The Dolphin Whistle

Dear Parents,

What a busy week! There are two surveys for parents to complete this week. The Strategic Planning Survey asks for your thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the district to inform our planning for the next 5 years. This survey is due by Thursday, Sept. 24 at midnight .

The Learning Options Survey asks what option you would like for your child when in-person learning becomes available. We must have a response to this survey from every family. This survey is due Friday, Sept. 25. We are more than happy to discuss the options with you if you need clarification.

On the topic of safety, you will see fencing added this fall to the property lines and gate areas of Castro/Mistral/Latham Preschool. The fence along Latham will be raised to six feet, there will be a fence placed from Latham St. down the field to Castro (leaving the toddler play structure open), and gates added to the entry points from the fire lane into the school. Self-closing hinges are also being added to existing gates so the gates are not inadvertently left open.

When we return to school in -person in Stage 3, one of the safety measures will be having all adults remain outside of campus at all times, including during pick-up and drop-off. We will provide details of new pick-up and drop-off procedures once a date is determined for re-opening. All visitors to the school during the day, including parents, will not be able to leave the office to go on campus.

As always please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your child's education or our safety procedures.

Warm Regards,

Theresa Lambert

Principal Mariano Castro Elementary

cell number (831)206-9522

Our next food pantry is Monday, Sept. 28 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. outside the MUR. It's a good idea to bring a cart!

Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - Coffee with the Superintendent for Spanish speaking families 5:30 p.m.

Friday, September 25,2020 - Crazy Hair Day!

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 - Principal's Coffee 4:00 p.m.

Monday, October 12,2020 - Recess Day (No School)

Friday, October 16, 2020 - ELAC Meeting 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - School Site Council Meeting 5:00 p.m.

Join us for an informal meeting for Spanish-speaking parents on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 5:30 p.m. Translation will be provided.

Please register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

MVWSD is working on a new Strategic Plan. We want to ensure this new six-year Strategic Plan 2027 builds on the strengths and assets of our school system, while addressing the most promising opportunities to enhance our work.

We need your help! Parents, students and staff members will be asked to engage in several steps during the strategic planning process in meetings, focus groups and surveys.

Here is your first opportunity to give input. Please take 10 minutes to respond to this survey by midnight on Sept. 24. https://www.research.net/r/MVWSDStratPlan

The survey is managed by a third-party consultant. All responses will go directly to them and will be anonymous.

Next steps: This information will be used to shape our future strategic direction. In October you will have the opportunity to see your efforts materialize in the resulting strategic plan framework and to provide feedback.

Thank you for taking the time to inform our future.

Thank you for supporting your children in “Connected 100% Distance Learning” due to COVID-19. As you know, planning for potential school re-opening has been ongoing since March.

Our tentative plan: MVWSD is considering in-person learning beginning with the first group of our youngest, specific special education students and our at-risk students. However, we will not open schools if the process poses too great a risk to our students’ or employees’ health and safety. 100% Distance Learning will remain an option. Click here to read more about the two options: www.mvwsd.org/academicsduringcovid.

In order to proceed, we want to hear from you. Many of the specifics of what school reopenings will look like in the future depend on our families’ responses. Please complete the updated Stage 3 Learning Options Registration survey (sent to you in email on Sept 18) before Sept. 25. Your survey link is unique to each of your students and can be completed only once.

More information is in Dr. Rudolph’s update to the Board of Trustees on Sept. 17. (The video is posted here . Tune in at timestamp 2:33).

We are excited to announce that this month marks the beginning of a monthly offering towards MVWSD’s equity goals titled Together We Are a Better MVWSD. Each month you will receive an infographic in both English and Spanish that offers educational tools and community guidance inspired by a national diversity calendar. This month is National Hispanic Heritage Month.

You’ll see:

• Lessons provided by grade level that are designed to be used by teachers to enhance work they are doing in the classroom.

• Activities provided to parents, which are meant to help bridge the gap between lessons at school and conversations at home.

• Organization spotlights to help us engage with our community and learn more about organizations doing equity work.

• Children’s books by authors who have either the lived experience or scholarly background to contextualize this topic for children and adolescents.

Please see mvwsd.org/BetterTogetherMVWSD

Kids are online more than ever in this post-COVID world, with increased use of digital technology for academics, entertainment, and social connection.

Join My Digital TAT2 for a highly engaging and informative webinar at the MVWSD Parent University event on Wednesday, October 7th from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Hear how young people are affected by the latest news, trends, and data from the world of technology. Get tips and strategies for how to teach responsibility and balanced and healthy use of the internet and social media.

