GATORAID

FAX 408-996-9725

School Phone: 408-252-5414 ~ Absence Line 408-252-5414-6 ~

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
MARCH 14, 2013
3/14 3/16 3/20 3/22 3/22 3/26 3/27 3/28 3/28 4/3 4/4 4/5 4/8-4/12 4/10 4/11 4/15-19 4/25 4/26 4/26 4/29-5/10 6:15 p.m. 7:10 p.m. 7:30 a.m. 3:45 p.m. 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:15 p.m. 3:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. FAMILY SCIENCE NT. - ADVENTURES WITH CHEMISTRY - LAST NAMES A-O FAMILY SCIENCE NT. - LAST NAMES P-Z GR. 3 - FISHING IN THE CITY SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING SCHOOL SPIRIT - BACKWARDS DAY REPORT CARDS GO HOME DISCOVERY DAY HAPPILY EVER AFTER SCHOOL THEATER PERFORMANCE MILLER MIDDLE SCHOOL INCOMING 6TH GR. PARENTS (ONLY) NIGHT GR. 4 MUSIC PERFORMANCE - GLC YEARBOOK ORDERING DEADLINE PTA MEETING WALK- A-ROUND EVENT GRADE 5 TO MARIN HEADLANDS - SCIENCE CAMP SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING KINDERGARTEN MUSIC PERFORMANCE - GLC NO SCHOOL - SPRING RECESS PROJECT CORNERSTONE RECOGNITION EVENING WALK-A-ROUND PLEDGE DEADLINE SCHOOL SPIRIT- COLOR DAY - COLORS DETERMINED BY GRADE LEVEL STAR TESTING

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!

Odyssey of the Mind - Gators Go To The State Tournament!
You may remember that an opportunity for students to participate in the Odyssey of the Mind was advertised in the October 25, 2012 Gatoraid. I am pleased to announce that three teams represented Garden Gate Elementary School at the Regional Tournament on March 2, 2013: Two Primary teams (Non-competitive) and one Division 1 (Competitive) team, "Blazing Minds". Congratulations to all teams! Blazing Minds has secured Third Place in the Regional Tournament for Problem 1 (Pet Project) and is moving on to the State Tournament to be held on March 23, 2013 in Brentwood. Best of luck to the Blazing Minds! As a state finalist, this team will represent not only their school and their school district but also other teams from the Silicon Valley region.

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The Following is the list of names of the team members from the Blazing Minds: Sanjana (2nd grade), Aditya (3rd grade), SreeKrishna (2nd grade), Riya (3rd grade), Loukya (2nd grade), Nandana (2nd grade), and Satvik (2nd grade). Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from Kindergarten through College. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and world level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program. Special thanks to Garden Gate parent, Ipsita Chowdhury, for coordinating this voluntary program.

Remain Positive When Talking With Your Child About Grades

The report card came home--and it was disappointing. You know your child has the ability to do well. Her teachers have told you that every year. But she doesn't work up to her potential. What's a parent to do? The most important thing to remember is to keep your emotions in check. Getting angry or showing your disappointment just won't work--or help. Instead, you want to find a way to encourage your child to do the best she can do. After you have had time to "digest" your child's report card: Ask your child to talk about her grades. What does she think is going on? Does she do her class work in school? Is she turning in homework? Are there things she can do differently? Talk with her teacher. Ask her if she has noticed any issues at school. Discuss ways you can work together to support your child. Set up a time each day when your child will do her homework. During that time, the TV will be off and the computer will be used only for studying. Set a timer for 20 minutes and let her take a short break before getting back to work. Offer support. Provide help if it's absolutely necessary. But don't do your child's homework for her. Let your child take responsibility for completing her work. It's the only way she will get the practice she needs to succeed in school and in life.
Reprinted with permission from the March 2013 issue of Parents make the difference! (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright 2013 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: In what areas could young people take more responsibility in their communities? Brandi Hucko Principal, Garden Gate Elementary 408-252-5414 Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125

PTA CORNER

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

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HELLO GARDEN GATE FAMILIES,

FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHT IS TONIGHT!

Tonights Family Science Night is from 6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and the theme is "Adventures with Chemistry." This event will be presented by the Childrens Discovery Museum. The program will have two sessions and attendance is determined by the students last name. Families whose last name begins with A-O will attend Session 1 from 6:15-7:00 p.m. and families with last names that begin with P-Z will attend Session 2 from 7:10-7:55 p.m. See you there! HONORARY SERVICE AWARDS - YOUR NOMINATIONS ARE NEEDED! The Honorary Service Awards are given to individuals in recognition of their outstanding service and dedication to children and youth. Please let us know who you would like to nominate, so that we can recognize and honor the efforts and hard work of our valuable volunteers. You can find a nomination form in the school office.

DISCOVERY DAY!

Calling all Garden Gators to get ready for Discovery Day, which will be held on Tuesday March 26th, 2013 from 8:0011:15 a.m. This event encourages people from our community to share their work and hobbies with students. It is an enlightening, informative, and very inspiring event! Our students love to learn about the important work that our community members do and how they contribute to the society we live in. If you would like to share your profession or hobby with the students, please email me at: azmeh_ahsan@yahoo.com. Please do keep in mind that we invite several guest speakers from outside the Garden Gate community as well, and we strive to arrange for students to have a variety of topics to learn about. I look forward to hearing from you!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SERVE ON THE PTA BOARD OR COMMITTEES?

The Garden Gate PTA Nominating Committee is actively searching for interested parents who would like to help the school by serving on next years (2013-14) PTA Board and Committees. We need motivated and energetic parents who are looking to find ways to support the school and make a difference by helping out with PTA activities. Please contact Angelia Kan at angeliakan@gmail.com or Cheryl McGraw at McGraw_Cheryl@cusdk8.org for details.

