From the Principal's Desk

Hello, parents!

I want to thank you so much for contributing to a wonderful first day of school! It was beyond amazing to see the light in our students' eyes as they returned to campus. We are incredibly grateful for the work that you put into preparing our kiddos for this very important day. Amazing things were happening all over our campus today, and kids were following mask guidelines so well. It was a wonderful sight to behold.

I want to share a couple of updates with you regarding the arrival and dismissal processes that will help things run more smoothly going forward, and I have a big request regarding warm weather preparation. Please see below under "School News" for more. 

Thanks again for sharing your beautiful, amazing children with us! We absolutely treasure each of our students, and we look forward to the year to come. Please reach out if you have any questions, needs, or concerns. 

Sincerely, 

Michelle Williams, Principal 

Important Dates
Wednesday, August 11- 1st day of School~ Dismissal 12:10pm

Thursday, August 12~ Dismissal is 12:10pm

Monday, August 16 - iReady ELA testing (grades 1-5)

Wednesday, August 18 - iReady Math testing  (grades 1-5

Thursday, August 19~ Back to School Night 6:00-7:00pm (Kinder-5th grade)

Wednesday, August 25~ Back to School Night 5:00-6:00pm (TK)

School News
iReady Assessment - next week

Our grade 1-5 students will be taking the iReady Reading assessment on Monday 8/16 and Math assessments on Wednesday 8/18. The initial assessment for the school year helps us to establish a baseline for a student’s growth for the school year. The i-Ready data helps us monitor student progress throughout the year. It also helps us identify standards that students have already mastered, as well as areas of focus during first instruction. It is important that each child does her/his best in order to provide teachers with the most accurate information.

Families, Below are some tips you may find useful to help prepare your child for the diagnostic assessment:

• Explain to your child that it is important to do his/her best.

• Remind your children to work out their problems and pace themselves

• Make sure that your child is well-rested and has breakfast the day of the assessment.

• Please make sure to encourage your child.

• This is a diagnostic test that covers information that may be beyond their current level. Please reassure them that they should try their best even through difficult questions.

Morning arrival process: 

Thank you so much for your patience on the first day of school with our intake process. Going forward, we will welcome students through our gates more quickly, in groups. We will escort the students back to our blacktop (1st-5th grade) and classrooms (TK and Kinder) right away and ensure that screening is completed from there. As long as you have successfully completed the OK to Reopen form, your child will be able to enter the school gates right away. At our TK and Kinder gates, we will ask the children to line up behind signs for each TK and Kinder class. Then, we will admit students in groups, one class at one time. We hope that in changing our intake process we will be able to speed up the entire process and make the experience more pleasant for everyone involved. If you still do not know your child's teacher's name, we are here to help, but we would like to hear from you. Please reach out to Principal Williams or call the school so that we can provide this information to you.

Online Assessments

Next week, we will begin administering our i-Ready assessments for ELA and math for students in grades K-5. The tests will be administered on Monday through Thursday, with makeup testing on Friday. Please be sure to prepare your child by ensuring that they get a good night's sleep each day next week. You may also want to talk with your child about doing their best on each test. Because the test is computer-adaptive, they will encounter questions that they do not know how to answer. We will explain to our students that this is completely normal, and there is no reason to worry at all. Each child should just do their best so that we know how to support them individually.

Dismissal process:

Going forward for dismissal, we will bring students out class by class, much like the first day, but we will instead have students line up by class. The teachers will be holding their signs so that you are more easily able to find your child. Once your child sees you (or you see them), they will of course be released to leave. Students attending after school care will remain inside of the school grounds and will be escorted to their aftercare rooms.


PTA News

Welcome, parents!

Please click on the following link to join the PTA or just to learn how to give back to our learning community. We would love for you to be involved in any capacity!

tinyurl.com/THPTA

Put on some Cheetah Spirit

Our PTA has restocked and is ready to take your orders! 

Please email [email protected], click here to find the order form, or find our PTA table at dismissal time on the last Thursday in August, September, and October.

District News

Board meeting Preview: August 12

The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, Aug. 12. Some of the meeting’s topics include:

• Revisions to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)

• Learning Recovery Plan update

• Community Facilities District Planning and Boundaries Options

The meeting is also streamed on www.youtube.com/mvwsd.

 Superintendent's Community Check In on Friday

Please join us for our Community Check-In with Dr. Ayindé Rudolph on Friday, Aug. 13 at 3:30 p.m. Bring your questions.

 Parent University: MVWSD District Orientation - What you need to know to be informed and connected this school year 

Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 5:30 p.m.    

It’s a district “Back to School Night”! - an orientation to everything parents and caregivers need to know to kickoff the school year. A great reminder of the resources both the district and your individual schools have, as well as a thorough introduction for new families to the district. Who would you go to for help with the school meal application? How do you access information regarding your child’s assessments? Come and hear answers to these questions and more!

We encourage you to submit questions prior to the event: please click here. 

Bond Oversight committee seeks community representatives

MVWSD needs your expertise to support the Measure T bond program. The District is seeking a member at large and parent representative/PTA member to serve on the Bond Oversight Committee for the District's Measure T Bond Program.

Representatives monitor, provide oversight and ensure accountability to the funds received by the District, including an annual report to the Board regarding the actual uses of such funds.

Applications can be mailed to: Mountain View Whisman School District, Attn: Dr. Rebecca Westover, Chief Business Officer, 1400 Montecito Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043 or emailed to [email protected].

Link to Application: Bond Oversight Committee

For questions, please call Dr. Rebecca Westover at 650-526-3500