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

Halloween Parade This Friday, October 29, 2010 @ 8:15 a.m.Providing we are not rained out, we are planning our Halloween parade to start @ 8:15 a.m. this Friday. In order to make the dayenjoyable for all, please remember the following:

Bring your children dressed in their costumes over their regular clothes. When the parade is over, the students will return totheir classrooms. Please send a bag with your childs name on it so your child can put his/her costume away after the parade.

Costumes should: Be comfortable, easy to walk in, and should not hamper vision. Be in good taste and not violent in nature.

Please remember:

Toy guns, swords, knives, martial arts weapons, dyed hair or make-up are not allowed.

Rollerblades, skates, skateboards, scooters, and bicycles are not permitted on campus.

Our Halloween parades are a lot of fun and we hope that you, our parents can join us!

Red Ribbon Week - 10/26/10 - 10/29/10Students, parents and staff were welcomed Tuesday by a long string of pennants and ribbons around campus proclaiming RedRibbon Week. The pennants and the ribbons kicked off a week of activities that emphasized commitment to a drug-free and healthylife style. Many thanks to our PTA and, in particular, chairperson Ramya Vasudevan, for their hard work to encourage our students tomake healthy choices in their lives. Among other things, our students and staff had the opportunity to wear red ribbons and learn theRed Ribbon Pledge. In addition, Garden Gates curriculum addresses refusal skills and drug, alcohol, and tobacco awareness. Youcan support our curriculum through discussions at home on your values. A strong value system can empower students to make

educated decisions rather than simply be influenced by peer pressure.

Race to Nowhere Some ThoughtsAs part of our learning day on Monday, our staff viewed the documentary, Race to Nowhere. The documentary focuses on thepressures and stresses students face today. No one is exempt from the effects parents and educators are also affected. TheGarden Gate staff, along with the staffs of two other Cupertino schools, viewed and discussed the documentary as a springboard forusing a specific protocol that will be used at times when we hold discussions on other topics. But to get back to the content of thedocumentary, it did generate some thoughtful discussion about the different perspectives surrounding raising and educating ourchildren. If you have the opportunity to view the film, I would recommend you do so. Whether you agree or disagree with itsmessages, one thing is sure, all of us care about our children and we owe it to them to learn as much as we can about the challengesthat are facing them and the ways in which we can support them. For starters, you might look at the article Ive reprinted below fromeducation.com. Please look at the five points noted by Dr. Hack as ways parents can help their children.

When and Why Do Children Feel Stress?By Sabine Hack, M.D. NYU Child Study Center Excerpted from education.com

Children feel stress long before they grow up. Many children have to cope with family conflict, divorce, constant changes in schools,neighborhoods and child care arrangements, peer pressure, and sometimes, even violence in their homes or communities. Theimpact of a stressor depends on a child's personality, maturity, and style of coping. It is not always obvious, however, when childrenare feeling overtaxed. Children often have difficulty describing exactly how they feel. Instead of saying "I feel overwhelmed" they mightsay, "my stomach hurts." When some children are stressed they cry, become aggressive, talk back or become irritable. Others maybehave well but become nervous, fearful, or panicky.

Stress can affect children's physical health as well. Asthma, hay fever, migraine headache and gastrointestinal illnesses like colitis,irritable bowel syndrome and peptic ulcer can be exacerbated by stressful situations.

What can parents do? Parents can help their children learn to keep the harmful effects of stress at a minimum.

1. Parents should monitor their own stress levels. In studies on families who have experienced traumatic circumstances suchas earthquakes or war, the best predictor of children's coping is how well their parents cope. Parents need to be particularlyaware of when their own stress levels contribute to marital conflict. Frequent fighting between parents is unsettling for

children.

2. Keep communication lines open. Kids feel better about themselves when they have a good relationship with their parents.

3. Children who do not have close friendships are at risk for developing stress- related difficulties; parents should encouragefriendships by scheduling play dates, sleepovers, and other fun activities.

4. Parents need to shape daily schedules with their child's temperament in mind. Although children thrive in familiar, predictableenvironments with established routines and clear safe boundaries, their tolerance for stimulation varies.

5. No matter how busy their schedule, children of all ages need time to play and relax. Children use play to learn about their

world, explore ideas and soothe themselves.
http://www.education.com/topic/social-development-friendship/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=41791http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/parentingstyles.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/challenges.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/divorce_hol.htmlhttp://www.education.com/topic/study-help-earth-ecience-earthquakes/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=42515http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/copingtrauma.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/about_ptsd.htmlhttp://www.education.com/topic/child-health/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=7488http://www.education.com/topic/child-temperament-personality/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=12513http://www.education.com/partner/articles/aboutourkids/http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/parentingstyles.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/parentingstyles.htmlhttp://www.education.com/topic/social-development-friendship/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=41791http://www.education.com/topic/social-development-friendship/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=41791http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/friends.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/friends.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/challenges.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/challenges.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/divorce_hol.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/divorce_hol.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/copingtrauma.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/copingtrauma.htmlhttp://www.education.com/topic/study-help-earth-ecience-earthquakes/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=42515http://www.education.com/topic/study-help-earth-ecience-earthquakes/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=42515http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/about_ptsd.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/about_ptsd.htmlhttp://www.education.com/topic/child-health/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=7488http://www.education.com/topic/child-health/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=7488http://www.education.com/topic/child-temperament-personality/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=12513http://www.education.com/topic/child-temperament-personality/?__module=DeepLink&hit&id=12513http://www.education.com/partner/articles/aboutourkids/http://www.education.com/partner/articles/aboutourkids/

