The Wise Word 04/05/2023

Hello Golden Owls,

Everyone has been working extremely hard this year, and we are now in the final stretch before the end of the school year. Please remember that we do not have school next week because Mountain View Whisman School District is on spring break from April 10-14. Please enjoy your much deserved Spring Break. Please take some time to unwind, disconnect, and take care of yourself. 

Please note, parents and staff members will once again be receiving free COVID test kits from schools this week. Please remember to administer the free at-home COVID test kit to your child on April 16, before returning to school on April 17. If your child has symptoms or a positive result, he/she must stay home. Have a safe and restful time away.


After Spring Break, Grades 3-5 will start CAASPP Testing. Vargas 3-5 grade students will start holding their practice tests from April 17-21. Students will test in ELA on April 25-28, Math on May 2-5, and our 5th grade students will test science May 10-12; Students will test before AM recess. Please avoid scheduling appointments during these times. 

Thank you for your support!


Below are some tips you may find useful to help prepare your child for the CAASPP assessment:

Explain to your child that it is important to do his/her best. 

Provide positive reinforcement and encourage your child each day.

Keep the test in perspective. We want students to do their best, but please make sure they understand that it is only one test. Remind them that if they are doing their best, you are proud.

Make sure your child gets an ample, normal amount of sleep the night before the test

Make sure to arrive on time each day.

Eat a nice, healthy breakfast.

Keep a positive attitude about testing around your child. Remind them that this is a time to show what they know.


At Friday’s principal’s coffee, I provided more information about the CAASPP testing and a school safety update. You can find the English and Spanish video and presentations for March Principal’s Coffee here.

In Partnership, 

Principal Vern Taylor


Events Calendar

April 2023

4th

Deer Hollow Farm Field Trip 

5th

DeAnza College Planetarium Field Trip

6th

MVWSD Board of Trustee Meeting, 6:00 pm Agenda

10th - 14th

Spring Recess - No School

19th

SSC Meeting, 5:00pm Register Here

20th 

CSMA Concert 4th grade 10:30 - 2 & 3 grade  11:15

4/17-5/19

CAASPP Testing

28th

Principal’s Coffee, 8:00am

May 2023

4th

Deer Hollow Farm - Viaje Escolar

5th

DeAnza College Planetarium Field Trip

6th

MVWSD Board of Trustee Meeting, 6:00 pm Agenda

19th

SSC Meeting, 5:00pm Register Here

20th 

CSMA Concert 4th grade 10:30 - 2 & 3 grade  11:15

4/17-5/19

CAASPP Testing

28th

Principal’s Coffee, 8:00am

29th

Memorial Day - No school

June 2023

1st

Talent Show

5th

5th Grade Promotion Ceremony

6th

Last Day of School - Minimum Day


In this Newsletter

School News:

Golden Ticket Winners

Parent University: My Digital Tat2: Parent Education for Setting Healthy Boundaries Around Technology Use

Talent Show

MVEF Gala

Ronald McDonald House 

Message from our Librarian

Summer Reading Needed

Lost and Found - Last week to recover any missing item.

CAASPP Testing

Music Concert

Electives Selection for Grades 5-7 closes Friday 04/07/23

5th Grade Promotion Date

Not Returning Students for 2023-2024 School Year

Flyers:

April Menu Here

2023-2024 School Year Calendar - Link here

2023 J A Vargas Walkathon - Thank you Here

District News:

The Board of Trustees will meet on April 6 @ 6:00 pm

Spring Break (April 10 to 14) and test kits

Be Sunwise: Sunny days are ahead. Protect your skin

MVEF News

Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Praise

The View Teen Center: April Events Flyer here 


PTA News:

Walkathon - Thank you!

Square One Art PTA Fundraiser

International Potluck- Save the date - Thursday, May 4th, 5-7pm


Golden Ticket Winners March 30, 2023

Parker H.             RM: 1          Estrella G.        RM: 10

Kara C.                   RM: 2          Sophie R.          RM: 11

Enrique M.            RM: 3           Alexander S.     RM: 13

Reya F.     RM: 4            Ivan F.              RM: 14

Erika F.. RM: 5           Jezebel A.         RM: 15

Tyson W. RM: 6           Annabelle S.     RM: 16

Victor M.        RM: 8           Aidyn Z.           RM: 17

Vishnu N.     RM: 9         Mr. Hillman      RM; 16


School News

Parent University: My Digital Tat2: Parent Education for Setting Healthy Boundaries Around Technology Use

Last Tuesday, My Digital TAT2 presented strategies for how to support responsible, mindful, and healthy use of the internet, social media, and gaming. Learn what you can do to stay connected with your child as their online lives expand. If you were unable to make it, you can find a recording of the presentation here. You are welcome to share the video with their personal friends and relatives. Access to the recording will be available till the end of the school year on June 30, 2023. Additionally, My Digital TAT2 has provided a complimentary subscription to their School Partnership Portal.  In it, you'll find a carefully curated selection of extension activities, short lessons, and additional resources to expand on and dive deeper into the topics that we cover in our programs.


