Upcoming Dates Jan. 21 Club sign-ups sent home in Thursday folders (grades 2-4) Jan. 22 Prospective Parent Tour, 9:15am Jan. 26 Club sign-ups due back to Mrs. Martin 1st Grade CogAT testing (through 1/28) Jan. 28 Report Cards sent home in Thursday folders Club assignments sent home in Thursday folders 1st Grade Invention Convention Jan. 29 Bingo Night, 5:30-7:30pm Feb. 1 Session 2 clubs begin (end March 30) McGuffey begins (ends April 27) Golden Apple Nominations due to Mrs. Kershner Feb. 4 Harvest of the Month snack Feb. 8 PTO Meeting, 5:30pm Special presentation: Technology at school and home (see more info below) Feb. 10 3rd Graders to Tuesday Evening Concert Series, 9:45am Feb. 11 PTO Teacher Appreciation Feb. 12 Student of the Week, grades 3-4, 8:05am Prospective Parent Tour, 9:15am Feb. 15 Teacher Workday, no school for students ***unless we're making up a snow day Feb. 16 2nd/3rd grades to Paramount, 11:45am February 19 Prospective Parent Tour, 9:15am February 26 Student of the Week Assembly, grades 1 & 2, 8:05am 3rd grade economics simulation in gym, 9:30am Soul Fest, 5:30-7:00pm March 4 Vocabulary Parade Want More Dates? Click Here to Access the Venable Parent Calendar at the Charlottesvilleschools.org website with the most up-to-date information about what's going on at Venable. Technology at Venable and Home
Please join us on Monday, February 8 for the monthly PTO meeting at 5:30pm in the library. Childcare and pizza are available in the north cafeteria. Following a brief business meeting, we will have a presentation and Q&A session from Venable teachers on the use of technology at home and at school. We hope you will join us to learn more about how technology is used a school, how it can be used at home to complement that work, and how to keep your children safe online. Our instructional technology teacher, Teresa Amasia, our librarian, Beth Schrank, our Quest teacher, Cindy Cartwright, and third grade teacher, Laurel Bradley, will present and then answer questions. |
Writer's Eye Award for Venable 4th GraderCongratulations to Pietro Ciliberto, who received 2nd place in the prose category for the 2015 Fralin Museum of Art Writer's Eye competition. All students in grades 3-4 visited the museum in the fall and had the opportunity to write a piece for the annual competition. Pietro's piece was inspired by Incomplete Open Cube by Sol LeWitt. It was titled "The Life of an Incomplete Cube." Way to go, Pietro!
The Power of Yet
Have you heard your child lament, "I just can't do this"? It could be riding a bike without training wheels, executing a successful flip turn while swimming, recalling the multiples of 7, or understanding poetry. There are probably things in your life that you feel you are not good at, as well. When we approach our gaps in understanding with the word YET, we start to be open to getting better. Learning is about tackling those things we don't yet know how to do and finding the right resources and strategies to help us get better at them. It's about knowing what we need to do to get better, spending the time doing it, and finding small (and large) successes to celebrate on our path toward mastery. When we encourage students to add that word YET onto the end of the sentence, we encourage a critical belief and a commitment that our strategic efforts to improve will pay off. This is called growth mindset. Think about it: you may not ever be Justin Anderson, but your 3-point shot COULD get better with enough time, effort, and trained feedback. That's what teachers and parents are here for: You may not be good at that YET, but we're going to get you there! Sesame Street celebrates the power of YET with Janelle Monae in a fun and energetic video--see below. Nominate an Outstanding Venable Teacher for the Golden Apple Award
The Golden Apple Award program is designed to honor outstanding teachers in public and private schools in Albemarle County and Charlottesville City. One winner is selected from each school, and eight winners also will receive a $1,000 Golden Apple Grant, which can be used for classroom materials or to support the recipient’s professional development. Please consider nominating a teacher at Venable who has made a difference for your child. Nomination forms should be submitted to Mrs. Kershner by February 4 and are available online at http://www2.k12albemarle.org/dept/instruction/Pages/golden-apple-award.aspx. Bingo Night and Soul Fest Coming Up
Save the Dates! Join friends and family in the gym on Friday, January 29 for our annual Bingo Night. Whole pizzas can be ordered ahead of time through the PTO or purchased by the slice the night of. On Friday, February 26, we will hold our annual Soul Fest, a favorite Venable event. Student performances and displays will be followed by African drumming and dancing. We will also have a pot-luck dinner in the cafeteria. More information coming soon! Welcome to Chi Herrin, who joined the Venable team, working with our ESL program, last month. Chi comes to us with a wealth of experience working with English Language Learners, and has been a huge support for our students!
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