Venetia Valley Voice

Families of Venetia Valley,

Welcome back to a new school year! We are excited at the opportunity to provide a high quality educational experience for your children. Our vision at Venetia Valley School is to meet all of our students where they’re at and support them to become all that they aspire to be. Through the implementation of our district values of Equity, Community and Joy, we are certainly positioned to meet this challenge.

Join me in welcoming our many new families to Venetia Valley School! As you’re dropping off, picking up or visiting the campus and you encounter some new faces, don’t hesitate to say hello and introduce yourself to our newest Falcon families. Our middle school and Dual Language Immersion program has brought us several new families this year. We look forward to working with you throughout the school year.

In closing, I would like to ask our families to help us remind your children about the importance of washing hands regularly, staying home when sick and asking you to report any positive COVID-19 infections. Remember that face masks are highly recommended but not required. It is exciting to start off our school year with a sense of normalcy, but the fact remains that we will have to continue to deal with COVID and we’re asking families to help us stay vigilant so that we can keep our schools open and students in school!

Again, welcome to an exciting new school year!

In Partnership,

Principal Quesada

Events that Happen Every Week during the Month

• Tuesdays - Food Pantry from 3:15 - 4:30 PM in front of the school
• Wednesdays - Citizenship Classes in the MPR from 5 - 7 PM
• Wednesdays are Early Release Days. Students are dismissed at 1:15 PM for Special Day Classes (SDC), 1:35 PM for TK/Kindergarten, 1:40 PM for Middle School and 1:45 PM for 1st - 5th Grade.

Week of September 5-9:

MONDAY, 9/5

• Labor Day - No School

WEDNESDAY, 9/7:

• First Safe Routes Day - "Bike, Walk’n Roll to School” at VV during AM arrival

THURSDAY, 9/8:

• TK/Kindergarten "Playdate Night" at 5 PM in the MPR

FRIDAY, 9/9:

• Principal Chat in person w/Mr. Q at 9 AM in the Family Center

Week of September 12th - 16th:

MONDAY, 9/12:

• San Rafael City School Governing Board Meeting at 6 PM

THURSDAY, 9/15:

• Start of National Hispanic Heritage Month!

FRIDAY, 9/16:

• Picture Day!

Week of September 19th - 23rd:

FRIDAY, 9/23:

• Aeries Parent Portal and ParentSquare "Sign Up Day" from 4:30 - 7 PM.

Week of September 26th - 30th:

No additional Events Planned this Week!

Marin County teens, like others throughout the country, are facing unprecedented challenges today. COVID conditions come and go but never really leave us and the impact this has had is broad.

To support our students and expand our conversations with and for our teens, we want to share with you Let’s Talk, a toolkit for navigating teen substance use in Marin County. This printed booklet and digital resource was created through a joint effort by Marin County Office of Education, Marin Health and Human Services, Marin Healthy Youth Partnerships, Rx Safe Marin and a network of community partners.

The Let’s Talk booklet includes local data, tips for parents, drug facts and resources to support families in navigating teen substance use. A printed booklet was mailed to all incoming Marin County public school freshmen families in August, and to expand the reach to all families we created an online version. We hope you find it helpful in beginning and continuing conversations with your teens about navigating substance use and other topics. There are two versions - one for middle school ages and one for high schoolers.

On October 5th at 7:00 PM, we will host Just Say Know - current drug trends, how it impacts our youth and what you can do. The first in a series of four online community discussions. Please visit the Let's Talk Discussion Series webpage for more information, a calendar of events, and registration link.

Hello Venetia Valley Families,

We are actively seeking nominations for the opening of PTA President, Vice-President and Co-Treasurer. Our former president, Mrs. Lili Figueroa requested to step down at the end of last school year and our amazing treasurer, Ms. Vero Henestroza has been filling in both her role as treasurer and interim president.

We will be accepting nominations through September 23rd and will hold an election on Friday, September 30th! Depending on how many candidates we receive, if we have multiple parents interested in a certain position, we will ask those candidates to create a campaign video that we will share with families on Thursday, 9/29 so that you have an idea of who you would like to vote for on election day.

Any parent interested in nominating themself for a position, please use the link here to NOMINATE yourself for a PTA Officer role.

Just a quick update to let you know our field construction is COMPLETE! We will be able to begin using the field the 3rd or last week of September! Our Falcons are excited and cannot wait to begin using the space.

Hello Venetia Valley Families,

Welcome to another school year! It was nice to see all of you on Back to School Night! My name is Pilar Sanchez and I am the Community Liaison at Venetia Valley School. It is a pleasure for me to work at VV and to work with all of our families. Read the newsletter so that you can see all of our upcoming events in September.

