Quetzal News
Gabriela Mistral's News December 9, 2020
Ms. O's Message
Dear Quetzal Families,
I hope your week is running smoothly. At Mistral, we are getting ready for our winter break, and our students are working very hard. I really appreciate to see them trying their best during Zoom lessons and taking the iReady assessments. The results from their progress will allow us to tailor instruction and serve their individual needs. Here are some friendly reminders during testing:
Students should go to bed early and eat a healthy breakfast
Please provide a quiet and distraction free environment for your child to complete the assessment
Encourage your child to do their best and not to rush through the questions
Remind your child to use their headphones
Students should be on mute at all times during the test
Students MUST use a district provided Chromebook
Students MUST complete the assessment on their own
Thanks for your support on this very important instructional activity.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up! These conferences present a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, strengths, and areas of growth. These conversations will allow us to work as partners and help your child have a successful academic journey. Conference week is scheduled for January 11-15, 2021. Every day that week is a minimum day, and students will be dismissed at 11:50am. Please plan accordingly.
You will be receiving a Sign-Up Genius invitation before break with the days and times to sign up for conferences. Prior to conferences, parents can access their child’s iReady Diagnostic 2 report when we return from the Holiday break on January 5, 2021. Steps for accessing PowerSchool Parent Portal i-Ready Reports are here.
When thinking about your child’s conference, you could consider:
What successes have you noticed your child has experienced this year?
What concerns or issues is your child experiencing with school?
Do you have any specific questions or topics you’d like to discuss?
A quick reminder that we have our PTA instructional arts supplies distribution on 12/10 and 12/11, from 3-5pm. Please check the information sent via Konstella. Remember that we MUST wear a mask at all times and maintain a social distance of 6ft.
We are very fortunate to have the support from MVEF that allows our students to have access to high quality arts, music, STEAM and living classroom lessons and activities. Please help us double the donations by joining them MVEF December Challenge Grant. Throughout December, every dollar donated will be matched dollar for dollar up to $47,000, through the MVEF December Challenge Grant. The December Challenge Grant has been made possible by generous MVEF donors who are challenging you to join them in supporting MVEF. Donate today to get your donation matched by this challenge!
If your company has a matching gift program, you can triple your impact by donating this month!
Each and every year we rely on generous donors like you to help MVEF fund programming and experiences at every school in the district, ensuring that your child and every child has an inspiring, well-rounded education.
Every dollar donated makes a difference and allows the district-wide programs to be funded which is especially important now, during remote learning. It takes donations of every size for MVEF to reach their annual goal of $800,000.
Even through distance learning, your donations to MVEF continue to fund art, music, and science for every student at every school!
Thank you in advance for your support and have a magnificent rest of the week. Remember that at Mistral, we choose kindness!
Ms. Olaciregui, Principal
Upcoming Events
December 9, 2020
- 6:00pm: District Kinder Info Night
December 15, 2020
- 6:00pm: Mistral Kinder Info Night (Register here)
December 18, 2020
- Spirit Day - Pijama Day
December 21 - January 4th, 2021
- Holiday Break - NO SCHOOL
District News
Community Check In on Friday, December 11
Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/Dec11
Better Together: Together we can appreciate our abilities
In December, we are celebrating Abilities Awareness Month. To honor our commitments in moving towards equity and inclusion, help us bring the voices of people with diverse abilities into your classroom or homes, and create a learning environment that rejects ableism. From lessons on art, activism and physical disabilities to education about new developments in Universal Design, these resources will help you and your children embrace diverse abilities and understand the injustices people with disabilities often encounter. Together, we can appreciate our abilities and celebrate our common humanity. See the attached graphics or view them on https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogethermvwsd
Are you curious about the i-Ready platform and how you can support your student at home? Please join us for a virtual i-Ready parent workshop on December 10, 2020 at 5:30 - 6:30 PM. This session will provide parents with an overview of i-Ready and answer parents’ frequently asked questions about how i-Ready elevates instruction.
Click here to register. Spanish interpretation is available for this workshop.
We want to answer your questions. In advance of the workshop, please email questions to Ms. Swati Dagar, Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at sdagar@mvwsd.org by Friday, December 4, 2020.
MVWSD’s award-winning Preschool
Is now enrolling for full-day and part-day for the 2021-22 school year. Information meetings will be held in January. Please see the attached flyer or https://www.mvwsd.org/preschool for more information.
Getting Ready for the ELPAC information sessions, Dec. 15 and Jan. 12
The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) is administered every year to our English Learner (EL) students. To learn more about this assessment, the role it plays in the education of every EL, and how to help your child prepare, please join us for one of the following meetings:
December 15
5:00-5:30 in English: https://zoom.us/j/92673835582
5:30-6:00 in Spanish: https://zoom.us/j/94603257266
January 12
5:00-5:30 in English: https://zoom.us/j/93307939185
5:30-6:00 in Spanish: https://zoom.us/j/93709174683
TK and choice schools’ meetings coming up. Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January
School and District information meetings are coming up in December. Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for a list of these events and for login information.
If your child turns 5 years old between September 2 – December 2, 2021, he/she may qualify for transitional kindergarten. TK info night is December 16 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 15 at 6 pm
Stevenson: Parent Child Teacher: December 16 at 6 pm
Choice schools will also have information at the elementary schools’ info nights (6 p.m. Dec. 9).
For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 18- 22.
For NEW students: Open Enrollment is from January 11 through Feb. 5, 2021 online. You can register your child for the 2021-22 school year when online registration opens here: www.mvwsd.org/register
MVEF news: Double Your Donation with the December Challenge Grant!
Throughout December, every dollar donated will be matched dollar for dollar up to $47,000, through our December Challenge Grant. The December Challenge Grant has been made possible by generous MVEF donors who are challenging you to join them in supporting MVEF. Donate today to get your donation matched by this challenge!
If your company has a matching gift program, you can even triple your impact by donating this month!
Every dollar donated makes a difference and allows the district-wide programs to be funded which is especially important now, during remote learning. It takes donations of every size for us to reach our annual goal of $800,000 together. https://www.mvef.org/donate
PLUGGED IN - Social and Emotional Learning Skills Programs
CHAC is excited to offer two new Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills Programs to 3rd and 5th grade students. Both programs are a fun and enriching way to help students navigate the unique challenges they face in these extraordinary times.
1. CHAC's Weekly Virtual Group meetings focus on social interaction between participants. Through collaborative lessons and fun activities students will learn emotion regulation skills, problem solving skills as well as healthy coping and self-care skills.
2. CHAC's Independent SEL Curriculum teaches students essential social and emotional learning skills through entertaining video lessons and a variety of fun activities that students complete independently.
Click here to learn more about PLUGGED IN- CHAC’s new SEL Programs
PTA News
Material Distribution
We will be having an instructional arts materials distribution on Thursday, 12/10, from 3-5 pm and Friday, 12/11 from 3-5 pm. Please wear a mask, and stay at least 6 feet apart when coming to pick up supplies. We would like as little risk as possible for this distribution. Stay safe and stay healthy - while adding some holiday art to our homes.
Join the Mistral Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
Have you joined the Mistral Parent Teacher Association (PTA)?
Learn more about the PTA and join at https://mistral-pta.org/. So far, we have raised 87% of our fundraising goal for the fall. Help support PTA programs by donating at https://mistral-pta.org/asp/parent_login/. Interested in volunteering? There are several committee vacancies. Sign up in Konstella in Committees under “PTA Leads / PTA Coordinadores.”