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