Upcoming Events
Thursday, March 16th, 5:30pm, Parent Council Meeting (Zoom)
Friday, March 17th, Village School Lottery
Monday, March 20th - Monday, April 3rd, Spring Break
Tuesday, March 21st, 5:30pm, Board Meeting
Tuesday, April 4th, School Resumes
Administrator's Message
Greetings Village Community!
Tiptoeing around the puddles on the playground while the rain fell freely reminded us that spring is on the horizon. Hopefully March showers bring May flowers just as competently as April’s do!
The other thing March brings with great competence every year is state testing. The Village School is required to administer annual statewide assessments of language arts and math for students in grades 3–8 and science in grades 5 and 8. Testing at The Village School will begin after Spring Break. Your student may have already completed a practice session with their teacher or may be scheduled to do a practice test this week. All public schools in the U.S. are required to systematically assess student learning and report participation and results in school accountability systems. Students in Oregon are assessed periodically to measure proficiency in state and district standards, including completing statewide assessments in certain grades. State test results provide important information for students, parents, teachers, schools and districts. Please see the article on testing for more information.
Lastly, we wanted to thank everyone who showed up for the third Dion C Jordan Diversity, Equity, and Belonging presentation. If you’d like to get a copy of the slideshow (and haven’t already received it) please email principal@eugenevillageschool.org and we will send you a copy. The last presentation is on May 11th from 6-7:30pm, so mark your calendar! The topic is “Moving from the Woke stage to the Work state” and it’s bound to be great.
Roz, Shannon and Andy
Annual Giving Campaign
Improve Theater Facilities at The Village School With the new blinds, lights, and microphones, student and family experience in our Commons is improving. The next major projects we'd like to address: the new screen, projector and sound board, are higher ticket items, but we are also working with vendors to get better deals on each of these items. These have allowed us to lower are target from $20,000 to $16,000. We hope you will join us in our efforts to Improve Theater Facilities at The Village School.
Donations may be made in the office or at ANNUALGIVING.US
Counselor's Corner
For the next few months the Counseling Corner will focus on the different strengths that students will explore in the Sources of Strength curriculum. Today’s focus is on Spirituality.
Spirituality includes many people, places and practices that can lift our spirit and connect us to something bigger than ourselves.
Thankfulness is one practice within the Strength of Spirituality. Does your family have a practice of thankfulness or gratitude? Here are some suggestions on how to start: How to Practice Gratitude and Improve your Family's Mental Health. A note about spirituality from the curriculum: Spirituality is a big word and can carry a lot of different meanings and significance for people of all ages. Given this, you might ask why Spirituality is one of the eight Sources of Strength. The simple answer is that we could not in good conscience leave it out. Research has shown that Spirituality is incredibly protective throughout our lives. As with all of the Strengths, we approach this protective factor by casting a wide net. There are millions of people, places, practices, traditions, cultures and expressions of Spirituality throughout the world. Our purpose here is not to promote any one practice or expression over another, but rather to allow students the opportunity to explore what this protective Strength looks like in their lives. Whatever the expression, ultimately anything that lifts our spirits, makes us feel connected, or brings us hope and healing during hard times can be a form of Spirituality and serve as a protective factor in our lives.
Rebecca Macemon
School Counselor
rmacemon@eugenevillageschool.org
State Testing
The length of time and standards of the Oregon assessments have been reviewed again since last year and were adjusted to alleviate long testing sessions and to give a better picture of where the students are in the academic realm.
Can students opt-out of state testing?
Yes. Under Oregon law, a parent or adult student may opt out of Oregon’s summative statewide assessments of math and language arts for any reason, by annually submitting a form. Students who opt out of state tests, beyond a certain threshold for our school, are counted as “not proficient” in our school’s test results that are reported statewide. A student's name or whether they opt-out is not public information. The school’s participation rate reflects the degree to which the number of students opt-out of testing.
