Quote of the week
“We cannot control the wind, but we can direct the sail.”
-Anonymous
Principal’s Message:
Dear Families,
As teachers and parents, we’re all feeling overwhelmed by the news about COVID-19
and the effects on our everyday lives. But, supporting learning and keeping a sense of normalcy and routine for kids is important, especially during school closures.
Keep Calm, Learning is On! Tips and Resources for Parents to Support Learning at Home
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Make the schedule work for you & your child- If you need to work from home at a certain time, that might be a good time to give your child a quiet break or an activity they can do independently.
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Have a small number of rules- Depending on your child, about 3-5 rules should be enough. Too many rules will be overwhelming and not effective.
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Offer appropriate reinforcers/rewards– Make sure it is something your child wants to work for and is reasonable for you to give to your child. For example, if your child likes Lego, allow them to work for a few minutes of playing with Lego.
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Enjoy Family Time.
We are in this together. Please reach out to me if you need any support.
Sincerely,
Arline Siam
Don’t forget to join me for our Virtual Principal’s Coffee
When: May 15, 2020 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
Click here!
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Coffee with the Superintendent for Bubb, Huff and Stevenson parents
Dr. Ayindé Rudolph will be covering some of the topics on parents’ minds, as well as taking questions in this informal virtual meeting.
For parents of Bubb, Huff and Stevenson
Tuesday, May 19, 9:30 a.m.
Register in advance for this meeting by clicking here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Donation
I hope you and your families are staying healthy during this unprecedented time As you may know, there are several families in our district that need help to meet some basic needs. The district is providing 2 meals a day M-F. With kids being home from school, some families need more support for providing dinner and weekend meals. There is a critical need for gift cards for these families to use for food. If you are able, please consider donating a gift card to families in our own district. Thanks so much for your help! Let’s show these families some Huff Love!
Things to remember:
Gift cards should only be for Safeway and should be electronic. (https://www.giftcardmall.com/e-gift-cards/safeway-egift-card)
Electronic gift cards should be sent to our principal, Arline Siam at [email protected] and she will send them on to the district office for distribution.
Families are welcome to donate more than 1 gift card. Each individual gift card should be no more than $20 to make it easier to split them up among many families.
Thank you to the families that have purchased some already!
If you have any questions, please contact Aishwarya Rengan at [email protected].
Hope’s Corner
Dear Huff community,
I have an idea.
Let's support families in our community that are struggling with food insecurity by donating fruit from our fruit trees. We have some wonderful programs in the community that are helping families in need. Let's help them by providing fresh fruit to distribute.
If you'd like to donate your fruit, please email Chris Ito at: [email protected]. Please provide your address and I'll pick up the fruit Sundays 5-6 pm. You can leave the fruit in a bag/box labeled "Fruit 4 Families" on your porch or end of the driveway.
I’ll bring the fruit to Castrol elementary school to donate it for those in need. I’ll also bring the fruit to Hope's Corner, a nonprofit in Mountain View that provides free lunches Wednesdays and breakfasts/lunches Saturdays.
If you're unable to provide fruit this Sunday, not worries, I'll be doing this every week. I'm not going anywhere. :)
Please pass the word!
Thanks!
Chris
(Dad of Benjamin 4th grade, Charlotte 2nd grade)
District News:
Distance Learning Tips
Here are a few tips that might help you and your student with Distance Learning. Do you have any tried and true methods of helping your students’ school days be more efficient and your family’s life a little easier? Share them here. http://mvw.sd/37PbG
“Caught you being good!” Set a timer for yourself (15-45 minutes, depending on the age of your kids). When the timer goes off, positively reinforce your child by noting their focus, independence, and/or perseverance through a challenge. If you can periodically name, celebrate, and give attention to what they are doing right, they are more likely to keep it up, and less likely to get our attention with undesired behaviors.
