GATORAID

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

GAR
Boa CUP DEN
rd o ERT GAT
Sup f Ed INO EE
erin uca 105 U NIO LEM
tend tion 00 A NS ENT
Boa ent: NN CH ARY
P A O
Anja rd Mem hil Quon
CUP RBO OL
ERT R AV D IS
Josep li Kausa ber Nan INO ENU TRICT
hine r, Be s: Mer c y Woo , CA E
Luce n av T d- P 95014
y, Ga Liao, alm
or -
rinc
ipal
Phyl ry M PTA
lis Vo cCue Pre
gel , side
nt

SCHOOL CALENDAR
JANUARY 27, 2011

2/3 6:00 p.m. KENNEDY MIDDLE SCHOOL - INCOMING 6TH GR. PARENT (ONLY) INFORMATION MTG.
2/3 7:15 p.m. PTA MEETING
2/4 8:00 a.m. HEARING SCREENING FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 1, 2, & 5
2/7 CLASS GROUP PICTURES
2/8 8:00 a.m. VISION SCREENING GRADES 1 & 3
2/8 6:00 p.m. C.U.S.D. BOARD MEETING - D.O.
2/8 6:30 p.m. BOOK EXCHANGE - GRADES K-2
2/8 7:20 p.m. BOOK EXCHANGE - GRADES 3 - 5
2/9 6:30 p.m. LAWSON MIDDLE SCHOOL - INCOMING 6TH GR. PARENT (ONLY) INFORMATION MTG.
2/11-17 2011-2012 OPEN ENROLLMENT & ALTERNATIVE ED. PROGRAMS
2/14 VALENTINE’S DAY PARTIES
2/15 6:30 p.m. CYBER SAFETY - PARENT ED. NIGHT - GLC
2/15 6:00 p.m. CUPERTINO MIDDLE SCHOOL - INCOMING 6TH GR. PARENT (ONLY) INFORMATION MTG.
2/16 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING
2/17 12:00 p.m. YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST DEADLINE (STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-5)
2/18 SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - “CRAZY HATS”
2/21-25 MID-YEAR RECESS - NO SCHOOL

Parent Traffic Duty: January 31st - February 4th, Parents from Rm. 3

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

Dear Garden Gate Community,

I am overwhelmed by the generosity and many kindnesses you have shown me. I don’t
think I know where to begin to express my appreciation, but I want to start with the children.
How they kept their letters to me quiet and how all of those books filled with letters were
created without me having a clue is amazing. Over 700 children ages five to eleven were
able to keep a secret! Astounding! I have just begun to read them and they touch my
heart. Thank you for the “Mrs. Wood’s Week!” It will be a week I will never forget and
treasure forever. My office was overrun with gorgeous bouquets of flowers. It never looked
so lovely. I still am enjoying many of them. And then there were the other surprises: an
incredible luncheon, a delicious breakfast, an opportunity to learn Indian dancing (thank you, Megha!), and the lovely
retirement reception this past Friday.

I am thrilled with my new iPad and am looking forward to a big personal technology jump!
There are so many of you I want to thank and I wish I could do it personally. To all who were a part of my special week, my
heartfelt thanks to you! There is one person in particular who deserves my gratitude and appreciation especially and that is
Merav Talmor, our PTA president. Merav, I don’t know how you did it with all that you have to do, but I so very much
appreciate your friendship and efforts!

Garden Gate School has been such a big part of my life for almost nine years. I can’t think of another school where I would
have rather worked. I’ve had the opportunity to know and work with many families and consider myself very fortunate for the
experiences. I have worked with an incredible staff – outstanding in every way. And I have had the opportunity to know and
work with the children – all those wonderful Garden Gators! What a great ride I’ve had! Garden Gate is truly a fine, fine
school, with fine, fine teachers and fine, fine children! Thank you, everyone!

Brandi Hucko – New Garden Gate Principal!

I am very pleased to announce that Garden Gate’s new principal will be Brandi Hucko.
Ms. Hucko has been the assistant principal at Cupertino Middle School (CMS) for over three years. During her tenure at
CMS, she has performed a multitude of site administrator duties and has been instrumental in planning and implementing
21st century learner initiatives involving assessment and technology. Ms. Hucko has also successfully served the District as
a resource teacher for new teacher support and induction, where she developed strong skills as a teacher coach and
presenter. Previous to her assignment at the District Office, Ms. Hucko taught grades four through six at Eisenhower School.
She began her teaching career in Sacramento as a third grade teacher. I am sure that in the coming days, you will learn
more about your new principal. I am also confident that you will welcome and support her as she prepares to lead our
Gators into the 21st century! Go Gators! 

