Wednesday April 22, 2020
Core value of the month: Courage
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Dear Monta Loma Families,
Thank you for a very successful distribution of student materials last week. It was wonderful to see you all from a safe distance, and we were really pleased to be able to provide some materials for students.
It has also been a real pleasure to join many of the classroom check-ins today via Zoom. I will continue to do so to connect with the students. In the meantime, please tell them how much the whole staff and I miss them.
As you know, our formal distance learning plan began on Monday. You can find more information on our Distance Learning Dashboard which includes weekly schedules, announcements, resources, and more.
Thank you for sharing feedback with me, asking questions, offering suggestions, and appreciating the fantastic work of our team. Below are a few questions and answers that seem to come up frequently and a recap of what you can expect from us.
What can we expect every week?
-
Two lessons per subject per week: Math, English Language Arts, Social Studies, and English Language Development. These may include live lessons, video-recorded lessons, and links to lessons prepared by others.
-
Two weekly check-ins via Zoom or phone call if you have no internet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Links for Zoom meetings can be found in your child’s Google Classroom.
-
Office Hours Monday through Thursday to answer questions from families or students. All Monta Loma Staff has office hours from 1:15-3:15.
-
Daily Blackout Hours from 11:30 to 1:00 to allow you, students, and staff to take care of other matters and our own families.
-
Weekly STEAM lessons, Twice weekly PE lessons, Art and Music
-
Librarian Read-alouds for grades K-2 as well as book clubs for grades 3-5.
When will weekly lessons be posted? Teachers will post resources for the week by 8:30 on Monday Mornings.
Will my child be promoted to the next grade level? What about grades? The Board of Trustees has directed that all grading should be suspended for the remainder of the school year and that students should be promoted to the next grade for the 2020-21 school year. Teachers will focus on providing feedback to students on activities and assignments and answering their related questions.
Where can I get a chromebook or wifi?
Please contact Corina Ruiz at [email protected] if you are in need of a chromebook. We will do our best to help. If you have issues with a district issued Chromebook, please refer to this help sheet for How to fix basic Chromebook issues (includes Spanish). For more complicated issues, please contact MVWSD Technology at 650-526-3252 or [email protected].
Outdoor wifi is available in the parking lots at Monta Loma, Crittenden, Graham, Landels, and Mistral will be available for student use. Families will be able to park in the lot to access wifi. While using parking lot wifi, you must remain in your car in order to practice social distancing. Students must have an adult accompanying them.
How do I access Google Classroom? You will need your student to be signed into their Google classroom account to access the materials. If you encounter a Google Classro message "class not found," there are two ways you can access students' assignments, lesson videos and more on Google classroom. 1. Ask your student to log in and show you around the Google Classroom 2. Ask your teacher if you can receive Guardian Summaries. You can choose to receive them either weekly or daily. You can also download the Google Classroom App that will make mobile access easier, both for parents and for students, to view lesson videos on mobile devices, if preferred. In addition, we will post each classroom’s weekly agenda and school announcements on a schoolwide Distance Learning Dashboard.
Onward together,
Gloria Higgins
CALENDAR
PTA NEWS
Dear Monta Loma Community,
I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. These are difficult times, but I've been so moved by the efforts of so many to reach out and take care of each other.
We will hold our last Association Meeting May 22 at 8:40am online through Zoom. You need to be a PTA member in order to vote or run for a position. You can become a member by going to our website www.montalomapta.org/membership/
In addition to financial matters, we'll be holding our election for next year at that meeting. Although these times are uncertain, we do know that our kids, school staff, and families need our support. We will continue to work to enrich the lives of our kids, to strengthen our community, and to support our wonderful staff. Please consider joining us in this work.
In particular, we are still seeking candidates for Executive Vice-President, Communications Chair, Secretary, Hospitality Chair, Auditor, Historian, and Parliamentarian. You can see descriptions of most of these roles on our website www.montalomapta.org/get-involved/ Any one of our board members would also be happy to answer any questions you have about these roles and serving on the board. There is training available through our regional and state PTAs and we have an extensive amount of documentation to share as well. No one has to reinvent the wheel or go it alone! Let me know if you'd like to run for a position. We'll also take nominations the day of the meeting.
We hope you'll join us at the meeting on May 22. I'll send out a zoom link to members a few days prior.
NEWS FROM THE DISTRICT OFFICE
Free, low cost internet for students
We think that it’s important that each of our students has one Internet-ready device (laptop, iPad, etc) in their house for distance learning schoolwork. There are several ways you can access free/or low cost internet to connect students' Chromebooks. Please see the attached flyer or click on www.mvwsd.org/technology.
2020 Census Paper Questionnaires are on their way to Californians!
If you’re among the 70+ million households who have already responded to the 2020 Census, thank you! If you haven’t completed it yet, paper questionnaires are in the mail headed your way. Households receiving the paper questionnaire can still respond online or by phone, or they can return it by mail in the enclosed envelope. When you respond online, use the Census ID from the letter or provide your address. To respond now, go to https://go.usa.gov/xdKjk.
Please encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to complete it too. It’s something everyone can do while practicing social distancing at home to make a difference today, tomorrow and the next 10 years.
Incoming middle school parents: Prepare to select electives for 2020-21
Beginning April 29, 2020, incoming middle school parents will be able to log on to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to select their fifth- to seventh-graders’ elective choices for 2020-21. You will receive an email when the course catalogs are posted on April 24.
Please make sure you have access to the PowerSchool Parent Portal now by logging on to https://ps.mvwsd.org/public/. You will use the PowerSchool Parent Portal for elective selection, grades, assignments and attendance monitoring, and for downloading state test results.
If you have difficulty signing in, please contact your school office.
Flyers/Events
MVWSD 2019-20 calendar
**MVWSD 2020-21 Calendar**