November
Juergens' Journal
Important Dates in November:
11/1- No School (Students and Staff)
11/6- Dine & Donate- HAZY BBQ
11/11 - No School (Students and Staff)
11/14- Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
11/14- Science Night
11/22- Turkey Trot & Grandparent Day
Please note the special bell schedule for TK & Kinder --->
Message from Principal Juergens
Hello Families,
Get ready for a fantastic month ahead at Vista Grande!
We have exciting traditions and events planned, and we’ll keep you updated with more details throughout the month. Be sure to check the Juergens’ Journal for the latest information.
During this season of gratitude, we're thankful for the wonderful opportunities our school community shares. We're especially thankful to all our parent/caregiver volunteers as they continue to come together as a community for our students.
🎉 A special THANK YOU to our Carnival Crew for another amazing Vista Grande PTA Hosted Event!!! Thank you to everyone who helped to make this event such a success and thanks to everyone who enjoyed the day amongst Falcon Families & Staff.
🎃 Halloween is this Thursday and we are excited for our annual VG Halloween Parade. Please see the images below for details; including Costume Guidelines (make sure they are school-appropriate) and Visitor Information.
👟 Ruby Bridges Walk to School is coming up on November 14th and we are hopeful many of our students and their families participate in this event.
🔭 Science Night is on November 14th and is an evening family event, held outdoors. See below for more details.
🦃 Each year Vista Grande participates in a Thanksgiving Food Drive where we collect and then create Thanksgiving Meals for families at our sister school. See below for more details and help us make this year a success.
🏃 Turkey Trot is right around the corner and we are bringing this fundraiser in-house this year. Our incredible Falcon Fund will be hosting this event and we have lots of fun in store for our students, staff, and families. More info. to come.
Please follow us on Instagram; as frequent reminders are posted there in a fun and creative way: vista_grande_school_parents
Your Grateful Principal,
Osi Juergens
Important Links
24/25 Helpful District Links:
24/25 Helpful Vista Grande Links:
November School Wide Life Skill Assembly
This school year we have made a shift to our monthly Life Skill Assembly. This assembly is now not about individual awards but instead, a time for our students and staff to come together as a whole school. During our assembly, we watched VGTV, sang songs together, watched a video on our Life Skill of the Month Responsibility, and closed with a fun movement song led by Ms. Knese. It was a great way to start our day!
District Information
Budget Reductions Input Survey and Town Halls
We encourage our entire community to take the time to participate and make your voice heard!
Take the Budget Reductions Input Survey - srvusdlinks.net/BudgetSurvey (remains open until November 22nd at midnight)
Join an upcoming Town Hall. Your input is vital in ensuring that our decisions reflect the needs and values of our community.
Contra Costa County African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub Survey
Contra Costa County is inviting Black/African American residents to participate in an important survey to shape the future of wellness services in the community. Your feedback will directly influence the design, services, and locations of a new African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub—a center dedicated to providing culturally relevant and responsive services that meet the unique needs of our community. By completing this 15–20-minute survey, you will help shape decisions on wellness support services and locations that will best serve the African American community. The first 1,000 respondents with valid email addresses will receive a $15 digital Visa gift card!
November SRVUSD Resolutions
November
San Ramon Valley Unified School District recognizes the month of November as National Native American Heritage Month. We acknowledge that this country was home to generations of Indigenous Peoples long before the arrival of European explorers and that these tribes had a unique and vibrant culture. The California State Board of Education recognizes that each student needs an opportunity to understand the common humanity underlying all peoples and our California Frameworks state that the history curriculum must reflect the experiences of all people. During this month, a special focus is placed on improvement in education about Native American Heritage.
San Ramon Valley Unified School District recognizes November 22, 2024, as Substitute Educators Day. Our substitute educators are an essential part of the education of students in our district. They provide continuity in the learning process and safe, healthy learning environments for students. The Board of Education and the district administrative team extend sincere appreciation to the substitute educators of SRVUSD and encourage the community to celebrate their contributions.
