Dear Quetzal Families,

Welcome back! I hope you all had a restful and amazing Thanksgiving break. As you know, December is here! This is such a beautiful time of the year! It's a time of joy, peace, and kindness. This month, at Gabriela Mistral, we will work on kindness and caring. Here are some ways to practice kindness at home with your child are:

• Call a relative to say “I Love You”. Then ask the relative to share how this call made them feel.
• Give a compliment. Have your child think of something they like about a friend or relative, then tell them!
• Let someone else go first.
• Be sure to look your child in the eye when you tell them “thank you”.
• Draw a picture for a loved one and put it in the mail.
• Join them in a 2-minute clean-up drill of their SIBLING’s room or toys!
• Give the family pet some extra time or a special treat. Talk about how they can tell this made your pet happy.

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." Audrey Hepburn

Next week is conference week. This is a great opportunity for our teachers to get to know you better, and for you to learn about your child's progress. If you haven't done so yet, please schedule your meeting with your child's teacher. You should've received an email from your child's teacher on Friday, November 18th, before our holiday break. Students will be dismissed at 12:10pm all of next week due to the conference schedule. Please plan accordingly.

Please join our ELAC team tomorrow after school for some fun Christmas arts and craft at the solar panel tables. We also want to invite you next Monday, December 5, to the Mountain View Annual Tree Lighting event at 5:30pm. Our school will have a Spanish arts and craft table were children can have lots of fun! This event will take place at the Civic Plaza-City Hall at 500 Castro Street. We look forward to seeing you there. Thanks you, ELAC and PTA for supporting this wonderful opportunity!

Please join us at our first in person ELAC meeting on Monday at 8:30am in the Staff Room. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Have a great week!

Claudia Olaciregui, Principal

• Conference week-Dismissal at 12:10pm

December 5 @ 8:30am

• ELAC in Person @ Mistral Staff Room

December 13 @ 5:00pm

• Cafecito: Link

• Holiday Recess No School

i-Ready Diagnostic 2 Test Scores available Dec. 2

i-Ready is an online program that helps us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth in mathematics and reading. Families can access their student’s i-Ready Reading and Mathematics score through their Powerschool Parent Portal starting December 2, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. Reports are available on the PowerSchool Parent Portal at https://ps.mvwsd.org/public/ under “Parent Reports” for each of your students. To learn more, you can view the Parent U session on “Accessing Your Child's CAASPP and i-Ready Scores” at this link (English).

Health and Wellness Parenting Tip

Sometimes kids listen to the instructions — and sometimes they don't. And when they don't, that can be very frustrating for parents. "Special time" gives young children a chance to interact with their parents without the stress of following directions—which strengthens the bond between them. It comes in the form of the acronym P.R.I.D.E.

To learn more parenting tips click here.

Here is the P.R.I.D.E. Acronym:

P (Praise): Use specific praises when playing together. Rather than saying “good job” because kids hear that all the time, use a positive phrase that encourages the behavior you want to see more of. For example, you can say, “I love the way you stack those blocks high.”

R (Reflect): Verbally repeat back some of the words your child says to you. That repetition shows that you’re engaging and listening to your child. For example, if they say, “I’m reading a book!” you can say, “you’re reading a book!”

I (Imitate): Parallel play is essential for the bond between you and your child. For example, if they’re stacking legos, you stack legos. It gives your child a sense of control and relief in a world where children must follow adult demands.

D (Describe): Narrating what your child is doing shows that you are interested and that you are organizing your child’s thoughts and play. For example, if your child picks up a block, you can describe the characteristics of the block, saying, “That’s a red block.”

E (Enthusiasm): Actions like clapping, smiling, high fives, and using positive words while playing with your child show them that you are engaged in what they're doing and strengthen that positive relationship. Saying phrases such as, “That’s great!” and “I had such a fun time!” can make your child happy.

Special time is recommended to be done 1-on-1 for children ages 2 to 7 and can be done for 5-minutes a day, four times a week. Avoid using commands, asking questions, or criticizing during “Special time.”

These tips came directly from the free online website NPR: Life Kit.

County MedAssist Program

The MedAssist Program aims to improve health outcomes and medication adherence for select individuals who reside in Santa Clara County. Qualified patients will receive financial assistance in the form of a grant designed to off-set high out-of-pocket expenses for life-saving medications such as anti-diabetics, asthma inhalers, and/or epinephrine auto-injectors. For more information and application, visit medassist.sccgov.org/

MVHS Spartans Tree Lot

MVHS Sports Boosters will be opening up the Annual Spartans Tree Lot on Friday November 25 at 10 AM for the 2022 season at the Mountain View High School Stadium (3535 Truman Ave.). Spartans Tree Lot offers premium, top-quality trees ranging in size from 3 feet to 12+ feet, holiday decorations, and supplies. In person and online delivery options are available. All proceeds benefit Mountain View High School Athletics. For more information, head to: SpartansTreeLot.com.

Ravenswood Immunization Clinic

The Ravenswood Family Health Network is hosting Immunization and Flu clinics at their Mountain View Location (900 Miramonte Avenue), by appointment only. The Immunization Clinic occurs on Monday afternoons from 1-4 p.m. and has a variety of vaccines available, and the Flu Clinic is held on Monday mornings from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Limit of 2 siblings per parent per visit. Vaccines are free for children with Medi-Cal, HealthyKids, or no health insurance. Call (650) 330-7400 for more information or to set up an appointment.