Click here to register for this event on Zoom.

Recommended for all adults who support youth and want to learn thoughtful and supportive ways to navigate media with children. For more information about My Digital TAT2 and their mission, please visit: www.mydigitaltat2.org

The free meal program has been extended! During Distance Learning, free meals are again available to all children in the Mountain View Whisman School District age 18 and younger. No IDs required. Locations: All schools, except Stevenson (pickup for Stevenson is at Theuerkauf). Times: 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. at the elementary schools. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the middle schools. Walk, drive or roll up to grab a free meal and go! Parents should continue to go here https://secure.ezmealapp.com/ to apply for free or reduced price meal benefits through the National Lunch Program, if needed.

It’s important to know that school attendance during distance learning is mandatory. If your student will be absent, please report it by calling or emailing us as soon as possible. If your child is having difficulty with distance learning, please let us know. We want to help.

Changes to attendance monitoring beginning Sept 8:

• Elementary teachers will check in with students at the beginning of the day. Attendance will be taken at the end of the day every day, including Wednesdays.
• Students will no longer get a separate participation grade in Google Classroom. Attendance and participation scores are now combined and can be viewed by parents in Powerschool under “attendance history.”
• If you don’t report your student’s absence, your school will be calling you to determine the reason for the absence.

For more information about attendance, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/attendance

First, create a child’s folder in a parent’s Google Drive (only has to be done once. Requires parent to have a gmail account.)

-download google drive app on smartphone

-create a folder with child's name (ie "Emma’s Schoolwork”)

-share the folder with child’s school email address. (Note: Students in grades TK-5 will not get an email notification of this share. The child does not have to access his/her email account. The folder automatically will appear in student’s “shared with me” folder on their Drive after parent “shares” with the student’s email address.)

After that set up, its as easy as this:

-open google drive app

-open the shared folder

-push + button and select “use camera” to take picture (this uploads it automatically)

-child now has the pic on his/her school drive in the parent/child shared folder (under "shared with me" in child’s drive). They can also upload these images to other programs, such as SeeSaw.

The MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents: Jeff Selingo on "Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside the College Admissions Process" on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2020 - 7:00 - 9:00pm | Live Online | Zoom

Join us for an insightful evening with journalist and higher education expert Jeff Selingo, as he dispels entrenched notions about the college admissions process.

While many have long believed that college admissions decisions are driven largely by merit, Jeff presents a more complicated truth. Embedded in three distinctly different admissions offices — a selective private university, a leading liberal arts college, and a flagship public campus — Jeff closely observed college admission officers as they made their often agonizing and sometimes life-changing decisions.

Based on a year of reading applications and sitting through committee meetings where up and down votes were taken, Jeff reveals what really matters to the gatekeepers and how their ultimate decisions are often based on a college’s priorities. Following interviews with students, testing agencies, marketers, and ranking organizations, Jeff also shares practical advice and helpful strategies for navigating the confusing, chaotic, and often-times stressful college application process.

Audience: High school parents and students; teachers and counselors

Register: To register for this free event, go to https://mvla2020-21-jeffselingo.eventbrite.com

Book: Jeff's new book, Who Gets In and Why, will be released Sept. 15th and is available with free shipping from Books, Inc. Jeff is generously offering our community a 30% discount + free shipping for pre-orders made directly through him. If interested, use code MVLA30.

Event Login: We will send the Zoom link via Eventbrite email, Thursday afternoon, October 1st.
If you have not used Zoom before, please make sure to allow a few extra minutes before the event to download the free Zoom app.

Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF), and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council.

MVEF raises money to provide all MVWSD students with an educational experience beyond what is possible with public funding. We hope you saw the MVEF brochure with your school supplies or watched the video during Back to School. Please see the website at https://www.mvef.org/ for more information and to donate online. Please consider joining our team of volunteers or emailing us with any questions at contact@mvef.org. Thank you for your support!

Stuck on how to use Google Classroom? Wondering how to best support your student in Distance Learning? This summer, we’ve been at work on a new Parent U resources page full of tips for navigating the tech and procedures of the new school year.

These resources are designed by and curated by MVWSD teachers to be most useful for our parents.

Technology How-To Videos (on Chromebooks, SeeSaw, i-Ready, Clever, Zoom and more)

Supporting Distance Learning (Tips and resources)

Mental Health Tips (Managing anxiety and stress at home)

All are available in English and Spanish at https://www.mvwsd.org/parentu.