April 23, 2018
#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.
A Visit From The Superintendent

Last week, Superintendent Dr. Gabriela Mafi was at Faylane Elementary School, one of GGUSD's 11 2018 California Distinguished Schools, visiting with students and teachers and assisting with an important lesson about reading. Dr. Mafi regularly visits GGUSD schools, spending time co-planning/co-teaching, substitute teaching, providing professional development, mentoring staff and students, attending school events, and spending time with the GGUSD family including staff, students, and parents.  #ChooseGGUSD   #GGUSDPride
Barker's Big Win

Barker Elementary School won $10,000 through the statewide Scholar Share 529 competition. Thank you to Barker parents and community members for the hundreds of online votes that resulted in the win. Students are very excited about the new coding and robotics programs and STEM-centered instructional activities that will come as a result of this grant. #GGUSDPride  
Sherry Parmenter is GGUSDHomegrown
Sherry attended Hazard Elementary School, Peters (when it was an intermediate school), and is a 1973 graduate of Los Amigos High School. She is currently a health assistant at Stanford Elementary. 

“I worked at Barker, Lawrence, a short time at Bolsa, and then about 24 years at Stanford. I met my husband Alvin at Los Amigos, in the music department. He was in the band and I was in choir. We live in west Garden Grove where all our girls went to Enders, Bell, and Pacifica. I have met so many great friends and coworkers at GGUSD. It's a joy to work in GGUSD.”

Sherry has worked for GGUSD for 32 years.
Top Spellers
At last week's Board of Education meeting, we recognized our top spellers from the district elementary and intermediate Spelling Bees. It was great to hear from the spellers themselves about the hard work and perseverance that went into studying for the Spelling Bee. GGUSD scholars prove that spelling is not a lost skill.  #GGUSDPride #ChooseGGUSD
GGUSD's April Employees of the Month

On April 17, the Board of Education honored GGUSD's April Employees of the Month: Caitlin Donnelly, special education teacher at Jordan Intermediate School and Pamela Webb-Sanchez, noon duty supervisor at Eisenhower Elementary School. These two standout employees do so much to help students succeed. Click here to read more.
GGUSD Rated High for
New Teacher Training
Recently, GGUSD's Induction Program received a top honor: unanimous recommendation of accreditation from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The accreditation came after new teachers, mentors, and administrators were interviewed over three days to determine the quality and effectiveness of the program. Those interviewed praised the program for its tailored support system, emphasis on reflection and refinement, and shift to mentoring-based model. The Induction Program currently serves 145 teachers, offering in-class mentoring support provided by on-site teachers and Induction TOSAs. The program is grounded in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, strong candidate/mentor relationships, growth and reflection, and the Garden Grove Way.
Fitz AVID Students Support GGUSD’s Goal 3

All Fitz 8th grade AVID students took an active role in presenting college information to their peers in every classroom during the school's regularly scheduled Falcon Focus Lesson. To prepare, pairs of AVID students chose a college to research and created a 20-minute, interactive power point lesson to teach their peers about that college. The presentations included: entrance requirements, degrees, demographics, college life, and an oral “quiz” pertinent to the college they had chosen. It was amazing to see our AVID students confidently take on the role of teacher/leader to support our college and career going culture. 
PARENTS AS PARTNERS
Enders Elementary School hosted Doughnuts with Dads. Students played "Minute to Win It" games and enjoyed a tasty breakfast with their dads. GGUSD schools frequently host fun family events because we know parent engagement is critical to student success.  #GGUSDPride .
MAGNIFICENT MUSIC!

Last week, Alamitos Intermediate School's outstanding choir hosted a concert for parents. The Condors looked and sounded magnificent!  #ChooseGGUSD