Panther Blog Nov. 11, 2021

Crittenden blog header

Hello Panthers! Please read your weekly newsletter below.  Here is a quick summary of this week’s message followed with further details:

November 11th, 2021
 

Crittenden News:

-SEL In Classroom Lessons
-SEL Check-ins
-
Social Media
-
Congratulations to Ms.Vargas
-November S
tudy Skills Workshop
-
Security cameras
-
Attendance counts
-Athletics
-
Lost and Found
 

District News:

-No school on Thursday
-
Student vision and hearing screenings
-
Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students
-COVID vaccinations
-Text messages from the District
-
Attendance counts:
-
Seeking EL Testers
-Parent University
-Boba Fundraiser
-Safe Gun Storage
-Parenting tip


 

Hello Crittenden Families,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Veterans who have served our country. As many of you know, the Moffett base is part of our district, and many of our families have parents and family members who serve, some who are currently overseas. I’m sure I speak for our community in offering our sincere gratitude. 

Crittenden News:

SEL In Classroom Lessons

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhances student's ability to succeed in school, careers, and life. Next month we will begin our SEL Lessons presented by our school counselor, Ms. Hinojosa, in each student's social science classroom. There will be a new topic each month. Topics were based on a student climate survey where students were asked to identify challenges, accomplishments, levels of confidence and areas of growth to make their middle school experience better. For the month of November, our SEL lessons will be about "Anti-Bullying", in an effort to continue to promote kindness, empathy and acceptance of differences. We acknowledge that some topics may be difficult and challenging for our students based on previous negative experiences. Should your student need additional counseling support or space to process after lessons are completed, Ms. Hinojosa is available for check- ins.

SEL Check-ins

Our staff is looking forward to strengthening our SEL check-ins this school year. We know the power it had last year as we were in distance learning. Our teachers will deliver SEL check-ins on Thursday’s with the goal of building connections with our students and increasing the peer to peer connection. 

Social Media

As we are working on developing character traits this school year, we want to ensure that all of our students are being respectful to one another.  We have received reports that some students are being unkind to one another on social media and through group text messaging.  We ask for your support in monitoring your student’s social media and text messages, and reminding your students to always be kind in their interactions. 

Congratulations to Ms.Vargas

One of our fabulous math teachers, Ms.Vargas, was nominated for the California League of Middle Schools Region Five Educator of the Year award. Ms. Vargas is one of eight nominees in Region 5 that are recognized for their dedication to middle school education. She was recently honored at an awards celebration.

November Study Skills Workshop Date!

In an effort to support our students and their continued learning of skills. Our school counselor, Ms. Hinojosa will be hosting monthly Study Skills Workshops to support our students' academic success. Our Second workshop will take place on Thursday, November 18th right after school from 2:30-3:30 pm in room 205. The topic will be Goal Setting. Through the use of presentations, resources, tips, activities and independent time to work, the workshops will cover different fundamental skills to ensure student success in middle school and for life! Please email [email protected] to reserve a spot for your student. 

Community engagement: Security cameras 

MVWSD’s Master Facility Plan and the Measure T Bond prioritized construction projects based on the criteria of safety, operational efficiency and short term growth. One of the projects identified in the Master Facility Plan was the need for security cameras in public areas at all school sites as a way to increase safety for students and staff members by deterring misconduct and preventing vandalism. 

Members of the schools’ communities may engage in a series of feedback meetings through Jan. 2022 before the plan for security cameras is finalized. Principals will gather feedback at regularly scheduled meetings such as Principal’s Coffee, School Site Council, PTA, and ELAC.  

Additionally, parents and neighbors may attend community meetings:

Attendance counts: Please ensure students are in school and on time

We want kids to be healthy and be in school. Regular attendance is essential for students’ learning and to establish healthy routines.  Please make sure that your students come to school every day they are able.

If they need to stay home, please call school with the reason. You must contact us in the morning of your child’s absence. This is a safety measure in order to account for all students daily. Illness (including quarantining due to COVID), doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences. Family vacation or travel is not excused. 

California law requires MVWSD to notify parents after three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes. Any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant. We are here to support your family, so please contact your school for strategies or help, if needed.

For more information on attendance requirements, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/attendance
 

Athletics

The Crittenden Athletic Department is looking to hire some coaches! Are you a coach or do you know anyone interested in coaching? We are looking for Boys Basketball and Girls soccer coaches for our upcoming season (12/13 - 2/10). If you are interested in supporting our Panther athletes please apply at the links below. These are paid coaching positions!

