GATORAID

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

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SCHOOL CALENDAR
September 23, 2010

9/23 6:15-8:00 p.m. SAFETY NIGHT - GLC

9/27-10/1 SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
9/28 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING - D.O.
9/30 6:00-8:00 p.m. FALL ICE CREAM SOCIAL AND BOOK FAIR - GLC
10/1 SPIRITWEAR ORDERING DEADLINE

10/4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, & 28 HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW (FOR GRADE 5 PARENTS)
TEACHER RESOURCE CENTER - 10255 N. PORTAL AVE., CUPERTINO
MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS IN OCTOBER
10:30-12:00 OR 12:00-1:30 OR 2:00-3:30

10/7 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING - GLC

10/7-10/14 KINDERGARTEN PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS WILL PROVIDE SCHEDULES
10/7-10/15 8:00-12:30 p.m. GR. 1 - 5 PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES - DISMISSAL - 12:30 p.m.

10/8 DIRECT DONATION CONTEST DEADLINE

10/8 REFLECTION ART CONTEST DEADLINE
10/12 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING - D.O.
10/20 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (SSC) MEETING

Parent Traffic Duty: September 27th - October 1st, Parents from Rms. 18

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

Family Safety Night – Thursday, September 23, 2010

Please try to attend our Family Safety Night which is scheduled for this Thursday. It
will be an evening packed with information designed to keep families safe during an
emergency. Those who attend will receive information that could make the difference
between survival and possible tragedy. The children will have the opportunity to meet
Ski from the Sheriff’s Department Canine Unit. They will also enjoy entertaining and
informative presentations from members of the Santa Clara County Fire Department
and the Sheriff’s Department. In addition, they will have the opportunity to climb in a
fire truck to check out its contents. Many thanks go to Angelia Kan, our PTA Safety
and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, for arranging this important evening.

Goal Setting Conferences – October 7 - 15

Don’t forget that our annual goal-setting conferences will take place October 7th through October 15th. You will
receive information from your child’s teacher regarding scheduling an appointment to discuss your child’s goals for
this school year. This is an opportunity for you to team with your child’s teacher to set a course for the success of
your child. The bottom line is we want your child to be successful, not only in his/her current grade, but for the
future. You are a big part of that plan and we welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you! Please remember
that our school schedule will change. Below is the schedule for the school day during the October 7 – 15 window of
time.

Grades 1 – 5:
8:00 a.m. - School Starts,
10:00 a.m. - Morning Recess,
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. K-3 Lunch,
11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 4-5 Lunch
12:30 p.m. Student Dismissal

Kindergarten: Teachers will contact parents with schedules.

Approaching Parent–Teacher Conferences - General Hints (from TeacherVision.fen.com)

Parent-teacher conferences are an excellent opportunity to find out how your child is adjusting to the new school
year and to get to know her teachers. Here are some general hints on how to have a successful conference:

· Ask your child if there is anything that he would like you to discuss with the teacher.
· Jot down everything that you want to talk about at the conference. (See Helpful Questions, below.)
· Arrive promptly or a few minutes early.
· Begin with positive comments about the teacher or classroom.
· Avoid lengthy discussions of topics that are not related to the purpose of the conference.
· Be open to suggestions from the teacher.
· Keep your emotions under control.
· Take notes about what has been discussed and share them with your child.
· Express appreciation for the conference.
· Do not stay beyond your allotted time.

Finally, enjoy the opportunity to talk with your child’s teacher. Both of you have the same goals –supporting your
child’s growth academically, socially, and emotionally. We know that there is nothing more important to you than
your child’s well-being. His or her successes at Garden Gate are successes for all of us!

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125
PTA CORNER PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES ! PAGE 3

Dear Garden Gate Families,

Safety Night is taking place tonight, Thursday, September 23rd from

6:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Next week the Scholastic Book Fair will begin on Monday, September 27th
and will continue through Friday, October 1st. Please remember to stop by the
GLC and see all of the great books that are available for you and your children
to enjoy!

Thursday Night, September 30th, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. will be a special
night:

Book Fair - The Book Fair will be open from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Ice cream Fall Social – The ice cream truck is coming to town!
We will sell ice cream for 50 cents each.

Spirit Wear for Sale - Order T-shirts and sweatshirts with the Garden Gate
School logo to show your support for our school and look COOL! They are also
great for easy identification on field trips too!

Looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

Sincerely,
Merav Talmor
Garden Gate PTA President

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125
 GATORAID! PAGE 4
rs Still Needed for
Help Needed - Voluntee ptember 24th Get Ready For The Fall Book
y, Se
the Book Fair – Frida Fair!
er 1st!
through Friday, Octob Calling all Gators, parents,
teers during these grandparents and friends! Garden
We are in need of volun Gate's Fall Book Fair begins next week
tim es in bold:
times, especially the on Monday, the 27th of September. We
.
Setup 8:00 – 9:00 a.m will have a wide variety of amazing and
Friday, September 24 ly for ½ hour) exciting books for all ages.
if on
6 Dads preferred (even
10:00 – 11:35 a.m. Hours of the Book Fair
Monday, September 27 Monday - 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
1 volunteer Tuesday - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Wednesday - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday, September 27 Thursday - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 - 8 p.m. (Fall
3 volunteers Social and Family night)
8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Friday - 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 28
1 volunteer
Mark your calendars and plan to attend. You will
er 29 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. have the opportunity to;
Wednesday, Septemb
- Purchase a wonderful selection of good quality
3 volunteers
books at great prices and by doing so encourage
30 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. your children to read good books.
Thursday, September
- Purchase books for your child’s classroom
4 volunteers
library.
30 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Help to raise funds for the school and the school
Thursday, September
library. Twenty-five percent of all Book Fair
4 volunteers
profits are used for the Library and school
30 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. events.
Thursday, September
- Best of all, you can enter a drawing during the
2 volunteers
Fall Social and Family Night for a chance to win
Friday, October 1 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. a $5 Scholastic gift certificate!
You can visit our Scholastic School home page at
1 volunteer
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/
up 12:00 – 2:00 publish/gardengate
Friday, October 1 Clean
to review some of the books you will find at the
3 volunteers
Fair. Please visit the fair, especially the Family
have questions, please Night on Thursday for an evening of fun for
If you can volunteer or
csyoung26@yahoo.com everyone. See you all soon!
contact Carolyn Young

Tuesdays Are Early Dismissal Days Hot Lunch Envelopes

Please don’t forget that Tuesdays are
early dismissal days. Students in Grades
1-5 are dismissed at 1:30 p.m. AM
Kindergarten students are dismissed at
11:10 a.m. and PM Kindergarten
students are dismissed at 1:30 p.m.
Please arrange for a convenient pick-up location and
please be on time. You can also make arrangements for
after school care with the Child Development Center
located in room #21 on campus. Thank you!
.
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95125
We are experiencing some difficulties with the way the
blue lunch envelopes are being turned in to the school.
Frequently, the blue lunch envelopes are coming in
unsealed. Some of these have cash, including coins and
are handled by several people before ending up in the
office. We've had money missing as a result of this since
it often falls out of the envelope. Please make sure you
seal the envelopes before giving them to your children.
This will help ensure that your student gets credit for the
total amount of money you turned in. Thank you
 GATORAID! PAGE 5
SILICON VALLEY FALL FESTIVAL
Saturday and Sunday September 25-26, 2010
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Memorial Park in Cupertino
Free Admission

The Silicon Valley Fall Festival is an evolution of the very successful Cupertino Jubilee and
Fall Festival that has been held for the past five years. The event is organized by the Rotary
Club of Cupertino. Highlights this year include:

• Bring a food donation to the West Valley Community Services booth for a free
Fun Zone ticket!

• Come to the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation booth and register to win prizes for you and
your favorite teacher!

The key elements of this year’s festival are: Kids Fun Zone; Cultural Fair, Health and Safety Zone; Environmental Earth
Zone; along with great food, beverages and wonderful entertainment. Additional information is available at
www.cupertino.org.

CELDT TESTING
The Cupertino Union School District will administer the CELDT (California English Language Development Test)
September through October 30, 2010. Based on your child’s last years CELDT scores, if their proficiency is limited,
withdrawn or transitional, your child will be included in the annual CELDT test at their school. A letter will be sent home
with your child prior to the testing date at your school.

The initial CELDT will be given to kindergarten students whose primary language on the Home Language Survey is a
language other than English. The test consists of four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students in
grades K–8 are tested in all four areas. You will receive the official results after January 2011. If you have any
questions, please contact your school office.
District Calendar 2010-2011
October 25, 2010 Staff Learning Day
November 11, 2010 Veteran’s Day
November 12, 2010 CEA Non-Duty Day
November 22 & 23, 2010 Furlough Days/No School
November 24, 25 & 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 7, 2011 Last Day of School

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