Lisa Leatham, Principal
Thanks to a generous donation from Burley, Kaiser Permanent, Fres
h Dental, and the United Way of Lane County, we are happy to announce that each Veneta student will be given their own dental kit to help promote dental hygiene and good dental health. The kits include a toothbrush, full tube of toothpaste, a timer to help make sure students brush the recommended two minutes, and floss- all in a ziplock bag that students can take with them on sleepovers or camping etc. It even includes directions to help your children brush the correct way.
This would be a great time to talk to your child about dental health and how to take care of their teeth. Poor dental health is a primary cause behind student absences and student absences directly impact student learning. Helping your child improve their dental health can pay off in major benefits their entire lives.
For more information on dental health for kids, please check out this website:
All VES parents are invited to a parent forum o
n Thursday, February 16th from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM in the school gym. On the agenda will be a presentation from the Elementary Enrollment Equalization committee. This group, composed of staff from both elementary schools, has been looking into ongoing enrollment concerns; chief among them how to balance class size between the two buildings. With enrollment at Veneta projected to grow, keeping class sizes equitable between the two schools is a concern. Gary Carpenter, Fern Ridge School District superintendent, along with members of the Elementary Enrollment Equalization committee will outline what the enrollment problems are and some possible solutions the committee has been exploring. This is a great opportunity for parents to get information directly from the source and provide feedback that will help the district in finding an answer to this ongoing problem.
For those who are unable to attend, a survey will be put out to the community for your feedback and input.
At the FRSD School Board meeting last night, the Board approved adding five days to the school calendar to make up for days lost du
e to snow or ice. February 20th is no longer a holiday. It will now be a school day. The following days have been added to the end of the school year: Friday, June 16th, Monday June 19th, Tuesday June 20th, and Wednesday June 21st. This means the last day of school will now be Wednesday, June 21st. School will dismiss at 12:45 per our regular early release schedule on that day. Field Day will now take place on Tuesday, June 20th. Fifth Grade promotion will take place on Wednesday, June 21st at 8:30.
New calendars will be sent home to all students.
PALS is happy to 
announce that our Neon Family Dance will be Friday, February 17th. The theme of this year’s dance is Neon so break out your neon colored shirts, skirts, etc. The dance will be from 6 PM to 8 PM. The cost is $2 per a person or $5 for families of 4 or more. Glow sticks and other glow items will be sold at the dance for $1 each. A selfie booth will be available for pictures. The dance will feature a professional DJ with lights.
A responsible adult must accompany each child and that adult must stay at the dance for as long as the child stays at the dance. This is not an event where you can drop off your child and come back and pick them up.
While at the dance, students need to be safe, respectful, and responsible. They must stay in the gym or the cafeteria- the hallways, library, and classrooms are off limits. We want students to have fun dancing around to the lights and music, but please no running or chasing on the dance floor. Everyone at the dance should be safe, respectful, and responsible so a great time can be had by all.
We are happy to announce that our “Make Parenting a Pleasure” class
es will restart on February 9th. Due to the many cancellations, we opted to start the series over. This means that you can still join. This curriculum, from Parenting Now, is nationally recognized for giving parents the skills they need to improve their parenting. These classes are not just for struggling parents, even great parents will become better parents with these tips and tools. Topics include taking care of yourself as well as your family, stress management, anger management, communicating with your child, and positive discipline. Families can take the entire twelve week class or sign up for the topic that appeals to them. However families that complete 10 of the 12 sessions will get a gift card.
Classes will be held at Veneta Elementary School and taught by Angi Trent. Classes will be Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:00 beginning February 9th. There will be dinner included in the first meeting on February 9th. Free childcare will be provided for all children ages three and up. Additional information can be found on the flyer linked below. To register, fill out the registration form below and return it to Veneta Elementary School. You can also pick up registration forms at Veneta Elementary, Elmira Elementary, and the Fern Ridge District Office.
