The Summer Camp still has a possibility of moving forward.  As we’ve noted, confirmed enrollment is low.  If we’re going to be able to make this happen, we need parents to send in their enrollment forms.  The Summer Program Committee will be reaching out to all families that initially indicated interest, as well as confirming with all registered participants.  The PA will keep the original deadline date of Friday, May 18th (this is only a week and half away) and we believe we can have a firm decision on whether we can operate the camp by the following Monday, May 21.

Have something for the bulletin? Send it to Shaina at bulletin@villagecharterschool.com.

 

Dates at a Glance                         

·  May 9th, 1pm - PA Meeting
·  May 9th – Miss Ashley’s class to LBC
·  May 10th – MS to Bullfrog Pond, overnight
·  May 15th – Miss Barnum’s class to Tall Ships
·  May 16th – Miss Kristen’s class to Tolay Regional Park
·  May 18th – Miss Malika’s class to Shell Beach
·  May 23rd, 5:45pm – Board Meeting/Public Hearing
·  May 24th – Ashley’s class to Lennox Farm
·  May 28th - Memorial Day (No School)
·  May 30th – Miss Barnum’s class to Pirate Island
·  June 1st, 8am-9am - PA Sponsored Coffee Morning
·  June 8th - Last Day of School/Graduation/Carnival
 

 

Order Yearbooks

It's not too late to buy a yearbook!

Visit https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014724174042747 to place your order.

• Yearbooks only cost $20.00.
• The books are printed on high quality 100% recycled paper in beautiful full color.
• For each VCS yearbook sold, Trees for the Future plants a tree in our school's name.
• Order your yearbook by May 7 to get free bulk shipping with the rest of VCS! A shipping fee will apply to orders placed thereafter.
• Distribution & Signing Day TBA in the coming weeks!

 

Around School

HOUSING WANTED

Hello. We are a former Village family looking for a new rental. A 3-bedroom is preferred but we can absolutely manage with something smaller. Our family consists of: me, my three children (though my oldest will be transferring to a 6-year college this summer), and our very clean, healthy, and well-behaved pets (dog & cat). We'd like to stay in the Santa Rosa/Rohnert Park area, but are open to nearby places as well.

My landlords just sold their duplex we've been renting, but they say I am the best tenant they've ever had and they would love to speak to potential landlords about me and my family. I am a non-smoker who always pays my rent early and I take excellent care of my rentals, going the extra mile to keep them clean, organized, and beautiful. If you have an affordable rental (or know of someone else who does), please contact me at bribjarnson@gmail.com.  Thank you! Brianna
 

Summer Care Cancelled

Unfortunately, due to limited interest, we are unable to offer Summer Camp this year. Please stop by the office to collect all payments made.
 

2018 – 2019 Calendar

Appreciations

Have an appreciation you wish to make? You can email it in by Friday morning or just stop by the office and drop off a note in the orange Appreciation Jar and it will get added to the next Bulletin.

Yearbook Team, you did it. You took on an immensely complicated and challenging 8-month project, worked really hard, and saw it through to completion. The yearbook you've created together is beautiful. I'm so proud of you!
– Emma

Thank you, Rebecca, for holding the all-school meetings this week!
Thank you to all the parent teachers bringing consistent additional enrichment to our classrooms!
– Deneene

I would like to appreciate all of the parents and students who participated in teacher appreciation activities last week. You make me feel appreciated.
– Jenn

I want to say thank you to all of the parents that found the time to attend one of my meetings this last week. These opportunities to gather with you and learn from you are rejuvenating. My heart is touched by the depth of generosity and creativity that flows from this community. Thank you for your feedback and support! More importantly for making me laugh out loud.
With gratitude and respect,
Rebecca

Have something for the bulletin? Send it to Shaina at bulletin@villagecharterschool.com.

 

Dates at a Glance                         

· April 30th, 5:45pm - Meeting with Rebecca

· May 2nd, 1:00pm – Meeting with Rebecca

· May 3rd, 5:45pm – Meeting with Rebecca

· May 4th, 8am-9am - PA Sponsored Coffee Morning

· May 9th, 1pm - 2:15pm - PA Meeting

· May 28th - Memorial Day (No School)

· June 1st, 8am-9am - PA Sponsored Coffee Morning
 

 

VCS All-School Meetings

When: Monday, April 30, 5:45 pm*

            Wednesday, May 2, 1:00 pm**

            Thursday, May 3, 5:45 pm*

*No child care available for evening meetings
**E.C. rates apply for Wednesday meeting

Location:  VCS Computer Lab/Library

Topics: This will be an opportunity for Q and A on Budget, Parent Pledge, Parent Involvement, and Student Engagement

Being a part of an Independent Charter School provides not only a unique educational experience for our children, but is also a new (and sometimes challenging and confusing) experience for us as parents. It is my goal that, by hosting three (3) meetings at a variety of different times, every Village family will be able to attend.

I invite everyone to bring their ears, hearts and ideas to at least one of these meetings!

Rebecca

 

VCS Summer Camp

Enroll Now! Deadline for sign up is May 18th.

