Dragon Tales 1.14.08

Valley Oak Elementary
Davis Joint Unified School District
Web: www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/voak
E-mail: valleyoak@djusd.k12.ca.us
PTA website: http://www2.dcn.org/orgs/vopta/
PTA email: valleyoakpta@yahoo.com
(530) 757-5470

Week of Jan. 14, 2008

Calendar: January
Jan. 14 PTA Meeting, 7 p.m., MPR
Jan. 17 DJUSD Board Meeting, 7 p.m., Community Chambers, Final Decision on Boundary Changes and GATE expected
Jan. 21 NO SCHOOL, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Jan. 23 Principal’s meeting for Spanish speaking and EL parents on boundary changes, 6 p.m., MPR
Jan. 23 Principal’s meeting for K-3 parents on boundary changes, 7 p.m., MPR
Jan. 24 Principal’s meeting for 4-6 parents; 7 p.m., MPR

Principal’s Message
Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo! It was wonderful to see all of the students back from Winter Break! We are all refreshed, re-energized and ready to learn! We are very busy with several student and staff activities. I hope you all have your running shoes!
In my last message I mentioned that the Board of Education will decide on boundaries and GATE placement for the 2008-2009 school year on January 17th. As a result, it will be imperative that communication is clear and transparent. Please read your Dragon Tales and get yourself on the listerv to receive timely information. To subscribe to the Valley Oak listserv, go to: http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/vopta.
In addition, the school will be holding Parent Informational Meetings on January 23rd and 24th to clarify the BOE decision. Welcome aboard Julie Cuetara (computer specialist) and Jennifer Vinh (paraeducator), who have recently joined the Valley Oak Staff. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated additions to the Valley Oak Familia.
Similarly, our Student Council Officers are working hard to prepare their purpose and goals for the remainder of the school year. It was a pleasure to meet with them this past Friday and begin to discuss student activities for the remainder of the year. They are an enthusiastic group and it will be a pleasure to support them in their endeavors to make our school fabulous! Staff ended the year looking at student assessment and preparing interventions for the Winter Trimester. Thank you! They worked very hard to ensure that ‘No Child Is Left Behind.” As a result, we will begin our formal interventions this week.
In summary, we will be extremely busy for the next several weeks. However, our number one goal is to continue to focus on student achievement and create a positive learning environment as students move towards or surpass grade level benchmarks. Thank you Valley Oak Families for all of your support!
--Principal Mary Ponce

Parents: Be on the lookout for
This Thursday, Jan.17, the School Board will make a decision regarding new elementary school boundaries and GATE program placement. After the decision is made, Valley Oak parents will be receiving two very important pieces of information:
1. A letter will be sent to your home address providing information about the decisions that have been made, the location of your new neighborhood school assignment and other pertinent information.*
2. A packet of information will be sent home with your child on either this Friday or the following Tuesday. Please check their backpacks for this information! This packet will contain important registration forms including the “Intent to Return” form and the “Intra-District Transfer” form, which will explain this process should you opt to not attend the new neighborhood school assigned to your address. It is critical that both of these forms be returned to the school office by Feb. 8.
*To ensure that you receive the notification letter from the district office, we must have your current address! If you have had any changes to your home address, please inform the school office by this Thursday, Jan. 17.
Principal Mary Ponce will hold three parent meetings to clarify any confusion and answer any questions you may have regarding the packets of information you will be receiving.
• Wednesday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m. in the MPR – Spanish speaking & EL parents
• Wednesday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. in the MPR—grades K-3 parents
• Thursday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. in the MPR—grades 4-6 parents
Childcare will be provided for these meetings.
The elementary schools who will be your new school of attendance will be hosting Open Houses for Valley Oak parents during the dates of Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. More information will follow in future issues of Dragon Tales.

String Concerts
Come hear string students from Pioneer and Valley Oak elementary schools! The performance will be held Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Emerson Junior High.

News from the Library
It is that time of year again!
The California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) nominees will be presented to Valley Oak students to be read and voted on starting next week.
There are several categories including Primary, Intermediate, Middle School, and Picture Books for Older Readers. The Primary nominees (5 books in all) will be read to all students by the library staff. The Intermediate Books (3 titles) will be presented to 4th - 6th grade students to be read (if they choose) on their own. The Middle School books (3 titles) will be presented to 5th and 6th graders to be read on their own. The Picture Books for Older Readers (3 books) will be read to all 4th - 6th grade students.
Votes in each category will be tabulated and sent on to the state CYRM headquarters at the end of March. In April or May, we will see which books won for the entire state of California.
Happy Reading,
Mrs. Pattison

“Mending the Bridge” Assembly
This Friday, Jan. 18, Valley Oak students will have the opportunity to see what life was like many years ago as we will have an assembly entitled “Mending a Bridge—The African American Experience in Yolo County, 1850-1950”. This will be a re-enactment of what life was like for people during those years and how they persevered. The students will see actual pictures of students in the Capay Valley and hear their stories. The assemblies will be at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Parents are welcome to join us for these assemblies.