required Complete Covid vaccination records Salary Range: $24 per hour for Teachers, $15 - $18 per hour for Assistants

Strong verbal and written communication skills

Benefits include our healthy lunch service, PERS coverage.



 

Free Covid Testing


You can still sign up for Free Opt-in Testing through U of O and OHA!

The Village School has joined other schools in a program that makes weekly testing available to our students! U of O has partnered with Oregon Health Authority to provide free, voluntary COVID-19 testing kits to children attending participating K-12 schools.


Use the link below to opt-in:



  


 


LTD Passes Available!


The Village School has worked with 4j and LTD to make touchpasses available to Village School students!


Fill out the form below to sign up and provide permission for your Village School student to have a card. Then come into the office to have a card assigned to your child!



If you have a child that does not attend Village School, please contact their school to see if they have touchpasses available for students. We are only able to provide passes to Village School Students.



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