We Want You … Substitute Opportunities

The Silicon Valley economy is doing well and unemployment is quite low. For LASD, this means fewer people interested in substitute teaching. We are looking for parents who would be interested in helping our schools by becoming a substitute teacher. This may initially sound a bit unnerving, but it is actually a wonderful way to learn more about the learning of our students. You can choose your schedule, working as often or as little as you would like as well as at the schools of your choosing. We could really use your help, so please consider the opportunity.

If you would consider joining our substitute teaching pool, we are offering a free mini-training hosted by our Human Resource & Curriculum Departments. Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 19th from 9am-12:30pm. For more information click the link here and/or contact Erin Green, Director of Student and Staff Services at egreen@lasdschools.org

When to Keep Your Child Home From School

Sometimes it is difficult, especially early in the morning, to know whether or not to send your child to school. The following guidelines are indications that you should keep him/her home. In this way, you are helping to control the spread of colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses.

Keep your child at home when he/she has any of the following symptoms:

• Fever of 99.6 or higher
• Vomiting or Diarrhea
• Sore throat or trouble swallowing
• Rash or unusual sores or spots
• Generalized muscle aches and pains
• Unusually red, crusted or burning eyes
• Chills
• Nausea
• Coughing, sneezing, and/or runny nose
• Headache
• Wheezing or trouble breathing
• Head Lice

You need to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom free without medication for 24 hours.

Also, NOTIFY THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY if your child is exposed to or contracts chicken pox, mumps or measles or whooping cough (pertussis). These conditions can be life threatening to students who are undergoing therapies that suppress their immune systems.

For more information go to LASD website links: Sick child or Flu information.

Looking for a Webmaster for 2017-18

The school webmaster keeps www.gardnerbullis.org up to date. Before school starts, the Webmaster updates the school information for the new year as provided by staff and PTA volunteers. Each week, the Webmaster adds the Bear Tracks emails to the home page. As needed, the Webmaster works with each PTA committee to provide online support for their events. The Webmaster job can be shared among two or more volunteers with specific responsibilities. Most of the Webmaster work is done from home on a computer at hours of your choosing. If you have an interest in being the next school Webmaster, please contact Heather Rose at hvrose@gmail.com.

Multi-Cultural Fair: Volunteer to Represent Your Country!

Can you imagine visiting the world in just 2 hours? That is possible only at Gardner Bullis! We have families from 25+ countries eager to share rich culture and traditions: international cuisine, new facts and trivia, national dances and games! Every country will have an awesome booth displaying posters and serving treats.

Deadline to sign-up new countries is January 15, 2017.

Please coordinate with Gulya Shafeeva at gshafeeva@gmail.com

http://www.gardnerbullis.org/gardnerbs/7450-Multicultural-Fair.html

Become a LIVING CLASSROOM docent... share your love of nature with kids!

It's time to build bird nests, make yummy soup from the veggies we harvest from our school gardens, discover symmetry inside fruit, and make natural dyes from plants! If you like all those things and more, please consider becoming a Living Classroom docent! Living Classroom is looking for docents to help deliver hands-on garden-based lessons to the students of the Los Altos School District. No experience necessary as we provide all the training needed! Our Winter Docent Training will take place at the LASD iLearn Studio on Monday mornings from 9 - Noon on 12/5, 12/12*, 1/9 and 1/23 (*the 12/12 training will take place at the Palo Alto School District Science Resource Center). Please click here to view our Winter Training Flyer. Apprentice-style training also available for those who can’t make our Monday morning trainings.

Questions? Email us at livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or call (650) 947-1103. For more information about Living Classroom, please visit our website.

To learn more please visit LASD.

Assessment and Reporting in LASD

Friday, January 27, 2017 at 9:00am

Gardner Bullis School - Staff Lounge

Join us for a Parent EdTalk on Assessment and Reporting in LASD. This talk will include an overview of standards based teaching and learning, as well as provide details on our district-wide K-8 common assessments: the Fountas and Pinnell Reading Benchmark Assessment and the iReady Diagnostic Assessment in Reading and Math.

Seating is limited to 50. To reserve a place please: click this link 

LASD | iLearn | (650) 947-1150 | 201 Covington Rd

Happy New Year from LAEF!

We hope you had a wonderful break and are looking forward to a great second half of the school year. The end of 2016 brought in many contributions! Special thanks to those families who made a tax-deductible gift or requested a match from their company. Stay tuned for an exciting update on our fundraising progress. In the meantime...for more information about LAEF or to donate, please go to www.LAEFonline.org .

The Physics Show at Foothill College

If you can't have fun with physics ...

... you aren't a very fun person!

Topics for the 2016 – 2017 school year: A Tribute to Galileo & Temperature.

Saturday Jan 21, 2017 - 10:00 am / 1:00 pm / 3:30 pm

Sunday Jan 22, 2017 - 10:00 am / 1:00 pm / 3:30 pm

Buy Tickets Here:  buytickets.at/foothillcollege

Important Dates for Entering Terman Middle School

If your children are in the Gunn High School district area, priority registration for 2017-18 into Nixon, Terman and Gunn starts January 12 and closes February 15. For best school choices, it's important to make this deadline. Registration website is found at  https://www.pausd.org/registration.

There are several information sessions and visits for fifth graders entering middle school. (1) Information Session on January 26, 2017 at 7:00 PM at Terman Middle School. (2) Fifth Grade Visits on May 11, 2017 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon at Terman Middle School. The deadline dates and details can be found on this website.

The central office for the Palo Alto school district is located at 25 Churchill Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306.

MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series

MVLA Parent Education is offering upcoming two events to discuss the impacts of digital technology and screen time on our children. We hope you will join us!

S​creenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age Film by Delaney Ruston - filmmaker and primary care physician

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Two showings - 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm

Mountain View High School - Spartan Theater

Screenagers is a 68-minute film that probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including the director’s, and depicts messy struggles over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction. Through surprising insights from authors and brain scientists, solutions emerge as to how we can empower kids to best navigate the digital world. To learn more about the film and available resources, go to screenagersmovie.com.

​To register:  https://screenagersfilm.eventbrite.com ​

Reset Your Child's Brain: Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen Time

Victoria Dunckley​, MD

Tuesday February 7, 2017

7:00 pm

Mountain View High School – Spartan Theater

Speak​ing​ ​as a follow up to Screenagers, Dr. Dunckley will discuss how regular screen time impacts our brain functions and how addressing screen-related side effects can provide dramatic improvements in emotional regulation, academic performance, and social interactions.  Click here for more information about Dr. Dunckley.

To register:  https://vdunckley.eventbrite.com

Tomahawks Lacrosse Spring Registration Open - boys and girls teams, ages 8U|10|12U|14U.

The Tomahawks Youth Lacrosse Club sponsors youth boys and girls lacrosse teams, ranging from 1st grade through 8th grade. The Tomahawks Youth Lacrosse Club offers year round lacrosse opportunities, including spring league play, summer camps, fall ball, and instructional clinics throughout the year. We also partner with Team NorCal, a lacrosse development and travel team program that participates in regional and national tournaments. The Tomahawks are a 501c3 Non Profit corporation based in Palo Alto, California.

To register: http://www.tomahawkslacrosse.org/

For more information, please email Tomahawks Programs Director - Steve Harman steve@tomahawkslacrosse.org.

If you have a school-wide announcement that you would like to be included in Bear Tracks, please send it to the Bear Tracks editors. The deadline is the Wednesday prior to when you want it to appear.