Village Voice - Volume 25, Issue 6
- Chrissy Barry
- Oct 9
- 6 min read
Upcoming Events
Thursday, October 9th, Walkathon (1st - 8th Grades)
Friday, October 10th, No School, Professional Development Day
Monday, October 13th, 6th - 8th Field Trip to the Hult Center
Wednesday, October 15th, 3rd grade Field Hatfield Marine Science Center
Thursday, October 16th, Kinder Field Trip to A&M Farms
Thursday, October 16th, 1st & 8th Field Trip to A&M Farms
Monday, October 20th, 6:00 - 7:00pm, Village Community Council on Zoom
Tuesday, October 21st, 5:30 - 7:00pm, Board Meeting
Friday, October 24th, 3rd grade trip to Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Wednesday, October 29th, Halloween Hike at Village School
Thursday, October 30th, No School, Grading Day
Friday, October 31st, No School, Conferences
Volunteers needed for:
Kitchen
Math Night
Día de los Muertos
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!
This week marks the anniversary of the completion of one of the most important diplomatic gatherings of the 20th century. The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, held in Georgetown, Washington D.C., officially concluded on October 7th, 1944. The conference was organized to design a new international organization, replacing the failed League of Nations. The conference produced the first draft charter of what ultimately became the United Nations in 1945. The conference established the principle that the new organization should have the power to take collective action to maintain peace, unlike the League of Nations, which lacked enforcement ability. The conference marked a major moment of Allied unity and planning for a post–World War II world order based on cooperation rather than isolationism or power blocs. (In case you were wondering, the conference was named after the mansion it was held in. Historical bunny holes abound!)
We’ve had some cool gatherings of our own here at Village School. A group of awesome parent volunteers and Chrissy Barry helped us facilitate picture day, and we had a double assembly last Friday. Marc Hors, a documentary photographer and story teller AND uncle to VS students Olivia, Gael, and Gabriella, gave an incredible presentation of his FIVE YEAR bike trip from Alaska to Chile. Marc is traveling around the west coast to share his presentation with different schools and we were lucky enough to schedule a spot. If you haven’t heard about this, ask your student what they learned!
We had a fantastic Walkathon today! Thank you to all (long long list of names) who pitched in and helped to make this day a smashing success.
Hope you’re having a wonderful fall,
Sincerely,
Roz, Shannon and Andy
Community Service Walk-a-Thon!
The Walk a Thon was lots of fun today! The weather was really pleasant, sort of cool, and no rain, until after we all got back. These conditions meant that a lot of kids put in more laps than they expected. Our goal is to raise at least $15,000. Half of this will help The Village Kitchen. The other half will support the following eight organizations, which were chosen for their commitment to community values and ecological awareness:
1st Grade: Nearby Nature
2nd Grade: Cascades Raptors Center
3rd Grade: Food for Lane County Gardens
4th Grade: Long Tom Watershed Council
5th Grade: Walama Restoration
6th Grade: Cascades Mycological Society
7th Grade: Whole Earth Nature School
8th Grade: McKenzie RiverTrust
Students have received pledge packets (more are available in the office), but you can collect donations with our Online Pledge System: VillageWalkathon.org. Through the online platform, you can set up your own site, create a family team, and refer people to it via email, Text, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. It's easy to circulate this to a circle of family members or friends. We hope that each family will participate in the walk-a-thon to the best of its ability. If each family raises $80, we will achieve our goal, but don’t stop at that. The more contributions you raise, the more successful we’ll be at achieving our goal of giving back to the community and helping our school.
The prize for the class that raises the most money is a replica of the frigate, USS Constitution built in 1797, on display in the office. Nicknamed Old Ironsides, the ship was built for speed and ruggedness and was famous for repelling cannon balls. We envision this metaphor applying to our US Constitution, that it may endure and help support the health of our democratic republic.
Thank you very much for your participation!
Volunteering at the Village School
Be sure to watch your email, the Village Voice and the Village Vine for messages from Village Community 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 take part in.
