Principal’s Message:
Hello Golden Owls,
This Friday, November 5 marks the end of the trimester. It is a minimum day and students will be dismissed at 11:55am. You will be receiving your child's report card on Friday, November 19th. If you have any questions or concerns about your child's grades, as always, please arrange to talk with the teacher, so the teacher can give you more details. We provide interpretation services when requested.
As Friday marks the end of our trimester, it also offers a time for us to reflect and celebrate the learning, hard work, and accomplishments of our students over the last trimester. As a district we have worked to finalize our Learning Recovery Plan and identifying key strategies for supporting students. Likewise, as a school we have been working hard to develop our Single Plan for School Achievement (SPSA). If you would like to view a draft of our SPSA click here. We were able to accomplish this while keeping students safe during a pandemic. While this has not been an easy accomplishment, I am thankful for our community and the hardworking staff that has made this possible.
At last week’s principal’s Coffee, I reviewed our district’s Learning Recovery Plan and provided an overview of our SPSA. If you would like to view the video, you can click here for English and click here for Spanish.
In Partnership,
Principal Vern Taylor
Events Calendar
3rd - Cancelled - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm -
4th - MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:00pm - 10:00pm
5th - End of Trimester - Minimum Day - Dismissal 11:55am
5th - Superintendent Community Check-in, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
10th - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here
10th - SSC Virtual Meeting, 5:00pm - 6:30pm
11th - Veteran’s Day Holiday - No School
17th - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here
18th - MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:00pm - 10:00pm
19th - Principal’s Coffee, 8:30am - 9:30am
19th - Report Cards go home
19th - Superintendent Community Check-in, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
22nd - 26th - Thanksgiving Holiday Recess - No School
1st - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here
8th - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here
9th - ELAC Meeting, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
15th - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here
17th - Principal’s Coffee, 8:30am - 9:30am
20th - 31st - Holiday Break - No School
3rd - Teacher-in-service Day - No school
4th - Students return to school
In this Newsletter
School News:
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Golden Ticket Winners
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Diwali Celebration
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COVID-19 Vaccines for kids
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Student Vision and Hearing Screenings Coming up
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Input Requested on Proposed Updates to Parent Involvement Board Policy
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Important Reminders
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Coach’s Corner
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Gift Card Donation
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Principal’s Virtual Office Hours
Flyers:
District News:
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Board meeting Preview: Nov. 4 - Agenda
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Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday: Nov. 5 - Register here
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Boba Fundraiser for MVEF
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Parent University: Creating Caring Relationships (featuring Project Cornerstone)
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November Better Together - Flyer
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Volunteer guidelines updated
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Parenting tip: Effective instruction for kids
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Drafts available: Single Plans for Student Achievement
PTA News:
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Membership Drive
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PTA Association Meeting
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Get Involved
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Konstella
Golden Ticket Winners - Week of 11/1/2021
Zoey D. RM: 1 Nika S. RM: 9
Connor D. RM: 2 Alice B. RM: 10
Maya K. RM: 3 Gabriel A. RM: 11
Ashley W. RM: 4 Sam K. RM: 13
Carter B-M. RM: 5 Sharon L. RM: 14
Vishnu N RM: 6 Brandon H. RM: 16
Adalberto H. RM: 8 Emily G. RM: 17
Ms. Annie RM: 8
The Vargas Way - Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be an Upstander.
What are Golden Tickets?
Students earn Golden Tickets from teachers and staff when they are following the Vargas Way. What is
The Vargas Way? Click here for an in depth view.
Diwali Celebration
Thank you, Harshal Varangaonkar for sharing this information about Diwali happening this week.
Diwali (dih-WAH-Lee), the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated worldwide by over 800 million people! It signifies the victory of light (good) over darkness (evil). Diwali also marks the Hindu New Year.
Diwali occurs on the lunar calendar and is a five-day festival in October or November. The main celebration occurs on the third day (the day of the new moon) which is on November 4th this year.
For more information, please click the following link. Additionally, if you would like to color a rangoli you can download a copy here, or pick one up from the front office.
COVID-19 Vaccines for kids
After much anticipation, the COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages 5-11 have begun.
