Wise Word - 08/19/2020

Principal’s Message:

Dear Golden Owls,

It’s been an exciting start to the school year! As I have observed in classrooms, I’m delighted to see how well our students are adapting to their virtual learning environment. With anything new, we still have some work to do, however, I know that if we continue working as a community we can ensure that our Golden Owls have the best virtual learning experience. I will have my first virtual office hours today at 4:00 PM. Please stop in and ask your questions or simply say hello!

We appreciate you for supporting our school and students,

Mr. Taylor

 


Events Calendar

  • 8/19/20 - Principal’s Virtual Office Hours, 4pm - 5pm
  • 8/20/20 - MVWSD Board of Trustee Meeting, 6pm - 10pm
  • 8/26/20 - Principal’s Virtual Office Hours, 4pm - 5pm
  • 8/26/20 - Back to School Night, 6pm - 7:30pm (More information to come)
  • 8/28/20 - Principal’s Virtual Coffee, 4pm - 5pm

 

In this Newsletter

 

School News

  • Math and Social Studies Materials Distribution Dates
  • Monday Morning Assembly and The Vargas Way
  •  Back to School Night
  • Right At School 
  • Attendance and Participation
  • Principal’s Virtual Office Hours
  • School & Community Engagement Facilitator (SCEF)
  • Meal Pick-up at Vargas
  • EZMeal Application Help
  • Vargas News and Updates

District News

  • Digital resources for parents to help students
  • ELPAC Language Assessment
  • School Photos
  • Free COVID testing at El Camino Healthcare
  • Mentor Tutor Connection Volunteer Information Session - September 10th

PTA News

  • General Association Meeting, 8/26/2020
  • Konstella
  • Become a Member
  • Amazon

Math and Social Studies Materials
Our Math and Social Studies student materials have arrived. We have 3 different dates available for pick up. Please plan to pick-up on one of the days that best works for you; Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

Pick up  time blocks on Thursday, August 20, 2020

Time

8:30-:9:30

9:30-10:30

10:30-11:15

1:30- 2:30

Last Name

Last Name 

A-D

Last Name 

E-L

Last Name 

M-R

Last Name 

S-Z

*The names and times are spaced such that we do not have all families coming to campus at one time. This serves to limit the number of interactions.

OR

Pick up  time blocks on  Friday, August 21, 2020

Time

8:30-:9:30

9:30-10:30

10:30-11:15

1:30- 2:30

Last Name

Last Name 

A-D

Last Name 

E-L

Last Name 

M-R

Last Name 

S-Z

*The names and times are spaced such that we do not have all families coming to campus at one time. This serves to limit the number of interactions.

OR

Pick up  time blocks on  Saturday, August 22, 2020

Time

8:00-:9:00

9:00-10:00

11:00-12:00

12:00- 1:00

Last Name

Last Name 

A-D

Last Name 

E-L

Last Name 

M-R

Last Name 

S-Z

*The names and times are spaced such that we do not have all families coming to campus at one time. This serves to limit the number of interactions.


Pick-up Procedure (Preferred Method)

We will be doing a "drive-through" pick-up. Before arriving write down your child's grade level on a piece of paper and place it on the passenger window. Please pull into the front parking lot in front of the MUR and a staff member will be there (masked and gloved) to distribute materials.  Please open your trunk or back hatch and we will place them in the car for you. 


Walk-up Procedure

If you are not using a car, Please walk up to the designated spot in front of the MUR. (We will have signs indicating the correct location and appropriate spacing.) A staff member will be there (masked and gloved) to distribute materials.   


Before coming to campus please do the following Self-check:

1. Do you have any of these symptoms that are not caused by another condition? 

• Fever or chills     • Recent loss of taste or smell    • Cough      • Sore throat 

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing      • Congestion        • Fatigue       • Nausea or vomiting      • Muscle or body aches   • Diarrhea     • Headache 


2. Within the past 14 days, have you had contact with anyone that you know had COVID-19 or COVID-like symptoms? Contact is being 6 feet (2 meters) or closer for more than 15 minutes with a person, or having direct contact with fluids from a person with COVID-19 (for example, being coughed or sneezed on). 


