Mission Valley School Association

The objective of the MVSA is to support the Mission Valley School, encourage better communication between parents and teachers, and raise funds in order to provide additional educational benefits beyond those provided by the Fremont Unified School District. MVSA membership and donations have been significantly impacted by the pandemic and have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. We invite parents to join today as MEMBERS to volunteer on committees and vote on issues that directly impact key decisions at MVE. MVSA Meetings are held 2nd Tuesday of the month.

Busy Beaver Kicks Off: The First Fundraiser Of The Year

MVSA Donations Contribute To These Programs

Thank you for your donations. We reached 81% of our goal. Help us exceed our goals! Your donations are essential to funding these programs and events! DONATE HERE

Announcements


September 7 - MVSA meeting and Busy Beaver update

Dear MVE community,

 

The next MVSA meeting will be Tuesday, September 12 from 7-8pm on Zoom. Come join us to provide your input!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85050453679?pwd=ZkFndDhxektYMER0Q3Urcmh2RDU0dz09
Meeting ID: 850 5045 3679
Passcode: 793325

Agenda items will include:

1) Busy Beaver Update

2) Committee Updates

 

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The Busy Beaver fundraiser is off to a fantastic start! Please see the attached form or https://www.mvsa-fremont.org/donate if you haven’t donated yet. Donations fund the computer lab technician position, technology upgrades, classroom supplies, traffic safety, and other programs that benefit all Mission Valley students!

 

Donations of $200 or more will earn a free Bucky the Beaver keychain.

 

Classrooms with the highest percent participation will also receive a special award:

Pizza party - Classroom with the highest percent participation

Ice cream party - Classroom with the 2nd highest percent participation

Cookie party - Classrooms with the 3rd and 4th highest percent participation

 

Please include the student name & room # as a note with each donation.

 

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If you haven’t done so this school year, please log in to Konstella (https://www.konstella.com/app) to select the appropriate classroom for your student(s)

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Volunteers make great things happen at Mission Valley!

Explore volunteer opportunities on the MVSA website (https://www.mvsa-fremont.org/volunteer) or by logging into Konstella (https://www.konstella.com/app) and selecting “Committees” in the left sidebar.

 

Questions? Email volunteer@mvsa-fremont.org.


All the best,

Nancy Huang
MVSA President

August 17, 2023 - MVSA Meeting: Budget and Busy Beaver Fundraiser

Dear MVE community,

 

The next MVSA meeting will be Tuesday, August 22 from 7-8pm on Zoom. Come join us to provide your input! Volunteer as a committee chair to vote on MVSA financial matters!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85050453679?pwd=ZkFndDhxektYMER0Q3Urcmh2RDU0dz09
Meeting ID: 850 5045 3679
Passcode: 793325

Agenda items will include:

1) Preliminary MVSA budget for 2023-24

2) Immediate funding needs (5th grade Science camp, Scholastic Weekly Reader subscription, classroom fund allocation, etc)

3) Plans for Back-to-School Night and Busy Beaver Fundraiser (Flyers, MVSA table at BTSN?, food trucks?, Gift with minimum donation, etc)


Meeting materials will be posted on the MVSA website (http://mvsa-fremont.org/) as they become available.

All the best,

Nancy Huang
MVSA President

August 3, 2023 - First MVSA meeting: Fundraising summary and Lab Tech issue

Dear MVE community,


The first official MVSA meeting for 2023-24 will be Tuesday, August 8 from 7-8pm on Zoom. Come join us to provide your input! Volunteer as a committee chair to vote on MVSA financial matters!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85050453679?pwd=ZkFndDhxektYMER0Q3Urcmh2RDU0dz09
Meeting ID: 850 5045 3679
Passcode: 793325

Agenda items will include:
1) Summary of the recent fraudulent activity targeting MVSA, and the steps being taken to safeguard against such attacks in the future.
2) Fundraising summary from past years
3) Review of the computer lab technician issue
4) Preliminary MVSA budget for 2023-24 (if time permits)

Please see the attached pdfs for a summary of past fundraising and the lab tech issue. Additional materials will be posted on the MVSA website (http://mvsa-fremont.org/) as they become available.

