Wise Word, 1.25.2023

Principal’s Message:

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Families,


Friday, January 27 is the 100th day of school. Our students, staff, and parents will have engaged in 100 days of learning and growing our minds and skills. I feel honored to celebrate these first 100 days with our fabulous Golden Owl community! Thank you for all your cooperation and partnership these first 100 days. We can’t wait to finish the year with you!

 

We want to hear from you! LCAP survey coming soon!

The District is beginning its annual process of updating the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). This input collected will guide the update of our District plan for the 2023-24 school year. Look for a meeting at your school to learn more about the LCAP process, as well as a survey about the plans' goals. An email with a link to the survey will come to your inbox on Jan. 31. More information found here: https://www.mvwsd.org/lcap

Mr. Taylor will be presenting LCAP information on the following dates:

SSC Meeting, January 25, 2023 Click here to register

Principal’s Coffee, January 27, 2023, 8:30-9:30PM  Click here to register

ELAC Meeting, January 31, 2023, 6:00- 7:00 PM  Click here to register

In Partnership, 

Principal Vern Taylor


Events Calendar

January 2023

25th

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

25th

SSC 5:00PM Register Here

26th

Los Trancos Open Space Preserve Field Trip

27th

Principal's Coffee, 8:30am Register Here

27th

CuriOdyssey Field Trip

31st

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

 

February 2023

1st

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

1st

Student Registration Help Night - 5:00pm, Vargas Library

8th

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

15th

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

17th

End Trimester 2 - Minimum Day

20th - 21st

Washington & Lincoln Day - No School

22nd - 24th

Winter Break - No School

 

March 2023

1st

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

1st

SSC Meeting - 5:00pm,

8th

Spring Pictures - Lifetouch

8th

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

10th

Palo Alto Baylands Field Trip

13th

Teacher in-service Day - No school for Students

15th

Principal’s Office Hours, 4:00 PM Register Here

16th

Mad Science Of the Bay Assembly

 



In this Newsletter

School News:

  • Golden Ticket Winners

  • Returning students: Enrollment in MVWSD for next year

  • Walk Audit

  • Sharing your culture

  • After school Enrichment

  • City of Mountain View's Safe Routes program

  • Principal’s Virtual Office Hours

Flyers:

 

District News:

  • The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6:00 p.m. 

  • MV Public Library: Positive Approaches to Managing Challenging Behaviors in Kids - Flyer

  • February CAC Events and Announcements Flyer

  • Parent University: Living Our New “Normal”: Tips for Families on How to Thrive Post-Pandemic - Flyer

  • Silicon Valley Reads Program

  • Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Screen Time

  • Parent U SEL Recording Available

  • The View Teen Center: January Events - Flyer

  • Earned Income Tax Credit Information Act Communication

  • MVEF needs your help!

PTA News:

  • PTA Association Meeting, January 25th, 7pm

  • Walkathon Committee


Golden Ticket Winners 1/19/2023
Matthew C.   RM: 1           Andrei B.      RM: 11
Arya M.        RM: 2           Gaius T.         RM: 13
Lucy K.         RM: 3           Aria D.          RM: 14
Emily X.       RM: 4           Aylin  G.        RM: 15
Reagan R.     RM: 5           Maria Z.         RM: 16
Celeste R.     RM: 6           Sharon L.        RM: 17
Sara Q.         RM: 8               
Alivia R.      RM: 9              
Anthony L.  RM: 10



School News


Returning students: Enrollment in MVWSD for next year

MVWSD enrollment for next fall for returning students is open.

 

For CURRENTLY enrolled students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Starting Jan. 24, parents can log on to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to enroll their children for next year. Look for an email in your inbox dated Jan. 24. If you have difficulty signing in to PowerSchool, please contact your school office. For more information, call 650-526-3500 or go to https://www.mvwsd.org/register.


Walk Audit

Tomorrow, January 26th, the City of Mountain View will be conducting a walk audit at Vargas to evaluate the area for walkability, comfort, and access. The walk audit will take about 1.5 hours and will be conducted by City staff, Safe Routes to School consultants, school staff and parents. This group will document travel pain points, evaluate street infrastructures, and observe the walking environment around the school.

Please complete this sign-up form if you are interested in joining the walk audit and helping to improve transportation safety near school. 

Sharing your culture

Please share photos or other artifacts from your culture so that I can then share with our greater community. Thank you to those who have shared so far. Send photos to [email protected] or upload directly here. I will be sharing in next week’s Wise Word.


After school Enrichment

By this week, all of our classes will have started. For those who did not get into your initial class, we will have a waitlist. If you are interested in a class, please join the wait list by clicking here. Please know that we are still looking to add 4 more additional classes, 2 art classes, choir, and ukulele. Once we have finalized contracts and funding, we will be sending more information out. 

