4 End of Trimester 1

6 PTO Holiday Shop, 9:30AM-12PM                  9:00AM to 9:30 AM (sensory-friendly)

8-12 Half Days for Parent/Teacher Conferences, Preschool 12:15PM, K-5 12:55PM

8 T1 Report Cards on Realtime Parent Portal

11 Picture Retake Day

11 Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences, 5-7PM

15-23 Spirit Week (details below)

16 Parent Academy, 9:15-10AM

19 KG Holiday Concert, 9:15AM

23 Half Day Students & Staff                                    Preschool 12:15PM, K-5 12:55PM

24 - Jan 2 Winter Break

Jan 5 - School reopens

Congratulations to our 2025 Governor's Educator of the Year, Mrs. Garot!  Mrs. Garot is currently a Kindergarten teacher at VDV.

Congratulations to our 2025 Educational Professional of the Year, Mrs. DeNero!  Mrs. DeNero is currently an Instructional Assistant at VDV.

*Trimester 1 report cards will be available on the Realtime Parent Portal on December 8th.

If you need assistance logging into your Realtime Parent Portal, please contact the  main office at 908-218-4105.

REMINDER...December 8th - 12th will be half days for ALL VDV students, due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Preschool will dismiss at 12:15PM, K-5 will dismiss at 12:55PM.  Lunch served for PS/KG/MD/ABA/LLD classes ONLY.

Make-up day is approaching on December 11th, 2025 and we encourage anyone who was absent or retaking their image to please see our photographer on this day.

Absentees - Any student that was absent on picture day or newly enrolled after picture day will use the pre-pay code provided in the new email blast to place their order. This email blast will be provided to the school 2 weeks before retake day. The code provided will ONLY be for absentees or new enrollments. This allows you to take advantage of the same packages we provided for original day.

Student needs a retake and did not previously place an order - At this time, parents will only be able to view their child's original day image online. Once retake day has been processed and the original image has been replaced with the re-take, parents may go online and place an order using the personal web passcode provided on the Last Chance to Order card. The Last Chance cards are sent to the school with the picture packages.

Retaking an image and already placed an order - Students MUST bring in their complete original package and provide it to our photographer on retake day. We kindly ask parents to write any concerns on the FRONT of the envelope. After picture day, parents will receive a new full replacement package with their child's new image at no additional cost to them.

Join us for a "SNOW MUCH" Spirit Week!

Monday, 12/15 Snow Day Ready: Wear PJs, flannel, hats, scarves, etc.

Tuesday, 12/16 Holiday Sock Hop: Wear holiday socks and/or accessories.

Wednesday, 12/17 Winter Wonderland: Wear White.

Thursday, 12/18 Snowman attire: Dress like a Snowman.

Friday, 12/19 Holiday Lights: Dress in bright colors.

Monday, 12/22 Holiday Character: Dress like your favorite Holiday character.

Tuesday, 12/23 Cozy for the Holidays: Wear PJs or comfy clothes.

Join us for a Kindergarten Holiday Concert on Friday, December 19th at 9:15AM.

If you would like a VDV sibling(s) to attend the concert, please look out for an email closer to the event.

https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/vanderveerelementaryschool

Just a friendly reminder...

Attention students who ride bikes, scooters, etc. to school...when crossing the street, please get off the bike/scooter and walk it across the street.  Please be sure to pay attention to all crossing guard signals. 

Thank you to everyone that donated to our Annual Food Drive.  We collected a total of 1041 items that were donated to the Somerset County Food Bank.

Please join us at our Parent Academy on December 16th from 9:15-10:00 to learn more about the i-Ready Reading Diagnostic and Literacy Tasks, as well as meaningful at-home activities to support your child's literacy development. To join, log in using this Google Meet link. We look forward to seeing you there!

i-Ready Diagnostic Family and Literacy Profile reports for the fall administration will be uploaded to Realtime in the coming weeks. While these reports were previously printed and sent home with your child, you can now access them at any time by logging in to Realtime. 

