Upcoming Events
Tuesday, April 16th, 5:30 pm, Board Meeting in the Library
Wednesday, April 17th, 4th Grade Field Trip to the Raptor Center
Wednesday, April 17th, 6:00 - 7:30pm, 2nd Grade Parent Meeting
Wednesday, April 24th, 6:00pm, Ophelia's Place Presentation on Relational Aggression
Thursday, April 25th, 6th, 7th, 8th Grade Field Trip to the Hult Center
Monday, April 29th, Volunteer Appreciation Day
Tuesday, April 30th, 5:30 - 6:30pm, 3rd Grade Parent Meeting 2023-2024 Calendar is available here!
Quick Links
In the interest of reducing the sheer length of the Village Voice, we have replaced several repeating items with links to shortcuts:
Administrator's Message
Greetings Village School Community!
Hurray for sunshine! It’s been so nice to have patches of warmth in between the cool gray of PNW spring. The buds are definitely popping now! We’re well on our way and soon it will be May!
With the good weather, more and more folks are spending time in the courtyard after school. We have a few new rules to keep everyone safe in that new space:
Enjoy the courtyard!
Walk in the courtyard.
Keep out of the planted areas.
Keep off the railings.
Keep off the skinny elevated edges/walls.
You may sit on the rocks but please don’t stand on them or jump off of them.
The ramp from the gym is for exiting; no playing on the ramp.
The more adults we have explaining and enforcing the rules, the easier it will be to keep everyone safe and keep unwanted behaviors to a minimum. Thanks for your support! On the topic of keeping our children safe in the cyber world, we encourage you to look at the slides and recording from last week's presentation on Boundaries and Social media by Ophelia's Place. Many practical tips were shared.
Tonight the first quarter moon will rise at midnight and if you have some binoculars, tomorrow you could see Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel (three large moon craters). Also, on April 20th Jupiter will pass Uranus just after dusk. Jupiter is a gas giant, so this seems perfectly appropriate (it never really gets old).
Thank you, once again, for being such an ever present and supportive community. We are grateful for you.
Sincerely,
Roz, Shannon, and Andy
OSAS Testing
OSAS Testing has begun. Parents may submit an opt-out form at any time. Please see here for more information. 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
Volunteers Needed for our May Day Festival
Spring has arrived, and so has the time of year that we hold our beloved May Day Festival! Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 1st from 1:15 - 2:45pm. There will be music, Maypole dance performances, flower garland making, face painting, and more!
We will be needing plenty of support to make this event a success. Many volunteer opportunities are available such as: Flower donation pick-ups, Set-up and Clean-up Crews, Garland and Wreath Making Supervisors, and more. This is a great way to meet your 20/40 hours of volunteer hours that we ask all of our families to contribute.
One thing that we are asking all of our families is to contribute flowers. We will need A LOT of flowers this day – for decorating the May Pole and making flower garlands. Please share the beauty of your gardens with the school, and bring flowers to the office at the beginning of the school day on May 1st!
Please contact chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org if helping out at this sweet festival is something you're interested in, or if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Volunteering
Please reach out to chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org with any questions about volunteering! We ask families to contribute 40 hours of volunteer hours per year, and single parent households to contribute 20 hours. If you would like to know how many volunteer hours you have accumulated this year, please let Chrissy know. There are a few events coming up, as well as classroom and kitchen opportunities that can help to meet these hours.
Kitchen Prep volunteer needed every other Thursday morning after drop off. Our award winning food service program relies on volunteers to make the magic happen!
May Day volunteers needed. Sign up here!
Another way to contribute to our school community is by attending Parent Council Meetings! We will be holding our next meeting on Tuesday, May 14th at 6pm in the Village School Library. If you would like to attend virtually, here is the Zoom link
*Please make sure to sign in, grab a volunteer badge, and sign out at the office when you volunteer
Annual Giving Campaign
Thanks to everyone who has donated so far to our annual giving campaign! We have raised $9,600 towards our goal of $20,000. You can donate by card without fees or by check. We hope you will join us in bringing more excitement and fun for students on the playground.
