Van Allen Newsletter

Greetings, Van Allen Families -

As we wrap up the final days of the first trimester—which officially concludes this coming Tuesday, November 17—I want to thank everyone who joined us for our first round of parent-teacher conferences last night. Connecting with so many of you is a wonderful reminder of how much we value and appreciate our partnership in supporting your children. As a reminder, our second round, and full-day of conferences takes place next Wednesday, November 18, which means there will be no school for students that day. If you haven't scheduled a time yet, it’s not too late—you can still sign up at https://app.ptcwizard.com/iccs-vanallen.

The second trimester will kick-off when we come back to school on Thursday, November 19.

Finally, be sure to scroll down to the section in this newsletter highlighting our District's Forward Together webpage; this resource is aimed at helping you stay informed about the boundary and enrollment analysis and financial planning work that is happening within our school district.

Thank you for your continued support with everything that we do. Have a great weekend, and take care.

- Eric Ewald
Principal, Van Allen Elementary

• End of First Trimester: Tuesday, November 17th
• No School: Wednesday, November 18th (Parent-Teacher Conferences)
• Parent Teacher Conferences: Wednesday, November 18th, 7:40am - 7:00pm
• Fall Picture Retakes: Thursday, November 19th
• No School: Wednesday, November 25th – Friday, November 27th (Thanksgiving Break)

We will be hosting a Scholastic book fair November 16-20, 2026 at Van Allen. Students will be able to shop ONLY during their scheduled time or by appointment. We will also be open during parent teacher conferences November 18 from 7:40 AM-7:00 PM. Finally, we will have a companion online fair from November 16-November 29, 2026. The link to shop the online fair, view the interactive fair, and create a family ewallet is https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/vanallenelementaryschool5.

The ewallet is a secure way to add funds for your child to shop at the book fair. We will still be taking cash, check or credit cards for in-person purchases. The ewallet will allow you to add money to an online account. You can also share the link and have others contribute money. Setting up the ewallet is fairly simple. If you have questions, please let me know!

Teachers have been asked to set up Wish Lists or Classroom eWallets. Look for information from your child’s teacher or for Wish Lists at the Fair. I have also set up a library ewallet. The Library ewallet is: https://shop.scholastic.com/ewallet/fund?lang=en_US&walletId=2745afc1-900a-4fec-8245-2728f09713b7. Check online for those eWallets or look for future texts with the information.

Please contact Sarah Latcham, latcham.sarah@iowacityschools.org or 319-688-1188 if you have any questions.

As the district continues its boundary and enrollment analysis and financial planning work, we encourage families and staff to visit our Forward Together webpage. This page serves as a central resource for the latest updates, timelines, meeting materials, frequently asked questions, and opportunities for community input. We will continue updating the page as this work progresses.

Fall conferences are being held during the following days/times:

• Thursday, November 12th, 2:20 - 7:00pm
• Wednesday, November 18th, 7:40am - 7:00pm
  • There is NO school on Wednesday, November 18th

The parent login page where you will sign-up for a conference is linked here. You will login in using your Infinite Campus parent portal username and password. Further directions for how to use this platform, PTC Wizard, are linked here. Please note that you will have the option between having your conference in-person at Van Allen or virtually via Google Meet.

• Stay up-to-date on all things PTO, and join our 'Van Allen Rockets PTO' Facebook group! There are screening questions to ensure the group is limited to VA Parents joining.

At our school, we aim to provide every child with the resources and encouragement necessary to thrive academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. To help us identify and address potential challenges, we are introducing a new Guardian Referral Form. This form gives you a direct way to nominate your child if you feel they could benefit from additional social, emotional, behavioral, or attendance support at school; it will be available for you to use throughout the school year.

Who We Are

Our multidisciplinary Student Support Team meets weekly to collaborate, brainstorm, and problem-solve around individual student needs. Our team includes: Principal, Instructional Coaches, School Counselor, School Family Advocate, Behavior Interventionist, School Facilitator, School Nurse, as well as contributions from our School Psychologist and School Social Worker.

How We Help

When strong Tier 1 classroom and/or schoolwide strategies aren’t quite enough to remove barriers to a student's learning, our team identifies student strengths and opportunities for growth through a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. We look at the whole child—focusing on attendance, behavior, and social emotional well-being—and then select targeted, evidence-based interventions to implement.

Partnership with you is essential to this process. Once a referral is submitted, our team will collaborate directly with families and teachers to map out next steps, implement tailored support strategies, and regularly evaluate your child's progress to ensure that they get the help they need.

How to Refer Your Child

If you have noticed changes and/or if you have concerns with your child's behavior or their social-emotional well-being, we invite you to complete the Guardian Referral Form: https://forms.gle/BBbayQcsmDrPQZ8FA

Once submitted, our team will review the information and then someone will reach out to discuss how we can best partner together. Thank you for your partnership with us to keep our school community supported and thriving.

• Find all the information here www.IowaCitySchools.org/Securly.

Our District cooperates with approved community partners by posting eflyers online and distributing them electronically through our service provider, Peachjar. As part of our efforts to be more environmentally friendly, embrace innovative technology, and maintain fiscal responsibility, we have transitioned from paper to electronic flyer delivery.

• Listing of Van Allen Elementary's Current Peachjar Flyers

TalkingPoints is a two-way multilingual family engagement platform that allows staff to communicate with families across language barriers. The platform translates messages back and forth into over 100 languages, allowing for staff to be able to reach families in their preferred language, which in turn increases parent engagement in the classroom and school communities.

• You are automatically subscribed to messages from your child's teachers and administrators via SMS text using the cellphone provided during registration.
• Download the TalkingPoints for Families app to receive messages through the app.
• For more information about TalkingPoints for Families, click here.

Did you know we serve breakfast every day?

We invite your children to join us for breakfast daily! We know how busy mornings can be for families, and our school breakfast is a convenient, nutritious way to ensure your child is ready to learn. Eating a healthy meal at the start of the day is vital for student success; it nourishes young minds and improves concentration, memory, and energy levels. Help your child start their day off right with us!

• Breakfast Price: $2.45 full priced, $.40 reduced
• Breakfast Serving Times: Starting at 7:30am, through 8:00am

We are continuing to embrace the HRS framework at Van Allen and throughout the ICCSD. Please see this linked form (also inserted, below) that helps us achieve Leading Indicator 1.6, "Students, parents, and the community have formal ways to provide input regarding the optimal functioning in the school."

This will be a standing item in our newsletter. Please note that submitting an idea to this form does not ensure that it will be implemented. Once we have a collection of responses to share, we will plan to include a recurring section within our newsletter dedicated to providing feedback and/or any response in regards to the different ideas that we have received from this form.

We use these platforms (below) to highlight our accomplishments (including pictures) and share relevant announcements and reminders.

Email: ewald.eric@iowacityschools.org
Website: https://vanallen.iowacityschools.org/
Location: 170 Abigail Avenue, North Liberty, IA, United States
Phone: (319)688-1185
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JVANorthLiberty/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanallen_iccsd

X: @VanAllen_ICCSD

• It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact the Student Success Office at StudentSuccess@iowacityschools.org for programming, or the Human Resources Office at HR@iowacityschools.org for employment (2255 N. Dubuque Rd, Iowa City, IA 52245, 319-688-1000). If you are unsure how to proceed or would like assistance in discussing your options, you may also contact the Ombuds at ombuds@iowacityschools.org or 319-688-1312.