HT 2022-23 Issue 12 | Hidden Valley PTO

Hidden Valley Hawk Talk Newsletter, Issue #12

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Friday, November 4, 2022

Today!

Garden Work Party from 3 to 4:30 PM

Nov 1 -8

Cub Scouts Food Drive

Nov 7

YES Family Art night at HV

Nov 11

No school - Veteran's Day

Nov 14 - 18

TK-5th conferences, Super Minimum Release (11:50 AM)

Nov 21 - 25

No school - Fall Break & Thanksgiving

Hello Hidden Valley Families!

We survived Halloween! We don’t know about you, but it feels like time absolutely flies between Halloween and winter break - soon it will be 2023! Unbelievable!

Just a few reminders for you this week. The Cub Scouts are Scouting for Food through November 8th. Bring in your non-perishable goods and help the SF/Marin Food Bank. Bins are located in the MPR foyer and the office.

Don’t forget to sign up for teacher conferences during the week of November 14! School ends each day at 11:50! While you’re on campus, check out the Lost & Found. It is once again overflowing with sweatshirts and jackets that get discarded once the sun starts shining.

Happy November!

Team PTO

Cub Scouts Food Drive

Each year, Pack 50 San Anselmo Cub Scouts go door-to-door to collect food for the
SF-Marin Food Bank. This year, Pack 50 hopes to expand their donation collection efforts
by collecting non-perishable foods at our local schools.

High cost of living, lack of social safety nets, systemic racism, and other inequalities mean
many struggle to afford the basics, including putting food on the table. A staggering 1 in 5 people in Marin and San Francisco Counties experiences hunger. But, together, we have the power to end hunger. Food makes it possible for kids to learn and thrive, for adults to take care of their
families, and for seniors to stay healthy and active.

Here’s how you can help:
We would love each student to support this effort by bringing in non-perishable
food items to donate - think dried goods, such as pasta, rice, or canned goods.

Please check to ensure the “best before date” has not already passed.

Bins will be available outside the office and MPR starting November 1st to accept your generous donations!

Donation week will take place from November 1-8, 2022.
Let's make some families in need happy this holiday season!

Thank you for your collective support in this effort!

Friendships help children learn that pro-social behaviors like kindness, compromise, self-regulation, assertiveness, apologies, and forgiveness are necessary for healthy friendships. Studies show that early childhood friendships that are pro-social-heavy lead to better emotional intelligence later in life.

Next week we will be starting our lessons on friendship. We will have lessons on making friends, keeping friends, conflict resolution, friendship inclusion/exclusion and empathy.

This introductory video will be shown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7w7yXkJ

Celebrate Hispanic/Latino Culture beyond Hispanic Heritage Month

Saturday, November 5th * 3pm - 9pm

Dia de los Muertos is the annual signature event of the Multicultural Center of Marin. The highly anticipated gathering brings together the Canal community to celebrate its heritage and culture through costume, dance, song, food, defiles, and a myriad of altars to honor our deceased relatives. Painted faces of calaveras, Mexican folkloric dance, papusas and artistic expression of altars – Free to all. https://dayofthedeadsr.org/

Diwali in the classroom

"This year Priya, Lydia and Kamal (parents of Meenu + Arjun, Ami + Viv) visited the fifth grade classes, Mrs. Saunders' fourth grade and Mrs. Sottile's 2nd grade to teach the classes about Diwali. We talk about a variety of celebrations over the course of the year and having parents visit to teach about a holiday is great. They brought samosas for the kids to try, and told the story of the Ramayana and how Diwali came to be a holiday. The kids do a Diwali craft got a bindhis (traditional dots on the forehead) + stick on mehndi (traditional henna tattoos). In the fifth grade we will be starting a global studies report in the next few weeks, and kicking this off with a discussion about Dias de los Muertos and then Diwali is a nice way to get the class interested in celebrations from around the world. We are also reading a book from the Global Read Aloud, that is set in Mumbai, so learning about Diwali and more background on India was very interesting for the class. "

Eric Brandt,

Hidden Valley 5th grade teacher

Diwali

Diwali, Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Dharmic religious festival and one of the most important festivals within Hinduism. It symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance."

Source: Diwali, Wikipedia.

To learn more about the celebration of Diwali in India, the five days of Diwali, the legends, and much more, enter here.

Heritage Months and Celebration Days

We need more space to talk about Native Heritage Month so we created our own space on the Hidden Valley PTO website. Check it out and start your educational journey about the amazing world of the Native American.

SAVE THE DATE - Family Art Nights are back this year!

Come on out with your child and enjoy a night of creation. Ms. Gavam has created a few art lessons paired with inspirational artists for your family to enjoy. Come see what the YES-funded art program is all about.

Please sign up through the Sign Up Genius to ensure we have enough supplies for everyone. Say YES to the Arts! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e44a5ab28a3fbc52-yesfamily2

Eyes Up, Marin!

Let’s Make our Streets Safer for Everyone!

From mid-October through the end of November, you’ll see bright and colorful banners and lawn signs popping up all over Marin asking people to keep their “Eyes Up” and be alert. These signs will be asking drivers to slow down, watch when turning and look for pedestrians in the crosswalk; bicyclists to yield to pedestrians and to follow the rules of the road; and those walking to pay attention when crossing the street.

These messages will also show up in your social media feeds, and you can find them at www.streetsmartsmarin.org. Please share with your friends, family and co-workers!

The Eyes Up, Marin campaign is part of the Street Smarts Program and Safe Routes to Schools, locally funded programs of the Transportation Authority of Marin. This traffic safety campaign educates drivers, pedestrians and cyclists about safety issues, including distracted driving. The goal is to encourage people to adopt and practice attitudes and behaviors that will reduce the number of traffic-related accidents and make our streets safer for everyone.

The program focuses on placing outdoor messaging at “hotspots” throughout Marin County – bold reminders at the locations where traffic problems occur most frequently. The message placement was determined based on findings from the 2018 Marin County Travel Safety Plan as well as analysis of 2016 -2020 countywide collision data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System.

Over 125 countywide partners including school districts, jurisdictions, emergency service providers, and community organizations will be sharing the new campaign images and safety messages widely. Please join this important effort to make our streets safer for all! www.streetsmartsmarin.org.

Yearbook is looking for pictures (kids only please) to be used for HV yearbook. If you have any pictures that you would like to share with the yearbook team please email to hvhawkphotos@gmail.com.