Principal’s Message:
Dear Golden Owls,
All Vargas students (K-5) will be taking their second round iReady Reading assessment on Tuesday 12/8 and Thursday 12/10. We use the iReady data to inform our instruction. The data may help us form groupings for small group math or reading instruction. It also helps us identify standards that students have already mastered, as well as areas of focus during first instruction.
Please remember that families are not proctoring the assessment for their students. Students will log in to their Zoom session with their teacher. Teachers will be on Zoom to monitor in real-time your child’s participation in the assessment. As parents/ guardians, you play a very important role in supporting your child before they take the diagnostic assessments.
Below are some tips you may find useful to help prepare your child for the virtual diagnostic assessment:
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Explain to your child that it is important to do his/her best.
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Remind your children to work out their problems and pace themselves
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Make sure your child has a distraction-free area to take the assessment
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Teachers will live proctor the assessment
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During the Zoom assessment session, your child’s camera must be on and audio be enabled when asked by the teacher
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Do not help your child during the assessment
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Encourage your child to stay steady, focused, and do his/her best.
Remember that it is important to support a growth mindset by encouraging your children to try their best and then giving them the space to take the assessment and problem solve on their own.
Our district is holding an iReady Parent Workshop please see details below:
Are you curious about the i-Ready platform and how you can support your student at home? Please join us for a virtual i-Ready parent workshop on December 10, 2020 at 5:30 - 6:30 PM. This session will provide parents with an overview of i-Ready and answer parents’ frequently asked questions about how i-Ready elevates instruction.
Click here to register. Spanish interpretation is available for this workshop.
We want to answer your questions. In advance of the workshop, please email questions to Ms. Swati Dagar, Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment atsdagar@mvwsd.org by Friday, December 4, 2020.
Thank you so much for your support.
In Partnership,
Principal Taylor
Events Calendar
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12/2 - Principal Virtual Office Hours, 4pm - 5pm Register Here
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12/4 - CANCELLED - ELAC Virtual Meeting, 4pm - 5pm
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12/9 - Principal Virtual Office Hours, 4pm - 5pm Register Here
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12/9 - Kinder Info Night, 6pm Register Here
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12/14 - MVWSD Board of Trustee Meeting, 6pm - 10pm
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12/16 - Principal Virtual Office Hours, 4pm - 5pm Register Here
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12/18 - Principal’s Coffee (Virtual), 4pm - 5pm Register Here
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12/21 - 1/1/2021 - Holiday Break - No School
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1/4/2021 - Teacher in Service Day - No School
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1/5/2021 - Distance Learning Resumes
In this Newsletter
School News
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Golden Ticket Winners
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Material Pick-up 4th & 5th grade only & book return
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Kinder Info Night - December 9th - Register here
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Virtual Art Fair at Vargas!
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Powering Down Chromebooks
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Principal Virtual Office Hours
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Technology Support
District News
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Cafecito with the Superintendent on Dec. 3 - Register here
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Winter Wonderland stories- Flyer
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LAMV PTA Council and SELPA 1 CAC present Distance Learning Toolkit: Increasing Focus Through a Sensory Lens - Flyer
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Upcoming MVEF Phonathon
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School meetings coming up in December - District New Student/Kinder Info Night Register Here
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Parcel Tax Oversight Committee seeks community representatives
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MVLA holiday tree lot - Flyer
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Getting Ready for the ELPAC information sessions, Dec. 15 and Jan. 12
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Struggling to help your child with “the new math”?
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Parent University
PTA News
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Message for the PTA
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Spirit Wear
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Amazon
Golden Ticket Winners - Week 11/30/2020
Adrian F RM: 1 Bopie C RM: 10
Suri L RM: 2 Abby D RM: 12
Jay-Yun H RM: 3 Santiago R RM: 13
Annie D RM: 4 Emily S RM: 15
Gaius T RM: 5 Stella H RM: 16
Adan S RM: 9 Isabella F RM: 17
You can stop by the office to pick up your prize! You may stop by on Monday or Wednesday from 11:30am to 2:00pm.
Material Pick-up 4th and 5th grade only & Book Return
Material distribution on Thursday, December 3rd and Friday, December 4th from 8am to 2pm. Please come at any time during the allotted time on either Thursday or Friday to pick up your child's materials.
Please write your child’s first and last name, room number, and grade level on a piece of paper and place it on your passenger window. Please drive up to the MUR; a staff member will greet you with a mask and gloves, and place the items in your trunk.
Kinder Info Night - December 9th - Register here
School kindergarten/new student information nights are online on December 9 at 6:00 p.m. for all elementary schools, and include choice school information.
For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 18- 22.
For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 11 through Feb. 5, 2021 online. You can register your child for the 2021-22 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register
Virtual Art Fair at Vargas!
We are having our first Virtual Art Fair at Vargas! Although we can’t see each other’s wonderful creations on campus, we can share and experience it virtually. As we wrap up 2020, we would love to see your creations that express
1. How do you express your gratitude in your culture, family, community?
2. What are you thankful for?
Please submit photos/scans of your artwork to the following google drive folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17EUykYJ_mxkJVGfUENxeN8uI1VL4Bf0G?usp=sharing
Make sure that you name the photo with the student’s name, grade and a short description if desired.
For those who would like to directly add their artwork to the presentation and/or have multiple creations; you can also update the following:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cJItwyM2JzsMrBnEQdktiqdd-Nb92UR8/view?usp=sharing
Powering Down Chromebooks Daily
Reminder to please power down your child's chromebooks daily. Powering down Chromebooks daily or every other day helps the system update and run smoother. Please remember to close all tabs then shut down.
