Principal’s Message:
Hello Golden Owls,
Welcome back! I hope your break was relaxing and filled with quality time with friends and family.
January is named for Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology. He is depicted as having two faces looking in opposite ways, one towards the past and the other towards the future. This is a perfect metaphor for what January represents to educators. We set goals at the beginning of the academic school year. We use January as an opportunity to reflect on the past 5 months, so we can course correct to have a successful finish. On Monday, our teachers worked diligently, analyzing data and making plans to support each of the students to meet their goals. We look forward to finishing off this year strong and seeing the growth in our students.
Additionally, Please mark your calendars for Jan. 22. Open enrollment for ALL students (including returning students) for the fall starts on Jan. 22. Click on https://www.mvwsd.org/register for all the details.
In Partnership,
Principal Vern Taylor
Events Calendar
January 2024
10th New Students Information 6:30 pm at Vargas
15th MLK - No School
16th ELAC Meeting (ELPAC Info) 8:00 - 9:00 am MUR
18th Parent U Extension: Parenting in the Digital Era
6:30pm (zoom)
22th Open Enrollment for current students
In this Newsletter
School News:
Golden Ticket Winners
Reminders for drop off
Parent U Extension: Parenting in the Digital Era
Flyers:
January Menu Here
Parent U Extension: Parenting in the Digital EraHere
2024-2025 School Year Calendar Here
District News:
Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday, Jan. 12
Student enrollment in MVWSD for next year and school info meetings coming up!
For Fifth-Grade Families: Middle School Info Night on Jan. 22
The District is beginning its annual process of updating the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan)
The 2024-25 district calendar is available
Mentor Tutor Connection - VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SESSION. (Flyer)
SELPA 1 CAC Parent Education Event: Assistive Technology
The View Teen Center: January (Flyer)
City of MV: Community Meetings for Homeless Response Strategy (Flyer)
PTA News
ACE After-school Programs Starting Jan 2024
Nominating Committee
Golden Ticket Winners December 21 , 2023
Catherine L. RM: 1 Narek D. RM: 11
Davi Dos Santos RM: 2 Victor M. RM: 12
Gurjot S. RM: 3 Morgan W. RM: 12
Seowon H. RM: 4 Sarah G. RM: 14
Astrid R. RM: 5 Vika M. RM: 15
Parker H. RM: 6 Isabella L. RM: 16
Mira D. RM: 8 Aaron V. RM: 17
Bianca F. RM: 9 Julio R. RM: 18
Marco S. RM: 10 Ms. Zelenka
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A few reminders for morning drop-off
When dropping off students in the front driveway of the school in the morning:
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Students should be ready to leave their car without driver assistance. This means having backpacks, lunch boxes, and water bottles easy to grab, so they can exit the vehicle quickly.
If you must park, use the crosswalk to get from the parking lot across the driveway. Wait for a staff member to help cross.
Parent University: My Digital Tat2: Parent Education for Setting Healthy Boundaries Around Technology Use
Date: 1/18/24
Time: 6:30-7:45 pm Registration Link: Click here to register!
Kids are online more than ever in this post-COVID world, with increased use of digital technology for academics, entertainment, and social connection.
Join My Digital TAT2 for an engaging and informative live webinar on Thursday, January 18th from 6:30–7:45 PM.
Hear what young people are doing online and how they are affected by the latest apps and trends from the world of technology. Get strategies for how to support responsible, mindful, and healthy use of the internet, social media, and gaming. Learn what you can do to stay connected with your child as their online lives expand.
Recommended for all adults who support youth and want to learn thoughtful and supportive ways to navigate media together. For more information about My Digital TAT2 visit: www.mydigitaltat2.org
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DISTRICT NEWS
The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 p.m.
Some of the topics include:
* 2023 California Dashboard Update
* United Against Hate Week and #BetterTogether
* Joint Use Agreement Update
For meeting details and agenda, please click here: https://www.mvwsd.org/trustees.
Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday, Jan. 12
Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, Jan. 12 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Spanish interpretation will be provided. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/CC112
Student enrollment in MVWSD for next year and school info meetings coming up!
Enrollment for next fall for all students in the Mountain View Whisman School District will be open in two weeks.
For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 22 to February 9.