Thank you,

Ms. Pilar Sanchez

Venetia Valley Community Liaison

Office (415) 492-3150 Ext 2001

Fax (415) 492-3160

psanchez@srcs.org

Picture Day will be on Friday, September, 16th! You will be receiving the picture forms this week from your child's teacher. We can really use your help on this day. We are looking for 6 parent volunteers for picture day. I need 3 parents for the morning part from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM and we need 3 parent volunteers for the afternoon part from 1:00 - 3:45 PM.

We will be hosting a "Sign Up Day" to help our families download the Aeries Parent Portal and Parent Square applications and to complete the required family documents on Friday, 9/23/22 from 4:30 - 7:00 PM at Venetia Valley School.

Families are invited to come by and receive support downloading the applications on your cell phone for Aeries and ParentsSquare. These two applications will help families communicate with their child's teachers and be informed with what is happening in our VV community! We hope to see families take advantage of this great opportunity on 9/23!

A big thank you to our fabulous teacher, Ms. Kimberly McClure who has been a volunteer working in our garden! She worked hard all summer and is doing an amazing job with the students teaching them how to recycle their trash and compost their food items.

Please stop by and check out our school garden. It is looking beautiful! Ms. McClure also can use the help of some of our parents who are willing to be volunteers. There are multiple areas our volunteer parents can support in. If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity, please email Ms. McClure at kmcclure@srcs.org.

Hello Dear Venetia Valley Families,

We were very happy to see you in the Family Center on Back to School Night. Please know that we are here to help and serve. If at any time of the year you need help, do not hesitate to contact us.

As a reminder, there are some important back-to-school forms in the Aeries Parent Portal that you are required to review and complete. The Aeries Parent Portal is our tool for TK-12 parents/guardians to have online access to view your child’s digital school records, including emergency contact information, health records, attendance, state testing reports, and more. Please click on the link below and follow the instructions.

• Grades TK-8 Aeries Parent Portal

If you already have an account, log in and fill out the forms. If you do not have an account set up, click on “forgot password” and follow the instructions.

If you need support completing these forms please contact or stop by the Family Center: Monday - Friday anytime between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm or Wednesdays in September from 5 pm to 7 pm.

Upcoming Events:

• Food Bank distribution happens every Tuesday from 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm

Families, remember that bags of food are handed out every Tuesday in front of the school. Feel free to stop by if you need this service.

• Safe Routes to School Challenge- Wed, Sept. 14, from 8 am - 8:45 am

Safe Routes to School is dedicated to helping motivate our students to be active and healthy by creating monthly activities. Students who participate in the walk or roll to school challenge have a chance to win prizes.

• Citizenship Classes- Every Wednesday from 5 pm to 7 pm

Know the citizenship process, study for the exam, receive help with your N-450 form, and much more. For questions please call the family center.

• Charla w/ Mr. Q- Friday, Sept. 9 from 9 am to 10 am. MPR

The Charla with Mr. Q is an opportunity for families to ask questions or share concerns about things that are happening in Venetia Valley. Learn about services or events happening in our community.

• Community Fridge- New location- Bay Marin Church parking lot at 150 N. San Pedro Road

The Community Fridge is open 24/7 for families to come and grab what they need! If you wish to donate any food, this is also a place where you can donate by placing your food in the community fridge.

Want to contact us? Here's how:

Family Center Hours

Monday to Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Direct line: 415-496-0226

Kristal Garcia - Family Advocate - kgarcia@srcs.org

Erick De La Rosa- Family Advocate- ebeltran@srcs.org

Sheila Ramirez- Family Center Director- sramirez@srcs.org

Family Center Hours

Monday to Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Direct Line: 415-496-0226

Cell: 415-424-3778

Follow us on social media: Facebook and Instagram @ventiavalleyTK8 and follow Mr. Quesada on Twitter @PrincipalPaulQ.

Our Mission Statement

Venetia Valley is a community school where students, families and staff are celebrated for who they already are and are supported in every way to become all that they aspire to be.

Nuestra Declaración de Misión

Venetia Valley es una escuela comunitaria donde los estudiantes, las familias y el personal son reconocidos por quienes ya son y son apoyados en todos los sentidos para convertirse en todo lo que aspiran a ser.

Email: aquesada@srcs.org
Website: https://vv-srcs-ca.schoolloop.com/
Location: 177 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael, CA, USA
Phone: 415-492-3150
Twitter: @PrincipalPaulQ