Quote of the week:
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
-Emily Bronte
Principal’s Message:
Dear Huff families,
Hope you all enjoyed your three day weekend and were able to enjoy the nice weather. The end of trimester 1 is November 6 and you will notice that your child is starting to take both ELA and math assessments to assess how they are doing along the way. Please remember that all of the data from the assessments helps our teachers plan for instruction. We ask that you allow your child to take their assessments on their own. Please do not help out. It is okay for them to struggle and not know the answers to all of the questions.
Strategic plan: We need your feedback on the framework
As you know, MVWSD is working on a new Strategic Plan. The new six-year Strategic Plan 2027 will be completed and aligned with two cycles of the District’s 3-year Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and will build on and expand the former plan’s successes and areas of need for students.
In September, parents and staff members completed a districtwide survey. This input, in addition to a strategy session with 60 representative stakeholders, resulted in a strategic plan framework that shows five major goal areas and the general outcomes and themes in each.
Next, there is an opportunity for you to give input in the planning process. We need to hear from you.
Please give us input on the “big ideas” in this strategic plan framework. Please take a few minutes before Friday, October 16 to click on the link below, review the framework, and reply to the survey with your ideas or items that you feel are missing.
https://www.research.net/r/MVWSDStratPlanFramework
The survey is managed by a third-party consultant. All responses will go directly to them and will be anonymous.
For more information on the process and timeline, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/strategicplan
Renaming Huff
Based on Board consensus and community support, the renaming of Frank L. Huff Elementary school is moving forward. To reach all stakeholders, a community action committee will form to direct the process and oversee community feedback. The process is expected to reach its conclusion before the start of the 2021-22 school year. To learn more about the process and the formation of the community action committee, tune in to the Board of Trustees meeting on October 22, 2020 here. To submit a public comment for this item, send your comment to [email protected] by the Wednesday before the meeting.
Have a wonderful week! Stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Arline Siam
Upcoming Events
October
-14: School Site Council (SSC) 3:30pm * new date
-22: Board of Trustees meeting: Renaming Huff
-28: School Site Council (SSC) 3pm
-28: ELAC 5:30pm
November
-6: End of 1st Trimester - Minimum Day-
-6: Principal’s (Virtual) Coffee 5pm
-11: Veterans Day -No School
-17: ELAC 5:30 -6:30 pm
-18: SSC 3pm
-18: PTA General Association Mtg (virtual) 7PM
-25 - 27: 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:
Together We Are a Better MVWSD: Special edition: ELECTION!
Mountain View Whisman School District embraces its role in establishing its commitment to equity in our district. As part of our "Together We Are a Better MVWSD" series, here is a special edition on the Nov. 3 election.
Participating in elections is one of the key freedoms of American life. Many people in countries around the world do not have the same freedom, nor did many Americans in centuries past. No matter what you believe or whom you support, it is important to exercise your rights. We celebrate the upcoming election cycle by publishing materials for teachers and parents that promote civic engagement amongst students and give resources to parents about how to secure their participation in this year's election. Both the links and QR codes will take you directly to the recommended resources.
For a closer look at this graphic, please see attached flyers or https://www.mvwsd.org/BetterTogetherMVWSD
How you can protect yourself from COVID: Face masks
Wearing a face mask greatly reduces the chance that you and the people around you will come into contact with respiratory droplets that contain the COVID-19 virus. How you wear and clean masks are huge factors in their effectiveness. Our own MVWSD school nurse Melanie gives important tips in this video. Please review and practice with your family.
Face masks and social distancing video
Police Interactions, Race and “The Talk:” A Panel Discussion
Date: Thursday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. on Zoom: http://mvw.sd/talk
For Black children, the “talk” about how to interact with police is a rite of passage. Join MVWSD for a panel discussion with parents, the Mountain View Police Department and other leaders about what this means for policing for all of our children and families in our community and schools.
For more information about how MVWSD is working to support equity in our community, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/BetterTogetherMVWSD. For more information about the City’s racial equity and inclusion efforts, please click here.
MVEF is proud to help bring Living Classroom to all of our school campuses.
Living Classroom brings environmental education for students in elementary and middle school. Living Classroom started teaching students on 9/8 and taught 62 online lessons in September.