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PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES


Hello Gator Families!

As you all know, last week we had to cancel the Fall Celebration event due to the

weather. It is never easy to cancel such an event especially when people work so hard to

prepare for it and our kids eagerly look forward to participating in the activities, but our

kids safety comes first. . . always!

Nonetheless, I would like to thank our teachers and parents who prepared baked goods

for the event. Thank you all for the amazing support you showed by contributing thebaked goods and pumpkins!

Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the work and effort that

Lavanya Sivakumar, Vinutha Shettigar, and Colleen Hagan put into planning and

preparing for the event.

OOOOOH Halloween is here once again! Trick or Treat!

Come to the GG Halloween Parade and be SPOOKED!

When: Tomorrow Friday at 8:15 amWhere: The GG field.

Parents are welcome!

I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

Sincerely,

Merav Talmor

Garden Gate PTA President

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DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIMEENDS. REMEMBER TO TURN

YOUR CLOCKS BACK ONEHOUR ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER31ST!

REMINDERS:For the protection of the students, please remember thatstudents are not to be on the Garden Gate campus before7:45 a.m. There is no adult supervision until 7:45 a.m.

Please do not congregate outside of the classroomswhile school is still in session. This is very disruptive toboth the teacher and the students and could be adistraction from valuable learning time.Every Tuesday is early dismissal day. Please rememberthat all a.m. Kindergarten students are dismissed at 11:10a.m. and all p.m. Kindergarten students along withstudents in grades 1-5 are dismissed at 1:30. Pleaseremember to pick up your children promptly.

HOT LUNCHStudent Nutrition Services use acomputerized system to serve hot

lunch to the students. In order for thesystem to run smoothly andeffectively, it is recommended thatparents/guardians send pre-payment envelopes to the schooloffice no later than 9:00 a.m. on theday the child wants to receive a school lunch. Payingcash at the lunch line is discouraged because it creates adelay and causes students to wait longer for their hotlunch. We are trying to make our lunch lines cashless,and so we recommend that parents pay via check insteadof cash. Parents can also pay online atwww.paypams.com by using their debit or credit cards. Please pre-pay for

as many lunches in advance as possible. Parents/guardians may pre-pay for lunches for one or moredays on a weekly basis or, if desired, for a month ormore.

INDEPENDENT STUDY CONTRACTSIf you plan to be away from school for a minimum of fiveschool days and a maximum of ten school days, pleasecontact the school office and your childs teacher atleast three weeks ahead of your departure date toarrange for a special Independent Study Contract. Thefollowing guidelines must be followed:

A student must be enrolled for threeconsecutive weeks before an IndependentContract can be initiated.The contract and homework must bereturned the first day back to school with allthe work completed, so days missed do notcount as unexcused absences.Students who are absent for more than tenconsecutive days will be dropped from theroster of their school. When the studentreturns, if space is available at his or herschool, the student will be reinstated with thepresentation of a current PG&E bill. If nospace is available, the student will beassigned to another school in the districtwhere space is available.
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DISTRICT HEALTH GUIDELINES

It is important that our children follow good health practices at all times and be kept at homewhen they are ill. A child should not be in school when he or she is ill and is experiencing oneor more of the following symptoms:

Nausea or vomiting (must remain at home until free of symptoms for 24 hours) Diarrhea (mustremain at home until free of symptoms for 24 hours) Severe headache Continuous coughing or runny nose Evidence of a communicable disease such as a rash, swelling or unusual sore throat A temperature of 100.4 F (38 C) degrees or higher (mustremain at home until he/she has a normal 98.6 F

(37 C) degree temperature for 24 hours without the use of a fever reducer such as Tylenol) Conjunctivitis - pink eye Undiagnosed rash (rashes must be verified by your doctor that they are non-contagious before the child

may return to school; a note is needed)

The School Nurse may clear a student with known chronic illness (asthma, allergies, migraines, etc.) If a student is senthome from school for feeling ill, the child may not return to school that day. A doctors note for absences over (7) days is

required (CSUD BP & AR 5113). Thank you for your cooperation in helping to keep all children andstaff healthy.

DISTRICT CALENDAR 2010-2011

November 11, 2010 Veterans 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 RecessJanuary 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

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