Lisa Leatham, Principal
Lisa Leatham
We have so many events happening in the next few weeks! A December parent letter and calendar will be coming home on December 2nd, but here’s a quick rundown of the upcoming dates:
11/21 (Tomorrow!) Picture retakes
11/21-12/17 Kiwanis Canned Food Drive in classrooms
11/21-11/26 Book Fair
11/22 Sports Spirit Day-wear your Duck or Beaver gear (or any other team you love!)
11/22-23 Holiday Bazaar
11/25-26 Conferences
11/27 Kiwanis Community Thanksgiving Meal@VES 11:00am
11/27-29 Thanksgiving Break
12/5 Community Tree Lighting @VES 6:00pm
12/12 Community Light Parade @7:00pm – comes by VES
12/13 Snuggle Up Spirit Day (wear you pajamas!)
12/14 SANTA Project @VES 9:00am-4:00pm
12/20 Holiday Luncheon
It’s a busy and fun time of year. Hope to see you at some of these activities!
PALS held a magic show assembly this morning for meeting our school goal in the Jog-A-Thon. It was SO FUN! Lots of students got called up to help with tricks and the assembly ended with Mrs. Leatham getting a pie in the face by our top earner, Sullivan Kirk!
A big THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the Jog-A-Thon and to PALS for making this such a fun experience for our kids!
Show your school spirit on Friday, October 25th by
wearing PURPLE or wearing your Veneta Cougar gear!
This post is intended to inform and remind folks about the free and reduced lunch program. Please take advantage of it if you qualify, and if you are not sure, please fill out the application and find out! It is a tremendous asset to our families and students. As a reminder, if you qualify for Free or Reduced lunch, breakfast is ALWAYS FREE! Alan Fullerton our food service director, in conjunction with his staff, have been working hard to provide healthier and more made from scratch meal options. Even if you don’t use this service consistently, having the option of knowing that your child can receive free breakfast on those mornings when you are running late, is a great deal!
There are two ways to apply. Go to this link (click here) print off the application, fill it out and drop off in the front office, or go to this link (click here) and apply directly online.
As a final reminder, you must apply each year. Those that were eligible in 18-19, remain eligible through September 2019, however beginning Oct 1st if you did not reapply, charges are accruing. Get your applications in ASAP. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Renee Ota at rota@fernridge.k12.or.us or 541-935-8218 Ext 2
A huge thank you to our students and parents, the Veneta community, and especially our parent organization, PALS, for another EXTREMELY successful Jog-a-Thon. Everyone’s hard work showed through today. We had parents with bubbles at various locations, parents in costumes cheering us on, a policeman running with us, and lots of happy, tired kids.
PALS is still counting last minute donations, but the total is creeping very close to $15,000.
Our VES community is AWESOME!
WE NEED PARENT, COMMUNITY MEMBER AND STUDENT FEEDBACK!
Signed into law in May of 2019, the Student Success Act is a game-changer for our schools! As part of the Student Success Act, the Student Investment Account is non-competitive grant money for Oregon school districts. The focus for these funds is on key areas for improvement — from reducing class size, increasing instructional time, addressing health and safety needs and ensuring a well-rounded education. In order to apply for these funds, our district is required to meaningfully engage stakeholders! We need ALL voices in this conversation. The Fern Ridge portion of this allocation could be in excess of 1 million dollars.
The first and easiest way to get involved is to complete the survey, at the following link: https://lesd.link/FR_Parent_Student_2019
The survey in translatable to Spanish through a drop down menu in the upper right hand corner. Please take a few minutes to complete!
The second way to become involved would be to attend our Community Input Session. The date for this is Tuesday, October 8th. The exact time and location is yet to be determined. As soon as we finalize this information, we will get it out.
Thanks for taking the time to participate and become involved in the future of Fern Ridge Schools.
One in 6 Oregon children is chronically absent. Being chronically absent is defined as missing 10% of the school days throughout the course of the year. Over the last year our district has been working closely with the Oregon Department of Education to try new and innovative things to encourage regular school attendance for all of our students.
Attendance matters for students at all grade levels. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to read at grade level and to build a strong foundation as they move from preschool and kindergarten to high school. On the other hand, students who are chronically absent are at risk of falling behind. Chronically absent students in Fern Ridge perform lower academically than their peers, have lower GPA’s, and are at a higher risk of not receiving their high school diploma.
The link below has lots of information for not only educators, but families and students as well. Things such as attendance trackers and tips for “getting out the door.” Each school in Fern Ridge has these attendance trackers in magnet form, for your refrigerators, that you can use at home. If you would like one, please contact your school. Also, at the Fern Ridge School District Office we have “Every Day Matters” yard signs. If you are willing to put one up at your home or local business, please stop by and pick one up.
Being absent from school is sometimes necessary, life happens! However emphasizing the importance of regular school attendance is an important and valuable gift you can give your student!
The VES staff took part in a fun team building experience last week, thanks to Tiana Povenmire-Kirk, our very own Fern Ridge School District School Board member. Tiana and her children taught our staff how to fold, tie, and dye shirts so we could all have fun VES spirit shirts to wear this year. Thanks to Tiana and thanks to the awesome staff at Veneta Elementary for showing us your creative side!