Gatoraid 101509

GATORAID School Phone: 408-252-5414

~ Absence Line 408-252-5414-6

Boa rd o Sup fE erin tend ducatio n ent Boa rd M : Phil Q uon emb Anja ers: li K a

Jose p

usa Ben Liao r , Luc ey, G ary Phy llis Voge McCue, l

hine

~

FAX 408-996-9725

GAR DEN ERT GAT INO EE U LEM NIO 105 ENT 00 A NS CH ARY NN O A CUP OL RBO D ERT IS R AV IN Nan ENU TRICT cy W O, CA K at E h 950 Alic ood 14 ia H leen M - Pr cCu anc i n c i l ock -She loch - P pal par TA P d-S SC C residen t hair per son CUP

SCHOOL CALENDAR OCTOBER 15, 2009 10/16 10/19-10/23 10/20 10/21 10/22 10/26 10/27 10/27 10/30 11/3 11/4 11/5 11/10 11/10 11/11 11/13 11/16 11/18 11/20 11/25-27

3:00-5:00 p.m. 8:00-9:30 a.m. 3:45 p.m. 7:00-8:00 p.m. 8:00-9:30 a.m. 6:00 p.m. 8:15 a.m. 8:00-9:30 a.m. 7:15 p.m. 8:00-9:30 a.m. 6:00 p.m.

3:45 p.m.

FALL CELEBRATION - FIELD RED RIBBON WEEK PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING BOY SCOUT RECRUITMENT - KINDERGARTEN BENCHES STAFF LEARNING DAY - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM HALLOWEEN PARADE PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM STUDENT PICTURES - GLC PTA MEETING PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM VETERANS DAY - NO SCHOOL FIRST TRIMESTER ENDS SECOND TRIMESTER BEGINS SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “TWINS” THANKSGIVING RECESS - NO SCHOOL

Parent Traffic Duty: October 19th - 23rd - Parents from Rm. #10 EVERY TUESDAY IS EARLY DISMISSAL – Students are dismissed at 1:30. PRE-PAY FOR CUSD LUNCHES at PAMS (Parent Account Management System) Lunchroom! You can make payments and view your students account balance online by going to http://www.pamslunchroom.com or by calling 1-888-994-5100. TO EMAIL STAFF:[email protected] ATTENDANCE: If your child will be absent, please call 252-5414. Ext. 6, by 8:30 a.m. to report the absence. HOMEWORK: Homework may be requested for illness absences of three days or more. Please call the office before 9:00 a.m. to request the homework for pickup after 3:00 p.m.

FROM OUR PRINCIPAL....MRS. WOOD!

PAGE

2

Fall Celebration – Friday, October 16, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Please join us for an afternoon of fun this Friday. We’ll have many activities to engage our students. Look for pumpkins, games, and much more! New this year will be our Bike Rodeo. Deputy Pete and some of his colleagues will conduct a rodeo of fun activities for our biking students. Students who will be participating in the rodeo are reminded they need to lock their bikes at the bike rack after their participation. We hope to see all of our families this Friday! Halloween Parade – Friday, October 30 @ 8:15 a.m. We are planning our Halloween Parade for this year on Friday, October 30, starting at 8:15 a.m. All parents are welcome to come, watch and take pictures! Please bring your child to school dressed in their costumes over their regular clothes, as there is no appropriate place to change here at school. When the parade is over, the students will return to their classrooms. Please send a bag with your child’s name on it so your child can put his/her costume away after the parade. When helping your child decide on a costume, please encourage them to pick one that supports our efforts to promote a positive and fun activity by keeping the following in mind: Costumes should be comfortable, easy to walk in, and should not hamper vision. Regular school rules of dress and safety apply. Costumes should be in good taste and not violent in nature. Remember, no toy guns, swords, knives, martial arts weapons, dyed hair or make-up. Rollerblades, skates, skateboards, scooters, and bicycles are not permitted to be ridden or used on campus. Food at Celebrations Apparently, there is some misunderstanding about our district’s wellness policy regarding food and classroom celebrations. Some parents believe that the district/school policy says no food whatsoever in the classrooms. Actually, the Board Policy says: "Schools should limit celebrations that involve food during the school day to no more than one party per class per month. It is recommended that each party should include no more than one food or beverage that does not meet nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually." (BP 3550) In accordance with the district policy, our policy at Garden Gate states that classrooms may have one celebration a month where food can be provided. The teacher and the room parents will decide the celebration and the type of treats to be consumed. We will follow the district directive of serving foods that meet the nutrition standards for good health. If your child has a birthday and wishes to share it with his/her classmates, he/she may share non-edible

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

!

