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

GATORAID

B o a r d o f E d u c a t i o n

S u p e r i n t e n d e n t

P h i l Q u o n

B o a r d M e m b e r s :

A n j a l i K a u s a r B e n L i a o , J o s e p h i n e L u c e y , G a r y M c C u e ,P h y l l i s V o g e l

G A R D E N G A T E E L E M E N T A R Y C U P E R T I N O U N I O N S C H O O L D I S T R I C T 1 0 5 0 0 A N N A R B O R A V E N U E C U P E R T I N O , C A 9 5 0 1 4

N a n c y W o o d

- P r i n c i p a l K a t h l e e n M c C u l l o c h - P T A P r e s i d e n t A l i c i a H a n c o c k - S h e p a r d - S S C C h a i r p e r s o n

SCHOOL CALENDAR

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

11/20 SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “TWINS”11/20 6:30-7:30 p.m. GENNIFER CHOLDENKO, AWARD WINNING AUTHOR - “ADULTS ONLY”

11/25-27 THANKSGIVING RECESS - NO SCHOOL

12/3 10:30-11:30 STUDENT PICTURE MAKE UP12/3 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING12/4 REPORT CARDS GO HOME12/8 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM12/16 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING12/16 6:30 p.m. H.E.A.S.T. PERFORMANCE - GLC12/18 SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “PAJAMA DAY”

12/21-1/1 WINTER RECESS- NO SCHOOL

1/4/10 SCHOOL RESUMES

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 andview 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: Homeworkmay 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: November - 23rd - 24th Parents from Rm. #17.

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

Garden Gate’s Disaster Drill 11/13/09

Garden Gate’s Disaster Drill was held on Friday, November 13th. During the drill, students andstaff reacted to a simulated earthquake as they would in the case of an actual emergency. The drillincluded activating our Search & Rescue team, First Aid station, Command Center, and StudentRelease station. This simulation offered hands-on practice for our staff and students. Not only didour staff emergency teams spring into action, but our students did as well. Designated studentsfeigned various injuries for our First Aid station and others were strategically placed for our Search & Rescue team to locate. The purpose of the drill is to practice our emergency procedures and determine areasfor improvement. A special thanks to our PTA for providing updated equipment and to our parent volunteers who testedour student release procedures.

Be Prepared in the Event of an Emergency

• Discuss with your child the arrangements that you have made for him/her in the event of an emergency. Reassure your child that he/she will be cared for by our staff until your arrival. Be sure that your child’s emergency card lists thenames of adults who are authorized to pick your child up from school. Walk to school, if at all possible. You may gethere faster on foot. The streets may be backed up with cars and will need to be kept clear for emergency vehicles.• Go to the Student Release Station located on the blacktop. You must sign and show ID to have your child releasedfrom campus. A runner will take a card to your child’s teacher located on the field. The teacher can only release your child if the card is handed to them. This is the only way for us to account for every student on campus.• If you can volunteer to help with traffic, first aid, or calming children, please come by the Command Center (on the blacktop) to see where assistance is needed.• Please take time to discuss emergency procedures you have in place at home, as well as at school. The better preparedwe are, the more confident our students will be in the event of a real emergency.

Apology

In a previous newsletter, we misspelled the name of one of our students who participated in the PTA Reflections program. Thestudent,

Nikash Walia, submitted work in the areas of photography, visual arts and literature.We regret the error and are proud of Nikash’s efforts.

Thanksgiving

Since there will not be a bulletin next week, I will wish you a happy Thanksgiving now. Ihope that you have the opportunity to be with family and share good times and memories. Iam continuing to build up quite a reservoir of good memories here at Garden Gate! All mybest to you and your family.

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES

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

Hello Gator Families,Please check your green folders to participate in a survey for where theGarden Gate PTA should allot the donated money that exceeded our budget – about $12,000. The teachers have a special request that will take almost theentire amount. My wish is to understand what the school parents and teachersthink we need the most. So I am asking you personally – what do you think?I anticipate that we will be voting on the revised budget in January. If you are a member of the PTA for at least 30 days you will be able to vote on the budget. I want to hear from allthe Gator families for the survey, but only PTA members can vote. So please get a formfrom the office and become a PTA member – it is only $5 and any one can be a member!Remember, the PTA is a completely volunteer organization, dedicated to improving theschool experience for your children.Kathleen McCullochGarden Gate PTA President, Lead Volunteer

EARN FREE CASH FOR OUR SCHOOL WITH BOX TOPS

Earning cash for our school with Box Tops for Education is simple and easy! You don't have tospend any cash to be involved in this profitable project. Most food items that you purchase for homecomes with a “Box Tops for Education” coupon that is located directly on the “box top” and is worth10c. Please look for these coupons especially on products by General Mills. Some of the productbrands to look for are;

Cheerios, Fruit Rollups, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Cottonelle, Ziploc

etc.