Wise Word, 2/16/2022

Principal’s Message:

Hello Golden Owls,

 

Can you believe it? This Friday marks the end of the second trimester for this school year! This year is flying by, and we only have one more trimester left in this school year. I want to again extend my gratitude for this wonderful community! All of your patience, handwork, and effort have made this year successful! Thank you for all of your support.


Just a gentle reminder that this week we have 2 minimum days, Thursday is our normal minimum day with dismissal at 11:55am. Friday, the last day of the trimester, will also be a minimum day with an 11:55am dismissal. 


COVID Test Kits

Parents and staff members will get at-home COVID test kits. Today, your child will be coming home with an at-home rapid antigen test kit before the start of February break. Staff and students should test on February 27, before returning to school on Monday, February 28. This is an additional safeguard in addition to continued masking, and ventilation. Please look for your kit in your child's backpack.


In Partnership, 


Principal Vern Taylor


Events Calendar

  • February

16th - Canceled - Principal Office Hours - Virtual 

16th - SSC Meeting - Virtual, 5:00pm - 6:00pm - Register Here

18th - Principals Coffee, 8:30am - 9:30am - Register Here

18th - End of Trimester - Minimum Day 

21st - 25th - Washington & Lincoln’s Birthday / Winter Break - No School 

  • March

1 - Spring Picture Day

1 - Canceled - Principal Office Hours - Virtual

1 - ELAC Meeting, 6:00pm - 7:00pm - Register Here

9 - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm -Register Here

10 - MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:00pm - 10:00pm

11 - Superintendent Community Check-in, 3:30pm - 4:30pm

14 - Teacher Service Day - No School 

16 - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here

23 - Principal Office Hours - Virtual, 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Register Here

23 - SSC Meeting - Virtual, 5:00pm - 6:00pm 

24 - MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:00pm - 10:00pm

25 -  Principals Coffee, 8:30am - 9:30am

25 - Superintendent Community Check-in, 3:30pm - 4:30pm

 



In this Newsletter

School News:

  • Golden Ticket Winners

  • Lost & Found

  • Returning for 2022-2023 School Year

  • Coaches Corner - Join your local library, get a library card

  • Principal’s Virtual Office Hours

Flyers:

  • 2022-2023 School Year Calendar - Here

  • Emergency Rental Assistance - 2/18

  • Emergency Rental Assistance - 2/22

 

District News:

  • Parent University: Bullying Prevention

  • MV Public Library hosts Family Draw-Along with Shawn Harris - Flier

  • February CAC Announcements - Flier

  • 2022 Silicon Valley Reads K-8 Career Fair: Feb. 26th - Flier

  • Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Calming Your Mind

  • Parcel Tax Oversight Committee seeks community representatives

  • Parent Involvement Board Policy

  • MVLA Parent Ed Speaker Series: Recordings Available

  • Help MVEF Exceed Fundraising Goal!


PTA News:

  • Teacub Boba & Snack -  Fundraiser 2/17 10am-8pm

  • PTA Roles

  • Konstella


Golden Ticket Winners - Week of 2/14/2022
Alexa P.         RM: 1       Estelle G.      RM: 11
Briana M.      RM: 2        Ian L.            RM: 13
Victoria A.     RM: 4       Chase D.        RM: 14
Hannah C.     RM: 5        Aadit S.         RM: 15
Lachlan M.   RM: 6        Boyuan C.      RM: 17
Dominic M.  RM: 8        Mr. Dechter.   RM: 11
Elliot R.        RM: 10

The Vargas Way - Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be an Upstander.

 

What are Golden Tickets?

Students earn Golden Tickets from teachers and staff when they are following the Vargas Way. What is 

The Vargas Way? Click here for an in depth view. 


Lost & Found
Our lost and found is overflowing with sweaters, jackets, water bottles, lunch bags. Please take a few minutes during drop off or pick-up to see if any items belong to your child. Anything not claimed by the end of the day on Monday, February 28th will be donated.

Returning for 2022-2023 School Year:

If you plan on moving during the summer or know your child will not return to our District for the 2022-2023 school year, please email our school secretary at [email protected].


Coaches Corner - Join your local library, get a library card

Have you visited the local Mountain View Library? The Mountain View Public Library has booklists available by grade level, as well as a Summer Reading program! The library also hosts a wide range of events, such as read alouds and Friends of the Library book sales (calendar here). 


If your student is interested in book clubs, the library also has a Book Club in a Bag program. This program allows library card holders to take out up to 10 copies of a book to host their own book club! 


There are a wide range of additional services that the library offers, which can be found here. Grab yourself a library card today to take advantage of all the wonderful things our Mountain View Public Library has to offer! 


The Mountain View Public Library is located at:
585 Franklin St, Mountain View, CA 94041


Principal’s Virtual Office Hours

Join me on Wednesday, March 9th for our informal Principal Office Hours (virtual) from 4pm - 5:00pm. Feel free to drop in if you have any questions or if you just want to chat. For office hours, there is no formal agenda, it is a time for you to stop in to say hello, and for us to get to know each other better! I look forward to meeting you!

 

Register in advance for this meeting.

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

 



District News


Parent University: Bullying Prevention

Date: 2/16/22   Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu021622

“Bullying” is a serious, yet often misunderstood concept. What does it really mean and how can we stop it? Better yet, how can we prevent it? This presentation will:

  • Identify basic concepts of bullying: definition, types of bullying, basic data

  • Provide tips for bullying reduction

  • Explore relationship-building to prevent bullying as we work to create new standards of acceptable behavior


To submit questions prior to the event, please click here. We will do our best to address your question during the session.


