Minnehaha Parents & Families,
Welcome Spring! I hope you are enjoying the return of longer days, drier (hopefully!) weather, greener grass, and
blooming flowers! As we begin this final stretch of the year, I wanted to highlight a few important upcoming events
and opportunities:
SBA (Smarter Balanced Assessment) testing – our 3rd through 5th grade students will very soon
(next week for some!) begin our annual state testing in English Language Arts, Math, and Science (5th only). There is
a building-wide schedule attached to this newsletter, as well as important reminders for families around test prep. We
want all of our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade families to be aware of testing dates, so that our students come to school prepared,
well-rested, and motivated to do their absolute best. For additional details (testing times, procedures, snack questions,
etc) please contact your child’s teacher directly. He or she should have by now sent home a classroom testing schedule/
letter in addition to the building schedule attached to this email.
Parent/Family Surveys – each year, our District asks for your participation in an online, anonymous survey.
This annual survey opened up this week. Please see the information flyer and letter from Superintendent Webb attached
to this email. The survey can be accessed directly via the shared link, or through the District website at
www.vansd.org. At Minnehaha, we truly value your input and hope you will consider devoting some time to take this
survey. We want to hear from you about what we are doing well (so we can build and expand), and any areas you may
have ideas about improvement. Thank you for your time and involvement with these!
Spring Conferences – next Thursday (April 20) and Friday (April 21) are 2-hour early release dates for all
VPS elementary schools. The purpose of these early releases are to provide opportunities for additional parent-teacher
conferencing. You should have by now received a classroom or grade level Conference reminder – please contact your
teacher directly regarding a conference. Conferences are not initially scheduled for all students, but if you have not
been contacted about a conference and would like one, your child’s teacher will be happy to meet with you.
Troy