December 11, 2017
#GGUSDPRIDE E-newsletter
The #GGUSDPride E-newsletter features many of the great things happening in GGUSD.   
Send your photos to pio_department@ggusd.us to highlight your school or students in the e-newsletter.
Years of Service
Last week, GGUSD recognized more than 700 employees for their years of service to our district. Pins were awarded for 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, and 10 years. We are proud of our amazing workplace culture that leads to an incredible number of people dedicating their entire careers to GGUSD. Two GGUSD employees received a special recognition for dedicating 40 years to the district: Louise Gustafson, a teacher at Lincoln Education Center and Jimmy Faucett, an HVAC Technician II at Maintenance and Operations.
These three lovely ladies received pins for 35 years of service to the district.
Jimmy Faucett (second from right) was recognized for 40 years of service and poses for a photo with his family and Trustee Walter Muneton (right).
Board of Education Trustee Teri Rocco (middle) with Cook Elementary Principal Sandi Ishii and Rosita Elementary Principal Don Terreri.
Run for a Claus
Staff, students, and families from Monroe Elementary Language Academy participated in the Run For a Claus event presented by The OC Marathon at the campus of UCI recently. The race raised money for "Toys for Tots," the Salvation Army, and the Kids Run the OC Foundation.
'Tis the Season
Eisenhower Elementary School students had face time with Santa Claus who came to town to get wish lists from some of his favorite scholars.
Thousands of GGUSD Students Learn to Code for Computer Science Event
Thousands of Garden Grove Unified School District students from every grade level took to their devices last week to learn critical computer programming skills by participating in the “Hour of Code™,” a global initiative held during Computer Science Education Week, December 4-10.
Cook Elementary School students receive a certificate upon completing a coding challenge.
Gilbert Elementary School students prove that you are never too young to learn coding.
Hazard Elementary School sixth grade students teach kindergarten students how to code Dot and Dash robots.
We are Rancho
Rancho Alamitos High School is in full swing with its We Are Rancho Campaign, a school-wide initiative to recognize students for being Respectful, Accountable, Honorable and Successful. With the school's new 5-star system, all staff members have the ability to scan ID cards when witnessing students exhibiting positive behaviors on campus. Teachers host a monthly lunchtime rally, in which students receive Golden Tickets and play the giant plinko board for fun school-themed prizes! This has been a great way to recognize the great character of Rancho Alamitos students.

Athletic Accomplishments
On Thursday, November 2, Head Football Coach Mike Enright's win over Santiago gave him his 100th victory at Rancho Alamitos High School! This was such a wonderful accomplishment for Coach Enright, the entire coaching staff, and Rancho Alamitos student athletes.

Congratulations also to Rancho's Boys Varsity Cross-Country Team. They worked hard and became Garden Grove League Champions for the 2017-2018 season. The boys’ team completed an undefeated season with the victory at League Finals on November 2.
Honoring our Veterans
Each year, Morningside Elementary School hosts a Veteran's Day Flag Deck ceremony. This year, students honored U.S. Navy Veteran Napoleon Singletary for his service in the Vietnam War. He is the husband of the school's beloved breakfast clerk, Viola Singletary who has worked for GGUSD for 30 years. Also in the photo is Student Council officers, Phillip Nguyen, Jolie Rodriquez, Alex Le, and Aaron Trinh.
Glorious Geckos

Student scholars at Garden Park Elementary School focus all year on developing scholarly habits. On December 1, 2017, two students from each class were honored at the school's monthly Glorious Geckos ceremony for demonstrating the scholarly habit of perseverance. Great job to these dedicated students.
GGUSD Charity Campaign
GGUSD employees have the opportunity to give back to several non-profit organizations during the GGUSD Charity Campaign through December 22. One of the organizations employees can donate to is H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Prepare for Eternity), a one-stop safety net provider that has long served GGUSD families. Their generous partnership with the district has allowed our students to benefit from a variety of services and programs including: a food pantry to prevent food insecurity in low-income children, a mentoring and after-school tutoring program, STEM, arts education, music lessons, family counseling, and more. H.O.P.E. relies on support from the public to fund all of these great initiatives.

Photo from H.O.P.E. website.
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