Hello VLA Middle School Families,
Monday, October 26 is a Minimum Day
On Monday, October 26, our NUSD teachers will be participating in a half day of professional development. The morning will still have students attend synchronously classes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd periods with asynchronous work for the remainder of the school day. Please have students check their Google Classrooms and communications from their teachers.
Red Ribbon Week October 23- 31st
The week on October 23 through the 31 is Red Ribbon Week. Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985. In honor of Kiki’s memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents then began to form coalitions using Camarena as their model while embracing his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions adopted the symbol of Camarena’s memory, the Red Ribbon. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities.- redribbon.org This year’s theme is: Be Happy. Be Brave. Be Drug Free. Today’s daily activity is to share what encourages you to be happy, brave and drug free. Share your responses here: https://forms.gle/1K7dtNZBEzMT6TnX8
NUSD Proclaims October as Bully Prevention Month
During the board meeting on October 6, the NUSD School Board approved October to be Bully Prevention Month.The goal is to encourage communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on youth which directly affects a student’s ability to learn. Bullying can take many forms, including physical, verbal, non-verbal and digital – known as cyberbullying, and bullying has devastating effects including an immediate and lifelong impact on resiliency, ability to concentrate, academic performance, self esteem and self-worth.
Approximately 20.2 percent of students, or 1 in 5 students, in the U.S. report being bullied according to the National Bullying Prevention Center, and the number is even higher for LGBTQ students, students of color, and students with disabilities. In the 2017-2018 California Healthy Kids Survey of Novato Unified School District students found 39% of 7th graders reported having been bullied or harassed in the past year.
Bullying prevention education is critical for both students and adults, students can be especially effective in bullying prevention and intervention, by being taught to stand up to bullying by becoming upstanders and along with adults can stop more than 50% of bullying by intervening. Silence as a bystander is not an acceptable response to bullying, adults, students and educators must not look away from or ignore bullying, as acknowledging and addressing it works towards resolution.
The Healthy Novato Initiative is working to educate the community about bullying through outreach activities including providing training on cyberbullying and internet safety to both parents and students for everyone to be empowered with options to respond. Novato Unified School District supports efforts to call attention to and act on the issues of bullying and cyberbullying and encourages schools, adults, youth, families, community members, governmental agencies, and the private sector to support efforts to reduce, prevent, and resolve bullying so that everyone is empowered for success to be the best they can be at NUSD.
Aeries Parent Portal and Parent Google Classroom Updates
I encourage parents to regularly check their parent portal of Aeries for updates on students’ grades and missing assignments. If you don’t have access or remember how to log into the platform, please email [email protected] for support. I also recommend that parents be added to the Google Classrooms as parents/ guardians. If you are not currently connected to your child’s Google Classrooms, please connect with the teachers to add your email address for the daily or weekly updates. Teachers maintain Google Classroom and Aeries regularly which will indicate missing assignments and scores on assignments. Being linked to Aeries and Google Classroom will help you to engage in conversations with your child around their progress in each of their classes.
Amanda Davis and Elizabeth Olinyk
Co-Principals, Virtual Learning Academy
[email protected]
[email protected]