GATORAID

School Phone: 408-252-5414 ~ Absence Line 408-252-5414-6 ~ FAX 408-996-9725

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
9/1 9/5 9/6 9/6 9/7 9/8 7:15 p.m. 8:15 a.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:45 p.m. 7:30-7:45 p.m. 7:45-8:30 p.m. 8:15 a.m. 3:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:00-7:30 p.m. 7:15 p.m. 12:00 p.m. 3:45 p.m. 5:30-7:30 p.m. 6:00-8:00 p.m. PTA MEETING - GLC LABOR DAY - NO SCHOOL REFLECTIONS ORIENTATION FOR PARENTS - SPECTRA ART RM. SCOOL SPIRIT BAND NIGHT C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING AT NIMITZ SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT - PARENTS ONLY GR. 3-5 PARENTS IN CLASSROOMS ALL PARENTS IN THE GLC GRADES KINDERGARTEN - GR. 2 PARENTS IN CLASSROOMS WHOLE FOODS GROCERY DAY - CUPERTINO SPECTRA ART ORIENTATION FOR PARENTS - SPECTRA ART ROOM SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING SAFETY NIGHT STAFF LEARNING DAY - NO SCHOOL SPIRITWEAR ORDERING DEADLINE HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW GR. 5 PARENTS @ COLLINS SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES PTA MEETING - GLC DIRECT DONATION CONTEST DEADLINE REFLECTION ART CONTEST DEADLINE C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING - DISTRICT OFFICE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR - GLC SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING BOOK FAIR FALL SOCIAL RED RIBBON WEEK

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

9/15 9/15 9/21 9/22 9/23 9/30 10/3 & 10/10 10/6-10/14 10/6 10/7 10/7 10/11 10/17-10/21 10/19 10/20 10/20 10/24-10/28

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!

Back to School Night

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Please note that our Back to School Night will be on September 8 not September 15. Please remember that this event is for parents only. It is not a time to discuss your childs progress with his/her teacher, but rather to learn about the events and curriculum for the year. 6:45-7:30 parents of grades 3-5 students, in classrooms 7:30-7:45 parents assemble in GLC for Principals Message 7:45-8:30 parents of grades K-2 students, in classrooms

Drop Off and Pick Up Times

Please remember that students are not to arrive at Garden Gate before 7:45 a.m. each morning. We do not have adult supervision available until that time. Also, please remember to pick up your students promptly at their dismissal times, either 2:05 p.m. for primary grades or 2:35 p.m. for upper grades. Pay particular attention to Tuesdays when the dismissal time for all students is 1:30 p.m. Again, there isnt supervision available for students who are not part of an afternoon program at school. We are not equipped to babysit children. If you need childcare you can contact our on campus Child Development Center, (408) 725-0269, or make other arrangements for your child. Also, please remember primary students are never, ever supposed to wait alone for an upper grade sibling to be dismissed. Students need to have adult supervision at all times. It is not safe, even for hour, to leave your child unattended. Students must be picked up immediately at dismissal time and are to go directly home unless they are in a supervised after school program. Primary students (grades K-3) may not remain at school unsupervised while waiting for an older sibling. Parents with students waiting for older siblings must wait in the courtyard area between kindergarten rooms 1 and 2 and the caf window. Please do not allow your children to play on any playground equipment while waiting for the 2:35 p.m. dismissal. Children are not to play on the playground equipment after school hours. By now, youve noticed that our parking lot has been repainted and we will soon have new signs. We have been working closely with the Sheriffs Department to create a smoother running system and welcome parent volunteers! Some notes about the new lot: The lot works much like the drop-off or pick-up at the airport. The curbside is for loading and unloading only, and the cars must move through as quickly as possible. The lane between the curbside lane and parking spaces is the pass through lane. Drivers should complete drop-off/pick-up along the curb, and then pull into the pass through lane to move around the curbside vehicles and exit the lot. When dropping off or picking up at the curb, be sure to pull as far forward as possible, so that cars behind you can enter the lot. Drop off or pick up students from the curb only do not allow your children to walk across the lot in front of other cars. The curb area is for loading and unloading only. Drivers may not park cars along the curb.

In the Morning

Please do not wait with your child by the classroom door, unless you are a kindergarten parent. All other students (Grades 1 5) are instructed to drop their backpacks off by the classroom door and wait on the blacktop at the back of the school for the 7:55a.m. bell to ring. Then, the students may line up by the classroom door.

Lunches

If your children buy hot lunch, please make sure they have money in their account. Try to pre-pay as many lunches as you can. You can do it on-line (www.paypams.com), by calling 1-888-994-5100, or by using the blue envelope for cash or checks. If your children bring lunch, please make sure the lunch is marked with the students name and room number. If your child has forgotten his/her lunch, you may drop it off at the school office and we will ask a student helper to deliver it to your childs classroom. You must have the lunch in the office by 11:00a.m. in order to ensure its delivery. Please use this student lunch delivery in emergencies only we cannot be responsible for safe delivery of your childs lunch on a regular basis.

