Upcoming Events
Thursday, March 13th, 8th Grade Field Trip to Jordan Schnitzer Museum
Friday, March 14th, 4th Grade Field Trip to Next Step Recycling
Monday, March 17th, 6:00pm, Parent Council Meeting
Tuesday, March 18th, 5:30pm, Board Meeting
Thursday, March 20th, Book Exchange
Thursday, March 20th, 5:30-7:30pm, Author's Night (1st-5th)
Friday, March 21st, Lottery
Monday, March 24th - Friday, April 4th, Spring Break
Monday, April 7th, School Resumes
Quick Links
In the interest of reducing the sheer length of the Village Voice, we have replaced several repeating items with links to shortcuts:
Village Vine This is the Village School Facebook Community.
Administrator's Message
Greetings Village School Community!!
What a beautiful weekend we had here in Eugene! The sun was shining, the gardens were calling, the daffodils were singing sweet merry songs in the breeze! Some call these early March days “Spring of deception,” due to the winter-like weeks that follow them, but wow, was it gorgeous! True to spring-of-deception form, the clouds have rolled in, but in the VS office, we’re still on Cloud Nine!
Speaking of Cloud Nine, our current classification system for clouds was coined by an amateur British meteorologist named Luke Howard. In his Essay on the Modification of Clouds (1803) he named different cloud types using Latin words: cumulus (heaped), stratus (layered), cirrus (feathered), and nimbus (rain). The first International Cloud Atlas published at the end of the nineteenth century expanded the system to ten cloud types. Jessica Kerwin Jenkins says this about it in her Encyclopedia of the Exquisite:
The vast, mountainous cumulonimbus [was] listed as Cloud Nine. Cumulonimbus was the fluffiest, most billowy and soft-looking, and, therefore, to the poetically minded, a place of bliss, though later editions of the Atlas bumped Cloud Nine to the tenth spot.
Speaking Of Cloud Nine, Author’s Night is coming! We are excited to sit down with you all and hear the stories of our people. There may be some opportunities for you to earn some volunteer time, see below for more information.
Spring is on its way,
Sincerely,
Roz, Shannon, and Andy
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.
We need volunteers for Author's Night next week please! Please sign up here.
Our Handwork teachers are looking for some parent volunteers to read stories to the kids while they sew and knit their creations. Please email Chrissy at chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org if interested.
Brett is looking for a couple of adults to help with digging holes to install a couple of pet waste stations.
Ms Frédérique is looking for one or two volunteers to help hem a set of small tablecloths for the art room. Please email frederique@eugenevillageschool.org if interested.
- The art room is also looking for a kitchen blender to make handmade paper. Please contact Ms Frédérique if you wish to donate a used blender in working condition.
The Village School Book Exchange
● Put children’s and/or young adult books from home that you are no
longer reading and could donate to the exchange in a bag.
● You can put in as many books as you’d like.
● On Thursday, March 20, you will go to pick out books
during the school day (the number of books will be
dependent on the school wide donation numbers).
● We don’t want to leave any students out, so please
donate as many books as you can. All students will receive at least
one book.
● All remaining books will be put out that evening during Author’s Night.
● If your adult would like to volunteer to help, they can contact Maestra
Sarah sarah.lewenberg@eugenevillageschool.org or put you name down on the sign up
BRING YOUR BOOKS TO EXCHANGE TO SCHOOL ON OR BEFORE Wednesday,
March 19th at 8:30 a.m.
Author's Night - Pizza instead of Spaghetti Dinner!
1st - 5th grade families, Author's Night is coming up next week! There has been a slight shift, and this will now be a Pizza dinner rather than a spaghetti one. We do not need as much volunteer help, but are still in need of a few people to help serve pizza and to clean up. Volunteers will not miss their child's reading presentation. We appreciate your help at
this sweet evening!
Commemorative Tiles for Our Courtyard Mural!