Talent Show Flyer here

We are so happy to announce our first Talent Show.  Please mark your calendar for June 1, 2023. More details to follow, but a few important dates and times are listed below: 


Auditions: 

Thursday, April 21 @ 12:30-1:30 and Friday, April 22 @ 2:45-3:45

(More time could be added based on the number of sign-ups)


Rehearsals

(Thursdays) April 27, May 11, 18, 25 @ 12:30-1:30

Students must attend 2 rehearsals. 

Students will be supervised while eating and playing after dismissal until rehearsal. 


Performance: 

Thursday, June 1

Performance times TBD


MVEF Gala

It’s not too late to get tickets for this year’s MVEF Gala. Please join us on Saturday, April 29. The MVEF Gala is an opportunity for residents, district parents, business leaders and community members to come together and support local schools. This year’s event will include dinner, fundraising activities (including a raffle plus live and silent auctions), and community-building. 


Tickets: https://bit.ly/2023-MVEF-Gala

Online/Silent Auction Item Preview: https://bit.ly/mvefsilentauction

Raffle: https://www.mvef.org/2023-gala-raffle

Ronald McDonald House 

Vargas did a great job collecting donations. Thank you all for your support.  The grade that collected the most donations is 2nd grade. Excellent work, second-graders! Students will receive their popsicle prize this week.  I wanted to take some time to thank Ms. Bisbee and Ms. Bea, and the Vargas Student Council for all their help!


A Message from our Librarian: 

I wanted to thank all the parents and members of the community who came to the library on Open House night, it was great to share with you our library.

I also want to tell you how grateful I am to the families who purchased books from our wishlist! You are making many of our students happy!


Our library is a living place, and I want to keep up with the series our students love. If you want to help us, please find the link below for our wish list:

https://bookshop.org/wishlists/2e0bf2eb8beac3f1973b5b4dd39bde9cc6807da5


We are a great community, and I am proud to be one of the Vargas members! 


Summer Reading Books Needed! 

We all know how important reading is to academic success. It is especially important for all of our 

students to keep up their reading over the summer. Do you have books that your family has outgrown and that you can donate to other families at Vargas for summer reading? If so, please bring them to Ms Bea in the office. She will make sure that they find a good home for the summer. All levels of books are needed. We’ll be collecting books until Friday, May 5th. Thank you for your generosity.

Lost & Found, last week to recover any missing item:

We have our lost and found card full of sweaters, jackets, water bottles, etc. Please stop by the card when you pick up your kid and check for any missing clothes or item, all the items left will be donated on 04/07/2023.

CAASPP Testing 4/25-5/19

It is very important that all 3rd-5th graders are present for testing. Not only is this an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of grade-level content, but the data also helps us to improve our instruction and plan for intervention. Please ensure that your child is present on testing days (see below) and avoid scheduling appointments during the testing block (8:00-10:00 am). Thank you!

April 17-21- ELA/Math Practice assessment

April 25th-April 28th - ELA Testing for 3rd-5th

May 2nd-May 5th - Math Testing for 3rd-5th

May 10th-May 12th - Science Testing for 5th Only

Additionally, all students K-5 will be doing iReady testing May 16-May 19

CSMA Music Concerts (Important Date Change)

Our students are excited to perform for you!  As a culmination of their weekly music lessons provided by Community School of Music and Art (CSMA), students will hold short concerts.

The following concerts will be held in the MUR:

April 20, 2023 4th Grade recorders @ 10:30AM

April 20, 2023 2nd/3rd @ 11:15AM

Plan ahead!  In order to view these performances, visitors will need to sign in the office with their picture IDs.

Electives selection for grades 5-7 closes Friday

All 5th-7th graders should select their course electives online by April 7, 2023 through the PowerSchool portal. Fifth- through seventh-grade parents, please look for an email in your inbox dated March 24 with links to course catalogs and directions. Please log in to your PowerSchool portal account (either student’s or parent’s) to help your student select his/her electives.  If you have difficulty with PowerSchool, please contact your school secretary. If you have not confirmed your child's enrollment for the 2023-24 school year, elective course selection will not be available.

 

(Repeat) 5th Grade Promotion Date

Each year, we look forward to celebrating with families as our 5th grade students are promoted to middle school. This year, the 5th grade promotion date is Monday, June 5. We will share more specifics about the celebration as details are available.


(Repeat) Not Returning Students for 2023-2024 School Year

If you plan on moving during the summer or know your child will not return to our District for the 2023-2024 school year, please email our school secretary at [email protected].


