VAMS Panther Paws Newsletter

• April 29 - May 3 - Break the Dress Code Week to Support Donte Kehler
  
• Tuesday, April 30 - Special Olympics Track in Gunter
• Wednesday, May 1 - VAMS Community Service Hour Logs Due (more information below)
• Thursday, May 2 - Progress Reports Go Home
• Thursday, May 2 - Kona Ice Day for 5th & 6th Grade
• Thursday, May 2 - VAISD Fine Arts Night from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at VAHS
• Friday, May 3 - Star Card Hat Day
• Friday, May 3 - Student Council Field Trip to Six Flags
• Friday, May 3 - Kona Ice Day for 7th & 8th Grade
• Friday, May 3 - Girls Night Out for VAMS Girls 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at VAMS Gym (more information below)
• Saturday, May 4 - Little Big Town Fun Run (more information below)
• Monday, May 6 - National Nurse Day - Show Nurse Wilson some love!
• May 6 - 10 - Buy One Get One Free Book Fair in VAMS Library
• May 6 -10 - Teacher Appreciation Week
• Tuesday, May 7 - Algebra End of Course Exam (STAAR Test)
• Thursday, May 9 - VAMS Student Basketball Tournament - 5th & 6th grade 5:30 - 7:00 and 7th & 8th grade 7:30 - 9:00
• Friday, May 10 - Special Olympics Soccer at VAHS
• Friday, May 10 - 8th Grade Dance 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. in VAMS Cafeteria
• Saturday, May 11 - 7th & 8th Grade Band Six Flags Trip
• Monday, May 13 - 6th & 7th Math STAAR Test and 5th & 8th STAAR Math Retest - Closed Campus
• Tuesday, May 14 - 6th & 7th Reading STAAR Test and 5th & 8th Reading STAAR Retest - Closed Campus
• Wednesday, May 15 - MS/HS athletic girls physicals at ATC @ 5:00 p.m. (more information below)
  
• Wednesday, May 15 - 5th & 8th Grade Science STAAR Test - Closed Campus
• Wednesday, May 15 - 7th Grade Field Trip to Collin County Adventure Camp
• Thursday, May 16 - 8th Grade Social Studies STAAR Test - Closed Campus
• Friday, May 17 - 6th Grade Band Field Trip to Pinstack
• Friday, May 17 - Star Card Treat After School
• Friday, May 17 - Begin Collecting Library Books for end of year inventory
• Friday, May 17 - End of Year Student Dance - 5/6 dance 5:30-7:00 & 7/8 dance 7:30 - 9:30 - Admission $5.00
• Monday, May 20 - 8th Grade Chromebooks will be collected
• Monday, May 20 - 5th Grade Awards Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria
• Monday, May 20 - 6th Grade Awards Ceremony at 2:00 p.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria
• Tuesday, May 21 - 7th Grade Awards Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria
• Tuesday, May 21 - Star Card Fun Day for students who earned 3 out of 4 Star Cards this year. 5th & 6th grade in the morning and 7th & 8th grade in the afternoon
• Tuesday, May 21 - 8th Grade Awards Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in the VAMS Cafeteria - ALL 8th grade students will be recognized during this ceremony
• Wednesday, May 22 - MS/HS athletic boys physicals at ATC @ 5:00 p.m. (more information below)
  
• Wednesday, May 22 - Teach Like A Pirate Day
• Thursday, May 23 - Kids vs. Coaches Basketball Game 12:00 - 1:00 in VAMS Gym
• Thursday, May 23 - Last Day of School - Report Cards Go Home and Early Release at 1:35 p.m. (Buses will run 2 hours early.)
• Friday, May 24 - VAISD Graduation at 7:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium

In 2009, the State of Texas began requiring specific immunizations for all 7th graders.

The immunizations that incoming 7th graders need are:

1. Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap): All students entering the seventh will be required to have a booster dose of Tdap only if it has been five years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine.

2. Varicella (Chicken Pox): All students entering the 7th grade will be required to have 2 doses of varicella vaccine. The 1st dose must be received on or after the 1st birthday.

3. Meningococcal Vaccine (Meningitis): All students entering 7th grade will be required to have one dose of meningococcal vaccine.

If your child has already had these immunizations, please send a copy of the immunization record from the health clinic or physician. It must include the month, day and year as well as validation by a physician or public health official.

*Immunization records must be received before schedules will be released for the 2019-2020 school year*

Immunizations are available from your family physician, the Grayson County Health Department 903.893.0131, 515 N. Walnut Sherman, Texas, Collin County Health Department 972.548.5000 N. McDonald St, Mckinney, Texas or local medical/rural health clinics. Please call the health department for hours and availability.

If you have a medical or religious reason that conflicts with these requirements, please contact the school nurse. Information on obtaining a conscious exemption can be found at the following website:

https://corequest.dshs.texas.gov/

Thank you,

Lorie Wilson, LVN

Van Alstyne Middle School

903-482-8878

All state requirements may be found at www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize

Any incoming 6th, 7th, or 8th grader interested in being part of VAMS Student Council needs to fill out an application. Applications can be downloaded by clicking the button below picked up from the office at VAMS. Applications are due Friday, April 26.

