The Principal's Day

Each day we take so many things for granted at VPE so this Thanksgiving I want to say thank you to…

• The parents that volunteer so that our students can read with an adult and take a Reading Counts test!
• The working parents that stay up late to make a special treat for Colonial Day, birthdays, and more!
• The countless volunteers that make our PTA run flawlessly whether they are running a Book Fair, collecting food for the Food Drive, planning the Family Dinner for 800+ people, feeding our staff Thanksgiving lunch or so much more every single week.
• Our teachers that go the extra mile everyday for our students, greeting them at the door with a smile and working to make sure they all succeed.
• The assistants that do whatever it takes to make sure the classroom is running smoothly and  every child is having a good day.
• The special area teachers that make learning fun and work together to make connections for all  of our students!
• The cafeteria workers that fed a record 784 people Thanksgiving Lunch and by the end of the day were making plans for next year!
• The custodians that can clean up and set up and fix up everything for our students and staff at a minute’s notice and still have the cleanest building in the district, year after year!
• The office staff that knows the answer to every question, even when we ask it over and over again, while continuing to welcome  all adults and students every single day.
•  I am thankful that we get to come to school every day and work with 677 of the most wonderful kids in the world!

This Thanksgiving take a moment to say thanks to all those around you that we take for granted! I am!

 
Congratulations to our Veterans Park Elementary Primary and Intermediate Academic Teams for a great showing in our first challenge of the 2009-2010 school year!   It was so exciting to see our students  participating in the Academic Challenge Invitational on Saturday.  The competition was both a test of knowledge and a test of nerves!  The day-long, single-elimination tournament requires not only preparation in the classroom and practice after school, but also physical stamina and a determination to be the last ones standing among more than 1,600 peers.

The Academic Challenge program, organized jointly by One Community, One Voice and the Fayette County Public Schools since 2004, is available to all students in grades 1-5. The goal is to create a culture that encourages children to embrace scholastic excellence, gives students opportunities to compete in rigorous academic contests, and involves parents in their kids’ education. The annual series includes three Saturday competitions held at Tates Creek High School. In addition to the Nov. 14 contest, there will be a Principal’s Cup on Jan. 30 and the Superintendent’s Cup on March 13.  The program has two divisions: primary (grades 1-3) and intermediate (grades 4-5). Most schools field several teams, each with four to six students. In competition, three teams square off at a time. A moderator reads a question, and the children have 45 seconds to confer and write their team’s answer on a white board. Each round has 20 questions, and the winning team advances to the next round.

Veterans Park Elementary had over 60 students participating and had both primary and intermediate teams in the semi-finals! Thanks to our coaches, Ms. Altwies, Ms. Davis, Ms. Little and all our parent coaches for helping our students shine!

WOW! Once again the parental support from VPE is second to none. Friday morning we invited our students to bring the special men in their lives to breakfast! We served breakfast to 469 people in an hour! A big thanks goes to our kitchen staff for the hard work and to all the extra servers, too! Finally,  thanks goes to the men that got up early and stood in line to make our students feel special.  Being one of the top schools in the state , we have lots of visitors, and they always ask what makes VPE so successful year after year after year.  There are so many factors, but I truly believe that the main reason is the teamwork! Teamwork between teachers, students and parents sets us apart.  Friday morning was just the perfect example.  Our team always comes through in a big way!

The Veterans Park Elementary School annual Veterans’ Day Program will be held Wednesday, November 11, 2009 from 1:30-2:00 p.m. You are cordially invited to attend! We will be recognizing all Veterans in the audience during a special musical presentation.  Please feel free to bring or invite any veterans you know!

Please note that this is a date change from our school folder! Sorry!

The cheers for our PTA!
The past few weeks at VPE have been jam packed with learning, fun and excitement thanks to PTA!
KENTUCKY KIDS DAY – Check out the video here!
ART TO REMEMBER
WALK TO SCHOOL DAY
UK STEEL DRUM BAND
RED RIBBON ” Say No To Drugs!” WEEK
Don’t forget all our great community service with the Buddy Walk, Blood Drive and Food Drive!

By the way send in that food or money next week! The more it weighs the better! We want to be one of the top ten schools to contribute to God’s Pantry in the district!

THANKS TO OUR PTA FOR ALL THE GREAT SUPPORT!

WE MADE IT!

• We are proud to be the number two school in the whole state of Kentucky!!!  We know it is because of the great teamwork between our students, teachers and parents! VPE is a great learning community with high expectations for every single child. WATCH US SHINE!
  
  We celebrated reaching our school achievement goal of 123!!!!!!  Ask your child to sing  the VPE song for you!!

Check out all the data for Kentucky at the Kentucky Association of School Councils Website:
http://www.kasc.net/

The "MAGIC" Roofers!

I just had to share this email from a parent… 

 One of the big pieces of equipment used by the roofers was apparently outside Mrs. Callahan’s window today, along with a worker. A girl in the class noticed the man outside the window and came to Benjamin’s table, telling all the children to wave at the man working outside. “And it was magic!” Benjamin said, “because he could see in our room and he waved back!”

 You know, with all the interruptions this roofing project has the potential to cause, this one is not so bad. I’m glad to learn that the roofers are magic, but even more delighted that they are attuned to the excitement their work gives some of the children. That wave was important!

