Dear MVSA Community,

The next MVSA meeting will be Tuesday, November 14 from 7-8pm via 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) Review of last meeting’s minutes

2) Principal’s Update

3) Teacher’s Update

4) President’s Update - Busy Beaver fundraiser final results

5) Treasurer’s Update - Payments, Tax filing, Savings account

6) Committee Updates - (including Science Olympiad, Spelling Bee, Multi-Cultural Celebrations)

7) Potential New Budget Items

8) New Business?

Please email board@mvsa-fremont.org if you have agenda items to add, including committee updates.

Meeting materials are posted on https://www.mvsa-fremont.org/meetings as they become available.

Halloween photos

Halloween parade videos and photo slideshows have been posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpdJr1R7Dr1igSKNtbdI3OwH5RqxHCTqt

The photos and videos can be downloaded from Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OUlQWrt6ITXYYBA6y_KLFOlCHMrsuQ5X?usp=sharing

Multicultural Celebrations

In light of recent world events, it is more important than ever for students to learn about different cultures.

MVSA will be hosting activities for Diwali at lunch time on Thursday, November 9.

The Multicultural Celebration committee also needs volunteers to help plan activities for:

·      Hanukkah in December

·      Kwanzaa in December

·      Lunar New Year in February

·      Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan) in April

·      Hispanic Heritage Month in September 2024 (we do hope to incorporate Hispanic culture in another activity for this school year).

All volunteers are welcome, but it would be especially helpful to have volunteers who celebrate these traditions. Sign up on Konstella (https://www.mvsa-fremont.org/konstella).

If you have questions or suggestions, please email vp@mvsa-fremont.org.

Happy November!

Click to view the update for October 31, 2023

Dear MVSA Community,

The next MVSA meeting will be Tuesday, October 10 from 7-8pm via 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) Review of last meeting’s minutes

2) Principal’s Update

3) Teacher’s Update

4) President’s Update - Science Camp, Payments, Fraud Case, State and Fed Tax filing, Busy Beaver fundraiser

5) Treasurer’s Update

6) New candidate for Co-Treasurer

7) Committee Updates

8) New Business - Discussion of how to use potential excess funds

Please email board@mvsa-fremont.org if you have agenda items to add, including committee updates.

Click to view the Busy Beaver update for September 23 

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)

• Click your name in the upper left corner, then “Your Children”

• For each child, select “Join Classroom” and select the appropriate classroom.

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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

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

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

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. 

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:

1. Use MVSA funds to purchase new computers and equipment.

2. Provide volunteers to help maintain the computers and ensure they are functioning properly.

3. Promote the use of the computer lab to parents and the wider community with recommendation from teachers

4. Organize training sessions for teachers and staff to help them use the computer lab effectively.

5. Raise awareness of the importance of computer literacy and digital skills through certified computer professionals.

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:

• This was not a decision taken lightly or on the spur of the moment.

• We have discussed the topic in our monthly meetings, however, it’s unfortunate that we don’t see many attendees beyond the members.

• MVSA is not making a decision based on feelings, but rather a difficult decision motivated by facts and changes in employment regulations, which can be a lot of burden for any PTO organization. In addition, we did not have any nominations for the Treasurer for next year which posed a great risk in continuation of this employment.

• Please note while during the meeting we all only focused on the decreasing reserve funds, the Board of Directors voted yes to eliminate the role due to compliance and liability reasons primarily. However, if anyone wants to understand more about the depleting reserves, please feel free to reach us and we look forward to help you.

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