GATORAID

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

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
9/8 6:45 p.m. 7:30-7:45 p.m. 7:45-8:30 p.m. 8:15-10:00 a.m. 7:30-8:30 p.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. 6:00 p.m. 8:15 a.m. 3:00-5:00 p.m. 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 SCIENCE CAMP GR. 5 PARENT INFORMATION MTG. - GLC 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 C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PICTURES HALLOWEEN PARADE FALL CELEBRATION - GARDEN GATE FIELD

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

9/15 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 10/25 10/26 10/28 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!

Dear Parents,

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It's difficult to believe we've been in school for three weeks and our Back to School Night is already here! The classrooms look amazing. The decorations are colorful and welcoming, and each day I see more and more student work up on the walls. The students are eager to have you visit their classrooms and the teachers are excited to share with you their plans for your children. Please join us for this parent-only event: 6:45-7:30 Grades 3-5 in classrooms 7:30-7:45 Principal's Welcome in GLC (for all parents and staff) 7:45-8:30 Grades K-2 in classrooms Im looking forward to seeing you tonight! Dismissal Time All children must be picked up immediately after dismissal time and are to go directly home unless they are in an 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 the cafe window and Rooms 1 and 2, or at the picnic tables under the shade structure. Students may not play on the playground equipment after school. This policy can be found in our Parent Handbook, on page 11. Thank you for your cooperation. Bonding with Your Child's Teacher Your child's teacher will be a very important person in his life this year. So it's a good idea for the two of you to build a strong bond. That way, you can work together, share information and head off trouble before it ever starts. Make sure you: 1. Attend Back-To-School Night. While this isn't the time or place for a long one-on-one talk, it will help each of you put a name with a face. 2. Share information. There may be things you want the teacher to know. Changes at home (even the birth of a baby) can affect children. So write a note, send an email or ask if the teacher can call you to talk. The more she/he understands about your child, the more she/he will be able to help. 3. Let your child know you respect his teacher. Your attitude will affect your child's behavior in class. Reprinted with permission from the September 2011 issue of Parents make the difference! (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright 2011 The Parent Institute, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: L. Calkins, Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent's Guide, Addison-Wesley, a Pearson Education imprint. Propellers Do you wish to have a stronger connection with your child? 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: What is a quality that makes you a good friend?

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

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Hello Gator Families, The Reflections Contest is Kicking Off! Last year we had an amazing 13 winners from Garden Gate at the district level! This year the contest theme is Diversity means To get more information about this contest you can visit the PTA website or if you have any questions, please contact Mahalakshmi Rameshbabu at mahaaramesh@yahoo.com. The deadline to submit entries is Friday, October 7th. Entries can be turned in beginning October 3rd in the school office. The PTAs mission is to enrich the students academic and non-academic environment. The PTA sponsors (partially or fully) many school programs and grants such as; Music Instruction for grades K-3, Library Media Clerk, School Technology Media Clerk, an Instructional Aide for Kindergarten and upper grades, the Spectra Art Program, Teacher Grants, Math Night, Science Night, Art Night, Literacy Night, Safety Night, Discovery Day, Book Fairs, Fall Celebration, Project Cornerstone and much more. We cannot do any of the above mentioned activities without YOUR HELP. How can we continue doing all this? We NEED: Donations The Direct Donation Drive which is presently in progress, is our main effort to raise the money that enables us to keep these programs going. Please return the orange envelope with your donation today! Volunteers The PTA members are mainly parent volunteers who step up to help the school and our children. We ALWAYS need volunteers! If you can help in any way, please email me at azmeh_ahsan@yahoo.com. Each volunteer helps to make a difference! I look forward to and appreciate your help and participation. Please contact me with your questions, concerns or suggestions. Thank you. Azmeh Malik. Garden Gate PTA President.

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

GATORAID!
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 talent with our Garden Gate students. It is important for all of us to continue to keep our school a safe and healthy place. In order to assure our childrens health and wellbeing, 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), and/or a negitive X-Ray result. The Intradermal Mantoux PPD Skin Test is given at most medical clinics. LUNCH FROM HOME If your child forgot their lunch from home in the morning and you are bringing it to school, please place your childs name and room number directly on the lunch bag and place it in the lunch bin located in front of the office before 11:00 am. Student office helpers will deliver the lunch to your childs classroom. Please note: Parents are not permitted to sit at the lunch tables with their child. 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

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SPIRIT WEAR ORDERS! Friday, September 30 is your last opportunity to place your order for your 2011-2012 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. 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! VISITING CAMPUS All visitors, 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. DOCTOR AND DENTIST APPOINTMENTS The state of California allows medical/dental appointments as excused absences. Garden Gates policy for these must be accompanied by a medical note. Please 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

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? E-mail us at ggscrip.com or see us during scrip sales times. Carolyn Young, Scrip

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

GATORAID!
DISTRICT NEWS SECTION
Saturday September 10, 201

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SILICON VALLEY FALL FESTIVAL

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Memorial Park in Cupertino

Free Admission

This years Silicon Valley Fall Festival focuses on a celebration of the earth and the moon. The event is organized by the Rotary Club of Cupertino. Free Parking is available at De Anza College. Additional information is available at www.cupertino.org. Highlights this year include: Health & Safety Displays Going Green Exhibits Multi-Country Cultural Fair International Food Court

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.

WHOLE FOODS GROCERY DAYS

AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM The City of Cupertino and the Cupertino Union School District have collaborated the last 16 years on providing enriching after school classes for students throughout the Cupertino Union School District. The After School Enrichment program offers a variety of educational and recreational classes for your children no further than the classroom next door! The Fall 2011 brochure will be delivered to the schools the week of September 26, 2011. Registration will also begin Monday, September 26, 2011. In addition, there will be a brochure available online at www.cupertino.org and in the Quinlan Community Center front office located at 10185 North Stelling Road, Cupertino 95014. Classes for the Fall session will begin the week of October 17, 2011. For more information please call (408) 777-3120 or log on to www.cupertino.org. 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.

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