The roof project is ahead of schedule and with continued SUNSHINE they should start putting the metal on next week! The kids and teachers have done a great job working through it and the contractors have been wonderful about working around us too! Just a few more weeks and we will be as good as new and water tight!

This week we have started MAP testing, passed out supplies and clorox wipes, continued to have lots of sunshine which leads to perfect roof replacement weather, and kicked off the PTA gift sales!

The MAP test is a great instructional tool that we use at Veterans Park Elementary with all of our students.  It tests both Reading and Math at least 3 times each year.  The assessment gives us a RIT score (named after the man who develped it) for each child. This RIT scale gives us a framework by which we measure student growth over time. We will be sharing your child’s scores, goals for the year and plans for instruction in our fall conferences! It is such an exciting time at VPE.

As a part of our attempt to help parents with the cost of school supplies, we removed nonconsumable and cleaning supplies from our school supply lists.  The teachers agreed to conserve and be very frugal with our supplies so that we could buy scissors, math templates, rulers, clipboards, clorox wipes and more instead of requiring students to bring them.   We hope this is helping our families during these tough economic times.  The Clorox wipes arrived today and contrary to the rumor in 5th grade, we bought them. They were not supplied by the Center for Disease Control!   We are encouraging everyone to wash, wash, wash their hands to prevent the spread of any flu- like symptoms.  Everyone should have already received a letter from the district about the flu.  Here is their official statement:
For more information about flu in our community please visit www.lexingtonhealthdepartment.org, or call the Flu Hotline at 288-7529. If the flu becomes more severe or prevalent in our community, we may take additional steps in concert with the health department. Just like during a normal flu season, we have been advised by the health department that there is not a need to alert families to every instance of flu in a school. But we are committed to keeping you informed and up-to-date if additional action is warranted.

Here is that roof update that you have all been wondering about!  With the great sunshine this week, they were able to move to the classroom wings.  We need 12 more sunny days to remove the old roof and 10 sunny days to put on the new metal roof.  They have been delightful to work with and keep our students’ needs foremost in mind.  The teachers and students have come up with some great ways to stay focused during the pounding.

Why does PTA do a fundraiser?   It is to offset the costs of all their great programs and support at VPE!
Did you know that PTA brings plays and performances to our school every year? 
Did you know that PTA reimburses teachers each year for a small amount of the all the money they spend out of their own pockets? 
Did you know that PTA helps fund all the great projects in our special area classes?
Did you know that last year PTA bought smart boards for our Music, Art and Science Rooms? (They should be installed any day now!)
So be a part of PTA!  Start by becoming a member and helping your child sell some gift wrap! THANK YOU!

As you can read, we have had a busy week at VPE !
Have a great weekend and take some time to enjoy your family!

Ever been frustrated with your child’s answers about school?  Have you ever wanted to know more and you keep getting less and less?

I can relate! Remember, I have a teenage boy and for the past 10 years I have been asking him the same question every night at dinner… “What did you do at school today?” and he has answered the same way… “NOTHING!”   or “How was school?” …”School!”  And the battle begins.. My husband used to try to intervene, but now he just shakes his head and sits quietly. 

Me:  “I know you did something, just tell me one thing!” 
Logan:  “No, really nothing, Mom!!!”
Me:  ”Well, what did you learn?”
Logan:  “Nothing!!!!”
 And I must admit I have even resorted to”What did you eat for lunch?” just to get an answer that did not infuriate me!

Last year we were celebrating a birthday with friends on a school night and she taught me so very much about how to get the information I had been striving for all these years. 
She asked such wonderfully specific questions that the children had to actually reflect and give great answers. 

Questions like:
-What did you today at school to help someone else?
-What was the best thing about school today (and you can’t say lunch, recess or dismissal).  Logan has used all three of  those.
-What would you like to do tomorrow at school?
-Tell us something that made you laugh or smile at school today.
-Give us an example of something at school today that you really had to think about.

After the questions, everyone began to talk and the dinner was delightful. My son, the same one who had done nothing and learned nothing for the past 10 years of school, began to share great stories and experiences.

After that night I realized that if I ask the right questions, I get all the information and more.  I must admit there are nights that I still start with the wrong question. Bad habits are hard to break, but when Logan says, “NOTHING!” I quickly remember the better strategy.

Just remember they really did do lots at school today.   You just have to ask the right questions!

WATCH US SHINE!
Wow! I can’t believe it is Friday! What a great first three days!  We had very few tears, well not many from the kids. We did have several crying parents! I promise you we are taking great care of your children!  We love them just like our own!  Speaking of our own, my son is off to 10th grade at Henry Clay High school this week! My, how time flies, so enjoy the days when they still want you to walk them to the door and come for lunch!

Here are just a few of the great things I have heard in this short week (You can’t make these things up!)

Can you keep a secret? We are the best upper primary class! I know this because my teacher told us, but I am not supposed to tell anyone else!” -Upper Primary Student

“VPE is a great school! It has a giant restaurant, a playground and all these really friendly people, but my mom doesn’t know it because she cries all the way here everyday!” -Kindergartner

P.S. – The roof replacement and  parking has been manageable and the inconvenience will be worth it when we see our beautiful new roof by November!