Principal Virtual Office Hour
Please drop in my Principal Hours today to ask your questions. Register Here. (Translation is available)
Technology Support:
If you are having problems with the chromebook you can contact: support@mvwsd.orgto create a ServiceNow ticket or call the Tech Department at
(650) 526-3252.
District News
Cafecito with the Superintendent on Dec. 3
Join us for an informal meeting for Spanish-speaking parents with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Thursday, Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m. Interpretation will be provided. Please register in advance for this meeting here: http://mvw.sd/pB7CP. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Winter Wonderland stories - Flyer - Dec. 10th
The Mountain View public library is holding winter wonderland story time on December 10. Please see the flyer for details.
LAMV PTA Council and SELPA 1 CAC present Distance Learning Toolkit: Increasing Focus Through a Sensory Lens - Flyer
Thursday December 3, 7-8:30 PM. A talk with Lisa Kaplan Shanaan, MS OTR/L TMHP
How do you stay engaged? How do you calm down when excited, or pep up when you are zoned out? You may know your own body and the tricks that work for you, but children are still working this out. It is especially difficult to learn self-regulation when involved in distance learning on screens for hours a day. Come learn from Lisa Kaplan Shaanan, an occupational therapist and trainer, who has been working with children birth thru 18 years old for more than 30 years. She will recommend tools and techniques useful to help all children discover their best ways to self-regulate and really learn and stay engaged during the Zoom school day.
Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distance-learning-toolkit-increasing-focus-through-a-sensory-lens-tickets-128302360815
Upcoming MVEF Phonathon
Our Phonathon is coming up in December and we would love you to save us both a call!
We hope this serves as a gentle reminder to donate to MVEF today and support your child and every child in the district! The majority of our funding comes from donations from parents like you!
Make a difference, save us both a call and donate today at mvef.org/donate.
School meetings coming up in December. Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January
School and District information meetings are coming up in December. Please visitwww.mvwsd.org/register for a list of these events and for login information.
Gabriela Mistral: Dual Spanish/English Immersion: December 15 at 6 pm
Stevenson: Parent Child Teacher: December 16 at 6 pm
Choice schools will also have information at the elementary schools’ info nights (6 p.m. Dec. 9).
For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 18- 22.
For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 11 through Feb. 5, 2021 online. You can register your child for the 2021-22 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register
Parcel Tax Oversight Committee seeks community representatives
The District is seeking two individuals to serve on the Parcel Tax Oversight Committee for the Measure B Parcel Tax.
Representatives monitor, provide oversight, and ensure accountability to the funds received by the District, including an annual report to the Board regarding the actual uses of such funds.
Applications can be mailed to: Mountain View Whisman School District, Attn: Dr. Rebecca Westover, Chief Business Officer, 1400 Montecito Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043 or emailed to mayala@mvwsd.org. Applications are due December 11th at 2:00 pm.
Application: http://mvw.sd/PTOC
Questions? Please e-mail Dr. Rebecca Westover, Chief Business Officer, atrwestover@mvwsd.org
MVLA holiday tree lot - Flyer
MVLA is holding its annual holiday tree lot this year. See the attached flyer for information.
Getting Ready for the ELPAC information sessions, Dec. 15 and Jan. 12
The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) is administered every year to our English Learner (EL) students. To learn more about this assessment, the role it plays in the education of every EL, and how to help your child prepare, please join us for one of the following meetings:
5:00-5:30 in English: https://zoom.us/j/92673835582
5:30-6:00 in Spanish: https://zoom.us/j/94603257266
5:00-5:30 in English: https://zoom.us/j/93307939185
5:30-6:00 in Spanish: https://zoom.us/j/93709174683
Struggling to help your child with “the new math”?
We’ve all been there. Luckily, Parent University and Principal Heidi Galassi are here to introduce you to the Common Core Math Appreciation Club: Heidi joined us last week in a hilarious and engaging session, and we’ve recorded it for your viewing pleasure any time! You’ll learn about the difference between math as memorization and conceptualization, strategies to use to help with word problems, how to have a math conversation with your child, and many more insights. Watch the video (or just listen to it like a podcast) at www.mvwsd.org/parentu
If you haven't been able to attend one of the Parent University nights this year, you can find the recordings all online (in English and Spanish). Listen at your own convenience to these great programs that support parents in supporting their students.
Past topics:
- Mental Health Awareness and Resources
- Distance Learning Support Resources
- Increasing Student Engagement with Literacy from Home
- Raising Digitally Resilient Children and Teens during Quarantine
- Supporting Students at Home with Math
https://www.mvwsd.org/parentu
Parent University
Missed the last one? Fear not: all of our 2020-21 events are recorded and posted online. Come check out our learning sessions - mental health, distance learning, literacy at home, raising digitally resilient kids - at www.mvwsd.org/parentu. And, mark your calendars for the next event on November 18 at 5:30 p.m. about supporting math at home, featuring former math teacher and coach, Principal Heidi Galassi of Landels Elementary. Details to come soon!
Vargas PTA
Message from the PTA
The PTA Executive Board is incredibly thankful for everyone who has supported us as becoming a PTA Member this year, volunteered to help, and have donated to help our students and school. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Spirit Wear!
Do you have your JA Vargas Sweatshirts to keep warm this winter? Order by Thursday any week and pick up that Friday curbside across from the school! Place your orderHERE!
Amazon
If you shop through Amazon, please shop through the Amazon Smile portal for Vargas:https://smile.amazon.com/ch/90-1257353 A percentage of sales through this link goes back to the school.