Parents and guardians can visit www.sccfreevax.org now to sign up for an appointment or to find a convenient walk-in location. Many of the initial available appointments have already been reserved, but the County expects an increased vaccination supply in the coming weeks and additional slots should open soon.
Among other options, there is a drop-in vaccination site on Nov. 6, 10:00am - 5:00pm at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, 160 N. Rengstorff Avenue.
MVWSD is working with the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department to provide free, mobile vaccination events at our schools for our students. We will update you as we know more about dates and specifics.
Student vision and hearing screenings coming up
Each fall, MVWSD conducts hearing and vision screenings of all students in kindergarten, second-, fifth- and eighth-grade, as California State Law mandates. These screenings will take place at Vargas on Nov. 17.
Parents will be notified in writing if children fail a screening. Parents who do not want their child screened for either vision and/or hearing should send a letter to their child's school each school year indicating that their child is to be excluded, and vision and/or hearing results will need to be provided from their physician.
If you have any concerns about your child’s vision or hearing please contact your school nurse. Questions about the screenings should be directed to the Health Services office at 650-526-3500 ext. 1050.
Input Requested on Proposed Updates to Parent Involvement Board Policy
Our District’s board policies set broad guidelines for our actions and are based on the most recent updates to California’s Education Code. From time to time, updates are needed to reflect current terminology and best practices. We are currently in the process of updating BP6020: Parent Involvement. Here are links to the current policy and proposed updated policy. The content of the proposed policy is materially the same, but includes terminology and minor wording updates. If you would like to offer feedback on the proposed policy, please send an email to Director of Federal, State, and Strategic Projects, Geoff Chang at [email protected] by November 9, 2021.
Important Reminders:
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Please complete the OKtoReopen Screener BEFORE children come on campus or by 7:30am
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Pack a filled water bottle
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Masks are required for staff and students on campus, please ensure your child comes with a mask at drop off and pack a few more in their backpack it gets dirty or breaks
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Send everything your child needs for the day: snack, lunch, filled water bottle, sweater, homework, instrument
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Please practice with and remind your students that they need to wash or sanitize their hands after coughing or blowing their noses.
Coach’s Corner
Students have access to over 40000 of the best books and audiobooks at home with Epic! Students can log on to Epic directly through their Clever portal. Epic is a learning digital reading platform, and has a vast collection of high-quality books for students 12 and under. Encourage your student to explore Epic at home and build their reading confidence with books they love!
For directions on How to Access Clever at home using a browser, Click Here
For directions on How to Access Clever at home using an iPad, ( Click here for Grades K-2) (Click here for Grades 3-8)
Gift Card Donation
As you may know, there are several families in our district that need help to meet some basic needs. The district is providing meals every day. But some families need more support for providing food, clothes and shoes for their kids. There is a critical need for gift cards for these families. If you are able, please consider donating a Safeway or Target gift card to families in our own district. Thank you so much for your help! Let’s show these families how strong and supportive our Vargas community really is!
Please bring the gift cards to the office. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Bea, School and Community Engagement Facilitator – SCEF- at [email protected].
(Repeat) Principal’s Virtual Office Hours
Join me Wednesday, Nov. 10th for our informal Principal Office Hours (virtual) from 4pm -5pm. Feel free to drop in if you have any questions or if you just want to chat. For office hours, there is no formal agenda, it is a time for you to stop in to say hello, and for us to get to know each other better! I look forward to meeting you!
Register in advance for this meeting.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
District News
Board meeting Preview: Nov. 4
The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. Some of the meeting’s topics include:
For meeting details and agenda, please click here.
Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday: Nov. 5
Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/Cobw2. To plan ahead, please see this webpage for upcoming meeting dates. In case you miss it, a video recording will be posted on this webpage.
Boba Fundraiser for MVEF
TeaCub Boba & Snack is helping fundraise for MVEF on Tuesday November 16 (all day)! 25% of all proceeds on 11/16/21 will be donated to MVEF. TeaCub Boba & Snack is located in the Mountain View Shopping Center at 175C East El Camino Real. Please stop by to enjoy smoothies, slushies, milk and flavored tea as well as snacks. (They use only organic Clover milk and real fruit for all tea & smoothie drinks so please enjoy a treat for you and MVEF!)
