Lisa Leatham, Principal
Olivia Johnson
The Fern Ridge School District Family Resource Center has a new coordinator- Deborah Sumner. Deborah comes to us with an extensive background in working with families and lots of great ideas. Since being hired mid-February, Deborah has been embraced her new position with lots of enthusiasm and is planning several events at both Veneta and Elmira Elementary.
Deborah Sumner, Fern Ridge Family Resource Coordinator 541-935-8225 ext. 418
Starting March 8th on Wednesdays, Deborah will provide “Homework Help” to students from 12:45 to 2:00 PM in Room 21. Parents must sign their child up in advance by RSVPing at 541-935-8225 ext. 418. Parents must pick up- there is no transportation provided.
Beginning March 13th, on Tuesdays, Deborah will host a Coffee Chat/Playgroup for parents and their birth to school age children from 8:30 to 10 AM. There will be coffee and conversation for the grown-ups and fun activities for the kids. Continue reading
Our an
nual reading celebration and reading contest begins Monday, March 6th with a kick-off assembly at 1:45 featuring an appearance from Sluggo from the Eugene Emeralds. Students are challenged to read each night from March 6th through March 15th. Each grade level has a set goal or number of minutes students must read. Every student who meets their goal will get tickets to a Eugene Emeralds’ baseball game. The student in each classroom who reads the most minutes will also get a gift certificate to our Spring Buy One Get One Free Book Fair. The student who reads the most minutes in the entire school will get a special prize that will include lunch at a local restaurant with the principal. Reading Celebration Tally Sheets will go home on Monday so students can track the number of minutes they read during the contest. Forms are due back on March 16th.
Students are encouraged to read by themselves or read to others or have others read to them. In addition to the schoolwide reading contest, there will be other events during school to celebrate our love of reading.
As many of you may know, Mona Roderick, who was our “lunch lady” here at Veneta Elementary, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her family and friends are raising funds to grant Mona’s last wish- to take her grandchildren on a trip to Seattle. They will be holding a spaghetti feed and silent auction on Saturday, March 4th. The spaghetti will be $5 a plate and $15 for a family of four including spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. The Spaghetti Feed will be from 4 pm to 6:00 PM. In addition there will be a silent auction with a wide range of items up for bid. Bidding for the silent auction starts at 4 PM and ends at 5:45 PM.
Mona loved her time at Veneta Elementary and getting to know our students and staff. We loved her eternal cheerfulness and optimism. She made every student feel welcomed as they went through the lunch or breakfast line. Hearing of her diagnosis was a sad day for everyone here at Veneta Elementary School. We are happy to support her family in making this last wish come true.
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