3. Have you had a positive COVID-19 test for active virus in the past 10 days? 4. Within the past 14 days, has a public health or medical professional told you to self-monitor, self-isolate, or self-quarantine because of concerns about COVID-19 infection?


If you answer yes to any of the questions, please contact the school, and we will arrange for an alternate delivery method for your family. Our office staff contact: Ms. Evelyn Tellez, School Secretary: [email protected] or (650) 903-6952 ext. 3203

Ms. Silvia McElye, Clerical Assistant: [email protected] or (650) 903-6952 ext. 3204

Ms. Beatriz Claas, Engagement Facilitator: [email protected] or (650) 903-6952 ext. 3404

 

Monday Morning Assembly and The Vargas Way 

This week our teachers will be introducing, reviewing, and reinforcing the Vargas Way. The Vargas Way is the school-wide behavior expectations we have for all of our Golden Owls. Please click here to check out our updated school-wide behavior expectations for virtual school. 

 

Parents, we recognize that you will be working with your students, and we would like to extend you the opportunity to give out Golden Tickets as well. To submit a Golden Ticket, use the following link

 

On Monday mornings, we will post our weekly morning message celebrating our students who are showing the Vargas Way. Remind your students to wear their Vargas green and help us recognize students who have earned a Golden ticket for demonstrating the Vargas way--Being Respectful, Being Responsible, Being kind, and being an upstander. 

 

Back to School Night 

Families, you are cordially invited to our annual Back to School Night on Wednesday, August  26, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. BTSN is an important opportunity for families to learn about their children’s virtual classrooms, grade level programming, and general expectations. We will have two sessions to accommodate families with multiple children and allow them the opportunity to visit more than one classroom that night. Session one will begin at 6:00 p.m. and session two will begin at 6:45 p.m..  See you on August  26! 

 

Our STEAM teachers, Ms. Bisbee and Ms. Butchko, our Education specialists Mrs. Levy and Ms. Kato, and I will also be hosting two sessions. Feel free to stop by our Zoom rooms!  Teachers will be sharing all links with parents this upcoming Monday.

Right At School 

Right At School will be partnering with Mountain View Whisman School District in providing care for families. We are providing full-day and half-day camps hosted at Crittenden Middle School and Stevenson/District Offices for all district students. Registration is now open for our second location located at Stevenson. Please follow this link for our pre-registration application: https://rightatschool.com/districts/mountain-view-ca/

 

Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

 

Attendance and Participation

Positive school outcomes are directly related to student attendance.  Like in physical school, students are expected to attend school daily. School starts at 8:00am and attendance will be taken during our regular morning meetings.  If you are absent or have an appointment, please know that you will need to follow our normal routine of reporting absences. 

You can report by calling our front office at (650) 903-6952 or emailing our front office staff [email protected]  and [email protected]. Similarly, school work and participation are not optional. Teachers will be completing participation grades daily. If your child is having difficulty with distance learning, our staff is available to support your family.

 

Principal’s Virtual Office Hours

This year I will host Principal Office Hours virtually on Wednesdays from 4pm -5pm. Feel free to drop in if you have any questions or if you just want to chat.

Register in advance for this meeting.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.


School & Community Engagement Facilitator (SCEF)

As part of Vargas’s plan, we have a School and Community Engagement Facilitator who will work to ensure that every student, family, and community member will feel valued and supported while working, learning, and partnering with our school. Here at Vargas, Bea Claas is our School and Community Engagement Facilitator. She specifically focuses on students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or English learners and works to organize parent education, provide translation services, and support positive student behavior. Bea’s overall goal is to increase parent education and engagement, support our PTA and ELAC parent groups, and form strong relationships with students and families. She can be reached at [email protected]

 

Meal Pick-up at Vargas

Vargas will be serving breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday, starting on Monday, August 17th from 11:30am - 12:30pm at the roundabout by the MUR.


EZ Meal Application Help

Free or reduced price meal benefit status from last year can be used to pay for lunches until Sept. 30. We can assist you  in applying for free or reduced price meal benefits through the National Lunch Program and can process applications quickly. Applications are at http://www.ezmealapp.com.  Deadline is Sept. 21st. 


