GUNN ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION DONATION

Please support the Gunn student-athletes by making your donation of $175 to the Gunn Athletic Department.

Parents of Gunn Student Athletes,

The Gunn Athletic Department needs your support.  Budget cuts and state regulations in recent years have eliminated all additional funding for high school sports and the District only pays for Coaches’ stipends. Your donation of $175 per athlete (per sport played) is the sole source of income for the Athletic Department to cover the expenses for our teams to compete.   These expenses include league/tournament fees, referees, bus transportation, medical supplies and some equipment necessary to compete.  The goal this year for the Athletic Department is 100% team participation for the athletic donation for all Gunn sports teams (fall, winter and spring).  We are currently at 60% participation for fall teams combined.

I have attended several team parent meetings for fall sports and here are some of the questions most asked by Gunn parents regarding this donation.

FAQ’S:

I already sent in a team donation that the coach requested, why do I need to donation $175?  

Team donations are separate from the athletic donation.  Your team donation is used for your team only for items your coach wants/needs for your team to compete.  The athletic donation is the income for the athletic department for all the teams at Gunn.  Those funds are used for tournament/competition fees, bus transportation to games, referees and medical supplies.  The only funds that the athletic department receives from the district are the stipend for the coaches so your donation is essential for the department.

Why are checks made out to Gunn Sports Boosters but the funds don’t go into the team accounts?  

In the past, checks for the athletic donation were made out to Gunn High School while team donations were made out to Gunn Sports Boosters.  These accounts have always been separated but this year they have been combined so that families would only have to write one check to pay for all their donations.  Gunn Sports Boosters then issues a check to the Gunn Athletic Department for the $175 donations and team donations go into the individual team accounts.

What accounts are there for the teams?  Is fundraising the same as the athletic donation?  

There are two accounts, Gunn Sports Boosters and Gunn Athletic Department.  Fundraising funds for your team goes into your team account …the athletic department does not have access or use any of those funds.  The athletic donation goes to the athletic department and is used to cover expenses for our teams to compete.

What percentage of the $175 athletic donation does my team receive?   

This donation is the sole income for the athletic department/all the athletic teams. The only funds the department receives from the District are for the coach’s stipend.  Each team does not receive a percentage of this donation but the expenses for all the teams to compete (tournament/competition fees, bus transportation to games, referees and medical supplies) are covered by this donation.

To make a donation, you can either donate by check (payable to Gunn Sports Boosters) and have your student/athlete give it to the Coach or donate online at  www.gunnsportsboosters.com. Please include your athlete's name and sport played when donating.  If the participation donation is a financial burden for your family, please consider giving what you can.  With a goal of 100% participation, every contribution is greatly appreciated.

Any additional questions, feel free to me at spainsdj@comcast.net.    Thank you for your support!

Thank you,

Jill M. Spain

Gunn High School Sports Boosters

Adolescent Counseling Services:  Allowing the family to grow and adapt as the needs and abilities of the family evolve.

by Jerod Gilbert, LMFT, Site Director at Jordan Middle School

When we were expecting our first child, a graduate school friend of mine said, “It’s not just the birth of a child, it’s the birth of a parent.” I laughed and thought this was a bit corny. The cliché has stuck with me, however, as we have grown as a family. Now that we have a second child, and we have both a daughter and a son, I continue to see the validity of the idea of the birth of the parent, and I see the work the children do that makes us better adults. None of us receive instructions. We continue to grow as parents as our children grow. In fact, a primary sign of a healthy family is that it continues to adapt as the needs, wants and abilities of its members change.

During adolescence, the family arrives at a new opportunity to adapt to the needs of the family. It is the first time our children seek to find their own identity outside of the family. It is the first time they consider: Who am I? How am I like my family? How am I not like my family? Before, it was not even an idea, a feeling or a sensation. Suddenly it becomes primary. Because we are social creatures who need connection with others to thrive, our middle-schoolers seek groups outside of the nuclear family in order to test out who they are. They push away from their family because they feel the pull towards other groups, all in service to discovering their own self.

You wonder about the fervent pull to the mall on the weekend. You don’t get it --why is your daughter Instragramming her drink? You are not supposed to get it. It is not for you to get. It is for her peer group – the people who are supporting her growing self-identity. Adolescents must struggle to discover their own identities. The struggle entails negotiating and trying to fit in. They do seek leadership, however, and over time they do develop a set of ideals and a sense of right and wrong. In the successful adolescent, these ideals are socially congruent and desirable. But it takes times, and many awkward trips to the mall, to get there.

By middle school, our children have been attending schools and camps, riding bikes, and playing sports for some time; their worlds have already expanded quite a bit and we, as parents, have already begun to reconcile that we as parents are no longer the complete authorities we once were, though we are still at the top of the list. Our task with adolescents is to continue surrendering to our children’s growth, but to do so with an understanding that the developmental task of adolescence is to form a personal identity. If the family successfully navigates this time, the children will ultimately form an identity that feels true and stable to them. If the family fails, the children may experience role confusion and a weak sense of self. The reward of the family’s successful navigation of adolescence results in a child who is self-assured versus self-conscious. We would all like to give our children this experience in the world. The process during this time is critical and generating a respect for their task may help you understand and support them through the challenge. 

