GATORAID

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

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
NOVEMBER 5, 2009
11/5 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING
11/10 8:00-9:30 a.m. PROJECT CORNERSTONE PARENT GROUP - STAFF ROOM
11/10 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM
11/11 VETERANS DAY - NO SCHOOL
11/13 FIRST TRIMESTER ENDS
11/16 SECOND TRIMESTER BEGINS
11/18 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
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 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING
12/4 REPORT CARDS GO HOME
12/8 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MTG. - DISTRICT BOARD ROOM
12/16 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
12/16 6:30 p.m. H.E.A.S.T. PERFORMANCE - GLC
12/18 SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “PAJAMA DAY”
12/21-1/1 WINTER RECESS- NO SCHOOL
1/4 SCHOOL RESUMES

Parent Traffic Duty: November 9th - 13th - Parents from Rm. #4

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
2009-2010 Garden Gate PTA Reflections Winners
Congratulations to all of our Garden Gate participants and winners. This year, we had a record number of 159 participants!
In the past, we’ve averaged between 80-85 participants. We’re delighted that so many children want to share their talents
with us. Many thanks to our volunteer judges and many, many thanks to our Reflections chairpersons,
Mahalakshmi Rameshbabu and Alicia Shepard! And the winners are:

Primary (Kindergarten - Grade 2)

Literature Visual Arts
First Place Jhanvi Girish Gr. 2 First place Suzuka Kojima Gr. 1
Second Place Atharva Mutsaddi Gr. 1 Second place Michelle Zhu Gr. 2
Third Place Aarjave Joshi Gr. 2 Third place Nikita Kalahusti Gr. 2
Hon. Mention Sriram Nagasuri Gr. 1 Hon. Mention Manjunath Shettar Gr. 2
Hon. Mention Nandhini Sreedhar Gr.2

Photography Musical Composition

First place Aditi Narasimhan Gr. 2 First Place Sachita Kashyap (only
Second Place Varun Ayyappan Gr. 2 participant) KDG
Third Place Yash Gupta Gr. 1
Hon. Mention Neha Washikar Gr. 1

Film Production Dance Choreography

First Place Santosh Ravindrabharathy Gr. 1 Honorable Mention Erin Zhu Gr. 1
Second Place Srivatsa Puranam Gr. 2

Intermediate (Grades 3 – 5)
Literature Visual Arts
First place            Shreya Kashyap  Gr. 3 First Place            Samiksha Patil    Gr. 3
Second place        Vanshika Desai    Gr. 5 Second Place        Shreya Kashyap  Gr. 3 
Third place          Trisha Kholiya      Gr. 5 Third Place            Deepika Sriram    Gr. 5
Hon. Mention Valerie Ng            Gr. 5 Hon. Mention Trinity Nguyen      Gr. 3

Photography Musical Composition

First Place       Kyle Shepard    Gr. 5 First Place       Ranjani Ravindrabharathy    Gr. 3
Second Place Ashley J Zhu     Gr. 4 Second Place Shreya Kashyap                   Gr. 3 
Third Place      Nikash Nalia     Gr. 3 Third Place      Anjana Manjunath                Gr. 4
Hon. Mention Siddhi Shah Gr. 3 Hon. Mention Amey A Kapare             Gr. 3

Film Production Dance Choreography

First Place       Rithvik Agastya   Gr. 3 No participants
Second Place Ranjani Ravindrabharathy   Gr. 3
Third Place       Divya Satish                      Gr. 3 

STAR Test Preparation Materials

It has come to my attention from several sources that some parents are approaching teachers requesting the teachers order STAR
test preparation materials. Whether they’re for home or classroom use is unclear. However, our policy is not to use those materials.

We are confident that in teaching the California State Standards, we are preparing our students well for any assessment they might
need to take. We feel that purchasing STAR practice materials is an unnecessary expense. We also feel that focusing too much on
the STAR will have the negative impact of raising students' anxiety levels. Doing so might have an unintended negative effect on
their STAR performance. So, if you’re feeling somewhat anxious about your student’s performance on the STAR, please relax.
You’re sending us really bright and inquisitive children who love to learn. You match those children with our teaching practices and
state standards and we are the unstoppable Gators!
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
PTA CORNER PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES ! PAGE 3

Hello Gator Families,

Join the PTA Now And Be Able To Vote On Where We Spend $11,000!
We budgeted for $50,000 and your generous donations reached $61,000! So we will
be asking PTA members where we should put our focus: More technology? More math education
grants for teachers? More music? More library hours? More books for the library? More assemblies?

Will you allow 250 people to vote on what is important to 1,400 people? We currently have about 250 PTA
members. We have almost 700 students, which means that approximately 1,400 parents, guardians, and others
who are interested in the PTA and Garden Gate School can join! It is my wish to act on the wishes of all the
parents and PTA members. However, you must be a member of the PTA to vote – so please join today!
Membership forms will be in the green folder this week and are available in the school office! Everyone can
join – parents, teachers, students, neighbors – there are no restrictions. We will spend the money on what the
majority of the PTA members want.
.

Please Attend The PTA Meeting This Thursday In The GLC At 7:15 p.m.
•Come and learn more about how we will be polling our PTA membership on its

wishes for putting $11,000 to work at Garden Gate.

•Special guest, Scott Stauffer, from the Cupertino Education Endowment Fund, well

known as “CEEF” will attend. He is coming with information about CEEF and also to
present Garden Gate School with a check to be used towards our needs in technology.
•Mrs. Wood, our Principal, will be sharing what is currently happening at Garden

Gate.

National PTA Reflections Art Contest

Congratulations to all of our artists who entered this year’s Reflections Art Contest and to all of our awesome
winners! I was prividedged to be a judge for one portion of the contest and I saw some very impressive work.
Thank you to all who participated!