Classes are open to any families living in the Fern Ridge boundaries with children aged birth to 8 years old. For more
We are pushing back the end of the semester to allow middle school and high school students more time for instruction before they take their finals. This means that second quarter/first semester will end February 2nd, not January 26th. The teacher workday will be February 3rd, not January 27th.
So no school February 3rd and we will be in school on January 27th.
A decision about adding days back to the calendar due to the snow/ice days will be made in February by the school board. Once that decision is made, we will notify families.
Thanks!
Friday, January 20th will be our Hip Hop Dress Up Day. Students can have fun dressing up, but please remember that the school dress code applies. The complete dress code is included in your VES Family Handbook, which is a link on the right side of this post.
Hook’s Revenge– Hook’s Revenge by Heidi Schulz is a fun and adventure filled kid’s book and one of the books selected for this year’s OBOB contest. Author Heidi Schulz will be at the Eugene Public Library on January 26th at 4 PM. She will be presenting on Hook’s Revenge and answering questions. The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-6687.
PALS- Don’t forget that our PALS meeting was changed from last Tuesday to Wednesday, January 18th at 6:30 PM. Childcare will be provided. Come and be a part of making Veneta Elementary a great place to learn and grow. Continue reading
The District is looking for parent/community feedback regarding a problem that needs to be addressed. The problem is that out of our approximately 600 Elementary students in the District K-5, approximately 380 live within the current VES designated boundary, and 220 live within the current EES designated boundary. The problem will continue to grow in the coming years, due to the vast majority of expected housing growth taking place within the VES boundary, as well as the fact that of our current 148 enrolled Kinders and 1st graders, only 46 live within the EES boundary. This problem manifests itself in different ways: transportation issues, unbalanced class sizes, loss of significant class time for students being bused and arriving too late to eat breakfast or are being pulled out of school early, additional costs and much more. To not address the problem would not be in the best interest of our students. For the past year, a District committee has met to discuss possible solutions. They are: Continue reading
Veneta Elementary School would like to invite families to plan on joining us on Tuesday, December 20th for our annual Holiday Luncheon. Parents, grandparents, and other family members are all invited.
The menu includes: turkey gravy, whipped potatoes, green beans, whole wheat dinner roll, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato cake.
Costs: Adults – $3.25; Elementary and Pre-School Children – $2.45; Middle School Students – $2.60; High School Students – $2.85
SERVING TIMES
Mrs. Peirce 10:20**Ms. Knox 10:25**Mrs. Nelson 10:30**Mrs. Cutsforth 10:35**Mrs. Orme 10:40**Mrs. Messman 10:45**Mrs. Greene 10:50** Mr. Guill 10:55**Mr. Moeller 11:00**Mrs. Chen 11:05 **Mrs. Kenyon 11:10 **Mrs. Johnson 11:15**Mrs. Pebworth 11:20**Mrs. McGuire 11:25 **Mrs. Markham 11:30
Parking is limited so please plan accordingly. Parking in the bus loop is not permitted
Order forms will be going home Monday, December 12th. Please make sure you return your order form if you are planning to attend so that we know how many are coming and we can plan accordingly
PALS will be s
elling candy canes and smencil grams beginning Monday, December 12th before school, during lunch, and after school. Parents or other family members can purchase a candy cane or smencil gram that will be delivered to their child on Tuesday, December 20th. In addition to the candy cane or smencil, the $1 cost also includes a message tag where parents can write a personal message to their child.
Students can also purchase candy canes for their friends that will be delivered on Tuesday for $1. Just like parents, students can write a message on a gift tag that will be attached to the candy cane when it is delivered.
So whether it’s a grandmother sending a candy cane to each of her grandchildren or a student wanting to send candy canes to their friends, this is a great way to let someone know that they are special this holiday season.
Candy canes will be on sale Monday, December 12th thru Monday, December 19th. They will be delivered to students towards the end of the day on the 20th. Thank you to our PALS volunteers for their work on this fun project.