GATORAID

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

School Phone: 408-252-5414

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
NOVEMBER 15, 2012
11/16 SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - GATOR DAY

11/19-23
11/30 12/6 12/19 12/20 12/21 12/21 12/21 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

THANKSGIVING RECESS - NO SCHOOL

REPORT CARDS GO HOME PTA MEETING H.E.A.S.T. PERFORMANCE - GLC NO SCOOL SPIRIT BAND SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - PAJAMA DAY HOLIDAY CLASS PARTIES NO SCOOL SPIRIT BAND

12/24 - 1/4 1/7

WINTER RECESS - NO SCHOOL STUDENTS RETURN

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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Dear Garden Gate Parents,

A Successful Code Red Drill
On Wednesday, November 7 the Garden Gate students, staff, and volunteers participated in our annual Code Red Drill. Its critical that we all know what to do in the event that an armed intruder enters our campus. Our staff efficiently and competently led the way in practicing how to keep everyone safe as they secured classrooms and other meeting spaces. Three deputies from the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department canvassed the campus with Mrs. Wolf (Programs Coordinator), Mr. Wright (Assistant Principal) and myself. We attempted to enter secured rooms, but thanks to the hard work of our staff, even with a key we couldnt get in! Way to go, Gators!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As a reminder, there is no school November 19 through November 23, in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope youll find time to relax with friends and family, laugh, read, play whatever it is you love to do. Celebrate and be grateful!

Five Fun Activities to Schedule with Your Child This Month

Fun makes family memories. And many of the most enjoyable ways to spend time with your child don't take a lot of planning-or cost much money. Here are five fun things you and your child can try this month: Prepare favorite family food. Help your child learn more about your heritage by preparing a traditional food. Try a new vegetable. The next time you're at the store, have your child choose a new vegetable she's never eaten. Prepare it together. Talk to a relative about family history. Help your child develop a set of questions so she can learn more about her heritage. Give back. Find one volunteer activity you and your child can do together. Even if you just have an hour to give, your child makes you a "force multiplier." Together, you can get more accomplished. Pretend you're a tourist. What's one place you'd take a visitor to see in your town? Go there with your child. Reprinted with permission from the November 2012 issue of Parents make the difference! (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright 2012 The Parent Institute, a division of NIS, Inc.

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: Have you made any specific plans for your future? What does your future look like?

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

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

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Hello Everyone!
Last Monday, all classrooms that participated in the schools Direct Donation Drive, celebrated with a Popsicle Party. Garden Gates Direct Donation Drive is the PTAs main fundraising event every year. Thank you to all of the parents who helped their children participate by returning their orange envelopes (especially if they contained your donations)! This year, twenty six classrooms attained full participation. Once again, I want to thank Aravinda Chigati for her tireless efforts to run an amazing Direct Donation Drive!

Reflection Art Contest

Congratulations to all of the following winners and to all of the students who participated! Primary (KG, Gr.1 & 2) Literature Outstanding Interpretation Mahima Shettar Award of Excellence Shashank Rameshbabu Award of Merit Saimedha Bellala Photography Outstanding Interpretation Award of Excellence Award of Merit Honorable Mention Rubika Honu Satchidanantham Nikita Kamath Hailey R Chen Jannah Mansoor

Visual Arts Outstanding Interpretation Rucha Kulkarni Award of Excellence Akshara Ganesh Award of Merit Joy Hsieh Honorable Mention Medha Singamsetty No entries in Dance Choreography, Film Production and Musical Composition. Intermediate ( Gr.3, 4 & 5) Dance Choreography Honorable Mention Pavithra Ramakrishnan Honorable Mention Anisha Anthuvan Literature Outstanding Interpretation Award of Excellence Award of Merit Honorable Mention Meghana Muddireddy Avantika Varma Shivani Varma Safwan Mansoor

Musical Composition Outstanding Interpretation Gaurav Kamath Award of Excellence Nelson Mu Photography Outstanding Interpretation Varun Wadhwa Award of Excellence Shruthi Nemlekar Award of Merit Nikitha Ravi Honorable Mention Safwan D Mansoor Visual Arts Outstanding Interpretation Benjamin Tang Award of Excellence Neha Washikar Award of Merit Gaurav Kamath Honorable Mention Pavithra Ramakrishnan Honorable Mention Santosh Ravindrabharathy Honorable Mention 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125 Vinay (Abhi) Patil Garden Gate Elementary School No entries in Film Production. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Azmeh Malik, Garden Gate PTA President

GATORAID!
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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 with students in grades 1-5 are dismissed at 1:30. Please remember to pick up your children promptly. VISITING CAMPUS All visitors 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 exception is 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.

