Quetzal News
November 10, 2021
From Ms. O's Desk
Dear Quetzal Families,
Happy Veteran's Day! I invite you to take time on this holiday to talk to your children about this celebration. Here are some key points that are important for all of us to know, remember, and acknowledge:
- First Veterans Day was on November 11, 1919 as the first anniversary of the end of World War I.
- Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans, living or dead.
- This is a special day to give thanks to all veterans who served our country honorably during war or peacetime.
Our ATDLE (Association of Two way Dual Language Education) consultant, Rosa Molina, will present a workshop next Wednesday, November 17th, at 6pm. She will talk about tools, strategies, and tips for parents to use at home and help foster the acquisition of a second language. Please join us!
I want to thank again all of those parent volunteers who help us during arrival and dismissal. A special shout out to Mari Gutierrez, Marcos Rivas, and Anthony Arriola. You definitely support our goal of keeping our students safe during arrival and dismissal time. Please let us know if you need a cab sign for your cars. If you need one, our office would gladly provide one for you. Cab signs with your child's name on it, helps us call on our students, and it helps dismissal go faster and smoother. We need your help to make this happen. Remember to stay in your car during arrival time and have your child exit the car on the right side. It is very important for the safety of your children and our Safety Patrol.
A shout out to our amazing PTA! We really appreciate all you do for our students. On behalf of our PTA, I am reaching out to our parents so that you can join their leadership team and help with the amazing projects they are working on.
Don't miss our teachers and students in action! Follow us on Instagram @ Escuela_Mistral, Facebook @Gabriela Mistral Elementary and Twitter@mistral_elementary.
I hope you have a great Veterans Day. Stay safe, rest, and enjoy the great weather.
Ms. Olaciregui, Principal
District 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.
District new student information night, covering the registration process, is on November 30 at 5:30 p.m. (in both English and Spanish) at this Zoom link: http://mvw.sd/kinder1130.
School kindergarten/new student information nights are online on December 7 at 6:00 p.m. for all elementary schools, and include choice school information.
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.
If you are interested in the District's choice schools, information nights are:
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).
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.
Opt-in: "Y", "YES", "OPTIN", "OPT IN", and "SUBSCRIBE" are all acceptable keywords for subscribing to SMS text messaging.
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
Are you looking for a part time job and enjoy interacting with kids? Our district is looking for a few more 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 lcorcoran@mvwsd.org.
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:
Explore proven effective and meaningful ways to express care and support that will make a difference in the lives of young people.
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 (flyers attached to email on 11/1)
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.