VAIS Family Newsletter

1/5/26 - Classes resume

1/5/26 - 2/20/26 - Swim unit for PE

1/7/26 - Culver's Fundraising Night, 5-8pm

1/8/26 - VASD Kindergarten Night, 6-7pm

1/13/26 - Kindergarten/New student tour, 7:45-9am

1/13/26 - Outreach committee meeting, Verona Library 7:30pm

1/16/26 - No classes for students, Professional Development Day

1/19/26 - No school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/24/26 - Chinese Mini-School, 9-10:30am

1/25/26 - Family newsletter info due to Miss Amelia by 3pm

2/2/26 - No classes for students, Professional Development Day

Our students got to meet a few new friends the week before Break.

This Device free December in the library was a hairy hit! Many students who don't normally interact with dogs or pets learned a lot, and the dogs received some pretty great training with larger groups. Win-win!

Here's a reminder that after winter break we will be starting the Swim Unit on January 6th. A few items that the students will need to bring are a swimsuit, a towel, a bag for their wet swimsuit, and goggles if they want. The students should not bring any floating devices or swim toys to the pool. The pool provides those already. If the student forgets any of the items that were listed the pool does have those items for the students to borrow. Sea you there!

My name is Kristen Murdock and I am the school counselor long-term substitute for Lisa Froehlich though mid-February. I have worked in VASD for about 10 years in various roles. Most notably I was lucky to do an internship in social work at Glacier Edge as I work towards my Masters in Social Work at UW Madison. I have taken a little break in my education to focus on my family (I have an 11 year old daughter and 14 year old son in the district) and am excited for this opportunity to serve the students at NCS and VAIS in the school counselor capacity at this time. I love being with the students and using humor to connect with them. I hope they find a safe and comfortable place with me while I am here.

I am looking forward to continuing Ms. Froehlich’s responsibilities of teaching all students important SEL lessons from the Second-Step curriculum. Beginning Jan. 5th I will be teaching our very important Child Protective Unit. An informational email regarding this unit was sent out to families on Dec. 2nd.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me (murdockk@verona.k12.wi.us) with any questions or concerns.

We've got a second mini space for warm weather gear, and we'd love a little help. If you have smaller sizes in snow pants or snow suits, waterproof gloves or mittens, boots that are more likely to fit Kinder through 3rd grade feet, we'd love to add them to this collection. Donations for this winter gear, and any gym shoes size 1 or 2 you might have, we'd love to see them here in the office. Thank you in advance for sharing!

We are beginning to recruit new families to VAIS. Please help spread the word about our amazing school by volunteering at upcoming events. Here are some ways you can help us fill our next kindergarten class:

• Share your VAIS experience with friends and social media. Link to our website (https://www.vaisverona.org/) or share this video

• Post a VAIS sign in your yard

• Sign up to volunteer at recruitment events - tours, mini school, and Kindergarten Night

• Help out at our Lunar New Year Storytime at Verona Public Library

• Tell everyone about our recruitment events!

School Tours - January 13th and February 5th 7:45-9am

Volunteers and staff will guide a tour of the building, explaining our program.

Https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C44A9A828A4FA7-59608734-vais#/

Our annual VAIS Culvers night is January 7th 5pm to 8 pm. Bring the whole family and have a lovely meal with your VAIS friends and family. Bring your neighbors and invite some friends to join you! A portion of the proceeds goes to VAIS.

VAIS will have a booth for incoming kindergarten families. Each school will be present to represent their program.

Https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C44A9A828A4FA7-59608734-vais#/

Teachers will host a mini school day where incoming kindergarteners can try a Mandarin lesson, get to know our K/1 experience, and explore the art room. VAIS Volunteers will help answer questions about the school and our community.

Https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C44A9A828A4FA7-59608734-vais#/

And if you know of any families who'd like to join us and try the Mini School, here is the link to register students/new families: https://app.smore.com/n/ubc1r

Volunteer at our Lunar New Year at the Library! We will celebrate the Year of the Horse with the community on February 7th from 9:30 to 11:30am with story times, crafts and student performances.

We need a lot of volunteers to run this community event! Please sign up for a craft station, greeter or food delivery.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C44A9A828A4FA7-61324367-2026

Help advertise VAIS with a yard sign! Place the sign in your yard or a high traffic intersection to help spread the word about VAIS. This year yard signs are available for free! Please email jennifer.tzeng@live.com to get your sign!

When you purchase gift cards through our school, a percentage of every card comes back to fund our students' Chinese language immersion school at no additional cost to you.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Choose from hundreds of retailers - groceries, restaurants, clothing, Amazon, gas, and more! See the full list at https://bit.ly/VAISGiftCards

2. Pay the face value of the gift card - no fees!

3. The school receives a percentage back automatically!

HOW TO ORDER:

- Email your order to raiseforVAlS@gmail.com.

- Payment can be made by cash, check (payable to VAIS Foundation Inc.), or Venmo (@vais-treasurer).

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VAIS!

We have a Facebook page and web site that is administered by the VAIS Governance Council separate from the VASD Facebook page and web site. All Current families are welcome to join “VAIS Parents Group” on Facebook. We will be posting events and pop-up playdates in this group. This is also a great resource for new parents/guardians to ask any questions they may have. Use the QR code to join or take a look at our website here.

