GATORAID

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

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
April 8, 2010

4/9 GRADE 5 RETURNS FROM MARIN HEADLANDS SCIENCE SCHOOL

4/12-16 SPRING RECESS
4/20 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM
4/21 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MTG.
4/23 WALK-A-ROUND EVENT
4/26-5/7 STAR TESTING
5/1 SAT. 8:30 a.m.-6:45 p.m. S’COOL SPIRIT BAND - MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL & GREAT AMERICA
5/4 6:30 p.m. KINDERGARTEN (RMS. #2 & 7) MUSIC PERFORMANCE - GLC
5/4 7:15 p.m. KINDERGARTEN ( RMS. #1 & 6) MUSIC PERFORMANCE - GLC
5/6 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING
5/7 WALK-A-ROUND DONATIONS DUE
5/11 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG - COLLINS SCHOOL
5/12 7:00 p.m. S’COOL SPIRIT SPRING BAND CONCERT - GLC
5/13 6:30 p.m. GRADE 3 MUSIC PERFORMANCE - GLC
5/17-5/21 STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK
5/19 4:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
5/20 6:30 p.m. GRADE 2 MUSIC PERFORMANCE - GLC
5/27 7:00 p.m. OPEN HOUSE
5/28 STAFF LEARNING DAY - NO SCHOOL
5/31 MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY - NO SCHOOL

Parent Traffic Duty: April 19 - April 23 - 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

STUDENTS LEAVING EARLY - PARENT REQUESTS FOR PROMOTION TO THE NEXT GRADE
Some of our families are returning to their home countries before the end of the school year. A few
of the parents have been asking school staff to say their child has been “promoted” to the next grade
or “eligible” for the next grade level. Please note: We cannot say either unless the child is in school on May
20, 2010. Our district policy requires that students be in attendance on that day. Before that date, all we can
do is give a progress report. We appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

CONGRATULATIONS, GATORS! YOU RAISED $2,387.00 FOR THE “MAKE A WISH” FOUNDATION!
I am so proud of our students and staff! Our school-wide goal was to raise $2,000 for the “Make a Wish” Foundation
and we exceeded that. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your generosity! I am sure that the Garden Gate donation
will be used to grant the wishes of some children who are facing some very serious health issues. That puts a smile
on my face and, in the very near future, puts me in a chicken costume!

5TH GRADE OFF TO SCIENCE SCHOOL THIS WEEK (4/5-4/9) & NEXT WEEK EVERYONE OFF FOR
SPRING BREAK (4/12-4/16).
Our lucky fifth grade students are experiencing one of those milestones they will never forget – science school at
Marin Headlands. I visited on Tuesday. No matter how many times I go, the beauty of the place
always takes my breath away! If you’ve never visited the Marin Headlands, I would encourage a
day field trip for you and your family - possibly next week!

FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICIANS SHINE AT MATH OLYMPIAD TOURNAMENT!

Congratulations to the ten fifth grade students who represented Garden Gate at a Math Olympiad Tournament held at
Baker School on Saturday, April 3rd.

Team 1: Deepika Sriram, Vivian Qian, Nelson Niu, Aditya Prabhaker, and Christopher Chang.
Team 2: Natalie Ohran, Dhanya Jayagopal, Alvin Jo, Stephen Liu, and Zachary Hsieh.

The competition combined an individual contest and a team competition with difficult problems. Our two teams
worked extremely well together during the team competition. Their proctors commented on their ability to discuss
solutions and listen to each other’s ideas. In a “sudden death” tiebreaker with another team, that ability earned
Team 1 a second place in the overall competition. All students received a medallion and the trophy is displayed in
the Garden Gate School office. Congratulations and many thanks go to our fifth grade teachers, especially Mariana
Alwell, for their support of our students!
PTA CORNER PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES ! PAGE 3

Hello Gators!

THE GARDEN GATE WALK-AROUND PLEDGE COLLECTION TIME!

Please assist your children as they gather pledges for the Walk-Around that will be taking place at Garden Gate on the
field on April 23rd, the Friday after spring break. So please get busy and collect those pledges now! The children can
either get a fixed pledge for one amount or they can get pledges on a per lap basis. We have a long list of awesome
raffle prizes and one Grand-Prize of an Xbox Elite that will go to the student who raised the highest amount. For the
raffle prizes, your child will receive one raffle ticket for each $5 they raised. After the money is collected, the raffle tickets
will be given out and the children will place their raffle tickets in the raffle boxes for a chance to win their favorite prize!
Last year we raised $16,000! This great community event involves the entire school community so we will need lots of
volunteers. If you haven’t signed up, please contact Merav Talmor at merav.talmor.gmail.com to help out. It’s great fun
for all participants, so please volunteer and join the fun!