We have had some interest, but not enough yet to guarantee that this program will move forward. Make sure to get your enrollment forms turned in to Carolyn, ASAP!

If you are having trouble coming up with the full payment all at once you can pay 1/2 by Friday, May 18. This amount will be considered a non-refundable deposit. The final amount will be due by Friday, June 1.

The VSC Summer Camp will be filled with fun activities, and interesting outings. Children will be able to choose their activities in the many open studios, go on afternoon adventures such as field trips and group projects, and stay with their Village community of friends!

Studios include:

➢ Fiber Arts such as knitting, weaving, needle-felting, sewing
➢ DIY Toy-making
➢ Music
➢ Gardening
➢ Art Journal
➢ Inventor’s Workshop (a maker’s space filled with reclaimed materials, students can create whatever they wish with the available materials)
➢ Outdoor and indoor Games

The new VCS summer program will be an 8-week program beginning June 11 and running until August 3rd. The program will be from 8am to 5:30pm.  Each week will be themed around a different ecosystem around the world. Of course, since this is Village there will be art, and music, hikes and other fun activities. Incoming students (Kinder and up) will be welcome to participate.

Summer Admission Agreement | Summer Program Details

 

Creek Clean-a-Thon

What a fabulous event on Saturday! Our 5th annual Creek-Clean-A-Thon was a wonderful success!  We had over 55 VCS students plus families and friends, in all amounting to over 130 folks cleaning our creek!  Results? We collectively picked up over 715 pounds of trash!!!  That is the same amount we’ve picked up over the past 4 years!  Great job Village Charter School!!! We have posted a few pics from the event on the board outside of the office for you to enjoy. 

As for the funds we’ve collected for our beautiful school, so far we have brought in just shy of $7000!  We know there are still pledge forms to be turned in so please bring them into the office as you can. We’d love all money to be collected by the end of April but will continue to count pledges through May.  We believe our school goal of $10,000 is possible!

T-shirts...  If you worked the event or raised money for our school and did not get a fabulous orange t-shirt AND would like one, please email me your name and T-shirt size.  I’ll be putting in final orders next Monday, April 30th.

Thank you also to ALL of our SPONSORS; you made a big impact this year! 

Lastly, an enormous THANK YOU to Stephanie and Envirichment for running this event!  What an incredible way to honor the earth on Earth Day! You role model for us daily our Village values!

PS - If anyone has more photos (especially of kids cleaning the creek), please email them over and we’ll be sure to post them!

 

Order Yearbooks

Don’t forget to get your order in for your yearbook! https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014724174042747

• Yearbooks only cost $20.00.
• The books are printed on high quality 100% recycled paper in beautiful full color.
• For each VCS yearbook sold, Trees for the Future plants a tree in our school's name.
• Order your yearbook by May 7 to get free bulk shipping with the rest of VCS!

 

Notes from the PA

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week Wrap-Up.
Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week has been a great success!  Thanks to your participation and donations this week has truly been satisfying Thank You to the amazing teachers we have here. Thank you for all the gracious help! Teachers and staff have felt your love.

LAST PA Meeting of this school year!
We are having our last PA meeting of the school year on Wednesday, May 9th.  You wont want to miss this one! We will be talking about Carnival and Graduation.  If you have ideas, suggestions or want to participate please come and join us for this meeting.  If you are unable to attend but still want to help and be part of the Committees for these please email the festival chair Crisarlin at crisarlin@gmail.com.
 

Magical Garden

Have you all noticed Miss Malika’s Magical Garden? The children have been pouring their love and attention into planting, weeding, sowing and watering the past couple of weeks. So much gratitude to them and to Jasmine, Andy, Meg and the Nunley’s for their support, help and all round love!!!! Please take a little tour and enjoy the beauty!
 

Make A Difference Project

Dear Parents and Families,

I’m Hartley Blakey, an eighth grader here at Village Charter School. I'm doing my Make A Difference project on installing an air quality sensor at our school. For this to happen, I need to raise $250 on my GoFundMe page (link down below) to be able to purchase the sensor. Please visit the site, and thank you for considering a donation.

https://www.gofundme.com/air-quality-sensor-for-my-school
 

Woodworking Update

As some of you know, we have been working hard to transform the space between the shipping container and the fence into a woodworking area.  Back in December we got a tarp cover over the area (cleverly attached with magnets) and it looked great. Perhaps the magnets weren’t so clever, because when the high winds came it popped right off.  Once it had fallen the first time, it seemed the slightest wind would take it down again. Bigger magnets were added, but it did not solve the problem. Smarter minds were consulted and we finally have what will be (hopefully) a reliable way of attaching the tarp to the container.  Steel and U-bolts combined with magnets should do the trick!

Unfortunately after falling down several times and being trampled, the tarp has tears in it that make it useless at creating a dry space.  A new tarp has been ordered (if it is not one thing it is another). Hopefully in the next few weeks it will be up and secure and we can continue trying to get the space ready.

While the tarp was down two of the magnets disappeared.  These are 4” round magnets with a pull strength of about 400 lbs.  If you see them, please return them to the side of the container so we can re-attach them before we put the tarp back up.