But how exactly do we support them? As stated earlier, our children do not arrive with instructions. So we must struggle ourselves to find the right balance of guiding and following. We must guide them towards making healthy decisions and, in order to maintain a connection, we must sometimes follow them towards their interests, which may not be our own. Additionally, sometimes we must see the bigger picture and understand that we cannot even follow. As parents we can expect our children to experiment with different – usually constructive – roles, knowing that the alternative for them is to adopt a “negative identity” (such as delinquency). No matter what, sometimes they will act like jerks, but our ability to continue to tolerate and guide them has lasting benefits for the rest of their lives. Allowing our middle-schoolers to experiment and explore, while providing a safe and supportive home-base, provides the stability our children need to actually anticipate achievement, rather than to feel paralyzed by feelings of inferiority and uncertainty. 

Ultimately, we want our children to trust themselves. Trips to the mall provide an opportunity for them to try on different aspects of themselves, so do trips to the state park, the beach, church and other non-consumer activities. The good news is there are lots of adults who can be good role models. In our community there are lots of programs in which they can explore their roles and identities. Adolescent Counseling Services provides students with another venue to begin to understand the patterns and themes that are emerging within them and around them. It is another way for students to investigate their self-identity, but to do so with a supportive, trained professional who is there for them – not a parent, a teacher, a priest or a rabbi, but a counselor who is there to support their own unfolding self without a potentially competing agenda. This can be a very powerful experience for an adolescent.

Adolescent Counseling Services is a community non-profit, which provides vital counseling services on nine secondary campuses at no charge to students and their families. To learn more about our services please visit the ACS website at www.acs-teens.org or call Pamela Garfield, LCSW Site Director at Gunn (650) 849-7919 . ACS relies on the generosity of community members to continue offering individual, family, and group counseling to over 1,500 individuals annually. ACS provides critical interventions and mental health services, building a better future for tomorrow. If you are interested in helping to support our efforts, do not hesitate to call to make a donation. It goes a long way in helping teenagers find their way!

Parent Ed Night: October 23, 2014

Gunn Boy's Lacrosse Fundraiser!

DONATE TO GOODWILL AT GUNN!!!

OCTOBER 18th & 19th

Donate your items to Goodwill & money raised will benefit the Gunn Boys Lacrosse team!

Doing some fall cleaning?….a Goodwill truck will be on the Gunn campus the weekend of October 18th & 19th from 9am. to 4pm.

The truck will be located near Gunn’s main office to provide easy access for you to drop off your items.

For your convenience, if you have items to donate prior to October 18th & 19th, Goodwill barrels will be located in front of the main office.

Thank you for contributing to Goodwill, your community and the Boys Lacrosse Team!!                   If you have any items weighing over 50 lbs., contact Cassandra Gencarella (mginx@sbcglobal.net) and we can arrange a Goodwill truck to come to your home. (Goodwill cannot take individual items weighing 50 lbs. or over at Gunn).

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 25 Churchill Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306 Telephone:  (650) 329-3737 FAX:  (650) 321-3810 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  September 23, 2014

Contact:  Glenn “Max” McGee, Superintendent, (650) 329-3737

Judy Argumedo, Coordinator of Education Services, (650) 329-3736

Education Trust-West Report Identifies Palo Alto as a Top-Performing District Serving California’s English Learners, Uncovers Promising Practices for Student Success

PALO ALTO, CA – The Education Trust-West released a major report today, “The Language of Reform:  English Learners in California’s Shifting Education Landscape” that identified Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) as one of eleven districts with exemplary practices.  California serves 1.4 million English learners—more than any other state in the country and accounting for almost one-third of English learners in the entire U.S. Too often, these students face insufficient academic supports, ill-prepared teachers, and less rigorous coursework, causing them to struggle academically.  However, The Education Trust-West analysis identified a handful of districts that are breaking this pattern.  Of the three categories of districts, PAUSD was classified as “Other/Multilingual Districts” (where more than 50% of English learners speak languages other than Spanish and/or at least three languages are spoken by 10% of English learners).  In this category, PAUSD was one of the top four in the state.  

Superintendent Glenn “Max” McGee commented, “Our hard-working, dedicated staff members are to be commended for developing programs and practices to serve our array of English language learners.  We are proud of this recognition and hope we can share our best practices with other schools and districts as well as continue to learn and to improve upon our own efforts.  The work of The Education Trust-West is important not only for identifying successful examples of excellence, but also for focusing attention on the educational needs of this growing population.”

Valerie Cuevas, Interim Executive Director of The Education Trust–West, a statewide education policy, research, and advocacy organization that works to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement for students of color and students in poverty said, “The good news is there are districts across California that are serving English learners well. Given that 1 out of 4 students in California is an English learner, it is critical that we uncover and share the practices and strategies these districts are using to get results.” 

Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) agrees. “We must do everything we can to ensure our English learners succeed academically and acquire English proficiency. This means addressing and removing all potential barriers and applying best practices statewide.” 

The report includes an analysis of data from 276 unified school districts based on their performance on four indicators, including the California Standards Test (CST), English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency rates, California English Language Development Test (CELDT) advancement rates, long-term English learner rates, and reclassification rates. The Education Trust–West identified districts rising to the top on each metric, as well as eleven districts that performed well on 3 of the 4 indicators. 

“While each district has a different set of policies and practices, top-performing districts have a few things in common. They believe their students’ native languages are cultural and linguistic assets. They provide teachers with the professional development they need to support English learners. They give English learners access to Common-Core aligned curriculum and college preparatory courses. They also engage parents and create strong home-school connections.” 

By taking a comprehensive approach to the issue, the report also includes: 

• detailed background information on who California’s English learners are and how state and national policies have shaped programs, services, and funding for English learner students 
• case studies highlighting promising practices and strategies that have contributed to positive results for English learners in several of the top-performing districts 
• a summary spreadsheet showing how all 276 unified school districts performed 
• a review of Local Control and Accountability Plans to learn what programs and services top districts plan to provide to English learners. 

With reforms including the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) dramatically shifting California’s education landscape, the report concludes with several policy recommendations to ensure action is taken to capitalize on these reforms to better serve English learners. 

On October 22, 2014, The Education Trust-West will host a webinar featuring leaders from top-performing districts who will share their effective practices and recommendations for ensuring English learners have access to the quality educational opportunities they deserve. 

Meeting the Challenges of the Twice-Exceptional Child 

Do you have a gifted learner who also struggles with learning or social challenges? Ms. Weistart will discuss how to meet the academic and social needs of a gifted learner with special needs, how to parent your unique child, and how to find support for both of you. Susan Weistart has been a certified teacher in both learning disabilities and gifted education for 20+ years with a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Her master's research project was on the twice-exceptional learner. Ms. Weistart is the former academic coordinator for Arizona State University's Center for Academic Precocity and spent many years as a teacher of highly gifted students, many of whom were twice-exceptional.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014 

Hospitality begins at 6:45pm

Meeting is 7 pm to 9 pm

Covington Elementary School Multi, 205 Covington, Los Altos 94024

This parent education event is sponsored by the SELPA 1 CAC (www.selpa1cac.org) an all-volunteer group of parents of children with special needs. Our service area includes all public school districts in Los Altos, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. All of our events are free and open to anyone who feels they might benefit. No registration is necessary.

Adolescent Counseling Services:  Know the Friends 

by Pamela Garfield, LCSW, Site Director of Gunn High School

Last year I had a great opportunity to lead a discussion of parents in the Sophomore Parent Network. Many parents in the group were worried about substance abuse and were wondering how to ask their children about drugs. ‘How do we communicate when they are growing so independent?’ ‘How do we remain in the know?’

Ahhh, the joys of raising a teenager...Therapists call this adolescent stage “Separation Individuation”. This is the phenomenon of your kid growing more independent and needing to learn life lessons on her own, yet still needs you as a base when she gets in over her head. One minute she is responsible, the next minute she is impulsive, immature, and clingy. What is a parent to do? How can one keep up?

The reality is even if you are the best parent in the world, it’s unlikely that your teenage son or daughter will tell you everything. This is especially true if there is a topic that is shameful or embarrassing. It’s part of normal development.

So what do you do if your independent teenager gets into trouble, how can you know? If a teen withdraws, a parent can feel stuck.

In the PTA meeting, a wise parent said “Get to know your child’s friends”. If your child is going through something they feel ashamed to talk to you about, the friends are more likely to tell you about it if they feel comfortable with you. 

The Palo Alto community has shifted in the last five years. Students are being trained in QPR - Question, Persuade, Refer - in their Living Skills classes (http://www.qprinstitute.com/) As a result, youth have learned to speak up about someone in trouble. Many have already had positive experiences talking to an adult about getting help for a friend. The community has learned to come together and help others. However, it can still be difficult for a struggling teen to talk to their parents about their 

As the new school year starts and your child is making new friends, take notice and interest in them. Notice who your child’s friends are because they may have shifted from last year. Be approachable and available to your child’s friends because they will probably be your most valuable resource. 

Adolescent Counseling Services is a community non-profit, which provides vital counseling services on nine secondary campuses at no charge to students and their families. To learn more about our services please visit the ACS website at www.acs-teens.org or call Pamela Garfield, LCSW Site Director at Gunn (650) 849-7919. ACS relies on the generosity of community members to continue offering individual, family, and group counseling to over 1,500 individuals annually. ACS provides critical interventions and mental health services, building a better future for tomorrow. If you are interested in helping to support our efforts, do not hesitate to call to make a donation. It goes a long way in helping teenagers find their way!