Tiger Pride

Hours of Operation:

7:30am: Doors Open

7:55am: Tardy Bell

2:35pm: Dismissal

Website: https://ves.burke.k12.nc.us/

Address: 298 Praley St. Valdese, NC, 28690

Phone: 828-874-0704

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valdeseelementaryschool

Hello Tiger Families!

We had another wonderful week of learning at Valdese Elementary! We wrapped up the week with a special visit from the Valdese Fire Department, where students learned important fire safety tips and had the opportunity to explore the fire truck. It was a fun and memorable way to end the week!

This week, our students will be working hard as we wrap up the first nine weeks. For families of students in grades 3–5, please take a few minutes to check your child’s grades in Infinite Campus. If you notice any missing assignments, this is a great time to reach out to your child’s teacher and make sure everything is completed and turned in.

We also want to remind all families to make sure you are connected to the Parent Portal and have completed your child’s annual online enrollment. If you need help with either of these, please call Mrs. Stallings or send us a message through ClassDojo. We are happy to help!

Burke County Public Schools has opened the Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) nomination window for students in grades 3–8. The nomination window runs from October 12 through October 23. Parents and teachers may nominate students for consideration and possible placement testing for the district’s AIG program. If you feel your child should be considered for AIG testing, please contact your child’s teacher. The deadline to nominate a student is October 23.

💗 Friday is Pink Out Day in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Our staff will be decked out in pink, and we would love for our students to join us by wearing pink as well.

Have a wonderful week, Tiger families!

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

🖤💛Go Tigers!

Courtney Hull
Principal

A huge thank you to the Valdese Fire Department for visiting VES on Friday and spending time teaching our students about fire safety and the important work firefighters do in our community. Our students had a wonderful time learning about the fire truck, exploring the equipment, and even getting the chance to practice putting out fires!

We are so grateful to these firefighters for taking time out of their day to educate, encourage, and engage with our Tigers. Thank you for helping make fire safety learning so memorable and fun!

Be a Tiger Others Can Count On. Keep your promises, make good choices, and show through your actions that others can depend on you.

🎉🎉🎉Congratulations to kindergarten, who had the highest attendance percentage this week!

Consistent attendance is essential for academic success, personal growth, and future career readiness. Together, we recognize the importance of regular attendance in providing a well-rounded education.

We appreciate your continued communication regarding absences, excuses, and medical notes with both your child's teacher and Mrs. Stallings, our Data Manager. If your child is absent, please send a written note, doctor’s note, or a Dojo message to their teacher.

Our daily attendance goal is 95%, and we appreciate your support in helping us reach it!

Burke County Public Schools will open its Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) nomination window for students in grades 3–8 beginning October 12 and ending October 23.

This nomination period gives parents and teachers the opportunity to recommend students for consideration and possible placement testing for the district’s AIG program.

If you believe your child should be considered for AIG testing, please contact your child’s teacher to discuss a nomination.

The deadline to nominate a student is October 23.

Student safety is always our first priority on the bus. Students should remain in their assigned seat and use an inside-voice level on the bus in order to avoid distracting the bus driver. Students should avoid bringing drinks, food, or candy on the bus. Cell phones are also prohibited on the bus and in classrooms. Please be flexible and patient with bus times the first few weeks as we add students and drivers become accustomed to the routes.

All students can eat breakfast and lunch for free each day in the cafeteria. We have a grab-and-go breakfast program where students get their breakfast and take it to their classroom in the morning. The lunch schedule is posted below.

We love welcoming families to VES and appreciate the time you take to come enjoy lunch with your child. To help us keep lunchtime safe, organized, and consistent for all students, please remember that visitors may eat only with their own child. Students may not invite friends or other students to join a visiting family.

All visitors should check in through the front office, remain in the cafeteria during the visit, and exit through the front office when lunch is over. For safety and to protect instructional time, visitors should not walk students back to classrooms or enter academic hallways.

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe, welcoming environment while still allowing families to enjoy this special time with their child. We truly appreciate your cooperation and support.

We are getting ready for our upcoming Trick-or-Read event and would greatly appreciate candy donations from our families and community!

To help keep all of our students safe, please refrain from donating any candy that contains peanuts due to allergies.

📅 Candy donations are needed by October 23rd.

Thank you so much for helping us make Trick-or-Read a fun and special evening for our Tigers! 🐯🖤💛

October

10/2- School Spelling Bee @ 8:30

10/5- PTO Spirit Wear Sale

10/7- Fire Drill

10/7- Girls Running Club

10/9- Fire Truck Visit- Fire Prevention Week Celebration

10/13-Student Council 2:35-3:15

10/15- Great Shakeout and Lockdown Drill

10/16- School Store

10/16- End of 1st 9 Weeks

10/16-Rock School Arts Foundation Art Show Begins

10/19- Teacher Workday-No School

10/20- Teacher Workday-No School

10/21- Girls Running Club

10/27- Trick-or-Read and Mega Party 5:00-7:00

10/28- ELA Check In #1(Grades 3-5)

10/29- Math Check In #1(Grades 3-5)

10/29- Kindergarten to Henry River Farms

10/29- October Citizen of the Month Celebration

🎶 Rockin’ at the Lake – Community Concert 🎶

Join the Valdese community for a fun afternoon of live music at Valdese Lakeside Park on Sunday, November 22 from 3:00–5:00 PM. The concert will feature Lost Wages and is free to attend.

This special event will benefit the Valdese Police Department’s Operation Blue Santa, a program that helps support Valdese Elementary School families during the Christmas season.

Donations are appreciated, and we hope many of our Tiger families will come out, enjoy the music, and support this wonderful community cause!

Families are invited to the 5th Annual Spooky Science Night at NCSSM-Morganton for an evening of fun, hands-on elementary school challenge events!

📅 Wednesday, October 28, 2026

⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM

📍 NCSSM-Morganton

Come enjoy a spooky evening filled with science, creativity, and family fun! We hope to see some of our Tigers there! 🐯🧡💜

There are lots of ways that you can volunteer to support our school!

• We can use your help reading with students.
• Supervising students in the cafeteria for short periods of time so teachers can have a duty-free lunch as a team.
• Help with fundraisers.
• Help the media coordinator with the Book Fair
• Serve with the PTO

If you are interested and available to help, please reach out to the office. Someone from PTO will be in touch with you. Our next whole group meeting will be in September. More information coming soon.

Courtney Hull, Principal

📩 courtneyhull@burke.k12.nc.us

📱 828-874-0704

📍 298 Praley St. Valdese, NC 28690

Savannah Cole, Assistant Principal

📩savannahcole@burke.k12.nc.us

📱828-874-0704

📍298 Praley St. Valdese, NC 28690