VALERIUS WEEKLY DIGEST

Monday, February 1st (A DAY)

Wednesday, February 3rd (B DAY)

Thursday, February 5th (C DAY)

Tuesday, February 2nd (A Day)

Thursday, February 4th (B Day)

This week we had a visit from Miss Morgan, our special education associate who was in a tragic car accident back in October. She is home, and working towards a full recovery. It was a special time to get to see her, talk to her, and spend time with Morgan and her family! Thank you to all of our Valerius community who continue to send positive thoughts, prayers, and encouragement. Morgan and her family appreciate the entire Valerius family!

As cold as it is, it's hard to imagine that spring is just around the corner and with that comes a big move for our beloved school! On a monthly basis I want to give families an update on the work happening behind the scenes to close Valerius Elementary site and move to the Jensen Elementary Site.

Here's what we have accomplished in January:

• I met with Mr. Lees and Mrs. Justmann about Valerius playground equipment
• Cleaned out the storage room between Miss Darnielle’s space and the library. Identifying items to save, items to get rid of, and a plan for storage at Jensen
• Built a documented list of items that will be saved from Valerius and stored for the new Valerius or moved to Jensen. This includes things like the Sticks signage, the wooden Eagle and Valerius sign, etc.
• Scheduled a Valerius neighborhood meetings for Mr. Bass, Mrs. Justmann, and I to share with the neighborhood the upcoming plans. This is directly intended to communicate with residents who do not have students in school, but could be impacted by a construction project. These were held with Olmsted, and had great results!
• A team met to start planning our Valerius Legacy Days to celebrate with kids and with the community! Join our Facebook Group if you haven't already!
• Created the moving timeline and packing process to document logistics that will be shared with staff soon.

Coming up in February:

• Share the Jensen map with staff
• Set a date and plan for the Valerius Garage sale this summer
• Release the information for Q&A with staff around the packing process and moving timeline
• Continue to meet with facilities leadership teams
• Host the Valerius Neighborhood meeting
• Inventory all the furniture and curriculum materials that will be going with us to the Jensen site

Currently, much of the work is being done by leadership teams to ensure we have good processes in place to move staff through this journey. As we move into the coming months, staff will start to be more directly involved with the action steps of moving and closing a building. After spring break, I'm hopeful for opportunities to get parent volunteers to help come in for packing outside of school hours. I feel very confident right now that if I can stick to the timeline laid out in front of me in the GANTT chart we created together as a staff, that it will help us accomplish this mighty task together.

The Urbandale Community School District invites Valerius Elementary neighbors to attend a Neighborhood Meeting in order to learn more about the new elementary school that will be built on the current Valerius site. Construction of the new elementary school is scheduled to begin this summer, and will span a total of two years (2021-2022; 2022-2023) with the new building opening for the 2023-2024 school year.

The Neighborhood Meeting will cover specifics for what Valerius neighbors can expect during construction. For example: construction timeline, demolition, traffic patterns, equipment, safety, and hours of operation. There will be a Question/Answer session at the end of the meeting.

Valerius Neighborhood Meeting
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
http://bit.ly/3ccI8i2

To help ensure we have enough virtual seats available in our Zoom Webinar to host all attendees, please RSVP by February 8 via phone (515) 457-6500 or email jonesa1@urbandaleschools.com.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Extending the mission of the Urbandale Community School of Teaching All, Reaching All, Urbandale Community Education strives to provide engaging lifelong educational opportunities and personal enrichment that inspires and supports all learners to increase their capacity for personal growth. Please take a look at their current opportunities by visiting their website https://www.urbandalecommunityed.com/.

Due to COVID-19, we will not be exchanging Valentines this school year. Our PTO is planning and supporting a party as they have in years past for classroom teachers to engage students in celebrating friendship. We are hopeful that next year we will be able to resume the exchange of Valentine's.

Please click here to view Preschool & Kindergarten Pre-Registration Information for the 2021-2022 school year.

Please click here to review detailed Preschool Pre-Registration Information for the 2021-2022 school year.

If you live near any families who may benefit from this information, please pass it along!

Principal: Michelle Cole; colem@urbandaleschools.com

Office Manager: Angie Jones; jonesa1@urbandaleschools.com

Nurse: Jenny Villegas; villegasj@urbandaleschools.com

Guidance Counselor: Melissa MacGregor; macgregorm@urbandaleschools.com

FFO: Brittany Cooley; cooleyb@urbandaleschools.com

Website: https://www.urbandaleschools.com/schools/valerius-elementary/
Location: 3305 92nd Street, Urbandale, IA, USA
Phone: 515-457-6500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valeriuselementary