BOARD UPDATE
At its January 25 Board meeting, MVLA trustees approved resolutions recognizing and honoring February as National African American History Month, and February 1-5 as National School Counseling Week. The Board also reviewed and approved required School Accountability Report Cards (SARCs) for Mountain View, Los Altos, and Alta Vista high schools, and approved the 2021 - 2022 Academic Calendar. Additionally, a Distance Learning Reopening Planning Update was presented, along with an overview of the MVLA Career Technical Education program. The video from Monday's meeting is available here.
All meeting agendas, recordings, and minutes are available online. The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for February 8, via Zoom, starting at 7 p.m.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Andrew is a consummate athlete and participates on the basketball and volleyball teams. He has been playing basketball since third grade, and volleyball since seventh grade, where it was a goal of his to play every sport possible. He likens basketball to the equivalent of an AP course due to all the time spent practicing, competing, and studying the game.
He is taking all AP/honors classes, with AP Biology being one of his favorites. Outside of school and sports, Andrew is a part of a podcast called “Media in the Middle”. He began volunteering for this non-profit organization two years ago and meets with other high schoolers to discusses current events and news. Read more about Andrew here, and view the board's recognition segment here, starting at 28:56.
Katherine has been a long-time teaching assistant for MVHS Biology Honors, Anatomy, and Physiology classes and is passionate about teaching. She founded Student2Student tutoring which provides free online tutoring for students. This program now has over 50 student tutors available to help peers in all areas - from difficult math problems to essay proofreading.
Katherine is also a concert harpist and participates in the MVHS Wind Ensemble, the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, and the All-State Wind Symphony. Before the pandemic, Katherine played the harp for hospice patients on weekends. Now, she works as an intern for the Silicon Valley Harp Society to bring virtual music to patients. Read more about Katherine here and view the board's recognition segment here, starting at 23:50.
DISTRICT NEWS
We would like to encourage parents, guardians, and other adults to apply to become substitute employees and help bring back small groups of students for in-person learning support.
- Work in a supervisory capacity with groups of 14 students in a classroom to monitor students to ensure they are safe and engaged in online classes/Distance Learning
- No direct teaching is required
- Schedules may vary by campus regarding the number of days per week and hours per day
- Extensive safety measures in place to ensure students and staff safety
- The compensation rate is $225 per six-hour day, pro-rated
Learn more about requirements and the application process here.
We are excited to continue our Brown Bag sessions in 2021! Our Brown Bag webinars are a BYOL (bring your own lunch) mid-day information session on a variety of topics related to the reopening of MVLA schools. Upcoming sessions include:
- COVID-19 Health and Vaccine Update - February 24, 2021
- Special Education Update - March 17, 2021
- Equity in Education - April 21, 2021
If you missed any of the sessions in our Winter Series, no problem! They're available here for on-demand viewing.
Right before the pandemic, we were in the process of establishing a staff and community group to share and highlight the various wellness initiatives in the district. The pandemic postponed our plans, but now we are ready to re-announce the official start of the District Wellness Collaborative.The goal of this group will be to create a network of stakeholders to strengthen district-wide collaboration by sharing our best practices and highlighting our ongoing wellness initiatives.
This collaborative is open to everyone who wishes to attend (staff, student leaders, parents, community members, etc.), Our first meeting will be Wednesday, February 10th, from 3 - 4:30 p.m. via Zoom. Learn more.
A reminder that registration for Winter 2021 Career Technical Education is still open, with sessions beginning at various start dates throughout March. These include classes for in-demand programs for Certified Nursing Assistant, Medical Assistant, Google Applied Digital Skills, and more. We also offer free English as a Second Language (ESL) and U.S. Citizenship Preparation classes. Learn more here, and be sure to check out the Winter 2021 Course Catalog here.
SCHOOL NEWS
Los Altos staff, students, and families are holding a gift card drive to support local families in crisis due to the ongoing pandemic. Gift cards are welcome in amounts up to $50, with suggested retailers including Target, Walmart, Safeway, and local gasoline stations. These cards will be distributed directly to families in need of food, diapers, gas, and other household necessities. Cards can be dropped off at the LAHS offices, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cards may also be mailed to the school in care of the Associated Student Body (ASB). The address is 201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, 94022.
Two of Mountain View High's traditional holiday fundraisers proceeded this past holiday season and, while they may not have had the usual high participation due to the ongoing pandemic, the boost for the Spartan's athletic program was significant.
The traditional Spartan Turkey Trot had about 380 participants and raised $6,323. Read the Los Altos Crier write-up here. The Spartans Tree Lot, modified to be a delivery-only model, raised about $28,000 from the sales of 684 trees and holiday decor (if you were lucky enough to score a wooden reindeer). Thanks to all our supporters!
ALUMNI NEWS
Mountain View High School graduate Emerson Domke, 19, will make history on February 8, 2021, when she is set to be recognized in the nation's inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts.
Emerson passed her Eagle Scout Board of Review on October 1; scouting runs in the family as her father and brother are both Eagle Scouts. For her Eagle Scout project, Emerson led an effort to provide 500 personal healthcare kits for homeless students in San Jose Unified School District. Each kit includes a reusable cloth mask, paper mask, hand sanitizer, thermometer, facial tissues, gloves, and a note with CDC guidelines. Read more.
MVLA HIGH SCHOOL FOUNDATION
HONOR ROLL OF REALTY
Thank you to our local real estate professionals! We are pleased to announce that the MVLA Foundation and the Los Altos Educational Foundation raised over $120,000 from this year’s Honor Roll of Realty campaign! Many thanks to the members of the 2021 Honor Roll of Realty whose generosity helped our local schools (grades TK-12) fund programs and resources that would otherwise not be possible. We appreciate these real estate professionals' personal commitment to educational excellence.
Your Opinion Counts! We want to hear your comments and opinions about the programs your MVLA Foundation contributions fund. Look for the annual MVLA Foundation Parent survey in your inbox on February 2nd.
2020-2021 SPEAKER SERIES
Next up in the MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series is Nicole Lee, an attorney and nationally-recognized diversity, equity, and inclusion expert, as she explores the impact of talking - or not talking - with our kids about race. As part of her session, she will share practical guidance for having more intentional, age-appropriate conversations. The session will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2021, starting at 7 p.m. Register for this free event here
We are also fortunate that our previous speaker, Phyllis Fagell, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Certified Professional School Counselor, is sharing her presentation, "Middle School Matters." View the video here.
FACILITY NEWS
At Mountain View High School, drywall and exterior siding installation is going in, as shown above, and work on the elevated walkway continues. At Los Altos, work on the main entrance to the new classroom building, and in the auxiliary gym continue.
ABOUT US
Email: communications@mvla.net
Website: https://www.mvla.net/
Location: 1299 Bryant Avenue, Mountain View, CA, USA
Phone: 650-940-4650
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mvlahsd
Twitter: @MVLAHSD
