Things are going well in Waterville! We are finishing up benchmarking assessments and creating intervention groups for each student to focus on the individual skills and needs of each student. Teachers will be sending home reports on how your child is doing soon, and what they are working on during our MTSS intervention time.

Preschool, Kinder Prep & Kindergarten Parents: The state requires that we ask parents to fill out the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) for each student PreK-Kindergarten. We need your help completing this. Please click here to be taken to the ASQ website and complete this for your child if you have not done so this school year. This will help us identify any students at-risk, and help us better support the individual needs of each student. This must be completed by Wednesday, September 20th for each preschool, kinder prep, and kindergarten student.

Thinking Ahead: Homecoming will be the week of September 26th-29th. Dress up days will be announced next week! Please note, the Homecoming Parade has been moved to Waterville this year due to the road construction.

Upcoming Dates:

Sunday, September 10th- Grandparent's Day!

Monday, September 11th- Elementary Site Council at Blue Rapids Elementary 6:30 pm

Monday, September 18th- Board of Education Meeting 6:00 pm

Monday, September 25th- No School-Teacher Inservice Day.

Tuesday, September 26th-29th- Homecoming Week Dress Up Days

Friday, September 29th- Homecoming Parade at Waterville at 2:15

Even though it was a short week with the Labor Day holiday, we had a good week in Blue Rapids. Thursday the students were all smiles as we had our annual Fall picture day. Don't worry if your student missed pictures this week. Retakes will be on October 26th!

I want to give a shout-out to our 6th graders! Right from the start, they have shown great leadership throughout the building. We have students helping with cross walk duty before and after school and assisting teachers during jumpstart in the morning. Way to go 6th graders!

Here are some upcoming dates to remember:

• No School for students / Teacher Professional Development September 25th
• Fire prevention assembly October 10th
• 5th/6th grade field trip to the symphony October 24th
• Picture retakes is October 26th

As I have shared before, every class in Blue Rapids completes character education lessons each week. Below is a video highlighting the power of positivity. I encourage you to view and discuss it with your student(s).

As always, I want to thank you for the blessing that it is to work with your children. My door is always open if you have any questions or concerns.

-Mr. Staples

.

Each day in the elementary schools, we teach our students how to have purposeful interactions and goals. We believe that having a common purpose will promote the academic and social emotional well-being of each student. We teach students the VHS model:

To celebrate students accomplishing these things, we have created positive office referrals, with VHS tickets. Teachers and staff hand out VHS tickets when they see a student doing the right thing. Here are some pictures of students receiving their VHS tickets!

We had so many wonderful examples of Value, Honor, Success! We drew five lucky VHS ticket winners this week! Congrats to Camden, Waylon, Jaedyn, George, and Jack!

Colts Round-Up is an after-school enrichment program that runs Monday through Thursday from 3:30—5:30.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT STUDENTS BE PICKED UP ON TIME EACH DAY.

There will be transportation provided at the end of CRU for students back to BR. There is no rural transportation.

Blue Rapids students need to be picked up at the bus stop by 5:40.

There will be NO FEE for Colts Round-Up at this time however this form is crucial to keeping a record of the number of students we serve for grant money.

The impact of an afterschool program is vital. Colts Round-Up provides a safe, nurturing place with opportunities to reinforce learning from school, teach social skills, encourage good citizenship, and allow parents peace of mind while they finish their workdays.

As a community and school district, we are blessed to have fantastic staff & families. Colts Round-Up supplies a healthy snack, enrichment activities, social interaction with their peers as well as opportunities to enhance the lives of others through community service. We will continue to emphasize character-building and physical activity.

This year, Colts Round-Up will again offer programming for the KP-6 grades. We hope that this can have a positive impact on the families and students in our community.

Click the link to register today!

CRU Registration Link

FIRST DAY: September 5

Days there will not be CRU:

September: 25

October: 3, 4, 16 & 31

November: 13, 22 & 23

December: 6 & 7
LAST DAY OF FIRST SEMESTER: December 19

SECOND SEMESTER FIRST DAY: January 8

Days there will not be CRU:

January: 15

February: 13, 15, 19

March: 11-15(spring break)

April: 15

LAST DAY: May 9

Valley Heights Community Ed. Will Host Hunter Education On Sept. 30 & Oct. 1 For

Individuals 11 Years & Older. Students Ages 11–15 Must Be Accompanied By An Adult

Class Size Is Limited Priority Will Be Given To USD #498 Students And Patrons. Click

the link or scan the code to register!

https://forms.gle/jULSn6o2HVpjkrZCA

Did you know that even though packaging no longer has box tops on them to cut out, that you can still support your school? Download the Box Tops app and scan your receipt to earn money for schools. This is a simple way to give back to your community! Click here for more details!

Email: judeboer@valleyheights.org tstaples@valleyheights.org sspoonts@valleyheights.org
Website: www.valleyheights.org