Village Voice - Volume 25, Issue 23
- Chrissy Barry
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Upcoming Events
Thursday, February 26th, 3rd Grade Field Trip to the Library
Friday, March 6th, 8th Grade Field Trip to Jordan Schnitzer Museum
Friday, March 6th, 5:30pm, 2nd Grade Play
Friday, March 6th, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Middle School Dance
Monday, March 9th, 8th Grade Field Trip to McKenzie/Willamette Confluence
Thursday, March 12th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm, Author's Night
Friday, March 13th, Middle School Sewing Enrichment Field Trip
Monday, March 16th, 6:00pm. Village Community Council Meeting
Tuesday, March 17th, 5:30pm, Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 18th, 10:15am & 6:00pm, 5th Grade Play
Friday, March 20th, Lottery
Friday, March 20th, 3rd Grade Field Trip to Portland Japanese Gardens
Monday, March 23rd - Monday, April 6th, Spring Break
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
The last week was quite an adventure for our community with Grand-Friends Day and Heart of the Village right next to each. We hope your students got a chance to participate fully in both. We have many volunteers to thank and pictures to share from these lively events, in the articles below. The gross income from the Heart of the Village reached just under $12,000, which is fabulous, as it will help Village Community Council support school wide events and improvements to our site.
Several more fun events are coming up next week. The first is our Middle School Dance, which happens next Friday, March 6th. We'll need parent volunteers; please reach out to Roz roz@eugenevillageschool.org if you can lend a hand. Already we're taking requests from students on play lists. It promises to be a great opportunity for our Middle School students to celebrate with dance, music and community.
In the next week, Author's night will take place on Thursday, 3/12 from 5:30pm-7:30pm for 1st -5th graders and their families. Children read from their own writings. It's one of several opportunities for our students to practice their writing and speaking skills for an audience. We'll have pizza dinner ahead of time. We are looking for a few parents to help clean up after they listen to their child/ren read. Please let Chrissy know if you are able to do this. chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org. And... to make Author's Night more memorable, we have a Book Exchange scheduled for the same date 3/12. (more info below).
Thanks to you all for being part of our community!
Andy, Shannon and Roz
Book Exchange
Dear Village School Families,
Welcome to the first annual ALL SCHOOL BOOK EXCHANGE. To allow for all students to have the opportunity to pick out a few preloved books to read over the vacation, we need as many people as possible to donate books that are no longer read in the household. However, it is not necessary to donate books for your child to participate.
The Details:
Students bring in books on or before 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 12
Brown paper bags have been sent home with all students. Books do not need to be returned in the bags if your bag didn’t make it home, or is too small.
Each classroom will visit the book exchange on Thursday to choose books. The number of books per student is dependent on how many books in total are donated, schoolwide.
For questions or if you would like to volunteer to help, email: chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org or sarah.lewenberg@eugenevillageschool.org
Thank you so much!
Maestra Sarah (Lewenberg)
Grand-Friends Day
Our school recently celebrated an extra sweet Grand-Friends Day, welcoming grandparents and special family friends to the Village School for a joyful morning together. Grandfriends got to experience a day in the Village School life, with musical performances and a focaccia pizza lunch. Thank you to Toña and all of our incredible kitchen staff for feeding a huge crowd on top of the whole school this special lunch. A special thank you to parent and office helper extraordinaire Kristin Zay for helping us with this day! Thank you so much to the teachers for opening their classrooms to the Grandfriends.
Heart of the Village
Our Heart of the Village festival was truly a beautiful celebration of our community! From the wonderful student performances to all of the sweet activities, the day was filled with so much joy and connection. We are incredibly grateful to our dedicated parent volunteers, our amazing class coordinators, and our outstanding Village Community Council co-chairs, Cory and Britta for their countless hours of planning and prep (not to mention our wonderful Chrissy in the office!). Their hard work and heart are what made this festival so special. Thank you to everyone who helped create such a memorable and meaningful day for our village!
