Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher appreciation week began this week. We are very fortunate to have wonderful teachers and staff that make Vargas a special place. They are working hard under unusual circumstances. If you haven’t already, I’m sure they would greatly appreciate a brief message of encouragement, support, or thanks!
School Reopening Focus Group
MVWSD is seeking representative groups of parents, students, teachers, and staff members for school reopening focus groups. Four volunteers are needed per school site. The focus groups will explore desires and concerns for school reopening.
Focus groups will meet twice (once in May and again in June) and each group will focus on a stage: Schools closed, Targeted opening, Open with Restrictions, Full opening. To apply to be a focus group member, please complete an application found here by May 16 and contact your school principal.
Spring Pictures
For those who ordered spring pictures, please know that we are working with Lifetouch to make sure that you receive your pictures. Once we have received them, we will be connecting with families to arrange for distribution.
Gift Card Donation
I hope you and your families are staying healthy during this unprecedented time As you may know, there are several families in our district that need help to meet some basic needs. The district is providing 2 meals a day M-F. With kids being home from school, some families need more support for providing dinner and weekend meals. There is a critical need for gift cards for these families to use for food. If you are able, please consider donating a gift card to families in our own district. Thanks so much for your help! Let’s show these families how strong and supportive our Vargas community really is!
Things to remember:
Gift cards should only be for Safeway and should be electronic. (https://www.giftcardmall.com/e-gift-cards/safeway-egift-card)
Electronic gift cards should be sent to our school and community engagement facilitator, Ms. Bea, at [email protected].
Families are welcome to donate more than 1 gift card.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Bea at [email protected].
Check-in with the Superintendent: Friday, May 8
Please join us for an online check-in with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. He will be covering some of the topics on parents’ minds, as well as taking questions. These check-ins will be held on a regular basis on Fridays. For login information, on May 8 please click on www.mvwsd.org.
InPlay home activities
With extended time sheltering-in-place, InPlay, MVWSD's partner for out-of-school learning, has created a list of home-based, instructor-led programs offered by your favorite local providers to keep your students active and engaged! Please check it out. https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view/discover
Distance Learning Tips
Here are a few tips that might help you and your student with Distance Learning. Do you have any tried and true methods of helping your students’ school days be more efficient and your family’s life a little easier? Share them here. http://mvw.sd/37PbG
Giving choice and voice: When looking at the assignments given for the day, have your child choose which ones he or she would like to do first, second, etc. Giving choice and voice to your child will give him/her independence as well as the confidence to do the work.
Divide and conquer: When working on the assignments, chunk the work into small, manageable pieces. Have your child work for 15-20 minutes and then have them do a preferred activity (coloring, legos, etc.) for 5 minutes and then back to the assignment for another 15-20 minutes. Setting a timer or cell phone reminder is a helpful auditory “cue” for you and your student to take a break and check on each other.
Use your tools: Before starting the day, talk about which tools your child will use for the day. He or she can use the courage “tool” to persevere through the assignments or the “breathing” tool when something is difficult or tough to manage.
Kids are stuck on a question? Your child’s teachers’ have office hours Monday through Thursday to answer questions from families or students. This is a great time for your child to connect with his/her teacher, and practice speaking to adults and asking for help. (Teachers are not available 11:30 am to 1:30 pm to allow you, students, and staff to take care of other matters and our own families)
MVWSD is planning for reopening for the 2020-21 school year.
These plans will cover 14 dimensions: Governance, Health and Wellness, Equity, Curriculum, Human Capital, Nutrition, Facilities, Operations, Instruction, Resurgence, Enrollment, Communication, Technology, Finance. We'll define operations under each stage of reopening: Schools closed, Targeted opening, Open with Restrictions, Full opening using guidance from Santa Clara County Public Health and the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
To view the presentation to the Board of Trustees, please click here.
Next steps include: Activate the Reopening Task Force (composed of teachers, classified staff, and administrators); continue to adapt our Distance Learning Plan; and get feedback from our stakeholders.
The goal is to adapt our learning environment for any scenario and make it nimble enough to adjust in the event that COVID-19 resurges later in the year. We will work with all stakeholders to vet the viability of any options. This is a community public health crisis, and we need community feedback
Internet browsers: How to switch languages
If you want to read our website in a language other than English, or you know someone who does, note our attached flyer with instructions on how to do so.
2020 Census Paper Questionnaires are on their way to Californians!
If you’re among the 70+ million households who have already responded to the 2020 Census, thank you! If you haven’t completed it yet, paper questionnaires are in the mail headed your way. Households receiving the paper questionnaire can still respond online or by phone, or they can return it by mail in the enclosed envelope. When you respond online, use the Census ID from the letter or provide your address. To respond now, go to https://go.usa.gov/xdKjk.
Please encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to complete it too. It’s something everyone can do while practicing social distancing at home to make a difference today, tomorrow, and the next 10 years.
Parents Role in Distance Learning:
We understand the challenges of supporting your child’s Distance Learning while balancing other responsibilities. We are here to help you help them. For more information and guidance, please check this site from our District.
How MVWSD is securing video conferencing:
Please know that our district is doing all that it can to ensure online security with video conferencing. For more information, click here.
FAQs about MVWSD’s Distance Learning and COVID-19 school closure:
If you have questions about the school closures, there is a lot of useful information from our district here.
MV Parent U: Online film screening of “Angst,” raising anxiety awareness
MV Parent U presents "Angst," a 56-minute film that explores anxiety, its causes, effects and treatments on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 6:00 PM - Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 9:00 PM.
Angst features candid interviews with kids and young adults who suffer, or have suffered, from anxiety and what they’ve learned about it. The film includes discussions with mental health experts about the causes of anxiety and its sociological effects, as well as help, resources and tools.
To reserve your free spot for this online event, please register here by May 6 at noon: https://angstfilm.eventbrite.com
17TH ANNUAL MVWSD INTERSCHOLASTIC CHESS TOURNAMENT
17AMICT is forging ahead and will be held this year despite COVID-19! The tournament will be online this year and will be held Sunday, May 31, 2020, from 11:30 to 5:00. Full instructions and registration are at tinyurl.com/mvwsdchess. The registration deadline is May 29. Come take part in one of the few events this school year going on as scheduled. Contact Mark Ruzon, Tournament Director, at [email protected] with any questions.