11.12.21
Dear Stingray Parents and Guardians,
As a district we have worked to finalize our Learning Recovery Plan and identifying key strategies for supporting students. Likewise, as a school we have been working hard to develop our Single Plan for School Achievement (SPSA). If you would like to view a draft of our SPSA click here. I am thankful for our School Site Council Committee members and the hardworking staff that has made this plan possible.
Student Drop Off Safety Reminders
Montecito Street Drop Off
- Students and parents need to use the crosswalks when crossing the street. Please do not cut across the street without using the crosswalk.
- Please do not make u-turns or 3-point turns on Montecito Street during morning drop off times. This holds up traffic and is not safe for our students and parents.
Front Gate Drop Off
- When dropping off your child, please pull all the way forward.
- Parents, please only exit your car if needed. To help with the flow of traffic, please have your child leave the car on their own.
- Parking lot is for staff members only. If you would like to walk your child to the front gates of the school, please park on the street.
We have also seen an increase in tardies. Please adjust your student drop off time a few minutes early. It really does make a difference if students arrive closer to 8am. Most traffic starts to build up at 8:05am. We want to make sure that all our Stingrays are starting the day on time to be successful in the classroom.
Sincerely,
Ryan Santiago
Principal, Stevenson Elementary
SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS
-Vision/Hearing Screening - Nov. 19
-Report Cards
-Thanksgiving Break
-Reporting Absences and Tardies
Vision/Hearing Screening - Nov. 19
Student vision and hearing screenings coming up.
Each fall, MVWSD conducts hearing and vision screenings of all students in kindergarten, second-, fifth- and eighth-grade, as California State Law mandates. These screenings will take place at Stevenson on Nov. 19.
Parents will be notified in writing if children fail a screening. Parents who do not want their child screened for either vision and/or hearing should send a letter to their child's school each school year indicating that their child is to be excluded, and vision and/or hearing results will need to be provided from their physician.
If you have any concerns about your child’s vision or hearing please contact your school nurse. Questions about the screenings should be directed to the Health Services office at 650-526-3500 ext. 1050.
Thanksgiving Break (Repeat)
We’re excited to announce this year will be the first year students will be receiving a whole week off for Thanksgiving break! Thanksgiving break will be from November 22nd to November 26th. Enjoy the week long break!
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.
CALENDAR
2021-2022 MVWSD School Calendar
Monday, November 15th
-District Equity Advisory Committee at 5:30pm - Zoom
Tuesday, November 16th
-On-Site COVID Testing with Concentric
Wednesday, November 17th
-Parent University at 5:30pm - Register here
Thursday, November 18th
-MVWSD Board of Trustee Meeting at 6pm - Zoom
Friday, November 19th
-Community Check-In at 3:30pm - Register here.
Monday-Friday, November 22nd-26th
-Thanksgiving break
Tuesday, November 30th
-Stevenson School Site Council at 3:30pm
-District Kinder/New Student Night - Register here
MVWSD NEWS
Reminder: No school on Thursday, Nov. 11
In observance of Veterans’ Day. We honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces.
Kinder info night, school meetings coming up. 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
School info meetings: Check www.mvwsd.org/register for a complete list with login information.
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If your child turns 5 years old between September 2, 2022 – February 2, 2023, he/she may qualify for transitional kindergarten. TK info night is December 14 at 5:00 p.m online.
Gabriela Mistral: Dual Spanish/English Immersion: December 14 at 6 pm
Stevenson: Parent Child Teacher: December 15 at 6 pm
Choice schools will also have information at the elementary schools’ info nights (6 p.m. Dec. 7).
Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.
COVID vaccinations for children 5-11 years are here
-After much anticipation, COVID-19 vaccinations for kids ages 5-11 are underway.
Parents and guardians can visit www.sccfreevax.org now to sign up for an appointment or to find a convenient walk-in location. If initial available appointments are reserved, continue to check back as additional slots open. MVWSD has requested that Santa Clara County provide free, mobile vaccination events at our schools for our students. We will update you as we know more about the specifics and the dates.
Symptoms?
After receiving the COVID shot, it's possible that your child may have symptoms that may be caused by the vaccine. Side effects of the vaccine are not typically a cause for concern and should go away in a few days. However, if your child has any of these symptoms, regardless of cause, he/she should stay home from school: Loss of taste or smell, fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath.
If it’s possible these symptoms were caused by the vaccine and they resolve in 48 hours, with the last 24 hours being fever-free, the individual may return to work or school. If symptoms persist beyond 48 hours, individuals should stay home and get tested for COVID. After being home with symptoms, parents should present proof of the recent COVID vaccine shot upon the student’s return at school.
Don’t forget to upload!
When your child receives his/her second shot, please upload proof of being fully vaccinated to PowerSchool at https://ps.mvwsd.org. Here's how to upload proof of vaccination. http://mvw.sd/upload.
