Aug 28             Principal’s Coffee – Virtual – 2:30PM

Sept 2             PTA General Meeting – Virtual – 6:30PM

Sept 3             Toolbox Info Night – Virtual – 4:00-5:30PM

Sept 7             NO SCHOOL – Labor Day

Sept 9             Parent U – Increasing Student Engagement with Literacy, Virtual – 5:30-7:00PM

Message from our principal:

Hello Landels Families!

What a great Back To School Night!  Thanks to all who attended.  It was great to see everyone in our virtual ZOOM meetings throughout the evening.  I really enjoyed hearing the teacher presentations as well as the thoughtful questions and feedback received from all of you.  It really shows we are working together as one team for all our students!  I miss seeing all of you in person and I’m hoping that will be soon.

During distance learning, as we acquire new routines and strategies for instruction at home, please remember that we are all in this together and we are here to support you. We have included some strategies to use at home.  Please remember a strategy needs to be implemented and practiced with fidelity for at least three to four weeks before it becomes a habit and you notice a difference.  This is often the most difficult part as we want to see results and ‘fix’ the problem instantly.  That’s human nature.  : ) 

• Establish routines and expectations
  • Provide if… then… statements.  If you sit here until the timer runs out, then you can take a break.  Remember it’s important to take breaks when you need them.  Our hope is that the breaks become shorter and less frequent as time goes on.
• Choose a good place to learn
  • Sit in a chair and use a table or desk for the chromebook and supplies
  • Post a visual schedule and cross off items when finished.  Perhaps try only showing a portion of the day at a time so not to overwhelm.
  • Post your 12 tools as a reminder
• Stay in touch with teachers, principals, and school staff
  • Set up a meeting with your teacher and me.  We can provide you with more strategies and talk you through it.
• Help students own "their" learning
  • Resist to assist.  Please resist giving the answer or telling your child what to do next.  It is difficult to watch your child struggle with learning but productive struggle is a great way to build perseverance and grit.  Prompting your child to begin or complete instruction is a good way to assist.  Using questioning is another great way to assist your child.  You can ask, ‘What do you think the next step would be?’ or ‘Explain your thinking with this problem.’  

 

First iReady Assessment Next Week

Our first iReady ELA assessment for grades 1-5 will take place next week on Thursday, September 3rd.  The assessment will be proctored live by your teacher online.  This assessment is adaptive in nature so please remind your child that he or she will not know all the answers to the questions.  As your child answers correctly, the questions will adjust with more difficulty and then back off when it becomes too difficult as the child does not answer correctly.

Please resist to assist during this assessment.  We use this data to inform our teaching with our classes and build small groups.  Reminders to focus and try his or her best are absolutely fine.  But no assistance or prompting should be given so we have true ability data.

This iReady assessment is not the only data we use to understand the ability of your child.  We use formal and informal assessments in the classroom and gather data during checks for understanding.  As we analyze the iReady data, we look for trends and anomalies for each child.

 

Using Your 12 Tools At Home Family Night 

Our first information night regarding using our 12 tools will be held next week on Thursday, September 3rd.  Join us for some practical information regarding using your tools at home.  We will also make visuals of each tool for at home use.

We look forward to another learning and growing week ahead!  As we move throughout the week, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or to me with any questions that may arise. 

Heidi Galassi

 

Join me for our next principal’s coffee on Friday, August 28th at 2:30 p.m.!!

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Aug 28, 2020 02:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkdOyprz0jG9RRxLM6ivBhTbjr3uEtWgvf

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

We will have our first ‘How To Use Your 12 Tools At Home and School’ virtual session on Thursday, September 3, from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.  Please join us!!!

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Sep 3, 2020 04:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrd-GopzksHd3zbs1UW7PA5ZqpE1EndGVW 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Meal Pick-up at Landels

Landels will be providing grab and go meals Monday through Friday, from 11:20am - 12:20pm in the front of the school in the parking lot.

 

EZ Meal Application Help

Free or reduced price meal benefit status from last year can be used to pay for lunches until Sept. 30. We can assist you in applying for free or reduced price meal benefits through the National Lunch Program and can process applications quickly. Applications are at http://www.ezmealapp.com.  Deadline is Sept. 21st. 

If you need help, please contact Ms. Bea at [email protected]

MV Parent U on Sept. 9: Increasing Student Engagement with Literacy

Join us on Wednesday, September 9 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. for our next Parent University event: Increasing Student Engagement with Literacy from Home.

MVWSD Instructional Coaches Karen Gordon and Natalie Gallagher will share several resourceful strategies for supporting reading, writing, listening, and speaking at home during distance learning:

· Easy activities to boost your child's reading engagement 

· Creative ways to encourage and support writing using four text types (expository/informative, narrative, opinion, argumentative)

· Fostering listening skills to be able to extract key information

· Cultivating speaking skills using academic vocabulary

· Tips to prepare your child for ELPAC testing

Register here

 

Parent University videos are now on our website!

Did you miss the latest Parent University event? Do you want to review the materials that were presented? Videos and materials are now in English and Spanish on the Parent University website at http://www.mvwsd.org/parent/parent_university
Latest uploads: Mental Health Resources and Distance Learning Support

ELPAC Language Assessment
Mountain View is a beautifully diverse place where hundreds of languages are spoken. In some instances, children from households where a non-English language is spoken need additional help at school to become fluent in English. To make sure that we identify all such children, all public school districts in California are required to do an initial language assessment called the Initial ELPAC. (English Learner Performance Assessment of California).

A letter was sent out last week to all families with children who meet the criteria for the Initial ELPAC. The letter describes the rationale and details for the assessment and invites families to follow up with any questions they may have. Additionally, the following link is a helpful resource for parents/guardians to understand the test better and to help prepare their children.

