Vernon Elementary School

Save The Date!! Our VES Kids Heart Challenge kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 18 and ends on Friday, March 7. During this time our students will discover ways to take care of their hearts and brains through fun activities while practicing kindness and gratitude. They will also learn ways to de-stress. Plus, the students have the chance to earn PE equipment for our school while raising funds to protect all hearts. Go to our VES Kids Heart Challenge page here http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=11259&pg=company&company_id=479759 and sign your student up early. #KidsHeartChallenge #AmericanHeartAssociation

The last two weeks of February are short weeks for our VISD students. There is no school Monday, Feb. 17, for a teacher/staff Professional Development Day, and Feb. 21 is an Early Release Friday. Students are also out Monday, Feb. 24, for a teacher/staff Work Day, and Feb. 28 is also an Early Release Friday.

Vernon ISD currently has an opening for a Transportation Manager, as well as several teaching positions. Come join our VISD family!! For information on all of our openings, please click the following link https://bit.ly/3EC6x0O

Mrs. Sandoval's 3rd grade Science class is studying rapid earth changes this week. One of those changes is earthquakes. Her students were tasked with a project of using marshmallows and toothpicks to construct a tower over 2 stories tall that could withstand a 10-second earthquake (table shake). The students had fun with the project and did a great job.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and next week is "Respect Week!" Take a look at VISD Social Worker Nicole Cameron's newsletter for more information.

This week -- Feb. 3-Feb. 7 -- is National School Counseling Week. Vernon ISD is extremely lucky to have exceptional school counselors at all of our campuses. We want to take a moment to thank all of them and recognize the wonderful work they do with our students and teachers.

BLOOD DRIVE TODAY!! We're sharing the news because Our Blood Institute's blood supply is dangerously low. The City of Vernon Blood Drive is underway and will continue until 2:30 p.m. The bloodmobile is parked at the corner of Wilbarger and Cumberland. Our Blood Institute supplies all of the hospitals in the surrounding area, including Wilbarger General. A unit of donated blood can save 3 lives. Stop by tomorrow and give a gift that costs nothing, but can save a life!

We're sharing the news because Our Blood Institute's blood supply is dangerously low. The City of Vernon Blood Drive will be held tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The bloodmobile will be parked at the corner of Wilbarger and Cumberland. Our Blood Institute supplies all of the hospitals in the surrounding area, including Wilbarger General. A unit of donated blood can save 3 lives. Stop by tomorrow and give a gift that costs nothing, but can save a life!!

Vernon ISD's District Site-Based Committee will meet at 11:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 12, at the Vernon Administration Building to review the Texas Academic Report. The committee will update its comprehensive needs assessment and its district improvement plan. The public is invited to attend.

VES celebrated the 100th day of the school year in a variety of ways. There were students dressed as 100-year-olds, and students who wore shirts with 100 items on them. Fifth grade students came up with a math equation that had 100 as the answer, and third grade students made posters with 100 items on them.

Can you believe this is the first school day in February?!!! Where did January go? Here is the VISD cafeteria menu for January. Remember all VISD students are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch from the school cafeteria every school day.

Yesterday one of our VISD teachers suffered a devastating house fire. To help with expenses we will be doing a "Hat For A Cause Day" fundraiser every day next week. For $1 donation, students, teachers and staff will be allowed to wear a hat or cap in the classroom that day. The hat or cap must be school appropriate. Let's have some fun with this next week and also help a member of our VISD family.

Second grade students who had perfect attendance last week were called to the stage during their lunch period Wednesday to sign a ticket to be put in a drawing for a MEGA Quest 3 virtual reality system. Vernon ISD is conducting a district-wide attendance incentive contest for this six weeks, with students earning a ticket for the drawing each week they have perfect attendance. On Feb. 28, a drawing will be held in EACH grade, with each winner receiving a MEGA Quest 3.

Due to the tragic accident that occured at a Borger elementary school last week, VES is making adjustments to our arrival and dismissal procedures that will take effect on Monday. For morning drop off there will only be one lane -- the one closest to the curb -- open. Cars will merge into one lane at the flagpole. Entrances to the parking lot will be blocked to stop students from being dropped off in the parking lot. For afternoon pick up, again only one lane will be open. However, the parking area will be open to allow parents to park, get out of their vehicle, walk across the designated crosswalk and walk their child back through the designated crosswalk to their vehicle. We appreciate your patience as we work through this new process and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but our top priority is the safety of our students.

Our VES Students of the Week so far in January include: Jan. 1-10: 2nd Grade -- Ruth Lehman; 3rd Grade -- Raelynn Gonzalez; 4th Grade -- Kree Kajs; 5th Grade -- Krislynn Lawson Jan. 13-17: 2nd Grade -- Opv-Luhv Beard; 3rd Grade -- Blake Smith; 4th Grade -- Tajsa Johnson (not pictured); 5th Grade -- Bernice Serrano Jan. 20-24: 2nd Grade -- Khadija Madugi; 3rd Grade -- Dallas Jackson; 4th Grade -- Ellis Wilson; 5th Grade -- Angela Ampig Congratulations to all of these students!! Great job!! Keep up the good work!!

Vernon ISD is helping the Vernon Boys & Girls Club help get the word out by sharing this flyer! Registration is currently underway for the B&G Softball League for students in kindergarten thru 8th grade. Sign up today!! Should be a great season!!

Vernon Elementary Students of the Week for December were: 2nd Grade -- Weekonehsu Myint, Dexter Shelton and Mason Smith 3rd Grade -- Nayeli Castillo, Luis Quintero and Jose Centeno 4th Grade -- Kason Balderas, Cadence Valverde and Tomas Avitia 5th Grade -- Alexa Nail (not pictured), Ava Valles and Isla Streit Congratulations to all of our Students of the Week!!! We apologize for the late posting.

Last week the LIonette Drill Team held a mini dance clinic for girls from pre-K to 5th grade. The girls learned a dance and will be performing during halftime of tonight's Lions basketball game at D.O. Fulton Gym.

Last week, students in Ms. White's 3rd grade class learned fractions in a fun and engaging way by using pizza as a hands-on teaching tool. The students voted between pepperoni & cheese pizzas and used them to demonstrate concepts like halves, quarters, and eighths. Students were asked questions to divide the pizzas into equal slices, discussing how each part represented a fraction of the whole. They practiced decomposing and composing the pizzas. The lesson ended with students enjoying their edible “math problems,” making the learning experience both memorable and delicious.

APP UPDATE! Our Vernon ISD App has just had a big update! Please take a moment to go to your App Store or Play Store and make sure your app updates. Even if you have your app set to update automatically, we are noticing that some people are still needing to update manually. With this new update, Rooms information is integrated more seamlessly with the rest of the app! Check out these videos to learn more about the app update! English: https://youtu.be/zW9d0VzqDFI Spanish: https://youtu.be/W8Cnu-tgK9M If you have any questions about Rooms or the Vernon ISD app, please email Chantilly Sweet at chantilly.sweet@visdtx.org.