FAQ
Thanks to our volunteers, we have compiled a set of FAQ's providing some helpful resources and tips in the following categories:
Taylor School Info
Where Can I Find a Zoom Video Recording of PTA Math Night (10/15/2020)?
In case you missed our first Parent Education event of the year on Thursday 10/15... Math Night joined by Ms. Wong (6th), Mr. Lee (7th) and Mr. Joyce (8th), you can view the Zoom Video Recording.
What are Attendance ROBO Calls and When are They Starting?
Starting on Monday, September 28, a daily ROBO call will go out to families if their student missed one or more class periods that day. The calls will go out each school day starting at 4:00pm. Here is the message families will receive:
Your student was marked absent from one or more classes today at Taylor Middle School. All absences must be "cleared" by calling or emailing the office within 48 hours. If the absence is due to lack of technology or problems with access, please let us know.
To "clear" an absence please call the office @ 650-697-4096. If you "clear" and absence with the office before the end of the school day, you will not receive the ROBO call.
What are Curriculum Pick Up Wednesdays?
Teachers will contact parents/guardians directly when they have curriculum that needs to be picked up. If you can't make it on Wednesday, please call the office @ 650-697-4096 to arrange a time that is convenient for you. You can also stop by the office window located in the B Hall courtyard between 8:30am-3:00pm. Students are also allowed to pick up when not in class.
Not all teachers will have curriculum that needs to be picked up each week. If you have any questions about curriculum, please email the teacher.
How Do I Order Taylor Spirit Wear “SWAG”?
Visit the Taylor Store:
https://squareup.com/store/taylor-middle-school
All orders MUST be placed ONLINE through the TAYLOR STORE
By Monday, October 12, 2020
orders will arrive in approximately 3 weeks
What is the Class/Bell Schedule?
The Taylor Bell Schedule during distance learning is available here:
When Does SEL Class Start?
Monday, 9/14/2020: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) time begins for all students from 10:10am-10:40am. The SEL class schedule is also listed in the class/bell schedule.
Where Can I Find the Millbrae School District Calendar?
Where Can I Find 8/20/2020 Taylor Principal Welcome & Information Session Slides?
8/20/2020 Thursday: Taylor Principal Welcome & Information Session
The presentation slides for Principal Welcome and Information session hosted by the Principal Bob Stelle and Assistant Principal Sarah Seaton on 8/20/2020 are available here:
Where Can I Find 7/30/2020 Taylor Town Hall Zoom Recording?
7/30/2020 Taylor Town Hall Zoom Recording
In case you missed the Taylor Town Hall on 7/30/2020, here is the zoom recording.
What's the URL to Taylor Middle School's Home Website?
How Do I Contact the Admin Staff at Taylor?
Taylor Main Office: 650-697-4096
Bob Stelle (Principal): bstelle@millbraesd.org
Sarah Seaton (Assistant Principal): sseaton@millbraesd.org
Dianna Thomas (Office Manager): dthomas@millbraesd.org
Pamela Evans (Attendance Secretary): pevans@millbraesd.org
You can also try looking at the Taylor Staff Directory.
How Do I Contact Teachers at Taylor?
General Instructions:
Login to ParentVUE: https://ca-mesd-pvue.edupoint.com/.
Click on Class Schedule in the Left Navigation Menu.
There is a Teacher column in the table Student Schedule table and you can right-click on each teacher's letter icon to copy the email address.
For a walkthrough of these steps, please take a look at the ParentVUE Basics slides:
You can also try looking at the Taylor Staff Directory.
ParentVUE
What is ParentVUE?
ParentVUE is the online family portal used by the Millbrae School District to provide access to school and student information, including class schedule, grades, attendance, school calendar, state test results, teacher contact details, and messages from teachers to parents.
The main URL (important to bookmark this URL) to Millbrae School District ParentVUE is:
For more information provided by the Millbrae School District, see:
What If I Don't Have a ParentVue Account to View Messages from My Student's Teachers?
What if I don't have a ParentVue account to view messages from my student's teachers?
Please call the main office at 650-697-4096 for login information and activation keys to get started.
What If My Student Doesn't Have StudentVue to Check Messages from Their Teachers?
What if my student doesn't have StudentVue to check messages from their teachers?
Students without an account will receive an email from Assistant Principal Sarah Seaton (sseaton@millbraesd.org) with their personal login and password information so they can log into their account and see those messages.
Please call the main office at 650-697-4096 for login information and activation keys to get started.
How Do I Activate ParentVUE?
If you need an activation key, please call the Taylor main office at 650-697-4096.
For more information provided by the Millbrae School District, see:
Is There a Walkthrough of ParentVUE Basics?
Here is a set of slides illustrating ParentVUE Basics:
How Do I Add or Update the School District URL on the ParentVUE Mobile App?
General Instructions:
Log out of the app.
Click on the Settings Gear icon.
Click on Add Another District URL and enter the following URL:
https://ca-mesd-pvue.edupoint.com
For the new District URL just entered, click on “Set as Default”
Click on the old District URL, and “Delete”
For a walkthrough of these steps, please take a look at the ParentVUE Basics slides:
How Do I Find the Email Addresses of My Student's Teachers in ParentVUE?
General Instructions:
Login to ParentVUE: https://ca-mesd-pvue.edupoint.com/.
