Quetzal News
January 27, 2022
From Ms. O's Desk
Dear Quetzal Families,
Yesterday we celebrated our 100th day of school. It's unbelievable how time just passes by so fast. It seems like last week when we opened our doors to all of our students and staff this year. You blink, and there it went, the month of January...gone! We are now getting ready for a nice and joyful month of Kindness and Love. And, as the Dalai Lama says, "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
As part of our Kindness Challenge, our student council designed a project that would help us practice kindness for our environment, plants, and animals. Starting next week, our classrooms will have a Kindness Coin Bank. Students can bring pennies and coins that will be donated to Teams Seas. At the end of the month, we will help remove trash from our oceans. This student leadership idea will help take care of our environment and save our marine animals and plants.
Here are some more acts of kindness for us to practice:
- Wave at 25 people a day
- Write a kind note to someone you haven't done so before
- Start a recycle goal
- Donate clothes you no longer use
- Make someone smile by telling them how much they matter
- Remind your love ones what makes them special
- Remember a kind act someone has done for you, and replicate it
- Make a new friend
- Read to a younger sibling
- Help another student
- Teach someone something new
- Apologize if you make a mistake
We need some help from you. Please take some time to register your child for next school year. It is very important that we have this information as soon as possible. This will help us plan for next school year. If you are having some difficulties filling out the form, please contact our office, and we will be more than happy to help.
For CURRENTLY enrolled students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents can now log on to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to enroll their children for next year through January 28. Look for an email in your inbox with more information. If you have difficulty signing in to PowerSchool, please contact your school office. For more information, call 650-526-3500 or go to https://www.mvwsd.org/register.
Our district is updating our LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). This input collected will guide the update of our District plan for the 2022-23 school year. Look for a meeting at your school to learn more about the LCAP process, as well as a survey about the plans' goals. An email with a link to the survey will come to your inbox on Jan. 31. More information found here: https://www.mvwsd.org/lcap.
I want to thank all of you who attended our Cafecito this week! It was great to see how many families were connected and shared their ideas and concerns. We will continue to work on our dismissal process. Please help our students and community stay safe. Remember to follow the signage and drive safely.
Have a great weekend, stay healthy and be safe.
Ms. Olaciregui, Principal
Calendar
January 27
- ELAC Meeting @ 6pm
January 28
- Spirit Day-Twin Day
- School Site Council Meeting @6pm
- End of Trimester 2 Early Dismissal @ 12:10pm
District News
Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday, Jan. 21
Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, Jan 21 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Spanish interpretation will be provided. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/CC121. Please see this webpage for upcoming meeting dates and for video recordings of past meetings. https://www.mvwsd.org/about/communications/news___events/connecting_with_the_community
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.
Please Upload Your Child’s Completed Vaccine Card
Many of our younger students are getting their 2nd COVID vaccine shot this week. When your child's vaccine card has their 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!
Guidance for Upgrading Your Mask
Please send your student to school in a well-fitting, quality face mask. Public health officials recommend upgrading from fabric masks. Upgraded masks include double masking (surgical mask + cloth mask), fitted medical masks (surgical masks) and respirator masks (N95s, KN95s or KF94s).
Please see “Choosing Your Mask” here for more guidance: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Get-the-Most-out-of-Masking.aspx
Preschool information meeting: 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 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:
Identify common stressors and the effects of stress
Explore tips for stress management for oneself
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
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. Our stretch goal is if we can exceed our fundraising goal by $ 300,000 in the 2021-22 school year, we will improve learning for all middle school students by funding an additional English language arts teacher for each middle school in the school year. 2022-23
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)
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