The Dolphin Whistle

Dear Parents,

You will be receiving an invitation soon from the teacher for parent conferences that are happening soon after the December break. The sign-ups are all online and we are using Sign-up Genius. Check your email this week and early next week and sign-up as soon as possible. Please contact the teacher or the office (650) 526-3590 if you are having difficulty signing up.

We have counseling support for students available now! Please contact our school counselor, Ms. Alapizco at 669-247-7115 if you would like your child to receive some emotional support during these difficult times. For example, if they are more irritable than usual, acting sad or depressed, or overly stressed counseling support can help. Also, if your family is going through any sort of crisis or trauma, counseling is a good support for your child.

There are just 6 more days until the December break. Students, staff, and parents have worked hard this fall and this break is well-deserved. The last day of classes is Friday, December 18th.

Warm Regards,

Theresa Lambert

Principal Mariano Castro Elementary

cell number (831)206-9522

The Listening Tool helps us to remember to listen deeply when others are communicating. We listen with our ears, our eyes, and our heart.

Unfortunately, due to the tighter restrictions in the latest Covid County guidelines, we will not be able to hold the student gift distribution that was going to take place on Monday the 14th as it is not an essential activity. In January the school is having a textbook and school supply distribution and PTA will be able to give out the T-shirts and gifts then. I am sure the students will welcome the gifts in January as well!

If you have not already filled out the form indicating your child's T-shirt size, please do so asap. Thank you!

Here is the T-shirt link.

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020 - 6 p.m. Information Night for entering Kinder students Aug. 2021, Zoom link: http://mvw.sd/CAKinder

Thursday, December 10th,2020 - District Parent Meeting - Learn about iReady! 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, December 16th, 2020 - Food Pantry,11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., MUR

Friday, December 11th, 2020- Community check in with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph, 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 - Students Return to School

Monday, January 11th, 2021- Friday, January 15,2021 - Conference week, Minimum Days

Monday, January 18th, 2021 - No School, Martin Luther King Day

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - ELAC Meeting, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Wed, January 20, 2021 - School Site Council Meeting 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 26, 2020 - Principal's Coffee - 3:30 p.m.

Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/Dec11

In December, we are celebrating Abilities Awareness Month. To honor our commitments in moving towards equity and inclusion, help us bring the voices of people with diverse abilities into your classroom or homes, and create a learning environment that rejects ableism. From lessons on art, activism and physical disabilities to education about new developments in Universal Design, these resources will help you and your children embrace diverse abilities and understand the injustices people with disabilities often encounter. Together, we can appreciate our abilities and celebrate our common humanity. See the attached graphics or view them on https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogethermvwsd

Please join us for a virtual i-Ready parent workshop on December 10, 2020 at 5:30 - 6:30 PM. This session will provide parents with an overview of i-Ready and answer parents’ frequently asked questions about how i-Ready elevates instruction.

Click here to register. Spanish interpretation is available for this workshop.

We want to answer your questions. In advance of the workshop, please email questions to Ms. Swati Dagar, Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at sdagar@mvwsd.org by Friday, December 4, 2020.

Is now enrolling for full-day and part-day for the 2021-22 school year. Information meetings will be held in January. Please see the attached flyer or https://www.mvwsd.org/preschool for more information.

The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) is administered every year to our English Learner (EL) students. To learn more about this assessment, the role it plays in the education of every EL, and how to help your child prepare, please join us for one of the following meetings:

• December 15

5:00-5:30 in English: https://zoom.us/j/92673835582

5:30-6:00 in Spanish: https://zoom.us/j/94603257266

• January 12

5:00-5:30 in English: https://zoom.us/j/93307939185

5:30-6:00 in Spanish: https://zoom.us/j/93709174683

School and District information meetings are coming up in December. Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for a list of these events and for login information.

• If your child turns 5 years old between September 2 – December 2, 2021, he/she may qualify for transitional kindergarten. TK info night is December 16 at 5:00 p.m online.

• If you are interested in the District's choice schools, information nights are:

Gabriela Mistral: Dual Spanish/English Immersion: December 15 at 6 pm

Stevenson: Parent Child Teacher: December 16 at 6 pm

Choice schools will also have information at the elementary schools’ info nights (6 p.m. Dec. 9).

For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 18- 22.

For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 11 through Feb. 5, 2021 online. You can register your child for the 2021-22 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register

Throughout December, every dollar donated will be matched dollar for dollar up to $47,000, through the MVEF December Challenge Grant. The December Challenge Grant has been made possible by generous MVEF donors who are challenging you to join them in supporting MVEF. Donate today to get your donation matched by this challenge!

https://www.mvef.org/donate

If your company has a matching gift program, you can triple your impact by donating this month!

