Friday, October 29, 2010

Gunn's Annual Turkey Feast

Nitay Gill, nitaygill@yahoo.com

** YES THE TURKEY FEAST IS COMING
AND WE NEED LOTS OF HELP**

Gunn’s annual Turkey Feast will be held on Thursday, Nov. 18th during lunch so we need to start recruiting food donations and volunteers. It is one of Gunn's more popular events where the students and staff feast on a delicious luncheon, (vegetarian bar included), build community spirit, and then donate the proceeds to a local charity.

In the past we have had over 60 volunteers assisting and another 100 who donate food and money. The volunteers work in conjunction with the Student Executive Council and Lisa Hall, our Student Activities Director. We plan to feed 1400 people in 50 minutes so come and help! Last year we donated over $1700 to the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto through this charitable event!

For families that are new to this event, here is how it all works. 
On the day of the Turkey Feast, each Gunn student and staff can purchase lunch and a drink by paying $5.00 or bringing 3 cans of food plus $1. Lunch for meat eaters will include turkey, dressing and gravy, salad, cranberry sauce, rolls and pie. Vegetarians will feast on a baked potato bar as well as salad, rolls and pie. Posters will be up around school to help students remember their “lunch money”. We hope you and your family can all be a part of this special day!

Here is what is needed:

1. 60 Turkeys, at least 14 lbs.
Donate cooked and carved turkeys--delivered by 9:30 on 11/18.
It can be cooked a day ahead, carved and refrigerated. 
No time to cook? Consider purchasing a cooked turkey or turkey breasts at Draegers, 
Piazzas, JJ&F or Safeway and then carve them yourself.

2. Pies, we need 200 of them!

3. Volunteer your time for November 18th:
Food Prep -10:00 to 11:30
Set-up and serve – 11:30 to 12:45
Ticket Sales – 11:45 to 12:45
(12:45 to 1:00 – Volunteers get to eat) 
Clean-up –----1:00 to 2:30

4. For the VEGETARIAN BAKED POTATO BAR we need:

2 people to bake 25 potatoes each (wrapped in foil) and delivered that morning.
2 large pots of vegetarian chili – 15 servings each (recipe supplied if needed)
2 Costco size containers of sour cream
2 Costco size bags of grated cheddar cheese.

5. Monetary donations are gladly accepted to help purchase salad, rolls, stuffing and gravy. Makes checks out to Gunn High School PTSA, write Turkey Feast on memo line and send to Nitay Gill, 939 Casanueva Place, Stanford,CA. 94305

To sign up please click on the following link: http://www.jooners.com/guest?t=help&p=none&l=-36074a97:12bf21252e0:-58cd



Turkey Questions:Kathyalindholm@aol.com Kathy Lindholm

Pie Questions:Debbie.sutherland@comcast.net Debbie Sutherland

Volunteers:dpioppi41@yahoo.com Donna Pioppi

General info:nitaygill@yahoo.com Nitay Gill

Thursday, October 21, 2010

PACO'S SINFONIA TO PERFORM SEASON’S FIRST CONCERT

Submitted by Kim Nguyen, Kim Nguyen


SINFONIA OF THE PALO ALTO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
TO PERFORM SEASON’S FIRST CONCERT

Featuring Gunn 9th Grade Violinist
Isabelle Costanza

Under the direction of PACO music director Benjamin Simon, PACO's Sinfonia Orchestra will present the season’s first concert on Sunday November 14, at 3:00PM at Cubberley Theater, Palo Alto. The program will feature Isabella Costanza, a 9th grade violinist in Senior PACO and winner of our 2010 Concerto Competition, performing Mozart's delightful Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major. The program also includes Franz Schubert's little-known Overture in C minor (D. 8), Erwin Schulhoff’s String Quartet No.1, first movement arranged for string orchestra and Resphigi's popular Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3. In addition to the four primary pieces, chamber music will be performed by small ensembles of Sinfonia members. Admission is free. For more information, call 650-856-3848 or visit http://www.pacomusic.org/.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Gunn Robotics Presents The Capitol Steps

Submitted by Lakshmi Sunder, Lakshmi Sunder

The Capitol Steps, a popular political satire group from DC, is coming to Spangenberg Theater on December 12th !!!

