Feb.17, 2022

February 18, 2022

 

From the Principal's Desk
Hello, Theuerkauf Families!

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 12:10pm. Friday, the last day of the trimester, will also be a minimum day with a 12:10pm 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.

 

As always, thank you for your partnership. Together, we make a difference!

 

Yours in service, 

Michelle Williams, Principal

Important Dates

Thursday February 17- ELAC Meeting, 9-10am (Zoom)

Thursday February 17- Principal’s Coffee, 5-6pm (Zoom)

Wednesday February 17- SSC Meeting, 6-7pm (Zoom)

Friday February 18- End of Trimester- Minimum Day~ Dismissal is at 12:10pm

February 21-25- Winter Break- No School

 

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

PTA News

Yearbook Art Contest

The Yearbook Team is working full steam on the content and is looking for a cover! Have your Theuerkauf Cheetah participate in the Yearbook Cover Art Contest!

Submissions are due March 21. Please see the attached flyer for details.

 

Free Virtual Hackathon and Spring Coding Classes for 3rd - 8th grade Registration Open Now

Computer Engineers of the Next Generation (CENG) will be launching a FREE virtual hackathon for 3rd to 8th graders on Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6 from 1–5 p.m. on both days. NO coding experience is needed to join! In small groups of 3–5, participants will have the opportunity to work together and learn to code in Scratch, JavaScript, or Python. This program is sponsored by Mountain View Los Altos Community Foundation.

Workshops and games will be interspersed throughout the event to guide students of any experience level through the process. At the end of the hackathon, students will present their work to a panel of judges in the field based on a rubric consisting of creativity, complexity/functionality, collaboration, and presentation. After the coding portion of the hackathon is over, participants will have the opportunity to listen to our guest speaker, and their work will culminate in a final awards ceremony. 

Sign up for the hackathon and our Spring coding classes at cengclass.org. and share with your friends and family members who might be interested. Registration closes on February 25.

Questions? Email Alice Lee at [email protected]

CENG is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to inspire historically underrepresented minorities to explore and pursue an interest in computer science. Find out more at cengclass.org


School News

Classroom Spotlight: Ms. Garvey's 3rd Grade Class

In Ms. Garvey's 3rd grade class, students have been working hard on developing Passion Projects. Students are learning how to research topics that they are passionate about through project based learning. So far this year, students have researched, created, and shared their project work on topics including electricity, how to create their own video game, and more. They were even able to play one student's video game in the classroom! This has been a great time for students to explore their passions and bring joy to the classroom!

 

IMPORTANT: Pick-up and Drop-off Traffic Reminders

Parents, our students are our pride and joy, and I know that we all do everything we can as a community to ensure their safety. Lately, during the morning drop off times and in the afternoon pick up times, we have noticed an increase in some behavior that puts our students at risk. We will subsequently be adding additional signs, traffic guides, and school resource officers to help us all stay safe. Please pay close attention to the following reminders:

  • We are all in a hurry (especially in the mornings), but please do not speed through the parking lot for any reason whatsoever. There are students crossing to the sidewalks, and we must keep them safe. Our speeds should be well under 5mph at all times in and around the school.

  • From 7:30am-6:30pm, please do not get out of your car when you are dropping off your child unless you are in the drop-off lane. Your child should be ready to exit the car when you drive up. Staff members are outside and ready to walk your child to and from their entrance gate. When you leave your car or stop even for a minute, it creates a back-up for all other cars and further traffic problems. If you feel that you need to walk your child to their gate, please park in a lined or otherwise legal parking spot.

  • Do not stop or double park in the lane to the left of the drop off lane at the front gate or in the street at the middle/back gates. Again, if you need to walk your child in, you will need to park in a lined or otherwise legal parking spot. 

  • For parents crossing near the back and middle gates, please use the crosswalk. There is a crossing guard in place to ensure that all families cross safely. Darting across the street at any area other than the corner crossing puts you in danger and it sends a message to your child that this is acceptable behavior that could later put them in danger.

Thank you for your close attention to these rules and protocols. As an initiative to encourage less traffic, we would like to announce that Thursdays are bike/walk to school day! We will be starting a fun campaign and contest for this very soon, complete with family prizes and ways to celebrate being active. 

 

Reminder: Please upload your child’s completed vaccine card

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!

 

Reminder: Principal’s Virtual Office Hours

This is just a friendly reminder that you are invited to join me each Wednesday for our informal Principal Office Hours (virtual through Zoom) 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 seeing you!

Reminder: 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. 

Important Reminder: In accordance with our Parent/Student Handbook, we will begin to box up items that are remaining for donation at the end of this week (the end of Trimester) 2/18/22


District News

Parent University: Bullying Prevention

Date: 2/16/22, 5:30 p.m.   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.

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].

 

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. 

 

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

 

Housing assistance information

The County is offering free virtual workshops for the community that explain the Emergency Rental Assistance that’s available. Learn about county programs that support families experiencing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 related housing crisis, housing resources for immigrants

and more.

Meetings are on:

Feb 18 (English)

Feb 22 (English)

Feb 25 (Spanish)

Please see the attached flyers.

 

February CAC Announcements 

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.

 

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

 

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

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.

 

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]).

 

MV Public Library hosts Family Draw-Along with Shawn Harris 

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 BusinessHave You Ever Seen a Flower? and A Polar Bear in the Snow. Registration Required: mountainview.gov/librarycalendar.

Attachments

SELPA 

Career Fair 

MV Library 

Theuerkauf Yearbook Cover 

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