The Dolphin Whistle

Dear Parents,

We have reached the end of the second trimester already! When the students return from Winter Vacation on Mon. Feb. 24th they will be well rested for a rigorous and successful final trimester. As you know there are many end of year assessments for all grades, including the State test (SBAC) in ELA, Writing, and Math for grades 3,4, and 5. All of the skills on these state and district assessments are skills that students need to be successful in their next grade. Please help your child to understand the importance of focusing on their learning during class times, and to leave the focus on friends for recesses and after school hours.

iReady is available to all students at home. If the students are not already using this at home or if you need assistance logging in to iReady at home, please contact the school. Also, please check that your child is using the iReady lessons and not just the iReady games.

Wishing you all wonderful family times during the Winter Break next week.

Warm Regards,

Theresa Lambert

Principal Mariano Castro Elementary

Feb. 10- 14: PTA Book Fair MUR

Feb. 12 - School Site Council Mtg 5:00 p.m. Staff Lounge

Feb. 14 - End of Trimester 2

Feb.14 - Minimum Day school is out at 12:25pm

Feb. 17 - Feb. 21 - Winter Break No School

Feb. 27 - Personal Success Assembly - 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. MUR

Feb. 28 - Spirit wear sale before and after school

We are still fighting the flu and working to make our schools as healthy as possible and prevent viruses like the coronavirus.

Please see these guidelines from Santa Clara County: https://www.sccoe.org/news/featured/Pages/Novel-Coronavirus-Information.aspx.

Our District is going above the recommended basic actions to help protect against the coronavirus as well as the seasonal flu, and we need your assistance. Please visit www.mvwsd.org/coronavirus to read the latest information, learn about the District's actions, and how parents can help.

The award-winning MVWSD Preschool Program is currently accepting applications for full- and part-day for the 2020-21 school year.

All 4-year-olds residing in the Castro School boundaries are now eligible for FREE, part-day state preschool at Latham.

Our preschool offers age-appropriate early math, language, literacy and science inquiry instruction, as well as social-emotional development in either part-day and full-day classes.

Awards:
* 2018 California School Boards Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Recipient
* Platinum Level/Top-Tier Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Rating
* High Quality Inclusion from the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Inclusion Collaborative, and 2019 Inclusion Collaborative’s Inclusion Team/Teacher of the Year

** Join us for an info night on February 12 at 5 PM at the Latham Preschool, 1850 Latham St. Prospective families also can join a parent-only tour of part-day and full-day classes at Preschool at Theuerkauf, 1625 San Luis Ave. on February 13 at 3:15 PM. **

Children who will be 3- or 4-years old at any time during the school year are eligible. Priority enrollment for children who will be 4 years by Sept. 1. Full day is 8 a.m.- 3 p.m., part-day is 3 hrs in the morning or afternoon. Now accepting applications for full- and part-day spaces. Enrollment appointments begin in March. For more info go to www.mvwsd.org/preschool or call 650-526-3560.

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.

Becoming a Mentor or Tutor will add joy to your life and help a student in our local community to a brighter future!

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: Tuesday, March 3rd

Time: 5:30 - 6:30 pm

Location: MVLA District Office

1299 Bryant Avenue, Mountain View, CA

Register: REGISTER ONLINE

Questions: programs@mentortutorconnection.org

Information: MentorTutorConnection.org

Presenters:

Kate Kinsella Ed.D.

Attendees will learn:

• After school conversation tips to use with children to encourage thoughtful responses
• Strategies to help increase students' academic language and listening skills
• How to facilitate effective collaboration inside and out of the classroom
• How to teach English Learners to ask for help

Families, teachers, and school staff are welcome to attend this workshop.

Childcare and Spanish interpretation will be available. Reserve your seat: sayitlikeascholar.eventbrite.com

MV Parent U está ofreciendo: ¡Dilo como un Académico!
Técnicas y Herramientas para Educadores y Familias para Poder Formar Lenguaje Académicoel miércoles 12 de febrero a las 6:30-8pm en la Escuela Secundaria Graham, Auditorio.

>>Parent Education event: Crisis Prevention Strategies with Special Education Director Arianna Mayes. February 26 Graham Middle School Auditorium 7-8:30 PM

Learn how de-escalation can help create a safe place for kids to express their emotions and solve problems. How managing your own emotions, staying calm, allowing feelings to happen, creating connection, self-awareness and self-advocacy can allow your child your thrive and your household to feel like a safe place for all.

Decoding Dyslexia South Bay Support Group February 26, 7-8:30 pm, Mountain View Rengstorff Community Center.

There are many opportunities in Mountain View for students to enrich their learning afterschool or during school breaks. With safety and consistency in mind, our school newsletter and website will advertise only District-, school- and PTA-sponsored events and activities. While we recognize that there are many providers of enrichment activities who use our campus, we may promote only those that follow specific MVWSD parameters for safety and supervision.

The District provides inplay.org as a resource to parents who are seeking additional learning opportunities for their students. To view student enrichment activities, school break and afterschool classes in our community that are not hosted by MVWSD, please see our partner, https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view/. MVWSD has not reviewed all programs/events found there and does not specifically endorse them. Parents may search for activities near their school by entering either the school name or the school address.

Castro PTA is announcing the annual Scholastic Book Fair. It will be held on February 10th – 14th in the M.U.R. Please watch for the flyers that will show the times the Book Fair will be open each day that week. There will be books available in English and some Spanish Books. We look forwarding to seeing you there!

We are asking any parents or relatives who can help with the Book Fair to please sign up the in Office. There are different times, dates, and positions available to choose from. We need YOUR help to make this a successful book fair.

Box Tops for Education

The internet is changing the way that many things work these days. Box Tops for Education is changing from clipping the top of the box to scanning your receipt after you shop! Please read the following for important new information about the future of the Box Tops for Education Program:

No more clipping. No more sending Box Tops to school. All you need is your phone. With the Box Tops for Education app, you can turn your everyday receipts into cash for your school. Here’s how:

• BUY the Box Tops products you already know and love

• SCAN your receipt so that your Box Tops purchases are recognized

• EARN cash for your school, based on your eligible purchases

Twice a year, your school will receive a check and can use that cash to buy whatever it needs!

Super-charge your earnings with special bonus offers shown in the app. No need to pre-select or opt-in for these bonus offers and you can stack as many as you like. Just buy the eligible products, scan your receipt, and watch the earnings stack up! And, in case you didn’t already know, here are some of the many Box Tops products that are probably already in your pantry: Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Nature Valley, Totino’s, Old El Paso, Annie’s, Yoplait, Fiber One, Chex, Paper Mate, Nestle, Pure Life, Lysol, Boise, and more. Just look for the Box Tops label on the package. For a complete list of participating products, visit BTFE.com.

PTA Board Positions - Open for Next School Year

The PTA is looking to fill open positions for the next school year. If you, or someone you know, may be interested in helping the school and our students please go look at the job descriptions (available in English and Spanish) in the Front Office or contact PTA President - Donna Childress at (650) 933-8162.

Secretary

Treasurer

Room Parent Coordinator

Historian