3/31/21 Huff n Stuff

Principal’s Message: 

Quote of the week

“Forget mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you are going to do right now, and do it. Today is your lucky day.”

― Will Durant


Dear Huff Families,


Our campus was in full swing this week with over 200+ students. As we adjust to being back in school, please help us with reminding your students to do the following: 

  1. To not forget to raise their hand if they need hot lunch and to make sure to tell their teacher that  they need the vegetarian option. 

  2. To clean up after themselves and throw their trash in the trash can. 

  3. To use the hand sanitizer before and after they eat and play in the playground. 


We are continuing to improve our dismissal procedures and we thank you in advance for your patience and flexibility. We ask that you do the following to help the process go quicker.

  1. Create a sign with your child’s first and last name and room number and put it in the passenger side for our employees to see.

  2. Remind your child where you are going to pick them up. 

  3. Don’t forget we are not allowing students to wait near the curve till you get here. Students are being called from the blacktop to join you once we see your car.


Last call! Picture day is 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

April

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

*7: Picture day  Sign up at: signupgenius

*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:

Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday

Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, April 2 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Spanish interpretation is provided. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/vrNfN


Board meeting preview: April 1

The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, April 1 at 5:00 p.m. Some of the meeting topics include updates on: the LCAP, 2021-22 school year learning options, Huff renaming, and reports from the Bond Oversight Committee and the Parcel Tax Oversight Committee. Agenda and login information are here. The meeting is also streamed on https://www.youtube.com/mvwsd.


COVID testing available for students and families

Regular, asymptomatic COVID testing for students is not required at this time however, parents may want to have students tested, especially after travel, to ensure that they are not carrying the COVID-19 virus.


Free, asymptomatic testing is available for students and parents at:

* El Camino Hospital or MV Center for Performing Arts. Dates: Ongoing. Schedule through El Camino Health at https://www.elcaminohealth.org/landing/schedule-covid-19-test?s=mapPin.


* Graham and Crittenden Middle Schools. Dates: Tuesday March 30 at Graham MUR; Tuesday, April 20 at Crittenden MUR and Wednesday, April 28 at Graham MUR. You should register here. You also may schedule an appointment by calling 650-940-7022 and use option 4. Please mention you are with the Mountain View Whisman School District when calling. 


If your child has symptoms of COVID or has had a known exposure to someone who may have COVID, please contact your child's pediatrician for testing information. If you do not have a health care provider, make a symptomatic testing appointment with a county provider here: https://scl.fulgentgenetics.com/appointment/screen/landing.


Spring Break Travel Advisory

As Spring Break approaches, MVWSD wants to remind our community to take precautions to keep our community safe and our schools open.


Under our current risk tier, the Health Officer’s Mandatory Directive on limiting travel has been lifted. However, the state continues to advise Californians to avoid non-essential travel to any part of California more than 120 miles from one's place of residence, or to other states or countries. 


If you travel, please test. COVID-19 testing is not required for students, however it's recommended for people who travel. Free testing for students and families is available through El Camino Health at https://www.elcaminohealth.org/landing/schedule-covid-19-test?s=mapPin. The CDC advises that individuals get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel. Make your appointment now for after you return.


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


OKtoReopen health screener pro tips

OKtoReopen is the daily health screener for in person students to complete each day before they arrive on campus. Here are a few tips to make the process even easier:


You don’t have to wait until you get the message

Reminders are sent each day that the student is expected on campus. If parents have already completed the survey before the first reminder is scheduled to be sent they don't receive a reminder.

Parents can always complete the screener earlier than the reminder by using a previous email or going to oktoreopen.com on a browser they previously have used. 


You can complete the screener for multiple students

You can complete the survey for more than one child in the same window by clicking through the names at the top right drop-down menu. If there is another student in the family you can hit next to complete that survey. When all of the surveys have been completed there is a done button.


Make sure your survey is submitted

For families with just one student you hit submit and then done (students with more than one student click next until all surveys are completed, and then submit). You don't have to click done to complete the survey.


Send the reminder to just your phone instead of both phone/email

Parents can adjust their OKtoReopen settings to receive text or email only by contacting their school office to make the change in Powerschool.


For a closer look on how to use OktoReopen, check out these videos: https://vimeo.com/521538560 (English) and https://vimeo.com/524450668 (Spanish)


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.

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.


Join the MVEF Board and make a difference!

The Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF) is seeking new volunteers and board members to join us in supporting its mission to ensure that every child in every school has access to a competitive, comprehensive, and inspiring education.

 

Board members have the opportunity to make a difference in the experience of every child in the district, gain insight into district programming and planning, and collaborate with other parent leaders in the district. Learn more about MVEF, and its impact on your child’s school day at mvef.org. If interested, please send a message to [email protected].


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


MVLA Parent Speaker Series, “The Power of Showing Up: What Kids Really Need from Adults,” April 22 from 7:00 - 9:00pm

MVLA will be hosting their last Parent Speaker Series event for the season, “The Power of Showing Up: What Kids Really Need from Adults,” on Thursday, April 22 from 7:00 - 9:00pm with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, a psychotherapist and best-selling author. 


Parents worry. It’s what we do. Reassuringly, the latest brain and attachment research is clear on how best to make a difference in our child’s life over the long run: we simply need to show up.  Offering plenty of warmth and humor, Dr. Bryson will explore what showing up means, sharing stories and simple strategies for honoring the Four S’s - helping kids feel secure, seen, soothed, and safe. She'll discuss practical advice for supporting anxious kids, hitting the reset button on parenting, and creating a safe harbor at home for children of all ages. Registration for this free event can be found at: https://mvla2020-21-tinapaynebryson.eventbrite.com.


Virtual Earth Day Events with the City of Mountain View 

We know that Earth Day (4/22) is looking a little different this year, so it’s going virtual here at the City of Mountain View! We’re holding two contests with multiple gift card prizes (a short video competition and a student poster contest), all centered around creativity and how you restore the Earth in your own way. For both contests, the deadline for entries is Monday, April 16th, 2021 no later than 5pm. Submissions can be made at: this link; see attached flyers for more information.


Additionally, please join us on Thursday, April 22nd from 6pm-8:30pm for our Virtual Earth Day Event! We’ll be having speakers from the Planet Bee Foundation, Acterra, Recology, and Cool Block. Community members will also be giving 5-minute ‘micro talks’ about how they’re “Restoring the Earth.” And finally, we’ll be announcing the winners of the video and poster contests live during the event. Please visit this link for details.


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)

ED Virtual Event Poster

Video and Poster Guidelines

 Lifetouch Flyer 

April Menu 2021

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