GATORAID

~ Absence Line 408-252-5414-6 ~ FAX 408-996-9725

School Phone: 408-252-5414

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

9/20 9/21 9/25 10/1-10/5 10/1 10/1 10/2 10/4-10/12 10/4 10/5 10/9 10/12 10/17 10/15-10/19 10/18 10/22-10/25 10/23 10/26 10/29 10/31

6:00-7:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

8:00-9:00 7:15 p.m. 12:00 noon 6:00 p.m. 3:45 p.m. 5:30-7:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 3:00-5:00 p.m. 8:15 a.m.

SAFETY NIGHT NO SCHOOL - STAFF LEARNING DAY CUSD BOARD MEETING CEEF - GREAT SCHOOLS WEEK INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PICTURES - GLC SPIRIT WEAR ORDERING DEADLINE PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT MEETING - STAFF RM. PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES PTA MEETING - GLC REFLECTIONS ENTRY DEADLINE CUSD BOARD MEETING DIRECT DONATIONS DEADLINE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR - GLC BOOK FAIR & ICE CREAM SOCIAL RED RIBBON WEEK C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING FALL CELEBRATION - GARDEN GATE FIELD STAFF LEARNING DAY - NO SCHOOL HALLOWEEN PARADE

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:lastname_firstname@cusdk8.org 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....MS. HUCKO!

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September 21 Learning Day No School for Children During our Staff Learning Day, Garden Gate staff will continue our study of, and preparation for, the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Parents can obtain more information about the Common Core State Standards here: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards Parent Conferences Please mark your calendars for the upcoming goal setting conferences, which will take place October 4-12. All Kindergartners attend 8:00-11:25 a.m. Grades 1-5 will be dismissed at 12:40 p.m. Please arrange to have your child picked up promptly. Trimester conferences are an opportunity to: Share information about student strengths, interests, and needs. Establish a caring and collaborative relationship. Develop mutual goals for student learning and behavior. Teachers, parents, and students (when appropriate) set goals directly related to district standards for student learning as well as specific social, emotional, and behavioral goals appropriate to the student and the grade level. They also identify strategies to support student attainment of grade level standards. In addition, the goal setting conference held early in the year allows teachers and parents to identify students at risk of retention and design interventions to help them meet grade level standards. Student Council Election Results
Fall 2012 Student Council Officers were elected by student voters in grades 3-5 last Thursday, September 14. There were approximately 20 4th and 5th grade candidates. The winners of the election are: President: Aarjav Joshi, Vice President: Arthur Ji, Secretary: Steven Long, Treasurer: Anand Kathardekar, Sports Coordinators: Deepa Mahesh & Sravya Kari and Public Relations: Srikar Sunchu & Santhosh Ravindrabharathy. Congratulations to all of the new officers and thank you to all the candidates who participated in the election.

Take it Personally How can parents insure that their kids thrive? How can you support your childs efforts and help them to succeed in school and life? To learn new strategies to help your children thrive, please join our Taking It Personally parent study group that is being offered here on campus. Parents are critical partners in our schools continued efforts to insure that we provide a safe and developmentally responsive learning environment. I encourage you to take part in this opportunity. The group will be meeting in our Staff Room starting on Thursday, 9/27 at 8:10 a.m. The course will continue for 5 additional consecutive Thursdays, the cost is $10 per parent. Please see the flyer posted on the office window for more information. Play Helps Your Child Become a Better Learner!
Do you want your child to develop a positive attitude toward learning? Then give him plenty of chances to play. At first, that might not make sense. But the truth is that, while children are playing, they can develop the skills that will help them be better learners. These skills include: Curiosity. Dont throw out that old clock. Give it to your child and let him take it apart. He may start to figure out how things work. Imagination. The stories your child makes up and acts out can give him a taste of being an author. Collect items your child can use as costumes for a play: an old curtain, hats, crowns, scarves and old clothes. Creativity. Keep colored pens and pencils handy. Let your child try his hand at writing a story or drawing a picture. Let him explain his creation to you and be sure to display it with pride! Source: L. Calkins, Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parents Guide, Addison-Wesley.