After that we just need to rock the ground (it has already been leveled).  Workbenches are made and ready to be installed and shelves for projects are being made.

One pressing need remains.  We need a weatherproof cabinet that can be locked (preferably with a padlock so the combination can be shared rather than tracking down keys).  One of the tall garden tool cabinets (that you can put shelves in) would be ideal. If anyone has one they are not using, please contact Arnold (arnold@kitenerd.com). We already have a nice collection of tools, safety glasses etc. and we just need a place to keep them all secure.

This has taken far longer than anyone expected, but hopefully soon we will have a nice work area to use for years to come.
 

Garden Group

It’s time to get the garden growing!  Have you noticed that our beautiful village garden is beginning to take shape?  Come and join us on Friday afternoons at 2:00 for some gardening fun! Weather permitting. Also, we are looking for pots or planters of any shape or size if you have any extras lying around.
 

Yearbook Photos Wanted

The deadline for sending the yearbook to print is May 7th. If you could contribute ANY photos of the 2017/2018 school year before that date, especially from the lists below, that’d be amazing! Please email them to emmakerfoot@gmail.com, or drop them off in person on a memory card, flash drive, or CD.

Major Photo Needs (We have few pictures of):

• Run Club
• Plays/Skits/Drama - Performances, rehearsals, prop-making, costume-making, etc.
• Spanish Classes - Especially of activities like art and cooking! Projects - Presentations, dioramas, models, experiments, labs, etc.
• Field Trips
• Bird Rescue Center
• Tall Ships
• March for Immigration Rights (we have plenty)
• Legion of Honor (we have plenty)
• Planetarium
• Shiloh Park (we have plenty)
• Children’s Museum (we have plenty)
• Other Field Trips?

Minor Photo Needs (we have some pictures of):

• Harvest Hoedown, Winter Solstice, Music Classes (Drumming, ukulele, etc.), Gardening, Conservation, Fundraisers, Yoga Classes, Buddies, Creek Clean-a-Thon, Artwork, and anything else! We have enough photos of anything you don't see mentioned here, but that doesn't mean we don't still want more to choose from!
   

Appreciations

Have an appreciation you wish to make? You can email it in by Friday morning or just stop by the office and drop off a note in the orange Appreciation Jar and it will get added to the next Bulletin.

• “Dear Families, Staff, and Students,

          Being welcomed into this school has been one of the most amazing experiences that has happened in my life. I feel so fortunate to know all of you and so thankful that I get the chance to come here and learn from you all every day. The support and love that I have felt from this community has been overwhelming—and now this appreciation week has left my heart bursting! Thank you for all of your kind actions and words. The best gift of all is that we will always be in each other's hearts!

          Best Wishes and Much Love!
          ~Ashley!”

• "Mr. Robbins would like to appreciate Carolyn, who works tirelessly every day to keep our school running. Thank you!"
   
• “Thank you to our wonderful Teacher Appreciation Committee and community of Village parents who helped make our deserving teachers and staff feel so special this week. ... And a final thank you and a world of appreciation to our teachers and staff for their loving and tireless efforts to make VCS the awesome school that it is. - Deneene”
   
• “I'd like to give an appreciation to the 3rd-8th grade students who are in the midst of taking the CAASPP. (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, also known as "Smarter Balanced") You have been awesome test-takers! You're pacing yourselves well, being quiet and respectful of others, not abusing your freedom to get up and move around any time you want, cleaning your work area when you leave, and keeping a positive attitude even when facing challenging questions. I'm so impressed with your behavior so far. Since the CAASPP only grades you on academics, I'm going to grade you on some of your Life Skills in the testing room:
   

Responsibility? Def' 10 out of 10. It's gotta get done, and you're getting it done!
Flexibility? 10 out of 10. Sometimes technical problems and other interruptions come up, and you handle them like champions.
Integrity? 10 out of 10 again! You aren't trying to get the answers from your neighbors, and you aren't asking me for more help than I'm allowed to give.
Courage? Like, 50/10. You missed almost a month of school in October, but you're approaching this test with with cool confidence.
Effort? Oh my goodness, um, how about 999/10?
Perseverance? 11/10. I love seeing you finally figure out a tough problem you've been working on for a while.
Patience? 10/10. Wait, no. 20/10. For those of you who have difficulty being quiet for long periods of time, 1,000,000/10. You know who you are. ;)  - Emma”

• “What a wonderful week our teachers and staff have had!  Thank you to all in our community who volunteered some of their time to give our school teachers and staff the most priceless of gifts – love, kindness and sincere appreciation! - Crisarlin”
   
• “Lauren - Thank you for helping with the last PA meeting.  It is nice to see you being more involved again.”
   
• “Thank you to all the families who participated in the Creek Clean-A-Thon fundraiser.  Whether you raised money or cleaned the creek it all helps keep our community strong and growing.”
   
• “A very HUGE thank you to Mariah and Stephanie, and of course all of you on the committee who helped make the fundraiser happen behind the scenes.”