Dear Quetzal Families,

October is Safety Month in MVWSD. As you read in Dr. Rudolph’s letter, we want to be ready to act when dangerous situations arise. We have already practiced fire drills and soon will practice an earthquake drill and how to react to a dangerous intruder.

This week, our staff members will be training on the Incident Command System (ICS) and general emergency procedures. The ICS assigns roles to school staff members so that even scary situations can have well-organized responses.

Earthquake drill: After training, we’ll practice what to do during the districtwide earthquake drill to be held on Oct. 27. Click here to view the video that shows how we approach safety and what an earthquake drill looks like.

We talk with students in age-appropriate ways about what they can expect and why we practice emergency responses. For elementary students we say the most important things to remember if an earthquake happens at school are duck, cover and hold if they feel the ground shake. When it stops, go outside to the field. Stay calm with kid voices off so we can follow adult instructions. In an emergency, we will keep them safe at school until their grown ups can pick them up.

Dangerous intruder: During the week of October 24, our schools will review what to do in the event of a dangerous intruder or similar event on campus. The dates for each school’s practice will vary depending on scheduling. Practice at the elementary schools means students will view an age-appropropriate “dangerous intruder” video (which you may preview here) and talk with their teacher. At Mistral, students will watch the video on Friday, October 28. The video and classroom discussion will encourage children to stay calm, follow directions, and listen to trusted adults. Middle school students will learn what they should do in the event of an active shooter from a presentation and by participating in a drill. The training is held in conjunction with the Mountain View Police Department and is aligned with the protocol recommended by the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs’ Association.

For more details about safety at school, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/safety.

Best Regards,

Theresa Lambert

Educational Services Coordinator, Acting Principal

October 13

• Teacher In-Service Day/No School

• Recess Day/No School

• School Site Council Meeting @ 6pm

• Hearing & Vision Screenings K, 2nd & 5th grades

• Mistral Parent U @ 6pm

• ELAC Meeting @ 6pm

• Walkathon 12:15 - 3:45

Attendance Awareness: Letters and calls

Regular school attendance is required by the state law, and is included in the District’s Local Control Accountability plan (LCAP) and reported in the California School Dashboard. State law requires MVWSD to notify parents whose students are truant or chronically absent. We know that regular attendance is a strong indicator of success. When students participate regularly, they not only learn what they need to know, but they also develop a sense of belonging to a school community.

When do parents get truancy letters? California law requires MVWSD to notify parents of truancy. Any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant. MVWSD will send letters to parents of any student who is truant to inform parents and outline the next steps and any resources or procedures in place to help their family get their child to school regularly.

MVWSD schools also use an automated system to notify parents when a student is absent from school when we haven’t heard from a parent about the reason for the child’s absence. This is important for the safety of your child and for our attendance accounting. Please ensure we have the reason for your child’s absence.

Upcoming October no-school days

Friday, October 14 is a recess day (no school for students and staff). Thursday, October 13 is a staff development day, which means no school for students and no work for 10-month classified staff. Oct 13 is a staff development/work day for teachers, school secretaries and 12-month classified staff.

Parent University: Social Emotional Learning at School and Home

Date and Time: 10/26/22 5:30pm Registration Link: https://mvw.sd/pu102622

Having challenges guiding your students with their emotions, feelings and behavior at home? Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from Karin Jinbo, district Director of Health and Wellness, and Brian White, the Health and Wellness Coordinator. The panelists will be sharing about our district-wide goals for student Social Emotional Learning, along with strategies and resources that you can apply at home that support your student’s social and emotional growth. We hope to see you there!

To submit questions prior to the event, go to mvw.sd/questions. We will do our best to address your question during the session.

Your employer could help us meet the MVEF goal of $1.2 MM!

Employer matching and grants from local companies are a major source of the funding for MVEF each year. October, November, and December are months when many companies coordinate “giving days” to encourage their employees to make philanthropic gifts to support non-profits. If your company does this, please consider listing MVEF as a non-profit organization doing good work in your child’s school district. For more information about what MVEF does, please click here.

and... Apple is TRIPLING employee donations until October 17!

Apple is offering a special 2-for-1 match when employees donate to eligible organizations between October 3-17, 2022. When Apple employees give $1000 to MVEF, Apple will give $2000, tripling the impact of the donation. Employees can donate using the online portal (Benevity), or give directly to MVEF and submit the receipt to Apple for matching. To make a gift to MVEF, please click here.

The View Teen Center

The View Teen Center is a free facility in Mountain View (263 Escuela Ave) for all Mountain View and Los Altos 6th - 12th grade students. The center is open Monday through Friday: 3:30 - 7 p.m. and Saturday: 1 - 6 p.m, and features a game room, makerspace, kitchen, computer/study room, outdoor area, and much more! See attached flyer for details about upcoming events and programs or visit their webpage for more information.

October CAC Events (flyer attached to email on 10/10)

SELPA 1 CAC and the Learning Challenge Committee are your groups for special education and broader learning challenge needs. We are ALL having learning challenges right now, and CAC and LCC are here to help. If you have questions about learning challenges and special education needs, email selpa1cacinfo@gmail.com or check out www.selpa1cac.org

We encourage families to learn about the sensory needs all children: Try a Sensory Diet

General Parent/Community Meeting

October 3, 4 pm - with Special Ed. Directors & Staff, Zoom at 4:00 am for LCC and 9:30 am for CAC. We will be planning for the year, discussing upcoming programs and discussing distance learning and learning challenges. For our agenda, please join our Google group, https://groups.google.com/g/selpa1cac. Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMscOyhrDorH9xvREDUGTFY296y4mieplVc

Parent Chat

October 11, 10 am

Are you concerned about the emotional well-being of your child? Peer to peer support for parents of teens with mental health challenges. Every second Tuesday of the month at 10 am on Google Meet. Meeting is for 1 hour only due to Google Meet limitations. Contact trudy.palmer@me.com for invite.

Evening Let’s Talk

October 11, 7 pm IEP/504 support group. Have questions about the process to get help for your child? Have an IEP but are not sure how to make changes? Need to vent? This is your confidential group. Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtcuCoqD8rGdc4e2Uz1CDCKSakKNJPSLxJ

Parent Education Event - Anxiety and Depression in Children with Learning Challenges w/ Dr. Leena Khanzode of Silicon Valley Psychiatry and the Taarika Foundation

October 12, 7 pm

Anxiety and depression can be common in children with learning challenges like autism, ADHD, physical disabilities, dyslexia and other learning disabilities. However, anxiety and depression can look somewhat different than in neurotypical children. Dr. Khanzode is a local child psychiatrist and the founder of the Taarika Foundation – whose mission is to support the whole child, raise awareness about mental health care, break stigmas around mental health disorders and improve social-emotional skills in children and teens. Children and teens are invited to listen in and ask questions along with their parents. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcuGqrTgiHdcEgxduuvmYrDmqcOcRojAo

City of MV: Monster Bash & Bike Circus

On Saturday, October 29, 2022, Mountain View’s Rengstorff Park will transform into a ghoulish good time for all ages with the return of MONSTER BASH. From 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., community members are encouraged to don their favorite costumes and enjoy a fall festival loaded with a twisty maze, spooky games, enchanting performances, stilt walkers, inflatables, creepy, crawly, ooey gooey zone, Dia de Muertos exhibit and more. This year the event will also feature a Bike Circus with a fun bike safety training for children, as well as free bike repairs valued at more than $100 - to be provided on a first-come first-served basis.

This event is free and open to the public. Limited parking is available at the Mountain View Community Center and Senior Center. Walking or biking to the event is encouraged.