As Mr. Lubisco shared in his November newsletter, we are so excited to announce that the preschool playground is now up and running for our students to use during the school day!

Given the continual construction occurring on the grounds, we request that the preschool playground be used exclusively during the school day and only with staff supervision. The playground is currently not open for use outside of these hours.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time.

Please keep in mind when visiting Van Derveer or picking up a student for early dismissal...

A valid form of ID will be REQUIRED EVERY TIME you need to enter the building. Visitors are required to wear a visitor's tag at all time while at VDV. NO exceptions will be made.

A valid form of ID will also be REQUIRED EVERY TIME a parent/guardian needs to pick up a child early for any reason. NO exceptions will be made.

Click on the link below for a video from Nurse Jen & Nurse Cynthia.

Click here

Visit myschoolbucks.com to set up or add money to a lunch account for your student(s).

Meet VDV staff members at the pickleball court on Veterans Memorial at 8am every Wednesday (weather permitting) and walk to VDV with other students and staff!

Is it Bullying?  Not everything that is mean is actually bullying.  The chart above can help you understand the difference between a mean moment, conflict & bullying.

Holiday Shop: Saturday 12/6

The VDV Holiday Shop will be held on Saturday 12/6! Bring your child(ren) to shop from 9:30-12pm (9-9:30am reserved for special needs/sensory friendly) to purchase gifts, bake sale items and spirit wear. Reminder that Holiday Shop purchases are cash or check to Somerville PTO only. 

There are also still open volunteer spots - sign up for the bake sale, help set up Friday night or be an elf on Saturday! Details and sign up at https://bit.ly/2025-holidayshop 

Gertrude Hawk Orders: Pick Up on Saturday 12/6

If you ordered Gertrude Hawk to be sent to the school, please pick up your items at VDV on Saturday 12/6 from 9-12pm (during the Holiday Shop). Items not picked up will be sent home with your child or if the order is too large, will be held at the school office.

Comfort Closet

The school nurses and counselors and social workers are asking for help to stock the VDV & SMS Comfort Closets with new or gently used clothing and snack items. The full donation list can be found at: https://bit.ly/pto-comfortcloset2025  

Please join us once again this year: PETER MAYER STARS & PROMISES 2025 Harmony

Friday, December 12th  7:30 PM

Somerville High School Auditorium, 222 Davenport St, Somerville NJ  08876

Tickets $40 online -  $50 at door

Also available VIP Ticket - $100

The VIP ticket is an additional purchase to the $40 concert ticket.  It includes access to sound check at 4:30 PM, private meet & greet, reserved seating and a gift.   

Get Tickets Here: 

https://www.itickets.com/events/484069

or use the QR Code below.

Pack 80 had a great time in our community this November.

Scouting for Food:  In the first week of November, Pack 80 joined Troops 83 and 84 to collect 3,594 pounds of food for the Somerset County Food Bank. We are grateful for the support from the Somerville community helping us help those that face food insecurity as we head into holidays and the winter. Thank you!

November Pack Meeting: We were happy to host members of the Somerville fire department, police department, and rescue squad who taught us about safety and let us explore some of their vehicles including the Rescue Squad’s new ambulance and the fire department’s new ladder truck. It was an incredible time.  We are so amazed by our local heroes! 

Looking Ahead

Den Meetings: Regular, grade-level meetings where scouts work on "adventures" to earn badges, learn, and advance ranks, building teamwork and problem-solving skills.

December Pack Meeting: December 19th at 7:00PM, in Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. We will celebrate the season together with games and a very special visitor!

Caroling: We will continue our tradition of caroling in the community this December, details to follow.

Pinewood Derby: Our annual derby will take place on January 24th at Van Derveer Elementary.  It is a fun tradition that all scouts enjoy designing their own cars and racing them with their dens and the whole pack!  Please email us if you are interested in finding out more and joining us for this event.

Come discover Cub Scout Pack 80, where fun, friendship, and adventure await your child! Contact CubScoutPack80@gmail.com for more info!

Cub Scout Pack 80 - 25-26 Calendar.png