GATORAID

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

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
OCTOBER 15, 2009
10/16 3:00-5:00 p.m. FALL CELEBRATION - FIELD
10/19-10/23 RED RIBBON WEEK
10/20 8:00-9:30 a.m. PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM
10/21 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
10/22 7:00-8:00 p.m. BOY SCOUT RECRUITMENT - KINDERGARTEN BENCHES
10/26 STAFF LEARNING DAY - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
10/27 8:00-9:30 a.m. PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM
10/27 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM
10/30 8:15 a.m. HALLOWEEN PARADE
11/3 8:00-9:30 a.m. PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM
11/4 STUDENT PICTURES - GLC
11/5 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING
11/10 8:00-9:30 a.m. PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM
11/10 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM
11/11 VETERANS DAY - NO SCHOOL
11/13 FIRST TRIMESTER ENDS
11/16 SECOND TRIMESTER BEGINS
11/18 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
11/20 SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “TWINS”
11/25-27 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: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....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 vinuthaps@gmail.com 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 ramyarathinavalli@yahoo.co.in 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.
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
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!
 GATORAID! DISTRICT NEWS SECTION PAGE 5
CUSD BUDGET UPDATE MEETINGS
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