Propellers

Do you wonder how to connect better with your children? Do you wonder what matters to them, and how you can assist them to grow up to be healthy, caring and responsible citizens? I encourage you to try a "propeller" - a question intended to spark conversations with your children. Try it around the dinner table tonight! This week's Propeller: In your opinion, how important is it to dream and set goals? Why? Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

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HelloGardenGateFamilies, TONIGHTisourAnnualSAFETYNIGHT.Pleasemakeplanstoattendtheevent from6:00to7:30p.m.Weareinneedofparentvolunteerstohelpusout.Ifyouareinterested inhelping,pleasearriveatschoolby5:50p.mandcontactmeorCarolynYoung. GETREADYFORTHEBOOKFAIR! GardenGate'sFallBookFairbeginsonMonday,October15th,wherewewillhaveawidevarietyof amazingandexcitingbooksforallages.TheBookFairwillbeopenfrom8a.m.to3p.m.onMonday,8a.m. to2p.m.onTuesday,8a.m.to3p.m.onWednesday,8a.m.to3p.m.and68p.m.onThursday(Family nightandFallSocial)and8a.m.to12:30p.m.onFriday,October19th. AttheBookFairyouwillbeableto: Buyawonderfulselectionofbooksatgreatpricesandencouragekidstoreadqualitybooks. Getbooksforyourchildsclassroomlibrary. Helpraisefundsfortheschoolandtheschoollibrary(25%ofallFairpro[itsareusedforthe Libraryandschoolevents). Bestofall,youcanenteradrawingduringFamilynightforachancetowina$5ScholasticGift Certi[icate. MarkyourcalendarstovisittheBookFair,especiallytheFamilyNightonThursdayforaneveningoffunfor everyone. BOOKFAIRVOLUNTEERS WeneedvolunteerstohelpruntheBookFairsuccessfully.Youwill[indasignupforminyourchildsgreen foldertoday.Ifyoucanhelpinanyway,please[illouttherequiredinformationandreturnittotheschool of[iceasap.Thanks!
REFLECTIONS ART CONTEST The Reflections Art Contest deadline is Friday, October 5th! Entries can be turned in beginning Monday October 1st and placed in the boxes that will be located just outside of the school office. Reflections is a wonderful program that is sure to inspire children to explore their creativity. The theme this year is The Magic Of A Moment. Please encourage your child to participate and have fun creating his/her work of art! You can download the rules and student entry form by visiting the PTA website. Azmeh Malik Garden Gate PTA President azmeh_ahsan@yahoo.com
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125

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DOCTOR AND DENTIST APPOINTMENTS The state of California allows medical/dental appointments as excused absences. Garden Gates policy for all of these must be accompanied by a medical note. Please try to make appointments for after school or Saturdays. When this is not possible, children must be signed out by a parent (or someone authorized on the enrollment card) in the school office. After signing a child out, the teacher will be notified and your student will come to the office. Students are not allowed to come to the office to sit and wait to be picked up as they often lose valuable class time. Again, this is for the safety of your children. PRE-PAY FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES ONLINE For your convenience, you are encouraged to pay for your childrens school lunches online. If you do not have an account set up, go to http://www.paypams.com. You will need to provide your childs PIN and billing information. Payments may be made by credit/debit cards or by electronic check withdrawal from your bank account. You can make payments, view your childs payment history and change payment preferences 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This web site can also be used by parents to check account balances. If parents choose not to pay on-line, the inquiry service is still free to use. Parents can simply use their childs PIN to set up an account with no payment required. The lunch price is $2.75 for students. The milk and juice price is 75 cents. Lunch menus are posted on the district web-site. www.cupertino.ca.campusgrid.net/home

SPIRIT WEAR ORDERS!

Monday, October 1 is the last opportunity to place your order for a 2012-2013 Garden Gate t-shirt and/or sweatshirt. These are available in both adult and children sizes (sample of sizes are in the school office). This is the only window of opportunity to place an order this school year. Additional forms are available in the school office.