TOWN HALL MEETING REPORT

About 100 parents attended the Town Hall Meeting last week. Mrs. Wood gave us the latest updates on what will happen
at Garden Gate with the budget cuts for next year. She, along with a large number of Garden Gate teachers, School Site
Council members, PTA members, and the “Their Future is Now” spokesperson, Melissa Neumann were there for this
important event. We all learned that seven Garden Gate teachers have already been given layoff notices and that an
unknown number may have to move to other schools if the $3 million fund raising effort fails. If you want to learn more
about “Their Future Is Now”, please follow this link: http://www.savecupertinoschools.org/ At the PTA meeting, following
the Town Hall Meeting, the PTA voted to officially support the “Their Future Is Now” fund raising effort. We also voted in
the new Executive Board for next year and affirmed most of the committee seats.

OPEN PTA COMMITTEE CHAIR POSITIONS

We still have some key positions that need to be filled for next year:
“Welcome Back” Staff Lunch:
You would be responsible to arrange a pizza lunch for the teachers the day before school starts. This is a fun and easy
way to kick off the school year. It takes about 6 hours in total time and would include ordering pizza, setting the tables,
and clean-up. In the past, one volunteer took on this task, but it might be more fun with two people sharing the
responsibilities and working together. So talk to a friend and volunteer! You’ll be one of the first parents to talk to the
teachers next year.

Spirit-wear Chair: (Garden Gate T-shirts and Sweatshirts):

You will begin this effort in July to be ready to show the PTA the choices at the August PTA meeting. You will order
samples to display on the first day of school and possibly one or two other times early in the school year. You will
coordinate the orders with the T-Shirt vendor. In November, you and a couple of volunteers will sort the Spirit Wear by
classroom for the teachers to pickup and distribute to the kids. Call Kathleen at (408) 343-1232 for more details for both
of these volunteer positions!

Have a wonderful Spring Break!

Kathleen McCulloch
Garden Gate PTA President

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
 GATORAID
- 2010 CUSD SUMMER SCHOOL
REDUCE, REUSE, REPURPOSE, RECYCLE
TING TRA INING FOR
GOING”GREEN” DUPLICA
ALL PARENT VOLUNTEERS
will
Along with our Gator’s, the staff and community
to reduc e
be practicing “Going Green” - a decision
and to obtain a stron g
our carbon footprint of paper,
ing, and repur posin g our
footing of recycling, re-us
resources.
As of April 9, 2010 anyone using the
productivity room will be required to
attend a productivity room training.
This training will include new “Green” procedures
, ALLERGY SEASON HAS STARTED
and also
nuances of the copy machine, ditto machine,
the bookbinder. In order to use the copie r and
training.
productivity room, you must participate in the
recei ve a “Trai ned Volun teer”
Once trained, you will
you will be listed on the traine d “Gree n
button and
Gator” list.
The next training opportunity will be held in the
12:45 to
productivity room Friday, April 9th, 2010 from
meet other s
2:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to
and to help our school. See you at the “Gree n”
productivity training!
PARENT SURVEY
Have you taken our parent survey this week?
It is simple to do. Go to (http://
www.surveymonkey.com/s/
2010ggparentsurvey. Click on Parent Survey
and begin answering the questions. The
survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete.
You can take it on your home computer or use
the school computer lab from 7:30-8:00 a.m., 11:50
a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:30-3:00 p.m. Hard copies of the
survey are also available in the school office. Make sure to
take the survey and return the last page so your child can
get a special “gator” pencil!
GATE
The Cupertino Union School District continues to face
major budget cuts from the state. As a result, there will be
no available GATE funds distributed to schools from the
district beginning next year (2010-2011 school year). This
also means that all testing to identify GATE students is
canceled this year.
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
PAGE 4
The Cupertino Union School District continues to face
major budget cuts from the state. As a result, there will
be no available funds to implement the district’s sum-
mer school program. Starting this year (2009-2010),
there will be no summer school for regular education,
CLIP, or ELD. Special Education summer school is not
affected and will be available for students currently
identified and enrolled in Cupertino Union School District
Special Day Classes (SDC) whose IEP include summer
school. Registration forms for the SDC summer school will
be available from the SDC teachers beginning April 20.
The flowers are blooming, trees are budding 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 blue
medical form completed by the doctor 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.
DON’T LOSE YOUR PLACE AT GARDEN GATE
We have noticed that many families are starting to make
travel plans for the summer break. This is just a reminder
that CUSD policy states that all students must be in class
on the last day of school. Students risk losing their
placement at Garden Gate School for the 2010/2011 school
year if they are not present on the last day of school, June
10th. Students must also be present on the first day of the
2010/2011 school year, August 19th, 2010.
STUDENT LUNCHES FROM HOME - PLEASE
READ
Parents: If you are sending bag lunches from home,
please remember to add a napkin, straw and eating
utensils for your child. The Cafeteria Assistant is unable to
provide spork packets (eating utensils) free of charge to
children who bring bag lunches from home or to teachers
for art projects. The school spork packets are provided
only to children who purchase their lunch at school. Thank
you.
 DISTRICT NEWS SECTION
GATORAID!
“THEIR FUTURE IS NOW!” FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN PAGE 5
Their Future Is Now! has raised over $650,000 in our second week!
Go to an Info Session -- Attend an upcoming Their Future Is Now! information session at your school. If you cannot attend
the session at your school, check www.CEEFcares.org for a listing of info sessions available throughout the district. Together,
we will keep our schools great! Join the solution today at www.CEEFcares.org.