Boys Basketball: https://www.applitrack.com/mvwsd/onlineapp/JobPostings/view.asp?FromAdmin=true&AppliTrackJobId=1746  

Girls Soccer: https://www.applitrack.com/mvwsd/onlineapp/JobPostings/view.asp?FromAdmin=true&AppliTrackJobId=1747

Lost and Found

Our lost and found items are over accumulating. Please have your students check the lost and found for their long lost sweaters, water bottles, PE clothes and lunch boxes! Students are also reminded during breaks, lunches and after school. Unclaimed items by November 19th will be donated to a local shelter.  

Upcoming Events:

November
11/18 Study Skill Workshop (Register with [email protected])
11/22-11/26 Thanksgiving Recess No School

December
12/20-12/31 Holiday Break (No School)

In partnership,
Mrs.Gomez
Principal

What can you do today to help others feel valued, cared for, safe, and included at Crittenden?

District Announcements:

Reminder: No school on Thursday, Nov. 11

In observance of Veterans’ Day. We honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces.

Student vision and hearing screenings coming up

Each fall, MVWSD conducts hearing and vision screenings of all students in kindergarten, second-, fifth- and eighth-grade, as California State Law mandates. These screenings will take place at Crittenden on Dec. 9.

Parents will be notified in writing if children fail a screening. Parents who do not want their child screened for either vision and/or hearing should send a letter to their child's school each school year indicating that their child is to be excluded, and vision and/or hearing results will need to be provided from their physician.

If you have any concerns about your child’s vision or hearing please contact your school nurse. Questions about the screenings should be directed to the Health Services office at 650-526-3500 ext. 1050.

Kinder info night, school meetings coming up. Open Enrollment for all MVWSD students starts in January

For CURRENT students in transitional kindergarten-7th grade: Parents will be asked by email to confirm enrollment from January 24-28.

For NEW students:  Open Enrollment is from January 10 through Feb. 4, 2022 online. You can register your child for the 2022-23 school year when online registration opens here:  www.mvwsd.org/register 

School info meetings: Check www.mvwsd.org/register for a complete list with login information.

  • District new student information night, covering the registration process, is on November 30 at 5:30 p.m. (in both English and Spanish) at this Zoom link: http://mvw.sd/kinder1130.
  • School kindergarten/new student information nights are online on December 7 at 6:00 p.m. for all elementary schools, and include choice school information. 
  • If your child turns 5 years old between September 2, 2022 – February 2, 2023, he/she may qualify for transitional kindergarten. TK info night is December 14 at 5:00 p.m online.
  • If you are interested in the District's choice schools, information nights are: 

Gabriela Mistral: Dual Spanish/English Immersion: December 14 at 6 pm

Stevenson: Parent Child Teacher: December 15 at 6 pm

Choice schools will also have information at the elementary schools’ info nights (6 p.m. Dec. 7).
 

Please visit www.mvwsd.org/register for more information.
 

COVID vaccinations for children 5-11 years are here

After much anticipation, COVID-19 vaccinations for kids ages 5-11 are underway.  

Parents and guardians can visit www.sccfreevax.org now to sign up for an appointment or to find a convenient walk-in location. If initial available appointments are reserved, continue to check back as additional slots open. MVWSD has requested that Santa Clara County provide free, mobile vaccination events at our schools for our students. We will update you as we know more about the specifics and the dates.

Symptoms?

After receiving the COVID shot, it's possible that your child may have symptoms that may be caused by the vaccine. Side effects of the vaccine are not typically a cause for concern and should go away in a few days. However, if your child has any of these symptoms, regardless of cause, he/she should stay home from school: Loss of taste or smell, fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath.

If it’s possible these symptoms were caused by the vaccine and they resolve in 48 hours, with the last 24 hours being fever-free, the individual may return to work or school. If symptoms persist beyond 48 hours, individuals should stay home and get tested for COVID. After being home with symptoms, parents should present proof of the recent COVID vaccine shot upon the student’s return at school. 

Don’t forget to upload!

When your child receives his/her second shot, please upload proof of being fully vaccinated to PowerSchool at https://ps.mvwsd.org. Here's how to upload proof of vaccination. http://mvw.sd/upload

Want text messages from the District? Opt in!

MVWSD sends text messages infrequently, for the purpose of notifying you of emergencies or with important, time-sensitive information.

In order to receive messages from the District you need to opt-in from the number that is listed as the cell contact number in our student information system. If you need to update this number, please contact your school.

Here’s how to opt in. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to receive text messages from the District at any time by texting one of the short codes listed below to 67587 using the cell phone number that the District has on record. 