Spring 2011 Student Council

Congratulations to our new student council officers for Spring 2011! They are President Debarshi
Basak, Vice-President Neha Vardhinedi, Secretary Ashley Chang, Co-Treasurers Anav Chaudhry
and Karthik Guruvayurappan, Sports Coordinators Vanshaj Bawa and Anisha Sinha and Public
Relations Representatives Vasantha Mathena and Ranjani Ravi. Congratulations and thanks go
also to their teacher advisors Joyce Che and Peter Ward, as well as Special Programs Coordinator
Patti Wolf for her special coordination of this election and celebration lunch!

(Continued on Page 3)

Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
 From Our Principal....Mrs. Wood “Continued”! PAGE 3

Technology Need at Garden Gate & PTA Funding – Please read the following Parts 1, 2, and 3. The following
information is key to understanding our request for laptop computers.
Part 1
Thanks to the generosity of our community, our PTA raised approximately $12,000 more than they had originally targeted to meet
the current budget costs. We are very grateful to all who supported our efforts to provide an excellent school environment for our
students. Our PTA put out a survey asking parents their thoughts, as to on what the additional dollars should be spent. There
were a number of responses, including a few asking about adding an additional shade structure in the back of the school for
students having lunch. I know that the PTA will be voting on the expenditures at the next meeting on February 3, and I want to
make sure that our parent community knows how critical our request for 10 laptop computers is for Garden Gate, so that you can
make an informed decision.

Instruction & Laptop Computers – Essential Combination

Part 2
Our teachers use laptops for quite a bit of the instruction during the day. Some of our programs such as our Social Studies
program rely heavily on computers and the Internet. Our teachers connect their laptops to the projectors in the classroom in
order to teach lessons. They also take their laptops home to work on lesson plans, report cards, and other activities related to
school and your children’s education. They need the flexibility of the laptop to do those tasks. In addition to the above, here are a
few other ways computers are used in the classroom as shared by our staff:

1. Creating weekly lesson plans using Pages.

2. Students record their reading fluency daily on our iPod touches and email their recording to me. Then they fill out a
fluency form on the iPod touches and send it to their customized Google doc. The students are able to view their
progress on the Google doc from the computer.
3. I use my computer to research and purchase educational applications for our iPod touches.
4. Communicate with parents, other colleagues and other teachers in the district.
5. I use the primary server daily to look at student work.
6. My students blog, use word processing applications and presentation applications.
7. We update our websites frequently.
8. Our students make PowerPoint and Keynote presentations. They also use the laptops to show visuals during
presentations.
9. I type notes/grades on my computer while students are giving speeches (instead of writing on paper and inputting
into the computer later).

Why Are We Asking the PTA & Community for the Computer?
Part 3
We are asking because many of our current computers are old and some are dying. There is no technology budget from the
school district to replace old or dying equipment. It is up to the school sites to find their funding. Schools frequently ask the PTA/
PTO organization for support. In fact, the Garden Gate PTA worked with the Garden Gate School Site Council the last time we
made a computer buy for the staff, and in providing projectors to every classroom. We are asking for your help now to replace 10
of our computers. We will use the older laptops as a portable lab for our students so that they can have more computer time
available to them. The teachers and students benefit in multiple ways from this effort. We hope that you will agree that access
to technology is essential to Garden Gate’s learning environment and that you will support our request. Thank you!

Shade Structure Cost Update

We were asked how much an additional shade structure might cost and the preliminary figure we are receiving is about $20,000.
That does not include the labor and material cost of laying a pad. A very rough estimate would put us probably in the $25,000 -
$30,000 range. We would need to submit a project request to the district and it may take some time to get everything checked out
and approved. In addition, the District requires all funding for a project request be submitted up front before any work is started.

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




 GATORAID!
PTA Corner
PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION
(PTA) NEWS & RESOURCES
Hello
Gator
Families,
As you all know, Mrs. Wood is retiring.
Mrs. Wood has been the principal of
Garden Gate School for the past nine
years. During this time, we all
witnessed how Mrs. Wood raised the
bar and with the help of her amazing
staff and teachers and created an
award winning academic environment! This by itself is
remarkable, but she went even beyond that. Thanks to her
calm guidance, immeassurable patience and her willingness
to help and listen to parents, she helped create a great
community here at Garden Gate. On behalf of all the Garden
Gate, parents I would like to thank her for all of her hard work
and dedication. Mrs. Wood, we wish you all the best and
we will miss you!
PTA
Survey
Results
We received 250 PTA survey responses. Thank you to all
those who participated – you are making a difference! We
now have your input available to take into consideration for
future planning. Even if you do not directly see your
suggestions put into action, please know that we have given
them serious consideration. Thank you!
We will discuss the results and vote on the budget in the next
PTA meeting on Thursday, Feb 3rd, 2011. Please plan to
attend this meeting if you would like to be heard.
Parent
Ed
Night
­
“Online
Safety:

