Vista Views
April 1, 2020
Principal's Message
Spring Break
As you know, next week marks Union School District's Spring Break. Many of you had vacations planned and I know that it was disappointing to cancel these long-anticipated family adventures due to the ongoing shelter-at-home guidelines.
I'm sure that you are also wondering how you will keep your children engaged and busy during the week without SeeSaw learning or Google Classroom assignments. This week's Vista Views offers you a variety of activities. Some suggestions provide independent activities, while others will be fun for the whole family. I hope you find these resources helpful.
@Home Learning
Following Spring Break, we will return to @Home Learning. As students have become familiar with the various platforms, programs, and applications that we are using, you'll begin to see a move from review content to new material. Although it will not look like the classroom experience from a few weeks ago, teachers will be using a toolbox of resources to provide learning opportunities, feedback, and connections.
If you haven't already, I encourage you to visit Union School District's At-Home Learning website. You'll find details about our goals, instructional shifts, and grade level information. If you have questions, please reach out to your child's teacher or myself. We are committed to working together to support you, your child, and your family.
Stay Connected
Remember to stay connected. Encourage your children to send me pictures from their Spring Break fun or write me an email about how they are keeping busy (baileyc@unionsd.org). I'll be sure to write back to each and every student. You can also follow me on Twitter (@TeamAltaVista) or post your own positive messages (#TeamAltaVista). By staying connected, we aren't alone - we can be #AloneTogether.
Take care and stay healthy.
NEWS & INFORMATION FOR ALTA VISTA @ HOME
Wednesday Message Video
Please remember to share this week's Wednesday Message Video with your child. Today, I introduce mindfulness, talk about Mileage Club changes, and invite them to participate in Friday's Spirit Day.
I've been hearing that many of you are taking the whole family on Mileage Club walks, so we are expanding the program and adding some flexibility. Attached to the newsletter, you will find a Mileage Club footprint. This is what we use at school and you can use it at home. You'll also find a Mileage Club chart. This is helpful for those of you who are using a FitBit or similar device to track your steps. With the chart, you can easily enter the number of steps that your child walked. We also want to encourage everyone to be active by enjoying Mileage Club walks on any day of the week. When your child reaches five miles or 10,000 steps, please send the update to email kj.lintu@gmail.com. We also love seeing your pictures. Stay healthy and have fun!
Alta Vista @Home Spirit Day
This Friday's Spirit Day is "Take Your Pet to School Day". Encourage your child to bring the dog, cat, fish, any pet or stuffed animal to that @Home Learning space. Take a picture of them reading together and share it with their friends, teacher, or me. I can’t wait to see their furry friends.
Student Email Addresses
On Wednesday, the district turned on internal email for students in 4th and 5th grade. Student email is a closed system, which means students are only able to send and receive emails within the @unionsd.org domain (and specific educational items approved by the tech department). Additionally, a content filter will be monitoring email and reporting any issues to the principal. We are enabling email to better facilitate communication between teachers and students, and to help improve notification and feedback in Google Classroom.
- Helpful Parent Resources:
- Common Sense on Effective Email Communication
- Digital Citizenship Resources
Curbside Meal Pick-up at Dartmouth Middle School
During the closure of schools, Union School District will be providing drive-through, “Grab and Go” meals at Dartmouth Middle School (5575 Dartmouth Drive) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meals will be available for free to anyone 18 and under, regardless of what school they attend. No paperwork or identification is required. The meal program will be solely for the pick up of meals, and we ask that meals not be consumed on-site. We encourage families to continue to be proactive in reducing the risk of COVID-19 by not congregating at the school and practicing social distancing once meals have been picked up.
Devices
Even if you already have access to a family device, you may find that it would be much easier for your child to be able to use their district technology device for At-Home Learning. We are fortunate to have a device available for every student. If you would like to arrange to pick up your child’s district issued device, please complete this FORM (http://bit.ly/usd-chromebook) and you will be contacted to arrange for pickup. Please note that you will be given a copy of a loan agreement when picking up the device and will be asked to return the device when we return to school.
COUGAR PRIDE CORNER - MINDFULNESS
I've included two videos below and will be sharing more in the coming weeks as we explore mindful movement and mindful breathing.
I hope you find these resources helpful as we try to balance our emotions and responsibilities in the coming days and weeks.
SPRING BREAK AT HOME ACTIVITIES
1. Complete Cooper's Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
2. Read aloud together
3. Set up a virtual play date
4. Go camping at home
5. Write a letter
6. Make a mandala stone painting
7. Plan a family talent show
8. Have an indoor game day
9. Join "Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems"
10. Check out new podcasts
#AloneTogether @ Alta Vista
VIDEOS TO MAKE YOU SMILE
Alta Vista Elementary School
Email: baileyc@unionsd.org
Website: altavista.unionsd.org
Location: 200 Blossom Valley Drive, LG
Phone: 408.356.6146
Twitter: @TeamAltaVista