Hello all- Welcome to the last Community Notes of 2018! I so hope that everyone has a restful, fun, and safe winter break.

When we return in January, we will have a newly cleared off stage and are hoping to utilize the beauty of the Vestal auditorium more and more! We are looking for any parent volunteers who would like to meet together and bring some music experiences into the school. We do have a great partnership with Montavilla Jazz that will bring some Jazz teaching for our 3rd-5th graders. We are still very committed to music continuing to be part of our TownHall Meetings...AND a new to Vestal Dad thought we could do even more within our community of talent! If you are interested, just let me know and we will put everyone in touch!

I want to take a moment to share how thankful and amazed I am by the Vestal staff- everyone is so committed to Vestal students. Their commitment is obvious through small actions every single day! 

Wear Vestal gear tomorrow as we enjoy our last day of 2018 together!

As always, thank you for trusting us with your beautiful children! We take our responsibility of teaching them very seriously!

Sabrina Flamoe

sflamoe@pps.net

Hello Vestal Community! I am writing one day early this week! Today we had our December Fire Drill...the kids did a terrific job! You may want to ask your child about how it went for their class!

Next week is our Book Fair-each day from 2:30-3:30 in the library...there are so many wonderful books! Teachers have made special requests,too!

Next Wednesday is out last Parent Coffee of 2018! Please join me at 8:15 in the Teacher's Lounge to check in about how school has been going, or any other topics you want to address.

Feel free to check out any of our Social Justice Books over the holiday break...there are some great titles for both kids and adults.

This FRIDAY---in support of the Timbers making it to the championship game, WEAR TIMBER colors (green and yellow) OR Vestal colors (blue and yellow)! Go Timbers! Go Vestal!

Stay warm, Sabrina Flamoe

Hello all! I can't believe we are at the end of November! As the weather gets colder and more wintery please make sure your kids have outside gear, as we try to get them outside if at all possible. If you don't work in schools, I am sure you can at least imagine a school full of teachers and kids stuck indoors all day- it is not ideal!

Maybe your child has mentioned that lunch has been more pleasant this week...we have decided to split Vestal and ACCESS into separate lunches. This has created a quieter, quicker hot lunch line, less crowded lunch for everyone involved!!

Reminder for everyone who participates in SUN programming after school- SUN is an extension of the Vestal school day and the same guidelines and expectations are in place. Most importantly, students in SUN may NOT leave campus between the school day and SUN. We have had students going to Wendy's and then coming back to participate. If your child does this, please tell them they are not allowed to anymore:)

Also,if your child is NOT in SUN or the Y aftercare, we do not have supervision for them and they need to have alternate plans.  We have a number of 4th and 5th graders that need to have a plan of where to head after school...so again, please make sure they know the plan!

I wanted to share that we had some district visitors on Wednesday visit a few classrooms. They shared how wonderful it was to see so many kids engaged in relevant, challenging, and interesting learning! Their feedback is such a compliment to YOUR students and OUR teachers!

TAG reminder:

If you would like to nominate your child for TAG (Talented and Gifted) testing, nomination forms are due tomorrow, November 30, 2018.  If you have questions please reach out to Morgan Whitney, TAG Coordinator (mwhitney1@pps.net).

Remember- WEAR VESTAL GEAR tomorrow and every Friday!

Thanks, Sabrina Flamoe

It is Thanksgiving weekend- a few things we at Vestal are super thankful for-

T-he community at Vestal fro being involved, committed, and  supportive!

H-aving a school wide focus on social justice and seeing our kids learning about the importance of taking action to take care of our community!

A-nice long weekend to step back and appreciate the simple, small moments in life!

N-ew kindergarten class that starts on Monday!

K-ind, Safe, Learners and the TEACHERS who teach their hearts out every day!

S-tudents...your children are the focus and purpose of every single day!

A few upcoming events to know about- 

Nov. 26th- SITE council at 2:45

Dec 4   PTA Meeting 8:15 a.m.

Dec 6  SUN  Showcase

Dec 10  Book Fair We

Dec 12  Coffee Conversations with Principal

Dec 14 Last day of school for 2018

Notes about TAG- TAG nomination forms are due November 30.

Benefits to TAG identification:

• Build community = stronger program
• Academic achievement: new teacher sees TAG identification and knows differentiation is needed
• Possible after school opportunities (such as TAG-geared SUN classes)
• Free Night at OMSI
• TAG books in book room
• Easier to request an academic plan for the school year with the child's teacher

Students in Portland Public Schools’ Community Transition Program will get to learn valuable culinary skills, thanks in a part to a donation from a legendary singer.

Student and staff safety is a primary concern for Portland Public Schools. As part of the 2017 Health, Safety and Modernization Bond, approximately $5 million was allocated to upgrade school security systems across the district. That work, known as the Secure Schools Project, uses national best practice recommendations that focus on securing school perimeters and controlling access.

Fifth-grade students will have the opportunity to visit their future middle school during open houses scheduled from January to May. This is a great opportunity for families to visit neighborhood schools, focus option and alternative programs.

Portland Public Schools marked a significant milestone in the work to bring a long-term vision to the district earlier this month, with the first meetings of the PPS Guiding Coalition. The meetings, which included about 100 participants and were themed “Let’s Dream Together,” took place Dec. 7 at the Blanchard Education Service Center and all day Dec. 8 at Faubion School.