Kathleen McCulloch
Garden Gate PTA President

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
 GATORAID PAGE 4
ahead of your departure date to arrange for a special
T Independent Study Contract. The following guidelines
AUTHOR TO VISI must be followed:
GARDEN G AT E
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Gennifer Choldenk ry •A student must be enrolled for three consecutive weeks
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our students. Four days will be dropped from the roster of their school.
books are no w on
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display in the scho her school, the student will be reinstated. If no space is
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November 10th. Yo the DISTRICT NUTRITION STANDARDS FOR YOUR
e to
welcome to com INFORMATION
that appeal to all
ra ry an d ta ke a look at her oksbo The following nutrition standards are set by the state and
lib
age levels. outlined in the California Education Code. These are the
it at Garden standards that our district follows.
ol de nk o is extending her vis
Genni fe r Ch ing the writing
ar de n to sp ea k to parents regard eir children (Nutritional Standards for Food Commencing on or before
G th
parents can help
process, and how . He r pr es en ta tion will be on July 1, 2007, the superintendent or designee shall ensure
iters
become better wr mber 20th fro m 6:30-7:30 p.m. that schools comply with the following nutritional standards:
No ve
Friday ev en in g, se! Please check California Education Code 49431)
m ite d se at in g— “adults only” plea ion on how you Elementary Schools:
Li at
Folder for inform
your child’s Green ative di sc us sio n with an award- The only foods that may be sold to a pupil during the
form
can attend this in school day are full meals and individually sold portions of
winn in g au th or . nuts, nut butters, seeds, eggs, cheese - packaged for
individual sale, fruit, vegetables - that have not been deep
fried, and legumes. In addition, an individually sold dairy or
whole grain food item may be sold to a pupil at an
REMINDERS: elementary school, if it meets all of the following standards:
•For the protection of the students,
please remember that students are 1. Not more than 35% of its total calories shall be from fat.
not to be on the Garden Gate campus 2. Not more than 10% of its total calories shall be from
before 7:45 a.m. There is no adult saturated fat.
supervision until 7:45 a.m. 3. Not more than 35% of its total weight shall be composed
•Please do not congregate outside of of sugar, including naturally occurring and added sugar.
the classrooms while school is still in session. This is very 4. Not more than 175 calories per individual food item.
disruptive to both the teacher and the students and could
be a distraction from valuable learning time. Nutrition Standards for Beverages:
•Every Tuesday is early dismissal day. Please remember (The following nutritional standards shall apply to all
that all a.m. Kindergarten students are dismissed at 11:10 beverages provided in the district food service program:
a.m. and all p.m. Kindergarten students along with California Education Code 49431.5)
students in grades 1-5 are dismissed at 1:30. Please Elementary Schools:
remember to pick up your children promptly. Regardless of the time of day, the only allowable beverages
that may be sold in elementary schools are:
INDEPENDENT STUDY 1. Fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than
CONTRACTS 50% fruit juice and have no added sweetener.
If you plan to be away from school for a 2. Vegetable-based drinks that are composed of no less
minimum of five school days and a than 50% vegetable juice and have no added sweetener.
maximum of ten school days, please 3. Drinking water with no added sweetener.
contact the school office and your 4. Two-percent-fat milk, one-percent-fat milk, nonfat milk,
child’s teacher at least three weeks soy milk, rice milk, and other similar nondairy milk.
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
 GATORAID! DISTRICT NEWS SECTION PAGE 5
CEEF’S 2010 GALA: "DREAMS ARE MADE OF…"
Saturday, January 30, 2010 5:30 p.m. Fairmont Hotel, San Jose

Save the date and plan now to join friends in celebrating our children’s dreams for the future at the Cupertino Educational
Endowment Foundation’s (CEEF) annual Gala on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. Proceeds
from our 2010 “Dreams are made of…” themed Gala will benefit arts and innovative technology programs at each of our
district schools. For more information or to add your name to the invitation list, please email CEEF at gala@ceefcares.org.

MCAULIFFE MIDDLE SCHOOL INFORMATION NIGHT

Christa McAuliffe School is one of the district’s four alternative programs. McAuliffe, a K-8 parent-participation school in the
Cupertino Union School District with a whole-child, developmental philosophy, offers a program which advocates for children
to take ownership of their learning, to work collaboratively, to express their opinions, and to explore their interests. All
interested parents are invited to the following events:

Middle School Parent Forum - Thursday, Nov. 19, 7-9 p.m., in Room 19
Panel of middle school parents will address questions in a casual environment.

Middle School Tours - Nov. 6, Jan. 15 & Jan. 28, 8:45 - 11 a.m.
These tours are in conjunction with McAuliffe School tours, join a specialized tour of middle school classrooms led by a
parent guide. Call 253-4696 or sign-up online at www.mcauliffek8.com. CUSD students only.

H1N1 GUIDELINES
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department guidance recommends that, based on current flu conditions, students
and staff with flu-like illness stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever without the
use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).

You can help keep our schools healthy by adhering to the following guidelines:

• Continue to enforce proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. The recommendations continue to emphasize
the importance of the basic foundations of disease prevention: Stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with
soap and water when possible or alcohol based hand sanitizer, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when
coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).

• Leave accurate information as requested on the school’s absence line if your child is sick. This will help the school
identify any potential issues as soon as possible.

• Promptly pick up your child from school if they are sent home for being ill. The school will keep ill students separated
from others until they can be sent home. Please make sure that the school office has your updated contact
information.

• Any returning students after an illness with a fever will need to have their temperature taken in the school office
before returning to class. Teachers will be sending returning students back to the office to have their temperatures
taken if they arrive directly to the classroom without being cleared.

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