Always Fresh and Crispy, putting the ‘MOCK’ in Democracy!. Performing songs from their new album “Liberal Shop of Horrors.”

This is the 4th Annual fundraiser for the award winning Gunn Robotics team, who were recently the recipients of the Google RISE award. RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards are designed to promote and support science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and computer science (CS) education initiatives and enrichment programs.

Two shows : 4 p.m and 7 p.m

PRICE of Tickets:
$50 for the front center section (first 13 rows)
$45 for the front side section,
$35 for the unreserved rear section (rows 14-25).

This is a benefit for the Gunn Robotics Team and the cost of the tickets over $20 is a tax deductible donation.

How to order tickets:

- TicketWeb http://www.ticketweb.com - Type ‘Capitol Steps’ in the “Enter artist or venue box” of the ticketweb home page.
- Gunn student activity center, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Rd. Open M-F 9 a.m to 3 p.m – Cash or check only.

More information:
Capitol Steps at www.capsteps.com
Or email grt192capitolsteps@gmail.com
or Lakshmi Sunder at Lakshmi Sunder

City of Palo Alto – Community Meeting Notice Arastradero Road Restriping – Trial Project

Jaime O. Rodriguez, jaime.rodriguez@cityofpaloalto.org


The City is holding its first post-construction community meeting and you are invited to participate.

At the meeting, the City will provide an update on the remaining construction activities; note issues already identified by the community and proposed immediate solutions by the City; and share the results of recently collected traffic data.

Community Meeting Details:

Where: Terman Middle School
Cafetorium Room
655 Arastardero Road
Palo Alto, CA 94306

When: Thursday, October 21, 2010
6:30PM – 8:30PM

If you are not able to attend and would like to share any additional input, please feel free to send your written comments via email to: transportation@cityofpaloalto.org

Jaime O. Rodriguez
City of Palo Alto
250 Hamilton Av
Palo Alto, CA 94303
O: (650) 329-2136
F: (650) 329-2154
jaime.rodriguez@cityofpaloalto.org

Major construction on the Arastradero Road – Trial Restriping project is now complete with street repairs, microsurfacing pavement surface application, and roadway restriping installed over August and September. Pending roadway improvements include the installation of final bike and parking lane lines, and bike lane stencils; installation of these items is delayed due to a nationwide plastic roadway material shortage. Two additional improvements scheduled for installation in November include a new marked crosswalk and raised median‐island at Arastradero Road & Clemo Drive and a traffic signal modification at Arastradero Road & Coulombe Drive to provide protected left turn phasing for eastbound Arastradero Road traffic.
The City’s first post‐construction community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 21, 2010 from 6:30PM – 8:30PM at the Terman Middle School – Cafetorium Room. We encourage students, residents, and commuters to attend to provide their feedback on the project.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Proposed School Calendars for 2011-12 and 2012-13

Diane Downend, diane@edenbridgehomes.com


Families can find the proposed school calendars for the next two years at http://pausd.org/community/board/downloads/brd_packet/item_013.pdf. The biggest changes from the current and prior years are:
1. Finishing the first semester, and its finals, before winter break.
2. Starting the school year on the Tuesday of the third week in August.
3. Ending the school year at the end of May.

You are encouraged to provide input over the next three weeks by emailing comments to calendar@pausd.org. This is important whether you are in favor of the proposed calendars or not in favor. You may also email the school board: mcaswell@pausd.org, bklausner@pausd.org, bmitchell@pausd.org, dtom@pausd.org, ctownsend@pausd.org. You may also comment at a school board meeting.

City of Palo Alto Library Survey

Arthur Keller, arthur@kellers.org

The City of Palo Alto's Library Advisory Commission has a survey to help them plan and prioritize new services for the Palo Alto Library. The survey can be found at http://bit.ly/PALibrarySurvey

National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists

Diane Downend, diane@edenbridgehomes.com

Cheers for Gunn's 30 seniors qualifiying as National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists

Gunn salutes this year’s thirty seniors that qualified as National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalists! These semifinalists were among the top 1 percent of scorers nationwide on the 2009 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), used as a screening tool for the scholarship program.

