Dec 20-Jan 3 December Break – NO SCHOOL
Jan 4 First Day of School 2022
Jan 5 Parent U – Effective Parent-Teacher Communication & Tips for Conference Week – 5:30pm ZOOM
Jan 7 Superintendent Community Check In – 3:30pm ZOOM
Jan 10-14 Virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences – Minimum Day ALL WEEK
Jan 10 Landels Monday Morning Meeting – 8:30-8:45am ZOOM
Jan 12 PTA Association Meeting, 6:00pm ZOOM
Jan 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL
ROARS
· Mathias N. – Room 2
· Shawn B. – Room 4
· Marisol L. – Room 16
· Maddie H. – Room 12
· Lea M. – Room 16
· Hajin W. – Room 10
· Ezra B. – Room 11
· Aastik S. – Room 17
· Gretchen W. – Room 18
· Joshua H. – Room 5
· Gabriel R. – Room 9
Principal’s Message:
Dear Landels Families,
Here are the final updates for 2021:
· Readathon information was sent out through Konstella. Please encourage your child to participate and to read, read, read!
· Students completed their iReady diagnostic 2 assessments. Results will be available to view in your PowerSchool account this Friday, 12/17.
When we come back in 2022, please note the following:
· All teachers and staff will be doing Professional Development on 1/3. Students return on 1/4.
· Parent teacher conferences are the week of 1/10. Please confirm your appointment time with your teacher if you have not done so yet.
· MVWSD’s next Parent University on 1/5 is about preparing for conferences and building effective communication between families and school. A panel of administrators, teachers, and parents will share tips and answer questions. Zoom link.
COVID safety over winter break
We strongly encourage families to get tested after the holidays and before returning to school after the holiday, especially if you are traveling. Even as children 5-11 are now starting to get vaccinated, it is still important that we stay vigilant with safety precautions, particularly in light of the variant, Omicron.
· Test for COVID before and after holiday traveling and/or gatherings. https://covid19.sccgov.org/covid-19-testing
· Due to low supplies of test kits, MVWSD cannot provide rapid antigen tests to families. Instead, we are planning a community testing event on Dec. 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the District Office, 1400 Montecito Ave. Look for more details by email.
· Please vaccinate all eligible members of your household, especially if you are traveling and/or gathering with family and friends. http://sccfreevax.org/
· Continue to wear a mask
Last day for OKtoReopen screener is Friday
With student vaccination rates increasing for our younger students, on-campus COVID testing and increased awareness in our community about Covid symptoms and protocols, there is no longer need for the OKtoReopen screener. Starting after break when students return on the morning of January 4 , you will no longer receive an email or text message from OKtoReopen. Thank you for your consistent use of the screener in the past months.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and safe winter break. See you in the New Year!
Pieter Dolmans
Lost & Found
The Lost and Found cart is full of jackets, sweaters and water bottles. The cart will be at the front of the school at dismissal for the remainder of this week. Please take a look and collect your items by Friday afternoon. All items left in the cart will be donated to a local charity.
MVWSD News
Work every day at our school: Permanent substitute teachers needed
MVWSD is seeking a long-term substitute teacher to work every day with a variety of classes ** at our school.** Please consider this flexible, fun, dynamic work that has a big impact on our students!
The permanent substitute teacher rate is $220 per day. Please express interest in the “permanent sub” position when the hiring department reaches out. We appreciate your commitment to our students and community, especially in this time of COVID-19.
Requirements to become a substitute teacher:
* A Bachelor’s Degree
* Completion of Basic Skills Requirement
* Substitute teaching permit or a valid California teaching credential.
* Complete required background check. This can be done by appointment in the MVWSD Human Resources Department.
* A negative tuberculosis test
You may apply online: http://mvw.sd/sub. For information, please email Noemi Herrera at [email protected].
Attendance is important: Parent notifications ramp up in January
Research shows that school attendance is a strong indicator of success. It's about students learning what they need to know, belonging to the school community, and being part of the team that is preparing them with good habits for high school.
Regular school attendance is required by the state law, and is included in the District’s Local Control Accountability plan (LCAP) and reported in the California School Dashboard. State law requires MVWSD to notify parents whose students are truant or chronically absent.
What’s an Excused vs. Not Excused absence? Illness (including quarantining due to COVID), doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences. Please see MVWSD board policy for the full list. All other reasons are not considered excused.
