VASD Newsletter

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The Verona Area School District's (VASD's) Strategic Framework Priority Area of Wellness and Mental Health holds that VASD will expand resources and supports to promote student and staff wellness so that each individual develops the skills to thrive and lead a healthy, self-fulfilling and self-directed life. There are many examples of how VASD's staff bring this priority to life in our schools.

Sources of Strength is one example of a best practice youth mental health promotion and suicide prevention program making a positive impact on Verona Area High School (VAHS) students. Sources of Strength is designed to harness the power of peer social networks to create healthy norms and culture, with the ultimate goal of preventing suicide, violence, bullying, and substance misuse. The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent adverse outcomes by increasing wellbeing, help-seeking, resiliency, healthy coping, and belonging. Sources of Strength moves beyond a singular focus on risk factors by utilizing an upstream approach for youth suicide prevention. This upstream model strengthens multiple sources of support, or protective factors, for young people so that when times get hard, they have strengths to rely on.

Two VAHS staff members, Associate Principal Tamara Sutor and Science Educator Sarah Bowman, are certified Sources of Strength trainers. They have trained over 90 VAHS students as Peer Leaders. Adult Advisors, who have also received specialized training, support the Peer Leaders during biweekly meetings to plan Sources of Strength campaigns and various ways to support students throughout the school year. The entire school participates in a monthly Sources of Strength lesson. When connected adult Advisors and Peer Leaders work together with strategic messaging, positive culture change takes place. Program outcomes have shown the following:

• Increase in connectedness to adults
• Increase in school engagement
• Increase in likelihood to refer a suicidal friend to an adult
• Increase in positive perceptions of adult support
• Increased acceptability of seeking help

The Sources of Strength Wheel (see below) helps students identify and reflect on their strengths in multiple domains. It focuses on developing protective factors rather than identifying risk factors. Sources of Strength works to build resilience, increase connection, change unhealthy norms around help-seeking, break down codes of secrecy and silence, and teach healthy coping strategies to ultimately prevent the onset of suicidality. VAHS' Peer Leaders bring Sources of Strength to life with activities like building a trust wall in which students identify an trusted adult, write their name on a sticky note, and place it on the wall. As the wall is built, the school climate is strengthened because students see the hundreds of adults who care for them. This school year, Peer Leaders are challenging VAHS students to demonstrate generosity to their fellow students and the community. Well done, VAHS!

Sources:

sourcesofstrength.org

Wyman, P. et al (2010). An outcome evaluation of the Sources of Strength suicide prevention program delivered by adolescent peer leaders in high schools. American Journal of Public Health, Vol 100: 1653-1661.

As part of our continued efforts to understand the experiences of VASD parents and caregivers, we invite you to participate in our Family and Caregiver Experience Survey. Based on feedback from families, this year’s survey is shorter with more opportunities for open-ended responses. The survey is available in English and Spanish; you can select either language after you click on the survey link.

We have received over 350 surveys so far! If you haven't taken the survey yet, please use the following link to do so: Verona Area School District – Parent/Caregiver Experience Survey

The survey is completely anonymous. All answers will be reported to the district only in aggregate form, so please feel free to be as candid as you like. The survey will remain open through December 20, 2024.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Susie Katz (sukatz@hcg.com) at the independent firm that is administering and analyzing the survey in partnership with VASD.

Please watch this GoGuardian Parent Setup video for more information and assistance.

Children who are five years of age on or before September 1, 2025, are eligible to start Kindergarten on September 2, 2025. Families have educational options about where and how their child learns. VASD Kindergarten students will attend one of the following:

• Your neighborhood school based on the location of your home. You can locate your neighborhood school by entering your address into the SchoolSearch tool (or load this into your browser: https://www.verona.k12.wi.us/families/district-school-boundaries )

• A Two-Way Immersion (TWI) program

• A tuition-free, public charter school

Please join us for an upcoming open house information session for incoming Kindergarten families on January 9th, 2025. Tours of individuals schools are also availble, please see the schedule below.

The Family Gathering is designed to connect with VASD families to share valuable information and build a meaningful community. The Family Gathering occurs bi-monthly and is hosted by Tamera Stanley, VASD's Family, Staff & Community Engagement Liaison, and other VASD staff.

On November 20th, families gathered for the VASD Family Gathering Kickoff, where VASD staff shared valuable information and resources to help support students and families in our district. Attendees learned about the PowerSchool Parent Portal, the VASD Attendance Policy, and how to manage VASD Lunch Accounts—essential tools to stay informed and involved in your child’s education.

This event was not just informational, it was also a great way for families to connect with each another over a shared meal, strengthening the sense of community within VASD. We are grateful to all those who joined us!

Mark your calendars for our next Family Gathering on Tuesday, January 7th, 6:00-8:00pm at the Boys and Girls Club, 4619 Jenewein Road, Madison. We look forward to seeing you there for more learning, sharing, and community-building.

The Verona Area High School Multicultural Leadership Council (MCLC) recently hosted the 2024 Multicultural Showcase. This special event was entirely student run from planning to auditions to rehearsals to performances. It celebrated the incredible diversity within our Wildcat family through performances featuring song, dance, instrumental music, language, and more. This year’s theme was “Strength in Our Differences”.

Join Dr. Clardy as he shares updates and interviews guests from around the district. On the latest episode, he talked with Verona Area High School Agriculture Educator and FFA Co-Advisor Jamie Morris and student and FFA President Marleigh Ace about all that FFA has to offer, their experiences, and their recent recognition as a 3-Star National FFA Chapter.

In the Loop with the Sup will be posted about every two weeks on Wednesdays. Listen here!

Episode 8: The Family Gathering

Episode 9: VAHS' FFA Chapter and Their National 3-Star Chapter Award

Coming Soon! Teacher Mentoring in the Verona Area School District

Congratulations to our Communications Team, VASD Public Information Officer Marcie Pfeifer-Soderbloom and Communications Assistant Karen Berrueta on receiving three Wisconsin School Public Relations Association Awards of Merit.

The district received a merit award in the “Annual Report/Performance Report” category for its 2023-24 Annual Academic Report. Additionally, they received two merit awards in the “Marketing/Advertising Material” category.

Harvest of the Month: Beets

We're highlighting beets as our January Harvest of the Month! To celebrate our harvest, we will feature chocolate beet cake with lunch on January 23rd. Beets are not only vibrant in color, they are packed with nutrients including fiber, folate, and antioxidants. Did you know that beets can help improve blood flow and lower blood pressure?

Smoothie Test Pilot for Breakfast

We taste tested smoothies for breakfast on Tuesday, December 3rd at Sugar Creek. Our goal was to provide a quick, healthy breakfast choice that fuels our students for a successful day. Students enjoyed the smoothies and we are considering their feedback as we make menu decisions.

Dried Cherries Taste Test Results

Recently, we held a taste test for dried cherries with Donovan Foods. Students tried the cherries and then voted "yes" or "no" to indicate if they liked the cherries or not. Two-hundred thirty four (234) students voted yes while 56 voted no. Eighty-one percent (81%) of our testers voted to have dried cherries available on the menu.

Thank you for supporting VASD's school food service program. We are committed to providing delicious and nutritious meals that or students will love.