All the best,

Nancy Huang
MVSA President


Attachments:

Fundraising summary

Lab tech issue

Meeting Agenda

July 31, 2023 - MVSA needs volunteers!

Mission Valley School Association (MVSA) needs volunteers!

 

The objective of the MVSA is to support the Mission Valley School, encourage better communication between parents and teachers of Mission Valley School Students, and raise funds in order to provide additional educational benefits beyond those provided by the Fremont Unified School District.

 

MVSA provides funding and/or support for:

-       Computer lab maintenance

-       Computer projectors and document cameras

-       Classroom supplies

-       School assemblies and other fun events

-       Award ceremonies

-       Traffic safety

-       Family movie night and other community events

-       Math and Science Olympiad

-       and much more!

 

Explore volunteer opportunities on the MVSA website (http://mvsa-fremont.org/about-mvsa/mvsa-committees/) or by logging into Konstella (https://www.konstella.com/app) and selecting “Committees” in the left sidebar. Committee chairs can vote on MVSA financial matters.

 

We have an immediate need for volunteers on the “Communications and Website,” “Busy Beaver Fundraiser,” and “Safety” committees.

 

We have a brand new MVSA board for 2023-24, which will prioritize making MVSA’s goals, issues, and opportunities more transparent and visible to the community to improve participation rates that have dropped by 50% since the pandemic. 

May 11, 2023 - MVSA May Meeting Update

Dear MVSA Members, Teacher and Parent community,

We would like to take a moment to thank everyone who attended our last monthly meeting. We understand that the meeting went a bit longer than we had originally planned, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. With heavy hearts, the Board of Directors of MVSA cast their votes to regretfully eliminate the lab technician position. Our hearts break to have to let go of them as an MVSA employee. While we will still be here to offer our assistance, our volunteer organization is unfortunately unable to handle the liabilities required for running her payroll. This issue is getting more serious after the new law passed in 2019. We will address the details and other concerns in the later part of the letter.

However, we will strive to make sure our kids continue to have zero learning loss and even enrich their learning continuously as always. MVSA will continue to support the Computer Lab and offer the following support:

Factors behind this decision:

Please note the neighboring PTOs/PTAs or any other PTA organization country wide only provides resources and support to parents, teachers and students, these organizations do not run payroll for teachers, as this is the responsibility of the school district or state government. MVSA has been in this unique situation for years.

The primary liability for the MVSA if we run payroll for teachers would be to ensure that the payroll is accurate and compliant with all relevant laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This includes making sure that all wages are paid on time and that the correct deductions are taken from employees’ paychecks. MVSA may also be responsible for paying employment taxes, filing related paperwork and issuing pay stubs or other documents as required by law. MVSA will also be liable for any errors or omissions related to payroll, such as incorrect or late payments. Finally, MVSA should also be aware of any state or local laws that may apply to the payroll process.

Please note that the sudden law or employment change that triggered the discontinuation of payroll for Ms. Nagata was the implementation of the California – Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2019. This law requires employers of domestic workers, such as teachers, to provide benefits such as health insurance and paid time off, as well as comply with minimum wage, overtime, and other labor laws. In addition, California also requires employers to pay a portion of the employee’s Social Security and Medicare taxes. These new requirements were too burdensome for a school PTO, such as MVSA. So they decided to discontinue the payroll. In addition to increased paperwork and liability, it could also mean additional cost to MVSA for using PayChex for us to be compliant and ready for this.

The recent MVSA meeting stirred up a lot of emotion and miscommunication. We wanted to clarify a few important points:

We deeply regret having to make the difficult decision to eliminate the lab technician role.

We understand that this decision was difficult for both parents and teachers and we are saddened by it as well. Unfortunately, due to the complex nature of employment regulations, the volunteer-run organization MVSA cannot take on the responsibility of employing directly.

We hope that parents and the community can understand our position and make a request to the school to employ the Lab Technician directly like they employ part-time yard duties and other positions. We will also continue to work with the Principal and the Lab Technician to explore different options so that they can continue to be part of our community and our kids’ lives.

Sincerely,

MVSA Board of Directors