VG Nurse's Corner
VG School Information
Don't feel like cooking? Want to support VG?
Dine & Donate on 11/6 @ HAZY BBQ
Everyone loves Dine & Donate opportunities and we have one coming up this week!
CHECK IT OUT and ENJOY some yummy food while
giving back to VG!
Thanksgiving Basket Drive
Drop off items between 10/30-11/8
-Falcons Helping Families-
Downer Elementary is our sister school in Richmond and this is our chance to help our Downer Friends and Families celebrate the upcoming season’s feasts and festivities.
Build-A-Thanksgiving Bag Food Drive for Downer has started! Our goal is to provide 44 families with Thanksgiving Bags this year. Here’s how VG Falcons and their Families can make that happen:
Each class will bring a specific item to contribute to the bags (for example, everyone in Mrs. Flores’ class will be asked to bring 2 cans of sweet potatoes).
Check out 2024 Build-A-Thanksgiving Bag Items by Class for your child’s specific item. Please stick to the suggested sizes (so everything can fit in the bags).
Items are due by Fri., Nov. 8
The book “Maddi’s Fridge” by Lois Brandt is a good book that addresses childhood hunger in a very accessible way. This would be a great place to start the conversation with your child as you work with them to get their class item.
There are additional items that are not class-dependent that we need help collecting. These special items (gift cards, chocolates, oven mitts, etc.) make the bags more like a gift rather than a food bank donation. Please check out this link for those items: 2024 Build-A-Thanksgiving Bag Food Drive - Special VG Items. All items are due by Fri., Nov. 8
Time to Build a Thanksgiving Bag! Parents and students are invited to come join us as we assemble the bags. We also will need help with delivery. Please see this sign-up genius for both opportunities: Falcons Assemble! Build Thanksgiving Bags, Deliver to Downer
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Nov. 14th
On Thursday, November 14, Vista Grande students will have the
opportunity to participate in the RUBY BRIDGES WALK TO SCHOOL DAY
Prior to this day, students will learn about a girl named Ruby Bridges, who
is an American hero. Ruby Bridges is an African American girl that was
born in 1954 which makes her 70 years old today.
Ruby made history as a young pioneer in the fight to desegregate schools in the 1960s. In 1960 at the age of 6, Ruby was the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. She is considered an activist and a hero.
WHERE TO MEET??
Meet at the times listed for the two locations (on the flyer above) to join the walk. Students will be accompanied by parent volunteers who choose to walk with the students. *Parents are also able to have their children walk with other families. Please work together to make sure all students who are not walking with their parents are walking with someone they know.
What if the Kindergarten or 1st Grade Late Friends and TK PM students want to participate?? We have figured that out :)
1st Grade Late Friends: Meet at the Grange at 8:30 and we will walk to school together :)
Kindergarten Late Friends: Meet at the Grange at 8:45 and we will walk to school together :)
TK PM students: Meet at the Grange at 11:15 and we will walk to school together :)
THIS IS NOT A FUNDRAISER: It is a day to participate in walking together to promote inclusion and continue our NO PLACE FOR HATE SCHOOL certification!
Students who participate will receive:
A RUBY BRIDGES WALK TO SCHOOL Sticker, Beenie, Bracelet & Pennet will
be given to each VG student participant (while supplies last).
Families who don’t live close by can still participate by going to one of the two locations and joining from there.
Diablo West- Meet at the little library (can park at the clubhouse)
We have volunteers to walk with students and any family is welcome to participate.
Once we get to school we will walk the track until the bell rings :)
Vista Grande's Science Night
11/14/24 from 6:00-8:00 PM
Come enjoy this NO COST, outdoor event with VG families, staff, and students.
Hot Chocolate Provided
This is not a drop-off event, the whole family is welcome!
A night of learning and fun for all.
Calling all Scientists- Do you want to create a Science Fair Project to present at Science Night?? Download the FORM and submit to the office by Nov. 8th.