Click on Class Schedule in the Left Navigation Menu.
There is a Teacher column in the table Student Schedule table and you can right-click on each teacher's letter icon to copy the email address.
For a walkthrough of these steps, please take a look at the ParentVUE Basics slides:
Why Don't I Get Notification Emails of Messages That Appear in ParentVUE?
In ParentVUE, make sure your email and other information are up to date. If you have opted-out of District of School level emails, you will not receive notifications through email. Please opt-back in by contacting Taylor attendance secretary, Pam Evans at pevans@millbraesd.org.
Google Classroom
What is Google Classroom?
Google Classroom is a online education platform used by our teachers and students in the Millbrae School District. It is the primary way for students to receive their assignments and feedback from teachers.
Google Classroom contains a list of classes along with the corresponding calendar, assignments, to-do list, and teacher’s stream (messages with students).
A Google Education login account provided by the school (e.g., 8675309@millbraesd.org) is required. Note that a personal GMail account will not be allowed.
Where Can I Find a Walkthrough of Google Classroom Basics?
Taylor PTA has created a set of slides to illustrate Google Classroom Basics in two document formats:
How Does a Student Access Google Classroom?
Taylor Middle School has provided this document to illustrate how to access:
Taylor PTA has created a set of slides to illustrate Google Classroom Basics in two document formats:
What Type of Account Does a Student Need to Access Google Classroom?
Students will need to login to their district Gmail account in order to access Google Classroom. If students need to reset their password, please follow this link:
Zoom
What is Zoom?
Zoom is the video conferencing platform used by schools in the Millbrae School District for teachers to conduct their classes with students online.
The main Zoom website is:
Do I Need to Download Anything to Use Zoom?
Using Zoom on a Browser
Zoom works on a browser such as Chrome if you do not want or cannot download Zoom client application software. Here are instructions on how to use Zoom on a browser:
Using Zoom Client Application Software that You Download
You might consider downloading the Zoom client application software to your Windows or MacOS computer/laptop. You can find the application on the Zoom Download page:
Does a Student Need a Login for Zoom?
At this time, a Zoom login account is not required. Please follow guidelines provided by the Millbrae School District and teachers.
Is There a Zoom Tutorial for Students and Families?
The PTA will be offering parent info sessions throughout the year for our parents to engage and connect with one another and our kids. Our first session will be a No Stress Zoom for Parents presented by Taylor parent and past Green Hills PTA President, Dawn Lee Tu. Dawn is volunteering her time to educate parents on the basics of Zoom and how we can help our kids get ready for their classes. Two sessions were offered on Tuesday 8/25.
The Zoom tutorial recording was emailed out to families in the school community. Due to privacy concerns, we are not posting the Zoom tutorial recording here. If you are interested in watching it, please email us at info@millbraetaylorpta.org and we will email you the link to the recording.
Here is a No Stress Zoom Guide she created for students and families:
Are There Some Helpful Zoom Tips Provided for Students?
Frank Wang has kindly compiled a set of helpful Zoom tips for the students in this shared Google Doc. It contains topics such as:
Video sharing has no sound
You shared a Youtube video, but student notices the video seems choppy
Display up to 49 participants per screen in gallery view
Have a look and check periodically for new tips!
What to Do When Zoom Video Sharing Has No Sound?
Frank Wang has kindly compiled a set of helpful Zoom tips for the students in this shared Google Doc. It contains topics such as:
Video sharing has no sound
You shared a Youtube video, but student notices the video seems choppy
Display up to 49 participants per screen in gallery view
Have a look and check periodically for new tips!
What to Do When Zoom Video Seems Choppy?
Frank Wang has kindly compiled a set of helpful Zoom tips for the students in this shared Google Doc. It contains topics such as:
Video sharing has no sound
You shared a Youtube video, but student notices the video seems choppy
Display up to 49 participants per screen in gallery view
Have a look and check periodically for new tips!
How to Display Entire Class (Up to 49 Participants) in Zoom Gallery View?
Frank Wang has kindly compiled a set of helpful Zoom tips for the students in this shared Google Doc. It contains topics such as:
Video sharing has no sound
You shared a Youtube video, but student notices the video seems choppy
Display up to 49 participants per screen in gallery view
Have a look and check periodically for new tips!
Is There Background Noise Suppression in Zoom?
If you are using the Zoom application client on a computer or laptop, try these steps to suppress background noise:
Google Meet
What is Google Meet?
Google Meet is another video conferencing platform used by schools in the Millbrae School District for teachers to conduct their classes with students online. It is a competing product to Zoom and has similar functionalities.
The main page for Google Meet is:
For Google Meet training and help, see:
Do I Need to Download Anything to Use Google Meet?
On a computer or laptop, the student does not have to download anything to use Google Meet. Teachers will provide a specific Google Meet URL for the student to click on and join the meeting on a browser such as Chrome.
Additional Support
How Can I Get Additional Help or Support for the Technology Used during Distance Learning?
If you have any questions or need help with Google Classroom, Zoom, or anything else, please email info@millbraekids.org.
How Can I Help Our Teachers?
The Taylor PTA is forming a volunteer "help desk" to provide tech support to our teachers. We're looking for volunteers from our Taylor community who are comfortable troubleshooting and providing technology assistance to our teachers.
Go to our Volunteer page to sign up!