While you're enjoying your long weekend, Students, don't forget to consider filling out your Panda Order form for a $7 awesome Panda Express lunch to be brought to you January 26th.
JANUARY 18th is the deadline to get your Panda Order form in! Jan. 18th is also next Wednesday the first day of 2nd Semester AND only two days away from our DEFEND THE DEN Student vs Staff special event. Go to our PTSO webpage to learn more. Click here for your Panda Order form: https://mcusercontent.com/5c0ae230a5c9ee08ca868279d/files/c8fd9351-6d48-57d7-8479-1b160090bc96/panda_order_form_January_2023.docx.pdf
Congratulations to our STAFF MEMBER OF THE MONTH: JJ Riley, our VMS Athletics Director! Ever since the beginning of this school year, Mr. Riley has been working extra time to make sure our VMS Athletics program and his physical fitness classes run smoothly. He has taken every challenge with a smile and great enthusiasm. Thanks for adding your effective management skills to the positive culture of our school! We appreciate you.
Want to purchase DEFEND THE DEN tickets online? Use this QR CODE to buy tickets for you and your family. $2 gets you into the door to tons of fun!
Or, use this link: https://store11508454.ecwid.com/DEFEND-THE-DEN-TICKET-SALES-January-20-event-c63664516
IMPORTANT DATES FOR JANUARY!
Jan. 10 - Semester Finals: Music, PE and Health
Jan. 11 - Semester Finals: Math & Social Studies
Jan. 12 - Semester Finals: ELA & Science
Jan. 13 _ Semester Finals: Electives
- End of Quarter 2 / End of Semester 1
Jan. 16 - No School: Martin Luther King Jr. Day/Human Rights Day
Jan. 17 - No School: All Grades
Congratulations to our MTSS Team who are this week's STAFF MEMBERS OF THE WEEK! Thank you, Jennifer Shalz, Rachel Vachon, Shawna Manhire, Lisa Currin, Kersten Thomas, Matt Moxham, Jennifer Johnson, Leslie Yingling, Trevor Morris, Erin Fuss, Wendy Tucker and Chris Cottle, for all you do in regard to our Multi-tiered System of Supports. Every week they use data in regard to academics and behaviors to determine appropriate interventions for students.
Congratulations to our STUDENT OF THE WEEK, Rylan Ray!
Rylan was nominated for student of the week by Ms. Clarke. Here is what Ms. Clarke said about Rylan Ray. "Rylan is an excellent student that strives to always be the best version of himself. He helps others to understand what we are learning in class and shows patience when working with others."
TONIGHT our AMAZING VMS PTSO is meeting in the library at 7 p.m.!
All parents, teachers and students are welcome to join this meeting to collaborate on ways to continue to support our school. THANK YOU in advance to helping our school be the best middle school in West Ada!
ALSO, feel free to purchase "Defend the Den" tickets for $2 during any of the lunches this Monday through Wednesday! Tickets are also online via PTSO webstore. Thank you for your support!
TONIGHT is the last chance to catch "PERSEPHONE" this school year. Last night this FREE drama play production left audiences in awe of VMS drama students and their amazing drama teacher, Beth Summers!
Come support them at 7:30 p.m. in the VMS cafeteria!
PERSEPHONE DRAMA PLAY THIS WEEK!
The time has finally come for our theatre classes to perform their play "Persephone" this week! In case you missed the announcements, it will be this Thursday and Friday at 7:30PM in the VMS cafeteria and is free of charge. Come support your favorite "dramatic" kodiaks!
Happy New Year, Kodiaks! Get ready for exciting school days to come this year!
First off, Boys Basketball tryouts Weds-Friday of this week! Our Late Work Deadline this Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, marks the end of this quarter for regular work, leading us into Finals Week Schedule:
01/10, Music, PE, and Health FINALS
01/11, Math and Social Studies FINALS
01/12, ELA & Science FINALS
01/13, Electives FINALS
01/16, NO SCHOOL, MLK Day
01/17, NO SCHOOL, Teacher Prep Day
01/18, First day of semester 2/Quarter 3
Yet, the real excitement comes with looking forward to DEFEND THE DEN January 20th! Get your tickets via VMS PTSO online!
Thank you for supporting our annual NJHS Toys for Tots drive! Elyse Thorpe and her NJHS team were busy all of the last two weeks picking up items to deliver to children in need.