REMINDER: COLLECT BOX TOPS & BUY SCRIP FOR A NEW PLAYGROUND STRUCTURE!

Please remember to collect Box Tops for a new playground structure for our school and turn them in at the office. We will be continuing to collect Box Tops until the end of the school year. Another way to help us raise money is to purchase Scrip from the PTA SCRIP table. The Scrip system is a unique way to support the PTA. We have an assortment of gift cards and gift certificates available, which returns a certain percentage of the cost back to the PTA. Lets work together to make this happen!

PLEASE SIGN-UP TO VOLUNTEER

We need all Garden Gate volunteers to sign-up to help. Garden Gate School and the PTA need your help in various ways and capacities. By signing up, you can choose when and how you volunteer. This will help us to plan ahead and to be sure we will have help available when it is needed. Please take a few minutes to fill the online form at the link below and help us build an efficient volunteer database. Thank you in advance! Have a wonderful St. Patricks Day weekend! Azmeh Malik Garden Gate PTA President Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125

GATORAID!
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ALLERGY SEASON HAS BEGUN Spring is here and students are reacting with swollen eyes and other allergy symptoms. Red irritated eyes are often the sign of pink eye which is a contagious disease. When students come to the office complaining of sore eyes, there is nothing we can do to alleviate the pain other than provide a cold compress. We cannot diagnose the problem as either an allergy or pink eye a doctor must do this. If a prescribed or over-the-counter medicine is needed and is to be administered at school, the office must have a parent and doctor complete our blue medical form on file before any medication can be given. These forms are available in the school office. Students may not bring any medicine to school in their backpacks. All medications need to be in the original packaging with the pharmaceutical label. All medicine is kept in the school office. TRUANCY AND WHAT IT MEANS Compulsory attendance is the law in California from age six until the age of eighteen (Education Code: 482600). A student who has three unexcused absences or three tardies of more than 30 minutes or any combination thereof, without a valid excuse is considered legally truant. A student who has six unexcused absences or six tardies or absences of more than 30 minutes, or any combination thereof, is considered habitually truant and will be referred for further action. How Does Truancy Impact Students? Students suffer academic setbacks when frequent absences occur. If tardy by even a few minutes, students start their day behind other students who have had a chance to organize and are focused on instruction. Students in school on a regular basis and on time do significantly better in school. Studies have shown that students struggling in high school developed patterns of absenteeism in elementary school. These are just four items out of a long list of issues that negatively impact children when they are absent or tardy. Simply getting to school on time is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. It teaches responsibility and punctuality; qualities every profession values. Lets make every effort to have our children in their seats when the school day begins at 8:00 a.m.

PARENT SURVEY BEGINS TODAY Garden Gate wants to know how you feel about the school and the education your child is receiving. Take the quick online Parent Survey beginning today, Thursday, March 14. You will help us make Garden Gate even better. As an added bonus, your child can get a colorful mechanical pencil. Just print out the last page of the survey and have your child bring it to class. Or you can take a screen shot of the last page and email it to your childs teacher. If you dont have access to a computer, paper copies of the survey are available in the office. (The survey closes on March 28.) Access the survey at http://tinyurl.com/psurvey2013

REMINDERS:

For the protection of students, please remember that students are not to be on the 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.

PARKING LOT

Please remember to slow down and use extra caution when driving your students to and from school in the morning and allow plenty of time. When you are dropping off your children, please have their backpacks, lunch, and other belongings in the car, not in the trunk. This will help expedite traffic flow during the morning. Remember to pull your car up to the furthest available position. Thank you!

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

GATORAID!

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2013 BOOKS FOR A BETTER FUTURE CAMPAIGN For the past 18 months the Cupertino Union School District has been working hard to plan for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS is a nation-wide effort to ensure that all of our students have the skills necessary to succeed in a global economy. In order to implement these new standards effectively beginning in Fall 2014, the District is in immediate need of additional non-fiction materials in all of our schools. To support this implementation, the District has asked the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation (CEEF) to raise funds for these important informational texts. In partnership with CUSD, CEEF launched the 2013 Books for a Better Future Campaign at its annual Gala on March 9th. The goal of this campaign is to provide all schools with full classroom sets for every grade level, small group reading sets for every grade level, and readaloud texts for the primary grade levels. This 10-week campaign will run through CEEFs annual Golf Tournament, to be held this year at the Golf Club of Boulder Ridge on June 3rd. CEEF and CUSD are pleased to announce that supporters at the Gala contributed $20,000 to support this campaign! We are also thrilled to announce that CEEF generously matched these dollars to launch the campaign with an impressive start of $40,000 towards our $150,000 goal!

For further information about how to donate or how to get involved with the 2013 Books for a Better Future Campaign, please visit www.ceefcares.org/greatschools.

HEALTHY FAMILIES/MEDI-CAL INFORMATION

Need Insurance Coverage? Did you know that thousands of children in California are without health insurance? Did you know countless school hours are lost due to dental pain, vision problems and illnesses that could be prevented or treated? There are no-cost or lowcost insurance coverage programs available for you and your child. You can give your child a better chance to learn. Our school district has always known what experts are just now realizing that there is a direct link between childrens health and school success! For more Medi-Cal/Healthy Families information, call toll-free 1-888-747-1222 or come by your school office for details.

DISTRICT CALENDAR 2012-2013 (ALL SCHOOLS EXCEPT MURDOCK-PORTAL)

April 15-19, 2013 May 24, 2013 May 27, 2013 June 12, 2013 Spring Recess Staff Learning Day - No School Memorial Day Last Day of School

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