Are Vacations / Travel Excused? Unfortunately, family vacation or travel is not excused – even when you inform your teacher or the office. This comes as a surprise for parents. We appreciate you letting us know so that you will not receive a call from the auto-dialer asking you to verify the absence.
When do parents get truancy letters? California law requires MVWSD to notify parents of truancy. Any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant.
Letters: beginning in January, MVWSD will send letters to parents of any student who is truant. These letters inform parents when students have had three or more unexcused absences and inform families of next steps and any resources or procedures in place to help their family get their child to school regularly.
Calls: In January, MVWSD schools will also begin using an automated system to notify parents when a student is absent from school. This automated call will alert a parent that a student has been marked absent. This is important for the safety of your child and for our attendance accounting. Please ensure we have the reason for your child’s absence.
It’s possible that you might receive a call after you have notified the office of the absence. We apologize for any inconvenience that this additional call may cause. This process helps us to maintain a safe school environment and support your child and family. Thank you for your support.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are Jan. 10-14. Minimum day for students. Sign up for conferences!
Parent-Teacher (Student) Conferences present a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, strengths and needs, and work with your teacher to help your child have a successful academic experience. Conference week is scheduled for January 10-14, 2022. Every day that week is a minimum day for students.
“Parent University: Effective Parent-Teacher Communication & Tips for Conference Week”
Date: January 5, 2022, 5:30-7:00pm Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu010522
Please join us for a thorough discussion on effective communication between home and school and tips on how to have a successful parent-teacher conference. A panel of parents, principals and teachers from Elementary School and Middle School will provide helpful feedback on how to approach difficult topics when talking to your child’s teacher or office staff. Parents will also learn how to read and understand the school report cards.
To submit questions prior to the event, go to mvw.sd/questions. We will do our best to address your question during the session.
Upcoming i-Ready Diagnostic 2 Assessments
i-Ready is an online program that helps us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth in mathematics and reading. Teachers use this information to support instruction in core subjects for every student.
Elementary school families can access their child’s i-Ready Reading and Mathematics score via their Powerschool Parent Portal starting December 17, 2021. Parents will have access to three reports for their child - For Families Report, Common Core State Standards Report (CCSS), and the Diagnostic Growth Report. Here’s how to access PowerSchool Parent Portal i-Ready Reports.
Parents can learn more about the i-Ready platform and how to interpret the various i-Ready reports. Join us for an i-Ready Parent Informational Webinar on December 16th, 2021 at 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Please register in advance via the link: http://mvw.sd/i-ready.
Please contact your child’s school front office if you have any trouble accessing reports.
Please upload your child’s completed vaccine card
Many of our younger students are getting their 2nd COVID vaccine shot this week. When your child's vaccine card has their second shot listed, please upload a copy to Powerschool. Vaccine cards will be referred to in the case of a positive COVID exposure for your student, and MVWSD needs accurate data for decisions about COVID protocols. Click here for a video that shows you how to upload documents: https://vimeo.com/606954357.Thank you in advance for uploading your documents now!
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
Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.
December Better Together Infographic
December is Universal Human Rights Month, a time for people in the U.S. and around the world to join together and stand up for the rights and dignity of all individuals. December 10, Human Rights Day, is a global holiday that marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. Together, we can protect the rights of everyone, everywhere. Please see the graphics attached to this newsletter, or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.
MVEF Holiday Zumba Dance Party on 12/19
Get ready to have fun and get fit while grooving to some sweet Latin beats! We’re going to shake it up with 90 minutes of Zumba awesomeness on Sunday, December 19th at 3 pm - 4:30 pm at the Mountain View Civic Center Plaza (500 Castro Street). Bring water, comfortable exercise clothes, and all your friends. It is going to be a party!
Suggested donation is $20 per person cash or check payable to the Mountain View Educational Foundation.
CHAC Resources and Events
CHAC Family Resource Centers offer a variety of classes and resources for Santa Clara County residents, including music classes for young children, arts enrichment, groups for Spanish-speaking families, parenting courses, and free diapers and other essential items. For more information, see attached flyers or visit https://www.chacmv.org/frcs.
PTA News
The Landels PTA wishes you all a wonderful break. We hope that many of you will participate in our read-a-thon fundraiser. Information should have come home with your student(s), and you can also find it attached to this email. You should be able to find your students fundraising page here: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/landels2021/
Don't forget the book exchange on Saturday, December 18th, from 10AM-Noon on Landels campus.
Happy holidays!