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Welcome to the Gryphon Gazette!

TONIGHT– Spirit of Danville – See below
November 19th - PTSA Meeting - 9:00am
November 23rd - 27th - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL

Caught being good this week … Nadine Karmalawy .. stop by the office to pick up your prize!

The end of the year is quickly approaching and with that comes holidays, family gatherings and outings. The activity around this time of year can also take its toll on our and your student’s health. Please be sure they get the rest they need, eat nutritious meals, and dress appropriately for the weather. It is getting cold, coats, jackets, sweatshirts are a must. Gloves, caps (worn outside) and scarves can also help hold off illnesses. Remind your children to wash their hands frequently. School is out for a week at Thanksgiving and two weeks for the Winter Break. Please try to have your students attend school every other day during this time. The curriculum doesn’t stop or slow down while school is in session. Please plan your family trips using the allotted days school is NOT in session.

If you have no alternative and must take your student out of school, your trip might qualify for an Independent Study Contract. The absence must be a minimum of 5 school days. Please send a note or call Mrs. Tagupa in the attendance office with the details of the absence. (dates and reason for the absence) a minimum of 7-10 days before the trip begins. She will prepare a contract for the student. Mrs. Tagupa can be reached on 479-1500 or mtagupa@srvusd.net.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping your students in the learning environment.

Leadership News

Love For Lincoln (Drive from November 9th – November 20th)

     Lincoln Elementary School is our Sister School, located in Richmond Ca

     We are doing a drive to help support their school and their education

     We recognize that they are in need of many things for their physical education classes as well as lunchtime/recess activities

   We are asking for our school to work together and help donate “gently used soccer balls, basketballs, four-square and footballs, as well hula hoops.
   Another way to donate is to bring in dimes, nickels, quarters, and dollar bills to help raise money in the hope to buy some playground equipment. Money will be collected in Advisory class in which you place it in your “Love for Lincoln” box.
   The playground equipment will be collected before school in the student store. When you bring in your “gently” used equipment, tell the leadership kids which Advisory class you are in, so points will go to the right class.
   Any other questions can be directed towards Ms. Murphy (kmurphy@srvusd.net)

The leadership class recognizes that this is a difficult time for all our families, but from November 9th –November 20^th, we are going to strive to think of our Sister School and show them Love by giving and donated our “gently” used playground equipment and/or donate money to help fund their equipment.

Thank you very much.

8^th Grade Information

Health Challenge Exam

What is the Health Challenge Test? The Health Challenge Exam is a test which is available to 8^th grade students only. The exam consists of 106 questions. The exam questions come directly from the New Glencoe Health textbook. Those students who pass the Exam will automatically have their passing grade entered on their official high school transcript. The students can then choose another elective in lieu of “Health”, a mandatory class for freshmen. This exam is offered only once. The 8^th grade students, who are interested in taking the Health Challenge Exam, can pick up the Petition in the Counseling office from Mrs. Cliff - October 15^th through Dec 4^th. Exam will be Wednesday, December 9, 3:00 PM., at Dougherty Valley High School.

Promotion Activities

Your student should have brought home a colorful flyer outlining the end of year promotion activities. It includes an RSVP for the Promotion Party and end of year field trip, plus the pre-payment so we can appropriately plan the budgets for the events. The form is also posted to our website. Click here to download the form. Additional information will be added to the 8^th Grade Promotion link as it becomes available and relevant. RSVP’s are due tomorrow!

Planning Meeting for Promotion Party 2010 – 6^th, 7^th & 8^th grade parents welcome!

· Friday, June 4^th

· 7-9:30pm

· Gale Ranch Quad

Next Meeting Date:

· Nov 18, Wednesday at 7:00pm in room B105

To volunteer or find out more information, please contact Renata Price at winekid@yahoo.com or 997-9056.

GRMS Website Our website contains loads of information that we hope will be informative and relevant to you. Please check it often. It contains, among other things, upcoming event, school, district and sports calendars, PTSA and Ed Fund information, links to pertinent sites and so much more. www.grms.srvusd.net

Other Events & Opportunities

Our front office has a literature rack containing informational flyers about school and outside activities. These could include sports, support groups, scholastic and other school groups. Please stop by periodically to peruse the rack. Your students should be checking it often too! Currently there is information about Lacrosse, Softball, CJSF, GIA, PTSA, ED Fund, La Asia, Office Depot and more!

In an effort to keep the Gazette to a reasonable and readable length, we will post a link in this area to community offerings you might be interested in viewing. Click here to see the latest.

GRMS ED Fund News and Happenings

Your Ed Fund is working hard to support the students at Gale Ranch Middle School. Here’s some easy and fun ways for you to participate and help!

Gale Ranch Dine Out – Thank you so much for participating in our first Dine Out event. We are planning another. Please watch your email for the next event.

Escrip – This is the simplest thing to do. We would love to see 100% participation in this program. It is quick and painless and as a result each time you shop you know you are supporting our school. The link is www.escrip.com and I promise it only takes a few minutes but yields thousands of dollars for us. You can link to your Safeway Card as well as several different credit cards. Take your pick .. all will help out our school.

Matching Funds – Such an easy way to double your contribution! Many employers have a matching funds program. If yours does, the school needs your help to expedite this very much needed support. Generally, companies have a matching gift form that you will need to fill out in order to process. Please check with your human resource department.

You may need the following information:

1) Gale Ranch Tax ID: 26-2286399

2) Gale Ranch Middle School

6400 Main Branch Rd
San Ramon, CA 94582-5978
(925) 479-1500

www.grms.srvusd.net
3) Your contribution amount.

