Family Hawk Talk September 3, 2026

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Last year we began offering after school activities for our students. The reason? We want our kids to enjoy being at school and experience different activities. Students who enjoy school and feel a sense of belonging perform better academically and grow socially and emotionally.

Please look over the calendar (linked below) with your child. Look for something they would enjoy or like to try out. Plan for them to stay after school on the appropriate day. There are no sign-ups required. Students just show up and have a BLAST! We do expect students to stay in their activity area with adult supervision the entire time.

Activities are over between 3:45 and 4:00pm. Students can be picked up in front of the middle school at that time, or they may ride the activity bus home.

We do ask that arrangements are made prior to the day of the activity and rides are here promptly by 4pm.

If your child has an idea for an after school club, please have them share it with Mrs. Syron!

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES CALENDAR

PICTURE DAY INFORMATION

School: Valley Park Middle School
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Pre-Order Online: www.WagnerPortraitGroup.com
Pre-Order Password: 9A4Z4Y4X

ORDER ONLINE PRIOR TO PICTURE DAY!

RESPONSE TO BEHAVIORS

Middle School is a time for experimenting with independence and choices. Sometimes that is a positive experience and sometimes there are lessons to be learned.

In an effort to monitor and create a consistent response to minor behaviors, we have a system we use here at VPMS. Teachers track minor behavior on the "Minor Chart" to ensure that we are responding in a timely and consistent way to our students behaviors. We will also engage students in restorative conversations, skill building, and relationship building to approach misbehavior from every angle.

Each quarter, students have a fresh start. The graphic below is the process we will follow. We will communicate with parents every step of the way in an effort to support one another between home and school. We are pleased to say that the vast majority of our students will not find their names on the minor chart more than one or two times for the entire school year!

MAP SCORES WILL BE MAILED HOME SOON!

Each spring, our students take a state assessment (MAP) in Math, ELA and Science (8th grade). We now have individual students scores and will be mailing them home on September 4, 2026. Please look over your students' scores and reach out if you have any questions! I am proud of the work our students did on these state assessments.

WE COULD USE A LITTLE HELP WITH OPEN BEVERAGES & TOYS

We've been noticing more and more kids coming to school with dolls, stuffed animals and squishies/fidgets. As we see them, we ask them to put them in backpacks and leave them at home. Today we announced that beginning Monday, if toys are brought to school, it will be a minor chart violation. Please have a conversation with your child about leaving these items at home. These items are distracting from our instructional time and focus. Thank you so much!

We have also seen an increase in students coming to school with energy drinks and fountain sodas. If your child drinks these, please leave those to evening or weekend times. Open containers get spilled often and leave sticky messes for our custodians to clean up. Students may bring water bottles to school and have access to bottle fillers in several places on campus.

PACKS FOR PALS IS BACK!

We are continuing our partnership with Circle of Concern to send bags of food home with students on Fridays. If you need a little extra support, please reach out to Mrs. Steinkamp.