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

Happy Friday, Tiger Families!

What a wonderful week we've had at Valdese Elementary! First, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who joined us for Trick or Read on Tuesday evening! We had an incredible turnout, and it was so much fun seeing our students and families enjoying the activities, treats, and time together!

I also want to give a very special shoutout to Mrs. Reece for all of her hard work in planning, organizing, and leading Trick or Read! It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to pull off an event of this size, and we are so thankful for her dedication. Thank you as well to our amazing staff and everyone who helped make the evening such a success!

Important Upcoming Schedule Reminders:

• 🐯 Monday, November 2 – Half Day: Students will dismiss at 11:30 AM. Please make arrangements for early pickup or afternoon transportation.

• 🗓️ Tuesday, November 3 – No School: There will be no school for students.

• 🇺🇸 Wednesday, November 11 – Veterans Day: There will be no school in observance of Veterans Day. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the brave men and women who have served our country. Thank you for your service and sacrifice!

• Last Call for Lost and Found- Lost and found will be laid out over the weekend on the benches in the car rider line. Please come drive by and pick up anything that may be yours. All items will be donated on Tuesday.

As we wrap up October and head into November (a season of thankfulness), I want to thank our families for your continued support and partnership. We are so thankful for our Tiger community and all the ways you help make Valdese Elementary such a special place for our students!

Have a wonderful weekend, Tiger Families!

Courtney Hull, Principal

Monday, November 2 – HALF DAY!
Students will dismiss at 11:30 AM. Please plan accordingly for afternoon transportation and pickup.

Tuesday, November 3 – NO SCHOOL!
There will be no school for students on Tuesday.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
If you have not already scheduled a conference with your child's teacher, please take a moment to reach out and set up a time. Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate your child's successes, discuss areas for growth, and work together to support their learning!

Every Tiger Makes the Pack Stronger. Work together, encourage one another, do your part, and celebrate what your team (class) can accomplish together.

🎉🎉🎉Congratulations to Pre-K, 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!

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Valdese for the donations for our students! We appreciate your support!

Take a night off from cooking and join us for Valdese Elementary's McTeacher Night at the Valdese McDonald's!

📅 Tuesday, November 17

⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM

📍 Valdese McDonald's

Come enjoy dinner with your family while supporting our school! Be sure to let the McDonald's staff know you're there for McTeacher Night, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated back to Valdese Elementary!

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.

November

11/2- Half Day- Dismiss at 11:30

11/3- No School (Optional Teacher Workday)

11/4- Fire Drill

Girls Running Club

11/5- 5th Grade Breakfast Food Truck

STEAM Trip #1

11/6- 5th Grade Science Check In #1

School Store

11/10- Student Council until 3:15

11/11- No School- Happy Veteran's Day

11/12- Pre-K Vision Screening

11/13- School Store

2nd-5th You Deserve to be Safe Presentation in COMBO

11/16- PTO Meeting in Media Center at 4pm

11/17- Field Trip (Social Group)- June Belle Construction

McTeacher Night @ Valdese McDonalds 5-7pm

11/18- Girls Running Club

11/19- School Improvement Team Meeting 3:15-4:15 in Media Center

11/20- Fall Dance- 3:00-4:00

School Store

11/24- Interim Reports go home

11/25- No School

11/26 - No School - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

11/27- No School

12/1- Tree Lighting Ceremony at ORS 6PM

12/3- Half Day Dismissal at 11:30

Fall Make Up Pictures

🎶 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!

Parents, if you're anything like me, you love to plan ahead, especially when it comes to shopping for fun and festive spirit day outfits! There's nothing quite like realizing the night before that your child needs something special to wear the next morning!

With that in mind, we're sharing our December Christmas Spirit Day Calendar a little early so families have plenty of time to plan, prepare, and get creative!

From festive pajamas and ugly Christmas sweaters to Grinch Day and holiday colors, we have lots of fun planned to make December extra special for our Tigers! 🎁✨

Please remember that all spirit days are completely OPTIONAL! There is absolutely no need to purchase anything new. We encourage families to use what they already have, get creative, and participate in whatever days work best for them!

We can't wait to fill our hallways with holiday cheer, smiling faces, and LOTS of Christmas spirit!

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