The Dolphin Whistle

Dear Parents,

Please be sure to join me for the Principal's Coffee on Thursday, Sept. 10th at 3:30 p.m. We will discuss important information about students returning to the school building in the hybrid model. Here is the Zoom link. We are working hard to prepare the campus for the safe return of students and staff to in-person learning and I will be sharing the details with you as well.

You will be receiving a survey from the district asking you if you would like Option B (hybrid model - some days learning at school and some learning at home) or Option C (all 5 days learning at home). This is a NEW survey and all families will need to complete it. This is important information that we need for planning purposes so your timely completion of the survey is very much appreciated.

I am looking forward to hearing your opinions about how distance learning is going so far. Please participate in the Thought Exchange (see the district item below for details on how to do this). You will also be able to share your thoughts with me at the Principal's Coffee (Sept. 10) and at the ELAC Mtg (Sept. 18).

Warm Regards,

Theresa Lambert

Principal Mariano Castro Elementary

cell number (831)206-9522

In the next two weeks each student in every grade will be taking the iReady assessment in Reading and Math. They will be taking it with their teacher on the computer. Please help your child to stay on task, however it is very important that parents are not helping their child with the content of the test. Students will take this assessment three times this year and you will see their results and their progress! There is a flyer below that also talks about this virtual assessment. Please let me know if you have any questions about this assessment.

We have a vacancy on School Site Council and also on the English Learner Advisory Committee. These are two very important committees required by California law and it is important that parents have a voice on these two committees. There are 5 parents on the School Site Council that work with 5 staff members about the goals, actions, and budget of the school plan. The English Learner Advisory Council works with the goals and actions that support the success of all students learning a second language.

Please contact me by Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020 if you would like more information about these two important committees.

This school year's application deadline for free or reduced meals is September 21, 2020. Just as in the past, you will need to reapply annually. No citizenship information is collected during the application process. Please go to the following website to apply online today: http://www.ezmealapp.com If you need help, please call Castro Facilitator, Kristen Calderon 408-404-8166.

Thursday, September 10,2020- Principal's Coffee, 3:30p.m. - 4:30p.m.

Friday, September 11, 2020 - Material Distribution , 11:30 a.m. - 12:30p.m.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - School site council, 6:00p.m. - 7:00p.m.

Friday, September 18,2020 - ELAC and Annual Title 1 Meeting, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00a.m.

The free meal program has been extended! (flyers attached) 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. For middle school students, attendance is taken every period of the 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

We’re now up to 994 thoughts so far. There are some important considerations! Please rate the thoughts in the Star step to help us better understand what's most important to you. Before Thursday, Sept 17: Please take some time to participate or rejoin the conversation to star thoughts entered since you were there last. Now that we've been distance learning for several weeks due to COVID-19, in your opinion, what’s working well and what are our areas of improvement? You may participate in this exchange by clicking on this link: http://mvw.sd/TE. Translation is available in multiple languages. Your input will help us further improve and refine our plans as we move into the future.

To have sound, Chromebook users will need to make sure their Google Calendar settings are set correctly. The instructions below will show how to change the notification setting.

- Go to the following page: calendar.google.com/calendar/r/settings

- On the left side of the page under "General" choose "Event Settings"

- Make sure the "Notifications" are set to "Desktop Notifications" and that the play notification sounds button is checked.

This should have the calendar play sound when events trigger.

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.

A public hearing will be held in order to comply with Ed Code section 60119 on September 17, 2020 to detail the extent to which text books and instructional materials were provided to all students, including English Learners.

The definition of “sufficient textbooks or instructional materials” means that each pupil has textbooks or instructional materials, or both to use in class and to take home in each of the following subjects:
• Mathematics
• Science
• History/Social Science
• Language Arts
The public hearing on September 17, 2020 at 7:00pm will be held during the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. To view details about accessing the meeting either online or by phone, please click on the September 17 agenda link on this webpage: https://www.mvwsd.org/about/board_of_trustees/board_meetings

MVWSD provides a tool that allows parents to be aware of their students' online activities and to help keep them safe on their school-issued devices. Securly allows you to see what choices your student is making online while at home so that you will be alerted to potential issues and can guide your student. Please note: Securly is for school-issued devices only. Check your email for these weekly reports, and you may also download the Securly app. For more information, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/technology.

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!

Did you miss the latest Parent University event? Do you want to review the materials that were presented? Videos and materials are now in English and Spanish on the Parent University website at http://www.mvwsd.org/parent/parent_university
Latest uploads: Mental Health Resources and Distance Learning 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.

Mountain View is a beautifully diverse place where hundreds of languages are spoken. In some instances, children from households where a non-English language is spoken need additional help at school to become fluent in English. To make sure that we identify all such children, all public school districts in California are required to do an initial language assessment called the Initial ELPAC. (English Learner Performance Assessment of California).

A letter was sent out last week to all families with children who meet the criteria for the Initial ELPAC. The letter describes the rationale and details for the assessment and invites families to follow up with any questions they may have. Additionally, the following link is a helpful resource for parents/guardians to understand the test better and to help prepare their children.

A Parent Guide to Understanding ELPAC Initial English (also contains information about the Summative ELPAC, which is a similar test at the end of the school year.)

We understand that the beginning of the school year is a busy time, especially under these extraordinary circumstances. Based on current guidance from the California Department of Education, the Initial ELPAC this fall will be administered remotely. Details to come. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Claudia Navarrete via email at cnavarrete@mvwsd.org.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarianoCastroElem
School website (Programs, absence reporting and more): https://castro.mvwsd.org
Text alerts (emergencies, school closure): Text "Y"or "YES" to 68453 using the cell phone number that the District has on record
PowerSchool (Enrollment confirmation, payments, electives and more): ps.mvwsd.org/public
Updates on academics, FAQs, health and safety during COVID-19: https://mvwsd.org/returntolearn