Each and every year we rely on generous donors like you to help MVEF fund programming and experiences at every school in the district, ensuring that your child and every child has an inspiring, well-rounded education.

Every dollar donated makes a difference and allows the district-wide programs to be funded which is especially important now, during remote learning. It takes donations of every size for MVEF to reach their annual goal of $800,000.

These are the programs and activities MVEF is supporting during remote learning because of donors like you:

· Music and Art: CSMA weekly online art and music classes for TK-5th, instrument purchase and repair, and art supply kits for all elementary schools

· Science:

· Living Classroom environmental education for elementary and middle school.

· Environmental Programs taught interactively for the 4th and 5th grades

· Middle school science supplies for teachers

· TechSmart coding programs from 3rd grade through middle school (through a grant from Tides Foundation)

· Training for Elementary STEAM teachers with Discovery Education

· Additional Middle School funding to support the Elective Wheel classes, redesigned for distance learning!

· Padlet licenses for teachers

· Online apps (Smart Music, Flat.io, and SoundTrap) for Music Appreciation classes, Band, Choir, and Orchestra

· Music books

· Art Supplies

· Robotics

· Tech Smart coding (through a grant from Tides Foundation)

Even through distance learning, your donations to MVEF continue to fund art, music, and science for every student at every school!

Thank you in advance for your support!

School and District information meetings are coming up in December. Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for a list of these events and for login information.

• School kindergarten/new student information nights are online on December 9 at 6:00 p.m. for all elementary schools, and include choice school information.

• If your child turns 5 years old between September 2 – December 2, 2021, he/she may qualify for transitional kindergarten. TK info night is December 16 at 5:00 p.m online.

• If you are interested in the District's choice schools, information nights are:

Gabriela Mistral: Dual Spanish/English Immersion: December 15 at 6 pm

Stevenson: Parent Child Teacher: December 16 at 6 pm

Choice schools will also have information at the elementary schools’ info nights (6 p.m. Dec. 9).

For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 18- 22.

For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 11 through Feb. 5, 2021 online. You can register your child for the 2021-22 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register

SELPA 1 CAC and the Learning Challenge Committee are your groups for special education and broader learning challenge needs. We are ALL having learning challenges right now, and CAC and LCC are here to help. If you have questions about learning challenges and special education needs, email selpa1cacinfo@gmail.com or check out www.selpa1cac.org

We encourage families to learn about the sensory needs all children may have during distance learning: Try a Sensory Diet

December 1, 9:30 am - Alternative Dispute Resolution This workshop will explore differences between unconscious (implicit) bias, racism and the stereotypes we bring to every conversation. Participants will also leave with a “tool kit" they can use in future cross-cultural dialogues. https://santaclara.k12oms.org/421-190133

December 3, 7 pm-8:30 pm - Distance Learning Toolkit: Increasing Focus Through a Sensory Lens - LAMV PTA Council and SELPA 1 CAC present this talk with Lisa Kaplan Shanaan, MS OTR/L TMHP Come learn from Lisa Kaplan Shaanan, an occupational therapist and trainer, who has been working with children birth thru 18 years old for more than 30 years. She will recommend tools and techniques useful to help all children discover their best ways to self-regulate and really learn and stay engaged during the Zoom school day. (SOLD OUT)

December 7, 9 am- General Parent/Community Meeting with Special Ed. Directors & Staff, Zoom at 9:00 am for LCC and 9:30 am for CAC. We will be planning for the year, discussing upcoming programs and discussing distance learning and learning challenges. For our agenda, please join our Google group, https://groups.google.com/g/selpa1cac. For the Zoom link for this meeting, email selpa1cacinfo@gmail.com.

December 8, 10 am - Parent Chat - Support for parents of teens with mental health challenges. A great place for help and support for challenges with your teens. Please contact trudy.palmer@me.com for Google Meet invite.

December 9, 7 pm-8:30 pm - Distance Learning Toolkit: Increasing Focus Through a Sensory Lens - LAMV PTA Council and SELPA 1 CAC present this talk with Lisa Kaplan Shanaan, MS OTR/L TMHP Come learn from Lisa Kaplan Shaanan, an occupational therapist and trainer, who has been working with children birth thru 18 years old for more than 30 years. She will recommend tools and techniques useful to help all children discover their best ways to self-regulate and really learn and stay engaged during the Zoom school day. (additional session added due to demand! Register at Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/additional-session-distance-learning-toolkit-sensory-lens-tickets-1 30072946685

December 10, 7 pm - Evening Let’s Talk - (note date change!!!!) IEP/504 support group. Have questions about the process to get help for your child? Have an IEP but are not sure how to

make changes? Need to vent? This is your confidential group. Please contact selpa1cacinfo@gmail.com for the Zoom link for this meeting.