Principal’s Message: 

Quote of the week

“The child is both a hope and promise in human kind.”

-Maria Montessori

Dear Huff Families,

Recently, there have been several acts of violence and acts of racism towards Asians and Asian-Americans both in the Bay Area and throughout the rest of our country. Please know that the Huff Community is an inclusive place that not only condemns acts of terror, violence, and racial discrimination against Asian and Asian Americans, but know we openly celebrate the diversity within our community. To all of our Asian and Asian-American families, please know that you are welcome, wanted, and celebrated at Huff. 

We are adjusting and making changes to our new procedures and appreciate your cooperation during this time. I ask for your patience and understanding during dismissal as our goal is to ensure the safety of our students. 

Dismissal Tips

Do thank our staff for keeping your child safe during dismissal.

Do discuss with your child where they need to be picked up.

Do understand that this year dismissal will take longer than last school year.

Do not take your frustration out on our staff. Everyone is doing their best.

If waiting in line is not working for you, please come up with a plan B and discuss it with your child in the morning or ask to be switched to 100% online. 

Picture day 04/07 Wednesday

Please pick the time slot that corresponds to your child’s last name if you want your child to have their picture taken this school year. Don’t forget pictures are optional and limited appointment spots available. No make-ups are scheduled so sign up quick. 

(signupgenius) sign up for an appointment.

Principal’s Coffee 

04/02 at 8:30AM

Please register here

Have a wonderful week! Stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Arline Siam

Upcoming Events

March

*31: SSC -3:15pm

April

*2: Principal’s Coffee - 8:30am Please register here

*7: Picture day

*10-16: Spring Recess -NO SCHOOL-

*19: DELAC - 5:30 - 7:30pm click here

*27: ELAC- 5:30pm

*28: SSC -3:15pm

May

*7: Principal’s Coffee - 5pm

*19: PTA General Meeting -7pm

*26: SSC -3:15pm

*26: ELAC- 5:30pm

* 28: End of Trimester - Minimum Day-

*31: Memorial Day -No School-

June

*4: Last day of school -Minimum Day-

Chromebooks that are not working

Please take your Chromebooks to the Technology department to the District office.  Instead of going in the front door of the district office, go around the back and their door is open.  They are working from 8:30am-3:30pm.

Reporting Absences

If you are reporting a student's absence, please email [email protected] or call the attendance line at (650)526-3490 ext 3080.

Reminder: Please include your student's name, your student's room or teacher, the reason for absence, the date of absence(s) and the relationship of the person leaving the message. Thank you from the office staff!

District News:

Resilience Pause Series starts March 29

The 30-minute, online Community Resiliency Model Resilience Pause sessions for adults (parents and staff members) are scheduled during this transition in our school year to assist participants with building resilience throughout return to in-person instruction. Participants can learn strategies on Mondays and build habits towards resilience during the week.  These sessions are designed to teach life-long habits that help us to self-regulate during stressful moments.  

March 29, 4pm: Tracking Sensations

April 5,  4pm: Grounding 

April 19, 4pm: Resourcing 

April 26, 4pm:  “Help Now!” A Reactive Strategy

Sessions can be drop-in or attended in a series. To join: http://mvw.sd/HAjbz

Cafecito: March 24

MVWSD will be hosting an informal meeting for Spanish-speaking parents with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Wednesday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom. Interpretation will be provided. Please register in advance for this meeting here: http://mvw.sd/zIHrd.

Student meals

If your student is returning to campus tomorrow, you might be wondering about lunch. Due to federal funding, MVWSD is able to provide free breakfast, snacks and lunches to students on campus daily. Breakfast and snacks are cold. Lunches will be hot. Students will be able to pick up lunches at their classrooms. Menus and nutritional analysis are posted at https://www.mvwsd.org/nutrition. A count of those taking school lunch will be taken at the beginning of the school day. Students may bring their own self-contained lunches, if desired. MVWSD continues to provide free grab and go meals at each school (Stevenson and Theuerkauf are combined) during lunchtime for students who continue in distance learning and for young children in the community.

MVWSD is on Instagram!

Follow us on Instagram @mvw.sd (https://www.instagram.com/mvw.sd/) to stay connected and updated with all that is going on in the district!

Parent University: A Conversation with Haben Girma, the Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law

Date and Time: April 8, 2021, 6:00-7:00 p.m.    Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/X85Z0

Haben Girma is a human rights lawyer and an advocate for disability justice. She was the first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. As a community, we are all tasked with resisting ableism, racism and other forms of oppression. We face the choice to accept oppression or advocate for justice. Come and be inspired by Haben, who has received the Helen Keller Achievement Award, a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and TIME100 Talks. 

