December 19, 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.
Santa Claus Made Special Stops in Garden Grove Unified School District
Riverdale Elementary School kicked off the holiday season with its annual Breakfast with Santa. Students, staff, and parents enjoyed pancakes and hot chocolate while making ornaments and writing letters to Santa. Families also had the opportunity to get their photos with Santa.
Monroe Elementary Language Academy held its first annual holiday boutique with more than 40 vendors, a silent auction, photos with Santa, and hundreds of toys collected for the ABC 7 Spark of Love Toy Drive which benefits families in need. The event ended with a visit and toy pick up by a Fountain Valley Fire Department fire engine.
Advanced Placement Accomplishments

GGUSD was named to the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) District Honor Roll. The honor roll is a special recognition for school districts across the nation that increased access to AP courses and maintained or improved the rate that AP students earned scores of 3 or higher on AP exams. Click here to learn more.
Low-Cost ACT and SAT Prep Courses

GGUSD is proud to offer low-cost Princeton Review SAT and ACT preparation courses to eleventh grade students who attend the district’s seven comprehensive high schools.  Courses begin in January and dates/times vary by school site. Click here to learn more.  
The Gift of Pasta
Alamitos Intermediate School students and staff joined together to donate 800+ items for the KFI AM radio "Pasta-thon." Alamitos Intermediate's ASB and NJHS spearheaded the event by organizing, collecting, sorting, and delivering 566 pounds of pasta to support Caterina's Club through the Anaheim White House Restaurant. This amazing program feeds 17,000+ local families in the Orange County area each week. The delivery team was even recognized with an interview from the radio hosts for the drop off.
Artist Accolade
Doig Intermediate School’s Celeste Castrejon was recently honored by OCDE and had her art work recognized at the Imagination Celebration and Laguna Festival of Arts Award Ceremony. During the summer of 2017 her art was chosen among thousands of art pieces entered from across Orange County to be exhibited at the Junior Art Gallery of the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts.
Pizza with the Principal

Anthony scholars have been hard at work. As the trimester concludes; they are focused on celebrating student effort, perseverance, and achievement. Students are recognized at the trimester awards assembly and a special Pizza with the Principal event.
AVID Recognition from Abroad

Last week, Santiago High School and Doig Intermediate School welcomed visitors from Australia’s Marsden State High School in Queensland. They visited our AVID National Demonstration schools on an AVID Study Tour. We are so proud to showcase our AVID super stars. 
The Gift of Giving
For more than 25 years, district office employees have enjoyed the gift of giving. This year, employees generously donated more than 260 gifts to the Giving Tree to serve families in need during the holiday season. Our dedicated Community Outreach Specialists deliver gifts to the families before the winter break. The gift of giving is rewarding to both the givers and the recipients.

Photo: Community Outreach Specialists Loi Truong, Tracy Tran, and Maria Avila, along with Director of Student Services Arthur Cummins pose for a photo by the district Giving Tree.