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Message from the PTO President
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Dear Valley Forge Families, Faculty and Staff,
A very warm welcome to our continuing and new families! For our new families, let me begin by introducing myself. I am Rujuta Mandelia, your PTO President for this school year. This is my second year serving on the PTO Board and I could not be more excited.
We were able to give back $28, 487 in gifts to school last year. So, thank you for supporting the school in such a magnanimous way. We were able to give 40 Ipads to our school in addition to many other requested items. We are currently updating our website and a detailed list of items will be available on
vfespto.org.
Let me introduce to you our PTO Board of whom I am incredibly proud of and in awe of. I look forward to learning so many different skills from them and build strong relationships and friendships. Please welcome -
VP Volunteers, Amanda Ivory; VP Fundraising, Emily Puk Carteen; Co-VP Socials, Angel McAveney; Co-VP Socials, Alison Murray; VP Clubs, Amanda Mlinar; Treasurer, Kim Kerns; Asst Treasurer, Adrienne Miller; Communications Coordinator, Beth Stanfield; and Publishing Center, Tarin Cataldo.
We don't need background checks for most of the PTO related events. However, if you would like to be a library volunteer or go on field trips with your child, please send your background check information to the school district.
In the newsletter, you will find information on the on-going activities in school, after school activities and community-centered information. The newsletter is the best way in getting latest news about the school and our children's activities. I encourage you to read the newsletter and contribute as well!
Please welcome our new Falcon editors for the year, Deepa Krishnan and Doug Wilson. I thank them for volunteering their time to editing the newsletter. Without the editor's meticulous attention to details and hours of work, the newsletter would not be fun, accessible, functional and well-formatted. So, thank you, Deepa and Doug!
I would also like to thank our VP, Volunteers, Amanda Ivory for organizing the Teacher Luncheon last week! The food was amazing and the teachers had fun! It was great to welcome back our wonderful and dedicated teachers.
It is rewarding to be at a school that prioritizes our children's social and academic well-being. I thank Mrs. Wills, our principal, who has an open-door policy, our teachers who never hesitate in answering our questions, our staff and custodians who are ever ready to help, and of course, you, our parents/volunteers, who make our PTO run so smoothly. It is well-known that when parents get involved in their children's school, children thrive socially, academically and overall become very excited about school.
I am also writing to you to consider volunteering for the PTO. I have volunteered to be on many different positions from being a classroom parent to Falcon editor to chairing Spring Fair. I loved hanging out with my friends, chatting about how we are going to make the event happen and teaming up for an event our children are so proud of. Please consider volunteering for positions that would work with your schedule. You can check out volunteering opportunities right here.
If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, please email me at [email protected].
I look forward to hearing from you!
Much love,
Rujuta Mandelia
VFES PTO President
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| Back to School Greetings from Mrs. Wills |
| Dear Valley Forge Elementary School Families, |
Welcome to the 2016-17 school year, and a special welcome to families who recently moved to the area! The start of a new school year always brings excitement and anticipation. We are fortunate to have a community that supports our schools, parents who are involved with their children and caring, talented staff members who work diligently and are dedicated to helping develop our most precious resource, our children. Best of all, we have a great group of kids!
We see parents as true partners in the education of their children. Working together we can make this the best school year ever. The staff at VFES spent time this summer reenergizing and gearing up to enter the new school year refreshed and with a renewed dedication to the academic achievement of our students and to promoting a nurturing and caring environment. Recognizing our students' emotional, social and physical needs, we promote their growth by helping them become critical thinkers, problem solvers, effective communicators and caring individuals. This is accomplished through a meaningful curriculum, excellence in instruction and continuous communication among parents, teachers and students.
During professional development days in June, the teachers enhanced a variety of curricular programs and revised instructional activities. Teachers worked with their grade level colleagues both across the District and within their building teams to plan for the 16-17 school year.
Last year students did an excellent job with our building theme, "VFES Superheroes." We learned that Superheroes are trustworthy, responsible, caring, respectful, fair and good citizens. VFES Superhero Students helped make Valley Forge a great place to grow and learn with kind words and actions. This year we are going to "change the line-up." Our school theme will be: "We are all part of Team VFE!" We will focus on 6 key characteristics throughout the year. Students will be encouraged to respect others, take thoughtful risks, learn from mistakes, dream big, try hard and celebrate success. These characteristics will be emphasized throughout the year with planned activities related to this theme.
We are excited that school has begun and look forward to the educational opportunities that lie ahead. Know that everyone at VFES is committed to working with you to support your child's journey. Best wishes for a wonderful school year!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Wills
Principal
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Volunteers Needed
There are some remaining Chairperson positions and many General Volunteer/Committee opportunities available for the new school year.
Signups are also now open for all classroom Homeroom & Library Parents.
Visit
www.vfespto.org
and click on "Get Involved" and look for "Open Positions and Sign Up" and "HR and Library Parents" to sign up. Any questions, please email Amanda Ivory at
[email protected]
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Falcon 5K is Back
Save The Date
4th Annual Falcon 5K and 1 Mile Kids' Fun Run
Sunday October 9th, 2016 at 9am in Wilson Farm Park
Come and join us once again for this popular VFES PTO Fundraiser! There will be music, a pre-race warm up led by Mr Johnson, and prizes for winners in each age category. Online registration opens
Tuesday September 6th. For more details and registration visit
www.
vfespto
.org/
falcon
-
5k.
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Volunteers Needed for Health Screening Days at VFES
Health Screening Days will take place on Thursday, September 22nd and Friday, September 23rd. If you would like to volunteer to help, please
click here.