For more information or assistance in this process, please contact, IChien Wu-Magidi, iwmagidi@gmail.com, 925-325-0007. We greatly appreciate your support. Thank you.

Start your holiday shopping now and experience Exceptional Discounts, Gourmet Food and Beverage Tastings and Great Raffle Prizes ..

Join your friends and neighbors for some fun and cheer and raise some critical money for our schools. Attend the Spirit of Danville Pre-Holiday Shopping and Dining Event taking place on Thursday, November 12^th in Downtown Danville, The Livery and The Rose Garden. There will be entertainment, shopping discounts, free food, free drink, door prizes, major raffles—big screen TV and TREK bicycle, trolley service to the 3 major shopping junctions in Danville and much more! The Spirit of Danville was conceived by Discover Danville, a non-profit serving the merchants in Danville. Admission to the event will be $5 and the proceeds benefit the “ San Ramon Valley Education Fund”. Tickets are available at La Buena Vida: 606 Sycamore Valley Rd W., Molly’s Pup-Purr-ee. 425 Hartz Ave and KRV at 740 Camino Ramon .. all in Danville.

We hope to see you there!

Sports at Gale Ranch

Week of November 16^th – 20^th

Volleyball

Final Games of the Season – Come Support the teams!

6^th Grade

· Monday, November 16^th – HOME vs Iron Horse

· Tuesday, November 17^th – AWAY @ Away

7^th Grade

· Monday, November 16^th - AWAY @ Iron Horse

· Thursday, November 19^th – HOME vs Iron Horse

8^th Grade

· Tuesday, November 17^th – HOME vs Iron Horse

· Thursday, November 19^th – AWAY @ Iron Horse

Ultimate Frisbee has been cancelled due to minimal student interest.

Practices will be held for the teams not having a game on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, unless otherwise instructed by the coach. Games start at approximately 3:30pm ending at approximately 4:30pm. Please be sure to arrange to have your students picked up no later than 5:00pm on game days.

Visit our website for all the information and schedule of practices and games/meets. From the GRMS website www.grms.srvusd.net click on Calendar and Events, choose Sports Calendar from the dropdown menu and choose the sport you are interested in learning more about.

Counselor’s Corner

Mrs. Ward and I have been working with GRMS staff and Advisory Reps the past few weeks on how to reach out to our students and help them develop their “sparks.” According to Dr. Peter Benson, founder of the Search Institute, a “spark” is a special quality, skill, or interest that lights us up and that we are passionate about. According to recent Search Institute research, when young people know and develop a “spark,” with the help of several adults, they present a strong picture of health and wellbeing. The research shows that they are more likely to have higher grades in school, have better school attendance, are more likely to be socially competent, are more likely to be physically healthy, are more likely to volunteer to help other people, are more likely to care about the environment, are more likely to have a sense of purpose, are less likely to experience depression, and are less likely to engage in acts of violence. Ten of the most common “sparks” among American teenagers are creative arts (writing, music, art, drama, dance), athletics, learning (i.e. languages, science, history), reading, helping/serving, spirituality/religion, nature/ecology/environment, living a quality life (i.e. joy, tolerance, caring), animal welfare, and leading. Our goal at GRMS is to help each student recognize and develop their personal “sparks,” which will enable him or her to thrive and develop as healthy individuals.

Mrs. Ehle

PTSA & Parent Education

PTSA Meeting Join us at the next PTSA meeting on Thursday, November 19th at 9:00AM in ROOM B105. Gale Ranch Nurse, Nancy Sheets, R.N. will be our guest speaker. She will be covering important information such as: -Hand Washing
-Flu H1N1 update
-Hearing/Vision Screening service provided
-Daily procedure on when kids come in "sick" (take temperature, sit down, water)
-What type of coverage takes place when the nurse isn’t at school

Hope to see all of you there!

SUPERINTENDENT FORUM

Steve Enoch, SRVUSD Superintendent invites all of you to attend one of the upcoming forums which will take place at each of our comprehensive high schools. The fundamental questions to be discussed will focus on what it means to be a “world class school district," and does a district that is as successful as ours have a need or a desire to explore what might be “the next level?"

To help the discussion along, I have created a document that includes a number of ideas and proposals which I believe are worthy of consideration. If nothing else, I am hopeful that these ideas will stimulate great discussion and maybe even some thoughtful debate, which will result in clarity of direction and quite possibly, better ideas for moving the district forward. If possible it would be good to read the document before attending a forum. Click here to find the document on our website.

The community/parent forums are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

Monte Vista High School / Thursday, November 12^th
California High School / Monday, November 16^th

The forums will all be structured the same so feel free to attend the one that best meets your schedule. Thank you for your continuing support of our schools and the children we serve. Have a great month of November and I hope to see you at one of the upcoming forums.

PARENT ED NIGHT

"Raising Great Kids" an evening with Mark Wollan and Laura Taggart of Community Presbyterian Church. Presented by Greenbrook Elementary PTA, November 12, 7pm in the MPR at Greenbrook.

REFLECTIONS SHOWCASE

You are invited to attend the San Ramon Valley Council of PTA’s Reflections Showcase, Monday, November 16^th, 6:00-7:30PM, Iron Horse Middle School, 12601 Alcosta Blvd., San Ramon

HOW EVERYONE CAN RAISE EXTRAORDINARY CHILDREN

Great Parenting Academy Conference will take place at Dougherty Valley High School Theater, November 21 8am-6pm. For more information please visit www.srvpta.org.

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