I hope you all had plenty of time out in nature and off screens, to rest and revive. Ramadan Mubarak to those who celebrate!  I was amazed to learn that today is also Vaisakhi, Navratra, Ugadi, Khalsa Sirjana Divas and Hindu New Year. Understanding each other's traditions and values is so important to building inclusive communities. 

I invited Maha Elgenaidi, founder of Ing.org, to speak at tomorrow’s school board meeting during item 9.3 Resolution in Recognition of Arab American Heritage Month. Ing’s mission is educating for cultural literacy and mutual respect.

Here is a useful brief guide for educators about Ramadan:

Read on for:

1. School Board meeting Wednesday April 14th
2. Superintendent’s Friday letter 
3. Mental Health Webinars
4. Common Cents 
5. Drawing on Earth’s Global Challenge

Next School Board Meeting Wednesday April 14th

Find the agenda here, along with information about how to watch the live broadcast as well as how to submit public comments.  Key items on the agenda include:

• Resolution “A Call to Action on Climate Change in Recognition of Earth Day” - we will hear an update on MDUSD’s partnership with GreenSchoolYards.org to create outdoor classrooms
• Resolution “In Recognition of Arab American Heritage Month” - we will hear about resources from ing.org that were featured in the state CA Dept of Education presentation “Understanding and Countering Islamophobia”   **This is the first time MDUSD has proposed this resolution**
• Update on Mt Diablo CARES Expanded Learning program
• Update and Discussion on ReOpening Schools 
  • (tip: search #MDUSDisBack to see photos from campuses across the district)

Superintendent's Friday letter

Click here to read Dr Clark’s March 19th letter, full of information including: 

• Congratulations MDUSD student winners of Contra Costa County Science and Engineering Fair: Angello Ledesma, Elyse Contreras, Andrea Rosmarin, Jonathan Yu, John Lins, and Erin Weber!
• Organizational Update including kindergarten registration for fall at mdusd.org/enrollnow and the opportunity to apply for the new  YVHS CCAP STEM program 

Mental Health Webinars

Don’t miss these important Mental Health webinars created by MDUSD Counselors in English or Spanish. Coming up Tuesday April 20 at 5pm is “Anxiety and Depression” - Register here.  You can also watch all past webinars such as “Recognizing When To Get Help Beyond The Home” or register for future topics at https://mdusd.org/mental-health

Common Cents

Did you know that MDUSD has a new column with answers to frequently asked questions? It is about sharing the accurate data associated with all things fiscal, budgets, data, and more!  Visit https://mdusd.org/bscc 

The March 31st post included:

• What is the cost of a special election for a recall?
• Why is there a deficit? 
• Where do the funds come from for our district? 
• Does district staff engage with legislators to try to get more funding? 

Drawing on Earth’s Global Creative Challenge

Join Mark Wagner this Earth Day in his Global Creative Challenge.  Mark is the amazing artist who led The Largest Illustrated Story chalk drawing project for Mt. Diablo Unified School District at nearly all of our elementary school sites!  

(This flyer features the Wren Avenue Elementary School of the Arts chalk project)

Join him online or in person for his next Guinness World Record attempt! #STEAMforStudents