Dear Golden Owls,
It is the last week of school, and it is such a bittersweet moment. I am thrilled that we had the opportunity to grow as a community. We completed our first year as a school and it should be a joyous occasion celebrating our achievement. At the same time, I know many in our community are struggling financially, emotionally, and socially, and it is indeed harder to find a reason to celebrate with so much suffering. Please remember that it is times like these where we most need each other. I hope that you all have an enjoyable summer break, and we can’t wait to see you next school year!
Stay Healthy
Principal Vern Taylor
Volunteer Appreciation
The Vargas Staff would like to thank all of those who have volunteered to make Vargas a success. We were planning to host a volunteer appreciation breakfast, but because of COVID-19, we altered the plan a little. Please know that we appreciate you so very much. Click here to view video.
Staffing Updates
We will bid fond farewells to some of our staff at the end of this year as they move on to new life adventures. Thank you, Ms. Fu, Mr. Flowers, and Mr. Joseph Rodriquez, our custodian for your work this past year.
While Ms. Hamaguchi will no longer be teaching first grade at Vargas, we hope to see her again as she will be the district’s new technology coach!
We are very pleased to welcome several new faces to Vargas. In first grade, we have Grace Chavez and Erika Valle joining us from Castro and Mistral respectively. In third grade, We have Deanna Mai and Jane Kwon joining us from Monta Loma. In Fourth grade, we have Nastassia Hamor joining us from Bubb. Fifth grade, we have Justin Gorman joining us from Landels. We will also be adding an additional STEAM teacher, Sandy Butchko, who most recently taught at Landels.
Vargas will also have some familiar faces in new places next year. We’re excited to have Amanda Chung teaching Kindergarten full-time, Anne Hanneman teaching 2nd grade, and Matt Hillman teaching 5th grade. We know they will do great work in these new roles.
Finally, we will be welcoming a new School Psychologist, and a new custodian next year as well. I will keep you posted when hiring is completed.
Based on our enrollment we are currently planning on the following classroom configurations for next year. Enrollment continues through the summer, so it is possible that this can change. I continue to monitor enrollment and staffing throughout the summer. Stay tuned for details.
Library Book Return
If your child still has a Vargas Library book, we will be collecting them on the following dates 6/3, 6/4, and 6/5 from 8:00 AM-2:00 PM. To ensure safety, we will use a contactless drop-off. Parents will use the drive-through loop to drop books on a cart outside the main office.
Report Cards
Due to COVID-19 school closure beginning on March 18, 2020 and per the direction of the MVWSD Board of Trustees, students will not be given grades for the last trimester of the 2019-20 school year. However, parents will receive a report on June 5 by email with short comments from teachers and information about children’s participation in online learning.
Chromebook Problems
If you are having issues with Chromebooks issued by the school district, please contact Technology at 650-526-3252 or [email protected].
If your personal device breaks and you are unable to get another, please contact Principal Taylor.
Calendar
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Thursday, June 4, 2020
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Promotion Ceremonies- Bubb, Castro, Huff, Mistral, and Monta Loma
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Friday, June 5, 2020
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Promotion Ceremonies Landels, Stevenson, Theurkauf, Graham, and Crittenden
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Reclassification Ceremony
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PTA Year-End Event June 5th
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Wednesday, June 9, 2020
Superintendents coffee at schools Vargas and Landels 9:30AM. Register in advance for this meeting: Click Here
Superintendents coffee at schools Vargas and Landels
Please mark your calendars! Dr. Rudolph will be hosting a Superintendents coffee with Vargas and Landels June 9, 2020 at 9:30AM. Register in advance for this meeting.
Summer Learning
MVWSD will be offering a Summer Learning Plan for all grade levels. This student/parent-directed program will help students keep their skills up over the summer, as well as enrich them in areas of our Profile of a Graduate. We encourage your child to participate. More information will be coming soon!
District Food Distribution - Good News!
We are now serving dinner, in addition to breakfast and lunch, and on Fridays enough meals will be provided for the weekend as well. Just come to the food distribution in front of Mistral Elementary between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. M-F.
Virtual Promotions and Reclassification Ceremonies, June 4, 5
Mark your calendar for video celebrations presented online that we hope you and your students will enjoy. See http://www.mvwsd.org/promotions for ceremony login information through PowerSchool. In order to better secure the videos and protect students’ privacy, the virtual ceremonies will be available for viewing on the ceremony date only. Families may view the video as many times as they want and at their convenience during the ceremony day.
The video celebration for English Learner Reclassification is scheduled for 1:00 pm, Friday, June 5. You may watch it throughout the day.
To view your child's promotion ceremony/reclassification, please log in to your Powerschool parent portal at https://ps.mvwsd.org/public/ using your username and password.
Important: Please check that your access to Powerschool is working before the ceremony. If you cannot log in, please email your school 24 hours before the ceremony.
Dear JA Vargas Families,
Your PTA wants to help you celebrate the end of our first year as a community and the start of summer vacation with some well-deserved ICE CREAM! Mister Softee Ice Cream Truck will be making 2 stops within our school boundaries on Friday, June 5th. The JA Vargas PTA will be providing ice cream for the students, siblings, parents and staff during this great afternoon.
Here are the guidelines for getting your goodies!
· Please wear your Vargas Green Shirt the day of the event to ensure that you will receive something from the truck
· If you DON’T have a Vargas Green Shirt the PTA will provide a PASSWORD posted in your Google Classroom and on Konstella on the morning of Friday, June 5th.
· Siblings, parents, and staff of JA Vargas students will be able to receive ice cream
· You can order anything from the menu
· CRITICAL: Please, maintain social distancing standards the entire time while present getting your treats. Mr. Softee will LEAVE if social distancing is not maintained.
Mister Softee will be at the following locations on June 5th:
Be sure to check your emails or Google Classroom in the morning before heading to get your ice cream!!!
The PTA at JA Vargas looks forward to our continued partnership into the next school year!