Talent Show
The talent show was such fun! There were a variety of entertaining performances, and it was so sweet to witness the appreciative audience that showered the performers with support. Cedar and Taj were wonderful emcees-that had jokes ready to go between each set, and really did a great job of supporting the performers. Thank you to all the middle school parents and teachers who poured their time and energy into making sure this was a magical night!
Volunteers Needed for After School Enrichment Classes
Currently the After School Enrichment Program needs someone to pick up students and deliver them to their enrichment classes after school. They still need a volunteer for Wednesdays. The time would be from 2:45 - 3:15pm, and would begin April 8 and run through May 30. Please let Chrissy know if this is something that interests you. chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org
Thank you!
7th Grade Art
As part of our Renaissance block, the 7th grade class had the privilege of working with Frédérique Chateau, our art teacher, on a self portrait using acrylics. They selected a self portrait by a famous artist from the Renaissance and then took a picture of themselves, mimicking the model in the portrait. The class then painted their face onto canvas and used the background from the Renaissance portrait in their paintings. They did a fabulous job combining their image with that of the Renaissance artists. It was the first time many of them had used acrylics in this way. Bravo!
Library Books Needed
There are a substantial amount of library books that are overdue from throughout the school year. Please check in with your child about their library books! The lower grade teachers have lists of what is checked out, or you can contact me. Please be on the lookout for more direct messages regarding overdue library books, if your child has them. If your family regularly checks out and returns books to the Eugene Public Library, please be careful to check labels and make sure you aren’t returning Village School books to other libraries.
If you believe a book has been permanently lost, we ask that you pay for a replacement or purchase a new or lightly used copy, if you are able.
If you have questions please contact me.
Molly Bautista, VS Librarian
Guitar Donations Needed
The music program wants your old unused guitars for the middle school music classes. If you have a guitar sitting around gathering dust, we would happily accept your donation. We can make repairs. We are also looking for a working keyboard as ours has finally given up the ghost. The middle school music students will appreciate your gift.
Kitchen News
Today we welcomed a group of middle and high schoolers from the Mapleton School District. These students are taking a project based culinary class this term and wanted to check out what makes The Village School Kitchen so unique. After touring our space and asking a plethora of thoughtful questions they looked through our recipe binders and helped prep some fruit before sitting down for a yummy soft taco lunch.
Thank you Ted Purdy and Food for Lane County's Youth Farm for donating vegetable starts for our school garden
We are super stoked to be serving salad mix from Upriver Farm this week. Spring temps mixed with sprinkles and sunshine mean cool season crops are thriving. Yay for super fresh local greens!
Toña Aguilar
Parent Council
The next Parent Council Meeting will be on Tuesday, May 14th at 6:00pm! We will be meeting in the Village School Library. For those who would like to join us from home, here is the Zoom link
Please join us and send questions and ideas to parentcouncil@eugenevillageschool.org.
The notes from past meetings can be found here (updated).
Every Village School parent and guardian is a part of Parent Council - Parent Council Meetings are open to all parents and guardians on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.
You can also engage with Village School families on the Parent Council Facebook page, The Village Vine!
If you missed the last week's Ophelia's Place Presentation on Social Media, have a look a the slides and the recording!
Thank you so much to Shannon Boyd for her work on this getting these presentations together for us!
Upcoming Facilities Work
Security Fencing
The Village School Foundation is seeking bids to upgrade the fencing along 35th Avenue and to install new security gates. If you know anyone interested in this kind of work, please share the following link with them: https://www.eugenevillageschool.org/post/fence
Village School Lunch Diaries
Chickpea Tandoori with a plethora of fresh veggies!
Soft tacos with quinoa and greens!
Help Wanted
Grades 1-3 Main Lesson Teacher
Duties: The Village School, K-8 public charter school, seeks a full-time, grades 1 to 3 teacher beginning in the 2024-2025 School Year.