Multiple kiddos? Go incognito! If you have multiple kids or are trying to access your own Google account while checking out theirs, here is a tip: Hold down COMMAND + SHIFT + N when you are in Chrome. This creates an incognito window, where you are not signed in. This means you can sign in with one account in one window and another account in another. You can do this for as many accounts as you like so that you can flip between windows to look at information from multiple accounts simultaneously.
Ask your student for high & lows for the day. Not everything is fixable, but asking and talking about schoolwork will help your student feel supported and understood.
Food benefits
Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school will get extra food benefits. These food benefits are called Pandemic EBT or P-EBT benefits. P-EBT benefits help families in California buy food when schools are closed because of the coronavirus emergency.
Families will get up to $365 per eligible child on their P-EBT card to use on food and groceries. Families with children who get CalFresh, Medi-Cal or Foster Care benefits do not need to apply. Most will get their P-EBT card in the mail during the month of May. P-EBT cards will begin arriving sometime this month
(May).
Families with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and who do not get their P-EBT card in the mail, must apply online before June 30, 2020. The online application will launch in late May. https://www.cdss.ca.gov/home/pandemic-ebt
17TH ANNUAL MVWSD INTERSCHOLASTIC CHESS TOURNAMENT
17AMICT is forging ahead and will be held this year despite COVID-19! The tournament will be online this year and will be held Sunday, May 31, 2020, from 11:30 to 5:00. Full instructions and registration are at tinyurl.com/mvwsdchess. The registration deadline is May 29. Come take part in one of the few events this school year going on as scheduled. Contact Mark Ruzon, Tournament Director, at [email protected] with any questions.
InPlay home activities
With extended time sheltering-in-place, InPlay, MVWSD's partner for out-of-school learning, has created a list of home-based, instructor-led programs offered by your favorite local providers to keep your students active and engaged! Please check it out. https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view/discover
SCCOE Announces New Online Portal for Essential Workers to Access Childcare
Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) in partnership with county and city leaders, community organizations and agencies throughout Santa Clara County has announced a new online portal to provide essential workers, as defined by the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, access to childcare during the shelter-in-place order.
In addition to this childcare resource, we have a list of resources for families developed by our School Community Engagement Facilitators. Sheltering in place and not being in our regular routines of work and school can be hard on our emotional and mental health, in addition to making access to meals, rent payments and other typical activities more difficult. Click here for info about help with meals, rent, legal issues, emotional support and more.
SCCOE webinars
The Santa Clara County Office of Education has developed a Parent Support Webinar series just for parents who have questions on how they can support their kids with learning.
Free Parent Support Webinar series:
May 7 Episode 1: Maintaining a Healthy, Balanced Family Life
May 14 Episode 2: Reading Comprehension Support
May 21 Episode 3: Writing Development Support
May 28 Episode 4: Academic Content Support
Audience: Parents & Educators
Dates: Thursdays in May 2020
Time: 1-1:30 PM, PST
Join Live: bit.ly/sccoeparents
Cost: Free
Free, low cost internet for students
We think that it’s important that each of our students has one Internet-ready device (laptop, iPad, etc) in their house for distance learning schoolwork. There are several ways you can access free/or low cost internet to connect students' Chromebooks. Please see the attached flyer or click on www.mvwsd.org/technology.
Parking lot wifi
While using parking lot wifi, you must remain in your car in order to practice social distancing. Students must have an adult accompanying them.
2020 Census Paper Questionnaires are on their way to Californians!
If you’re among the 70+ million households who have already responded to the 2020 Census, thank you! If you haven’t completed it yet, paper questionnaires are in the mail headed your way. Households receiving the paper questionnaire can still respond online or by phone, or they can return it by mail in the enclosed envelope. When you respond online, use the Census ID from the letter or provide your address. To respond now, go to https://go.usa.gov/xdKjk.
Please encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to complete it too. It’s something everyone can do while practicing social distancing at home to make a difference today, tomorrow and the next 10 years.
Attachments:
Free Internet Flyer-English
Pandemic EMT
SSA Program Application
Community Resource Guide