PAGE

3

Hello Gator Families! WOW! Have you seen our red “ Direct Donation” arrow lately? You have made a clear commitment to support the Garden Gate PTA and our children! We were very cautious planning our projected budget of no more than $50,000 to be raised by the Direct Donation campaign this year. Well, so far, you have generously donated $61,000 - “Thank You”! We will be organizing a survey for you to complete to give us feedback regarding where to put the extra money to work at Garden Gate this year. Please continue to read future articles for additional information on this as we put it together.

------------------------------We Need Your Help This Week!!!------------------------------The Fall Celebration Is Very Short Of Parent Volunteers! We need more parent help with the Fall Celebration, if not, we will have to cancel at least half of the planned booths. Please contact Vinutha at [email protected] to volunteer! The Fall Celebration is this Friday, October 16th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. This free event is paid for by the PTA (your donations at work) and hosted by the Garden Gate Teachers! This is one of our favorite events of the year. Remember to bring a few dollars to purchase bake sale items and a pumpkin! Come with your whole family to enjoy the games and some relaxed social time. Red Ribbon Week – “Dig This” Volunteers are needed to prepare soil and to assist in planting. This week volunteers are needed to help prepare the soil for our children as they plant tulip bulbs that will come up bright red next spring, and next week we need people to assist the children in planting the bulbs. Please contact Ramya Vasudevan at [email protected] for dates and times. Thank you for your time and effort in making Garden Gate strong! Kathleen McCulloch, Lead Volunteer, Garden Gate PTA

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014

GATORAID UPDATING RESIDENCY INFORMATION

Please be aware that district guidelines require that any change of residence must be reported to the school office within ten (10) days. This guideline is in place to ensure that the address and contact information that the school has on file is accurate. This information is crucial a n d i s u s e d t o s e n d o ff i c i a l s c h o o l / d i s t r i c t correspondence and it is also used in the case of an emergency. Failure to provide current residency information could result in the immediate withdrawal of your child. If you have any questions regarding this guideline, please contact the school office.

BRING A JACKET TO SCHOOL

Now that the weather is getting cooler, please send your children to school with a coat, sweatshirt or extra layers of clothing. We will continue to eat outside as long as it is not raining too hard. Children often misplace jackets that are brought to school so please write your child’s name on the label so that it can be returned if it is misplaced or lost. Also, it is easy for students to pick up the wrong jacket. Please send back any jackets or items that your child may come home with that does not belong to them. Thank you!

INDEPENDENT STUDY CONTRACTS

If you plan to be away from school for a minimum of five school days and a maximum of ten school days, please contact the school office and your child’s teacher at least three weeks ahead of your departure date to arrange for a special Independent Study Contract. The following guidelines must be followed: •A student must be enrolled for three consecutive weeks before an Independent Contract can be initiated. •The contract and homework must be returned the first day back to school with all the work completed, so days missed do not count as unexcused absences. •Students who are absent for more than ten consecutive days will be dropped from the roster of their school. When the student returns, if space is available, at his or her school, the student will be reinstated. If no space is available, the student will be assigned to another school in the district where space is available.

PAGE 4 EYEGLASS DONATION DRIVE

Cupertino Union School District is excited to partner with Vision Service Plan (VSP) to help others see well through the “Eyes of Hope” program. This program will run through December of this year. There is a collection box in the school office to drop off any used glasses including prescription glasses, readers, and sunglasses. Both plastic and metal frames are accepted. Cases can also be donated with the glasses inside. VSP will ensure that the glasses are recycled and distributed to children and adults throughout the world.

