Cheetah Chatter, Jan. 8, 2020

Important Dates

Wednesday, January 15 ~SSC Meeting 5:00-6:00 p.m 

Friday, January 17 ~ELAC Meeting in Room 21 9:00-10:00 a.m

Monday, January 20 ~Martin Luther King Jr. Day ~No School

Wednesday, January 22 ~PTA Assoc. Meeting 6:30-7:30 p.m

Friday, January 24 ~Principal’s Coffee 8:50-9:50 a.m

Friday, January 31 ~Cool Cat Assembly, 1st - 5th Grade 8:40 a.m     

From the Principal's Desk

Hello Wonderful Theuerkauf Family!  

As we begin a new semester I would like to wish a very Happy New Year to you. I trust you had a wonderful winter break with family and friends. As we celebrate this new year, 2020, it is always a great time for looking back to the past, but more importantly, looking forward to the coming year. It is a time to reflect on the changes we want, or need, to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. So as we begin 2020, I want to assure everyone that the high expectations in academics set from the beginning of the year will continue as we begin our second semester. Our school teacher team and I have been analyzing student data and I am proud to report that our students are making good progress towards their academic goals and expectations. 

 

As you know, developing and promoting kindness is a focus at our school.  We recently rolled out a new student leadership program that aligns with our Project Cornerstone school wide implementation. Project Cornerstone’s Expect Respect program engages student leaders (4th and 5th graders) in promoting a more caring, inclusive, kind, and safe school environment.  This program is led by parent leader - Mrs. Teresa Peters - and by our instructional coach - Mrs. Natalie Gallagher. Student leaders went through a three-hour training where they were trained by Project Cornerstone staff on identifying and promoting positive behaviors in our school community, understanding how behavior impacts student success, develop a school site specific action plan for improving student-to-student relationships, etc. Expect Respect is focused on empowering students to identify opportunities for fostering kindness and inclusion school wide. Expect Respect student leaders have created an action plan to implement through the school year that promotes a caring school climate. The action plan includes displaying kindness reminders through posters, new student welcome team, tissue “issue box”, mix-it up lunches, school wide food drives, giving back to the community, etc. Check out the picture below with our ER Welcome Team presenting one of our new students’ with a welcome card and a school sweatshirt. 

 

Please join me in welcoming our new staff member - Ms. Maria Quintas. Ms. Quintas is our temporary School and Community Engagement Facilitator (SCEF) while Mrs. Lisset Tellez is out on maternity leave. Ms. Quintas has a Bachelor's in Community Social Work and a Master's in Educational Psychology from the University of Vigo (in Spain). She is a strong advocate for social justice and has experience in educational and mental health settings in Spain, Austria and Germany. She is fluent in German and Spanish. Ms. Quintas comes to our school from Graham Preschool where she worked as a special education Instructional Aide. We are excited to have Ms.Quintas join our team starting Monday, January 13th. She would love to meet with you and be of assistance at our school. Please drop by our parent community room to say hello and welcome her to our school. 

 

FInally, I would like to thank you for your continued support for our students, staff, and our school community. In this new year, let's continue to build our school community stronger and more cohesive!  As always, if you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or me directly. We are here to work together to provide the best possible education for your student!

 

Upward and Beyond! 

Sincerely, 

 

Ms. Swati Dagar 

Principal - Theuerkauf Elementary

 

School News

Girls on the Run After School program is coming to Theuerkauf in Spring! 

Theuerkauf will offer a 10-week Girls on the Run after-school program designed for 3rd - 5th grade girls to recognize and embrace their inner strength. At the end of the program, Girls on the Run will culminate in a 5K, which fosters confident and goal-oriented mindset. Please be on the lookout for more information and applications coming your way soon.


My student is in school most of the time, so that’s ok, right?

Most parents are aware of what it means for a child to be truant from school. However, California is monitoring and working to reduce the numbers of students who are “chronically absent.” Students who are chronically absent typically attend school fairly regularly, but miss a few days here and there, which really add up and affect their learning. It's important to know both excused or unexcused absences count toward chronic absenteeism.

Chronically absent students have been absent (either excused or unexcused) for 10% of the time that school has been in session. For example, if your student has been absent 2 days before Sept. 15, he is chronically absent.  If your student has been absent 5 days before Oct. 20, she is chronically absent. An average of 2 days absent a month means a student is chronically absent. The District is now required to track this data and report it to the state.   For more information, click here. 

 

Before School and After School Clubs

Chess Club every Tuesday and Thursday 7:45 a.m in Library 

CSMA Art every Friday 3:30-4:30 p.m in Rm 26  (2nd- 5th) Starts 1/17-5/22

CSMA Art every Thursday 1:00-2:00 p.m in Rm 26 (Kinder- 1st) Starts 1/16-5/21

Ukulele Class every Monday 3:15-4:15 p.m in Library (3rd- 5th) 

Chorus every Thursday 12:45-1:45 p.m 

 

CSMA Spring ART Club

Due to popular demand, Art club has split into two separate classes, K- 1st will be on Thursdays from 1-2 p.m starting 1/16/20. And 2nd- 5th graders can sign up for Friday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 p.m starting on 1/17/20. Please find more details in the flyers attached, registration is online through CSMA.

