8.31.22 Stevenson Stingray News

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08.31.22

 

Dear Stingray Parents and Guardians,

MVWSD is providing at-home COVID-19 testing kits for free to families (Preschool - Grade 8) and staff members so that you may test before returning to campus after Labor Day weekend. A box containing one test will be sent home with each student this week. Please test your student on Monday, Sept 5 before returning to school on Tuesday, Sept. 6. If the test is positive, keep your student home from school and click on “Absence” at the top of your school's website to log your student's positive Covid test. These test kits are one measure to combat COVID transmission, in addition to sanitation, and ventilation at our schools. Thanks for helping to keep our community safe! 

Over the past few weeks your child completed his/her first i-Ready Math and Reading Diagnostic assessments. i-Ready is an online program that helps us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth in mathematics and reading. Families can access their student’s i-Ready Reading and Mathematics score through their Powerschool Parent Portal starting September 2, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. Reports are available on the PowerSchool Parent Portal at https://ps.mvwsd.org/public/ under “Parent Reports” for each of your students. Please see a letter in your email inbox for more information.

 

Sincerely,

Ryan Santiago

Principal, Stevenson Elementary

 


SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

-No School Monday, September 5th

-Friday Fever Assemblies Are Back for Students and Staff

-School Site Council Parent Members

-Start School on TIme - Student Drop-Off

-No Pets on Campus

-Reporting Absences and Tardies

-Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

 

No School Monday, September 5th

There will be no school Monday, September 5th for Labor Day. Have a great 3-day weekend everyone!

Friday Fever Assemblies are Back for Students and Staff!

What is a Friday Fever Assembly? To kick off our core value of the month, a grade level will host an assembly that highlights the core value.  Our ImPACT SEL lessons that are provided are aligned with the monthly core value. Due to COVID guidelines, only students and staff will be able to join the Friday Fever Assembly. We will be sure to post pictures on our social media platforms.

School Site Council (SSC) Parent Election

We are still in need of one more parent as a School Site Council member. If you are interested, please contact Principal Santiago at [email protected].

Stevenson’s School Site Council is composed of five parents and five staff members.  The School Site Council helps develop goals and actions for Stevenson’s School Plan for Student Achievement (site plan).

Please visit mvwsd.org for more information and videos about SSC.

Start School on Time - Student Drop-off Front of School

Please plan on dropping your child off before 8:05am each morning. 8:05am is when our warning bell rings and students line up to start the school day. We have many parents that are still dropping off their student(s) by car after the start of the school day. School starts at 8:10am. It is important that children are in class by 8:10am to start the school day with their peers. Teachers are monitoring and supervising around campus starting at 7:55am.

No Pets on Campus

Pets are not allowed on campus or near the pick up and drop off areas before school and after school.

Reporting Absences (Repeat)

Please call the office at: (650) 903-6950 or email Kass Madrid at [email protected] and Renae Rhodes 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, your name, and relationship to the student.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (Repeat)

- Twitter - @StevensonElem_

- Instagram - @stevenson__elementary

- Facebook - @StevensonElem

 


PACT FOUNDATION UPDATES

PACT Pals registration NOW OPEN

Registration period: Aug 29 - Sep 4

Class period: Sep 12 - Dec 16

-See pactpals.org for classes. We are still finalizing details, so things may change.

-On August 29th morning, registration links will appear on pactpals.org.

PACT Pals are independent after-school programs and not affiliated with Stevenson Elementary school. Vendors are solely responsible for the children during class time, not Stevenson Elementary school or PACT Foundation. Please contact vendors directly for any questions.

Rocket Day (Repeat)

Rocket Day is scheduled for 5PM on Friday September 9th in the Stevenson grass field.

If this is your first Rocket Day, you are in for a treat. Rocket Day is a super fun event for Stevenson families. Bring a picnic blanket or camp chair and a picnic dinner to the event. We will aim to have some food trucks at the event too.

What is Rocket Day?

Rocket Day is held in September, on the field in the back of the school.  The rockets are launched using compressed air and are effectively a stomp rocket on steroids.  There will be some supplies at the event for making rockets, but it takes a little while so you are encouraged to make one at home beforehand so kids can start launching them right away. For this event the STEAM committee will supply Full Rocket Making Supply Kits to the Kindergarten grade in advance. There will be limited supplies such as streamers and duct tape supplied to school for grades 1-5 however parents and guardians are highly encouraged to re-use materials from home such as cylinder paper tubes from kitchen paper towels to make Rockets in advance ( instructions below). If your student cannot obtain materials from home, please reach out to the STEAM committee for help.  Let's get the momentum going by sharing photos of rocket creations on Konstella!