  • Opt-in: "Y", "YES", "OPTIN", "OPT IN", and "SUBSCRIBE" are all acceptable keywords for subscribing to SMS text messaging.
  • Opt-out: "END", "CANCEL", "OPT OUT", "OPTOUT", "STOP", "QUIT", and "UNSUBSCRIBE" will cancel SMS messages to the recipient.

Attendance counts: Please ensure students are in school and on time

We want kids to be healthy and be in school. Regular attendance is essential for students’ learning and to establish healthy routines.  Please make sure that your students come to school every day they are able.

If they need to stay home, please call school with the reason. You must contact us in the morning of your child’s absence. This is a safety measure in order to account for all students daily. Illness (including quarantining due to COVID), doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences. Family vacation or travel is not excused. 

California law requires MVWSD to notify parents after three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes. Any three unexcused absences and/ or tardies over 30 minutes means a child is truant. We are here to support your family, so please contact your school for strategies or help, if needed.

For more information on attendance requirements, please see https://www.mvwsd.org/attendance

Seeking EL Testers! 

Are you looking for a part time job and enjoy interacting with kids? Our district is looking for a few more EL Testers to administer the annual assessment of Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking for English Learners. Fluency in academic English is required. For more information, or to apply, please visit mvwsd.org/jobs and look under “Support Staff - Hourly.” Alternatively, you may contact department secretary Leticia Corcoran at [email protected]

Parent University: Creating Caring Relationships (featuring Project Cornerstone)

Date: November 17, 2021  Registration Link: http://mvw.sd/pu111721

Kids need our care and support now more than ever. This presentation will:

  • Explore proven effective and meaningful ways to express care and support that will make a difference in the lives of young people.
  • Provide tools and strategies for connecting and building trust, which lead to strong, positive relationships within families, schools, and communities.

Join Ziem Nguyen Neubert, Executive Director of Project Cornerstone, in a conversation on how we can support young people’s social and emotional well-being so they grow and develop as healthy and responsible humans.

This is one of four Parent University events this year featuring Project Cornerstone. To see what’s coming up, check out this flyer.

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

November Better Together 
Better Together 

The focus of November’s Better Together infographic is “Creating an Inclusive Community.” MVWSD strives to provide inclusive and supportive environments for all of our students. This is just one way we are providing an identity-affirming space for all who work, learn, and partner with us. Please see the graphics attached to this newsletter, or visit https://www.mvwsd.org/bettertogetherMVWSD.

Boba Fundraiser for MVEF

TeaCub Boba & Snack is helping fundraise for MVEF on Tuesday November 16 (all day)!  25% of all proceeds on 11/16/21 will be donated to MVEF.   TeaCub Boba & Snack is located in the Mountain View Shopping Center at 175C East El Camino Real.  Please stop by to enjoy smoothies, slushies, milk and flavored tea as well as snacks.  (They use only organic Clover milk and real fruit for all tea & smoothie drinks so please enjoy a treat for you and MVEF!)

Safe Gun Storage Notice

Schools alone cannot prevent incidents of gun violence. In 2019, California Education Superintendent Tony Thurmond requested that all schools send parents education about the legal requirements for storing firearms at home. California Penal Code Section 25100 mandates that in all homes where children live (or where children might reasonably be expected to enter), firearms must be safely stored. 

Gun owners can avoid criminal penalties by keeping their firearms in a locked container or secured with a locking device that renders the firearm inoperable. Ensuring firearms are securely stored prevents small children from accidentally accessing the firearm and prevents older children from using an unsecured firearm to commit school violence or suicide. For more information, please see https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr19ltr1120.asp

Parenting tip: Effective instruction for kids

We give our kids dozens of instructions each day: Get ready for school. Wash your hands before you eat. Do your homework. Sometimes our kids follow our instructions, and sometimes they do not. One way to increase follow through is to give effective instructions. For example, making eye contact with your child and gently telling them to turn off the TV is likely to be more effective than yelling at them from another room.

To provide effective instructions:



Think about a few things that you would like your child to do and try using these tips to provide effective instructions.

 

Instead of saying…                                      Say….

“Don’t bother me.”                                          “Please work on your homework.”

“TURN OFF THE TV!!”                                   “Please turn off the TV.”

“I told you to stop playing video games.”       “If you don’t stop playing video games in the next 5 

 minutes, then you won’t be able to play tomorrow.”

 

These tips came directly from the free, online Everyday Parenting program created by parenting expert, Dr. Kazdin.

 

To learn more parenting tips click here

 

Thank you for all your support!

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