We are looking for Kitchen Volunteers! Please let Toña know if you can help. She can be reached at taguilar@eugenevillageschool.org or 541-510-8604. There are multiple ways that you can make a huge difference in our fabulous kitchen program! She is especially looking for volunteers to help out right after drop off and is also in need of volunteers to serve lunch from 11:30 - 1:00pm.
Keep an eye out for signups for Math Night and Día de los Muertos. If either of these events is calling to you, please don't hesitate to reach out to Chrissy at any time!
We ask families to contribute 30-40 hours of volunteer hours per year, and single parent households to contribute 15-20 hours. Please stop by the office to fill out a volunteer packet if you have not already done so (Background checks are valid for 2 years). All parents who have filled out a volunteer packet have been entered into our online volunteer system, HelpCounter. This is where you can track your hours, and is the system you will be signing in on when you come to the office.
*Please always make sure to sign in, grab a volunteer badge, and sign out at the office when you volunteer. We have our new computer system set up in the office (see below). Please make sure to sign in there whether you are a volunteer or visitor.
Reach out to chrissy@eugenevillageschool.org or 541-345-7285 with any questions about volunteering!
Family Directories
Copies of the Family Directory are now available in the office. You are welcome to stop by and pick one up!
Kindergarten Toys
We'd like to ask kinder families to refrain from letting their children take toys from the Kindergarten porch after school. We will be putting toys away at the end of the day. Thank you!
Village Kitchen
Earlier this week we held an apple tasting at lunch time. Students sampled six different varieties of apple from the sweet and familiar Fuji to the tart green Granny Smith. There was even a mystery apple tucked in which one of our parent volunteers picked from the apple tree outside of the Kindergarten classroom.
We'd like to give a special shout out to a long time supporter of The Village School Kitchen, Shirley Valentine. Shirley's grandchildren graduated from our school a few years ago. She has been a kitchen volunteer in various capacities and her recent donation to our program enabled us to purchase the apples for our apple tasting.
The leftover apples were sliced up and put in a dehydrator, added to the trail mix put into Walk-a-thon sack lunches!
Toña Aguilar
Assembly
We had two wonderful assemblies presented by photographer Marc Hors, and both students and staff gave rave reviews!
8th Grade Bake Sale
Health Reminders
Community Bulletin Board
Dear Friends of Eurythmy,
On Friday October 17 Portland Eurythmy returns to Eugene Waldorf School with a new evening performance. At 6:00pm this delightful program will be offered to the parents and community-at-large on a donation basis. At 7:00pm The Foundation Stone Meditation will be presented.
The Crystal Ball is about a fearless young boy who escapes his own enchantment and risks his life to set a princess free. Beloved storyteller Daniel Stokes, and musician extraordinaire Colin Shepherd join Portland Eurythmy to bring the story to life with movement, music, color, puppetry and a whole lot of magic.
Run time for The Crystal Ball is 45 minutes, and for The Foundation Stone Meditation is 22 minutes.
All are thrilled to be sharing with you this program for the young and young at heart, and hope to see you there!
Take a look at this class facilitated by the parent of a Village School alumni:
Do your kids love nature exploration and outdoor adventures? Then check out Nearby Nature's Natural Neighbors After School program! K-5th grade participants enjoy hiking, natural science, Earth art, and free time in Nearby Nature's outdoor classroom and Alton Baker Park. Programs happen Tuesdays and Fridays from 2:30-5:30 pm and Wednesdays from 2-5:30 pm, rain or shine, with flexible drop off for the first hour of each day and pick up between 5-5:30 pm. Online enrollment is ongoing -- details at Natural Neighbors After School. Scholarship assistance available. https://www.nearbynature.org/natural-neighbors/.
Does your tween or teen love the outdoors and want to learn survival skills? Whole Earth Nature School has a transformative program called FOREST Understory that does just that! This unique opportunity is an eight-month program that immerses 6th to 10th grade students into the world of ancestral wilderness skills. On the first Saturday of every month, we focus an entire day on a unique skill and improve on lessons from the month before. FOREST Understory builds confidence, creates strong friendships, and deepens nature connection. Come join us for this amazing experience!
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