2010 CEEF BENEFIT GOLF TOURNAMENT SAVE THE DATE! HELP OUR SCHOOL!
Monday, June 21, 2010 11:00 a.m. Shotgun Start Stanford Golf Course
Save the date now for CEEF’s 24th Annual Golf Tournament on Monday, June 21, 2010, at Stanford Golf Course. The
tournament will provide funds toward CEEF’s Arts & Technology Matching Grant program that benefits every district school.

DE ANZA COLLEGE SUMMER EXTENDED YEAR PROGRAM 2010

De Anza College in partnership with the Cupertino Union School District will offer the Extended Year Program this summer,
mornings only, from June 21 to July 16, 2010.
Students entering grades 6 through 10:
Classes will be held at Kennedy and Miller Middle Schools, and will include: Java Programming, Geometry, Intro to Algebra,
LEGO Robotics, Speech and Debate, Fashion Design and many others.
Students entering grades 1 through 5:
Classes will be held at Eaton Elementary School, and will include: Pre-Algebra Prep, Writing: Paragraphs to Essays, Reading
Intensive, Mandarin Chinese, Math & Art, Mandarin, Journalism/Writing, and more! Program brochures will be sent home in
early March and will also be available at your school office. More information is available at www.extendedyear.deanza.edu.
Early registration is by mail only and will begin on March 8, 2010 and ends on May 21, 2010. There will also be walk-in
registration available from June 1 to June 8, 2010.

2010 STAR TESTING DATES

STAR Multiple Choice Testing for grades 2-8 will begin the week of April 26, 2010 and continues for two weeks. The STAR
Program is a state accountability measure that helps us assess how we are meeting the needs of our students. You can help
prepare your child for the test by ensuring your child goes to bed on time, eats a good breakfast, and leaves for school with a
positive attitude. Please do not schedule any family trips or doctor appointments during this time.

2009-2010 DISTRICT CALENDAR

April 12-16, 2010 Spring Recess
May 28, 2010 Staff Learning Day
May 31, 2010 Memorial Day
June 10, 2010 Last Day of School

2010-2011 DISTRICT CALENDAR

(All Schools Except Murdock-Portal)
August 16, 17 and 18, 2010 Teacher Work Days
August 19, 2010 Students Return
September 6, 2010 Labor Day
September 17, 2010 Staff Learning Day
October 25, 2010 Staff Learning Day
November 11, 2010 Veteran’s Day
November 12, 2010 CEA Non-Duty Day
November 24, 25 and 26, 2010 Thanksgiving Recess
December 20-31, 2010 Winter Recess
January 17, 2011 Martin Luther King Day
February 21-25, 2011 Mid-Year Recess
March 14, 2011 Staff Learning Day
April 18-22, 2011 Spring Recess
May 27, 2011 Staff Learning Day
May 30, 2011 Memorial Day
June 10, 2011 Last Day of School

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014