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

Hello Tiger Families!

We had such a wonderful week at Valdese Elementary filled with learning, celebrations, and lots of Tiger fun!

Our Book Fair was a huge success! A special thank you to Mrs. Stamey for all of the time and effort she put into organizing and setting everything up, and to our amazing PTO volunteers who generously gave their time to help throughout the week. We are so grateful for your support!

We also wrapped up our AFG fundraiser, and it was another great success. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped support our school!

On Friday, September 25, our staff had a little fun celebrating Dolly Day and Johnny Appleseed Day by dressing in their best Dolly or Johnny attire. PTO treated our staff to a “Cup of Ambition,” and we enjoyed a special Apple Bar as well. We are so thankful for the many ways our PTO continues to encourage and support our staff!

We also want to give a BIG thank you to Coach Powell and Coach Proffit from Draughn High School for helping organize an awesome Wildcat Welcome for our students on Friday morning! Our students were greeted in the car rider line by Draughn High School football players and cheerleaders, which made for such a fun and exciting start to the day. We are so thankful for our partnership with Draughn High School and all of our feeder schools. It is always special for our Tigers to see the connections and school spirit that continue as they grow into future Wildcats!

Friday was also full of student celebrations as we recognized our September Citizens of the Month, celebrated our August and September birthdays, and opened our very first school store! The school store was a HUGE hit, and our kiddos absolutely loved it! Looking ahead, we will set up the school store again on Friday morning. Items range in price from $0.25 to $3.00.

We will also host our Valdese Elementary School Spelling Bee on Friday at 8:30 a.m. in the Media Center. Invitations will be sent home to the families of participating students.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Please do not hesitate to reach out to the school office if there is anything we can do to help.

Go Tigers!

Courtney Hull
Principal

Be a Tiger Others Can Count On. Keep your promises, make good choices, and show through your actions that others can depend on you.

🎉🎉🎉Congratulations to 4th grade, 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!

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.

Please make sure you have completed your annual update in the parent portal!

Whether your child is brand-new to school or transferring from another school, we welcome you into Burke County Public Schools. As you get to know us, you will discover that we are passionate about making education better for the students we serve, and our staff brings that spirit into the classroom every day. Our personalized approach to educating students inspires them to discover their full potential in an environment that celebrates their individual strengths and promotes a community of learners.

Set up MySchoolBucks and pay your child’s device fee. Online payments can be made for up to **two children per family**. If you have more than two children, you will need to come to the school to complete payment.

The Greatest 8™ is an exciting initiative designed to help parents give their children, from birth through age 8, a great emotional start in life. The initiative focuses on eight key skills that, when developed early in life, help lay the foundation for lifelong mental wellness. The Greatest 8™ is designed to help parents support their children's healthy emotional development and positive behavior. Click on the title to learn more!

🍁September

9/30- Girls Running Club 2:35-3:30

October

10/2- School Spelling Bee @ 8:30

10/5- PTO Spirit Wear Sale

10/7- Fire Drill

10/7- Girls Running Club

10/9- Fire Truck Visit- Fire Prevention Week Celebration

10/16- End of 1st 9 Weeks

10/16-Rock School Arts Foundation Art Show Begins

10/19- Teacher Workday-No School

10/20- Teacher Workday-No School

10/21- Great Shakeout

10/21- Girls Running Club

10/27- Trick-or-Read and Mega Party 5:00-7:00

10/28- ELA Check In #1(Grades 3-5)

10/29- Math Check In #1(Grades 3-5)

10/29- Kindergarten to Henry River Farms

10/29- October Citizen of the Month Celebration

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