Rocket Making Instructions

You can find a printer-friendly version (PDF) of the instructions below (with Spanish translations) is available for download. Another rocket making guide is available here.

Parents can help by going into their kids' classrooms in the weeks leading up to Rocket Day to read a rocket story or do a rocket-themed activity with the kids.

One great activity is to lead the kids through making a paper-towel tube rocket according to the instructions above. Some other ideas are here.

See photos from previous events.

Bike Pumps Needed Please

We are also seeking bike pumps for this event. If you have a bike pump you could loan for the event, please drop off your bike pump (labeled with your name/ phone number) to the office please. Sometimes bike pumps break and we do our best to replace them when they do, but please keep that in mind.

Thanks!

STEAM Committee

 


CALENDAR

2022-2023 MVWSD School Calendar  

Wednesday, August 31st

-Puberty Talk Parent Information Session (For 5th Grade Families) - Register here

Friday, September 2nd

-Friday Fever Assembly for Students and Staff

Monday, September 5th

-Labor Day - No school

Thursday, September 8th

-Board of Trustee Meeting @ 6pm - Register here

Friday, September 9th

-Community Check-in @ 3:30pm - Register here

-Rocket Day @ 5pm - Stevenson Field 

Monday, September 12th

-School Site Council @ 3:30pm

-District Equity Advisory @ 5:30pm - Register here

Thursday, September 15th

-ELAC Meeting @ 6pm 

 


MVWSD News

Members needed for the new Safety Advisory Task Force

MVWSD is seeking parents (both middle and elementary school), staff (certificated and classified) and community members as representatives for its new Safety Advisory Task Force. The district is undertaking a holistic review of safety this year. The Safety Advisory Task Force will contribute considerations for areas of improvement and work with a security consultant on a safety audit. To apply by Sept. 8, please click here. To learn more about MVWSD’s safety goals, click here for the presentation to the Board of Trustees.

Better Together: Identity

Better Together, MVWSD's school culture and climate program is exploring BELONGING during the 2022-23 school year. This month's element of belonging is identity. What parts of your identity are important to you? Students and families can explore the many unique, complex parts of their own identity, while appreciating the same in others'. A positive self-identity can boost self-esteem and promote meaningful connections with others who are different from us. Use the essential question and recommended books to explore this topic with your students.

School meals are free, but fill out the EzSchool Meals application to help your school

MVWSD will continue to provide free meals to all students as part of California’s universal meal program. Breakfast and lunches are available daily.

We ask you to please Apply at EzSchool Meals to help MVWSD receive additional funding to support students who are in need, and may help your family.

This Free and Reduced Price Meals benefit is not limited to meals only. If your child is eligible for free and/or reduced-price meals, your family could get medical benefits, housing benefits, utilities benefits and more.

Students who qualify for free and/or reduced-price meals may be eligible for P-EBT cards. The more applications your school gathers at the start of each school year, the more additional funding it can receive for all kinds of programs that help children at your school.

If you are currently out of work, you may qualify and help your school, regardless of your financial situation. Apply at https://secure.ezmealapp.com/ or call your school office.

MVEF & PTA: Why should we donate to both?

We heard requests for support from our school’s PTA and MVEF leaders at Back to School Night last week. Our annual donations to each support students in different ways: 

MVEF provides essential programs at every school in MVWSD: CSMA Art and Music classes,  Living Classroom Environmental Science classes, environmental field trips in grades 4-5; plus two middle school ELA teachers, Teacher stipends and support for clubs, sports, and instruments in grades 6-8. 

PTA is a “hyper-local” advocacy team of volunteers that support each school site in customized ways to improve family engagement and support classrooms within that school community. 

