February 28, 2020
#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.
La Quinta High School Opens New Performing Arts Center
La Quinta High School welcomed community leaders, parents, and students for an exciting ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the school’s brand new state-of-the-art performing arts center. The new 456-seat auditorium features a modern foyer, ticket booth, two dressing rooms, brand new lighting and audio systems, laser projectors, wheelchair lift, and more. Following the ribbon-cutting, the school hosted its Open House and showcased many of the wonderful academic, athletic, arts, career pathways, and extra-curricular opportunities for students.
GGUSD Names Elementary School Spelling Bee Champ
Congratulations to Patton student Landon Akins for winning the district's 33rd annual Elementary School Spelling Bee, beating out the top spellers from all GGUSD elementary schools!
Stanford Elementary Unveils New Innovation Lab
Stanford Elementary School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil their brand new Innovation Lab. District administrators were given a tour of the lab and were able to participate in demonstrations of the various features which include a Lego wall, green screen station, 3D printers, robotics, and more! The lab will help students engage with technology and learn the skills needed for 21st century careers.
Bell Intermediate Hosts Mental Health Week
Recently, Bell Intermediate hosted a Mental Health Week to help students better understand how to deal with stress and learn healthy coping strategies. Students participated in special lunch time activities including creating mini-books with positive inspirational messages to themselves, practicing breathing exercises, creating a gratitude journal, playing with therapy dogs, and taking part in yoga in the quad. Students also attended a presentation during P.E. about suicide prevention awareness. Kudos to Bell on supporting mental health and wellness for students and staff.
Garden Grove High School Celebrates Vietnamese Culture
Garden Grove High School recently hosted a Vietnamese Cultural Night which featured student and staff performances, lion dancers, and more. GGUSD proudly celebrates and embraces the diverse cultures represented by our students.
Gilbert Elementary School Hosts College Night
Gilbert Elementary School recently hosted a College Night to encourage students to begin exploring their goals for the future and to realize that college planning/goal-setting can start now.
Community Invited to Art in the Park
GGUSD and the City of Garden Grove invite the community to attend their 2nd annual art festival, Art in the Park, on Saturday, March 7, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Village Green Park, 12732 Main Street, Garden Grove. The event coincides with the opening of GGUSD’s 42nd annual First Impressions Art Show, which begins Saturday, March 7 through Friday, March 13. Art in the Park will showcase student artwork and performances, and includes interactive activities for the whole family to enjoy!
Career Pathway Showcase at Rancho Alamitos
Recently, Rancho Alamitos High School hosted a Career Pathway Showcase which highlighted the school's impressive CTE courses and specialized industry skills taught in each pathway. The Showcase featured culinary students dressed in their chef's best and cooking up samples of delicious food. Automotive students provided hands-on demos and explanations of auto parts and diagnostic tools, and students in the Business Pathway highlighted their entrepreneurial talents as part of the Virtual Enterprise. Lake Intermediate students also featured their career skills showcasing their amazing robotics projects! Fashion and Digital Arts students proudly displayed their creative projects with visitors, and Cypress College highlighted new dual credit courses coming in the fall. We are so proud of our Career Pathway teachers and the work they do to give students a head start on their future success!
Future Leaders from Hare High School
Hare High School students recently attended the Friday Night Live (FNL) Youth Summit at the Hyatt in Anaheim learning about leadership skills, underage drinking and drug prevention, and tools and strategies to develop their FNL chapter.
Morningside Welcomes Bolsa Jazz Band for Special Performance
The month of February found the students of Morningside Elementary School celebrating the struggles and successes of Black Americans during Black History Month. Each classroom chose a famous Black American to study and created artwork to hang in the MPR. The artwork reflected each famous American's success and showcased the work of our students to all who visited the MPR. To cap off our month long celebration, the Bolsa Grande Jazz Band performed for students, staff, and parents and performed the works of Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder, and Pharell Williams. The music was swinging and it was an exciting concert for all to hear!

Mark Twain Empowers Parents with Helpful Communication Strategies
At the Special Education Center at Mark Twain, Speech Language Pathologist Trish Nash and Teacher Alicia Lepicier have been working with parents at monthly meetings to provide them with tools to support their students at home with developing their communication skills and providing opportunities for their child to make choices, voice their wants, needs, feelings, likes, and dislikes. These classes help empower students to engage and connect with their family and community!