Ugly Sweaters, Everywhere! Last Friday we had a ton going on at VMS with our pep assembly and dance. Just when you swung your head the other way, you'd see another ugly sweater. School spirit at its "ugliest" is still super cute at VMS!
Our VMS Student Council under the leadership of Lisa Strader did a fantastic job leading our first pep assembly in several years! Our VMS students were engaged, respectful and seemed happy hearing from the coaches, participating in the spirit competition, watching the cheerleaders, seeing the FuelUp to Play 60 staff vs. students competition and more.
Afterwards students who chose to stay until 5 p.m. got to enjoy their first dance in a long time. VMS was filled with smiles and thankfulness for the hard work everyone behind the scenes was putting in to make these fun two events happen so smoothly. Our 2022 holiday break will be a great time to recharge from all of the VMS festivities. It's been a super busy season!
8th Grade Girls Basketball:
Our girls basketball team just wrapped up their season this week. It was an exciting end to a great year for our team. On Tuesday night they took down Sawtooth in the quarterfinals of the district tournament 50-30. Then on Wednesday night they faced top seed Heritage on our home court. The game was electric with a great student section and our team playing point for point with Heritage, even leading for a good portion in the later stages of the game. Heritage ended up going on a couple big scoring runs with some lights out shooting from behind the 3-point line to beat our girls by 10. While no loss is easy, I must say that I couldn’t be prouder of our girls, they played with tremendous heart, passion, intensity, and competitiveness. It was so much fun to watch them, and we thank them for a great season. Thank you to all coaches for their time!
Wrestling:
Our wrestlers wrapped up their season last Friday and Saturday at the district tournament. We are excited to share that we had some great finishers. 1st place and champion-Tobias Guillen; 2nd place- Christian Egginton; 3rd place- Burke Camberlango and Jackson Beck; 4th place- Kiana Trudell. It was fun to watch this team get better every day. They all worked hard to improve on their skills, and we are so proud of how they represented our school with class and great sportsmanship. Congratulations! Thank you to all coaches for their time!
8th Grade Boys Basketball Tryouts:
8th Grade Boys Basketball tryouts will be on January 4th, 5th, and 6th when we return to school at 3:15 in the gym! All forms and information are on the Basketball website. Make sure to fill out all forms prior to tryouts!
Raffle:
Great Christmas Gift Idea - Get your raffle tickets for a great chance to win some amazing prizes and to help all our extracurricular activities and teams.
Thank you for supporting the Kodiaks!
Go Kodiaks! JJ Riley, Athletic Director/PE
December Dates to Remember
21 to 30 - NO SCHOOL Winter Break (Dec. 21 - Jan. 3rd)
25 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Please enjoy your holiday break and check out the finals schedule for our last two weeks of this semester for when we get back.
Get your Defend the Den tickets during lunch! Only $2.00.
Come to tonight's PTSO meeting at 7 p.m. in the VMS Library.
After tonight, the next PTSO meeting is January 9th @ 7pm in the VMS Library
Our STAFF MEMBER OF THE MONTH is our very own SANDY BLOOM! We are so fortunate to have Sandy with us! Her support is felt throughout the building whether it be in providing Safe School Assistance, substitute teaching, tutoring new students to our school about our Kodiak Way, ... Sandy takes on each task with a "consider it done" attitude and generously dedicates her energy to making VMS the best. THANK YOU, Sandy, for your willingness to exceed all expectations with whatever you do.
Rachel Vachon, our STAFF MEMBER OF THE WEEK and WINNER OF THE UGLIEST SWEATER CONTEST 2022!
Rachel takes ownership of the MTSS team and leads effectively to ensure every student at VMS gets the help they need. Rachel keeps the team organized and focused on students and makes sure VMS uses the process with fidelity. She spends hours of time each week working for students and applying the MTSS process. Rachel understands that MTSS is not a pipeline to special education, but a well-rounded support system for students with academic and/or behavioral needs. VMS has the most robust MTSS process I have ever seen, and it is largely because of Rachel. We are so lucky to have her--our school would be a very different place without her focus and skill applied to the MTSS team.
Treydon Spears
Treydon was nominated for student of the week by Mrs. Updike. Treydon is a hard worker who sets a good example for his peers. He completes all of his assignments on time and to the best of his ability. He is attentive in class, taking each opportunity to learn all he can. He also is an active NJHS member who volunteers his time at various community events. He makes our school a better place to be each day!
