Viking Pride - March 12, 2021
Happy March!
A Note from Principal Pappas
Dear Valhalla Community,
I know there are many questions regarding the format and choices for the remainder of the school year. Please continue to reach out to me for any specific concerns or questions. We are continuing to follow guidance and work together with district leadership, local principals, PH police department, Valhalla teachers and staff and the community to safely reopen Valhalla. Regardless if you choose hybrid or 100% distance earning, we are committed to each student's academic and social-emotional success and growth. Please continue to follow MDUSD for updates and board meetings.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this unprecedented time.
Sincerely,
Theodora Pappas, Principal
925-687-1700
Thank you MDUSD M&O for our delivery of extra PPE and signage!
Thank you Dr. Clark for checking in with us and your positive feedback!
Thank you PH Principals for visiting Valhalla and your support!
Thank you M&O!
We are checking and checking!
Thank you for signing in and using our hand sanitizer!
Sneeze guards are up!
Tables are ready!
Another teacher desk is ready!
Water fountains are shut off and taped up for safety!
Plenty of PPE and signage is ready!
We are ready!
Thank you to our custodian Mr. Ken! You think of everything and we are ready due to your hard work and care!
Report Cards, second trimester: Available Friday March 12.
How to access your report card, overview click here.
Sample report card click here.
How to set up MDUSD Homelink Parent Portal if you have not done so before.
Spring Picture Day - Tomorrow!
You can pre-order online before you come or order afterwards.
School Name: Valhalla Elementary School
Picture Day Date: Tuesday, March 16
Picture Day ID: EVT8WKMXW
No sign-ups needed, just show up between 3-7pm for your photos. Please wear your mask and social distance. Your child will be able to take their masks off right before their photo. We would love to have all of our students in the yearbook this year, so please consider bringing your child to get their spring photo tomorrow.
Thank you Valhalla Vikings!
Please participate in a special spirit day and wear green on Wednesday, March 17 for St. Patrick's Day!
With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up, check out some fun lore and tradition that surrounds this holiday celebrated on March 17th every year. Not only is Saint Patrick’s Day the national holiday of Ireland, but it is also widely celebrated in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Yet many people don’t know the truth about Saint Patrick, including the fact that he wasn’t even born in Ireland! For more information including: Who Was Saint Patrick? What do Shamrocks have to do with St. Patrick’s Day? How We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? and a Saint Patrick's Day Quiz! Click here! Please send us pictures to the office!
Please check out this letter of introduction by our new secretary, Rebecca Gibbs!
Dear Viking Community,
I am very excited to have joined the amazing office staff at Valhalla as Attendance Secretary. I started work 3 weeks ago, but because of the amazingly warm welcome from staff, parents, and students, it feels like I've been here for a lot longer. I may new to working in education, but have had many years of experience serving the general public. The past 8 years I worked my way up from a barista at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to a general manager with my own store. Over the years I have also worked part-time at a variety of offices and when I was younger I enjoyed my time working with youth at my family’s church as well as at Girl Scout day camps.
I grew up in Pleasant Hill and attended MSUSD schools for elementary, middle, and high school. I moved down to San Luis Obispo for college where I met my husband. We moved to Los Angeles after getting married and lived there for 8 years and had 2 children. With everything that happened last year we found ourselves looking to relocate and my husband received an amazing opportunity in Concord. I now find myself back where I grew up and am excited to raise my children here.
We enjoy exploring all the parks that this area has to offer and going on long walks with my family. My son loves reading, running, and Lego’s. My daughter is only 7 months so she enjoys chewing on everything, standing, and dancing. They both keep me and my husband on our toes. When I have a spare moment I like to read and make various forms of art.
I look forward to serving the students, parents, teachers, staff, and community. There have been a lot of challenges with distance learning and I know that as the kids come back to campus there will be a lot of challenges as well. Please feel free to give me any and all feedback as we make our way through these challenges. I have heard amazing things about this community and I am glad I am able to be a part of it.
Respectfully yours,
Rebecca Gibbs
Valhalla Read-a-thon March 31 to April 14!
Valhalla Vikings! It's time to GET EXCITED!! The Read-a-thon, our biggest fundraiser of the year, will be upon us in 3 weeks, starting on March 31!!
Now is the time to start: wash those PJs, fluff the cushions on the couch, and gather some books. And if you don't have one yet, sign up for a free Contra Costa County Library card at https://ccclib.org/get-a-library-card-info/
Visit the following link for a sneak peek at our Read-a-thon website: http://bit.ly/3ewAUH2
The 2021 Read-a-thon is sponsored by The Friends of the Pleasant Hill Library and Village Music School and runs from March 31 to April 14. Open to all students in all grades.
A note from our VPFA President:
Dear Valhalla Families,
What a year it has been! Over the past year, you have likely been through a roller coaster of emotions and many of us are anxious to get back to as much normality as possible. While we still have a few months left in this school year, VPFA is starting to look forward to 2021-2022! We have so many great opportunities for parents to get involved at the school. There are several events that need chairs or co-chairs (Spring Auction, Welcome Back Dinner Dance etc.) and there are a few openings for other positions that have no current candidates that I would like to share with you about:
VPFA Treasurer – this is a very important role as this allows us to deposit and spend funds. Without a treasurer, we literally cannot function. This position does require some accounting or Quickbooks background, but we have an awesome treasurer this year who can help train you and be a resource.
