June 19, 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.
Congratulations Class of 2018!
GGUSD graduated more than 3,500 high school seniors during the district’s eight high school commencement ceremonies held June 14 and 15. Valedictorians expressed a sense of pride in their high school experience, reflecting on their personal growth over the last four years, and their readiness to tackle the next chapter of their lives. The Class of 2018 has several students heading for ivy league universities including Bolsa Grande valedictorian Long Ho who will attend Princeton University in the fall to major in Computer Science and Garden Grove High School’s Cathy Duong who will major in English at Yale beginning a pre-med track with the hopes of becoming a geneticist. More than 1,100 students reported that they will attend a UC or CSU school. The Class of 2018 has more than 4,000 Advanced Placement courses completed and many will begin college with university-level course credits already earned. Congratulations Class of 2018 graduates! We're so proud of you!
GGUSD Sixth Grade Promotion Celebrations
It's an exciting time to complete elementary school and transition into intermediate school. Paine Elementary School celebrated its sixth grade students with a wonderful promotion ceremony last week.  #GGUSDPride
Stanley Elementary School hosted an exciting ceremony to celebrate its sixth grade students for their promotion to intermediate school. The festivities included medals, certificates, cheering from their classmates, and a ukulele performance by students.
Zeyen's Heritage Showcase
Last week, Zeyen Elementary School hosted a showcase of the school's Heritage Language program offered to fourth through sixth grade students in Spanish and Vietnamese. The goals of the program are to improve students’ literacy in their home language, develop a deeper understanding and sense of pride for their heritage, and a greater respect for one another’s culture. Students explored their family life, the greater community, and their culture through language, technology, art, and song. At the showcase, students displayed some of the work they completed, sang and danced, and recited lines of the poem they wrote entitled, “I Am From.” 
Free Summer Meal Kick-Off
GGUSD kicked off its Free Summer Meal program at the Garden Grove Library on June 17 with Superintendent Dr. Gabriela Mafi helping to serve children fruits and vegetables. The program aims to ensure children do not go hungry when school is not in session and is offered at 14 locations in GGUSD. Last year, the program served more than 64,000 meals. Click here for the schedule of locations, dates, and times.
Pre-Graduation Celebrations
In this must-watch video, Bryant Elementary School students cheer for Rancho Alamitos seniors one day before their high school graduation during the school’s third annual Graduation Walk. Also, Enders Elementary School hosted its first graduation walk to celebrate Pacifica’s Class of 2018 with high-fives, posters, and cheers!



Becoming Bilingual
Last week, our transitional kindergarten students at Murdy Elementary School earned their Pathway to Biliteracy award after completing their first year of Vietnamese dual language. We're so proud of these young scholars who are on their way to becoming bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural. GGUSD is only the fourth school district in the nation to offer this exciting program.
The Power of AVID
GGUSD graduating seniors highlight the power of the AVID program in their lives. The graduating Class of 2018 includes 485 seniors who completed our award-winning AVID college readiness program. We are so proud of our AVID seniors who are going on to UC and CSU schools, as well as several out-of-state universities. Our AVID students have proven that they are ready for success at the university level, and we cannot wait to see what they do next! Across GGUSD 3,218 seventh through twelfth grade students are enrolled in AVID.

Flag Day Celebrations
Many GGUSD schools celebrated Flag Day on June 14 including Eisenhower and Patton elementary schools. At Eisenhower, Board of Education Trustee Walter Muneton and his wife Yesenia joined students for a 5K Flag Day run.