President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Chancellor Angela Merkel have all honored Haben. President Obama named her a White House Champion of Change.  Haben believes disability is an opportunity for innovation, and she teaches organizations the importance of choosing inclusion. 

To submit questions prior to the event, please click here. We will do our best to address your question during the session.

In case you missed it: Parent University videos and materials are available online

Check out mvwsd.org/parentu for English and Spanish recordings on topics such as wellness, mental health, supporting your child’s literacy and math at home, our special education team, the impact of drugs and other substances on adolescents, and many more.

Registration Open for Afterschool/Care Programs

The District’s partners who provide parent-paid afterschool care and distance learning support are opening registration for the rest of this school year. 

Afterschool care

Right at School has opened registration for their afterschool programs and asynchronous support on Wednesdays. Please follow the links below to access programs for each school site, including asynchronous support on Wednesdays located at Crittenden.

Huff

Bubb

Vargas

Landels

Castro

Mistral

Theuerkauf

Stevenson

Monta Loma

 

YMCA is also providing aftercare at school sites. Contact [email protected] for more information and availability.

 

Distance Learning Support

Additionally, Right at School will continue to offer distance learning support for families that opt out of in-person learning. Registration can be found at Distance Learning Support.

 

YMCA will have "Y Learning Labs for Super Scholars"

Locations: Bubb, Monta Loma and Theuerkauf Elementary

Hours of Operation: 7:45am - 5pm, Monday - Friday

Fee: $280 per youth per week ($20 per week non-refundable deposit) 

Sessions: Set in three week sessions. Session 14 is four weeks in length.

Registration: Available online via our website at https://www.ymcasv.org/child-care-camps

Questions: Please email [email protected]

MVEF Gala Feedback and Fund a Need

Thank you to the many who joined us at the first ever Virtual Gala Trivia Night. We want to know your thoughts about the event. If you attended the Virtual Gala, please go here and fill out this survey to share your thoughts with us: https://tinyurl.com/MVEFgalasurvey

If you haven't had a chance to donate to Fund a Need, please donate here: https://www.mvef.org/donatetogala. Every gift helps MVEF meet our fundraising goal of $800,000 this school year. If your donation went through, we automatically sent you a receipt, but we are happy to double check your donation status for you.  

Women’s History Month

In the month of March, we are celebrating Women’s History. BetterTogether recognizes the people, movements, and ideas that challenge expectations and gender stereotypes that negatively affect us all. From women’s suffrage to the gender equality movements of modern day, it has become clear that when we all fight gender inequality, we all win. Celebrate this month by having meaningful conversations with your students, your children, and your fellow s(heroes). In addition to the infographic, this month we will also be highlighting amazing women from our organization and learning about the s(heroes) that have inspired their own commitment to gender equality.

For a closer look at this month’s infographic, click on the attached flyers or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.

CAC Parent Education Event - Mental Health for the Whole Family - with Thierry Kolpin, Ph.D Wednesday. March 31, 7PM - 8:30 PM. 

Join us for a much needed discussion of mental health and mindfulness for the whole family. After the year we’ve all experienced, we all need to learn techniques to evaluate and improve our mental health and that of our families. Professor Thierry Kolpin of Brandman University will discuss the challenges we are facing and how every member of the family can improve their mental health. Special attention will be paid to the additional challenges in families of students with learning challenges. Prof. Kolpin is an Assoc. Professor at Brandman University and specializes in school counseling and mindfulness in counseling. Email [email protected] for the link to the event.

*presentation at event will be recorded and available at www.selpa1cac.org, Q&A will not be recorded to protect personal information

PTA News:

HELP US PLAN ALTERNATIVES TO HAWKFEST: We still can’t have our traditional end-of-year carnival at school (Hawkfest), but Huff PTA hopes to pull together some alternative fun for the community to enjoy as the school year comes to a close. But just like the regular Hawkfest, it can’t happen without some parental support! Interested in helping out? Join us for a Zoom kickoff meeting next Wednesday, March 31, at 7pm to hear some ideas and discuss next steps with us!  Register/RSVP for the meeting here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUtdOmtqT8sHtF91LOG40Y5J8fMy8MfLXAO. Can’t attend but still interested in helping? Email [email protected]. 

PLEASE LOG YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS: Our PTA Historian tallies total volunteer hours each school year to help demonstrate what an important role parents play in our public schools. Please submit any volunteer hours you give on this short, simple online form. Thank you!

 

YEARBOOK BACK COVER DESIGN CONTEST

Would your child like their artwork to grace the front or back cover of this year’s Huff yearbook? Then have them enter our yearbook design contest!