A Parent Guide to Understanding ELPAC Initial English (also contains information about the Summative ELPAC, which is a similar test at the end of the school year.)

We understand that the beginning of the school year is a busy time, especially under these extraordinary circumstances. Based on current guidance from the California Department of Education, the Initial ELPAC this fall will be administered remotely. Details to come. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Claudia Navarrete via email at [email protected].

 

Digital resources for parents to help students

Stuck on how to use Google Classroom? Wondering how to best support your student in Distance Learning? This summer, we’ve been at work on a new Parent U resources page full of tips for navigating the tech and procedures of the new school year. 

These resources are designed by and curated by MVWSD teachers to be most useful for  our parents. 

Technology How-To Videos (on Chromebooks, SeeSaw, i-Ready, Clever, Zoom and more)

Supporting Distance Learning (Tips and resources)

Mental Health Tips (Managing anxiety and stress at home)

All are available in English and Spanish at https://www.mvwsd.org/parentu.

 

Welcome from the Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF)!

MVEF is a community supported non-profit that raises funds to provide a competitive, well-rounded education for every child in the district.  We rely on tax-deductible donations from parents like you to support our students.  

In 2020, MVEF-funded programs will continue but look a little different in our connected learning environment.  MVEF will fund: Weekly art and music classes from CSMA delivered online, science through Living Classroom virtual lessons, middle school science supplies, environmental education online lessons, and TechSmart Coding classes.  Specifically, to support connected learning, MVEF will also fund art supplies, instrument repair, elective kits, online learning resources, professional development for teachers in online teaching, and Student Wellness.

We need your help to meet our goal to raise $800,000. Please check for the MVEF brochure with your student supply bag or mvef.org for more information.  To join our team of volunteers, email [email protected].  Donate today at  https://www.mvef.org/donate  

 

Upcoming 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

Our events for September:

August 31, 9 am- General Parent/Community Meetingwith Special Ed. Directors & Staff, Zoom at 9:00 am for LCC and 9:30 am for CAC. We will be planning for the year, discussing upcoming programs and discussing distance learning and learning challenges. For our agenda, please join our Google group, https://groups.google.com/g/selpa1cac. For the Zoom link for this meeting, email [email protected].

September 8, 10 am- 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.

Also on September 8, 10 am - Parent Chat- Support for parents of teens with mental health challenges. A great place for help and support for challenges with your teens. Please contact [email protected]for Google Meet invite.

 

Mentor Tutor Connection Volunteer Information Session - September 10th

You can change the life of a student!
Come learn about volunteer opportunities to Mentor high school students and Tutor students in grades K-8 in our Mountain View and Los Altos schools.
Becoming a Mentor or Tutor will add joy to your life and help a student in our local community to a brighter future!
There is no obligation to sign up as a volunteer.  You're welcome to just come and learn more about they we do.
Please note: Mentor Tutor programs are currently remote and will remain so until students are back in school and the school district permits volunteers in the classroom
All volunteers must be high school graduates.  
  Date:             Thursday, September 10th
      Time:           5:00 - 6:00 pm
        Location:     Online via Zoom (URL provided upon registration)

  Register:     REGISTER ONLINE

    Questions:    [email protected]

Information:   MentorTutorConnection.org

 

Hello and welcome to our Landels families!

It’s great to have you back, or welcome you for the first time. The role of the PTA will be different this year, but what hasn’t changed is our mission to support our teachers, students, and our entire community.

What your PTA can do for you

Our PTA has been involved in on-campus programs and events that are off the table this year. The PTA’s priorities this year are to:

· Strengthen the bonds of our community and classrooms: focus on helping parents and teachers communicate with each other.

· Provide curriculum support: continued funding for our science program and discretionary funds for teachers to improve their virtual classrooms.

· Technology support for our teachers and staff: the district is providing some technology support for our teachers and staff, but we expect there may be gaps we can help address.

What you can do for your PTA:

We know that you’re busy, and your ability to contribute time or money may be limited. Three small things you can do to support our students and our community:

1. Fill out the Landels Community Survey

Find it here: https://forms.gle/3WGG6PKpTCEJ8bnD8. This will help us learn how we can best support you.

2. Join the PTA

Join here: https://jointotem.com/ca/mountain-view/landels. It just takes a few minutes and $11. You’re welcome and encouraged to donate more, but the most important part is to join.

3. Come to a PTA meeting

PTA meetings are held once a month on Zoom. At these meetings we discuss:

·       Our budget and fundraising

·       Volunteer opportunities

·       Ideas for new programs

Even if you just listen, you’ll feel much more connected to your school and your community when you attend PTA meetings.

Of course, we’d love you to volunteer and donate if you can. But if you can do these 3 things, you can make a difference.

Looking forward to a wonderful year, 

The Landels PTA Executive Board

 

Join our new communication tool, Konstella
We wanted to invite you to join our new communication tool, Konstella. For returning parents, this replaces Simply Circle. For new parents, this tool will allow you to receive communications from the PTA as well as from other parents in your room. You can choose how and when you would like to receive updates after signing up. Being a member of the PTA is not required. You can join using this link: https://www.konstella.com/cd/GNJQU9

Thank you!

Landels PTA Association Meetings 2020-2021

All meetings at 6:30 PM at https://yougov.zoom.us/j/9219374478, dial in available at (669)-900-6833.

September 2nd, 2020

September 23rd, 2020

October 21st, 2020

November 18th, 2020

January 20th, 2021

March 24th, 2021

April 21st, 2021

May 19th, 2021