A good rule of thumb: When in doubt, read the instructions! In this case, that would be the Garden Gate Parent Handbook, which all of you have received.

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

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HelloGatorFamilies, Iwouldliketoinviteyoutoattendour7irstPTAmeetingoftheschoolyeartonight, Thursday,September1stat7:15p.m.intheGLC. ForthosewhoarenotfamiliarwithourPTAmeetings,hereissomebasicinformation: Anyoneandeveryoneiswelcometoattend;youdonothavetobea memberofthePTA. Themeetingsarefree! Theyareapproximatelysixtytoninetyminutesinlength. TheagendaispostedinthePTAwindowatthecorneroftheschoolof7ice duringtheweekofthemeeting. Youwillhearimportantandtimelyinformationregardingwhatishappening atGardenGateSchool. MemberscanvoteonPTAissuesandthebudget.Iurgeandencourageyou tojoinoureffortsandbecomepartofthePTA. Anyonecanmakesuggestions,bringupissuesandaskquestionsatthe meetings. Themeetingsareheldinanopenandwelcomingenvironment. Tonightwewill: HearfromourPrincipal,Ms.Hucko VoteontheannualPTAbudget. Haveaspecialguestspeaker,LindaSilviuswhowillspeaktousaboutour wonderfulprogramofProjectCornerstone. ReceiveupdatedinformationregardingourDirectDonationDrive, Re7lectionsArtProgram,SafetyNightandmuchmore.Pleaseseetheagenda foradditionaldetails.

Hopetoseeyoutonight! AzmehMalik,GardenGatePTAPresident

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

GATORAID!
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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.

SCRIP AND eScrip

HEALTH/ENROLLMENT AND DISASTER CARDS Please remember to send in your Health/Enrollment card and Disaster card to your childs teacher if you havent already done so. Thank You! 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 or call 1-888-994-5100. 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 or phone site can also be used by parents to check account balances. If parents choose not to pay on-line or by phone, 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 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 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. Carolyn Young, Scrip

ABSENCES AND TARDIES

Attendance and punctuality are important in establishing good behaviors and building responsibility in young children. Please ensure that your child is at school everyday and that they arrive on time. If your child will be absent, please call the attendance line promptly (252-5414, ext. 6). If your child arrives after 8:00 a.m. they must report to the school office for a late slip before entering the classroom. Under state law, three unexcused absences or tardies may be considered truancy.

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

GATORAID!
DISTRICT NEWS SECTION

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WHOLE FOODS GROCERY DAYS

Turn your grocery purchases into dollars for Great Schools! Shop at Whole Foods Cupertino - 20955 Stevens Creek Blvd. Thursday, September 15, 2011 8 a.m. 10 p.m. Stock your pantry and freezer or grab lunch or dinner to go! 5% of net sales all day will benefit all CUSD students. Look for upcoming Great Schools Grocery Days at www.ceefcares.org! Organized by the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation (CEEF) A Community Partner for Excellence in Local Education.

HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW

Children need to acquire accurate information about the growth and development of boys and girls so that they can make responsible decisions. In keeping with this concept, the Cupertino Union School District promotes informed, responsible action through instruction, which supports the home in this important area of human behavior. Parents will be provided an opportunity to preview a sampling of the Grade 5 Human Growth and Development videos that will be shown to your children. The previews are scheduled for two nights Monday, October 3 or Monday, October 10, 6:00 7:30 p.m. at Collins Elementary School Guided Learning Center, 10300 N. Blaney Avenue, Cupertino. Children are not recommended to attend no childcare provisions are available.

CELDT TESTING INFORMATION

The Cupertino Union School District will administer the CELDT (California English Language Development Test) through October 28, 2011. Based on your childs CELDT scores from last year, if their proficiency is limited, withdrawn or transitional, your child will be included in the annual CELDT test at their school. A letter will be sent home with your child prior to the testing date at your school. The initial CELDT will be given to kindergarten students whose primary language on the Home Language Survey is a language other than English. The test consists of four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students in grades K8 are tested in all four areas. You will receive the official results after January 2012. If you have any questions, please contact your school office.

District Calendar 2011-2012

September 5, 2011 September 23, 2011 October 31, 2011 November 11, 2011 November 21-25, 2011 December 19-30, 2011 January 3, 2012 January 16, 2012 February 20-24, 2012 March 19, 2012 April 16-20, 2012 May 25, 2012 May 28, 2012 June 12, 2012 Labor Day Staff Learning Day Staff Learning Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Recess Winter Recess Students Return Martin Luther King Day Mid-Year Recess Staff Learning Day Spring Recess Staff Learning Day Memorial Day Last Day of School

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