If you need help, our office staff is available to help you.  Please email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]


Vargas News and Updates: 

Stay current with the latest Vargas news and updates: read the weekly newsletter sent home every Week and posted on our website, follow us on Facebook, check out the PTA’s Facebook Page and PTA’s website.

 

 


District News

Digital resources for parents to help students

Stuck on how to use Google Classroom? Wondering how to best support your student in Distance Learning? This summer, we’ve been at work on a new Parent U resources page full of tips for navigating the tech and procedures of the new school year. 

 

These resources are designed by and curated by MVWSD teachers to be most useful for our parents. 

Technology How-To Videos (on Chromebooks, SeeSaw, i-Ready, Clever, Zoom and more)

Supporting Distance Learning (Tips and resources)

Mental Health Tips (Managing anxiety and stress at home)

 

All are available in English and Spanish at https://www.mvwsd.org/parentu.

 

ELPAC Language Assessment

Mountain View is a beautifully diverse place where hundreds of languages are spoken. In some instances, children from households where a non-English language is spoken need additional help at school to become fluent in English. To make sure that we identify all such children, all public school districts in California are required to do an initial language assessment called the Initial ELPAC. (English Learner Performance Assessment of California).

 

A letter was sent out last week to all families with children who meet the criteria for the Initial ELPAC. The letter describes the rationale and details for the assessment and invites families to follow up with any questions they may have. Additionally, the following link is a helpful resource for parents/guardians to understand the test better and to help prepare their children.

 

A Parent Guide to Understanding ELPAC Initial English (also contains information about the Summative ELPAC, which is a similar test at the end of the school year.)

 

We understand that the beginning of the school year is a busy time, especially under these extraordinary circumstances. Based on current guidance from the California Department of Education, the Initial ELPAC this fall will be administered remotely. Details to come. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Claudia Navarrete via email at [email protected].

 

School Photos

This year all schools will be postponing our annual student photos to ensure the health and safety of students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Once conditions are safer and students can return to school, we will work with LifeTouch to reschedule student photos. Thank you for your understanding.

 

Free COVID testing at El Camino Healthcare

El Camino Healthcare District is offering free COVID-19 testing in Mountain View for anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in the healthcare district. You do not need to have insurance to get tested or provide proof of residency.  

Note that this is NOT the antibody test. This is a test that tells you whether or not you are positive for COVID-19 on the day of the test. Tests are required to be scheduled in advance and are available Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please call 650-940-7022 to schedule your free test. For more information on testing and locations, go to elcaminohealth.org/covid19testing.

 

Mentor Tutor Connection Volunteer Information Session - September 10th

You can change the life of a student!

Come learn about volunteer opportunities to Mentor high school students and Tutor students in grades K-8  in our Mountain View and Los Altos schools.

Becoming a Mentor or Tutor will add joy to your life and help a student in our local community to a brighter future!

There is no obligation to sign up as a volunteer.  You're welcome to just come and learn more about what we do.

 

Please note: Mentor Tutor programs are currently remote and will remain so until students are back in school and the school district permits volunteers in the classroom

 

All volunteers must be high school graduates.  

Date:             Thursday, September 10th

Time:           5:00 - 6:00 pm

Location:     Online via Zoom (URL provided upon registration)

Register:   REGISTER ONLINE  

Questions: [email protected]

Information: MentorTutorConnection.org

 



Vargas PTA

General Association Meeting

Come to our first General Association Meeting on Wednesday, August 26th @ 4:30pm! Please Pre-register for this meeting.  Members can vote but everyone can join!

 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Aug 26, 2020 04:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkceuprz8qHtQ3EVnKTZzmfyfO6-tDLOxk

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Join Konstella:  Konstella is a great way for parents/guardians to connect with others in the same grade and classroom, as well as to join social groups and connect with your child’s teacher.  Visit our website for instructions on how to do this.  

Need help?  Contact Nayema at [email protected]


Become a Member!  Visit our webpage for a link or scan the QR code in your PTA guide sent home with your school materials!

 

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.
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