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Happy Halloween at VFMS!
We are having a Halloween Celebration. Wear or bring your costumes to school this year. During each grade's 5th-8th lunch we will have some Halloween fun....
Halloween costume judging contest!
Teachers and parents will be the judges. Studen ts
may wear or bring their costumes to
school on October 31.
Masks and large hats should not be worn to class. Before the
students' lunch and activity period, students may change into their costume and/or bring any additional pieces of their costume with them.
We need parent volunteers for each grade. Please contact Lynnsey Perrin Hee if you are interested in being a volunteer at our Halloween fun.
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Red Ribbon Week starts Monday at Valley Forge Middle School! Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. It began after DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena died at the hands of drug traffickers in Mexico while fighting the battle against illegal drugs to keep our country safe. The goal of Red Ribbon Week is to encourage our youth to say NO to drugs. VFMS students are asked to join the campaign to make healthy, drug-free choices by participating in the Red Ribbon Week spirit days!
Red Ribbon Week Spirit Days: Monday, October 27 - RED RALLY DAY Students and staff are encouraged to wear red and pledge to stay drug free. Tuesday, October 28 - Living Drug Free is No Sweat Students and staff are encouraged to wear sweatpants and sweatshirts. Wednesday, October 29 - Proud to be Drug Free Students and staff are encouraged to wear red, white and blue. Thursday, October 30 -Say "Peace Out" to Drugs Students and staff are encouraged to wear tie-dye or other bright colors. Friday, October 31 - Say "Boo" to Drugs
Students and staff are encouraged to wear black and orange.
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Parent Social Recap
A great time was had on Saturday night at the social held at
the beautiful and historic Tivoli Farm. The weather held out for
us and nearly 200 people enjoyed dancing to Common Bond,
eating delicious barbecue thanks to Captain Dick's, chatting
and imbibing under the stars and riding on the mechanical
bull!
We would like to extend our thanks to a few additional
helpers who helped the evening go with a swing and, most
importantly, without any hiccups:
* The parking team Jason Borrelli, Jay Carpenter,
Tim McFillin and Rich Culbert
* Fran Arvan, Susan Moyer and Celi Nassif for serving up
our sweet desserts
* Sue Mcgee for her creativity and artistry in helping to
decorate the barn
* The clean up crew sans pareil - Tim McFillin, Richard
Culbert, Kristin Courtney and Tracy Amendola
* PTO board for organizing and donating desserts and
keeping an eye on things as the evening progressed.
The first annual chili cook off enticed 10 entrants with a
variety of chili types. Kudos to all those who put their culinary
expertise to the test. The top three were Rich Lucia , Robert Lee and Rich Culbert.
We would also like to thank Nectar for their donation of a gift certificate and the Borrelli family for the chili prizes.
And, of course, a special thank you to the Ackermans without
whose invaluable contribution none of this would have been
possible. They devoted enormous time and energy helping to
plan, prepare and orchestrate this event and also donated the
mechanical bull. Thank you so much, Corinne and Michael.
Last but not least, a huge shout out must go to Chairperson
Trish McFillin who kept us all on track and exercised her
incredible imagination and creativity in pulling this event
together!
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5th Grade Math Night
Mark your calendars for the 5th Grade Math Night ! This event takes place on November 13th and is open to all 5th graders and their families. Come out at your leisure for this fantastic event at our school! Find out more information and details about the night here. |
Barnes and Noble Book Fair
Q: What do Cheesecakes and Books have in common?
A: Both are available at the 2014 VFMS Barnes and Noble Book Fair this year!!!
Save the Date - Saturday, November 8th and Sunday, November 9th for the VFMS Barnes and Noble Book Fair in Devon on Swedesford Road. Shop for holiday gi  fts, the latest best seller, DVD's and more! Make your life easier this holiday season and order a cheesecake for that special dessert! Pick from the 6 amazing flavors: Plain, Pumpkin, Eggnog, Red Velvet, Godiva Double Chocolate, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Each cheesecake contains 14 servings and costs $40.00 Please pick one flavor for each whole cheesecake. Ordering your delicious cheesecake is easy and can be done in one of 2 ways. Click here for order information. Regardless of how you order, please specify the date you would like to pick up your frozen cheesecake! Cheesecakes are available for pick-up any time between November 8, 2014 and December 31, 2014.
For example, need a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert? Specify November 26th as the pick-up date, and your cheesecake will be ready on that day.
Questions? Please email Fran Arvan or call 610-304-9716 A portion of the proceeds goes to the VFMS PTO. Thank you for your support.
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WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY October 16th 
Big thanks to the wonderful organizer of our first annual Walk and Bike to School Day, Molly Duffy. The best part is 150 children across all grades took part and luckily the weather was kind to us.
Thanks also to Sondra Zalewski and Jenni DiMaio who took the names of those children participating so that they could be included in the raffle. We hope you all had fun!
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 Open PTO Positions
Please consider taking on one of these positions and becoming more involved in your children's school!
*Executive Vice President - Work alongside the President to oversee the workings of the PTO Board with a view to taking over the position of President the next school year. A great way to get your feet wet before full immersion!
*BUILD Coordinator - BUILD stands for Better Understanding of Individuals with Learning Differences and is a group of parents and professionals of TE School District who have formed a support group for parents of children with learning differences.
The coordinator helps spread the word about Build meetings, forwards meeting announcements to LD teachers/counselors at VFMS and puts announcements into the VFMS Blast.