Yasmin Aghajan
Elliot Akama-Garren
Morris A. Alper
Jack Barbeau
Vivek H. Choksi
Sophia Christel
Bryan Chu
Jeffrey D. Common
Emma Dohner
Laurel Howard
Connie Hsueh
Anish Johri
Noelle J. Jung
Atsuhide Kobashi
Nikhl S. Lele
Andrew B. Liu
Stephanie H. Liu
Xinping J. Ma
Celine V. Nguyen
Derek Nielsen
Andrew Qian
Gayan S. Seneviratna
William R. Strickfaden
Adam L. Tong
Stephanie L. Tsai
Catherine D. Wu
Linda Yu
Brian Zhang
Sylvia Zhang
Sarah-Jean Zubair

SELPA 1 CAC parent education November event

Karen Mueller, Karen Mueller


Life Skills - Often our special ed students are a bit behind in life as well as school. When and how should parents promote skills for daily living and life in the real world? Melanie Murphree, OT will present about early life skills such as grooming, table manners, family chores, and riding a bike. Susan Flatmo, Ph.D. a licensed psychologist and behavior consultant will address overload strategies, reducing socially unacceptable behaviors, social pragmatics, and emotional well-being. Nancy Ng, a professional counselor and mother of 13 will present about older student issues such as self-advocacy, laundry, money management, shopping, phone skills, organization, and driving.

Wednesday, Nov 17, 2010 - meeting is 7 to 9 pm. Hospitality begins at 6:45pm. Covington Elementary School Multi, 205 Covington Rd, Los Altos.
This parent education event is sponsored by the SELPA 1 CAC www.selpa1cac.org
All of our events are free and open to anyone who feels they might benefit. No registration is necessary.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Tips for the College Fair

Leighton Lang, llang@pausd.org

Mark your calendar for Palo Alto College Fair: Monday, Oct. 18, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Before attending the fair, read "Making the Most of a College Fair":
gunn3.pausd.org/~ccc/Colleges/c_fair_tips.html

See up-to-date list of colleges attending:
gunn3.pausd.org/~ccc/Colleges/c_fair_participants.html

What students can do to impress the college rep:
gunn3.pausd.org/~ccc/Colleges/c_fair_tips2.html

College Fair FAQs: gunn3.pausd.org/~ccc/Colleges/c_fair_faq.html

Please pre-print all the info listed above prior to the fair as only a limited supply of hard copies will be available at the Fair. Also, parking is very limited due to on-going construction this year. Therefore, do plan to walk, bike, or carpool as much as possible.

Campus Map: gunn.pausd.org/PDFs/campusmap.pdf

Info: Leighton Lang, Gunn High School College & Career Specialist, llang@pausd.org

Benefit for Gunn Robotics: The Capitol Steps

Two Performances on December 12, 4:00 & 7:00 PM

The Capitol Steps, America's award-winning musical political satirists, return to Palo Alto for two performances, Sunday, December 12 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Spangenberg Theater, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road.

The Capitol Steps charm audiences on both sides of the aisle with their unique brand of political humor set to popular music. The Capitol Steps have recorded over 30 albums and been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, and NPR.. Their performances are always fresh and right from the headlines. Visit www.capsteps.com for more information.

Tickets cost $35-$50 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. This is a benefit for the Gunn High School Robotics Team and the cost of the ticket over $20 is a tax deductible donation.

Fundraiser: Wine and Hors d'Oeuvres Social, Oct. 21

Kathy Lindholm, kathyalindholm@aol.com

The Class of 2011 parents invite you to a wine and hors d'oeuvres social on Thursday, October 21, 6-8pm at the beautiful Garden Court Hotel at 520 Cowper Street, downtown Palo Alto. Mingle with Gunn parents and teachers and meet our new principal and vice principal!

Cost: $25 per person, RSVP by October 15
Checks made payable to "Gunn PTSA" should be dropped off at the office in an envelope marked "Wine Reception"

Questions? Contact Kathy Lindholm at kathyalindholm@aol.com or at 224-0083.

The Senior Class thanks you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at this unique event!! Complimentary parking is available at the hotel!

