Dear Valley View Families,

We are looking forward to an exciting week ahead as our Kindergarten and First Grade students bring TOWN at Valley View to life once again! TOWN has been a long-standing tradition at Valley View and it continues to be a favorite for students and families alike.

As part of their Community unit, classrooms will transform into student-run businesses, giving our young learners the opportunity to practice creativity, teamwork, and real-world skills like budgeting and decision-making.

“TOWN at Valley View” will take place April 28, 29, and 30 from 1:45–2:30 PM.

This experience is designed to foster student independence. Throughout the week, students will take ownership of their decisions, manage their money, and navigate their schedules—just like members of a real community.

To support this goal, we kindly ask that siblings remain at home if possible and that families limit visits to one day during the week. This helps ensure students can fully immerse themselves in the experience.

We are incredibly proud of the creativity and enthusiasm our students bring to this project and look forward to seeing our young citizens in action!

Enjoy your 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 hope you all had a nice break. We are heading into warmer weather and Monday was beautiful and warm on the playground, almost too warm for what we were ready for, there were many flushed faces after recess! 

Please be sure to put your child in layers since spring is always a little dicey and it can be warm at your house in the morning and chilly on our hill by recess, or vice versa! If they have layers, they can add or remove, it is helpful to keep them comfortable. 

My supply of pants, especially girl’s leggings has just about depleted, as items are not being returned to me. If your child comes home in different clothes, please wash and return them as soon as you can.

This first week back there are no specific illnesses to report and fingers crossed it will stay that way. Please continue to let us know the reason for your child’s absence so I can track if necessary. Knowledge is power!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs. Karen Rettich

Valley View School Nurse

Phone 860 342 3226

We have been busy during library classes beginning our final unit of the year- research projects! Students have been really enjoying the database Pebble Go. They can use it at home as well.  Go to www.pebblego.com and our username is ducks and password is read.  There are tons of interesting topics for students to explore!

We had a fun week in the library! We added 8 new books to our collection from the May/June birthday book club.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  Our last book club for July/August birthdays or anyone who missed theirs this year is May 20th.  

Yesterday, we had Alyssa Satin Capucilli visit us to share her new book, My Sister, Goose!  Over 50 students purchased books and they will be coming home with students today. Thanks to our PTO, we had a raffle and 5 lucky classrooms also received books!  She told us about how books were made and talked to us all about one of our favorite characters- Biscuit!  

Valley View has 50 overdue library books so please bring those in as soon as possible! 

Thank you for your support of the Valley View Library!  

Melissa Thorpe

Library Media Specialist

Excitement is running high in the art room! Please see the flyer about next week's District Art Show. Every child at Valley View will have their work in the show, come and take a look!

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