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ARRIVAL
- School starts at 8:45 a.m.
- As you enter the school driveway from Walker Road, please form a single line in the far right side of the driveway and proceed to the front entrance of the school.
- Do not enter the bus circle area. The bus circle is for buses only. Please wait in a single line until you can safely drop off students at the front entrance. Even if the buses appear to have already arrived, please do not enter the bus circle area.
- Pull all the way forward to the sidewalk at the front entrance in a single line and discharge passengers from the right side of your vehicle on the sidewalk. At no time should children be in the driveway. Several cars can pull to the curb in a single file.
- Please pull forward and do not park in front of the school or leave your vehicle.
DISMISSAL
- School is dismissed at 3:20 p.m. As you enter the driveway from Walker Road please form a single line in the far right side of the driveway. Students are dismissed from the Second Grade Lobby but please pull forward to the front entrance to allow room for several cars.
- If your child is not at the pick-up area and there are other parents waiting behind you, pull forward and we will call for your child.
- Attached with this letter are copies of a Valley Forge carpool ID tag with your child's name. Please place this carpool ID tag in your front window to facilitate picking up your child. For those parents who come to the door to pick up their children at the 2nd grade lobby, we ask that you wait outside the lobby and carry the ID tag with you. School personnel will record the names and inform other personnel to send out the appropriate child. If you do not have the designated ID tag and you are not recognized by the staff member on duty, you will be asked to park and report to the main office. Once admitted to the main office you will be asked to show ID if you are not recognized by office staff. If the ID matches the appropriate paperwork on file, your child will be released. Additional copies of the carpool ID tags can be requested in the main office.
- After your passengers have boarded, check that they have their seatbelts fastened and proceed carefully (10 mph in the parking lot and 15 mph in the school zone on Walker Road).
- Parents who walk and pick their children up at the Parent Pick-up door are asked to retrieve their children quickly and move away from the door and sidewalk area so that dismissal of students to cars is less crowded.
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Food Allergies
Our District, consistent with national trends, continues to see an increase in the prevalence of students with life threatening food allergies. The focus of our allergy management continues to be prevention, education, awareness, communication and emergency response.
As you may know, our District continues to review and update our Allergy Policy and Regulation (5403) and the Wellness Policy and Regulation (5402) to assure that they appropriately provide for the safety of our children. A copy of these District policies and the regulations are available on the District's website (www.tesd.net).
The District uses this opportunity to remind you that the following food practices are observed in all elementary classrooms and schools.
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T&E Care School Meal Assistance Program
Tredyffrin & Easttown Care is a local non-profit that helps families in our community in a variety of ways. Because effective learning is best done on a full stomach, T&E Care supports families in the T/E School District with a school meal assistance program. This assistance is available to families meeting certain income criteria. Families who are approved for free or reduced lunch assistance are not eligible to apply for our program as well. More details on the acceptance criteria can be found on the short application.
If your family could use a little extra help with breakfast and/or lunch assistance and you feel you might fit the criteria explained in the application, please contact your child's counselor for a copy of the application. You can also go to T&E Care's website to download the application (address below). There is no deadline to apply - your child can join this program at any time during the school year. Assistance of $30/mo/student for elementary students, and $40/mo/student for middle and high school students was offered by T&E Care last year. It is expected that similar amounts will be available again in 2016/2017.
Any community members interested in helping to fund this important initiative, please go to T&E Care's website (www.tecare.org) for more details on how to get involved.
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4th Grade Paoli Wildcat Registration - New Procedures
The Paoli Basketball Club is pleased to announce that 4th grade registration for the 2016-2017 Paoli Wildcat community basketball league season will be completed on-line this year for both boys and girls. 4th grade GIRLS registration is open from now until October 31st. 4th grade BOYS online registration will open at 10:00am on Saturday, September 10th on the Active registration website. There is a limit to the number of registrants to ensure the quality of the experience. The registration link is available at
http://www.paoliwildcats.org/registration.html. Once the 4th grade boys spots are full, all boys will go on a waiting list in the order of online registration. In the past we have added waiting list players to the league, so please register for the waiting list if the league is full. Boys online registration will close on Sunday, September 18th at midnight. See the Paoli Wildcat website (
www.paoliwildcats.org) for general information on the league and its goals.
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A huge thank you to
Amanda Ivory for organizing a delicious and fun-filled luncheon for our teachers. It was a great welcome back for the teachers.
Thank you to
Heather McConnell for decorating the lobby to welcome the children, teachers and staff back from summer vacation!
Thank you to
Tracy Scully for decorating the Birthday Bulletin Board in the cafeteria. The children love to look for their names and birthdays throughout the year!
Thank you to
Nidhi Khanna for coordinating the New Family Tours to welcome all of our new families to VFES! Thank you as well to all of the 4th graders who were the tour guides!
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Upcoming Events
9/13- Gr. 1 & 2 Curriculum Night
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2016-2017 Falcon Publication Dates
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Questions or Comments?
Deepa Krishnan
Newsletter Editor
Doug Wilson
Newsletter Editor
Rujuta Mandelia
,
PTO
President
Rebecca Wills
,
Principal
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Welcome to the 2016/2017 PTO Board!
President: Rujuta Mandelia
VP Volunteer Services: Amanda Ivory
Co-VP Socials: Angel McAveney & Alison Murray
VP Fundraising: Emily Puk Carteen
VP Clubs: Amanda Mlinar
Co-Chairs Publishing Center: Tarin Cataldo & Brookie White
Treasurer: Kim Kerns
Assistant Treasurer: Adrienne Miller
Communications: Beth Stanfield
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