Gatoraid 102209

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 22, 2009 10/19-10/23 10/22

10/26

7:00-8:00 p.m.

10/27 10/27 10/30 11/2 & 11/4

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

11/3 11/4 11/5 11/10 11/10

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

11/11 11/13 11/16 11/18 11/20

11/25-27

RED RIBBON WEEK 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 GR. 5 - PARENT PREVIEW OF HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT MATERIALS AT MEYERHOLZ SCHOOL 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

3:45 p.m.

FIRST TRIMESTER ENDS SECOND TRIMESTER BEGINS SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “TWINS”

THANKSGIVING RECESS - NO SCHOOL Parent Traffic Duty: October 27th - 30th - Parents from Rm. #30

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

MANY THANKS TO . . . FOR . . .

• Our PTA and staff member volunteers, the Cupertino Sheriff’s Department and chairpeople Merav Talmor and Vinutha Shettigar for their participation and all of their support to make our Fall Celebration a wonderful event last Friday! • The participants, judges, volunteers and chairpeople Mahalakshmi Rameshbabu and Alicia Hancock-Shepard for their efforts to make our PTA Reflections program the success it is by offering our students an opportunity to share their talents with others! • The Red Ribbon parent volunteers and chairperson Ramya Vasudevan for all of their work in decorating our campus and having daily activities for the students and staff. This includes planting red tulips that will blossom in spring. They will remind us of our commitment to stay drug-free! Thanks, again, to our School Resource Officers, Deputy Pete and Deputy Dain, for presenting the Red Ribbon assemblies. • Kathleen McCulloch, Catherine Ng and the rest of the PTA Executive Board for always being there for Garden Gate! If something needs to be done, it gets done with the help of these wonderful people!

C.U.S.D. BOARD MEMBERS PHYLLIS VOGEL AND ANJALI KAUSAR VISIT GARDEN GATE. . .AND THEY WERE IMPRESSED!

We were delighted to have Mrs. Vogel and Mrs. Kausar visit our campus last Friday. Although we were unable to get into all of the classrooms, the ones we visited offered our Board members a glimpse of all of the excellent teaching and learning that takes place at Garden Gate. Mrs. Vogel and Mrs. Kausar were pleased by what they saw and heard in our classrooms. They told me they thoroughly enjoyed their visit!

SUPERINTENDENT QUON VISITS GARDEN GATE. HE WAS IMPRESSED TOO!

Our school superintendent, Phil Quon, visited Garden Gate on Wednesday this week. We were able to visit all of the classrooms and Mr. Quon commented on how actively engaged all of our students were in their learning. He enjoyed having the opportunity to interact with students and their teachers. We enjoyed sharing part of our morning with the Superintendent. In addition, our kindergarteners now know that if they need crayons or paper, Superintendent Quon will make sure they have them!

STAFF LEARNING DAY - MONDAY, OCTOBER 26TH

Please note that next Monday, October 26, is a staff learning day. It is not a school day for students. Our staff will focus on mathematics. Teachers will attend mini training sessions of their choice, as well as work together as grade level teams. Our own teachers, as well as some district office personnel, will conduct trainings.

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 costume 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 non-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 on campus.

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

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

!

PAGE

3

HELLO GATOR FAMILIES, I hope you enjoyed the great “Fall Celebration” that took place last Friday on the field. I’m sorry to have missed it, but I heard it was a blast! Thank you to Vinutha Shettigar and Merav Talmor for all the “behind the scenes” work they did in order to get ready for this event, and also special thanks to all the teachers and volunteers who made it happen. Your help and participation made it a great success!

RED RIBBON WEEK IS IN FULL SWING!

Each day the children are continuing to receive a little token emphasizing our Red Ribbon Week theme. Assemblies took place on Wednesday, and the upper grade classes teamed up and created the “Be A Hero- Just Say NO To Drugs” banner that is hanging in the front of the school. All the students have planted red tulip bulbs that will come up beautiful and bright in the spring. Thank you to Ramya Vasudevan, who led this effort, and to all the volunteers that helped prepare the soil and assisted the children with planting. You make the difference at Garden Gate!