Real
Tips
for
Real
Parents”
 Additionally, at 7:00 pm in the multi-use, our PTA will host an
In today’s green folder we included a flyer with details of a
parent education night. This is an important assembly to
attend as a parent. Understanding how we can protect our
children as they navigate the online world is essential.
Please join us on Tuesday, Feb 15th, at 6:30 p.m. in the GLC.
Sincerely,
Merav Talmor
Garden Gate PTA President
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014
PAGE 4
MIDDLE SCHOOL INFORMATION
MEETINGS. . .
LAWSON MIDDLE SCHOOL
Lawson Middle School will be having their incoming 6th
Grade Parent Information Meeting on Wednesday evening,
February 9th at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawson Middle School
Event Center. They will be explaining to all parents the 6th
grade Middle School program and what to expect during your
child’s first year in middle school! This presentation is for
parents only.
KENNEDY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Once again it is time for us to be thinking about our next
year’s sixth graders – their questions and your questions
about Kennedy Middle School. Parents of fifth graders are
cordially invited to attend the Sixth Grade Information Night
in the Multi-Use room on February 3, 2011, at 6:00 p.m.
It is important that sixth graders feel part of the school but
not be overwhelmed by it. We will discuss what our program
looks like from 6th through 8th grade: from required subjects
to school activities. Because of space limitations this evening
program is for parents only. We strongly recommend that
you attend this important meeting and we look forward to
seeing you on February 3rd.
CUPERTINO MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENT
INFORMATION NIGHT
The Cupertino Middle School Parent Information Night for
next year’s 6th graders will be held Tuesday, February 15 at
6:00 p.m. in the gym. The presentation will cover course
selection, homework, expectations, extracurricular activities,
and other topics.
informal gathering so that incoming 6th grade parents can
talk with CMS parents who have already experienced their
student’s transition from elementary to middle school. Our
counselors will also be available.
Due to facility limitations, this presentation is for parents only.
An electronic copy of the presentation and any handouts will
be made available upon request after the February 15
meeting.
 GATORAID! PAGE 5

CUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION – BUDGET INFORMATION

The governor released his 2011-2012 budget proposal on January 10, 2011. In response to this new budget, the Cupertino Union
School District Board of Education will host two informational budget discussion items. The first meeting was held on January 24,
2011. The presentation and other budget information is available at www.cupertino.k12.ca.us
In addition, there will be a second budget meeting with updated information at:

• 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 8, 2011, in the Sedgwick Elementary School Guided Learning Center (19200 Phil
Lane in Cupertino)

Any individual may appear before the Board of Education to comment or ask questions regarding the District's current budget
situation. These discussion items are for information only at this time and the Board of Education will not be taking any formal
action regarding this topic at these meeting.

2011-2012 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR

On January 11, 2011, the Cupertino Union School District Board of Education approved the 2011-2012 school year
calendar. The start date for date for next year is as follows:

• District (all schools except Murdock-Portal) – August 18, 2011

• Murdock Portal Elementary School – August 11, 2011

The full 2011-2012 calendar is available at www.cupertino.k12.ca.us.

STAR WRITING TEST

Students in grades 4 and 7 will take the STAR Writing Test on March 1, 2011. The STAR Writing Test addresses
writing application standards for grades 4 and 7. At grade 4, these standards require students to produce one of four
types of writing: narrative, summary, information report, or response to literature. The grade 7 standards require
students to produce one of five types of writing: narrative, persuasive essay, summary, response to literature, or
research report. Students at both grade levels read a task and write a first draft of their essay. First drafts are
submitted to the state for scoring. The two-week multiple choice STAR Test window begins April 25, 2011.

DISTRICT CALENDAR 2011-2012 (NEXT SCHOOL YEAR)

August 15, 16 and 17, 2011 Teacher Work Days
August 18, 2011 Students Return
September 5, 2011 Labor Day
September 23, 2011 Staff Learning Day
October 31, 2011 Staff Learning Day
November 11, 2011 Veteran’s Day
November 21-25 2011 Thanksgiving Recess
December 19-30,2011 Winter Recess
January 3, 2012 Students Return
January 16, 2012 Martin Luther King Day
February 20-24, 2012 Mid-Year Recess
March 19, 2012 Staff Learning Day
April 16-20, 2012 Spring Recess
May 25, 2012 Staff Learning Day
May 28, 2012 Memorial Day
June 12, 2012 Last Day of School
Garden Gate Elementary School 10500 Ann Arbor Ave., Cupertino CA 95014