From the President . . .

Welcome back 
Westie families! 


We are so excited to kick off another great year at Victory! The PTO has many fun events planned for this year.  Stay tuned for future updates in this newsletter and our Facebook page, and watch for our blue flyers to come home in your weekly folder on Wednesdays.

Our wonderful PTO is filled with outstanding Parents, Teachers and Staff members who volunteer their time and talents for our school.  We are still seeking someone to fill the very important role of Clubs chair - this can be one person or a team! After school clubs are a very popular service that the PTO provides, and many of our students enjoy participating in them. Please consider volunteering for this role!

The PTO is very excited to help Victory kick off its new Watch D.O.G.S. program.  Join us for a pizza party on Thursday, September 8th at 6pm in the cafeteria. Visit  www.fathers.com/watchdogs for additional information.

If you have any questions about the PTO or suggestions, please email me at  president@vespto.com.  I look forward to seeing you at our first PTO meeting on Tuesday, September 13th at 7pm in the Library.

Best,
Angela Cioletti
President

Our New Principal & Assistant Principal!
Please join us in giving new Principal,  Mr. Chad Wray, and new Assistant Principal,  Mrs. Pat Koscinski, a warm welcome to Victory and its communities!! 

Mark Your Calendar!

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Friday, August 26th - Meet Your Teacher Day
  • 9:00 am - Grade 5 
  • 10:00 am - Grade 4 
  • 11:00 am - Grade 3 
  • 12:00 pm - Grade 2 
  • 1:00 pm - Grade 1 (A-M) 
  • 1:30 pm - Grade 1 (N-Z) 
  • 1:00 pm - Kdg (A-E) 
  • 1:30 pm - Kdg (F - O) 
  • 2:00 pm - Kdg (P-Z) 
  • 3:00 pm - New Students 
  • 4:00 pm visit Regency Apts 

Monday, August 29th  - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!
Boo Hoo Breakfast  from 8:50 - 9:30am  (RSVP)

Aug 29th - Sep 2nd

Monday, September 5th - NO SCHOOL -  Labor Day Holiday

Thursday, September 8th, 6pm - Watch D.O.G.S. Kickoff in Cafeteria (RSVP)

Tuesday, September 13th  - PTO Meeting, 7pm in Library

Wednesday, September 14th, 4:30-7:30 - Why Cook Wednesday?  Spirit Night at Sudley Rd Chik-fil-A,  (click for printable flyer)

September 27th & 28th - Back to School Nights
* Tuesday - Grades K-2
* Wednesday - Grades 3-5

Monday, October 10th  - NO SCHOOL - Professional Learning Day

Tuesday, October 11th  - PTO Meeting, 7pm in Library

Friday, October 14th - 


Volunteer Opportunities
volunteers needed
Westie Parents -  We need you!

We need many hands during the week of school to make things run smoothly. Please consider helping for a short shift! Remember, many hands make light work!


1st week Kindergarten Helpe rs - We're looking for additional help for our new Kindergartners during their first week. For many kids, it's too upsetting to see Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, so we're looking for non-Kindergarten parents to help with check-in, play at Centers and be extra hands.   Please sign up here to be a Kindergarten Helper! Any help would be greatly appreciated! ** Kindergarten parents, there will be plenty of other opportunities to help as we settle into the school year **

1st Week VES Helpers  (different from Kindergarten Helpers!) -  We all want to make sure that our students and teachers get off to the best possible start, and need MANY volunteers the first week of school to make sure that happens! We are looking for some parents to help out everywhere the kids are - the bus loop, car rider lines, walkers, hallways, lunch in the cafeteria, and in the office! There are many options, and all are important! Please consider taking a shift somewhere and help ensure that this week flows smoothly.  Sign up here to be a 1st Week VES Helper!

If you have any questions, please email our Volunteer Coordinator, Casey Kwitkin at  volunteer@vespto.com

Also, if you did NOT receive an email for the above Sign-Up Genius event and wish to start receiving emails for future Sign-Up opportunities, then please email Casey at  volunteer@vespto.com to let her know and she will make sure you are added to her volunteer mailing list! In the meantime, you may just click on the link above to sign up for next week. A HUGE thank you to those who have already signed up!

Watch for future volunteer opportunities on our  Volunteer Opportunites page  at our official VESPTO website.  You may also follow our official Facebook page at  http://www.facebook.com/vespto , where volunteer announcements will also be posted.  



School Supply Kits are here!
Attention Parents! School supply kits have arrived. If you ordered a kit orbackpack in May, they were delivered to your child's classroom. They will be available at Meet The Teacher on Friday, August 26th. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Liszkay at liszkakt@pwcs.edu . Thank you for your orders!
Boo Hoo Breakfast
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On Monday, August 29th, from 8:50-9:30am, please join the PTO for donuts and coffee in the cafeteria after we send our little ones off on the first day of school.   Tissues (or high fives!) will be provided!  Click here to RSVP!

