Message from the Principal

It is hard to believe that November is already here! The first couple months of school have flown by and we just finished our first round of conferences. It was wonderful to have our families back in the building for in-person conferences this year. If you weren't able to make it for conferences, please don't hesitate to contact your student’s teachers by phone or email to set up a plan for your student’s success.

We are thoroughly enjoying the remodeled areas of our school. We have received all the furniture for our new commons area and 6th grade flex space; it looks amazing!! It is so much fun to see our students interacting and working together in these new spaces and we look forward to the changes coming to the media center and 7th/8th grade spaces next year.

Our lockers have arrived! The installation will take place over the next few weeks and we will get them assigned to students as soon as we possibly can. Once the lockers are installed, students are encouraged to use them for their belongings, but we will continue to allow students to carry their backpacks with them throughout the day.

To keep up to date on current news and see all the great things occurring at VMS, we have a Twitter account filled with pictures of students and staff to give you a taste of what a day is like at VMS. There is no need to have a Twitter account if you use the following link. Make sure you follow us at http://www.twitter.com/ElkRiverVMS. 

Please remember that our doors to the building do not open up to students until 7:45 am. As the weather gets colder, please ensure that your child does not arrive at school earlier than 7:45 am unless there is an arrangement with a staff member. Students are also asked to be out of the building by 3:15 pm unless a staff member directly supervises them or they are in a district sponsored activity.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact our teachers, counselor, social worker and/or administration. Thank you for your help in making VMS the best it can be!

Every Meal Weekend Food Program

We are excited to partner with Every Meal to offer a free weekend food program to all of our students.  

Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. They strive to make a difference in people's lives by focusing on food gaps like weekends, school breaks, and summer when they cannot receive food in school.

• Free for all families
• No qualifications for enrollment
• Students enrolled in the program will receive a 4-5lb bag of nutritious, nonperishable food for each week
• Every Meal does not collect information from families; privacy is protected.
• Families may enroll in the program anytime throughout the school year.

Please contact Krista Brannan, School Social Worker, at 763-241-3450 x2687 or krista.ketelsenbrannan@isd728.org for more information or to enroll your child.

A Note to VMS

Did you know you we have a new option for reaching us for attendance purposes?  You can submit "A Note to VMS" to report your student's absence, late arrival or early release at school. You can also find this on the VMS Website under the Families section. This is just another option to use if it is more convenient for you. As always, you can reach our attendance line at 763-241-3555 (24 hours a day).

Student of the Week

Congratulations to our September and October Students of the week! 

Catherine Bannister, Addison Braley, Chloe Gerth, Hailey Hawes, Josephine Hughes, Graham Karlsen, Anna Nordmeier, Tommy Olson, Bjorn Pederson, Connor Sinclair, Molly Tatro, Malca Westermeyer

Band and Choir

We are entering concert season!!!

Halloween Concert - 10/29/21

The VMS 8th Grade Band will be performing Friday, October 29th at the Elk River High School Zabee Theater at 7:00 pm along with the 8th Grade band from Salk and the High School Wind Symphony. Costumes are encouraged! There will be a contest with prizes. The concert is FREE and open to the public! 

6th Grade Band and Choir Concert - 12/2/21

The VMS 6th Grade Band and Choir students will be performing their first concert in the VandenBerge Gymnasium on Thursday, December 2nd at 7:00pm. 

7th and 8th Grade Band Concert - 12/9/21

The 7th and 8th Grade Band students will be performing their Winter Band Concert in the Elk River High School Zabee Theater on Thursday, December 9th at 7:00pm. 

7th and 8th Grade Choir Concert - 12/16/21

The 7th and 8th Grade Choir students will be performing their Winter Choir Concert in the Elk River High School Zabee Theater on Thursday, December 16th at 7:00pm. 

We look forward to seeing all of you at our concerts!

Mrs. Klingelhofer and Ms. Heinonen

AVID

During the month of November, we will start the process of recruiting 6th grade students to join the 2021-2022 AVID program at VMS. You might be wondering what AVID is and who is an AVID student?

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. AVID is a program dedicated to helping students achieve their dreams of going on to higher education after high school. The AVID classroom is made up of students who are in the academic middle; GPA of 2.0-3.5, average to high test scores and most importantly, a desire and determination for learning. An AVID student would likely benefit from learning to stay organized, assistance with work completion, and creating good study habits.

