| Message from the PTO President |
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Dear VFES Families:
I hope you survived the snow and are staying warm!
It was a pleasure to see many of you at the PTO meeting this Friday. Kate Murphy (school board member) attended this meeting and was available to answer many questions and concerns put forth by parents. We had an amazing conversation. Thank you Kate for stopping by!
We had a great Pizza Bingo night last week. Thank you so much for supporting your PTO events! I had the opportunity to meet many parents that night. Thank you Alison Murray, Shilpa Gupta and Angel McAveney for chairing this event. Many of you have signed up for volunteering for events, however, we are looking for some enthusiastic and energetic parents to chair some of the Spring Fair committees.
Our after school clubs have been running smoothly and full. We hope your children are enjoying our parent-run clubs. Most of our after-school clubs are now run by parents, which makes me so proud! Thank you! We are now gearing up for our Spring clubs. Many exciting clubs already worked out. If you would like to run a club, please let us know asap.
I hope to meet you at events. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, feel free to email me at ptopres@vfespto.org.
Much love,
Rujuta Mandelia
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Bowling Social
Thursday, March 2 3:30 - 5:30
 The VFES PTO is pleased to announce the details of the 2017 Bowling Social. Information is as follows:
- $13 per bowler includes shoes, bowling, 2 slices of pizza, and a drink!
- $15 per
walk-in
on day of event
Playdrome Devon Lanes is located at 300 W. Lancaster Ave Devon, PA.
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Spring Fair Chair Positions Still Available!
May 2017
There are still a number of opportunities to help plan the Spring Fair this year. We are in need of chairs (or co-chairs) for the following: Dinner, Entertainment, Games, Parking, Setup/Breakdown. Please come join in. Your kids will think it you are awesome for helping with the Fair (and so will we)!
To learn more, please contact Alison Murray at muchew@gmail.com.
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Calling on Business Owners!
March 25th
On Saturday, March 25, the PTO is hosting a Parents' Night Out and are seeking silent auction items - all proceeds to benefit the PTO.
In return for your donation, your business will be advertised in our Falcon newsletter and at the event itself.
From jewelry and skin care to design and teaching services, we know our community is full of wonderful businesses that we would like to spotlight and encourage our VFES parents to utilize.
Please contact Heather McConnell (ptovicepres@vfespto.org)
by March 1 to reserve your auction spot or for more information.
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Important Legislative Alert - Please Read!
The Tredyffrin-Easttown School District asked that we notify you of legislation currently being considered in the state legislature that, if passed, will impact our district. The proposed legislation would largely eliminate school property taxes to fund schools and replace those funds with income and sales taxes. Very similar legislation was considered in 2015 and only failed by one vote. The TE School Board recently passed a resolution opposing this legislation, which states in part:
"The shift from the property tax to the income tax and sales tax will have a harmful effect on the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. Many of our District's top quality programs result from careful planning and funding at the local level with a strategic focus on providing our students what they need to succeed in tomorrow's world. This legislation will strip TESD of the ability to function independently, effectively making local authorities dependent upon Harrisburg. Funding will flow through the state, eliminating financial discretion for local districts. High quality programs that exceed state mandates and minimum standards require funding currently provided locally."
PLEASE READ
the District's statement on this proposed legislation here and consider contacting the governor and your state legislators if you oppose these changes in school funding.
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Elementary School Conferences
Elementary conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, March 1st - Friday, March 3rd (8:35-11:55, Kindergarten only; 1:15-3:35, K-4). Parents will have the opportunity to schedule a conference with their child's Core or Math teacher. Special Area teachers will be available for drop-in conferences.
Conferences can be scheduled online using Home Access Center (https://hac.tesd.net/). While HAC remains open throughout the school year, online conference scheduling will only be available from Friday, February 10th (10:00AM) through Friday, February 17th (11:59PM). Please call the school's main office if there are no available conference times for the teacher that you prefer to meet with or if you would like to make any changes after the scheduling window closes.