Opt-Out Information for the Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS)
Parents may submit an opt-out form at any time. Preferably the forms are submitted 30 days prior to the administration of the tests. If you have any questions please send an email to principal@eugenevillgeschool.org
OSAS Science Assessment Exemption Request
For science assessments, parents may request their student be exempt from testing based on disability or religion. Unlike the opt-out process for Math and ELA, parent requests for exemption from all other tests must satisfy the following conditions:
Be submitted in writing to charter school office
Include the reasons for request (disability or religion)
Propose an alternative learning activity for the student
Exemption requests are subject to charter school review and determination whether to approve. The form for science test opt out must be printed and returned to the office or emailed to office@eugenevillageschool.org
Volunteering!
Village School families are asked to contribute and record at least 40 hours of volunteer work at the school each year, and single parent households are asked to contribute 20 hours. It is this support that allows us to offer such strong programs with limited financial resources. We also welcome grandparents and other relatives to volunteer in your place!
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.
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, March14th 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. If you
Health Reminders
It has come to our attention that some children have been coming to school sick. Please take a look at the poster below to see what our current policies are. Thank you.
Village Kitchen
We recently had a visit from Oregon Tea Trader Angela McDonald. Angela presented to a number of grades to share information about her favorite subject - tea! Students sampled a special blend of Oregon grown tea and enjoyed making their own mixes to take home and share with their families.
We love feeding staff every school day! Check out Ms. Karen's lunch from Friday. Karen is one of our Special Education staff.
Karen says: "Lunch is one of my favorite parts of the day because I feel so nourished body and soul. The good food makes me feel cared for and valued. It gives me the strength to finish the day."
We hope you all have a fun and restful Spring Break. See you next month!
Con cariño,
Toña Aguilar
Kitchen Assistant (Starting Rate $15/hr)
March Menus
OBOB Regionals
Last Saturday, the “Singular Blades of Grass” (5th Graders: Opal, Alison, Cora, Amaya and Kellen) represented The Village School at OBOB regionals. It took place at South Eugene High School. There were 47 schools competing at this particular regionals. Each team did 4 battles. Out of the 47 teams the top 16 went on, and our team was one of them! We were so excited when we heard that our team made it to the top 16. It was such a fun (but stressful) experience. All the people that made this event possible were volunteers. There was even entertainment and food for all the teams to enjoy. OBOB is such a fun experience and we recommend it if you’re in 3rd through 8th grade!
-Alison & Opal
Student Book Recommendation
Written by Bridget, sixth grade
Book title: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book two
This book is a (genre): fantasy
Why I liked this book:
It is funny, exciting, suspenseful, scary, and has strong characters.
Summary:
This story is about Percy Jackson's seventh grade year that has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has attacked him. He goes to his special summer camp that is getting destroyed. He travels on the ocean to find his friend Grover and to get an antidote for the camp. He fights monsters and has an exciting journey.
Village School Lunch Diaries
Yumm Bowl Wednesdays with stunning watermelon radishes.
Is there anything better than focaccia pizza, lovingly made from scratch by our incredible kitchen staff and volunteers? I don't know that there is, especially when it is paired with beautiful rainbow veggies and fruit!
Sushi bowls are a Village Kitchen specialty, and they are so very delicious!
Parent Council
The next Parent Council Meeting will be on Thursday, March 16th 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!
Community Bulletin Board
Ultimate Frisbee
WordCrafters
See upcoming Workshops and Reading groups from WordCrafters. Wordcrafters provides writers and readers opportunities to strengthen their craft, deepen their connection with literature, and share their knowledge with each other and with future generations.
Girls on the Run
Attention Girls in Grades 3 through 5: Girls on the Run wants you! The team at Wayne Morse Family Farm, led by Coach Melissa and Coach Amanda, meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from mid-March to mid-May, 3:30-5 PM. We'll train you to walk, run, or skip a 5K run, and you'll make great friends and do a fun community service project along the way. Plus, there are snacks!
To register, please visit Program Details - 3rd - 5th Grade | GOTR Greater Oregon (gotroregon.org) . For questions, email Coach Melissa at melissahartsmith@gmail.com or call/text her at 541-431-6922.
Ophelia's Place
Ophelia’s Place is a prevention-based nonprofit, serving girls ages 10-18 in Lane and Linn Counties. Their spring calendar of events and activities for youth and parents can be found on their website: https://www.opheliasplace.net/activities-workshops
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