Watch D.O.G.S.

Calling all Dads of Great Students (DOGS!) Join us in the cafeteria on Thursday, September 8th at 6pm as we kick off a new program at Victory called Watch D.O.G.S. Pizza and drinks will be served. Click here to RSVP!  For additional information about the program, visit www.fathers.com/watchdogs

Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A

Join us for our first "Why Cook Wednesday?" of the school year!   

September 14th 4:30-7:30pm at Chick-fil-A on Sudley Rd. 

They will give 10% back of ALL total sales from the three hours.
  
Click here for a printable flyer   and be sure to take it with you so we can get the credit!


Westie Waggle
Westie  Waggle  will be  Friday, October 14th!
 
Westie  Waggle  is our big, kid-powered FUNdraiser for the Fall!  We look forward to running, jumping, dancing and  waggling  our way around the Loop behind the school.   This is a guaranteed fun time for the kids and adults! Be on the lookout for all the information you need!

Backpack Buddies

Backpack Buddies needs YOU! 

We provide kid-friendly, non-perishable food to students over the weekend when school meals are not available and there may be little to no food to eat at home.  Each recipient meets  specific financial guidelines and, in addition, has been personally identified by school counselors as in need of food over the weekend.
We need your help to support these kids in the coming year.  

Here's what you can do:

Contribute Financially:
Consider making a donation to the Program. You can send a check made out to VESPTO, clearly labeled with "Backpack Buddies" to school with your student.  For $380, you can "adopt" a backpack and provide weekend meals to a child in need for entire school year.  Group sponsorships are another great way to help!  Please consider asking your book club, Girl or Boy Scout Troop, bible study, neighbors, etc., to sponsor a backpack as a group!  

Donate Food Directly:
We are always in need of direct donations to the pantry: soup, tuna, beans, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables and dry pasta and rice are always needed.  Contributing to the food bank is as easy as picking up an extra item on your weekly shopping trip. You can always send donations to school with your students.

Volunteer:
We need volunteers to collect and distribute backpacks, inventory the food shelf and pack backpacks every week!  Please email  backpackbuddies@vespto.com to sign up to help!  

Spread the word:  Tell your neighbors and friends about the program and ask them to help! And follow Backpack Buddies  on Facebook!

Please help us ensure that no student returns to school on Monday hungry!  Childhood hunger is happening to kids in our neighborhood, but we can do something about it.  Please do what you can to help!

Westie Wear

We are excited to have a new logo for our  Westie Wear this year. We will have samples for families to check out at Back to School night!
 

PTO Liaisons
Westies Working Together!
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." ~Henry Ford
Our motto is  "Yellow and Blue how can we help you?" and we are ready to work together during a new year of making memories and learning!
What are PTO Liaisons? Think of us as the bridge connecting parents and teachers. We work closely with the PTO committees, room parents, and teachers to help organize events an8d needs.  Liaisons work with parents to foster a positive and productive volunteer experience and parent/teacher relationship. We are all about offering the support and help needed to create an amazing school year. 
So... what do we really do?
1.  Liaisons help PTO or classroom related events run smoothly. Memorable grade level events include parties, programs, and special activities. 
2. Teachers and the PTO know they can come to us to help share information on a classroom level.
3.  We organize and share information with the room parents.
4. We provide guidelines and reminders to the room parents and volunteers to help insure that all the classrooms have the needed assistance and support.
5. Give us your questions! Quite simply, we are here for you. Please do not hesitate to contact the liaisons with anything Victory related.  If we don't know the answer, we'll find someone who does. :) You can count on us!
PTO Liaisons 2016-2017
"Yellow
 and  Blue
we are here for you!"

Kindergarten Liaison -  Christina Devers
 
First Grade Liaison - Casey Kwitkin
 
Second Grade - Tracy Chandler
 
Third Grade - Alison Johanson
 
Fourth Grade - Alison Johanson
 
Fifth Grade - Kellye Annibell
 
Encore - Beth Felder
 
PTO Liaison Chair - Sarah Diaz
(703) 801-7903


Newsletter Subscription
Our VESPTO Newsletters are generally published on a monthly basis, and feature news you need, volunteer opportunities, important upcoming dates and events, and more!  If you haven't already subscribed to have these newsletters emailed directly to you, then click below to sign up!
 

Please note! If your child is no longer attending Victory Elementary or you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, *please* don't just ignore or mark it as spam. Instead, please unsubscribe via the SafeUnsubscribe® link at the bottom of this newsletter, or send an email to  newsletter@vespto.com. Thank you so much!!

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