August 14, 2019

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Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Core value of the month: Respect 

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Monta Loma Families,

Welcome to the 2019-2020 School Year! I hope you had a fun-filled summer and are as excited about the new year as I am.

Over the summer, our staff has been preparing and planning for the school year ahead. Teachers participated in various professional development sessions in core content areas and school climate. Please see the Monta Loma School Handbook for information about procedures, schedule, rules and more. 

Fond Farewells and Warm Welcomes

We will bid fond farewells to some of our staff at the end of this year as they move on to new life adventures in different schools, different cities, or different phases in their lives. Mrs. Mixon, Mr. Dechter, Mr. Stribling, and Mrs. Tellez will bring their talents to other schools in our district. We are grateful they will not be too far from us. Mrs. Fetroe, Mrs. Satterfield and Mrs. Azofeifa are moving a little farther away. Our loss is another city’s gain, but email and social media will keep in close contact. And we can’t wait to see postcards from Mrs. Burris’ travel adventures as she enjoys her well-deserved retirement. We thank each of these Monta Loma family members for the joy they brought to our school.

We are fortunate to have some greetings as well. Welcome back to David Harris, who will rejoin the Monta Loma team as our instructional coach. Mr. Harris comes back to us with a wealth of experience in teaching, coaching and educational technology. Welcome to Corina Ruiz who will be joining us our SCEF next year. As a former Monta Loma parent, she knows our school well. As the current SCEF at Crittenden, she has a valuable perspective on where our students are heading. We are looking forward to learning from them. And Welcome Yasmeen Ghazzawi who will join our Kindergarten team. Ms. Ghazzawi comes with years of experience in dual immersion school in Monterey. We are also thrilled to welcome Megan Bailey and Ashley Green as Special Day Class Teachers. Both of these special educators have much experience with inclusion and differentiation and will add depth to our team.

Monta Loma will also have some familiar faces in new places next year. We’re excited to have Mrs. Gunshor teaching a K/1 combo class, Mrs. Fletcher-Perry teaching 4th grade, and Ms. Fassiotto teaching STEM. We know they will do great things in these new roles.

Bell Schedule

Our start and end times will be the same as last year. The first bell is at 8:30. Students arriving after 8:35 must get a tardy slip in the office. Dismissal is at 2:05 for Kindergarten, 3:10 for First through Third Grade, and 3:15 for Fourth and Fifth Grade.

 Our recess and lunch schedule are changing. All grades will have recess from 10:30 to 10:50. All students will have lunch recess from 12:30 to 1:15. Kindergarteners through 2nd graders will eat for the first half and play for the second half. 3rd through 5th graders will play for the first half and eat for the second half. 5th graders will eat at 12:15pm on Tuesdays to accommodate the CSMA Schedule. 

Volunteers for lunch supervision are very much appreciated in the first week of school. Please see the office for details. 

Important Dates

Mark your calendars now. You won’t want to miss any of our Welcome Back Events.

  • August 15th, 4:30-6:00 pm: Lemonade Social and Class List Posting.
  • August 19th, 8:30 am-12:30 pm: First Day of School!!! (Note that this is a minimum day.) PTA will also host a coffee a Principal’s Coffee for Kinder and New Parents immediately following the start of school in the Multi Use Room.
  • August 28th, 6:00-7:30 pm: Back to School Night (parents only). This is also a minimum day for students with dismissal at 12:30.

Lunch

We serve hot lunch daily, as well as breakfast either before school or during morning recess. Meal information and applications can be found on our district website on the parent page or by calling 650-526-3500. For students bringing lunches from home, we encourage healthy, low-sugar foods, and environmentally sound practices such as reusable containers.

Join the Monta Loma PTA

The PTA welcomes all parents, teachers, and interested community members who want to get involved and support our school. To join, fill out the form a membership form and return it with your membership fee to the PTA box in the main office. Member discount cards are available upon request. 

School Supplies

While schools are responsible for providing all basic supplies, please consider supporting our school and classrooms with a contribution. Suggested classroom supplies can be found on the website at montaloma.mvwsd.org under the parent tab. If you ordered supplies in the spring, they will be delivered the first week of school.

I can't wait to see all of you and hear about everyone's summer adventures! Here’s to another wonderful year.