Qualifications:
Either Valid Oregon Teaching License or Waldorf Teacher Certificate
Minimum Bachelor’s Degree
Demonstrated ability to interact with children and adults in a positive manner
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Commitment to arts-integrated education and familiarity with Waldorf education
Willingness to get CPR training
Willingness to attend Waldorf education trainings
Ability to lift and carry 40 lbs
Grades 1-8 Spanish Teacher
Duties: The Village School, K-8 public charter school, seeks a .75 FTE, grades 1 to 8 Spanish teacher beginning in the 2024-2025 School Year.
Qualifications:
Oregon Teaching License strongly preferred
Experience with elementary and middle school Spanish instruction
Ability to interact with children and adults in a positive manner
Waldorf experience preferred or willingness to attend Waldorf trainings
Willingness to get CPR training or take tests to become certified
Background check required
Fluent Spanish speaker
Ability to lift and carry 40 lbs
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: $26 per hour for Teachers, $18 - $20 per hour for Assistants
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Benefits include our healthy lunch service, PERS coverage.
Dear Teachers and Parents of Village School,
I am very much looking forward to coming to your community to share The Foundations of Learning Workshop on April 27 and 28. This workshop is the distillation of my 23 years of working with children with learning differences in addition to my 10 years of classroom teaching, grades 1-8. This workshop is a rich overview of the neurological and
physical foundations that support healthy social/emotional and academic skills and is pertinent for parents, teachers,and child specialists (tutors, speech therapists, counselors, etc.). I was a special education teacher before I became a certified Waldorf and Waldorf Remedial teacher, so I have experience in all realms. I created and now supervise a comprehensive program for children with diverse learning styles at the Siskiyou School (Waldorf school) in Ashland, Oregon.
Here is what recent participants had to say:
Thank you again for this wonderful experience. It has been life-changing and practice-changing for me. This workshop helped me to see my own neurologic patterns and to understand how I can recognize the neurologic patterns of my clients. Using the movement based exercises you taught, I have already seen profound changes in my clients' abilities to focus and to organize their brains and bodies. Looking forward to continued study and passing this knowledge along to parents and children.
-Carrie Eskenazi (Speech therapist)
The whole weekend I was thinking about so many of my previous students and how much they would have benefitted from this attention to foundational needs and seeing so clearly how the work that we did do was so much harder because these sensory needs were not met. What a gift you are offering! -Katie Bertell (Dyslexic Specialist)
What a wonderful training opportunity! It was lovely to learn and reaffirm how powerful neurodevelopmental movement is through this enriching training. I now have deeper insight into how the children I work with develop! For the past 20 plus years, I have studied child development but your training put it all together in a beautiful way. Invaluable weekend! Christine P. (Waldorf Teacher)
I look forward to bringing this to Eugene! SPREAD THE WORD! Please contact me if you have any questions.
To register, go to ohanafamilyresources.com.
Community Bulletin Board
Hult Center News
Arts Access is a ticket subsidy program at the Hult Center that provides free or subsidized tickets to community members lacking adequate access to the performing arts.
What is Arts for All?
Arts for All is a program that supports community members currently using an EBT or Oregon Trail Card. A patron can show their Oregon Trail Card/EBT and can purchase two (2) $5 tickets to many of the Hult Center’s best music, theatre and dance groups. Participation varies by event and will be clearly labeled on our website.
How does it work?
Arts For All offers $5 tickets to select Hult Presents shows. Participating shows will have information on the website. Patrons must purchase tickets in person to present their Oregon Trail Card and can then set up an account so it is noted they have purchased their allotted 2 tickets. Tickets will be on a first come, first served basis. Please note, Arts For All cannot be applied to past purchases.
Below are the events we can currently provide these tickets for:
If you have any questions, please contact the Hult Center Ticket Office at 541-682-5000 or hultcentertickets@eugene-or.gov.