Message from Principal Katya Villalobos

Katya Villalobos, kvillalobos@pausd.org

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Hello. I have a request for all of you. Please help me remind your student(s) that if they visit JLS, Jordan, Terman, or any other PAUSD school, they cannot be on campus till after school; as a general rule that means after 3:30PM. Furhermore, if they are visiting a former teacher or coach they need to check-in at the Main Office as a visitor. It is not that their former teachers and coaches do not want to see them, but to remember that they are teaching and we do not want to distrub their instruction. Visitors should remember to follow all the traffic rules of school campuses like walking bikes and no skateboards in walkways.

Thank you very much for your support on this!

Sincerely,
Katya Villalobos
Principal

Tell the City What You Think of the Changes on Arastradero Road


The City of Palo Alto is doing research on what people think of the new Arastradero Corridor striping plan. Jaime Rodriguez, traffic representative of the City of Palo Alto, would like to hear your thoughts on the project. You can email him at jaime.rodriguez@cityofpaloalto.org.

Crab Feed, November 21, Benefiting Gunn Basketball!

Sarah Stapp, sstapp@pausd.org

Join Us for Great Food and Fun, and Help Support Gunn Boys' and Girls Basketball
Our Boys and Girls Basketball teams are hosting a Crab and Pasta Feed at the Gunn gym on Sunday, November 21st, starting at 5:30 pm. The Fish Market will be providing the fabulous food and the Varsity Boys' and Girls' teams will be providing the exceptional service with a smile! There will also be door prizes and fun surprises! Please reserve your spot now as space is limited. You can reserve your spot online here.
Cost: $40 per person, RSVP by November 12th. Please make checks payable to Gunn Basketball and send to Gunn, Attn: Coach Sarah Stapp, 780 Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306, or drop it off in her box in the Main Office at Gunn. Questions? Contact Coach Sarah Stapp at sstapp@pausd.org
The Gunn Basketball Teams appreciate your support and they are looking forward to hosting you at this tasty and fun event.


Here is the signup sheet: https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?key=tB8blqQojMbxgEYwcvv3dEg&authkey=CLD6ztcO&hl=en&authkey=CLD6ztcO#gid=0.

VTA Route 88 Schedule for October 13

Due to the 12:15pm dismissal, school trippers will depart Vets Hospital at 12:25pm (88M) or 12:27pm (88L). An additional N/B 88 trip to Middlefield/Colorado will depart Vets Hospital at 12:28pm.

Message from our Principal, Katya Villalobos, about the PSAT

Katya Villalobos, kvillalobos@pausd.org

Dear Junior Parents/Guardians,
As you are aware on October 13, the PSAT will be offered during the school day. The PSAT will be administered from 8:00 AM to 12:15PM, in the Village classrooms. Please have your student register online or in the Student Activities Center--we are still taking registrations. The cost to register is $30.00. I strongly recommend ALL Juniors to take this test. If you have any questions or need financial assistance please contact Ms. Cowell, or Mr. Cedros; they are here to help.
Thank you and sincerely,
Katya Villalobos

Queridos Padres y Tutores,
Como ustedes saben el 13 de octubre, el PSAT se ofrecerá durante el día escolar. El PSAT se administrará 08 a.m.-12:15p.m., en los salones del Village. Por favor, haga que su estudiante inscribirse en el internet o en el Centro de Actividades Estudiantiles - todavía estamos tomando registros. El costo para registrarse es $ 30.00. Recomiendo que todos los Juniors asisten este examen. Si usted tiene alguna pregunta o necesita ayuda financiera, por favor comunicarse con la Sra. Cowell, o el Sr. Cedros, estamos aquí para ayudar.
Gracias y atentamente,
Katya Villalobos

Friday, October 8, 2010

ESSAY CONTEST FOR STUDENTS ON THE LIMITS OF FREEDOM

An essay contest for juniors in the Palo Alto Unified School District will examine “The Limits of Freedom.”. The sponsor is the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto.

Contestants will discuss in 600 to 800 words, aspects of the tension between individual freedom and the needs of society as it relates to one or more of the contemporary political issues. Prizes for winning essays are $500, first, and $300, second. Entries are due no later than November 10, 2010 . Information is now available at schools or from lwvpaoffice@gmail.com. Also visit their website at http://www.lwvpaloalto.org/ESSAYCONTEST.htm

“Students, like the rest of us, are part of a national discussion on how to maintain personal freedoms while providing for the common good,” said Nan Prince, contest chair. “We look forward to a number of thoughtful entries.”