Principal’s Message:
Dear Imai Families,
This Thursday as we celebrate Veterans Day, we want to take the time to thank all the men, women and families of our armed forces – thank you for your courage, for your sacrifice and for your dedication to protecting this country! There is no school on Thursday but Friday is a normal school day.
Gift Card drive (Thanksgiving and Holidays)
We are collecting Safeway or Walmart gift cards to help families during the holidays. The gift cards will be delivered to families in the district to help them out during the holiday season. If you can help out, please click on the link. Thank you in advance!
Mascot Update
There are some great ideas in this exchange, and we need your help to make sure we understand what’s most important to you. If you’re game, please head back into the exchange and rate more thoughts.
Here’s just one of many great thoughts from the exchange that could still use some more ratings:
Please use this link to jump back into the exchange and contribute a thought or add ratings to show how strongly you agree or disagree with this, and other thoughts. Thoughtexchange
The exchange will be open until Wednesday, November 17th. Please take some time to participate before then.
The results of this ThoughtExchange will help us understand your concerns and what you see as opportunities around a new mascot for Amy Imai Elementary. Everyone’s voice matters, so your participation is crucial and valued.
Thank you in advance for your input!
Principal’s Coffee
Friday, 11/19 at 8:30 AM
Register here
Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Sincerely,
Arline Siam
Principal
November
- 10 - Vision/ hearing screening (k,2,5)
- 11 - Veterans day No School
- 18 - SSC at 3:15 pm
- 19 - Principal’s coffee at 8:30 am Register here
- 22-26 - Thanksgiving Recess No school
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:
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.
-
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.
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).
Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.
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
Seeking EL Testers!
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 [email protected].
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
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.
PTA News:
NEW SCHOOL T-SHIRTS: We're finally making new t-shirts with our new school name! All students will receive one, but to help us finalize our order, please fill out this short form to reserve the right size for your student(s) by next Monday, Nov. 15. Shirts will arrive and be distributed in December. Additional shirts (in kid and adult sizes for $10 each) can be pre-ordered via this separate reservation form.
GIFT CARD DRIVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS: As you may know, there are families in our school district that struggle to meet basic needs, and the holiday times can be especially tough. We've done gift drives in prior years, but due to pandemic logistics this year, we are collecting gift cards so families can choose what they need for both Thanksgiving and for December holidays. Please consider donating and helping out our neighbors in need!
Gift cards should be electronic only, sent or forwarded to Principal Siam ([email protected]) who will then send them on to the district office for distribution. Please purchase gift cards in $20 increments to make it easier to distribute them across many families.
GIFT CARD DRIVE 1 for THANKSGIVING: Purchase gift cards for Albertsons/Safeway or Walmart by November 19.
GIFT CARD DRIVE 2 for DECEMBER HOLIDAYS: Purchase gift cards for Target or Walmart by December 15.
IMAI PTA Meeting Next Wednesday: Please join us for our November association meeting next Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 7pm (on Zoom) for updates on all our goings-on at school from our principal and PTA leaders. Additionally, we'll be voting to ratify our amended bylaws to finalize our name change. Register/RSVP here for the zoom meeting and to get meeting materials in advance.
Attachments:
MVLA Speaker Series 2021 - 2022_Annual Line-up.docx
Parent U 2021-22 (English)
English November Equity Calendar 2021
Getready
getready2