Annual Giving Campaign - Merry-Go-Round
We have brought in $5,700 towards our $10,000 goal for a new merry-go-round, so we are past the mid point in reaching our goal! We hope you will join us in our efforts to install new playground equipment at The Village School. You can support the campaign if you go to Annualgiving.us or follow the QR code below:
Village Kitchen News
It has been a busy week in the school kitchen!
On Thursday we cooked up tempeh burgers and roasted sweet potatoes. It is always an adventure when we try a new entree item out. Many students and some staff had never eaten tempeh before. We were pleased to see them try a new food. The tempeh came from Surata, a long standing, local business that also provides our tofu. Surata has a variety of recipes available on their website if you are interested in trying something new at home.
On Friday, a beloved Village School alumni, Giuseppe De'Angelo, visited as a special guest chef and made focaccia pizza for all. It was sweet to see so many grand-friends visit and stay for school lunch.
Toña Aguilar
March Menus
State Testing (OSAS)
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:
Winter Weather
Winter weather is here! Here is some key information families need to know.
When hazardous weather is a concern, decisions regarding schedule changes are made in the early morning, before school, when current weather conditions can be assessed. We follow the 4J District's lead for delays and closures. However, if they choose not to close, we may assess our area, and make our own decision.
Our main concern is the safety of our students and staff. We also believe students and families are best served when schools are open. We will always do our best to make the best decision possible, taking into account all of the factors.
If there is a change in the school schedule, it will be announced normally before 6:30 a.m., by phone and email message.
NO NEWS = NO CHANGE. If there is a change in the school schedule due to inclement weather, we will announce the change.
LTD buses may also be delayed or detoured when there is ice or snow on the ground. Detour information will be posted on the LTD website, www.ltd.org, and publicized to local news media.
Delayed Starts and Early Dismissal: We generally will avoid delayed starts and early dismissal due to weather. However, it is possible that unpredictable or sudden weather conditions will require such a decision to be made. Delayed start times will not alter school dismissal times.
Parent Choice: On any day when inclement weather is a concern and school is in session, families are encouraged to consider road conditions in their areas and make their own decisions based on safety. Please call the office if your child will be absent. Parents’ individual decisions about school attendance for this reason will be honored.
*Be aware: It is impossible to guarantee phone and email message delivery 100% of the time, and your alert may be delayed or blocked. If you are concerned about the weather and have not received a text alert by 6:30 a.m., check the 4J website, radio or TV for information about closures and delays and THEN CHECK THE VILLAGE SCHOOL WEBSITE. At times, our lot and incoming roads are untenable and we may need to call a delay or closure when 4j does not.
LTD Passes
Health Reminders
Community Bulletin Board
If you are looking for ways to support families at risk and in fear due to the increasing presence of ICE in our community, please consider donating to Escudo Latino. They are working long hours and playing an important role in supporting those who need it most right now. Thank you!
Summer camp with our very own Ms. Blaise!
Free Dental Clinic for Kids 5 & Up on March 7th(free stuffed animals too).
“Our dental hygiene students love kids,” says Michelle Cummins, Lane Community College’s Dental Hygiene Program Coordinator. The abundant stuffed animals with toothy grins decorating the entry way of the brightly-lit clinic seem to agree. Both the toys and the students are ready for Lane’s free, upcoming Dental Clinic for Kids on March 7th.
The clinic is part of “Give Kids a Smile,” a nationwide event in coordination with the American Dental Association Foundation. Under the careful supervision of volunteer dentists and Lane instructors, dental hygiene students will give children ages 5 to 18 free evaluations, sealants, fluoride, x-rays, and preventative dentistry.
Free appointments for kids 5-18 are available anytime between 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on March 7th, but expected to fill quickly. Interested parents should call the Lane Dental Clinic at 541-463-5206 to reserve their child’s spot today. Patients of all ages can call the same number to book low-cost appointments during regular hours.
Phone (541) 463-5206
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