From a Saturday, May 1 Argus Article:

Fremont School Board Restores Library Hours:

". . .it came as welcome news to the community when the school board voted unanimously this week to restore the hours for librarians and media technicians to 100 percent next year, using federal stimulus money to pay the approximately $1.09 million additional expense."

VOTE for Fremont Unified

School District to Win an Earthquake Safety Grant!

In the event of an earthquake, utilities must be shut off to prevent fire risk and further damage before search and rescue can occur. The 2002 Health and Safety Bond made sure our buildings are safe, but there are supplies our schools should have in case of an earthquake.

FUSD’s PRAA Safety Subcommittee parent volunteers have submitted a grant application to Raley’s to purchase needed earthquake safety supplies for all FUSD schools, but we need your help! Grant recipients are awarded through online voting. We need your vote to win this grant.

You can ensure our schools have the earthquake safety supplies they need by voting and encouraging friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances to vote for FUSD too!

You must be a registered user of Raleys.com to vote for the grant.

To register:

• Go to http://www.raleys.com
• On the right side of the screen, find the “sign up window” and enter your e-mail address
• You will then receive an e-mail directing you to a registration page. Click the registration link and follow instructions to register. You will need to enter your name and zip code and create a user name and password.

To vote:

• Once your registration is complete, go to back to the home page at http://www.raleys.com and click the Raleys Reach banner in the upper right or go to http://www.raleys.com/reach
• Click “browse all ideas”
• In the search window, enter “utility” to find the Utility Control Tooolkit grant.
• You may vote once per day during the voting period between April 21^st and May 12^th.

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Please help us provide our schools with the supplies they need for disaster preparedness.

Toolkits will include: bolt cutters; a water shut off tool; crescent wrench; crow bar; screw driver; safety vest; rain poncho; whistle; gloves; keys; and site specific, laminated instructions with maps and photos.

Vote now! Vote daily! Encourage others to help us win this grant and protect our children.

From the San Jose Mercury News, April 19, 2010:

More than two dozen East Bay elementary campuses have been named as "California Distinguished Schools" for 2010 in recognition of their academic excellence and narrowed achievement gaps.

The schools — which include 18 in Alameda County and 13 in Contra Costa County — were chosen because of "signature practices" that led to improved test scores and helped lessen differences between higher- and lower-performing students, said Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, in a Monday news release. . .

Alameda County schools chosen were: Jefferson and Oxford elementary schools in Berkeley Unified; Ardenwood, Cabrillo, E. M. Grimmer, Fred E. Weibel, James Leitch, John Gomes, Joshua Chadbourne, Mission San Jose and Mission Valley elementary schools in Fremont Unified; Joe Michell Elementary in the Livermore Valley Joint Unified District; Tom Kitayama Elementary in the New Haven Unified District; Chabot, Montclair, Peralta and Thornhill elementary schools in Oakland Unified; and Henry P. Mohr Elementary in the Pleasanton Unified district.

Principal Dr. Cary Bossi will be making a schoolwide announcement tomorrow.  Congratulations to teachers, staff, student and parents for making this honor possible.

From our President:

Dear Mission Valley Friends,

I hope everyone had a fun evening at our Cooks’ Night Out at Sweet Tomatoes. I know my family did. The kids always enjoy seeing their friends and especially their teachers. Honestly, the Cook’s Night Outs do not contribute a significant fraction of the MVSA budget, but we continue this tradition, because our families do not have too many other opportunities to get together in a relaxed atmosphere and just visit.

As some of you may know, this is my second year as the president of the MVSA. We do have term limits of two years, which means the MVSA will have a brand new president next year. It is good for an organization such as ours to have term limits. It prevents volunteer burnout and stagnation. We are continually looking for new volunteers to step in and take over positions being vacated, who bring along with them new ideas and enthusiasm to move us forward. This year is no different. Please consider volunteering for our executive board.

Our annual Jogathon is later this month. Please donate generously as you do every year. We have set ourselves the goal to upgrade all classroom teacher computers to laptops. The existing, “new” classroom computers are 8 years old. Many are even older. If the Jogathon is successful, we can upgrade all the teacher computers before the end of this school year. Don’t be shy about asking your friends, family and neighbors for donations. Your neighbors may have had students go to Mission Valley in the past or looking forward to it in the future. Even those who do not support many causes, will choose to support their local school.

Wishing you all a very happy Spring.

Filiz Crocker

From Yogini Bhagat, Chairperson of Classroom Celebrations Committee:

As you may know, every holiday, MVSA pays for the snacks for our lovely students and wonderful faculty members in efforts to celebrate the festivities and bring out the holiday spirit.

Through our generous donations, MVSA is involved in many activities. As a member of MVSA, I encourage you all to do what you can, to get involved in our various activities. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to give back to our wonderful school.

Finally, as the chairperson, I would like to give special thanks ti Classroom Celebration Committee members: Nishi Agrawal, Ranjana Bhattacharjee, Anne Ding, Annie Jin, Beena Kalahasti, Roopa Panuganti, and Renuka Mishra. Your valuable time has been tremendously appreciated.

6th Grade Parents:

There will be an informational meeting for incoming 7th graders at the Hopkins Jr. High gym on Tuesday, March 9, 6PM.

This is the same night as our MVSA meeting with the cookie contest. While you are out of the house, why not attend both meetings and help your student’s classroom win a cookie party?

2010 U.S. Census:

Census questionnaires will be mailed to households in mid-March. The City of Fremont expects to receive $3,000 for each resident counted in the census. The money helps to fund schools and community services.

Please complete and return your questionnaire by April 1 to ensure Fremont residents get all the benefits to which we are entitled. For more information, visit www.fremont.gov/census or call 510.284.4013.

MVSA Meeting:

You are cordially invited to attend the next MVSA Meeting.

Tuesday, March 9

Teachers Lounge, by the office

7:00 PM

We’d love for you to know more about what the MVSA does, so that you can more actively support our efforts. To entice you to attend this meeting, we are sponsoring a classroom party contest.

The classroom with highest percentage of parent and teacher attendance at the March 9th MVSA meeting will win a “Cookies and Milk” Party!

Everyone, member or not, is invited to attend the MVSA Meetings. And any member - at any level - is welcome to vote on all items under discussion.

We are discussing many interesting issues.

- New classroom computers for our teachers

- Jog-a-thon plans

- Disaster shed supplies

- Gearing up for our elections for next year’s executive board

So come and learn what the MVSA is up to while increasing your student’s chance of winning a cookie party for his/her classroom.

Refreshments will be served.