From the Principal's Desk

 

Hello, Cheetah Families!

Please note that Friday, February 18th marks the end of the trimester and it will be a minimum day. School will end at 12:10pm on the 18th. School will be closed for Winter Break from Monday, February 21st through Friday, February 25th. School will resume again on Monday, February 28, following regular hours.

Our district has begun its annual process of updating the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). The input collected will guide the update of our District plan for the 2022-23 school year. Your participation in the process will help Theuerkauf by ensuring that our students' needs are considered as the LCAP is revised for the 2022-23 school year

If you have not already done so, please take a moment to complete the survey about the plans' goals. Access the survey here: http://mvw.sd/LCAPParent

Please join me to learn more about the LCAP process at  this Wednesday's open office hours from 4-5pm (click here). You can also read more about the LCAP here: https://www.mvwsd.org/lcap.

As always, thank you for your partnership.

Together, we make a difference!

Yours in service,  

Michelle Williams, Principal

Important Dates

Wednesday February 16- SSC Meeting, 5-6pm (Zoom)

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

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

School News

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).

PTA News

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. 

Reminder - Our Theuerkauf yearbook for 2021-22 is in progress and we need your help!

Volunteer to lay out a class page: Sign-up here or email [email protected]. We will give you a quick online training on the software and you can work from home.

Order now for $13.16 + tax.
* Click here to order or visit TreeRing.com/validate and enter our school’s passcode 1016316858373987.

Request a donated yearbook: If getting a yearbook is a financial hardship, please request one through our School and Community Engagement Facilitator Ms. Lisset ([email protected]).

Donate a yearbook for another family: You can donate towards a yearbook for a family experiencing financial hardship. You can turn in a check payable to "Theuerkauf Elementary PTA" at the office or use Paypal recipient [email protected]. Include the message/memo “yearbooks donation”.

* OPT-OUT: If you prefer that your child NOT be pictured in the yearbook at all, please contact us at [email protected].

** Any questions? Contact our yearbook chairs at [email protected].

District News

 

Board meeting: Feb. 10

The Board of Trustees met on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Some of the meeting’s topics included:

• 2022-23 school year calendar

• Tentative agreement with California School Employees Association

• 2020-2021 Financial Audit Report

• Supplement to the Local Control Accountability Plan Annual Update

• Monta Loma Field and Site Improvements Project update

• Health & Wellness Survey update

• English Learner Reclassification overview and update 

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

 

February Better Together Infographic 

In the month of February, there is much to celebrate and acknowledge. The Lunar New Year reminds us of the power of rebirth and renewal, while Black History Month gives us the opportunity to recognize the resilience of those on the shoulders we stand, along with the cultural richness of those identifying as Black in America and across the world. Heritage months grant us the opportunity to highlight the history of oppressed groups and their fight towards equality, but renewal and Black excellence transcend just this month. However we celebrate, we are #BetterTogether.

Please see the graphics attached to this newsletter, or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.

 

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.

 

Resources for afterschool and school break care 

Looking for afterschool, February break or spring break activities for your children? InPlay offers a free searchable program guide for parents, with filters for age, location, price (including free or reduced cost), and more. To find programs local to Mountain View, head to: https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view. Available programs include those that serve students with special needs or English learners.

Additionally, the City of Mountain View provides eligible, low-income Mountain View families with financial assistance to register children for recreation classes. Applicants must be a Mountain View resident and qualify through the Community Services Agency screening process. Contact the Community Services Agency at (650) 968-0836 to schedule an appointment to see if you are eligible. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

 

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

2/7 Monday 4 pm- 5 pm General Parent/Community Meeting with Special Ed. Directors & Staff, Zoom at 9:00 am for LCC and 9:10 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. For the Zoom link for this meeting, Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vfuqqrDIpG9adTFakjeylekd_SlDHtlCb

 2/8 Tuesday 10 am - Parent Chat - Support for parents of teens with mental health challenges. A great place for help and support for challenges with your teens. Please contact [email protected] for Google Meet invite.

2/15 Tuesday 10-11:30am  Morning Let’s Talk -  IEP/504 support group. Have questions about the process to get help for your child? Have an IEP but are not sure how to make changes? Need to vent? This is your confidential group. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrce6qrz8vGdNbIywjg1vppQq3tHwvruYI

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

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.

 

Attachments

SELPA/CAC-Navigating Challenging

SVR2022- Career Fair

February Equity Calendar