Principal Wheeler’s Weekly Update 9-6-24
Hello Viewlands Families!
Happy Friday! It was wonderful to be back together, students and educators, learning school routines and building community together.
As we begin to settle into this school year, our Viewlands staff will continue to work collaboratively to support students in learning school and classroom routines and building a strong classroom community. The school and classroom routines help students know what to expect and how to engage in learning academically and socially. A strong classroom community helps build a culture where peers support one another, embrace commonalities and differences of their peers, and fosters an environment where students can learn and grow socially and academically. We strive to build strong classroom communities. This is a big focus at the beginning of the year, but something that must be part of the classroom and school throughout the year.
We know as we share space in community together, there will be peer to peer conflicts or challenges that need to be addressed, this is part of the learning and growing. When peer conflicts happen educators will support students to talk about this through supported conversations where students can share their feelings and repair relationships. Mistakes are part of learning and growing. Elementary age children are learning how to work with others, play together, learn together, how to manage their body in play, how to be a good friend, and sometimes pushing boundaries. This is part of development. Each child is at their own unique place on the continuum of that development. Every child belongs at Viewlands. We will have students with a wide range of strengths, areas of development, abilities, social skills, and lived family stories.
I will send Friday updates every week during school (not during breaks). These updates will have school information and updates from partners, including VEPTSA. They are often long. I use headers so you can hopefully quickly scan if you don’t have time to read everything in the moment.
Your children are bright, inquisitive, and creative thinkers. We will continue to seek ways to make every student feel known, valued, and empowered through the year.
In Partnership,
Carrie Wheeler | Viewlands Principal
Home-School Red Folders
Next week students will bring home their red home to school folder. All students at Viewlands will have a red home-to-school folder. This will be used all year as the way to bring important things from school to home and home to school. Next week the red folder will have important beginning of school packets. Please complete any needed paperwork and return to school as soon as possible.
The beginning of school packets coming home next week will have a lot of information.
- REQUIRED for ALL: Anything on green paper and the white device agreement form is required and must be completed and returned in the red folder
- REQUIRED FOR SOME: Anything on yellow paper are return only IF it applies to your child/family. If it does NOT apply to your child/family you don’t need to return it.
- INFORMATION: All other is information for your family.
Not all grades/classrooms will need to send home things every day. Please make it part of your family routine to check the red folders when they come home.
Lunch
Students can bring lunches from home or get a school lunch. Viewlands is a school that receives Title 1 supports. As a Title 1 school we can offer a breakfast (typically one breakfast item, one fruit and one milk) and a lunch (one entrée item, one fruit, one vegetable option and a milk) to any child that chooses to have a school meal. Please note that students choosing school lunch (not a lunch from home) are required to get a full meal. Students can’t receive a milk only.
We do our best to encourage students to eat their lunches, but please note the lunch supervision team are supervising a high number of students so we will not be able to check lunches daily. If we see patterns or become aware of children not eating, we will try to do daily check-ins with them to encourage them. If your child is a picky eater, please know that they may not eat well when the options are not something they are willing to eat. Please talk with your child about what they are eating.
School Pictures
Viewlands will have school pictures on Friday, October 4th. The school pictures will be available for purchase. More information on school pictures will come home in a few weeks as we get closer to the date. Every student will take a photo even if the family is not purchasing photos. These photos will be used for the yearbook unless a family opts out on the FERPA form and doesn’t want their child pictured in the yearbook.
There will be a photo retake day for students that were absent on picture day.
Viewlands Spirit Days
We are excited to share our Viewlands Spirit Day plan! These are optional, not required, but anyone who wants to participate, we encourage it!
- Every Thursday – Viewlands Community Spirit Day – wear Viewlands spirit wear OR the main Viewlands color (blue) OR anything with an Orca on it!
- Every Friday – Community and Me Celebration Day – wear something that is about you (the student) and/or a community the student is a part of, simple things like their favorite color or, a sports team you/your family cheer for, a place or community you or your family love to visit or feel a part of, a college you or your family feel connected to, an organization or cause you support, LGBTQIA+ Pride gear, or just something you love to wear.
- 3-5 Fun Fridays Add-Ons to the Community and Me Celebration Day – these will be spread across the year and easy to participate in but completely optional.
VEPTSA
The Viewlands PTSA, VEPTSA, are our school partners. They support the school in many ways, including helping making sure we have volunteers for school events and activities, supporting school events, planning community building events, supporting families and classrooms through family ambassadors, and funding important supports at school, including but not limited to the hourly lunchroom supervision role, enrichment activities and assemblies, a digital reading support program for 1st and 2nd graders, supplies and materials, and teacher grants that can be used for classroom materials, activities, or fieldtrips.
VEPTSA’s goal is not only to support the school, but also to increase representation of families in VEPTSA. We greatly appreciate the partnership with VEPTSA!
Updates from VEPTSA:
VEPTSA Membership – Free Memberships
Viewlands PTSA (VEPTSA) supports our school community providing coordination and funds for school and community events, critical student resources, and advocating for each student at Viewlands. Membership is now FREE! *Use the code Member24 at checkout for a free membership.
Stay connected with the Viewlands Elementary community by joining Konstella to access the school/VEPTSA calendar, volunteer opportunities, and classroom directory and events. FAQs and tips here.
Check out the new 2024-2025 Viewlands Orca Spiritwear designs! New and past spiritwear designs available in t-shirts, hoodies, beanies and hats. Best of all, 10% of all purchases support Viewlands.
VEPTSA Connect
Other ways to stay connected:
Signing up for email newsletters: https://viewlandsptsa.org/about/#email-signup
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ViewlandsPTSA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/viewlandsptsa/
Important Upcoming School Calendar Dates
- Wednesday, September 11th – Early Dismissal at 1:10. All Wednesdays going forward will be early dismissal days at 1:10.
- Thursday September 26th 5:30-7PM- Bring Your Family to School Night
- Friday, October 4th – School Picture Day
- Monday, October 7th – Viewlands Move-a-Thon
- Wednesday, October 9th – Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day
- Thursday, October 10th – Multilingual and Latinx Family Night – an event specifically for our Latinx families AND all families with students that are part of our multilingual program.
- Friday October 11th – NO SCHOOL, Staff Professional Development Day
- Thursday, October 31st – All School Zoo Fieldtrip, lots of approved SPS family volunteers needed during the school day to support this field trip
Neighborhood Information: Piper’s Orchard Harvest Festival
Piper’s Orchard is bringing back the annual “Festival of Fruit” on Saturday, October 5, from 11am – 2pm at Piper’s Orchard in Carkeek Park! Come celebrate the harvest with cider pressing, apple sampling, an Apple Identification Expert (folks should plan to bring their own apples!), a mason bee demonstration, live dance performance, cake walk (“Pie Walk!”), and more! Folks are encouraged to take public transportation, but limited parking is also available at Viewlands Elementary and QFC. Additional event information is available at pipersorchard.org.