December 17, 2021

From the Principal's Desk

Hello, Cheetah Families!

As this year comes to a close at the end of this month, I know we have so much to be grateful for, and I am sure we are all looking forward to what 2022 may bring us. As a reminder, we will be closed for Holiday Recess from December 20th to January 3rd. Teachers will be spending Monday, January 3rd participating in professional development and planning for an excellent second half of the school year. We will be welcoming our students back to school when we resume on Tuesday, January 4th. 

As we get ready for 2022, here are a few things I want to highlight:

COVID safety over winter break

We strongly encourage families to get tested after the holidays and before returning to school after the holiday, especially if you are traveling.  Even as children 5-11 are now starting to get vaccinated, it is still important that we stay vigilant with safety precautions, particularly in light of the variant, Omicron.

• Test for COVID before and after holiday traveling and/or gatherings. https://covid19.sccgov.org/covid-19-testing

• Due to low supplies of test kits, MVWSD cannot provide rapid antigen tests to families. Instead, we are planning a community testing event on Dec. 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the District Office, 1400 Montecito Ave. Look for more details by email. 

• Please vaccinate all eligible members of your household, especially if you are traveling and/or gathering with family and friends.http://sccfreevax.org/ 

• Continue to wear a mask

Attendance is important: Parent notifications ramp up in January

Research shows that school attendance is a strong indicator of success. It's about students learning what they need to know, belonging to the school community, and being part of the team that is preparing them with good habits for high school.

Regular school attendance is required by the state law, and is included in the District’s Local Control Accountability plan (LCAP) and reported in the California School Dashboard. State law requires MVWSD to notify parents whose students are truant or chronically absent. Here are a few additional attendance details that will help us all:

 

What’s an Excused vs. Not Excused absence? 

• Illness (including quarantining due to COVID), doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences. Please see MVWSD board policy for the full list. All other reasons are not considered excused.

Are vacations or travel excused?

• Unfortunately, family vacation or travel is not excused – even when you inform your teacher or the office. This comes as a surprise for parents. We appreciate you letting us know so that you will not receive a call from the auto-dialer asking you to verify the absence.

When do parents get truancy letters? 

• California law requires MVWSD to notify parents of truancy. Any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant. 

Next steps: Letters

• Beginning in January, MVWSD will send letters to parents of any student who is truant. These letters inform parents when students have had three or more unexcused absences and inform families of next steps and any resources or procedures in place to help their family get their child to school regularly.

Next steps: Calls

• In January, MVWSD schools will also begin using an automated system to notify parents when a student is absent from school. This automated call will alert a parent that a student has been marked absent.  This is important for the safety of your child and for our attendance accounting.  Please ensure we have the reason for your child’s absence. 

• It’s possible that you might receive a call after you have notified the office of the absence. We apologize for any inconvenience that this additional call may cause. 

• This process helps us to maintain a safe school environment and support your child and family. Thank you for your support.

 

Last day for OKtoReopen screener is Friday

With student vaccination rates increasing for our younger students, on-campus COVID testing and increased awareness in our community about Covid symptoms and protocols, there is no longer need for the OKtoReopen screener. Starting after break when students return on the morning of January 4 , you will no longer receive an email or text message from OKtoReopen. Thank you for your consistent use of the screener in the past months.

Sending you warmth, love, and all of my appreciation for your support this year! Together, we ARE making a difference in the lives of our precious students.

 

Yours in service,

Michelle Williams, Principal

Important Dates

Friday, December 17 - Cool Cats Assembly 

• TK & Kinder: 12:00-1:00 (Zoom)

• 1st & 2nd: 9:00-10:00 (Zoom)

• 3rd-5th: 10:50-11:50 (Zoom)

December 20-31- Holiday Break - No School

Monday, January 3 - Teacher Service Day - No School

Tuesday, January 4 - Students return to school

Mon-Fri, January 10-14 - Parent-Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, January 12- SSC Meeting 5:00-6:00pm

Thursday, January 13- Superintendent Coffee 9:00-10:00am

Monday, January 17- MLK Holiday- No School

Friday, January 28- ELAC Meeting 9:00-10:00am

Wednesday, January 26- Principal’s Coffee 5:00-6:00 pm

 

***Wednesdays Open Office Hours with the Principal 4:00-5:00pm (use this link)***

School News
Canned Food Drive - a Huge Success!

Thank you to everyone who was able to contribute to this year's canned and dry food drive! We were able to collect over 1,000 cans and packaged food items that will go to families in need. Cheetahs, we celebrate your generosity, caring spirit, and empathy. Because of you, many bodies will be nourished, and many hearts will be warmed. 

Toys, toys everywhere!!!

Thank you to all of our very generous friends, colleagues, families, and community organizations for contributing to our toy drive this year!!!! We would also like to thank Power Engineering for their generous contribution. More than 20 families will receive bikes, balls, art supplies, dolls, action figures, and many other toys this holiday season. This toy drive was coordinated by our amazing 3rd grade teachers, Ms. Danielle Kosiorek and Ms. Jordan Garvey. Thank you, teachers, for your leadership and thoughtfulness!

December Cool Cats Assembly: Celebrating Integrity!

We will be holding special Cool Cats assemblies this Friday, December 17th. Throughout November and December, students have been learning about integrity and what it means to do the right thing, even and especially when no one is watching. Please join us for your child's assembly to hear about what they've been learning and to celebrate some of our Cheetahs who have shown exceptional integrity over the past couple of months. Here are the assembly times for each grade level group:

• TK and Kindergarten: 12-12:30pm (Zoom)

• 1st and 2nd grades: 9-9:45am (Zoom)

• 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades: 10:50-11:50am (Zoom)

 

Library Wish List

Do you support literacy? Would you like to give back to our very own school library? If so, please take a look at our library wish list! Ms. Bhajaria has put together a short list of items that would bolster our collections and delight our students. 