Both MVEF and PTA are 501(c)3 Charitable organizations and both rely on donations from families and matching contributions from employers and other organizations. You can donate to MVEF and learn more at this link and find your PTA donation link  here

September CAC Events

Happy Back to School! SELPA 1 CAC and the Learning Challenge Committee are your groups for special education and broader learning challenge needs. We are ALL having learning challenges right now, and CAC and LCC are here to help. If you have questions about learning challenges and special education needs, email [email protected] or check out www.selpa1cac.org

September 14, 10 am Morning Let’s Talk  - IEP/504 support group. Have questions about the process to get help for your child? Have an IEP but are not sure how to make changes? Need to vent? This is your confidential group. Register here. 

Docents needed for Living Classroom!

Volunteer with us to teach fun, engaging STEM-based lessons in your local school!

Do you enjoy spending time with kids and being outdoors?

Living Classroom teaches science by using our school gardens as our classroom.

No prior teaching experience is necessary.  Bring a friend and join the fun!

Come to our training sessions in Heritage Park, 771 Rengstorff Ave. in Mountain View

Mondays, September 12th, 19th & 26th, from 9 am to 12 pm.

For more information, visit www.living-classroom.org or contact [email protected]

YMCA Hiring After School Staff 

The YMCA is hiring staff for after school programs that serve students on our campuses. To learn more about available positions and apply, visit ymcasv.org/jobs.

Now hiring: Interpreters and Translators

Are you bilingual/biliterate and looking for a way to support our families and students? MVWSD is hiring support staff to serve as interpreters and translators for multiple languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and others. Apply now at mvwsd.org/jobs.

InPlay: After School Programs and Activities

Looking for after school programs for your student? InPlay offers a free searchable program guide for parents, with filters for age, location, price (including free or reduced cost), and more. To find programs local to Mountain View, head to: https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view. Available programs include those that serve students with special needs or English learners.

MTC seeks volunteers to mentor and tutor local students!

Do you enjoy working with kids?  Would you like to make a difference in the life of a student in our community?  

Mentor Tutor Connection (MTC) is looking for volunteers to mentor High School students and tutor K- 8 students in Mountain View and Los Altos schools. By serving as a mentor or tutor, you can help build a brighter future for a young person. 

MTC mentors are matched with a high school student who has requested a mentor. They meet regularly (typically 2-4 times per month), building a trusting and caring relationship while sharing new experiences together. A mentor’s role is to be a good listener and a non-judgmental source of encouragement and support. The program is designed to support students who have significant stressors in their lives—providing another caring adult to help them overcome obstacles and plan for a promising future. Students with mentors report having more confidence and less stress.

MTC tutors support elementary or middle school students. Some tutors work with their students remotely, others volunteer in classrooms or after-school. Tutors help with basic skills including reading, writing, math, and more. Additionally, tutors provide a consistent caring adult in a young person’s academic journey. The role of the tutor is to be an academic helper who demonstrates a love of learning. 

Additionally, MTC is seeking volunteers for a new program. Reading Fellows volunteers meet with individual students for 1/2 hour, 4 mornings each week, for a six week period. The program follows a specific phonic-based structured curriculum. It is incredible to see the difference you can make with this intensive framework!

As an MTC volunteer, you will be trained and supported so that you can help students achieve their potential and thrive! You can make an extraordinary difference!

Join us at our Volunteer Information Session to learn more.  There is no obligation to sign up as a volunteer.  You’re welcome to attend this session and see if this is the right volunteer job for you!  Invite a friend!

         Date:            Wednesday, September 7th

         Time:                12:00 – 1:00 pm

         Location:       Online via Zoom (URL provided upon registration)

         Register:            REGISTER ONLINE

         Questions:        programs@mentortutorconnection.org

         Information:     MentorTutorConnection.org 

Mentors must be at least 22 years old; Tutors must be High School graduates.

If you are interested in learning more about the program but cannot attend the information session, please contact Laura Hill at programs@mentortutorconnection.org for information on how to proceed.

MVLA Speaker Series: Becky Munsterer Sabky - Author of Valedictorians at the Gate 

MVLA will host Becky Munsterer Sabky for her presentation, “How to Apply to College While Keeping Perspective,” on Tuesday, September 13th from 6:00 - 8:00pm. Join us as Ms. Sabky, former Director of International Admissions at Dartmouth College and author of Valedictorians at the Gate, demystifies the college admissions process, offering students and parents guidance on developing a balanced college list, writing authentic essays, and making the final selection decision - all while keeping perspective and staying sane. Register for this free Zoom event here.

 


 

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