District News

The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, April 6 at 6:00 p.m. Agenda aqui

Topics include:

Action Day Plus School Update on Community Outreach

Enrollment and Choice Lottery Update 


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


Spring break (April 10-14) and test kits

MVWSD is on spring break April 10-14. School and District Offices will be closed.


Please remember to administer the free at-home COVID test kit to your child on April 16, before returning to school on Monday, April 17. If your child has symptoms or a positive result, he/she must stay home. Please check this link for specific instructions. Have a safe and restful time away!

Be Sunwise: Sunny days are ahead. Protect your skin.

While some exposure to sunlight can be enjoyable, too much can be dangerous. Take these steps to protect yourself and your children - who are often outside daily.


Apply sunscreen to all exposed skin using a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher that provides broad-spectrum protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Reapply every two hours, even on cloudy days, and after swimming or sweating.


Traveling during spring break? Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand that reflect the damaging rays of the sun, which can increase your chance of sunburn.

MVEF News

On April 21, 2021 MVEF and the Crittenden Middle School PTA will be co-hosting a welcome potluck for incoming 6th graders and new students who enrolled during the current school year. To register, please click here: https://bit.ly/3Zy4QH1

Tickets to the MVEF Gala are still available! Ticket sales end 4/23 or when they are sold out. To purchase Gala tickets, click here: https://bit.ly/mvefGala2023

MVEF Gala Raffle Tickets are now on sale! Need not be present to win. Click the link below to view raffle items. Email [email protected] to purchase raffle tickets. https://bit.ly/2023-Gala-Raffle

MVEF still needs to raise an additional $240k to achieve the goal of $1.2MM by June 30, 2023. If you haven't made a donation yet during the current school year, please donate ASAP to help your school site achieve the goal to get an average of 10 new donors per school by April 15!  Donations of any amount are meaningful in helping to reach the goal!  Click here to see ways to donate. 


Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Praise

It is natural for us to pay attention to behaviors that are irritating, worrisome, or make us want to disappear from embarrassment. Usually, when our child is calm, quiet, and self-entertained, we breathe a sigh of relief. However, this inadvertently teaches our child that they can get our attention by being disruptive. The good news is that we can reverse this pattern by paying attention to our child’s positive behaviors.


To learn more parenting tips click here.


To praise positive behaviors:

Try praising something positive that your child is doing each morning and evening (for example, “Good job sharing with your sibling”). We are used to noticing disruptive behaviors, so praising your child’s positive behaviors will take some practice and patience – but will ultimately benefit both you and your child.


This tip came directly from the free, online Everyday Parenting program created by parenting expert, Dr. Kazdin.


To view more resources on parenting and other topics, click here.

The View Teen Center: April Events Flyer here

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! April Teen Center events include local college tours, an Exploratorium Field Trip, and Extended Spring Break Hours from April 10-14: 1-6 p.m. See attached flyer for details about more upcoming events and programs or visit their webpage for more information.



PTA News

Walkathon

Wow, what a fun event! Our Golden Owls were so enthusiastic about the Walkathon. We are still tabulating all the laps walked but we definitely reached our 2000 lap goal! We may have underestimated how many laps the students could do but they really did put in the miles and lot’s of effort. Thank you to all the families who volunteered their time to make the event a success. Thank you to the Walkathon committee, Sandy, Kim, Franziska, Jennifer and Sukie for all the planning and time contributed. We also had a large number of donations from local businesses who donated money, raffle prizes, canopies, and fruit. Please see our list of sponsors attached. 

The fundraising portion of the Walkathon is open until April 7th. We are very close to our goal of $25,000 raised. You can continue to make pledges through 99Pledges, or directly through cash/check (written to Jose Antonio Vargas PTA), submit to the front office.

If you have any follow up questions about Walkathon, donations or pledges please contact [email protected]

Square One Art PTA Fundraiser

A catalog was sent home last week with a sample of your child’s artwork that they created with help from their art teacher Ms. June!  You can order gift items like coffee mugs, key chains etc from Square One and a portion of the sales will go back to JA Vargas PTA…These are great gifts for mothers day and family members!

If your student did not bring their catalog home you can search for your child's art using Art Search, and enter state, school name, and your student's name. Your student's art and code will appear, and you may order!

Orders due by:  4/7/2023

International Potluck- Save the date - Thursday, May 4th, 5-7pm

The PTA is planning a fun evening for our incredibly diverse community to share their food and culture.  If you have food, dress, crafts, games etc… 

This is a great event for families to showcase food samples, activities, traditional clothes, decorations, posters, and more from their culture. If you are interested in contributing a dish and/or helping to run a table to represent a country, sign up here: https://forms.gle/wJJff7HghFN3yio58


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