 

December Spirit Days!

This is just a reminder that our Expect Respect students have worked together to plan a few exciting Spirit Days for the month of December. Last Friday's spirit day went well!! We were so excited to see so many students participating in Sports Day and Twin/Cheetah Day. Our last spirit day of the year will be pajama day! Please feel free to send your child to school dressed to participate in this theme, if you would like! As always, please be sure that your child does follow our school dress code policy.

 

Next Spirit Day: 

• Friday, 12/17: PAJAMA DAY - wear school-appropriate pajamas (and regular shoes, please--no slippers) 

 

Reposted: PowerSchool Uploads - Test Results, Vaccination Updates

Parents can now upload to PowerSchool the important COVID documents that will help expedite students’ return to school after a COVID exposure. Please take a moment now to upload your documentation. After logging in to https://ps.mvwsd.org/public, parents will be able to click on the “COVID reporting” icon to upload:

1. Students’ proof of COVID vaccination 

2. Past positive COVID test. Here’s how to upload.

Please call our office (650) 903-6925 if you have trouble accessing PowerSchool.

 

Reposted: Lost and Found Clothing and Accessories

Is your child missing a sweater, jacket, hat, or other items? If so, please stop by the front gate during morning or afternoon pick-up. There are many water bottles, warm coats, adorable sweaters, and other items, as well. We'd like to help you to recover your child's items. 

PTA News

Happy Holidays!

The entire PTA Team wishes you Happy Holidays, a wonderful and restful winter break and a Happy New Year!

It has been a lot of fun putting together the activities for this school year so far, but we would like to hear from you - please complete this short survey and let us know what you think ! The first 20 respondents will receive a Theuerkauf Spirit Item, so make sure you fill it in quickly.

 

Donut Vouchers

All donut vouchers were sent out in November. Please make sure to check your Spam Folder in case you did not receive it. If you still can't find it, please reach out to [email protected].

District News

Parent-Teacher Conferences are Jan. 10-14. Minimum day for students. Sign up for conferences!

Parent-Teacher (Student) Conferences present a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, strengths and needs, and work with your teacher to help your child have a successful academic experience. Conference week is scheduled for January 10-14, 2022. Every day that week is a minimum day for students. 

“Parent University: Effective Parent-Teacher Communication & Tips for Conference Week”
Date: January 5, 2022, 5:30-7:00pm  Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu010522

Please join us for a thorough discussion on effective communication between home and school and tips on how to have a successful parent-teacher conference. A panel of parents, principals and teachers from Elementary School and Middle School will provide helpful feedback on how to approach difficult topics when talking to your child’s teacher or office staff. Parents will also learn how to read and understand the school report cards. 

To submit questions prior to the event, go to mvw.sd/questions. We will do our best to address your question during the session.

 

Upcoming i-Ready Diagnostic 2 Assessments

i-Ready is an online program that helps us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth in mathematics and reading. Teachers use this information to support instruction in core subjects for every student.

Elementary school families can access their child’s i-Ready Reading and Mathematics score via their Powerschool Parent Portal starting December 17, 2021. Parents will have access to three reports for their child - For Families Report, Common Core State Standards Report (CCSS), and the Diagnostic Growth Report. Here’s how to access PowerSchool Parent Portal i-Ready Reports. 

Parents can learn more about the i-Ready platform and how to interpret the various i-Ready reports. Join us for an i-Ready Parent Informational Webinar on December 16th, 2021 at 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Please register in advance via the link: http://mvw.sd/i-ready.

Please contact your child’s school front office if you have any trouble accessing reports. 

 

Please upload your child’s completed vaccine card

Many of our younger students are getting their 2nd COVID vaccine shot this week. When your child's vaccine card has their second shot listed, please upload a copy to Powerschool. Vaccine cards will be referred to in the case of a positive COVID exposure for your student, and MVWSD needs accurate data for decisions about COVID protocols. Click here for a video that shows you how to upload documents: https://vimeo.com/606954357.Thank you in advance for uploading your documents now!

 

School meetings are coming up. Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January

For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 24-28.

For NEW students:  Open Enrollment is from January 10 through Feb. 4, 2022 online. You can register your child for the 2022-23 school year when online registration opens here:  www.mvwsd.org/register 

Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.

 

December Better Together Infographic 

December is Universal Human Rights Month, a time for people in the U.S. and around the world to join together and stand up for the rights and dignity of all individuals. December 10, Human Rights Day, is a global holiday that marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. Together, we can protect the rights of everyone, everywhere. Please see the graphics attached to this newsletter, or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.

 

MVEF Holiday Zumba Dance Party on 12/19 

Get ready to have fun and get fit while grooving to some sweet Latin beats!  We’re going to shake it up with 90 minutes of Zumba awesomeness on Sunday, December 19th at 3 pm - 4:30 pm at the Mountain View Civic Center Plaza (500 Castro Street). Bring water, comfortable exercise clothes, and all your friends.  It is going to be a party!

Suggested donation is $20 per person cash or check payable to the Mountain View Educational Foundation.

 

 

CHAC Resources and Events 

CHAC Family Resource Centers offer a variety of classes and resources for Santa Clara County residents, including music classes for young children, arts enrichment, groups for Spanish-speaking families, parenting courses, and free diapers and other essential items. For more information, see attached flyers or visit https://www.chacmv.org/frcs.



Attachments

CHAC 

December Equity Calendar

 CHAC Distribution