Logistics of classes

  • For students in 1-5, students will go directly to classes after school dismissal.

  • For students in Kindergarten, unless your child is in Right at School or YMCA, you will need to pick them up at 1:30 dismissal and return them to campus at 2:30PM. Students will meet at the lunch tables outside of Rooms 1,2, and 3. 

  • Students in Right at School and YMCA will be returned to their program.

  • Please pick your child up at the front of the school at dismissal time. Please note the start date of each class, the end date, and time. You can view that information for all classes here

  • **** On Thursdays, Students will go to the lunch tables at dismissal time. There is no need to do pickup until dismissal time.


 If you are able to donate for after school enrichment classes, please fill out this form and bring it to the front office, along with your donation, and our front office staff will provide you with a receipt. 


City of Mountain View's Safe Routes program

The City of Mountain View's Safe Routes program is seeking parents to observe the walking environment around schools with the goal of improving safety. There are several walks scheduled for each school, and parents are encouraged to attend. Please view the upcoming dates and sign up here:  https://forms.gle/Jm1CphJ4wp5sP5wc8

 

(Repeat) Principal’s Virtual Office Hours

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. 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


The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6:00 p.m. 

Some of the meeting topics include:          

  • 2023-2024 Governor's Budget

  • Local Control Accountability Plan Timeline Spring 2023 

  • MVWSD Results for the California Dashboard 

  • Resolution: Climate Change and Green Schoolyards


For meeting details and agenda, please click here: https://www.mvwsd.org/trustees.


MV Public Library: Positive Approaches to Managing Challenging Behaviors in Kids - Flyer

Looking for ways to manage challenging behaviors in your child or teen? Jessika Hurts, Psy.D., Clinical Instructor, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine will offer expert practical advice and answer your questions at this free virtual Mountain View Public Library event on Thursday, February 2 from 7:00pm - 8:00pm. Register in advance here.


February CAC Events and Announcements - Flyer

The Learning Challenges Committee is looking for members!

Are you interested in helping students with learning challenges? This can include students who receive special education services, students with a 504 plan, or any student with a learning challenge.

 

The Learning Challenges Committee of the Los Altos Mountain View PTA Council (LCC) helps provide teachers and school staff in Mountain View and Los Altos schools with supplies in their classrooms related to learning challenges. We need a variety of parent and student voices to help us best decide how we can help teachers and students about these issues. 

 

Can you attend 2-3 meetings per year to help make these kinds of decisions with the LCC? Please email [email protected] 

 

We need more voices to help students with learning challenges. We need you!

 

February CAC Events   

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

 

We encourage families to learn about the sensory needs all children: Try a Sensory Diet

 

General Parent/Community Meeting

February 6, 9 am 

with Special Ed. Directors & Staff, Zoom at 9:00 am for LCC and 9:20 am for CAC. We will be planning for the year, discussing upcoming programs and discussing distance learning and learning challenges. For our agenda, please join our Google group, https://groups.google.com/g/selpa1cac. Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAudO2vrjIsHdP4dzX05kdxoMH8eGZm3VWb

 

Parent Chat

February 14, 10 am

Are you concerned about the emotional well-being of your child?  Peer to peer support for parents of teens with mental health challenges. Every second Tuesday of the month at 10 am on Google Meet. Meeting is for 1 hour only due to Google Meet limitations. Contact [email protected] for invite.

Missed our Parent Education events last year?

We have a YouTube channel with many of our past events including last year’s Inclusive Fun Fair for summer camps and recreational activities, Anxiety and Depression in Children with Learning Challenges, SMART Goals and IEP Troubleshooting, and more. Channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuy7IcVz-4LTDxv2Jaq13nw

Parent University: Living Our New “Normal”: Tips for Families on How to Thrive Post-Pandemic - Flyer

Date and Time: Feb. 7, 2023 5:30pm  Registration Link: https://mvw.sd/pu020723

The last three years have been difficult on parents and children. How do we keep going and continue to show up to support our families?

Together, we will be able to: 

  • Identify what the “New Normal” means to us.

  • Learn tips and strategies to manage stress and navigate our “New Normal”

  • Commit to take one action to address a personal goal


Silicon Valley Reads Program

Silicon Valley Reads is a community engagement program that features books and an annual theme to bring people together by providing more than 100 free, public events each year in February and March. Events for all ages include author talks, book clubs, art/music events, community activities, arts and crafts, movies, and creative events or activities based on the theme each year. For more information and event details, visit siliconvalleyreads.org/home/Pages/default.aspx.


Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Screen Time

Managing your child’s screen time is beyond a difficult task. Technology overuse is ranked as the No.1 fear parents have for their children, but it shouldn’t be. Effective communication and implementing little changes about technology use and screen time in the household can make a difference and improve the bond with your child. 


