Dear Valley View Families,

We are proud to share that Julie McGovern, our district TESOL teacher, has been awarded a prestigious Fund for Teachers Fellowship, a national program that supports educators in pursuing self-designed professional learning experiences that directly benefit their students and schools.

Through this fellowship, Julie will attend the Accelerated Language Program at Dartmouth College using the Rassias Method, where she will deepen her Spanish language proficiency and strengthen her ability to support multilingual learners across our district.

As the district’s primary TESOL educator, Julie works with multilingual learners from Pre-K through high school, advocating for students and helping ensure their linguistic and cultural strengths are recognized as assets. Her fellowship will enhance her ability to connect with students and families, strengthen culturally responsive instruction, and better support the academic success of English learners.

Please join us in congratulating Julie on this well-deserved honor and thanking her for her continued dedication to our multilingual students and families. We look forward to the knowledge and strategies she will bring back to our schools!

Also thank you to everyone who joined us for our community forum this past Tuesday evening to review and discuss the school consolidation logistics. If you were unable to attend, you may view the presentation here: Community Forum 3-31-26.

 

Our final community forum will be held next Monday, April 6, at 6:00 p.m. in the middle school auditorium. This session will summarize the project and provide time for questions and answers.

 

Over the coming weeks, please keep an eye out for an informational flyer that will be mailed to all Portland residents, as well as an insert in the April 10 issue of the Rivereast News Bulletin. All information related to the consolidation project is also posted on the district website: https://www.portlandctschools.org/.

 

Thank you for your continued support.

Have a wonderful, long weekend!  

Ryan Walstrom

Principal

Valley View School

Please make sure to email vvattendance@portlandct.us if your child will be absent or if there is a change of dismissal/transportation plans. Please do NOT send messages directly through ParentSquare to the office. The email should include your child’s first and last name, name of teacher, reason for absence, and the date or dates of absence. Please make sure the email is sent the night before or the morning of the absence to ensure the office staff, nurse and teacher are aware. Please make sure the office is aware of all transportation updates regarding your child.

Valley View held it's annual PK Role Model Screening for the upcoming 2026-27 school year in March. For those with summer birthdays or who missed the March screening dates there will be a May 15th screening.

 

Requirements for Peer Model:

 

Busing in the Portland Public Schools is provided by M&J Bus. Bus route lists are posted here: https://www.portlandctschools.org/transportation. The bus lists identify each stop's pick-up/drop-off time and location.

 

On a typical day, when all drivers are present and there are no abnormal road conditions, we expect that the routes will pick up and drop off students at times identified on the bus lists, give or take ten minutes.

 

If parents/guardians need real-time information about the whereabouts of a bus, please call M&J Bus at (860) 342-2217. The dispatcher at M&J Bus has real-time access via radio to all bus drivers.

Your child’s school works with Community Health Center, Inc. School Based Health Center program to provide health services (behavioral/mental health) services to your child during the school day. This means they won’t miss as much class and you don’t need to miss work to support their health care needs. 

Lean more about the services offered at your child’s school and enroll today at SBHC1.com! Interested families can also seek this service through the link or through our school website.

 

Happy Friday!

I am sharing some helpful information from our middle school nurse, Renee Hyland.

Runny nose, itchy eyes, and congestion that happens with seasonal allergies is caused by the body releasing histamine. One nutrient that can really help is Vitamin E. Over 96% of Americans don’t get enough! Vitamin E can help inhibit, or stop, activated mast cells from releasing histamine. 

A variety of clinical trials have shown that the lower the Vitamin E level, the worse the allergy symptoms; and that supplementing with vitamin E can help improve seasonal allergies, atopic dermatitis (like eczema), breast cysts, and exercise-induced asthma. 

Best food sources include:

Unsweetened almond milk

Pumpkin & squash seeds

Sunflower seeds

Pecans & Almonds

Gogi berries 

Blackberries

Not sure how to try some of these foods out? Try this salad:  https://nutrivore.com/recipes/wilted-spinach-salad-with-almonds-and-cranberries/

More information here: https://nutrivore.com/nutrients/vitamin-e/

Saline to rinse out the pollen/dust mites/whatever

-followed by -

Flonase/Nasacort/Nasonex/budesonide (steroid sprays to reduce nasal swelling and improve drainage:) 1-2 sprays per nostril, daily.

Works best with daily use. Start in Mid-March for spring allergies and late summer for fall allergies. Best to use short term during peak symptoms. 

Add Astepro (azelastine) for dripping/sneezing as follows:

Ages 6-11: 1 spray/nostril twice daily

Age 12 & up: 2 sprays per nostril twice daily

Allegra: Ages 5 & up - 60mg (10ml) twice daily

OR

Zyrtec (certrizine): Ages 5 & up 5mg (5ml) twice daily as needed, 10mg if needed

OR

Xyzal (levocertrizine): Age 5 & up 2.5mg (5ml) twice daily

Eye Drops: keep in the fridge for added relief!

Pataday Once Daily Extra Strength (olopatadine) 1 drop/eye once daily

OR

Zatidor (ketotifen) 1 drop/eye twice daily

Can use Systane drops as needed for general dryness

 It is always best to consult your doctor before beginning any new medication.

Spring is here! Have a great weekend.

Mrs. Karen Rettich

Valley View School Nurse

Phone 860 342 3226

After break, we will begin working on our research projects during library classes. This week, we reviewed fiction and nonfiction to get prepared to do our research.

Our March and April birthday book club was a huge success! We have 17 beautiful new books for our library! Thank you to everyone who participated. Our next book club for May and June birthdays will be April 22nd. I sent an email to everyone who signed up for it, but if you want your child to participate and didn’t receive an email, let me know.  

Finally, we are so excited to announce that we will be having Alyssa Satin Capucilli, who wrote the Biscuit series, come to Valley View to share her new book, My Sister, Goose on 4/23. You can order online at https://rjjulia.com/valley-view-school until midnight tonight! 

We have 40 overdue library books! Please return your books as soon as possible.

 

Thanks everyone for your support of the Valley View Library!

Melissa Thorpe

Library Media Specialist

Valley View artists are continuing to work on their collaborative pieces for the upcoming District Art Show, Grand Opening April 30th, 4-6 pm at the Portland Middle School.

Stay tuned for a preview soon!

Mrs. French

Visual Arts Educator

Meeting Dates:

Snacks will be offered in the cafeteria on Thursdays. Snacks include things like cookies, rice crispy treats, chips and even ice cream. The cost for these items range from $1 to $1.50. Students will only be allowed to choose one item each week. In order to purchase a snack, children will need to bring in cash on Thursdays or have a positive balance established within their MySchoolBucks account. Please reach out if you need any further information.

Thank you for your help,

Ms. Denise