Principal's Message
Keeping up with all of the topics that your children are learning is no easy task. Even more difficult, but almost as important, is keeping abreast of education news and trends on a local, state, and national level. One easy way to collect a curated educational news stream is to follow educators on Twitter. As a matter of fact, if you look on the right side of this page, you'll see the @crit_principal Twitter feed and a convenient little button that you can press to follow me. Each week I'll share special updates from school or (more frequently) thought-provoking articles from the education world that I think is important to share. My goal this year is to get to at least 200 followers, so click that button please!
Nuts and Bolts
- Families, if your child will be staying home sick on any given day, please make sure to call our attendance hotline. Call the school number (650-903-6945) and press 2. Please state your name, your child's name, and the reason for the absence.
- Due to some questions about specific parts of our dress code, we have added a line to the dress code section in our Handbook. Under "Clothing Guidelines - Pants", we have added "Tights or leggings will not be allowed unless worn with a skirt or shorts no shorter than 4 inches above the knee." As a further reminder, the Handbook states that "the administration will make final decision regarding dress code." Students and families, thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Important safety reminder
On the morning of August 27, there was a minor accident involving a student and a car on the corner of Middlefield and Sierra Vista. Thankfully, the student is ok. We will be making adjustments to our supervision plan and improving signage to reduce the likelihood of further accidents.
Families, please consistently remind your children to stay safe when walking or biking to and from school. Here are a few basics to remember:
- Always stop at an intersection (regardless of whether the light is red or green) and look both ways multiple times before crossing when the light is green.
- When biking or skateboarding, ride on the right side of the street and always wear a helmet.
- Always walk your bike/skateboard when you get onto campus. Our paths were designed for pedestrians only.
Parent-Teacher Association Meeting: Tuesday, September 9
Parents, please join us for the first PTA general meeting next Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:30 in the Library. Our PTA board will present information about fundraising and events for the 2014-15 school year. The Association will also examine the proposed 2014-15 budget. Our featured speaker for this meeting is Sergeant Saul Jaeger, the Press Information Officer at the MVPD, who will be presenting ways to stay connected to public safety information as well as other topics. Also speaking will be Mr. Chang, who will give a general update about our school.
PowerSchool information
We apologize for not sending home the information as promised last week due to an unexpected delay. We are aiming to send letters home with login information and instructions by early next week.
We will be offering a PowerSchool workshop for sixth grade families on September 16 at 6:00 p.m. and for seventh and eighth grade parents at 7:30 p.m. Room TBD. We strongly urge all new parents to attend. Interpretation will be available.
Updating contact information
Families, by now you know how important email and other online contact is at Crittenden. This year, our progress reports and report cards will be emailed home. Please make sure that your email address is updated in our records. Each week you should be receiving an email reminder to check the Panther Blog on Wednesday or Thursday. If you do not get this email, chances are we need to update your info! If you think your info is outdated/incorrect, call our office at (650) 903-6945.
MVEF to raise $600,000 this year
The Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF) is a 501(c)3 that raises funds to support our school district. Thanks to the many parents who contribute to MVEF, students from kindergarten to eighth grade receive critical programs such as hands-on science lessons, environmental education, garden-based science classes, art and music lessons, recess programs, leadership workshops, extended-day electives, and after-school sports, and more. To support these critical programs, MVEF must raise $600,000 this year. Learn more about the programming budget at www.mvef.org.
The PTA supports school-specific programs and MVEF supports district-wide programs integrated with the school day. In addition to joining the PTA, please consider a donation to MVEF. You can donate online, www.mvef.org, or find donation envelopes in the office.
On September 28, MVEF presents the 2014 Mountain View Home Tour, showcasing seven Old Mountain View homes near the library and police station. Information and tickets are available at mvef.ejoinme.org/hometour.
Destination Imagination still needs more help!
We are searching for one or two more parents or community volunteers to coordinate our DI teams this year. We would hate to lose the program for the year, but this is a very real possibility if we don't find someone to coordinate! Events are coming up very quickly, so we need someone to step up ASAP. Contact gchang@mvwsd.org for more information.
Student Leadership highlights
Our student Leadership class works hard to prepare activities so that all students and teachers can have fun and build community on a regular basis. Here are some highlights of upcoming events:
- Every Thursday, there will be a lunchtime activity (state fair-style games)
- Sept. 12 is the Disney Dance
- Sept. 8 - 12 is a Disney-inspired Disney week.
- Sept. 24 - CMS Eats Out at The Counter 15% goes to CMS
Sports
The 2014 Fall Athletic Season is up and running. We have three sports active at this time (Cross Country, Softball, and Volleyball) and a total of 11 overall teams! We had around 150 student athletes try out for all of our sports this fall. We currently have about 90 active student athletes playing in our sports teams.
This is the first time in 12 seasons that we are offering softball and the 2nd year in 11 seasons that we are offering cross country.
Softball kicked off their first game on September 2 against Blach Intermediate School. The JV team (6/7 grade) lost their first game 5-12 but played very well against a very tough Blach JV team. Our Varsity Softball Team (7/8 grade) won their opener today with a score of 15-5. Our JV softball team travels to Egan on September 3 and the Varsity team will host Egan at Crittenden at 3:45. Please come out to support!
Cross Country will be traveling to Hyde Middle School on September 3 for our first meet. Our student athletes will be running against 10 other schools against a total of 750 runners. Wish them luck!
Go Panthers!
Mentor Tutor Connection Volunteer Information Open House
Do you like working with kids? Thinking about how you can make a difference in the life of a student in our community? Mentor Tutor Connection (formerly Partners for New Generations) , a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, urgently needs high school mentors and K- 8 tutors for students in Los Altos and Mountain View schools. Come hear about how you can support youth in our community. Bring a friend!
Date: Wednesday, September 10
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm (lunch included)
Location: MVLA District Office Board Room
1299 Bryant Avenue, Mountain View
Register: www.pngmvla.org/openhouse-reg
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