November 22, 2019
#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.
GGUSD Students Earn Free Thanksgiving Meals
Thirty GGUSD students from Clinton Elementary and Doig Intermediate schools received bags full of groceries for a free Thanksgiving meal as an incentive they earned for accomplishing their individual academic and personal goals. The Thanksgiving incentive was offered by Orange County GRIP (gang reduction intervention program), a partnership of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, local law enforcement, and community partners working together to provide children with caring adult mentors who help them make positive choices and achieve academic success.
GGUSD and Parent Leaders Work Together for Student Success
It was a packed house for yesterday's Parent Leadership Academy where parents, principals, district staff, and Board President Lan Nguyen and Vice President Teri Rocco engaged in important conversations about developing parent leaders, home-school communication, problem solving, and creating school-based communication and marketing initiatives. Parents heard presentations from Board of Education Vice President Teri Rocco, Superintendent Gabriela Mafi, and Public Information Officer Abby Broyles. GGUSD is incredibly grateful for our dedicated parents who work with us on continual improvement for our district, schools, and students!
Humans of LQ Inspires
In alignment with the Choose Wellness campaign, La Quinta High School publishes a "Humans of LQ" series featuring students of all walks of life to foster a culture of understanding, empathy, and inclusivity. There is only one word for Tamara's story - inspiring!  #GGUSDPride


Celebrating American Indian Culture at Board of Education Meeting
On Tuesday, the district presented the Board of Education with an update regarding the American Indian program including a four-year grant recently awarded to support the program. Part of the presentation included an Acjachemen welcome and presentation by GGUSD parent leaders as well as student performances!
Hill Students Commit to Kindness
Hill Elementary School students are committed to kindness. Last month, every student was given a Hill Hound paw to add the name of someone they saw being kind, a quote to share, or an example of how they showed kindness. All paws were added to a poster for display. The students pictured were selected by their classroom teacher as showing the best example of kindness. Students were given a "Bag Tag" that they could keep and add to their backpack.
Trustee Walter Muneton Provides Choose Wellness Campaign Update
GGUSD Board of Education Trustee Walter Muneton provides a video update on his commitment to GGUSD's Choose Wellness campaign, which he and the Board of Education were instrumental in launching.
Rosita City Savers Robotics Club received 1st Place for Innovative Project at a recent First Lego League Competition!
Enders Elementary fourth grade students held a canned food drive to collect food for families impacted by the recent fires. An Enders dad and LA Fire Department employee collected the donation and thanked the students for their giving hearts!  #GGUSDPRIDE
A Thanksgiving Feast
Each year, the special education staff and students at Bell Intermediate School team up to host a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for students, staff, parents, and district employees. This Thanksgiving season, we are grateful for the family feel created at our schools and the many opportunities and programs provided to our students with special needs!
GGUSD Launches ParentSquare to Expand Parent Communication
GGUSD has launched ParentSquare, an easy-to-use communication platform to reach and engage every parent, ensuring all parents have the opportunity to actively participate in their children’s education and stay up-to-date on district and school news. 

ParentSquare features:
  • district and school-wide mass notifications through voice, email, text, and new mobile application
  • district, school-wide, and classroom posts received as emails or texts by parents with two-way communication features
  • principal and teacher direct messaging with instant language translation using Google Translate
  • automated attendance notifications on student absences and tardies
  • school calendars and event rsvp’s
  • teacher to student communication for seventh through twelfth grade students

ParentSquare allows parents to choose how to receive school and classroom communication via email, text, or mobile application. Parents can also select when to receive messages either instantly or in digest format at the end of each day. Urgent school-wide messages can be sent through voicemail as well.  Parents will receive emails, texts, or voicemail messages to the email address or phone number on file with the school as part of the student enrollment process. 

Parents can download the GGUSD mobile application now on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. 
 
GGUSD’s partnership with ParentSquare will enable a stronger dialogue between school and home, and will help empower everyone within the school community to stay connected and informed.