Instructions for accessing the scheduling system can be found
here. If you have forgotten your HAC username or password, please follow the link on the HAC homepage to recover your login information. Parents who do not have internet access or who prefer not to schedule online will still have the option of scheduling by phone by contacting the school's main office.
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PSSA Testing and Our Kids
February 22, 2017 7-9 PM
Tredyffrin Public Library
582 Upper Gulph Road, Strafford
Tredyffrin Public Library is hosting an informational session on PSSA / Standardized Testing in TESD. The
event is free and open to all community members.
The goal of this event is to raise awareness about the impact of high-stakes standardized testing at the local level. This should be especially relevant to parents of children in 3rd through 8th grade and anyone interested in public education.
This year's panelists / speakers include:
-Dr. Richard Gusick, TESD Superintendent of Schools
-Dr. Edward Fierros, Chair, Villanova Dept. of Education
-PA Senator Andrew Dinniman, Minority Chair Education
-Danielle Arnold-Schwartz, LMSD Teacher & Parent
-Cheryl Masterman, Lower Merion Parent
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T&E Care Kids Clothing Drive
As you organize and clean-out in the New Year, please remember to save your excellent and very good condition children's clothing and shoes for the upcoming annual T&E Care Kid's Clothing Drive! This year the collection dates at VFES will be March 15-24 and the Kid's Clothing Grab Bag event will take place on 3/31 and 4/1 at St. Matthew's Church on Walker Road. Thank you for your help! See more information at
www.tecare.org
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T/E FLITE Crew vs. the Harlem Wizards
Friday, March 31, 2017 7:00 pm
Conestoga High School Gym opens at 6:00 pm
Foundation for Learning in Tredyffrin/Easttown (FLITE) presents
...
T/E FLITE Crew vs. the Harlem Wizards... for o
ne night only of trick h
oops and alley-oops!
The Foundation for Learning In Tredyffrin/Easttown (FLITE) has invited the Harlem Wizards to return to play a team of T/E teachers, administrators, and students. This popular community basketball event raises money to support FLITE-funded programs in our School District. See flyer here.
To purchase tickets, follow these directions:
1. Go to
www.flite-pa.org
.
2. Click on the FLITE vs. Harlem Wizards button.
3. Follow the ticket purchasing directions posted.
4. After making a purchase, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with a
PDF file containing your tickets. Please be sure to print your tickets and bring them with you to the game!
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Kids and Technology- Parent Event
Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - 7-8:30pm
Hillside Elementary School
ARCH invites parents and care-givers to this timely presentation a
bout Kids and their Tech Dependency.
The discussion will focus on paren
ting children in grades K-6 and address the following topics: rules for app-driven
devices; exploring our connected culture reality; defining "Generation Z"; as well as reinforcing the TESD Digita
l Citizenship curriculum at home.
As always, all families and faculty are encouraged to attend.
A
flyer
is attached.
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Devon Strafford Little League Registration Still Open
Devon Strafford Little League (DSLL) is continuing it's on-
line
registration
for their Spring 2017 Tee Ball and Coach Pitch seasons. R
egistration for 4
, 5 and 6 year olds is open through 2/28. All registrants new to DSLL mus
t include proof of age documents
with their registration. Additional information as well as the online registration forms can be found at this
link
.
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Upcoming Events
2/20 - No School
2/22 - PSSA Testing and Our Kids
3/1-3/3 - School Conferences
3/2 - Bowling Social
3/7 - Class Picture Day
3/25 - Parents Night Out
3/29 - Kids & Technology
3/31 - Harlem Wizards
3/31-4/1 - T&E Cares Clothing Drive
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Questions or Comments?
Deepa Krishnan
Newsletter Editor
Doug Wilson
Newsletter Editor
Rujuta Mandelia
,
PTO
President
Rebecca Wills
,
Principal
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