MV Public Library hosts Family Draw-Along with Shawn Harris - Flier

Join the MVPL for an online family draw along with local author and Caldecott Honoree Shawn Harris on Thursday, February 24 from 6:00pm - 7:00pm. Learn tips on how to create art with inspiration from his acclaimed picture books, including Doing Business, Have You Ever Seen a Flower? and A Polar Bear in the Snow. Registration Required: mountainview.gov/librarycalendar.


February CAC Announcements - Flier

SELPA 1 CAC and the Learning Challenge Committee are your groups for special education and broader learning challenge needs. If you have questions about learning challenges and special education needs, email [email protected] or check out www.selpa1cac.org


We are excited to announce our March Parent education event “FINDING SUCCESS WHEN NAVIGATING CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS" - this is an alternative dispute resolution training with help from the county SELPA


3/16 Wednesday 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Register in advance for this meeting: https://sccoe.to/SELPA1CAC_ChallengingConversations

Attendees of this interactive training will be introduced to a prep-sheet that was inspired by the “Getting to Yes” workbook by Roger Fisher and William Ury. This tool has helped many IEP team members have successful meetings by preparing thinking through interests, options and bringing legitimacy to requests. It is the goal of this training that attendees will leave feeling more prepared and confident for the next IEP team meeting. To be facilitated by Purchin Consulting.


2022 Silicon Valley Reads K-8 Career Fair: Feb. 26th - Flier

Join the Santa Clara County Office of Education for the upcoming 2022 Silicon Valley Reads K-8 Career Fair on Saturday, February 26, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The virtual event is geared towards K-8 families and will feature guest speakers from a variety of career fields. Participants can register at https://tinyurl.com/Career-Fair.


Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Calming Your Mind

When we feel stressed, our minds tend to jump to the past (I should have...) or to the future (What if...?). The problem is that we cannot change the past nor control the future. Focusing on the present can help us take control of our current situation and help us feel calmer and more relaxed.


Watch this video to learn more about how mindfulness can help you (or your child) be more present and relaxed. 


To calm your (or your child’s) mind:


  1. Look around you, and name five things you see. Pick one object, and describe what it looks like, what color, what size, and what shape it is. 

  2. Look for four things you can touch. Pick one of those items to touch, and describe how it feels. 

  3. Name three things that you can hear. At first, it might seem that there is not much to hear, but listen carefully. Focus on one sound, and describe it. 

  4. Look for two things you can smell. Focus on one smell, and describe it.

  5. Find one thing you can taste. Focus on the taste and describe it.


You can repeat these steps every time you feel stressed to come back to the present moment. 


Parcel Tax Oversight Committee seeks community representatives

MVWSD needs your volunteerism and time. Please consider serving on the Parcel Tax Oversight Committee for the Measure B Parcel Tax.  


The District is seeking two individuals to 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 [email protected]. Application: http://mvw.sd/PTOC


Questions? Please e-mail Dr. Rebecca Westover, Chief Business Officer, at [email protected].


Parent Involvement Board Policy

Families, thank you for your engagement and involvement with our schools. Our sustained partnership is a big part of our continuous improvement as a district. Per California Department of Education guidelines, here for your review is the most recently updated version of our Board Policy on Parent Involvement. Any questions should be directed to Geoff Chang, Director of Federal, State, and Strategic Programs ([email protected]).


MVLA Parent Ed Speaker Series: Recordings Available

A recording of MVLA Parent Ed Speaker Rosetta Lee’s recent talk, “Implicit and Unconscious Bias:  Bridging the Distance Between Professed Values and Daily Behaviors” is now available for viewing. If you missed them, recordings of other past presentations are also available: Jessica Lahey - The Addiction Inoculation:  Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence and Colin Seale - The Question is the Answer Practical Strategies to Unleash Critical Thinking at Home


Help MVEF Exceed Fundraising Goal!

With your help, we know we can reach our goal to raise $800,000 again in 2021-22. But what if we can do more? If we can exceed our fundraising goal by $300,000 this year, we will be able to enhance learning for all middle school students by funding one additional English language arts teacher for each middle school next year and reduce class sizes.  Help us raise an additional $300,000 to fund two ELA teachers to reduce class sizes at the middle schools in 2022-23. Donate today at mvef.org/donate

 



PTA News

 

Teacub Boba & Snack -  Fundraiser 2/17 10am-8pm - Flier 

175 E El Camino Real, Mountain View

20% of the proceeds from the purchase towards the donation will be donated to the Jose Antonio Vargas PTA. Let the cashier know your order is for our fundraiser or enter “fund” into a self-serve kiosk. Orders placed through doordash, ubereats, grubhub are not valid for the fundraiser. 

Teacub Boba & Snack Fundraiser 

 

PTA Roles

The PTA needs to fill some positions for our spring elections. The open positions are treasurer, secretary, historian, and parliamentarian.  Please refer to this document that describes the responsibilities of these roles and other volunteer options. Our deadline to announce candidates for the March election is 2/28. Please contact myself or kinder parent and nominating chair Lara Gill ([email protected]) if you are interested in knowing more about the positions and job descriptions.

 

Shannon Lundin, and the Executive Board 

[email protected]

 

Konstella

Konstella is our main communication tool. The PTA will post information about meetings, events and volunteer opportunities. You will also be able to communicate with other families from your child's classroom.

Use this link to register: https://www.konstella.com/cd/XGJHYL

 

Shannon Lundin, and the Executive Board 

[email protected]


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