The Dolphin Whistle

Dear Parents,

Here we are, with just 3 weeks of school left! As I ask every year, please remind your children that these are very important weeks, especially during these challenging times! All students are expected to complete the assignments and attend the lessons each week. If your child is in BTB please remember that BTB is continuing through virtual sessions.

Thank you to everyone that attended the Principal's Coffee this week ! Your input regarding distance learning and suggestions for how to reopen were very helpful. The four district-wide focus groups will meet soon to also give input to inform the district decisions regarding reopening.

We are having a virtual 5th grade promotion celebration in June; please stay tuned for more details. I miss all students very much, and will be very happy to see 5th grade again one last time before they become middle-schoolers!

Please call my cell at 831-206-9522 if you need assistance with anything.

Warm Regards,

Theresa Lambert

Principal Mariano Castro Elementary

Thursday, May 21st, 2020 - Spirit Day- Stuffed Toy Day

Thursday, May 21st, 2020 - Virtual School Site Council Mtg 1:00 p.m.

Friday, May 22nd, 2020 - Virtual ELAC Mtg 1:00 p.m.

Monday, May 25th, 2020 - No School, Memorial Day Holiday

If you need assistance getting your child into the Zoom lessons:

Call Ms. Calderon or Mr. Alcazar.
Kristen Calderon (408) 404-8166 Roberto Alcazar (408) 780-8615

If you are having issues with Chromebooks issued by the school district, please contact Technology at 650-526-3252 or support@mvwsd.org.

If your personal device breaks and you are unable to get another, please contact Ms. Lambert, Mrs. Calderon, Mr. Alcazar, or your teacher and we will do our best to get a device to you.

We are now serving dinner, in addition to breakfast and lunch, and on Fridays enough meals will be provided for the weekend as well. Just come to the food distribution in front of Mistral Elementary between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. M-F.

Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school will get extra food benefits. These food benefits are called Pandemic EBT or P-EBT benefits. P-EBT benefits help families in California buy food when schools are closed because of the coronavirus emergency.

Families will get up to $365 per eligible child on their P-EBT card to use on food and groceries. Families with children who get CalFresh, Medi-Cal or Foster Care benefits do not need to apply. Most will get their P-EBT card in the mail during the month of May. P-EBT cards will begin arriving sometime this month
(May).

Families with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and who do not get their P-EBT card in the mail, must apply online before June 30, 2020. The online application will launch in late May. https://www.cdss.ca.gov/home/pandemic-ebt

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

“Caught you being good!” Set a timer for yourself (15-45 minutes, depending on the age of your kids). When the timer goes off, positively reinforce your child by noting their focus, independence, and/or perseverance through a challenge. If you can periodically name, celebrate, and give attention to what they are doing right, they are more likely to keep it up, and less likely to get our attention with undesired behaviors.

Multiple kiddos? Go incognito! If you have multiple kids or are trying to access your own Google account while checking out theirs, here is a tip: Hold down COMMAND + SHIFT + N when you are in Chrome. This creates an incognito window, where you are not signed in. This means you can sign in with one account in one window and another account in another. You can do this for as many accounts as you like so that you can flip between windows to look at information from multiple accounts simultaneously.

Ask your student for high & lows for the day. Not everything is fixable, but asking and talking about schoolwork will help your student feel supported and understood.

Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) in partnership with county and city leaders, community organizations and agencies throughout Santa Clara County has announced a new online portal to provide essential workers, as defined by the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, access to childcare during the shelter-in-place order.

In addition to this childcare resource, we have a list of resources for families developed by our School Community Engagement Facilitators. Sheltering in place and not being in our regular routines of work and school can be hard on our emotional and mental health, in addition to making access to meals, rent payments and other typical activities more difficult. Click here for info about help with meals, rent, legal issues, emotional support and more.

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

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

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 mvwsdchess@gmail.com with any questions.

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.

If you’re among the 70+ million households who have already responded to the 2020 Census, thank you! If you haven’t completed it yet, paper questionnaires are in the mail headed your way. Households receiving the paper questionnaire can still respond online or by phone, or they can return it by mail in the enclosed envelope. When you respond online, use the Census ID from the letter or provide your address. To respond now, go to https://go.usa.gov/xdKjk.

Please encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to complete it too. It’s something everyone can do while practicing social distancing at home to make a difference today, tomorrow and the next 10 years.