SHARE:  
October 17, 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 Recognizes October Employees of the Month!
At its October 15 meeting, Garden Grove Unified School District's Board of Education recognized our October Employees of the Month including Russell Elementary Secretary Krissy Frechette and Enders Elementary Kindergarten Teacher Diane Benson.
Watch Our Choose Wellness Call to Action Video & Get Involved Today!
Have you signed up to get involved in our Choose Wellness campaign? The campaign is aimed at equipping all students and staff with mental health and wellness resources and ending the stigma of getting help during a time in need. There are many different ways you can get involved to help promote wellness in our GGUSD community.
Must Watch Video: Jordan Teacher Starts the Day with Special Greetings!
As part of our Choose Wellness campaign, we want to highlight the ways our students and staff go above and beyond to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive climates around our district. Take a look at Jordan Intermediate School teacher Mr. Dawkins who takes time to create a personalized experience for his students before they even enter his classroom! #GGUSDPride
La Quinta High School Earns Digital Citizenship Award

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, has recognized La Quinta High School as a Common Sense School.

La Quinta High School has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. The recognition acknowledges the commitment of La Quinta High School teachers, staff, and students in creating a culture of digital citizenship. Click here to read more.
Peters' Students Champion Important Environmental Changes
With a passion to protect the environment, a group of students from Peters Elementary School helped champion a district-wide program to replace Styrofoam lunch trays with new eco-friendly trays made from recycled milk carton stock and recovered fiber. The eco-friendly material breaks down quickly in a composting facility versus Styrofoam, which does not decompose.

Students from the Peters’ Environmental Club, Step It Up led by teacher Mrs. Terra Walker, began a petition drive more than five years ago to help make the district more environmentally-friendly. Students proposed several ideas to eliminate food waste at their school and throughout the district. With the support of GGUSD Food Services Director Agnes Lally, students were successful with the launch of the new trays.

Peters Elementary School also has a Share Bin in the cafeteria, a practice in place districtwide for three years, which allows students to reduce food waste. Unwanted items such as packaged carrots, yogurt cups, milk, and fresh fruit are placed in the Share Bin for other students.

Also new this year, the district entered into a pilot agreement with “Waste Not OC,” a program that allows the Food Services Department to donate leftover food from the district office café to a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, and community after-school program where it can be consumed quickly. The Food Services Department has plans to expand the program to school sites in future years.
Argos for the Win!
The Garden Grove girl's volleyball team is taking care of business this season with a 9-0 record in the Golden West League. Their latest victory was a 3-1 win over Ocean View. Way to go Argos!


Looking Sharp!
A few Paine Elementary School students showed up on picture day looking a little bit like their principal, Mr. Martinez. One Paine student said he wore a bow tie because he wanted to look like Mr. Martinez; commenting, “He’s the best and I love him!” Another student said, “He’s my hero, so I wore a bow tie today.” Great principals lead by example!
GGUSD Outperforms County and State on Standardized Testing


Last week, the California Department of Education released statewide results of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) exams, which show that GGUSD students continue to outperform the county and state in both English Language Arts and mathematics.

In English Language Arts, 60.9% of GGUSD students met or exceeded standards compared to 50.8% across California and 59.4% across Orange County. In mathematics, 52.2% of GGUSD students met or exceeded state standards compared to 39.7% across California and 50.4% across Orange County.

GGUSD is also the highest performing district among comparable large urban school districts in the CORE group, which includes Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Santa Ana. GGUSD students perform 12% higher than comparable large urban districts in English Language Arts and more than 18% higher in math.
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.