NATIONAL PTA REFLECTIONS ART CONTEST

The judging is taking place this week. As soon as the votes are tabulated, we will be making the announcement of the winners! Thank you to Mahalakshmi Rameshbabu and Alicia Hancock-Shepard for leading this effort, and to all the volunteers and judges that make it possible. We have had a great response this year. Congratulations to all the children who submitted their entries – just having submitted your work takes time, effort, and thought. Good Luck to all of our students! The common thread in this week’s message is a heart-felt “Thank You”. You have been supporting Garden Gate and our children and together we make a difference. Kathleen McCulloch Lead Volunteer, Garden Gate PTA

HELLO GATORS,

We would like to thank all the teachers and parents who volunteered to help last Friday in the “Fall Celebration.” The students had a wonderful time with the activities and the bake goods were all eaten up! Your help made the Fall Celebration a huge success. Special thanks goes to Colleen Ali-Ahmad for coordinating the bake sale and to Sreejaya Thandayankandy for organizing the pumpkin patch. Last but not the least, we are thankful to our sponsors: Whole Foods Market, Milk Pail Market and New India Bazaar in Sunnyvale. Any feedback or ideas for next year? Please email [email protected]. Thanks again, Vinutha Shettigar and Merav Talmor Fall Celebration Coordinators P.S. - To everyone who helped make the Bake Sale a success, I give you a big warm thank you! I had many teachers come forth volunteering their baking talents and parents that baked. We ended up having twice the amount of baked goods than were expected! There were even students who came to help set up and clean up after the event. I had dedicated sellers at the event who made the sale run smoothly. And lastly, I thank all of you who bought and ate the delicious treats. We raised a good amount for the PTA which in turn will benefit our school! Colleen Ali-Ahmad

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

GATORAID STUDENT PICTURES- NOVEMBER 4TH

Bud White, the school photographer, will be at Garden Gate to take your children’s portraits on Wednesday, November 4th. Order forms will be sent home next week. We will need two parent volunteers to help Mr. White beginning at 8:00 a.m. If you are available, please see Linda in the office or call (408) 252-5414 ext. 103.

AUTHOR TO VISIT GARDEN GATE

Gennifer Choldenko, author of the Newberry Honor book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, will visit Garden Gate on Nov. 5th to talk to our students. Four of her books are now on display in the library. Students and parents can pre-order any of the books until Oct. 27th. Please come to the library and take a look. She has books that will appeal to any age level.

REMINDERS:

•For the protection of the students, please remember that students are not to be on the Garden Gate campus before 7:45 a.m. There is no adult supervision until 7:45 a.m. •Please do not congregate outside of the classrooms while school is still in session. This is very disruptive to both the teacher and the students and could be a distraction from valuable learning time. •Every Tuesday is early dismissal day. Please remember that all a.m. Kindergarten students are dismissed at 11:10 a.m. and all p.m. Kindergarten students along withl students in grades 1-5 are dismissed at 1:30. Please remember to pick up your children promptly.

HOT LUNCH

PAGE 4 as many lunches in advance as possible. Parents/ guardians may pre-pay for lunches for one or more days on a weekly basis or, if desired, for a month or more.

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.

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 Student Nutrition Services use a computerized system When calling in your child’s absence, please be to serve hot lunch to the students. In order for the specific as to the reason for the absence, i.e.: “My system to run smoothly and effectively, it is child (name), has a fever due to cold, sore throat, recommended that parents/guardians send precough or flu with 100.0 or more temperature.” Your payment envelopes to the school office no later than child may return to school when he/she is fever free, 9:00 a.m. on the day the child wants to without medication or the aid of a fever reducer for at receive a school lunch. Paying cash at the lunch line least 24 hours. When returning to school, the student is discouraged because it creates a delay and causes must check in with the office to be assessed and students to wait longer for their hot lunch. We are cleared of a fever before returning to class. Please do trying to make our lunch lines cashless, and so we not give your child a fever reducer and send them to recommend that parents pay via check instead of school. It is necessary to keep them home in order cash. Parents can also pay online at not to expose their illness to other students in the www.paypams.com class. by using their debit or credit cards. Please pre-pay for 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 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