Family volunteers help make VAIS the vibrant place it is and are so appreciated! Please consider signing up for one or more of the opportunities below. If you plan to volunteer in ANY capacity in the building this school year, NOW is a great time to take a few minutes to fill out the required background check form so you are ready to go when asked. Please note background checks must be completed no later than 1 week prior to the event. Once passed, this background check is valid for 2 years.

Welcome to the 25-26 School year. Are you looking for ways to help out? Is your time flexible enough that you can come once a week? We would love to have you volunteer in our lunchroom. We are looking for weekly volunteers for Mondays and Thursdays. This is a stellar way to get to know the students of both schools and help in building on our awesome community. All volunteers need to complete a background check through the district here.

Please complete this form and reach out to reach out to Miss Jenni at: gumienyj@verona.k12.wi.us with questions.

We’re gearing up for a joyful season of events—and we’d love your help! Whether you enjoy sharing about our school, supporting student fun, or celebrating cultural traditions, there’s a place for you to shine.

Interested in helping recruit new families to VAIS? Have ideas to get the VAIS name out in the community? Join our Outreach committee meeting on Tuesday, January 13 @7:30pm at Verona Public Library.

The Sunshine Committee is made up of amazing NCS and VAIS families whose mission is to spread kindness and support for families and school staff. They do this by providing assistance in the form of cards, meals, gift cards, and other resources to families and staff in need of a little pick-me-up. Interested in signing up to help or nominating a family or individual? Please contact School Psychologist Hannah Merryfield at merryfih@verona.k12.wi.us.

Where have you been reading? In a treehouse? At the dentist? On vacation? Please share a photo by emailing our Library Director, Ms. Roltgen, at roltgent@verona.k12.wi.us You may be featured on social media, in the library, or in a future edition of the newsletter!

Here are a few of our Device-Free December therapy dogs visiting library classes, reading with kids, and teaching students about the work of therapy dogs. Many thanks to Jojo (Hannah), Bear (Mary), Koda (Missy), and Kevin (Missy) for spending the week before winter break with us!

Verona Rec is offering a new afterschool program beginning in 2026!

This program is for kids in grades K-5th and will be held at the new Verona Community Center. We'll encourage health and wellness through play and physical activity both outside and inside with a variety of activities each day.

Find out more about Verona Rec Afterschool: https://www.veronawi.gov/943/Verona-Rec-Afterschool

Register: https://secure.rec1.com/WI/verona-wi/catalog

We’re excited to share that Girl Scouts In Action is starting this fall at the Boys & Girls Club!

Tuesdays, 4:30–5:30 PM
Boys & Girls Club
Hands-on activities, career exploration, leadership development & more!
Free to join

Please help us spread the word by sharing the attached flyer with families. We’d love for more students to take part in this opportunity!

If your student is ill, has an early morning appointment or early pick up, or will be late arriving to school for another reason, in addition to notifying their classroom teachers please make sure that you contact one of the following PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SCHOOL DAY:

1) EMAIL VAIS Attendance: vais-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us or

2) CALL the office at (608) 845-4500 (If you are making a change after 11:00 am the same day, then please call the office).

Please do not email the school secretaries directly, we appreciate it! The attendance line email is the best way to communicate with school.

To ensure student safety, all chaperones for off-site events and trips must have an approved VASD Volunteer Background Check. It's never too early to complete one of these forms for trips next year, even if you might only be able to help out once or twice!

If you are considering chaperoning field trips or any off-site events, please ensure your background check is approved in advance. This process is completed online using this link, and approval typically takes 7–10 days. However, there have been instances where processing takes longer, so we encourage you to complete it as soon as possible if needed. Please reach out to reach out to Miss Jenni at: gumienyj@verona.k12.wi.us with questions.

Here is the '25-26 VASD Elementary School Family Handbook . It is a good resource for families. Families are encouraged to review this information and refer to it throughout the school year. It is also available on our website.

Our social media is a great resource to find information in real time. We post upcoming events, special spirit days, Sign Up Genius links and more. We especially love to share happy faces and creativity happening here at school. Please help us increase our engagement with following our page, liking a post or two, and even leaving a comment. Each of those steps helps our school to pop to the top of your feed and help you reach the information you need.

VAIS on Facebook

VAIS on Twitter / X

And bookmark our school website, which tells you more about school closures, menus and more.

If you need assistance with lunch costs please visit our Free and Reduced Lunch application for information on income levels and an application for assistance.

Our school office maintains a school calendar for families and the public. Here is the link to a Google Public Calendar with this year’s updated events: VAIS Public Google Calendar

This calendar will be updated continually throughout the year with school events, such as swim, Picture Day, Back to School Night, field trips, parent/teacher conferences, days off of school, GC meetings, and so much more! We hope that this will make things easier for you!

It is not always easy to decide if your child is sick enough to stay home or well enough to be in school. Children who come to school are expected to participate fully in school activities including recess and physical education. A note from a medical provider is required for activity restrictions.

Please use the following Verona Area School District guidelines to help in decision making (attached here).