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

GATORAIDBoard of Education

Superintendent: Phil Quon

Board Members: Anjali Kausar Ben Liao,

Josephine Lucey, Gary McCue,

Phyllis Vogel

GARDEN GATE ELEMENTARY

CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

10500 ANN ARBOR AVENUE

CUPERTINO, CA 95014

Nancy Wood- Principal

Kathleen McCulloch - PTA President

Alicia Hancock-Shepard - SSC Chairperson

SCHOOL CALENDAR MARCH 4, 2010

3/4 6:00 p.m. CUPERTINO M.S. INCOMING 6TH GR. PARENT NIGHT3/4 6:00 p.m. STAND UP FOR SCHOOLS FORUM - LAWSON MIDDLE SCHOOL 3/5 SECOND TRIMESTER ENDS3/8 THIRD TRIMESTER BEGINS3/8-3/12 SPRING BOOK FAIR3/9 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM3/11 6:00 p.m. SPRING SOCIAL AND BOOK FAIR3/12 SCHOOL SPIRIT - “CAREER DAY”3/15 STAFF LEARNING DAY - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS3/17 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING3/19 REPORT CARDS3/23 8:00-11:35 a.m. INTERNATIONAL DAY3/23 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM3/25 7:00 p.m. MUSIC CONCERT - GR. 4, GLC3/25 6:30 p.m. LAWSON INCOMING 6TH GR. PARENT NIGHT

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.orgATTENDANCE: 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.

Parent Traffic Duty: March 8th - 12th Parents from Rm. #13

FROM OUR PRINCIPAL....MRS. WOOD! PAGE 2

MARCH 15TH LEARNING DAYJust a reminder that March 15th is a district learning day for staff. It is not a school day for students. On learning day our teachers will continue their focus on 21st century teaching and learning. Garden Gate teachers will collaborate with each other and members of the Stevens Creek staff. We are looking forward to working part of the day with Dr. Judith Fusco. Dr. Fusco is a research scientist in SRI International's Center for Technology in Learning.

STAND UP FOR SCHOOLS FORUM - THURSDAY, MARCH 4TH @ LAWSON SCHOOL (6:00-7:00 P.M.)You are invited to attend the Stand Up for Schools Forum if you would like an update on the budget issues that are facing CUSD, and how the community may be able to help our district during the state’s budget crisis.

FROM THE CALIFORNIA DISTINGUISHED SCHOOLS SITE VALIDATION REPORT ON GARDEN GATE SCHOOL:I am printing the additional comments from the validation report. You might enjoy reading them. If you would like to view the whole report, let me know.

If the Site Validation Team is recommending the school receive the Distinguished School Award, please describe one or two highlights of the validation visit."Although there were many memorable highlights for the visitation team, we were particularly impressed to hear students' descriptions of how they resolve conflicts on the playground and the strategies they've learned to diffuse bullying or teasing by peers. What was strikingly evident was the aura of calm on the campus and the high level of peacefulness among students in and out of classrooms. In addition to glowing comments about how much their teachers make learning fun, Garden Gate students describe their school as loving, caring, amazing and helpful! Teachers and students talk about what they've learned in their Cornerstone training and the lessons embedded in the Cornerstone books are topics for classroom, student-to-student, and parent-child conversations. At every phase of the school day, we saw evidence of this deep agreement and alignment of everyone’s experience. "Respectful" was consistently used and referred to as a Cornerstone word. Parents volunteer as ABC Readers, and as many have been trained in the goals and values of the developmental assets framework, the Cornerstone messaging is also shared at home and reinforced community-wide. "Warm fuzzies" and "cool pricklies" are part of everyone's vocabulary!"

