Wednesday May 6, 2020
Core value of the month: Hard work
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Dear Monta Loma Families,
End of Year Recognitions:
May is usually a wonderful time of year for schools as we turn our thoughts to the end of year culminating events and celebrations. Though we are adjusting to strange times we are finding creative ways to celebrate the hard work and success of our students and staff.
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Virtual Science Fair: Congratulations to all our virtual science fair participants. If you haven’t seen the video yet, be sure to check it out at https://youtu.be/aQSFs4HWvPw
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Staff Appreciation: Please join in on expressing how thankful we are for the work all our staff do for our children, our family, our community, the world. Send a picture of your child doing schoolwork at home to Dafne at [email protected] no later than Wednesday, May 6th.
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5th Grade Promotion: We are planning a video celebration of our 5th graders to send them off in style to Middle school. Stay tuned for details.
Student Engagement and Participation
We are very proud of the engagement and participation of our students during this difficult time. We can’t thank you enough for all the ways you are supporting students and staff. Some questions continue to arise regarding expectations for work.
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Is the work mandatory? While we are not physically in school, please remember that school is in session. Students are expected to complete assignments, and teachers will be providing feedback and support to students. We will follow up with families who are not engaging to provide support in getting the resources needed to have a successful 2019-2020 school year.
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What should we do if the work is difficult to complete? We know that for many families, it is difficult to complete all the work. Please reach out to your child’s teacher for suggestions in prioritizing workload and assignments. If you can only do one or two things a day, i-Ready is a good place to focus.
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Do you have any more Chromebooks? Families without one functional, internet-ready device in their home should contact me or our School and Community Engagement Facilitator, Corina Ruiz at [email protected].
Seeking members: School Reopening focus groups
MVWSD is seeking representative groups of parents, students, teachers, and staff members for school reopening focus groups. Four volunteers are needed per school site. The focus groups will explore desires and concerns for school reopening. More information is found in our district news section below. To apply to be a focus group member, please complete an application found here by May 16 or contact me by email.
As always, please reach out to us for anything you may need.
In partnership,
Gloria
CALENDAR
Distance Learning Tips
Here are a few tips that might help you and your student with Distance Learning. Do you have any tried and true methods of helping your students’ school days be more efficient and your family’s life a little easier? Share them here. http://mvw.sd/37PbG
Giving choice and voice: When looking at the assignments given for the day, have your child choose which ones he or she would like to do first, second, etc. Giving choice and voice to your child will give him/her independence as well as confidence to do the work.
Divide and conquer: When working on the assignments, chunk the work into small, manageable pieces. Have your child work for 15-20 minutes and then have them do a preferred activity (coloring, legos, etc.) for 5 minutes and then back to the assignment for another 15-20 minutes. Setting a timer or cell phone reminder is a helpful auditory “cue” for you and your student to take a break and check on each other.
Use your tools: Before starting the day, talk about which tools your child will use for the day. He or she can use the courage “tool” to persevere through the assignments or the “breathing” tool when something is difficult or tough to manage.
Kids are stuck on a question? Your child’s teachers’ have office hours Monday through Thursday to answer questions from families or students. This is a great time for your child to connect with his/her teacher, and practice speaking to adults and asking for help. (Teachers are not available 11:30 am to 1:30 pm to allow you, students, and staff to take care of other matters and our own families)
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
MVWSD is planning for reopening for the 2020-21 school year.
These plans will cover 14 dimensions: Governance, Health and Wellness, Equity, Curriculum, Human Capital, Nutrition, Facilities, Operations, Instruction, Resurgence, Enrollment, Communication, Technology, Finance. We'll define operations under each stage of reopening: Schools closed, Targeted opening, Open with Restrictions, Full opening using guidance from Santa Clara County Public Health and the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
To view the presentation to the Board of Trustees, please click here.
Next steps include: Activate the Reopening Task Force (composed of teachers, classified staff and administrators); continue to adapt our Distance Learning Plan; and get feedback from our stakeholders.
The goal is to adapt our learning environment for any scenario and make it nimble enough to adjust in the event that COVID-19 resurges later in the year. We will work with all stakeholders to vet the viability of any options. This is a community public health crisis, and we need community feedback
Seeking members: School Reopening focus groups
MVWSD is seeking representative groups of parents, students, teachers, and staff members for school reopening focus groups. Four volunteers are needed per school site. The focus groups will explore desires and concerns for school reopening.
Focus groups will meet twice (once in May and again in June) and each group will focus on a stage: Schools closed, Targeted opening, Open with Restrictions, Full opening. To apply to be a focus group member, please complete an application found here by May 16 or contact your school principal.
Check-in with the Superintendent: Friday, May 8
Please join us for an online check-in with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. He will be covering some of the topics on parents’ minds, as well as taking questions. These check-ins will be held on a regular basis on Fridays. For login information, on May 8 please click on www.mvwsd.org.
The Santa Clara County Office of Education has developed a Parent Support Webinar series just for parents who have questions on how they can support their kids with learning.
Free Parent Support Webinar series:
May 7 Episode 1: Maintaining a Healthy, Balanced Family Life
May 14 Episode 2: Reading Comprehension Support
May 21 Episode 3: Writing Development Support
May 28 Episode 4: Academic Content Support
Audience: Parents & Educators
Dates: Thursdays in May 2020
Time: 1-1:30 PM, PST
Join Live: bit.ly/sccoeparents
Cost: Free
17th Annual Mvwsd Interscholastic Chess Tournament
17AMICT is forging ahead and will be held this year despite COVID-19! The tournament will be online this year and will be held Sunday, May 31, 2020, from 11:30 to 5:00. Full instructions and registration are at tinyurl.com/mvwsdchess. The registration deadline is May 29. Come take part in one of the few events this school year going on as scheduled. Contact Mark Ruzon, Tournament Director, at [email protected] with any questions.
InPlay
With extended time sheltering-in-place, InPlay, MVWSD's partner for out-of-school learning, has created a list of home-based, instructor-led programs offered by your favorite local providers to keep your students active and engaged! Please check it out. https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view/discover
Flyers/Events
MVWSD 2019-20 calendar
**MVWSD 2020-21 Calendar**