01.13.22
Dear Stingray Parents and Guardians,
A sincere thank you to all of our stingray staff, students, and parents. These past couple of weeks have truly been a community effort to continue to focus on the health and safety of our students and staff. I also would like to share my gratitude to our dedicated teachers for providing welcoming classrooms and engaging instruction during this time.
A few reminders on how we can all work together to provide a safe learning environment for our students and staff:
-Masking: It is expected that everyone on campus wears an appropriate, well fitting mask that covers their mouth and nose and goes under the chin. We practice universal masking indoors and outdoors. Please ensure you are sending your student to school with a mask daily.
-Pick up and Drop: Parents are also required to wear masks when picking up their children at the front gate or the back field. Once your child has been dismissed from class, families need to leave the school campus. Please do not use this as a time to socialize with other families.
-Weekly Pooled Testing: We continue our pooled testing every Tuesday. It is not too late to provide consent. If you would like to opt-in, please email our front office if you would like your child to participate in weekly pool testing.
-Vaccination Records: When your child's vaccine card has the second shot listed, please upload a copy to Powerschool. Vaccine cards will be referred to in the case of a positive COVID exposure for your student, and MVWSD needs accurate data for decisions about COVID protocols. Click here for a video that shows you how to upload documents: https://vimeo.com/606954357.Thank you in advance for uploading your documents now!
-Symptoms: If your child has any of the following symptoms, please keep your child home from school: Fever or chills. Cough. Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Fatigue. Muscle or body aches. Headache. New loss of taste or smell. Sore throat. Congestion or runny nose. Nausea or vomiting. Diarrhea.
Sincerely,
Ryan Santiago
Principal, Stevenson Elementary
SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS
-Attendance is Important: Parent Notifications
-Booster and flu shot clinic Thursday (Jan. 13) at Blach Intermediate, Los Altos
-Work every day at our school: Permanent substitute teachers needed
-Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January
-No School Jan. 17th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
-Stevenson’s Equity Committee - Community Discussion
-School Social Media - Instagram and Twitter
-Reporting Absences and Tardies
Attendance is important: Parent notifications ramp up in January
Research shows that school attendance is a strong indicator of success. It's about students learning what they need to know, belonging to the school community, and being part of the team that is preparing them with good habits for high school.
What’s an Excused vs. Not Excused absence? Illness (including quarantining due to COVID), doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences.
Letters: beginning in this month, MVWSD will send letters to parents of any student who is truant (any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant). These letters inform parents when students have had three or more unexcused absences and inform families of next steps and any resources or procedures in place to help their family get their child to school regularly.
Calls: In January, MVWSD schools will also begin using an automated system to notify parents when a student is absent from school. This automated call will alert a parent that a student has been marked absent. This is important for the safety of your child and for our attendance accounting. Please ensure we have the reason for your child’s absence.
It’s possible that you might receive a call after you have notified the office of the absence. We apologize for any inconvenience that this additional call may cause. This process helps us to maintain a safe school environment and support your child and family. Thank you for your support.
Booster and flu shot clinic Thursday (Jan. 13) at Blach Intermediate, Los Altos
COVID vaccines, COVID boosters (including for ages 12+) and flu shots are available. See the attached flyer for information and for the link to make an appointment.
Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January
For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 24-28.
For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 10 through Feb. 4, 2022 online. You can register your child for the 2022-23 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register
Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.
Work every day at our school: Permanent substitute teachers needed
MVWSD is seeking a long-term substitute teacher to work every day with a variety of classes at our school. Please consider this flexible, fun, dynamic work that has a big impact on our students!
The permanent substitute teacher rate is $220 per day. Please express interest in the “permanent sub” position when the hiring department reaches out. We appreciate your commitment to our students and community, especially in this time of COVID-19.
Requirements to become a substitute teacher:
* A Bachelor’s Degree
* Completion of Basic Skills Requirement
* Substitute teaching permit or a valid California teaching credential.
* Complete required background check. This can be done by appointment in the MVWSD Human Resources Department.
* A negative tuberculosis test
You may apply online: http://mvw.sd/sub. For information, please email Noemi Herrera at [email protected].
No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
There will be no school on Monday, January 17th due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Stevenson’s Equity Committee (Repeat)
Racial Autobiographies: A Community-Wide Storytelling Event
Please join us Wed, January 19th 7:45 pm-9:00 pm to engage in a community-wide racial autobiography storytelling session on Zoom. In this session, we’ll meet in pairs & small groups to share our stories with each other– how our culture, racial backgrounds, and unique journeys impacted who we are and how we grew up. We’ll provide a safe, relaxed, and comfortable environment for us to open up to each other and provide a safe space for deep listening and connection. You’ll have the opportunity to really get to know a few people at a deeper level, and possibly even make a new friend and new connection. Come join us at our first racial autobiography story-telling session. We’re hoping for a fantastic school-wide turn-out. This special session is hosted by the Equity Working Group, and our mission is to continue to celebrate our differences and grow in our perspective of equity at our school and within the larger community we are a part of. This special session is also hosted during the week we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
Follow us now on Twitter and Instagram
- Twitter - @StevensonElem_
- Instagram - @stevenson__elementary
- Facebook - @StevensonElem
Reporting Absences (Repeat)
Please call the office at (650) 903-6950 or email Renae Rhodes at [email protected] and Kass Madrid at [email protected] to report an absence or late arrival. Provide the following information: date of absence, student’s name, grade and room number, reason for absence, name and relationship of the person reporting the absence.