The 8th Grade Dance is scheduled for Friday, May 10th from 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. in the VAMS cafeteria. Please know that this event is completely funded by 8th grade parents so that ALL VAMS 8th graders are welcome to attend the dance for FREE. There will also be free refreshments provided. The 8th grade dance is for VAMS students only.

If you would like to volunteer in any way or provide a cash donation for food and decorations, please contact Veronica Westmoreland at 903-819-8403.

One of our favorite things is seeing parents on our campus and we know that you enjoy seeing your child. However, please know on each day of STAAR tests, we will have a closed campus. Parents will not be able to come on campus to volunteer or eat with their child, and we will also not be able to deliver anything to the students (lunches, items left at home, clothes, etc.). We hope you understand and we appreciate your support to give our students the best possible testing environment. Thank you!

Students are allowed to bring cell phones to school. They are allowed to listen to music and play games on their cell phones before and after school. Students must keep cell phones out of sight and turned off (not on silent) during the school day. Please reinforce this rule with your child so they are well aware.

Also, please do not allow your child to call or text you from school using their cell phone for any reason, including to come pick them up when they do not feel well. Proper procedure is to report to our nurse, Nurse Wilson, and allow her to use her training to make that determination. Misuse will result in confiscation of the cell phone and the parent will be required to come pick up the phone. If the student continues to misuse their cell phone, the student will be required to check their cell phone into the office each morning.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We are offering an important video on the early stages of puberty which many 5th graders are beginning to experience. The video will be shown during I30, May 2nd for the girls and May 3rd for the boys. The VAMS nurse will be presenting the video and a booklet at the end of the video to take home.

Parents are welcome to preview the video before it is shown to the students, follow the link htts://www.pgschoolprograms.com/parents. Please click the link below to access the permission slip that needs to be signed and returned to school.

Thank you,

Lorie Wilson, LVN

VAMS Nurse

The district-wide Fine Arts Night will be held at the High School on Thursday, May 2nd. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. It is a come and go event. Performances by our choirs, high school theater, color guard, and high school band ensembles will be going on throughout the night and student artwork will be displayed.

Parents, mark your calendars. Below are the dates and times for the end-of-the-year awards programs. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend these programs.

Please see the dates and times below.

Please know that EVERY 8th grade student will be recognized and walk across the stage during the 8th grade awards program ceremony.

Physicals will be held at the ATC on the following dates for $10 each:

MS/HS athletic girls on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 5:00 pm
MS/HS athletic boys on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 5:00 pm

Performance Course (PC) is an opportunity for summer strength and conditioning courses that will be taking place at Van Alstyne High School this summer. This program was developed by PC in partnership with Van Alstyne ISD Athletics to offer athletes the opportunity to develop both physically and mentally.

PC takes a goal-oriented approach to develop speed, agility, mobility, functional strength and power. Performance nutrition, character development, mental preparation, and goal setting techniques are also included in the curriculum to develop the whole athlete. See the flyers below for more information on specific times, dates, prices, and locations.

The courses will take place four days a week for 6 weeks and will begin in June.

We want to ensure all athletes have the opportunity to participate. To receive more information from PC, please fill out this link: www.tinyurl.com/vanalstynePC

Online registration & course details also available at https://www.performancecourse.com/school-district/van-alstyne-isd

For more information about Performance Course please visit www.performancecourse.com

If you have any questions or need help with registration, please contact jclark@performancecourse.com and we will be glad to assist you. We hope your child has the opportunity to participate!

Please know that beginning May 1st, money must be in your's child's cafeteria account for a meal to be purchased. Meals cannot be sold on accounts with insufficient funds. You can check the balance of your child's account and make deposits through the My School Bucks system. Please click HERE to access My School Bucks.

Promoting community service is a goal of VAMS this year! Make sure your child is completing their community service hour log. In order to promote and foster serving our community and others, students can earn a community service award at the end of the year awards assemblies to recognize students who give their time, talents, and hearts.

VAMS Community Service Hour Logs are due on Wednesday, May 1st.

Click on the link below "VAMS Community Service Flyer" for more information.

As our district grows, our goal is to allow parents to be as connected as they can be. Parent Portal is one a wonderful resource for parents. Click the link below to access a Parent Portal assistance page. It has videos and a pdf overview of Parent Portal.

http://bit.ly/vaisdconnect

Parents,

Please know that family vacations, out-of-town activities, and non-school related activities/competitions will be documented as unexcused absences. If your child is absent, please send a doctor's note to school within 3 days of the absence. Notes sent after the 3-day window may not be accepted, therefore, your child's absence will be documented as unexcused. If you have questions or concerns about attendance, please contact Glynn Smith at 903-482-8804 or gsmirth@vanalstyneisd.org.

All volunteers, including parents, have to fill out a Volunteer Approval Form to have a background check before volunteering (ex: attend field trips, volunteer on campus, help with testing, etc.). This form must be filled out EVERY school year. The entire process, from submitting the form to receiving approval, can take as long as two weeks. This process must be completed before being approved to volunteer. If you have students at multiple schools, only one application is required.

Click the button below to access the Volunteer Approval Form. We appreciate our volunteers!

Website: www.ms.vanalstyneisd.org
Location: 1314 N. Waco Van Alstyne, TX
Phone: 903-482-8804
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/VanAlstyneMiddleSchool
Twitter: @vamiddleschool