Dear Quetzal Families,

Welcome back! I hope you had a fantastic week off. We are now starting our third trimester, and pretty soon the end of the school year will be here. We continue to appreciate your support with our students at home. Your partnership is priceless! This month, we will work with our students on the practicing grit (passion and perseverance towards achieving long term goals). Passion and perseverance sometimes seem impossible to teach. However, a series of repetitive activities can help children develop their inner grittiness and be very successful. According to Angela Duckworth, developing grit is a great predictor for happiness. Help us reinforce this important character trait at home. Here are some activities you can do with your child that will help them develop grit:

• Talk about their dreams and goals-Talk about steps that are required to reach their goals.
• Encourage to conduct grit interviews-Have them interview family or friends on how they reached their goals.
• Share stories of gritty famous people, such as J.K Rowlings, Michelle Obama, Steph Curry, Steve Jobs.
• Ask them, "what is the hard part?" Once you have an answer, ask them, "how can we fix or overcome this?"
• Play the "hard part game" everyone in the family must think of doing something hard and finishing it. No one gets to pick it for another person than themselves.

Our students are attending Soul Shoppe assemblies as part of our Socio-Emotional lessons. Here is a parent workshop you can watch.

Science night is coming up on April 6, from 5-6:30pm. More information coming up soon. Please remember that on March 13th, we have a Teacher in Service Day-No school for our students.

Have a great rest of your week!

Claudia Olaciregui, Principal

• Teacher In-Service Day - No School

• ELAC Meeting @ 5pm

• Cafecito Mistral @ 6pm

• School Site Council Meeting @ 5pm

• PTA General Mtg @ 6pm

• Open House @ 6pm

• Lifetouch Spring Pics

The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 p.m.

Some of the topics include:

• Preschool Program Self Evaluation

• Universal Pre-Kindergarten Expansion

• Future Enrollment Growth Considerations

For meeting details and agenda, please click here: https://www.mvwsd.org/trustees.

Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday, March 3

Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions. Spanish interpretation will be provided. Click here to register: http://mvw.sd/CC33

March Better Together Infographic

March is Women's History Month, a time to celebrate the contributions women have made to society. However, we must acknowledge that not all women have had an equal chance to succeed. Inclusion is key to truly celebrating Women's History Month. Let's uplift and empower all women, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or ability. As allies, we can listen to their stories, amplify their voices, and work together to create a more equitable society. Let's celebrate progress and continue to choose to be #BetterTogetherMVWSD. Please see the attached flyers or visit http://mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.

Early Bird pricing for MVEF Gala tickets is available until 3/12/2023

Buy tickets, donate items, and sponsor the Gala today by visiting the MVEF Gala page: https://www.mvef.org/2023gala

With approximately 150 in-person attendees and a goal to raise $100k, the MVEF Gala is an opportunity for residents, district parents, business leaders and community members to come together in support of our local public schools. Last year MVEF successfully took the bold step to extend its funding beyond art, music, science, and sports to include adding opportunities for differentiation in the classroom by reducing class sizes in ELA. This year we hope to raise a total of $1.2MM through the MVWSD community’s enthusiastic participation, allowing us to continue funding the new teaching positions, the existing MVEF-funded programs, and consider funding additional programs in the future.

InPlay: Find camps and afterschool activities

February break and spring break are just weeks away. Even summer break is just around the corner. Looking for activities or camps for your children? InPlay offers a free searchable program guide for parents, with filters for age, location, price (including free or reduced cost), and more. To find programs local to Mountain View, head to: https://www.inplay.org/r/mountain-view. Available programs include those that serve students with special needs or English learners.

Living Classroom: Docents Needed!

Do you enjoy spending time with kids and being outdoors? Volunteer with us to teach fun, engaging STEM-based lessons in your local school! Living Classroom teaches science by using our school gardens as our classroom. No prior teaching experience is necessary. Bring a friend and join the fun!

Come to our training sessions from 9am-12pm in Heritage Park, 771 Rengstorff Ave. in Mountain View:

March 6, 2023 (Kinder & 1st Grade Lessons)

March 20, 2023 (2nd & 3rd Grade Lessons)

March 27, 2023 (3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Lessons)

For more information, visit www.living-classroom.org or contact susanh@living-classroom.org.

Mentor Tutor Connection Volunteer Information Session: March 8th

Come learn about volunteering as a Mentor or Tutor! Help a local student to a brighter future.

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SESSION - March 8, 5:30-6:30 pm, El Camino YMCA, 2400 Grant Road, Mountain View. To register go to www.mentortutorconnection.org/events or email programs@mentortutorconnection.org.

Health and Wellness Parenting Tip: Change upsetting thoughts

Everyone has upsetting thoughts from time to time, which can make us feel angry, sad, or frustrated. This is normal! It is often our emotions that drive these upsetting thoughts, not the facts of the situation. By catching our upsetting thoughts, checking the facts, and changing our thoughts based on those facts, we can start to have more helpful thoughts and improve our mood.

Watch this video and learn more about how to change upsetting thoughts to be more helpful.

To change your upsetting thoughts:

1. Catch it. When you feel upset, pause and ask yourself, “What words or phrases are running through my mind right now?”

2. Check it. Consider whether the thought you are having is helpful or not.

3. Change it. If you are having an unhelpful thought, consider other ways of looking at the situation. Reframe your thought to one that is more helpful.

Catching, checking, and changing your thoughts takes practice. By noticing your unhelpful thoughts and reframing them based on facts, you can improve your mood.

Silicon Valley Reads Career Fair

The Santa Clara County Office of Education is excited to host the annual K-8 Career Fair on Saturday, March 4 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. The theme this year is Adventurous Careers, and the event will feature guest speakers from many different fields. We want to encourage students to dream big, follow their passions, and explore some amazing career opportunities as a component of the Silicon Valley Reads community engagement initiative. For more information and to register, visit: https://na.eventscloud.com/731835.

MV Public Library Art Events

Draw with Nomar Perez

Thursday, March 30 from 4-5 p.m., Ages 8 and up, on Zoom

Nomar Perez, the author/illustrator of "Coqui in the City" will join the Sunnyvale and Mountain View libraries to talk about his experience illustrating "Coqui" and then he will lead a virtual drawing lesson. Register in advance here.

Chalk Art Mural

Friday, March 31 from 3:30-5:30 p.m., Ages 8-12 at Pioneer Park

Tweens are invited to drop in to the library courtyard and create a piece of art from Silicon Valley Reads author/illustrator Nomar Perez. All skill levels welcome, no registration needed. Materials and instructions will be provided. Weather permitting.