The Dolphin Whistle
October 14, 2020 Issue 11
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL LAMBERT
Dear Parents,
I am happy to report that teachers are seeing more student engagement every day. Your support and attention at home is making a difference! Thank you for reminding your child that they are able to stay focused and interested more easily with their video on.
Literably testing (reading out loud and answering comprehension questions) and the benchmark writing test are happening this month. For LIterably testing, please help your child to remember that if there happened to be background noise at home as they were recording that they can click the re-record button and read the passage again. It is important that the scorers are able to clearly hear your child's voice and background noise makes that very difficult.
Yesterday the Kindergarten students received a free personalized bookshelf, filled with 12 books! Check out the photos at https://www.facebook.com/MarianoCastroElem/ .
Next Wednesday we will have the food pantry and also every K-2 student at Castro will receive science books and science kits to do experiments at home. Thank you to Science is Elementary for providing these for our students; we appreciate your dedication and generosity.
Have a wonderful week!
Ms. Lambert
Theresa Lambert
Principal Mariano Castro Elementary
cell number (831)206-9522
Tool of the Week - Taking Time
Calendar
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - School Site Council Meeting 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 15, 2020 - ELAC Meeting 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 - Food Pantry 11:30a.m. - 1:00p.m.
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 - Free Science books and kit distribution- K-2
FROM THE DISTRICT OFFICE
Together We Are a Better MVWSD: Special edition: ELECTION!
Mountain View Whisman School District embraces its role in establishing its commitment to equity in our district. As part of our "Together We Are a Better MVWSD" series, here is a special edition on the Nov. 3 election.
Participating in elections is one of the key freedoms of American life. Many people in countries around the world do not have the same freedom, nor did many Americans in centuries past. No matter what you believe or whom you support, it is important to exercise your rights. We celebrate the upcoming election cycle by publishing materials for teachers and parents that promote civic engagement amongst students and give resources to parents about how to secure their participation in this year's election. Both the links and QR codes will take you directly to the recommended resources.
For a closer look at this graphic, please see attached flyers or https://www.mvwsd.org/BetterTogetherMVWSD
How you can protect yourself from COVID: Face masks
Wearing a face mask greatly reduces the chance that you and the people around you will come into contact with respiratory droplets that contain the COVID-19 virus. How you wear and clean masks are huge factors in their effectiveness. Our own MVWSD school nurse Melanie gives important tips in this video. Please review and practice with your family.
Police Interactions, Race and “The Talk:” A Panel Discussion
Date: Thursday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. on Zoom: http://mvw.sd/talk
For Black children, the “talk” about how to interact with police is a rite of passage. Join MVWSD for a panel discussion with parents, the Mountain View Police Department and other leaders about what this means for policing for all of our children and families in our community and schools.
For more information about how MVWSD is working to support equity in our community, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/BetterTogetherMVWSD. For more information about the City’s racial equity and inclusion efforts, please click here.
MVEF is proud to help bring Living Classroom to all of our school campuses.
Living Classroom brings environmental education for students in elementary and middle school. Living Classroom started teaching students on 9/8 and taught 62 online lessons in September.
Living Classroom continues to maintain the school gardens for when garden-based outdoor learning can return to MVWSD, making education come alive and deepening students' connection with nature. Living Classroom lessons empower the next generation by growing environmental champions, inquisitive learners, and healthy eaters. There are over 200 lessons planned for the fall in our schools.
Your donations to MVEF bring Living Classroom to every school in MVWSD! Donate today! https://www.mvef.org/donate
“Enriching the Learning Experience” Symposium
The Santa Clara County Office of Education Parent Engagement team is pleased to announce our FREE virtual event "Enriching the Learning Experience: Vision for 2020 and Beyond" which will be held from 10:00am to Noon on Saturday, Oct 17 and 24, 2020. Together with 6th District PTA, we are putting together a Parent Engagement symposium for parents, students, pre-service teachers, classroom teachers, administrators, and liaisons to focus on student success. We have lined up a number of dynamic speakers and 10 workshops each day of the symposium. Here's a sneak peak of our workshops:
Dr. Joyce Epstein, professor of education and director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University. She has over one hundred fifty publications, including School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, 4th edition (2019). Her Keynote will address school administrators in the area of parent engagement and her Workshop will address teachers and how they can involve parents in homework.
Ruby Ibarra, local bay area COVID-19 researcher and hip-hop recording artist. Her Keynote will address parents and share her inspiring story of how to channel obstacles into opportunities. She will present a Spoken Word Writing Workshop for students!
Gene Luen Yang, graphic novelist of American Born Chinese, Secret Coders, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Superman. In 2016, he was the Library of Congress's 5th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature; he was also the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant in that same year. His workshop for teachers will address adopting a rich, diverse reading curriculum for the classroom.
A Financial Literacy Workshop series “Understanding Debt and How to Improve Your Credit Score,” “Rebuilding After a Financial Crisis,” and “Learning the Value of a Dollar” by Excite Credit Union will give good money management tips for students and adults alike.
Registration is open! Visit “Enriching the Learning Experience” event Website to see all 10 workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and registration form.