Principal's Update
November 4, 2020
Dear Families,
Welcome to November! One of the things I am more grateful this November is our kind and supportive community. This year has required all of our families to be flexible with their time and resources. We have asked a lot of you. Despite this, I have received so many messages of thanks and gratitude. Your words have given me much hope as to what remainder of the year can still bring.
At this point, many of you are settling in to the routines of a new classroom, or preparing to do so. Next week marks the final phase of our hybrid reopening plans. We will welcome back four hybrid classrooms in the 4th and 5th grade. Our hybrid teachers will be:
- 4th Grade ~ Ms. Gracie Kim
- 4th Grade ~ Ms. Carrie Sanderson
- 5th Grade ~ Ms. Jennifer Aza Allan
- 5th Grade ~ Ms. Jenna Segall (A Cohort)
Our distance teachers in 4th will be Ms. Athena Foley and Ms. Manga Oza in 5th. Additionally, Ms. Segall has accepted the position of creating 5th grade science and social studies lessons for the district.
Now that we have our classes set, I am hoping that we can look forward to settling in yet another "New Normal". Transition takes time, so your encouragement at home will be needed. That said, if your child is struggling at home with things related to school, please reach out the classroom teacher and/or myself so that we can partner with you. We also have access to excellent counseling support services, should you be interested.
Alright- that's all for now. Please scroll down for information on help with PARENT SQUARE, County Public Safety measures, PTA updates, and information regarding on-site childcare.
Best,
Annora Lee
Principal
____________
Please read below for message from our Partners in Education, PiE.
The PiE Challenge Grant Returns!
If you have been waiting to complete your PiE donation for the year, the time has come. Generous donors have offered up a special Campaign Countdown challenge grant, and will match donations up to $210,000 through November 16. Support our Palo Verde students by donating to PiE. If you have already given or pledged, thank you so much. Every dollar makes a difference.
We thank you...
PiE Mask Challenge- Calling All Student Artists
It's Partners in Education (PiE) Donation Matching Time Nov 1-16! To celebrate, Palo Verde is hosting a PiE Face Mask Design Contest.
Calling all Palo Verde student artists, designers and creatives in all grades! Your Palo Verde PiE reps are launching a Face Mask Design Contest, where your kids will have the opportunity to create a "mask-erpiece". They can get creative and show off their personal style. Their design should include something related to what PiE funds - Spectra art, music, Junior museum science, classroom aides, or counseling services - or just feature a pie!
They should post their design in Schoology by Nov 13th for the chance to win one of 3 delicious pies!
And don't forget to donate to PiE by Nov 16 to be matched in our challenge grant: http://papie.org/donate/
School Safety Reminders
Santa Clara County Mandatory Directive (Item 3)
As we welcome more students back to campus, please be sure to limit the number of outside, extracurricular activities that your child participates in if you chose to return to the Hybrid learning plan. Not only is this safety measure for your family, but also for all of our returning Escondido students, staff, and their families. It is part of the Santa Clara County Mandatory Directive (Item 3):
Children/youth may participate in only one program at a time and may not move from one program to another more than once every three weeks.
This means:
- Children/youth cannot attend more than one childcare program, after-school program, or other child/youth activity within the same three-week period.
- For children/youth enrolled in K-12 school, this means they can attend school and one additional before- or after-school program or activity.
- Programs are responsible for maintaining enrollment and attendance records, and should verify families’ compliance with these restrictions to the extent feasible.
We depend on families to follow all of the county and school safety guidelines, limiting the number of outside, extracurricular activities in which your child participates.
Parent Square - New Student Health Screener
The district is launched ParentSquare as the new return to campus student health screener tool. The ParentSquare tool is automatically updated from Infinite Campus and includes classroom level information. This means we can view health screening reports by classroom, grade, and school. This screener MUST be completed before entering campus, on every school day.
Parents will access the screener through after logging into their Rapid ID page. A reminder to fill out the screener will be sent automatically each morning. This screener MUST be completed before entering campus, on every school day.
The office staff and welcome gate supervisors will be monitoring the completion of the health screener using the ParentSquare tool. You can also see a link to the Health Screener on our website. This screener MUST be completed before entering campus, on every school day.
The health screener MUST be completed before entering campus, on every school day. If you fill it out before getting to school we can move students through the school gates to class quickly.
Where is the help page for parents?
If you need help with the Health Screener please go to https://www.pausd.org/school-life/educational-technology/parentsquare
How can parents reset their own password?
Instructions to reset their password (it’s a self-help): https://www.pausd.org/school-life/educational-technology/parent-account-claim. Their username is typically their first name “dot” last name, e.g. jane.doe.News from our PTA
Parent Help Needed: Can You Lend a Hand?
Online Events Coordinator
While we remain socially distanced and part of different learning cohorts and models, we aim to keep our community connected. We are looking for someone to create a few online events - for example, a happy hour for parents, art/music/sports activities for our kids, etc. This role could be shared by a couple of interested parents!
Teacher Appreciation Coordinator
As we settle into our new learning models, we as a community want to acknowledge our incredible staff and teachers. As in past years, we are looking for one or more people to lead our ongoing efforts. This could include coordinating a coffee cart, small treats, occasional meal deliveries - and any other creative ideas you may have to share!
Online Events Coordinator
While we remain socially distanced and part of different learning cohorts and models, we aim to keep our community connected. We are looking for someone to create a few online events - for example, a happy hour for parents, art/music/sports activities for our kids, etc. This role could be shared by a couple of interested parents!
Please email president@pvpta.org if you are interested and available! Our community needs your involvement!
Palo Verde Online Book Fair is Coming!
We're excited to share news of our upcoming virtual book fair which begins November 9th!
Our annual book fair with our partner Books Inc. is a favorite event for our students - while we're going to miss having the MP Room filled with wonderful books for all readers, we're thankful for the opportunity to bring you Books Inc.'s cataloge through a virtual event.
You'll be able to shop for all the readers in your home - and possibly get a few gifts for the upcoming holiday season. Or, purchase a book or two for your child's classroom library.
We'll be in touch next week with a link and code for you to shop with!
Need Child Care - We've Got You Covered!
Right at School will provide additional child care at PAUSD elementary schools. At Palo Verde, they will use the MP Room.
Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC) has Palo Verde KidsClub (PVKC) on campus provides childcare on campus.
You must contact the providers directly.
Annora Lee, principal
Email: alee@pausd.org
Website: pv.pausd.org
Location: 3450 Louis Road, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone: 650-856-1672
Twitter: @paloverdeelem