PTA News

Happy New Year and welcome back!

To make the upcoming pancake breakfast more interactive and fun we are looking to borrow a couple griddles for the day! Let us know if you can help us out. 

PTA is looking for a new secretary.  Contact us if interested!

 

Please save the following dates: 

Feb. 1 Saturday Pancake in Pajama Breakfast 

March 6 Friday Movie Night

 

District News
Open Enrollment for new and current MVWSD students starts Jan. 13

For NEW and CURRENT students: Open Enrollment is from January 13-February 7 online. You can register your child for the 2020-21 school year when online registration opens on January 13 here: www.mvwsd.org/register.

To make sure you're ready, please check your PowerSchool Parent Portal Access now. On November 21, you received an email with your PowerSchool Parent Portal Account with your username and instructions. Please check now that you have access and that all your currently enrolled students are linked in your PowerSchool Parent Portal. 

* Only one PowerSchool Parent Portal account is needed per family. 

* If not all of your children are currently linked on your PowerSchool Parent Portal, please contact your school office.

Beginning January 13, parents with students in grades TK-7 will be able to log on to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to enroll their children for 2020-21. Current eighth-grade parents should check their mail for Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District registration information.

 

Mentor Tutor Connection Volunteer Information Session - January 15th

You can change the life of a student!

Come learn about volunteer opportunities to Mentor high school students and Tutor students in grades K-8  in our Mountain View and Los Altos schools.

There is no obligation to sign up as a volunteer.  You're welcome to just come and learn more about what we do. 

All volunteers must be high school graduates.  

          Date:               Wednesday, January 15th

          Time:               12:00 - 1:00 pm (lunch included)

           Location:         El Camino YMCA

                                   2400 Grant Road, Mountain View, CA 

         Register:           REGISTER ONLINE

         Questions:         programs@mentortutorconnection.org

 

 MVEF Winter Gala and Auction- Get your Tickets Today!   

MVEF’S Winter Gala and Auction is on Saturday, February 8th! You don't want to miss this fun evening as MVEF goes Full STEAM Ahead to support all MVWSD schools. Attendees will celebrate the new dedicated STEAM classrooms and raise funds to support every child at every school in the Mountain View Whisman School District!

The event will be held at the new Mountain View Community Center from 5:30-10:00 pm.

·       Doors open at 5:15 pm, followed by champagne, appetizers, and silent auction preview.

·       Sit-down dinner will be served at 6:15 pm, followed by a live auction, and paddle raise for STEAM.

·       The evening concludes with silent auction bidding and dancing until 10:00 pm.

The menu is incredible, and the live and silent auctions are filled with amazing items, experiences, and one of a kind opportunities. MVEF anticipates a sellout event so get your tickets today!

All admission tickets are for the entire evening. Gather your friends to make a table, purchase individual tickets or if you know a teacher or staff member who you would like to send, you may choose a Teacher/Staff Ticket and send their name to Melissa, at [email protected].

 Learn more and purchase tickets here!

  

Come to the 5th Learning Challenges Resource Fair, a joint project between SELPA 1 CAC and the Learning Challenges Committee.

         The Fair is on January 21, 2020 from 6-8 pm at the MUR in Crittenden Middle School, 1701 Rock St, Mountain View.All families are invited! We have providers from a wide variety of areas, from tutoring services to summer camps, speech therapists to art and music programs, social skills programs to lawyers and advocates and many more! 

         Please let everyone know! Every family can benefit, for students from preschool through high school and beyond!

 

Earned Income Tax Credit

You may qualify for Earned Income Tax Credit

The EITC is a benefit for working people with low to moderate income. In order to qualify for the EITC, households must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if taxes are not owed or households are not required to file. The EITC reduces the amount of tax households owe and may allow for a refund. For information regarding your eligibility to receive the Federal EITC, contact the IRS by calling 1-800-829-3676 or through its website at www.irs.gov.

 

The MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents William Stixrud, M.D. and Ned Johnson on "The Self-Driven Child:  The Science and Sense of Giving Kids More Control Over Their Lives" on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 - 7:00 - 9:00pm | MVHS Spartan Theater | 3535 Truman Ave., Mountain View

Evidence strongly suggests that age-appropriate autonomy is vital for young people’s mental health—it helps them to sculpt brains that are resilient, resourceful, and ready to take on new challenges.

When The Self-Driven Child authors Bill Stixrud and Ned Johnson discovered a common problem among their young clients: kids were feeling acutely stressed.  Some stumbled in high school, while others hit college and unraveled. Bill is a clinical neuropsychologist who helps kids gripped by anxiety or struggling to learn. Ned is a motivational coach who runs an elite tutoring service. Together they discovered that the best antidote to stress is to give kids a sense of control. In this talk, Bill and Ned advise that parents and educators adopt the role of consultant rather than manager to give kids more responsibility for their own life decisions even before they leave home. 

Audience:  Parents and educators of students grades 6 - 12.

To register for this free event, go to https://mvla2019-20-stixrudandjohnson.eventbrite.com

Books available for purchase, thanks to Books, Inc.,  (cash or check)

Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF), and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council.

 

Attachments
CSMA Art K-1 

CSMA Art 2-5 

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