CALLING IN STUDENT ABSENCES

When calling in your child’s absence, please be specific as to the reason for the absence, i.e.: “My child (name), has a fever due to cold, sore throat, cough or flu with 100.0 or more temperature.” Your child may return to school when he/she is fever free, without medication or the aid of a fever reducer for at least 24 hours. When returning to school, the student must check in with the office to be assessed and cleared of a fever before returning to class. Please do not give your child a fever reducer and send them to school. It is necessary to keep them home in order not to expose their illness to other students in the class.

HELP OUR COMPUTER LAB TO BE GERM FREE

Our computer lab is in need of disinfectant wipes to help keep our computers as sanitary as possible. Germs can be easily spread on keyboards, so if you can send in a container of disinfectant wipes, we would appreciate it. Please drop these items off in the computer lab. Thank you in advance for your contribution. VOLUNTEERS AND VISITORS We welcome parents to volunteer at our school. However, for the safety of our children, please sign in at the school office and take a Volunteer/Visitor’s Badge to wear when you are on our campus and remember to return it when you leave. Our students know to look for these badges. Your assistance in identifying yourself when you are on our campus, will help to maintain a safe environment for all of our students. Thank you!

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014

GATORAID!

DISTRICT NEWS SECTION CUSD BUDGET UPDATE MEETINGS

PAGE

5

Given the unprecedented magnitude of the state budget crisis and the uncertainty surrounding Cupertino Union School District’s funding, Superintendent Phil Quon will be holding a number of budget update meetings throughout the District during October 2009. The Superintendent would like to invite all interested parents and community members to attend and hear what steps the district is taking to try and weather the state budget crisis. Please attend any meeting that is convenient for you. Here is a list of meeting schedules and their locations: • •

Thursday, October 29, 2009 – 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Lawson Middle School, Event Center (10401 Vista Drive in Cupertino) Monday, November 2, 2009 – 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Cupertino Middle School, Gymnasium (1650 S. Bernardo Avenue in Sunnyvale)

If you have any questions, please contact Jeremy Nishihara at (408) 252-3000, Extension 323.

MCAULIFFE MIDDLE SCHOOL INFORMATION NIGHT Christa McAuliffe School is one of the district’s four alternative programs. McAuliffe, a K-8 parent-participation school in the Cupertino Union School District with a whole-child, developmental philosophy, offers a program which advocates for children to take ownership of their learning, to work collaboratively, to express their opinions, and to explore their interests. All interested parents are invited to the following events:

Middle School Information Night - Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009, 7-9 p.m., in the Performing Arts Center (PAC), 12211 Titus Ave., Saratoga

Teachers will present an overview of middle school goals and curriculum; McAuliffe alumni return to share their memories of middle school and to describe their transition to high school.

Middle School Parent Forum - Thursday, Nov. 19, 7-9 p.m., in Room 19 Panel of middle school parents will address questions in a casual environment.

Middle School Tours - Nov. 6, Jan. 15 & Jan. 28, 8:45 - 11 a.m. These tours are in conjunction with McAuliffe School tours, join a specialized tour of middle school classrooms led by a parent guide. Call 253-4696 or sign-up online at www.mcauliffek8.com. CUSD students only.

H1N1 GUIDELINES The Santa Clara County Public Health Department guidance recommends that, based on current flu conditions, students and staff with flu-like illness stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen). You can help keep our schools healthy by adhering to the following guidelines: •

Continue to enforce proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. The recommendations continue to emphasize the importance of the basic foundations of disease prevention: Stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible or alcohol based hand sanitizer, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).

•

Leave accurate information as requested on the school’s absence line if you child is sick. This will help the school identify any potential issues as soon as possible.

•

Promptly pick up your child from school if they are sent home for being ill. The school will keep ill students separated from others until they can be sent home. Please make sure that the school office has your updated contact information.

•

Any returning students after an illness with a fever will need to have their temperature taken in the school office before returning to class. Teachers will be sending returning students back to the office to have their temperatures taken if they arrive directly to the classroom without being cleared. Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014