Once upon a time, there was a little red hen.  She saw the need for a better education for not just her family, but for those of her neighbors and of her local school.  She went to work making it happen.  She organized volunteers, and she put programs in place to make a better school for everyone.  Many others helped in varying ways: some gave time and labor and some gave money so that the little red hen would have the means to make these programs happen.  When it came time to partake of the proverbial bread in the story, the little red hen did not (as the original story goes) deny those who did not contribute the right to the goods and services that she and others made happen.  Instead, she gave to all.  This scene has been repeated many times throughout our country.  It is the story of your very own Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at Mission Valley.  This could also be the story of any public school in this fine nation.  As we move into 2010-2011, please remember that Mission Valley relies upon everyone giving just a little of themselves in order to build a better community and a greater good for all.

This past year's little red hen was Filiz Crocker.  She won't toot her own horn, so your new board will.  If it were not for the reliability and dedication of Filiz, your school (an honor one, at that) would not have had a student council.  It was Filiz that led Student Council when teacher hours were cut.  Student council is important.  Student council explains to our upcoming generation, the importance of a representative democracy.  It emphasizes the importance of having a say in how one's own community is run.  These are the very tenets your PTO depends upon for its own existence.  Were it not for Filiz, perhaps we wouldn't have had one of her dedicated volunteers step forward to help with Safety Patrol.  Many of you have seen and met Vick Chan, the man who selflessly coordinates our morning traffic and keeps drop-off flowing smoothly.  When others fretted over the lack of a process to drop off, Filiz and Vick rolled up their sleeves and made it happen, and to the greater good of all 700 students at Mission Valley.  Your new board is eternally grateful to Filiz and those who gave of themselves this past year.  We hope that you will not be making us your only red hen, and will instead be stepping forward to replicate the good example set forth by her and by others like Vick.

And on that note, while we rarely recognize one person over and above those who have volunteered, we'd like to give a special thanks to Vick Chan.  He's the one who made safety patrol happen.  When all of the mice were crying "Someone needs to put a bell on the cat," Vick was the one who stepped up and did it.  We think this analogy is particularly appropriate, given that his actions positively aided the safety of the community.

Did everyone see this year's yearbook?  This again, was a labor of love, brought to you by MVSA volunteers and dedicated teachers too.  MVSA would especially like to thank Christine Nagata for her continued contributions to our school, and for her leadership in making this year's annual as beautiful as it is.  Click here to see a list of volunteers who worked on the committee, and also to find out how you can order either a new or additional copy for your household.

And on the subject of Chris Nagata's wonderful contribution over the years to MVSA, thanks to her and her committee, our sixth graders are having an unprecedented promotion ceremony today, as well as a swell time at Highlands' pool this coming Monday, June 14.  Again, these are all activities funded by your MVSA donations, and put in place by volunteers like Chris.

Remember last week, we asked for a co-chair for our arts program, FAME?  Well, you responded.  Laura Jimenez, mother of a to-be fourth grader at Mission Valley stepped into the role and we are deeply appreciative of the service and momentum you are building for the coming year.

We now ask for one more volunteer effort, and this one can be from anyone, working parent or otherwise.  Last Friday, your board decided to discontinue the Campbells soup label redemption program.  Our constituency is changing, with more two-income households being represented, we are moving toward less labor-intensive efforts for fundraising.  However, just as we had made our decision, we received a significant gift of Campbells' labels from a member.  We'd like to be able to take advantage of their donation, and are asking for a volunteer, for one short task, just once.  This volunteer would work with MVSA to count and tally the labels before sending them off for processing.  If you are interested in being our one-time volunteer, please contact us at vp@mvsa-fremont.org.  This could be a fun task for kids at home.  They love helping out their school, and could ably assist in this effort.

We now return to a subject of importance for us, safety.  Like all parents, we hope that we never have the need to address any type of emergency.  However, if we were to have an emergency, it is critical that fire trucks, ambulances and the like are able to access our school.  That means that the driveway area in front of the school must be clear.  Please do not park in front of the orange safety cones at any time.  While the odds may be small that your actions would have consequences, the consequences are too great for us to leave to chance.  For all of us, let's work to insure everyone's well-being.

And finally, ending positively, Mission Valley School Association had its first monthly meeting under the new board.  We accomplished a number of important tasks, and resolved to continue our support of public education not just at our school, but in the greater Fremont area.  Locally, we committed $6,800 of your donations toward Mission Valley teacher stipends in the coming year.  This means that teachers can enjoy their summer knowing that MVSA will once again reimburse at least $200 of their classroom purchases in the upcoming year.  On a larger scale, membership voted to voice support of the greater initiative of Save Fremont Students, a grassroots group of parents hoping to raise money to save our beloved teachers' jobs.