Please encourage families who are enrolling NEW students in grades TK-8 to attend one or more of these upcoming meetings:
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Jan 10: Virtual school information nights for neighborhood schools (Click here for meeting links: http://mvw.sd/meetings)
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Jan 11: Virtual school information nights for choice schools - Mistral and Stevenson Elementary Schools (Click here for meeting links: http://mvw.sd/meetings)
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Jan: 18: Virtual school information night for Transitional Kindergartners (Meeting link: http://mvw.sd/TK118)
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Jan 17: At Theuerkauf Elementary, 1:30 - 4 p.m.: In-person school exploration event for Kindergartners incoming to all school sites. Representatives from choice schools will be available.
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Jan 24: At Castro Elementary, 2-4 p.m.: In-person school exploration events for Kindergartners incoming to all school sites. Representatives from choice schools will be available.
For families enrolling NEW students, please prepare to register your student:
Learn more about the documents you’ll need. Click here for the video. Please check www.mvwsd.org/register to locate your neighborhood school, how to explore school options and the four steps to register during the enrollment period held January 22 to February 9.
For Fifth-Grade Families: Middle School Info Night on Jan. 22
Please join us at this fun and informative virtual event. It is an opportunity for you and your fifth-grader to learn about middle school life. You will have the opportunities to hear from our principals, information about courses, tips on how to be successful at middle school and ask any questions you may have. Future 6th grade students are encouraged to join!
Date: January 22, 2024
Crittenden at 5:30 p.m. Meeting link: http://mvw.sd/CR122
Graham at 6:30 p.m. Meeting link: http://mvw.sd/GR122
The District is beginning its annual process of updating the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan)
This input collected will guide the update of our District plan for the 2024-25 school year. Look for a meeting at your school to learn more about the LCAP process.
Please click on your unique survey link sent to your email on Jan. 29. Your responses are confidential. Students in grades 4-8 will also be taking the LCAP survey. More information found here: mvwsd.org/LCAP
The 2024-25 district calendar is available
The school-year calendar for next year is now available online here.
Mentor Tutor Connection - VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SESSION. (Flyer)
Join us for a lively volunteer event, and learn how you can become a mentor and/or tutor in the Mountain View and Los Altos public schools. Wednesday January 17, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, El Camino YMCA, 2400 Grant Road, Mountain View. Find out how you can help a local student to a brighter future. To register go to www.mentortutorconnection.org/events - or email [email protected].
SELPA 1 CAC Parent Education Event: Assistive Technology
SELPA 1 CAC, Palo Alto CAC and the PAUSD PATCH team are pleased to host a Zoom panel on Assistive Technology! Assistive Technology (AT) can help with communication and accessing curriculum for a wide variety of students, from those who have specific learning disabilities to dyslexia, ADHD to hearing challenges, unique visual needs or those students who are non-verbal. Learn more about this key part of your student's educational toolkit from the Assistive Technology specialists from PAUSD.
Meeting Live on Zoom: January 17, 9:30 AM. Register here
Have a question about Assistive Technology for the panel? Submit here
Interested in more of our past Parent Education events? Check out our Youtube Channel
The View Teen Center: January (Flyer)
The View Teen Center is a free facility in Mountain View (263 Escuela Ave) for all Mountain View and Los Altos 6th - 12th grade students. Drop-in hours are Monday - Friday, 3:15 - 7 p.m. and Saturdays, 1 - 6 p.m., and the center features a game room, makerspace, kitchen, computer/study room, outdoor area, and much more! See attached flier for details about upcoming events and programs in January or visit their webpage for more information.
City of MV: Community Meetings for Homeless Response Strategy (Flyer)
The City of Mountain View is seeking your input to create a Homelessness Response Strategy to address homelessness, assist the unhoused and respond to community needs. Take part in defining a clear vision and action plan to guide decisions about goals, actions, funding and programs!
The City is hosting two community forums to give all community members the opportunity to learn more about homelessness in our community and the City's planning process. The forums will be January 18 (In person at the Mountain View Community Center, 201 S. Rengstorff Ave.) and January 25 (via Zoom, register here). For the January 18 in-person forum, light refreshments will be served and childcare will be available. Interpretation services are available in Spanish, Chinese and Russian for both meetings.
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PTA News
ACE After-school Programs Starting Jan 2024
Planning for after school enrichment programs, starting in January, have begun. While some programs are still being finalized, you can begin registering here: https://www.javargaspta.org/after-school-programs
Contact [email protected] with any questions.
Nominating Committee
We are looking for five volunteers to form our Nominating Committee. This is an important part of our PTA Association with very minimal time commitment. Committee members will help to find candidates for next year's open board positions. Please contact [email protected] for further information.
Kimberly Cheng, and the PTA Executive Board
[email protected]