DISTRICT HEALTH GUIDELINES

It is important that our children follow good health practices at all times and be kept at home when they are ill. A child should not be in school when he or she is ill and is experiencing one or more of the following symptoms: Nausea or vomiting (must remain at home until free of symptoms for 24 hours). Diarrhea (must remain at home until free of symptoms for 24 hours). Severe headache. Continuous coughing or runny nose. Evidence of a communicable disease such as a rash, swelling or unusual sore throat. A temperature of 100 degrees or higher (must remain at home until he/she has a normal 98.6 degree temperature for 24 hours without the use of a fever reducer such as Tylenol). Conjunctivitis-pink eye. Undiagnosed rash (rashes need to be verified by your doctor that they are non-contagious; a note is needed). If a student is sent home from school for feeling ill, the child may not return that day. A doctors note for absences over seven (7) days is required. Thank you for your cooperation in helping to keep all children and staff healthy.

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 childs teacher at least two 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 school roster. When the student returns, if space is available at his or her school, the student will be reinstated with the presentation of a current lease, PG&E bill and two of the following: drivers license showing current address; bank statement or preprinted check; car registration or car insurance; payroll check. If no space is available, the student will be assigned to another school in the district where space is available.

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

GATORAID!
CEEF & TINY PRINTS TEAM UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS This Season Your Gift of Holiday Cards Benefits Our Great CUSD Schools!

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Are you sending holiday cards to friends and family this year? Want to help CEEF benefit educational excellence in our Cupertino Union School District? Thanks to a new partnership with Tiny Prints you can now order your holiday cards and benefit our great schools too: 13% of the proceeds from holiday card orders placed through the CEEF storefront will be donated to benefit CUSD schools. To place your order today go to: http://www.tinyprints.com/storefront/CEEF Organized by the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation (CEEF) A Community Partner for Excellence in Local Education The Board of Education just approved the 2013-2014 school year calendar during the board meeting held on October 23, 2012. The full calendar is available on the Districts website at www.cusdk8.org. Here are the important dates for the District and Murdock-Portal Elementary School for next year:

2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR

2013-2014 District Calendar (All schools

except Murdock-Portal)

2013-2014 Murdock-Portal Calendar

Students Return Labor Day October Break Veterans Day Observed Thanksgiving Recess Winter Recess Martin Luther King Day Mid-Year Recess Spring Recess Memorial Day Last Day of School

August 19, 2013 September 2, 2013 (Murdock-Portal only) November 11, 2013 November 25-29, 2013 Dec. 23, 2013Jan. 3, 2014 January 20, 2014 February 17-21, 2014 April 14-18, 2014 May 26, 2014 June 11, 2014

August 12, 2013 September 2, 2013 October 7-18, 2013 November 11, 2013 November 25-29, 2013 Dec. 23, 2013Jan. 3, 2014 January 20, 2014 February 17-21, 2014 April 7-18, 2014 May 26, 2014 June 25, 2014

The Cupertino Union School District is constantly striving to streamline and improve our communication with our parent community. As such, starting in November 2012, all elementary schools will be transitioning to an every other week newsletter schedule. Please be aware that the District will also be implementing several new communication tools to keep you better informed and engaged at your school site. You will start receiving periodic emails regarding specific news items and phone messages from the school site regarding timely items or emergency information. These communication tools will not only save staff time, but will prevent you from receiving the same information over and over again. Many of our Middle Schools migrated to a monthly newsletter format several years ago and this schedule has worked well. Given the fact that the amount of parent involvement at the elementary school site is higher than middle school, the every other week newsletter schedule seems to fit better. Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125

ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER SCHEDULE