EPI-PENS AND MEDICATION If your child has a prescription for an Epi-Pen or is presently taking medication that needs to be given during the school day, please remember to bring the completed medical orders from the doctor along with the medication and/or Epi-pen to the school office as soon as possible. VOLUNTEER TB POLICY
We are always grateful to those of you who want to volunteer and share your time and talents with our students. It is important for all of us to continue to keep our school a safe and healthy place. In order to accomplish this, classroom volunteers and others who regularly interact with students, must supply the school office with a record of a negative PPD Skin Test (dated within the last four years), or a negative X-Ray result. VISITING CAMPUS All visitors on campus, whether entering classrooms as volunteers or meeting with teachers, Must Sign In at the office and obtain a visitors name tag when school is in session. For the safety of all, we need to know who is on the campus. The only exceptions are at student arrival and dismissal times. If you are taking your child out of school for any reason, ALWAYS sign your child out from school through the office and then back in when he/she returns.

SCRIP AND eScrip

Scrip Gift Cards and eScrip are two fundraising programs that parents (also family and friends) can participate in to raise money for the PTA at NO COST to the participant. Scrip gift cards can be purchased on Tuesday afternoons between 1:15 - 1:45 p.m. and also on Friday mornings between 7:45-8:15 a.m. Scrip is spent just like cash on everyday expenses. eScrip also provides an easy way to earn money for the PTA. Participating merchants donate a percentage of purchases to the school. Parents (also family and friends) should visit www.escrip.com to register their credit/debit cards, Safeway Card, and PW Supermarket Card. Be sure to specify Garden Gate Elementary School (eScrip number is 139188329.) For those who dont have internet access, please fill out and turn in an eScrip registration form (available during scrip sales times or in the school office.) Already Registered eScrip Participants: Please visit www.escrip.com and click on YES RENEW or turn in an eScrip registration form to renew your Safeway Club card. Questions? Email us at ggscrip.com or see us during scrip sales times.

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125

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BE A HERO! PROTECT OUR GREAT SCHOOLS! Get ready to dine, shop and play during Great Schools Week, October 1-5. Grab your family, friends and colleagues and show your support for educational excellence. Great Schools Week is an annual community-wide event to support high quality education in the Cupertino Union School District. Local business partners pledge to donate a percentage of sales from the event, and 18,000 district students, their families, as well as thousands of local residents are encouraged to DINE, SHOP, and PLAY throughout the week. More than 150 local businesses have participated in the event since 2010. All funds raised during Great Schools Week are applied towards exceptional classroom programs. Additional information is available at: http://CEEFCares.org/gsw Great Schools Week is sponsored by the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation (CEEF), a community partner for excellence in local education.

DIWALI FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Saturday, October 13, 2012 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Memorial Park in Cupertino Free Admission

Diwali is a time of joyous celebration. The Cupertino Chamber of Commerce is presenting its 10th Annual Diwali Festival of Lights, a multicultural family fun day, which will include Multicultural music, dance performances, Kids Zone, international food court, arts and craft booths, and much more. In addition, there will be a coloring contest for kids in Grades K-8 starting at 10:00 a.m. This contest features three different age categories (Grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) and great prizes!!!! The artwork and color pencils will be provided to each participant on the day of the contest. Free parking will be available at DE Anza College (lots A, B, C & Stelling Structure). Additional information is available at www.cupertino-chamber.org

District Calendar 2012-2013 (all schools except Murdock-Portal)

September 21, 2012 October 29, 2012 November 12, 2012 November 19-23, 2012 December 24, 2012-January 4, 2013 January 7, 2013 January 21, 2013 February 4, 2013 February 18-22, 2013 April 15-19, 2013 May 24, 2013 May 27, 2013 June 12, 2013 Staff Learning Day - No School Staff Learning Day - No School Veterans Day Observed Thanksgiving Recess Winter Recess Students Return Martin Luther King Day Staff Learning Day - No School Mid-Year Recess Spring Recess Staff Learning Day - No School Memorial Day Last Day of School

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125