Garden Gate's infusion of technology into the curriculum is a model practice that other schools would do well to emulate. Teachers are deeply committed to using technology to prepare students for their place in the outside world, and their delight in its myriad uses is contagious! From a base of strong district support and training at the outset of this practices’s development, to the school's innovative and ongoing TEAM Thursdays where subs regularly provide release time so that teachers can collaborate to develop technology-based lessons, the innovative use of technology makes learning exciting and relevant for children. From kindergarten onward, students skype, blog, use Google Docs, create wikkis and generate podcasts as part of daily lessons. They also use this same technology to post, share their goals and reflect on their progress toward them. That this remarkable, collaborative and strength-based culture is shared among students, staff and parents means that there is always rich support when new technologies are introduced in classroom. The scope and sequence of the students' technology skill acquisition is well described in an articulated set of technology benchmarks that are posted in the lab. Not surprisingly, students know these well, look forward to adding to their skills, and think their daily use of technology is one of the best things about their school. Amazing that 3rd graders are proficient in creating charts and graphs in Excel! These students have already made valuable linkages between their use of technology and their future work."TRY FAMILY MEETINGS TO TEACH RESPONSIBILITY, COMMUNICATION Now that your child is in elementary school, he's probably ready to participate in family meetings. Led properly, family meetings can teach your child about responsibility, communication, negotiation and cooperation. Here are some tips for your family meetings:Meet once every week or two. Since you're the parent, all final decisions will be yours. But be open to your child's views and let him request meetings when he wants to discuss important issues.

• Make an agenda. Each family member may bring one problem to the table. Make a list of topics to be addressed. Leave time for each concern, although the meeting should take less than an hour.

• Put someone in charge. The meeting "chairperson" will probably be an adult, but some older children are mature enough for the job. The chairperson must stick to the agenda and give everyone a fair, uninterrupted say. This might not be easy!

• Take turns. After one person describes a problem, everyone else can explain how they feel about it. Brainstorm solutions, giving each person time to contribute. Choose an idea--or a combination of ideas--to try, with parents having the final say.

• Write down decisions. As each problem is solved, record the family's plan. Keep notes in a journal or post them as a reminder. Remember, however, that many solutions will need more work, and you can always revise them at the next meeting.

• Reprinted with permission from the March 2010 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2010 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D., 1-2-3 Magic, 3rd Edition, ISBN: 1-889140-16-3 (ParentMagic, Inc., www.parentmagic.com).

PTA CORNER PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES ! PAGE3

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

Hello Gators!

I hope you all enjoyed Math Night! Thank you to all the volunteer teachers and parents that took the time from their busy lives to help out for that very special event.

PTA MEETING WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3RD (NOT THURSDAY) 7:15 P.M. IN THE GLCThere is a push to try to raise $3 million district wide to save our teachers. We will be discussing this effort and voting to support it or not as a PTA. Please come to hear the details. At our last PTA meeting about 30 people attended, many for the first time. At the end of the meeting, I was told how happy they were that they had attended!

THE BOOK FAIR IS COMNG!Next week is our second and final Book Fair of the year with an Ice Cream Social on Thursday evening. We still need some volunteers to help staff the event, please contact Carolyn Young at csyoung26@yahoo.com if you can help even for an hour or two!

PTA Positions AvailableWe are still in need of people interested in various PTA positions for next year. Some positions are:

o Parliamentarian (Executive Board)o Family Events Chairperson (Executive Board)o Membership Chairpersono Scrip Saleso Book Fair Committee

Please check for descriptions of these positions on the PTA windows. Also you can review some of these positions on the PTA website at http://cupertino.ca.campusgrid.net/home/Links+to+our+Schools/Elementary+Schools

See you at the PTA meeting,Kathleen McCullochGarden Gate PTA President

GATORAID PAGE 4

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

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR THE SPRING BOOK FAIR

This year’s Spring Book Fair will take place Monday, March 8th to Friday, March 12th and will close on Friday after the lunch recess.

We still need many volunteers for Thursday evening, March 11th from 6:00–8:00 pm. To date, only 2 parents have signed up to volunteer. If we don’t get enough volunteers, the Book Fair WILL NOT be open Thursday evening.

Other times when volunteers are needed are during lunch (11:35–12:35), after school (2:00–3:00 p.m.), Friday cleanup (12:40 – 2:00 p.m.), and Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 8:00–10:00 am.