*Audit Review Committee - Once a year review the expenditure of the PTO and verify expenses tally with receipts. This is not an official audit per se and does not require accounting experience.
Please contact Sarah Culbert at president@vfmspto.org if you are interested in any of the above positions. |
Golden Apple Grants
Do you know what a Golden Apple Grant is? Ever heard of them? Well, here is your chance to find out! The Valley  Forge Middle School PTO has created a fund to support outstanding and innovative programs, ideas and/or purchases which will enrich the educational experience at VFMS. The standard Golden Apple Grant is $200 and typically up to 10 grants will be made available during each school year. To learn more, click here. Interested in suggesting a recipient of a Golden Apple Grant? Check out the guidelines and application form to make your idea a reality! |
Shop Amazon / Support the PTO!
If you love to shop on Amazon, we have a fantastic way for you to help VFMS at the same time. On the VFMS PTO homepage, you will see an Amazon.com graphic. When you want to shop on Amazon, we are asking that you simply use this link which will send you directly to the regular Amazon.com home-page.
However, it will mark that your order is associated with our school and Amazon will donate a certain percent of your sale to VFMS! It is that simple and takes just one extra step! You do not need to sign up or register with the program and if you are already an Amazon Prime member, you will still receive all of your Prime benefits. VFMS has already earned roughly $650 with just a few parents participating and we bet there are more Amazon shoppers out there! Think how much more we can earn by just one extra click!
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| This Week at VFMS |
Monday October 27th: Cheesecake Order Forms Due
Friday October 31st: Halloween at VFMS costume contests during each grade's lunch
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PTO Volunteer Opportunities
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Volunteer opportunities are still available at the Middle S chool level! Please contact us and let us know how you'd like to stay involved. All information is here on our website. Looking forward to working with you!
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Hillside 5KRun/1Mile Walk
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Get the family out on November 2nd for Hillside E.S.'s first Fun Run! Day-of registration is available or register  on Hillside PTO's website. The run takes place at Wilson Farm Park and is a great way to start out a Fall Sunday morning! Download the registration form here or contact Lisa Nishikawa.
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Paoli Wildcats
Girls Basketball
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Attention All Girl Basketball Players...
The Paoli Wildcats Basketball League (PWBL) has decided to enter girls travel basketball teams in the Inter-County Basketball Association  (ICBA) for the 2014-2015 season. The ICBA is a competitive travel basketball league. We will be seeking to field 5th, 6th, and 7th grade teams. If you are interested, read information here about registration and try out dates. |
Conestoga Cavalcade
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Come out on November 1st to hear wonderful music from 'Stoga's Cavalcade! Check out more information about this event here. 
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Wrestling Club
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Interested in Wrestling Club? Join us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays  (November 11th/12th and 18th/19th) from 2:30-3:15 at VFMS in the wrestling room! All grades are welcome. For more information, contact Mr. Ryan.
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Conestoga Wrestling Sponsoring Open Mats
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Conestoga High School Coaches offer "free" wrestling open mats from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays (Oct. 27th, Nov. 3rd & 10th). Any and all 5th through 8th grade students who are interested in participating may show up at Valley Forge Middle School in the Wrestling Room for the open mat "clinics" sponsored by the Conestoga High School Coaching Staff. No experience is necessary. Click here for more information.
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Conestoga Boys'
Basketball Clinic
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Boys in grades 1-8 are invited to participate in the Conestoga Boys' Basketball Clinic on Sunday, Nov ember 9th from 1-4. Check out registration information here.
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Spark Field Hockey
Winter Program
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Spark offers a fun and inspirational learning environment with an emphasis on teamwork, sportsmanship, friendship, and self-confidence. The Winter program w ill take place at the Main Line Sports Center, formerly the Syms building.
Winter registration is open and the program begins 11/30 with three 4-week sessions continuing through 2/22. Check them out on Facebook here or look here for registration information.
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CHS Girls' Basketball Clinic
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A Girls Youth Basketball Clinic will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 (10am-Noon) at VF Middle School for girls in grades 2 - 8. Pre-registration is encouraged. Information can be found here.
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| Parent Seminar |
Interested in protecting childhood and family relationships in the digital age? Come to the BIG DISCONNECT seminar on November 11th hosted at The Agnes Irwi n School. Space is limited so click here for information on registering.
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Trash Vocal Performance
| Delta is sponsoring a fabulous performance that you won't want to miss! Described as a cross between "Glee" and "Stomp" this green-minded ensemble entertains with a unique type of "Urban Broadway!" Community performance akes place on Friday, November 14th. VFMS Students will see this performance on Monday, November 10th during the school day (7th/8th graders at 12:30 and 5th/6th graders at 1:30). Click here for more information or check out Delta's website. |
| Box Tops for Education! |
Box Tops for Education
are an easy way to help raise money for VFMS.
Just clip Box Tops
and drop them in the collection box located in the main office.
Help us reach
our goal this year!
If you have any questions, contact
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| Important Numbers | |
VFMS Main Office:
610-240-1300
Attendance Line:
610-240-1330
T/E Transportation:
610-240-1680
T/E District Office:
610-240-1900
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Blast Submissions
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If you have school news you want to have published in the Blast, please write it up exactly how you want it to appear and send it in email to the editor, Lori Benedict, at lori.mb@gmail.com by 4PM the preceding Friday afternoon. Blast will go out each Sunday afternoon.
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