Want text messages from the District? Opt in!
MVWSD sends text messages infrequently, for the purpose of notifying you of emergencies or with important, time-sensitive information.
In order to receive messages from the District you need to opt-in from the number that is listed as the cell contact number in our student information system. If you need to update this number, please contact your school.
Here’s how to opt in. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to receive text messages from the District at any time by texting one of the short codes listed below to 67587 using the cell phone number that the District has on record.
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Opt-in: "Y", "YES", "OPTIN", "OPT IN", and "SUBSCRIBE" are all acceptable keywords for subscribing to SMS text messaging.
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Opt-out: "END", "CANCEL", "OPT OUT", "OPTOUT", "STOP", "QUIT", and "UNSUBSCRIBE" will cancel SMS messages to the recipient.
Attendance counts: Please ensure students are in school and on time
We want kids to be healthy and be in school. Regular attendance is essential for students’ learning and to establish healthy routines. Please make sure that your students come to school every day they are able.
If they need to stay home, please call school with the reason. You must contact us in the morning of your child’s absence. This is a safety measure in order to account for all students daily. Illness (including quarantining due to COVID), doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences. Family vacation or travel is not excused.
California law requires MVWSD to notify parents after three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes. Any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant. We are here to support your family, so please contact your school for strategies or help, if needed.
For more information on attendance requirements, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/attendance
Seeking EL Testers!
Are you looking for a part time job and enjoy interacting with kids? Our district is looking for a few more qualified EL Testers to administer the annual assessment of Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking for English Learners. Fluency in academic English is required. For more information, or to apply, please visit mvwsd.org/jobs and look under “Support Staff - Hourly.” Alternatively, you may contact department secretary Leticia Corcoran at [email protected].
Parent University: Creating Caring Relationships (featuring Project Cornerstone)
Date: November 17, 2021 Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu111721
Kids need our care and support now more than ever. This presentation will:
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Explore proven effective and meaningful ways to express care and support that will make a difference in the lives of young people.
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Provide tools and strategies for connecting and building trust, which lead to strong, positive relationships within families, schools, and communities.
Join Ziem Nguyen Neubert, Executive Director of Project Cornerstone, in a conversation on how we can support young people’s social and emotional well-being so they grow and develop as healthy and responsible humans.
This is one of four Parent University events this year featuring Project Cornerstone. To see what’s coming up, check out this flyer.
To submit questions prior to the event, go to mvw.sd/questions. We will do our best to address your question during the session.
November Better Together
The focus of November’s Better Together infographic is “Creating an Inclusive Community.” MVWSD strives to provide inclusive and supportive environments for all of our students. This is just one way we are providing an identity-affirming space for all who work, learn, and partner with us. Please see the graphics attached to this newsletter, or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.
Boba Fundraiser for MVEF
TeaCub Boba & Snack is helping fundraise for MVEF on Tuesday November 16 (all day)! 25% of all proceeds on 11/16/21 will be donated to MVEF. TeaCub Boba & Snack is located in the Mountain View Shopping Center at 175C East El Camino Real. Please stop by to enjoy smoothies, slushies, milk and flavored tea as well as snacks. (They use only organic Clover milk and real fruit for all tea & smoothie drinks so please enjoy a treat for you and MVEF!)
Safe Gun Storage Notice
Schools alone cannot prevent incidents of gun violence. In 2019, California Education Superintendent Tony Thurmond requested that all schools send parents education about the legal requirements for storing firearms at home. California Penal Code Section 25100 mandates that in all homes where children live (or where children might reasonably be expected to enter), firearms must be safely stored.
Gun owners can avoid criminal penalty by keeping their firearms in a locked container or secured with a locking device that renders the firearm inoperable. Ensuring firearms are securely stored prevents small children from accidentally accessing the firearm and prevents older children from using an unsecured firearm to commit school violence or suicide. For more information, please see https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr19ltr1120.asp.
Parenting tip: Effective instruction for kids
We give our kids dozens of instructions each day: Get ready for school. Wash your hands before you eat. Do your homework. Sometimes our kids follow our instructions, and sometimes they do not. One way to increase follow through is to give effective instructions. For example, making eye contact with your child and gently telling them to turn off the TV is likely to be more effective than yelling at them from another room.
To provide effective instructions:
Think about a few things that you would like your child to do and try using these tips to provide effective instructions.
Instead of saying… Say….
“Don’t bother me.” “Please work on your homework.”
“TURN OFF THE TV!!” “Please turn off the TV.”
“I told you to stop playing video games.” “If you don’t stop playing video games in the next 5
minutes, then you won’t be able to play tomorrow.”
These tips came directly from the free, online Everyday Parenting program created by parenting expert, Dr. Kazdin.
To learn more parenting tips click here.