Living Classroom continues to maintain the school gardens for when garden-based outdoor learning can return to MVWSD, making education come alive and deepening students' connection with nature. Living Classroom lessons empower the next generation by growing environmental champions, inquisitive learners, and healthy eaters. There are over 200 lessons planned for the fall in our schools.
Your donations to MVEF bring Living Classroom to every school in MVWSD! Donate today! https://www.mvef.org/donate
“Enriching the Learning Experience” Symposium
The Santa Clara County Office of Education Parent Engagement team is pleased to announce our FREE virtual event "Enriching the Learning Experience: Vision for 2020 and Beyond" which will be held from 10:00am to Noon on Saturday, Oct 17 and 24, 2020. Together with 6th District PTA, we are putting together a Parent Engagement symposium for parents, students, pre-service teachers, classroom teachers, administrators, and liaisons to focus on student success. We have lined up a number of dynamic speakers and 10 workshops each day of the symposium. Here's a sneak peak of our workshops:
Dr. Joyce Epstein, professor of education and director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University. She has over one hundred fifty publications, including School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, 4th edition (2019). Her Keynote will address school administrators in the area of parent engagement and her Workshop will address teachers and how they can involve parents in homework.
Ruby Ibarra, local bay area COVID-19 researcher and hip-hop recording artist. Her Keynote will address parents and share her inspiring story of how to channel obstacles into opportunities. She will present a Spoken Word Writing Workshop for students!
Gene Luen Yang, graphic novelist of American Born Chinese, Secret Coders, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Superman. In 2016, he was the Library of Congress's 5th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature; he was also the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant in that same year. His workshop for teachers will address adopting a rich, diverse reading curriculum for the classroom.
A Financial Literacy Workshop series “Understanding Debt and How to Improve Your Credit Score,” “Rebuilding After a Financial Crisis,” and “Learning the Value of a Dollar” by Excite Credit Union will give good money management tips for students and adults alike.
Registration is open! Visit “Enriching the Learning Experience” event Website to see all 10 workshop descriptions, speaker bios, and registration form.
October CAC Events
SELPA 1 CAC and the Learning Challenge Committee are your groups for special education and broader learning challenge needs. We are ALL having learning challenges right now, and CAC and LCC are here to help. If you have questions about learning challenges and special education needs, email [email protected] or check out www.selpa1cac.org
October 14, 7 pm - Evening Let’s Talk - IEP/504 support group. Have questions about the process to get help for your child? Have an IEP but are not sure how to make changes? Need to vent? This is your confidential group. Please contact [email protected] for the Zoom link for this meeting.
October 19, 7:30 pm - Decoding Dyslexia meeting on Zoom. Melissa Baten Caswell, PAUSD board trustee and parent of dyslexic child. Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElc-iprDgiGtNHAaoHhQzOLq_q8qMjndCW
October 24 10am - 12 pm - IEP Goals & Progress Monitoring Webinar Presented by Disability Rights California and organized by Palo Alto CAC. Topics: – IEP Process -Your Rights at an IEP Meeting -Goals & Objectives – FAPE and LRE -Related Services -Assistive Technology -Transition Services/Vocational Services Zoom link at cacpaloalto.org
PTA News:
ONLINE BOOK FAIR COMING - NEW DATES! Our online Scholastic Book Fair begins TODAY WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, running until Oct. 20. Support your students’ love for reading AND earn rewards for our school and library in the virtual book fair. You’ll have access to thousands of best-selling books, collections, educational toys, games and more, shipped directly to your home.
Sales are now active from our bookfair webpage. See the attached 4-page Book Fair catalog with featured titles for you and your students to browse.
HUFF PTA Volunteer Hours Log
Hi Huff Parents!
We appreciate all the support you are providing our school! Please use the link below to log any time (class help etc, not just PTA-related activities) you have volunteered starting July 1, 2020 . Our total hours as a school are submitted to the State PTA at the end of the school year in order to maintain our federal tax exempt status as well as raises awareness to our legislatures. Thanks for all the Huff Love! :)
HUFF PTA Volunteer Hours Log
Attachments:
Online Book Fair
Scholastic Book Fair flyer
October Equity Calendar 2020_finalENG.
CHAC_FRCs_Distribution_flyer_English
Together We Are a Better MVWSD