PACT FOUNDATION UPDATES
This Week
1/14 - Room 1 Pajama Drive ends
Coming Soon
1/17 - MLK Jr. Day (no school)
1/19 - Racial Autobiographies: A Community-Wide Storytelling Event 7:45-9:00 pm via Zoom
Early Notice
1/24 - Walk/Bike/Scoot Week to School Week organized by Eco Committee
CALENDAR
2021-2022 MVWSD School Calendar
Monday, January 10th-Friday, January 14th
-Parent Teacher Conferences
-Minimum Day - Pick-up @ 12:05pm
Thursday, January 13th
-District School Board Anti-Bias Training at 5pm - Zoom Link
Monday, January 17th
-No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Wednesday, January 19th
-Parent University: Managing Stress and Fostering Resiliency - Register here
Thursday, January 20th
-Board of Trustee Meeting at 6pm - Zoom Link
Friday, January 21st
-Community Check-In - Register here
Monday, January 24th
-DELAC - Zoom link
Tuesday, January 26th
-Stevenson School Site Council
Thursday, January 27th
-Stevenson ELAC Meeting
MVWSD NEW
Parent-Teacher Conferences are Jan. 10-14. Minimum day for students. Sign up for conferences!
Parent-Teacher (Student) Conferences present a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, strengths and needs, and work with your teacher to help your child have a successful academic experience. Conference week is scheduled for January 10-14, 2022. Every day that week is a minimum day for students.
COVID booster now available for individuals 12+
The CDC has now approved boosters for children ages 12 to 15. Boosters provide an additional layer of protection against COVID-19, including the Omicron variant. Also, if you received the Pfizer vaccines as your initial COVID-19 vaccine series, you can now get a booster 5 months after your second dose instead of 6 months. You can schedule your vaccine appointment at: www.sccFreeVax.org.
Preschool information meetings: Jan. 12 and Jan. 26
The award-winning MVWSD Preschool Program is currently accepting applications for full- and part-day for the 2022-23 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.
*** Join us for an info meeting on January 12 at 3:30 pm (Spanish) at Zoom link: http://mvw.sd/PK112 or January 26 at 3:30 pm (English) at Zoom link: http://mvw.sd/PK126 ***
Children who will be 3- or 4-years old at any time during the school year are eligible. Priority enrollment is for children who will be 4 years old 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.
Parent University: Managing Stress and Fostering Resiliency
Date: 1/19/22, 5:30 p.m. Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu011922
Does hearing about stress make you feel stressed out? Let’s face this universal phenomenon together. This presentation will:
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Identify common stressors and the effects of stress
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Explore tips for stress management for oneself
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Provide tips on how to support our kids with stress management
To submit questions prior to the event, please click here. We will do our best to address your question during the session.
Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January
For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 24-28.
For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 10 through Feb. 4, 2022 online. You can register your child for the 2022-23 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register
Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.
MVWSD Wellness Parenting Tip: Improving Your or Your Child's Mood
Stressful events influence our thoughts (words or images that pop into our mind), feelings (our emotions), and actions (what we do or say). For example, if your childcare falls through, then you might think, "my day is ruined;" you might feel frustrated; and you might act short-tempered with your child, partner, or colleagues. Doing enjoyable activities can prevent stressful events from ruining our day.
To improve your (or your child's) mood:
1) Track your mood throughout the day (e.g., rate how you feel each morning, afternoon, and evening from 1 = unhappy to 5 = happy).
2) Create a list of activities that you enjoy doing.
3) Schedule one or more of these activities.
4) Do the scheduled activity.
5) Compare your mood before and after doing the activity.
Watch this video to learn more about how doing fun activities can make you (or your child) feel better: http://mvw.sd/4V8V1
MVEF Gala Save the Date: March 19, 2022 & Survey input requested
The MVEF Gala Committee is hard at work ensuring that our Annual Gala on March 19th will be a fun evening that raises funds for our schools. We are still working out all the details as current conditions shift - so stay tuned! We do know that Trivia will be back as will our annual raffle. If you'd like to join the planning committee, please contact Andrea Maes at [email protected].
Please take our Survey! MVEF wants your input on our funding priorities
MVEF wants to know your thoughts about our stretch goal, the programs that we usually fund, and areas where MVEF could potentially fund programs in the future for all MVWSD students.
Please take a moment to complete this survey.
Inclusive Fun Fair - Summer Camp and Recreation opportunities for students with learning challenges. Sponsored by SELPA 1 CAC (www.selpa1cac.org) (flyer attached to email on Jan. 10)
Tuesday, January 25 7-8:30 PM on Zoom
Learn more about local summer camp and recreational opportunities from our panel, including:
Via West and Camp Altitude, The Friendship Circle, Camp EDMO, Camp Tuolumne Trails, Learning Play with Chaia May, Special Olympics Nor. Cal., Animal Assisted Happiness. Camp Harmon, Quest Therapeutic Camps and more!
Register:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsdeCprDMoHNQmNm2AxCpcukE3IRu-YdIZ
MVLA Parent Ed Speaker Series: Jessica Lahey - The Addiction Inoculation
Join us online on Thursday, January 13, 2022 from 7:00 - 9:00pm as Jessica Lahey, educator and NYT columnist, provides evidence-based strategies to raise healthy kids in a culture of dependence. In this supportive, life-saving resource, Jessica helps parents and educators understand the roots of substance abuse and identify who is most at risk for addiction, and offers practical steps for prevention. Register for this free event.
Mountain View Community Shuttle EXPANDED HOURS
Thanks to new VTA funding, the City of Mountain View is pleased to announce that the Mountain View Community Shuttle will expand weekday hours to better serve our community.
Beginning Monday, January 3, 2022, the Shuttle’s weekday hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Weekend service hours will remain 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, please call Customer Service at: 855-730-RIDE (7433) or check MVCommunityShuttle.com.