Director of School Services – No experience necessary. Will work with chairs for events and projects like Red Ribbon Week, All-in-One and Yearbook.
Director of Community Events – No experience necessary. Will work with event chairs for events like Art Fair, Welcome Back Dinner Dance, Ice Cream Social etc.
If you like more information about these or other positions, please check out our webpage www.valhallavpfa.com and click on the VPFA Manual link. Or you can email vpfapresident@gmail.com with specific questions.
Get ready for Read-a-thon! It begins on March 31st and will be our BIGGEST fundraiser for this year. The great news is that 100% of the proceeds go directly to Valhalla and will be used for continuing to keep our instructional aides and increase our technology. All students are encouraged to participate even if they do not fundraise. Check out the plan on our website www.valhallavpfa.com or on Konstella. Huge thanks to Julie McPherson for her hard work putting this together.
We encourage you to attend the VPFA meeting on Wednesday March 17th at 6pm via zoom:
https://mdusd.zoom.us/j/5437538086?pwd=TXFxNEgxRzE4K01Ddk1qQXl1QnVCQT09
Meeting ID 543 753 8086
Password 2020
Thank you,
Marni Hutchins
VPFA President
"Ask the CBO" series: Dr. Lisa Gonzales, Ed.D. Chief Business Officer,
In case you haven't seen them yet, our Chief Business Officer answers parent/staff/community questions in a weekly "Ask the CBO" series. This week's topic covers Multi Year Projections and shows the community how to read a one page budget.
Many of you have asked how the CARES Act funds were spent, and the MDUSD website has that information in English and Spanish. If there is a topic you would like covered, please send the suggestion to cbo@mdusd.org
March is Women's History Month!
Every year March is designated Women’s History Month by Presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history.
Did You Know? Women’s History Month started as Women’s History Week!
Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year.
In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups and historians—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance)—successfully lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women’s History Week.
Click here to download our 2021 Women's History Month Resource Toolkit, filled with links to biographies, events, and programming to celebrate this important month.
Anti-Bias Anti-Racism (ABAR) Committee: Second meeting Thursday, 3/25 @ 4pm!
From Policies to Practice, let's start the courageous conversations and good work to begin to eliminate racial disparities in education. During our last meeting, we discussed attendance, diversifying literature selections, and access to honor's classes.
Any questions? Please reach out to Felicia Stuckey Smith at smithf@mdusd.org.
Valhalla re-opening checklist:
Schoolwide preparation:
- Bathroom stalls taped off (every other one)
- Bathroom sinks taped off (every other one)
- Drinking fountains shut off/bagged up. Water bottle fillers open.
- Contactless COVID-19 health attestation for staff
- Contactless COVID-19 health attestation for guests
- Painting of sidewalk/common areas to show ingress, egress, and reminder of 6ft social distancing
- COVID-19 precautionary signage on doors and windows
- Plexiglass barrier in office and every classroom
- Safety door tag on all classroom doors
- Protocol for students or staff that exhibit symptoms or with confirmed close contact
- Protocol for contact tracing
- Contactless thermometers available as needed.
- Daily classroom and campus cleaning schedule - teachers to use door tags to let custodian know that the room has been occupied and needs to be cleaned.
- Parking lot rules established - the use of drop off zone for immediate drop off by parents (no parking - just drop and go)
Classroom preparation and supplies*:
- Hand sanitizer
- Disinfectant spray
- Face shield (teacher)
- Disposable gloves (teacher)
- Face masks (teacher and student)
- Student seats 6 feet apart
- A/B marking on desks (as requested by teacher)
- MERV 13 filters (Are all updated, except for Thor Hall)
*Supplies have been provided by MDUSD.*
Thank you Officer Bothello for checking in with us and giving input on reopening!
Sticker reminders have been placed in common areas to support staying safe!
Social distance markers to help keep us safe!
Bathrooms are marked off.
Signage on the floor.
Sneeze guards around teachers' desks.
Desks are 6 feet apart!
Restrooms are marked off.
Kindness is always a priority!
Re-Opening Plan/District Info:
From the 2/10 board meeting regarding reopening:
Summary: Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) staff have drafted a safe reopening plan, following the Health Guidelines for Spring 2021. MDUSD has applied core principles when planning for and implementing the practices and protocol offered in this planning document. Prioritizing safety, maximizing learning, and promoting equity are critical drivers for each area addressed.
The protocols and practices offered in this planning booklet further instill our students with persistence, resilience, and adaptability that will serve them well now and in their future. The learning of content and skills is able to continue flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the commitment to high quality standards. All our decisions and practices are in support of our students learning as robustly and enthusiastically as possible.
Next Board Meeting: Tuesday, March 15, 2021 at 5pm (special session)
This meeting will focus on MDUSD's reopening update.
Every board meeting is very important. This board meeting will include more information about reopening when safe to do so. Please watch and stay informed.
At the upcoming board meeting this week, several items on the agenda also relate to reopening:
Upcoming Meeting Dates (2021):
March 24, April 14, April 28, May 12, June 9, June 23, August 11, August 25, September 8, September 22, October 13, October 27, November 10, and December 8.
Meetings will include a Closed Session, with no public access, beginning at 5:00PM, and an Open Session, with public access, beginning at 6:00PM.
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Email: Pappast@mdusd.org
Website: https://ves-mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/
Location: 530 Kiki Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA, USA
Phone: (925)687-1700
Twitter: @VikingPridePH