Parent University: Creating Caring Relationships (featuring Project Cornerstone)
Date: November 17, 2021 Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu111721
Kids need our care and support now more than ever. This presentation will:
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Explore proven effective and meaningful ways to express care and support that will make a difference in the lives of young people.
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Provide tools and strategies for connecting and building trust, which lead to strong, positive relationships within families, schools, and communities.
Join Ziem Nguyen Neubert, Executive Director of Project Cornerstone, in a conversation on how we can support young people’s social and emotional well-being so they grow and develop as healthy and responsible humans.
This is one of four Parent University events this year featuring Project Cornerstone. To see what’s coming up, check out this flyer.
To submit questions prior to the event, go to mvw.sd/questions. We will do our best to address your question during the session.
November Better Together - Flyer
The focus of November’s Better Together infographic is “Creating an Inclusive Community.” MVWSD strives to provide inclusive and supportive environments for all of our students. This is just one way we are providing an identity-affirming space for all who work, learn, and partner with us. Please see the graphics attached to this newsletter, or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.
Volunteer guidelines updated
At the August 3rd Board meeting, Trustees requested that staff update the MVWSD volunteer guidelines to include additional requirements for COVID safety. Updated guidelines describe the parameters for allowing on-campus volunteers after full vaccination of a majority of our students (5 and older). Start date is to be determined. Please see the updated guidelines here.
Parenting tip: Effective instruction for kids
We give our kids dozens of instructions each day: Get ready for school. Wash your hands before you eat. Do your homework. Sometimes our kids follow our instructions, and sometimes they do not. One way to increase follow through is to give effective instructions. For example, making eye contact with your child and gently telling them to turn off the TV is likely to be more effective than yelling at them from another room.
To provide effective instructions:
Think about a few things that you would like your child to do and try using these tips to provide effective instructions.
Instead of saying… Say….
“Don’t bother me.” “Please work on your homework.”
“TURN OFF THE TV!!” “Please turn off the TV.”
“I told you to stop playing video games.” “If you don’t stop playing video games in the next 5
minutes, then you won’t be able to play tomorrow.”
These tips came directly from the free, online Everyday Parenting program created by parenting expert, Dr. Kazdin.
To learn more parenting tips click here.
Drafts available: Single Plans for Student Achievement
Each year, our schools create Single Plans for Student Achievement (SPSAs or “site plans”) that guide the work for the coming year. These plans help us prioritize programs and strategies that will best serve our students. In the fall, elected parent representatives from School Site Councils and English Language Advisory Committees work with principals and school staff members to create a draft that is reviewed and approved by the MVWSD Board of Trustees. Parents and staff members may give feedback through Nov. 19 to their principal and elected parent representatives to SSC and ELAC. You may review the draft plans here.
PTA News
Membership Drive
Please join the PTA by November 10! Our membership drive is still going and we are still waiting for more families to join our PTA! Memberships cost $11 and additional donations are very appreciated! Donations will help pay for community engagement events, assemblies, author visits, educational subscriptions, teacher reimbursements for classroom materials, field trips, Ms. Bea’s scholarship program, and teacher appreciation. Classrooms that reach 80% membership participation will get a popsicle party and 3 people who register through November will be entered in a raffle to win some Vargas spirit wear. We have 170 members, so we need your participation to reach our goal! Please join and make a contribution: https://jointotem.com/ca/mountain-view/jose-antonio-vargas-pta
PTA Association Meeting
Wednesday, November 13, 2021 @ 8:30 a.m. on Zoom
Agenda and registration link available soon.
Get Involved
A great way to get involved this year is to become a room parent. We still need volunteers for room 8, 11, 15, 16 & 17! Sign up here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VmB94ytD0ck24ygVjFXIjAKcElWOoP1HlW0Nm6P0_2A/edit
Konstella
Konstella is our main communication tool. The PTA will post information about meetings, events and volunteer opportunities. You will also be able to communicate with other families from your child's classroom.
Use this link to register: https://www.konstella.com/cd/XGJHYL
Shannon Lundin, and the Executive Board
[email protected]