Here are some changes that can be made: 


  1. Don’t monitor, mentor! Try to understand the media that your child uses. Know the difference between different social media platforms and different video games. Notice your child’s behavior and emotions when they engage in their screen time. Be a sounding board for your child. 

  2. Look for the good in your child’s interests. Your child consuming media is not as different as you consuming something on TV. Your child may have built communities and a space for them to express themselves. You may feel distanced from your child, but that’s a normal part of growing up. 

  3. Work together to make changes as a family. Make sure that the rules created are being followed not only by your child but also by you as well. Some ways you can implement change in the household would be: 

    1. Banning devices at mealtime

    2. Taking phones away at night

    3. Imposing more chores; brings a source of self-esteem to get things done and to be valued in the family

    4. Introducing new interests; setting a goal during the summer for your child to reduce screen time and to add a new hobby

    5. Implementing screen-free whole-family activities such as board games, going on trips, or even a walk to the ice cream shop

    6. Ask your child to monitor their mood while playing video games; this can help with developing self-regulation skills 

    7. Suggest other activities with their interests; For example, if your child likes fantasy video games, suggest that they’ll probably like fantasy books. 


Dealing with a child immersed in their screen time is an all-too-common experience for parents. However, if you want your child to engage less in screen time, following through with these changes can make a big difference not only in your child’s life but your life.


To learn more parenting tips click here


These tips came directly from the free online website NPR: Life Kit.


Parent U SEL Recording Available

In case you missed it, recordings of the most recent Parent University event, “Social Emotional Learning at School and Home,” are available. English (https://vimeo.com/765795126) and Spanish (https://vimeo.com/765899241). Find recordings of past Parent U presentations at https://www.mvwsd.org/parentu.


The View Teen Center: January Events - Flyer

The View Teen Center is a free facility in Mountain View (263 Escuela Ave) for all Mountain View and Los Altos 6th - 12th grade students. The center is open Monday through Friday: 3:30 - 7 p.m. and Saturday: 1 - 6 p.m, and features a game room, makerspace, kitchen, computer/study room, outdoor area, and much more! January Teen Center events include art classes, cooking classes, and an iPhone Photography workshop. See attached flyer for details about upcoming events and programs or visit their webpage for more information.


Earned Income Tax Credit Information Act Communication

Based on your annual earnings, you may be eligible to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit from the Federal Government (Federal EITC). The Federal EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. The Federal EITC has no effect on certain welfare benefits. In most cases, Federal EITC payments will not be used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, low-income housing, or most Temporary Assistance For Needy Families payments. Even if you do not owe federal taxes, you must file a federal tax return to receive the Federal EITC. Be sure to fill out the Federal EITC form in the Federal Income Tax Return Booklet. For information regarding your eligibility to receive the Federal EITC, including information on how to obtain the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 797 or any other necessary forms and instructions, contact the IRS by calling 1-800-829-3676 or through its website at www.irs.gov.


You may also be eligible to receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit (California EITC) starting with the calendar year 2015 tax year. The California EITC is a refundable state income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. The California EITC is treated in the same manner as the Federal EITC and generally will not be used to determine eligibility for welfare benefits under California law. To claim the California EITC, even if you do not owe California taxes, you must file a California income tax return and complete and attach the California EITC Form (FTB 3514). For information on the availability of the credit eligibility requirements and how to obtain the necessary California forms and get help filing, contact the Franchise Tax Board at 1-800-852-5711 or through its website at www.ftb.ca.gov.


MVEF needs your help!

MVEF has raised $885,000 towards the goal of $1,200,000! As MVEF annual funding continues to grow, we will be able to fund additional programs in MVWSD schools. In order to keep growing, we need more volunteers to help us spread the word about "why MVEF." We will soon be coordinating a training and development program for our volunteers, so if you're interested please contact us soon. Volunteer opportunities include: 


- Additional school "influencers" at every school site

- Volunteers to donate Gala auction items

- Volunteers to help with check-in and other tasks at the Gala 

- Governing board members


To learn more about these opportunities, please email [email protected]


Finally, don't forget to complete the MVEF Programs Survey by Jan 31: bit.ly/3XnfMGx

 



PTA News

 

PTA Association Meeting, January 25th, 7pm

We would love to see you at our next meeting! We will have a principal's update as well as what the PTA is planning for the remainder of the school year, like community events and a Walkathon on March 31st! We need our members to attend association meetings to help us to pass important budget expenditures and approve this years' nominating committee.  Register here. Agenda link.

 

Walkathon Committee

JA Vargas will be doing our first Walkathon this spring and we are looking for volunteers to help us plan the event. We are looking for general volunteers and also someone with art/ graphic art skills for making promotional materials. If you would be interested in helping us plan for this event please contact Sandy Wen:  [email protected] or Shannon Lundin [email protected]
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