VPS News
From student shout-outs to the exciting things that happened at our last school event or a great parenting article, we’ll post it all here for you. Please be sure to visit this page often so you’re always well informed about what’s happening at VPS.
Our Valley Prep Girl Scouts will be at a few local locations selling cookies. Stop by and show your support!
- Saturday, February 15: Gerrards Market from noon to 2:00 p.m.
- Monday, February 17: Gerrards Market from noon to 2:00 p.m.
- Thursday, February 20: Food for Less from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
We are currently preparing for our accreditation visit by members of the IB Organization, as we seek approval as an IB World School. The inspection-team will be reviewing our curriculum, visiting classrooms, speaking with students and teachers, and determining the degree to which the school is using an inquiry-based approach to teaching & learning - which is the hallmark of IB World Schools. Many thanks to our amazing teachers for all of the work they have put into our efforts to achieve this goal!
Congratulations to VPS eighth-grader Adrian Baek for earning first place honors in his division at the recent speech and debate tournament held at Stanford University. Great job, Adrian! Mr. Schutz teaches Speech & Debate at Valley Prep in the seventh and eighth-grade.
Mrs. Johnson will be distributing re-enrollment contracts for the 2020-21 school year later this month. We anticipate a tuition increase of 2% (approx. $250 for the year). Families who are currently receiving tuition assistance must reapply every year, beginning in March.
Thank you to those families who have reached out with concerns about the Coronavirus, which originated in central China and has since spread to other countries, including the US. The local school district has been very proactive in keeping schools (both public and private) informed and suggesting policies and procedures that aim to ensure the health and safety of the children. Currently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is advising against all non-essential travel to China. In addition, we have cancelled our plan to host eight Chinese exchange students next week.
For obvious reasons, if any of our VPS families have recently visited central China (or have been in contact with other travelers who have), we strongly encourage these families to self-impose a 10 to 14-day quarantine period from their date of return (or date of contact with another traveler.) Recent reports indicate that the virus may be infectious during incubation and may, therefore, be passed-on, even if no symptoms are apparent. Hence, a period of quarantine seems to be a reasonable precaution. We appreciate everyone's cooperation, and please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Valley Prepchella will be on Saturday, February 29. It starts at 5:00 p.m. and will be at the Pond at Casey Orchards. Please visit the Square website to buy tickets.
In previous years, the school provided a free yearbook to every student, a practice that cost upwards of $5000. Unfortunately, as production costs continued to increase annually, we have reached the point where we can no longer provide yearbooks free of charge. Accordingly, and as previously announced, you can now order yearbooks for $60. We apologize for this change, but also want to be sure that we're providing the same quality yearbook that everyone has come to expect. As always, many thanks to Mrs. Willis and her team of students for their tireless work on this project. To order your yearbook, please visit PermissionClick.
Many thanks to our parent-teacher organization (PTO) for their work on the upcoming GALA fundraiser on February 29. The annual GALA is one of our three big fundraisers, along with the Fall Fest (Halloween carnival) and the Annual Giving Campaign. Proceeds from this year’s GALA will allow us to continue renovations to the school facility. Last school year, we were able to renovate the preschool, prekindergarten, kindergarten, the Elementary Science Lab, and the staff lounge.
As previously announced, a pipe broke in our Art Room prior to the winter break. Rather than making a temporary fix, we decided to do a complete make-over of the room, something which we had not done in over twenty years. We expect completion of the work in early February. In the meantime, art classes are being held in the Elementary Science Lab (which we renovated last summer).
We invite pre-K and kindergarten students to join our mini cub's chorus. The chorus will meet January 21 through May 19 from 3:00 until 3:45 p.m. in room 3. The cost is $180. You can make checks payable to Kelsi Williams and drop them off at the front office. The chorus will be performing songs at the spring concert on May 20.