Hello Vestal Community-

Tonight, as I write, the air quality seems to be slowly improving...now it is only "very unhealthy' as opposed to 'hazardous' or the truly unsettling "we don't have a name for AQI this high". So, perspective is everything. I so believe that all of us will forever be able to appreciate the simple things in ways we just never did before this pandemic.

This week has brought us to what our new normal school schedule will be for as long as we are doing distance learning. I know there were a few bumps along the way, but overall I can honestly say that I am so impressed with our teachers and your  children as learners. The perseverance, focus, patience, engagement, and true learning that I could literally watch this week was so incredibly HOPE FULL (and often just pure fun,too!) I am sure many of you saw this process in ways you haven't been able to in the past and I hope you were able to see the magic, too!

Due to the interruptions caused by all the smoke this week, we will NOT be doing Friday PICK-Up tomorrow...we will start next Friday. As a reminder, this will be 12-3 each Friday that we have school. Friday pick-up is a time for families to pick up work packets from their teacher/s. If you have neighbors who all attend Vestal, please consider sending one family to pick up multiple packets...this will help streamline our process! You can drive through or walk or bike! If you need a delivery, please inform your child's teacher. Our goal is that every family can either pick OR request delivery.

Next week, our Town Hall will be moved to Thursday and will be our Back to School Night! It will begin at 6pm, again with singing with Coach C! We hope everyone can join us, virtually of course!

Please enjoy fresher air this weekend,

Sabrina Flamoe

sflamoe@pps.net

Hello Vestal families-

Wow, it is amazing that each Thursday when I sit down to with ethos there is new and weird stuff happening in the world. Today, the air quality and fires are top of the news. I so hope everyone is safe and staying indoors as much as possible.

This week has been our soft start time to try out all of this new technology, distance learning, meeting new teachers and classmates, getting school supplies, etc. the great news is we have solved many technology troubles throughout the week and have seen almost every Vestal student successfully get on line for a class meeting! Phew!

Next week, starting Monday, school begins with a little more rigor and definitely more time. I know it will be a challenge for some (I include myself in this group) to GET UP and BE READY for learning at 8:00 AM. But, routine and schedules are good for us AND at least you don’t have to physically get to school. I am such not a morning person, but when I start my school day at 8:00 I truly get a lot more done each day! Remember, this is not forever and when in  person school really does start at 8:00, so just think of it as practice for when we return!

We are learning all sorts of tricks and shortcuts and helpful aps and just so so much these days! One new ap is a cool timer- https://www.visnos.com/demos/classroom-timer. You may want to teach your child how to use this to helpful tool for when they are working independently. Some teachers will be using it in their classrooms and teaching kids how to use it,too!

We will continue to have Family Town hall meetings AND post the link. Here is the link for lat night’s meeting about Specialists- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhFgwoyHCII&list=UU1KhRI_GgQEshJfOqe-skPg&index=1

Please check out the latest on child care opportunities through PPS. I am sure these slots will fill up fast, so look today!  https://www.pps.net/Page/935

Ok, please, please, please stay safe and let us know if there is any way we can be of help and support!

With hope, Sabrina Flamoe

sflamoe@pps.net

Hello amazing Vestal families-

For those of you new to Vestal, please know that I send out a weekly newsletter here, called Community News! Of course, there may be other shorter notes throughout the week, especially during distance learning, but I will try to save up most things for this letter!

 Many if you have had a meeting with your new teacher/s...it has been wonderful to see folks from a distance on campus OR to see pictures from some of your yards OR just to hear teachers excitement sharing abut meeting you!

TOMORROW- Back to School Parade at 10:00!

I also finally have the link to last weeks Town Hall which talks a lot about schedules, so you may want to watch-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq4geDkWpiI&list=UU1KhRI_GgQEshJfOqe-skPg&index=1

Please read about two wonderful new staff members we have welcomed to the Vestal community!

With hope, Sabrina

From our New Social Worker!

Hello everyone! I'm Ms. Kate, and I'm so excited to be working with students and their families this year at both Vestal Elementary and Jason Lee Elementary! My hope is to join with our amazing teams in guiding families toward local resources (like clothing, toiletries, bill assistance, food), and to support community self-care however I can! Please let your teacher know if you'd like to talk more and we'll set up a call or visit! 

From our New Librarian!

Hello Vestal Families,

I am so excited to be at Vestal & your student´s librarian. 

To kick off the school year, we will be running the Let's Get Reading program.  All libraries throughout PPS are implementing this program in an effort to get print books in your child's hands- there is nothing like it! 