VG Turkey Trot & Grandparent Day
Thanksgiving School Lunch
Call for Volunteers for Annual Giving Thanks Lunch
Please consider volunteering on Thurs, Nov. 21nd for our Annual Giving Thanks Lunch by our Child Nutrition Department
SignUpGenius to help serve lunch to our kids at VG
All volunteers will need to be cleared through Be A Mentor. QR Code in the flyer for the sign-up link: Elementary Volunteers Sign Up
More VG Information
VG YEARBOOKS
PHOTOS! We need your photos to build the yearbook! Use the Treering App to upload your photos from your mobile device.
CLICK HERE TO UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS
Upcoming upload due dates:
Run for Education - 11/15
Red Ribbon Week Spirit Days - 12/1
Carnival - 12/1
Halloween - 12/1
5th Grade Yearbook Artwork - Due 12/16. Artwork requirements.
5th Grade Baby Photos - Due 1/15/25. Baby photo upload instructions.
Field trips and general photos of your class should be uploaded to your class folder within 2 weeks of the event.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A YEARBOOK
Yearbooks are purchased only through treering.com.
If needed, the school code is 1015664014764005.
Send Questions to vgeyearbook@gmail.com
Vista Grande Lunch Menus & Volunteering Info.
Lunch Duty Volunteering Opportunities
Is your child in 1st-5th Grade?
Do you have time or can you make time once or twice a month to volunteer at lunch?
We appreciate the ALL HANDS ON DECK approach and love to have our volunteers support our students either in the MPR while they eat or on the blacktop while they play.
Volunteering Requirements
IMPORTANT: MUST DO- In order to volunteer on campus or chaperone on a field trip
If you would like to volunteer this year please sign up or log in to check the status of your previous sign-up so you are ready to volunteer during the 24/25 school year.
In SRVUSD, we continue to prioritize student safety and improve our procedures for processing and clearing volunteers. Please access SRVUSD's volunteer clearance process via our volunteer management system, Be A Mentor (BAM), to sign up.
2024 Helpful Information
VG Lost & Found
Bagged Up After School
10/31/24 & 11/22/24
This year the Lost & Found items will be bagged up and donated on the last Friday of each month. If you want to claim your items please look through the lost and found anytime before the last Friday of each month.
The lost & found cart is located just outside the MPR and is available for families to look through at any time.
*** If you label your children's belongings with their first and last name every effort will be made to deliver their items to their classroom.
VG Spirit Wear
Vista Grande Parent Meetings
UPCOMING VISTA GRANDE PARENT MEETINGS:
CPAP Board Meeting: 11/6 @ 8:00-9:30 AM in the VG Library
Falcon Fund Next Board Meeting: 11/6 @ 5:30-7:00 PM in the VG Library
PTA Next Board Meeting: 11/13 @ 8:00-9:00 AM in the VG Library
Site Council Next Meeting: 11/20 @ 2:45-3:45 PM in the VG Library
November Bell Schedule at a Glace
24/25 Bell Schedule Information
REMINDER: Follow Drop-Off & Pick-Up Reminders
Our parking lot is VERY TRICKY and can be dangerous if we don't ALL WORK TOGETHER for the safety of our children.
A Few Tips.!!! READ & FOLLOW each of the numbers in the image below.
DO NOT park and leave your car during DROP-OFF or PICK-UP in Lane A or Lane C. Lane B is for passing or leaving Lane A & C to exit the parking lot.
Pull forward in the lot until you can stop to safely let your child out of the car. DO NOT let them out into the Lane B side and DO NOT CUT in front of another car to pull into a spot. Wait in line until you can pull forward.
PLEASE LEAVE THE KEEP CLEAR section CLEAR and only pull forward once there is space to enter the lot past the Keep Clear section.
ONLY USE THE BIG CROSSWALK past the BIG TREE for student crossing. The small crosswalk is a handicap crosswalk.
Please review the full slide deck for more detailed information for TK/Kinder and 1st-5th grade drop off and pick up.
Parking Lot Procedures- Drop-off & Pick-Up
Your cooperation and attention in our lot are extremely important to ensure our students remain safe each day!