In partnership,

Gloria Higgins

Principal, Monta Loma Elementary School


CALENDAR

Thursday, August 15, 2019

  • Lemonade Social and Class Posting @ 4:30pm

Monday, August 19, 2019

  • First day of school ends at 12:30pm
  • Kinder and new parents Principal’s Coffee @8:45am

Friday, August 23, 2019

  • Principal Coffee @ 8:45am

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

  • Back to school night @ 6:00pm

 



NEWS FROM THE DISTRICT OFFICE

Welcome back from the Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF)!

 MVEF is a community supported non-profit that raises funds to provide a competitive, well-rounded education for every child in the district. Thanks to tax-deductible donations from parents like you, MVEF funds important programs including weekly art and music classes at every elementary school, hands-on science field trips for every 4th, 5th and 6th grader, garden-based lessons led by Living Classroom, middle school athletics, science labs, instrument repair and purchase and more! We need your help to meet our goal to raise $800,000.  Learn more at your school’s back to school night or donate today at mvef.org.

Click here to read the MVEF Welcome Back Letter

Food for Thought Truck

MVWSD Food and Nutrition Services is proud to introduce the Food for Thought Truck (flyer attached). This truck was made possible by a grant from Second Harvest Food Bank and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Throughout the year, your students will interact with the truck for nutritional education, as well as for food service. Please visit us on the Truck during Back to School Nights: 

Castro Elementary, Aug. 27

Monta Loma Elementary, Aug. 28

Graham Middle School, Sept. 4

Meal payments

If your family is experiencing a financial setback, please contact us so we can help.  We can assist you in applying for free or reduced price meal benefits through the National Lunch Program. The 2019-20 online application deadline is September 20, 2019.  No citizenship information is collected during the application process. Just as in the past, you will need to reapply annually. Please go to the following website to apply online today. http://www.ezmealapp.com (or applications are available at your child’s school office). 

Meal payment:  Full or reduced price meals can be paid online throughout the year at www.EZschoolPay.com.  For 2019-20, full price meals cost $3.50 for lunch and $2.50 for breakfast (reduced price is 40¢ for lunch and 30¢ for breakfast).  You can pay in advance (online, check, or cash) or at the time of purchase. 

Please call MVWSD Food and Nutrition Services at (650) 903-6965 if you have any questions. 

Lunch menus

Menus are found here: https://www.mvwsd.org/parents/nutrition

COMMUNITY NEWS 

Coach Ken

Sign up for Coach Ken Soccer Monta Loma class on Tuesday 2:30-3:30 pm for K- 5 Here: http://www.coachkensoccer.com/mountain-view-after-school-programs/

Pick up and supervision offered from school end until soccer begins. 

Click here to see flyer

CSMA Art Club

Join us for a 12-week fall art club session where we will explore the theme: The Art of Food. Students will paint, draw and build with support and instruction from CSMA faculty. Teachers develop a new curriculum with each new session. This session we will explore the many ways that food is connected to art. We will look at artists that use food as a medium or theme in their artwork and create projects based on these.

Register online at:  https://register.asapconnected.com/courses.aspx?coursegroupid=10998

Click here for Kinder - 2nd grade Flyer 

Click here for 3rd - 5th grade Flyer 

Register Now for Free After School Beginning Scratch and Beginning JavaScript Classes at Monta Loma

Los Altos High School volunteers from the Computer Engineers of the Next Generation is offering two free afternoon coding classes on Wednesdays starting August 28 till October 16 from 3:15 - 4:45 pm. We will have no class on October 9th due to Conference Week.

  • Beginning JavaScript class is for advanced coders in 4th and 5th grade who have at least one year of Scratch. Beginning JavaScript Class Registration Link: https://forms.gle/6ZpCuHakJzbH3Btx9

Our classes are limited to 20 students. Please register now. Parents will be notified by Thursday, August 22nd. Questions? Please contact Alice Lee at 650-996-4821 or email [email protected]

Lunch Chess Club

BayAreaChess combines fun and learning while promoting a team spirit where everyone helps each other succeed and improve. Our chess program will cover the very basics for new students to the game and we can challenge experienced players with more advanced concepts. Students will have the opportunity to learn the moves of the pieces, opening strategy, tactics, checkmates and endgame play. Students will also learn valuable life skills through chess, such as winning and losing with grace, sportsmanship, planning and team spirit. Our mission is to transform and enrich the lives of students through chess. 

Register Online Here (Fee $270): enrichment.bayareachess.com/MontaLoma19Fall



 
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