Hello Theuerkauf Families,
It is hard to believe, but Wednesday marked our 100th day of school! Our students, staff, and parents have engaged in 100 days of meaningful learning, and we have made great progress and seen growth both academically as well as socially and emotionally. It has not always been easy. In fact, there have been many moments of frustration and even tears along the way. Despite the frustration, though, it has been an amazing journey, and I feel honored to celebrate these first 100 days alongside our fabulous Cheetah students, staff, and families!
We want to hear from you–LCAP survey coming soon!
Our school district is beginning its annual process of updating the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). The input collected from this survey will guide updates to our District plan for the 2022-23 school year. Please join me during one of the following meetings to learn more about the LCAP process:
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ELAC Meeting, January 28, 2022, 9-10am (Zoom)
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SSC Meeting, February 16, 2022, 5-6pm (Zoom)
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Principal’s Coffee, February 17, 2022, 5-6PM (Zoom)
An email with a link to the survey will come to your inbox on January 31st. More information can be found 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
Friday, January 28- ELAC Meeting, 9:00-10:00am (Zoom)
Friday, February 4- Cool Cats Assemblies - Celebrating PERSEVERANCE!
Wednesday February 9- MVWSD Cafecito, 5:30pm (Zoom)
Thursday, February 10 - MVWSD Board of Trustees Meeting, 6-10:00pm (Zoom)
Wednesday February 16- SSC Meeting, 5-6pm (Zoom)
Thursday February 17- Principal’s Coffee, 5-6pm (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
The Great Kindness Challenge
All kids deserve to learn in a safe, supportive and caring environment. The Great Kindness Challenge provides a powerful tool that actively engages students, teachers, administrators, families and communities in creating a culture of compassion, acceptance, unity and respect. Over the course of this week, students have been challenged to complete acts of kindness at school, at home, and wherever they go! You can extend this week further by participating in The Great Kindness family activities as mentioned here. Here are some of the things students have been challenged to complete this week:
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TK-1st Grade- students are completing the Junior Edition of the GKC (English, Spanish). Teachers and staff have set a goal for students to complete 5 acts of kindness in all– That's just 1 a day!
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2-5 Grades - students are completing the GKC School Edition (English, Spanish). Teachers and staff have set a goal for students to complete 20 acts of kindness. That's just 4 a day!
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Friday, January 28 - On Friday, students will turn their checklists back in to their teachers if they have met their goal. We will recognize these students at our Cool Cats Assembly on February 4th. They will also receive a popsicle treat.
Way to go, Lexia Stars!
Over the past few months, while many of us are still sleeping, a few bright and shining stars have risen to face the day with pride and courage–our Lexia Stars! This small but dedicated group of students has been attending our school's language lab each morning, honing their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in English. Many students have seen enormous gains in their iReady scores as a result of this extra practice, and several students are on their way toward full English proficiency. WAY TO GO LEXIA STARS!! Keep working hard. Thank you, also, to Ms. Holly Leonard for supervising and supporting our students each morning. You are truly making a difference in our students' lives every single day.
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!
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!
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
Our Theuerkauf yearbook for 2021-22 is in progress!
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
Reconfirm your student’s enrollment in MVWSD for 2022-2023
Mountain View Whisman School District enrollment for next fall for returning students is open.
For CURRENTLY enrolled students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents can now log on to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to enroll their children for next year through January 28. Look for an email in your inbox with more information. 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
Request your free at-home COVID tests
Order free, at-home tests: Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Near the end of January, orders will start shipping in 7-12 days. Order your tests now so you have them when you need them. https://www.covidtests.gov.
Guidance for upgrading your mask
Please send your student to school in a well-fitting, quality face mask. Public health officials recommend upgrading from fabric masks. Upgraded masks include double masking (surgical mask + cloth mask), fitted medical masks (surgical masks) and respirator masks (N95s, KN95s or KF94s).
Please see “Choosing Your Mask” here for more guidance: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Get-the-Most-out-of-Masking.aspx
Help Your English Learner Child Become a Confident Communicator, with Dr. Kate Kinsella: February 3
Dr. Kinsella is back! At this special parent event, co-sponsored by Imai, Landels, and Vargas Elementary schools but open to all MVWSD families, parents will learn how to support their children in reading, writing, listening, and speaking both in school and in their daily lives.
Dr. Kinsella is the author of many professional publications and research-validated programs to support multilingual learners and striving readers, including READ 180 Universal, English 3D, Language Launch, and Academic Vocabulary Toolkit. She has served as the lead scholar and pedagogy guide on three recent U.S. Department of Education funded research initiatives to improve educational outcomes for K-12 English language learners.
Date: February 3, 2022
Time: 6:00 - 7:00pm
Zoom Link: http://mvw.sd/kinsella22
Parent University: Bullying Prevention
Date: 2/16/22 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:
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Identify basic concepts of bullying: definition, types of bullying, basic data
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Provide tips for bullying reduction
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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.
Help MVEF reach their fundraising goals
With your help, MVEF knows 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. Please donate to MVEF to help us reach our annual $800,000 fundraising goal and raise an additional $300,000 to fund two ELA teachers to reduce class sizes at the middle schools in 2022-23. mvef.org/donate
MVLA Parent Ed Speaker Series with Rosetta Lee - Teacher and Outreach Specialist
Join MVLA Parent Education online on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 from 7:00 - 8:30pm with Rosetta Lee for her talk, “Implicit and Unconscious Bias: Bridging the Distance Between Professed Values and Daily Behaviors.” We see ourselves as open and inclusive people, accepting of differences and treating all people with dignity, kindness, and respect. Yet, there are implicit and unconscious biases that get in the way of our best selves, and intentions aren't enough to guide our behaviors. We welcome Rosetta Lee, teacher and outreach specialist, who talks about the science of cognitive biases we all have and what we can do to mitigate them within ourselves and our organizations. Register for this free event.
Attachments
MVLA Speaker Series
Theuerkauf Elementary, Mountain View Whisman School District,
1625 San Luis Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043 www.mvwsd.org 650-903-6925