If this sounds like a program that your child might benefit from, ask them to pick up an application packet from the VandenBerge Counseling Office, Mr. Sears or Mrs. Weinhold. The 6th grade students will be given a presentation and information during their Social Studies class about the AVID program. Applications are due the week of November 15-19. The application can be turned into Mrs. Weinhold or dropped off in the Counseling Office.

If you have any questions about AVID, please feel free to contact Sarah Weinhold at sarah.weinhold@isd728.org. 

English

Grade 6: We have been hard at work reading and writing in English class this month. Recently, we went to the media center for book check out. Students should be reading a minimum of two books per quarter to keep up with the novel response requirements. Novel responses are an opportunity for students to independently show mastery of the standards and skills that we study in English. 

Students have also been working on paragraph structure with a back to school paragraph after MEA break. As a reminder, a majority of assignments we complete in class are located on StudySync, our online textbook. Students may read the stories either on StudySync or in the unit 1 workbook where they may write and mark the text as they read. 

Grade 7: Students will continue to work on fiction and short writing assignments in the upcoming weeks. Although a new novel project for 2nd quarter won't officially be explained until mid-November, students will still be expected to have a new novel to read starting November 2nd. Students will have dedicated time to check out books from the library next week or can bring choices from home.

Grade 8: Our students have been working with our curriculum, StudySync. We are in our suspense unit, which is fitting for this time of year! Students are working on reading fictional and informational texts while developing literary skills to help analyze the texts. The students will wrap up the unit at the end of November by writing their own suspense narrative story. Please check Schoology for DAILY assignments and what students are expected to complete each day.

Students are required to read two novels independently each quarter. Please encourage them to be reading at home for 20-30 minutes each day. It is a great way to get a break from screen time. Since we are past mid-quarter, students should be on their second book and working towards completion as the end of the 1st quarter is 2 weeks away.

As we work towards the end of the quarter, please continue to email with questions. Review Campus Portal for grade updates and Schoology for daily assignments.

Math

Greetings from the Math Team!

We want to take this opportunity to remind you that we provide Math Help four mornings a week before school from 7:45 - 8:10.  This is done on a rotating teacher schedule, please see below for the teachers/locations that are available each day.  Each math teacher also provides additional opportunities for students to work one-on-one with them either during RALLY, SOAR, or after school (by appointment).  Please contact your child’s teacher if your student needs additional help with their math teacher.

As always, if you have any questions about daily practice or class expectations, feel free to contact your child’s math teacher by phone or by email. We can't tell you enough how thrilled we are to have the privilege to teach your child the importance of mathematics in their world and are so excited to dive into the world of math with you all!

~ The VMS Math Team

Science

Grade 6: Students have been learning fundamental aspects of Science and are currently focusing on Engineering and the Engineering Design Process. In the next few weeks, they will be transitioning into the new 6th grade Science standards in Earth Science.

Grade 7: Students are learning about the basic building blocks of living organisms from atoms to cells, parts of a cell and their functions. The cell model project is coming up in the next couple of weeks.

Grade 8: Students are exploring our solar system and the universe. Currently we are learning about objects like our moon, asteroids, meteors, and comets as we are finishing the Astronomy unit.

Social Studies

Grade 6: Students have been learning about the first human beings to live in what is now Minnesota - the Early Dakota. We will continue our unit of study on Minnesota's Indigenous Peoples by learning about the Early Ojibwe, and then examining the similarities and differences between the two groups and how they coexisted in Minnesota.

Grade 7: Students are just starting their new unit on Westward Expansion! In this unit we will learn about our new nation exploring and expanding West, key historical figures that helped achieve expansion, and the challenges that came along with it.

Grade 8: Students just finished our first unit, which covered basic mapping skills and themes of Geography. Students interested in retaking their unit 1 test should contact their teacher ASAP. Moving forward, 8th graders will learn about different world religions, government structures, and economies in preparation for studying our first continent unit on Australia and Oceania!

Yearbooks

Have you ordered your yearbook? Yearbooks will be $25 until October 31st. On November 1st, the price will increase to $30.

Visit jostensyearbooks.com, click ‘Order My Yearbook’ to view products and add them to your cart.  Check out online and be sure to enter your email address so you get a receipt for your purchase.  Yearbooks will be delivered to school in the spring. 

Please contact Morgen Butts at morgen.butts@isd728.org if you have any questions about yearbooks.