Thanks to everyone who has already signed up to volunteer. Please contact Carolyn Young and Lori Joe at csyoung26@yahoo.com or 408-253-1206 with the times that you can volunteer and remember to include your phone number.

LAWSON MIDDLE SCHOOLLawson Middle School counselors will be on our campus on March 18th talking to fifth grade students who will be attending Lawson for the 2010-2011 school year. Conversations will center on the transitions they will be making to middle school. Look for papers they will be bringing home from that meeting. In addition, parents are invited to attend an Incoming 6th grade Parent Night Thursday, March 25 at 7:00 in the Lawson Event Center. This meeting is for parents only. T.B. TEST FOR VOLUNTEERS

This is just a reminder that all adults that volunteer in the classroom need to have a TB test on file in the school office. If you have one on file at another school in our district, or in the district office, we still need oneon file at Garden Gate. Please be mindful of our policy when volunteering in the classroom.

CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT LUNCH PROGRAM Student lunch w/milk....................$2.75 Weekly................................ $13.75 Monthly.............................. $55.00 Milk or juice...................75¢ (all lunches include milk)

PAMS website: www.pamslunchroom.com or to find out what the balance is on your child’s lunch account, you can call this toll-free number: 1-888-994-5100.

Student Nutrition Services is proud to introduce their new web page located at the following URL: http://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid =1805092039571289 Please visit the web page if you have questions about the student lunch program or your child’s account. It is a work in progress dedicated to nutrition, fitness and health.

RECYCLINGOur Garden Gate Recycling Program is continuing in 2010! Please remember to place all your recycling (plastic and cans) into the blue bins that are located in the outside hallway by Friday of each week. They will not take milk cartons! All proceeds will go to the Marin Headlands Science School Fund.

Starting Monday,

Garden Gate

students will

participate in a

quarter-drive

fundraising

program, “Pocketful of Wishes,” which benefits

children with life-threatening illnesses. Money raised

in the next month will be given to the Greater Bay

Area Make-A-Wish Foundation, so they can provide

magical wishes for local children. Students can drop

their quarters and other change into a box located in

each classroom. As a school, if we can raise $2,000

for this worthy cause, there will be a special school-

wide prize involving Mrs. Wood! Classes will also set

individual goals and could earn additional prizes.

Please donate your quarters (or more) if you can!

GATORAID! PAGE5

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

DISTRICT NEWS SECTION

2010 STAR TESTING DATESSTAR 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.

MATHEMATICS SPEAKER SERIES“Beyond the Book: Learning More Mathematics” - Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.Collins Elementary School, GLC, 10300 N. Blaney Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014 - No RSVP NeededDistrict students and their parents are invited to participate in the Mathematics Speaker Series. The next speaker, who will address interested middle school students and their parents, will be Joshua Zucker. This presentation is offered free of charge.Joshua Zucker, whose talk last year was very well-received, is a talented and knowledgeable teacher whose accomplishments in the field of mathematics have been recognized both in his tenure as a writer for the national MATHCOUNTS competition and as the Director of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival. Joshua discovered his love for number theory at Dr. Arnold Ross's summer program at Ohio State University many years ago. As a student, he was invited to the US Math Olympiad Summer Program and was a member of the first US Physics Olympiad team as well as a top -10 scorer on the Putnam. Once again, Joshua will challenge students with insightful, intriguing problems and offer parents words of wisdom about math education that will help them work with their sons and daughters in productive ways.

The Speaker Series is part of the district's Math Initiative Plan and is sponsored by the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation (CEEF) and a grant from Microsoft Corporation. All featured speakers will encourage students to think deeply, to challenge themselves in mathematics both beyond and within the traditional curriculum, and not to rush through courses.

DE ANZA COLLEGE SUMMER EXTENDED YEAR PROGRAM 2010De 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 10Classes 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 5Classes 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 in the 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.

2009-2010 DISTRICT CALENDAR

March 15, 2010 Staff Learning Day April 12-16, 2010 Spring Recess May 28, 2010 Staff Learning Day May 31, 2010 Memorial Day June 10, 2010 Last Day of School