Guidelines:

• Please have artwork follow this year’s theme of Virtually Together (however they want to interpret it - maybe it’s distance learning, maybe it’s ways they can still be together).

• Artwork should be roughly 8 ½ x 11 portrait in size.

• Please leave a half inch border around your artwork

• Use mediums with good contrast (colored pencils often are too light against a white page unless they’re outlined in marker)

Please email entries to [email protected] and include your child’s name and grade. The deadline is March 31st.

 

IN NEED OF PHOTOS FOR YEARBOOK!

We are depending on parents and teachers more than ever this year to provide photos for the yearbook. Please upload photos from the following events (or any grade- or school-wide events) to the Google Drive folder below:

• First Day of School

• School Is Different (in pajamas, with pets, on laptops, at home PE, distribution days)

• Crazy Hair Day

• Kinder Pumpkin Patch

• 1st-5th Grade Pumpkin Patch

• Passing Out Valentines at School (or making valentines)

• 5th Grade Instruments and Art

• 5th Grade Poetry Cafe

• Return to In-Person Learning

Upload school event photos here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1sHtAxYqeSUzQDhg2T4hWvOgS--31elW3

 

If you have any photos from your class of parties, projects, or just every day school photos, (screenshots or photos from home are both great!) please put them in your room folder here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yR2H2LAdHz1K1LbaNKQUBg7SMTRwIcTt

 

We need all pictures by March 31st!

Thanks so much!

Kathleen Mikulis and Dorothy Lin

 

If you have any questions or prefer that your child NOT be pictured in the yearbook, please contact us at [email protected].

 

CALLING FOR “THEN AND NOW” YEARBOOK PICTURES FROM FIFTH GRADERS

A fun yearbook tradition for fifth graders at Huff is our "Then and Now" page. We’d like parents to submit a photo of their child now and one from kindergarten. In an ideal pandemic-less world these are usually photos of their child with a friend or two or three from kindergarten and then taken again with the same kids in the fifth grade.

 

So, how can you send a picture of your child with a friend during a pandemic? Here are some options:

-Use a pre-pandemic fourth grade photo

-Submit pictures of your child with a sibling instead

-Send a photo of your child by themselves (we predict this will be the popular option this year and it’s also great if your child didn’t attend Huff then)

 

We would prefer not to have photos with masks because the fun is in seeing how your child has changed in their grade school years. (Note: we are definitely not encouraging taking off masks for a photo!) Please no official school photos.

 

Parents, please send your kindergarten and fifth grade photos to us by putting them in the folder at the link below. Please identify in the file name who is shown in the pictures. (An example would be “JonS_MissyW_EmmaV.jpg”) The deadline is March 31st. Thanks!

Here is the link to submit your photos:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dluBLKv-1ItLq8QT5oiQo-muaunJXpnz

Please email us any questions at [email protected].

 

CUSTOMIZE YOUR YEARBOOK PAGES

This year you have the ability to add two custom pages of your child’s pictures selected by you. Just follow the directions below. 

1) Set up your account at the link below. Our school’s passcode is 1015335719921389. Setting Up a TreeRing Account

2) Next, login and select “My Photos” in the bar on the far left to upload your photos.

3) Click on “Edit custom pages.” Now you can add photos and design your pages!

To learn more about how to customize your page, please read:

Creating Custom Pages Step by Step Screenshots and Video Tutorial

Creating Custom Pages from Scratch and Using Page Layout

Also, a lot of kids last year (particularly ones from the older grades) enjoyed leaving virtual signatures on each other’s pages. This is totally optional. More information can be found here: 

Sending, Receiving, and Requesting Signatures

Adding Signatures to Custom Pages

If you opt to not customize your yearbook pages, your yearbook will just not have those two pages.

The deadline to edit your yearbook pages is April 30th.

Reserve a yearbook now for $20. It includes two pages you get to customize for your child for free. 

https://www.huffpta.org/yearbook

Email any questions to [email protected]

 

Nominating Committee: Huff PTA's work depends on parents like you! We're still seeking a couple more fresh faces to serve on the executive board for next school year. Serving on the PTA Board is a great way to get involved, meet new friends and make a difference at Huff! Open positions include Parliamentarian, Historian, Financial Secretary and Auditor. For more info or questions, contact anyone on this year's board or any of the members of our nominating committee: Derek Person, Martha Crosby, and Jennifer Chou

Attachments:

FREE PHONE SERVICE ENG SPA CHI

CHAC_FRCs_Distribution_flyer_English

CHAC Parent Flyer

March Equity Calendar 2021 (English)

Spanish Storytime at MVPL (1)

 Lifetouch Flyer