Check out our commemorative tiles to help fundraise for our courtyard mural. The tiles offer a great opportunity to share a legacy with our school. The tiles come in two sizes and businesses can upload their logos. They will be situated under the roof by the entrance to the Commons, right next to the location of the mural.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
ASEP Updates
Dear Village School Families:
Thank you for your interest in ASEP. We are currently accepting applications through March 14, after which I will form the class rosters and will get back to you no later than March 21.
If you have any questions, please contact me via text, phone, or email, as the office staff has no information pertaining enrollment or placement into the classes.
Again, thank you for your interest in ASEP.
Regards,
Rachel Burk Bayer
ASEP Coordinator/ Kindergarten Assistant
805-975-7778
March Birthdays
Library News
Damaged/Wet Library Books
Last week third and fourth grade students visited a "book hospital" during their class library visits and looked at many damaged library books. Some of the books are able to be repaired with glue and tape, but many are too damaged to repair and must be replaced. Often books simply wear out from repeated use, but simple measures can help extend the lives of our library books. Moisture causes the most damage to books. If a book gets wet, such as the picture below, mildew will start to grow very quickly and the book must be trashed. Please help your child keep library books safe and dry on the way to and from school and at home. Keeping books in good condition ensures our library has the books that excite readers!
Community Helpers
6th Graders Juliet, Olivia, & Shay help tidy up our campus.
State Testing
Under Oregon law, a parent or student age 18+ may opt out of Oregon’s annual statewide math and language arts assessments by filling out an annual opt-out form, which starting this year can be submitted online. Exemptions from the English language proficiency (for students whose primary language is not English) or science tests may also be requested based on a student’s disability or religious beliefs. We will only be accepting online opt-out forms for English and Math until we return from spring break. If you would like your 5th or 8th grader to opt-out of the Science testing, you must fill out a paper form and return that to us. The template for this and the online opt-out form for English & Math can be found below, along with some other helpful information:
Student Educational Equity Development Survey (SEED)
Starting in 2023-24, The state of Oregon requires (HB 2656) school districts to make the Student Educational Equity Development Survey (SEED) available to all enrolled students in grades 3-11. The content of the survey varies by grade level. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and measures student perceptions in four core constructs:
Access to learning resources
Opportunity to learn
Self-efficacy and
Sense of belonging
The middle and high school versions of the survey also include questions about extracurricular engagement and career and technical education. A full list of survey items is available online.
Parents or guardians can opt their student out of taking the SEED Survey by completing this form: SEED Survey Opt-Out Form OR SEED OPT-OUT Spanish and turning it into the office.
Students may decline, at any time before or during the survey, to participate in the SEED Survey via their answer to the first SEED Survey question.
In August, the Oregon Department of Education will release aggregated and suppressed SEED survey results to schools and districts through the Achievement Data Insight (ADI) application, and on ODE’s public website. Though not a test, the survey is distributed via the OSAS (state testing) portal, and it's open during the testing window.
Handwork Happenings
Eila, Rana, Mabel, & Opal finished some beautiful projects in Handwork!
Village School 25th Anniversary
Save the date!
Village School Lunch Diaries
Quesadillas with fiesta rice and red beans. That vibrant green sauce you see drizzled on the quesadilla is Village Kitchen made chimichurri sauce!
Spaghetti with fresh and tasty marinara sauce.
Community Bulletin Board
Community Bulletin Board
Contact Kira Rafuse for more information.
Kira is a former Waldorf preschool teacher and Mom of a 4th grader at Village School.
Weeks offering camp for children 6 and up
June 23-26, July 7-10, July 21-24, Aug 4-7, Aug 18-21
Dance into the new year by joining us for enrichment, connection, and growth. Parenting is a practice. Let’s explore together!
Register on-line.
TELL YOUR OUT OF TOWN FRIENDS: On-line 4 series parenting class now offered.
Blessings on your journey,
Nina
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