 Here are some details that would be helpful for you to know: 

• Each student in your family will get a bag of 7 books every two weeks.
• The bags are generic for now - there will be K-2 bags & 3-5 bags with a letter to reader/conversation starters.
• Parents with multiple grade levels students can pick up at the same time by the oldest child's last name.
• When returned, the bags will sit for 96 hours before they will be given to another student. 
• Please read over these details for the schedule.
• For your reference, here is an FAQ doc.

In addition to this program, I will be going through all the cool e-books options with with your kiddo during virtual library classes. 

Please email me if you have further questions. 

Thank you, 

Alicia 

Ms. Hazen

ahazen@pps.net

Hello all, Wow! Have we been busy getting ready for you and your kids! This Fall will be like none other and we are hoping to be here for you in multiple ways!

We just met as a whole staff for the first time this morning. Our theme for the year is HoPe. A small, simple word but a huge concept!  We are taking HoPe into every aspect of our planning and teaching in the virtual world and we will share our HoPe with you!

 There are a few logistics I wanted to share with everyone.

First, what in the world does “Soft Start” mean for my child/ren???

Soft start will run from Sept.2-11. It will be split into two sections. 

The first week (NEXT WEEK!!) will be used for Home Visits. Our goal is to meet with families in some way (in person/socially distant or virtually) for 30 minutes. Each teacher will be setting up that meeting time with you soon. Obviously, this will take a lot of the teachers time and will be their primary goal for next week. They will also be prepping/planning and attending Vestal staff meetings..

So, for you and your family, all you will have next week is the Home Visit.

The second week will involve a one hour CLASS MEETING on Seesaw each day. This is a time to practice using the devices and Seesaw platform and problem solving. Your teacher will be letting you know what time the class meeting will be.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

Each student will get a backpack full of school supplies during Soft Start. You should not need to buy anything special! All Kindergarteners will receive their chrome book during the Home Visit.

FRIDAY PICK-UP/DROP-OFF DAY

Each Friday during regular school (starting Sept. 18th) we will be handing out packets, any needed technology, and library books from 12-2:30 in our side parking lot. You can pick up each week OR we can drop off at your house. Your teacher will be asking which will be best for you! More details as we get closer to the 18th!

Breakfast/Lunch Pick Up- 

Vestal is one of the sites for breakfast and lunch pick ups. All food at VESTAL is free (no one needs to pay!) Food can be picked up Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-5 pm. More details to come! You can also have food delivered. Food begins Sept. 2nd.

FULL school day schedule will begin on Sept. 14th. (see schedule below)

We have been directed that we MUST keep with our regular Vestal schedule of 8:00-2:15...YES, 8:00 is early :)

The general schedule for school meets the ODE and PPS guidelines; it is an ambitious and kind of overwhelming schedule. Please know that we will start slowly and there will be LOTS of practice time. Just like when we are in person, we will take baby steps and build up to a more full schedule. Also know that we all realize this is a very intense and difficult way to ‘do school’. Distance learning will not last forever, and we will just do the best we can! Your child’s teacher will be sharing the exact schedule for their class with you soon, but this is a general example and will be close to the real deal:

Some vocabulary-

Specialist- Art or PE or Library 

Independent Work is OFF SCREEN and/or Asynchronous

Science/Health Block- This will be asynchronous and will NOT START right away

Synchronous (S) Live- at the same time

Asynchronous (A)  Recorded, can watch whenever

We know that EVERYTHING in this letter as well as EVERYTHING in the world right now feels overwhelming. Please know our whole job is to do our best to support you and your child. We will go day by day and work to be our very best Vestal Virtual school until we are able to be back in person!

With HoPe,

Sabrina Flamoe

sflamoe@pps.net

You may want to bookmark this  VESTAL You Tube Channel. It will house recordings of our Family TownHall Meetings and my Read Alouds!

Vestal You Tube Channel

Dear PPS Parents and Guardians,

As we welcome students back to the new school year, an important step for teachers is to understand your student’s most essential learning needs. To collect this valuable information, students will take Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments. The MAP assessment is a low stakes test – this means that the results are not used for grading students or for school accountability purposes. 

Dear PPS Families,

As the 2020-21 school year gets under way, we are excited to share news about school meals. Through our partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture, we will be able to provide school meals for all students at no cost at this time. 

Dear PPS Families,

As we shift from the soft start into ongoing virtual learning, families have shared questions about the middle grades schedules. We know you are essential partners in student learning, and we want to ensure you have answers to these commonly asked questions in one place. In case you are interested in state guidance behind the PPS schedules, we have linked information below for your reference.

Dear PPS Families,