Bear Tracks

• Monday, 3/1 - Friday, 3/5: Gardner Bullis Classroom Library Book Drive

• Tuesday, 3/2: MVLA Speaker Series 2020-William Stixrud, M.D. and Ned Johnson

• Thursday, 3/4: Minimum Day (see schedule below)

• Friday, 3/5: Friday Morning Assembly, 8:30 - 9 AM

• Monday, 3/8: Notification deadline to switch program

• Monday, 3/15: Deadline to drop off treats, snacks or trinkets for the Multicultural Fair Grizzly Yum Box

• Tues 16th/Thurs 17th: GREEN AND GOLD DAY!! Show your spirit and join in this student council-created day by wearing GREEN and/or GOLD!

Want something in Bear Tracks?

email text to gb.beartracks@gmail.com

by noon every Wednesday

Let’s face it - our school is a special kind of awesome! Our parent community and the support we give to each other and our kids is the best around, and we are looking forward to continuing that in this coming 2021-2022 school year, as we hope to safely return back to campus!

To make it happen, there are many ways you can optionally take part, from executive board positions, to committee/event chair positions, to chaperoning field trips, to making desserts that are fought over by other parents on auction night. We hope everyone finds a place in our community, and feels welcome to contribute if they choose at whatever level is comfortable, and feels appreciated. If you, or someone you know, is interested in an executive board or committee chair position for 2021-2022, now is the time to nominate them or volunteer, or ask us about them. Our current open positions we need to fill quickly are:

*Treasurer* - Per National PTA rules, a PTA cannot exist without a Treasurer

VP Community Relations

Financial Secretary

Auction Committee Chair

Hot Lunch Chair

Walkathon Chair

PTA Executive Board Position Descriptions

PTA Committee Chair Position Descriptions

If you are interested in learning more about the Treasurer, Financial Secretary, or VP of Community Relations roles, please contact GardnerPTAPresident@lasdschools.org.

Look at these cuties-patooties!

Good Afternoon GB Community,

March is upon us and that means we have a loooong stretch of learning before we have another break. During our faculty meeting this week, the staff and I talked about the next several weeks and connected that to our well-being and the importance of play, creativity, and humor. We shared with one another how play or laughing is used both here at school and in our home lives. Even as grown-ups, playing around can add pep to our step. This is especially true during long stretches of pushing ourselves to be at our very best. My wish for all of you as we enter March is that you have the “Lucky Charm” spirit and enjoy being silly, goofing around, and most importantly, laughing.

“A Community of Writers”

If you were with us this morning during our assembly, you heard the beginning of our shared story. As a “Community of Writers,” each cohort is going to add to a continuous story that will create a school-wide narrative experience. Our writing goal is: “By April 2021, Gardner Bullis writers will meet the learning progression goal for elaboration within their grade-level.” This applies whether students are writing a narrative, opinion, or informational piece and we have several activities planned to help us accomplish this goal. For example, Mrs. Leinenbach’s 4th graders presented this morning on what they are learning about elaboration in their informational unit. Please join us each week as more students share their learning experiences or actual writings around elaboration and let’s celebrate our writers.

Naming the Grizzly Mascot!

If you remember, 3rd grader June suggested we name our mascot, and well...we have kicked that process off. Currently, each cohort is voting on ONE name to push forward to the next round of voting. Once we have all 22 names from each cohort, the student body and staff will vote for their favorite name. After that, the top three favorites will go out to the entire community to vote on! We are very excited and I cannot wait to see what we come up with. Choosing a name is so important. I have already heard of two cohort choices and it is going to be tough to narrow it down. Stay tuned!!

Read Across America!

Next week is the time of year we EXTRA-DOUBLE-TRIPLE celebrate our love of reading. The National Education Association or NEA has put together a website of suggested books to read with your child that come from many different cultures and backgrounds. The NEA wants us all to enjoy “celebrating a nation of diverse readers” and here at GB, we will be doing exactly that. In just a day or two, look for a special surprise from the staff, AND, perhaps even some of our students!

Minimum Day Next Thursday, March 4th for our Cohort B K-5 Students

Per the district calendar, next Thursday is a minimum day for students. Start times will stay the same, however, dismissal times are staggered.

Important: In order for teachers to attend their professional development on Thursday afternoon, ALL students in A cohort will have their Thursday virtual meet either in the morning or right at noon. Please look for your child’s “morning meeting” time in your teacher’s newsletter.

Lunch recess and eating will not happen on this day, however, a snack will be important to pack for your child. In addition, due to some state requirements of instructional minutes, there will be some independent work assignments to be completed at home after students’ in-person day.

As always, we appreciate your flexibility.

Mindfulness with Coach Courtney

Here are some great tips to remind you of the BASICS: Mindful Moment #8

March 8th DEADLINE for Program Switch

The final program switch deadline for the 2020-21 school year for elementary grades is on Monday, March 8, 2021.

What does this deadline mean for elementary school families?

• If you do not intend to change your child’s program (Virtual School or Blended), you do not need to do anything.

• If you would like to change your child’s program (Virtual School to Blended or Blended to Virtual School), please complete this Google Form by March 8th, informing us of the change in program preference for your child. Your child's start date in the new program will be Monday, March 29.

• We will not be able to make any changes to your child’s program for this school year after March 8.

Staff Vaccination Update!

We are very pleased to remind our families and staff that educators can begin receiving their vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as February 28th. While our staff is encouraged to make a vaccine appointment outside of school hours, due to enormous demand, some staff may need to take time off to ensure a timely vaccine.

In addition, we know the vaccine can cause some side effects requiring time to rest at home. For our Blended Learning students, this could mean an extra day of asynchronous learning or a substitute teacher in the classroom. Virtual School students may also have a short-term substitute teacher for this reason. We ask our families for flexibility and understanding as we accomplish this incredible milestone in the pandemic.

Enjoy this fantastic weather!

Nadia

We welcome our newest Grizzly! Baby Tew has arrived! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Tew!

Gardner Bullis is celebrating Read Across America week with a Classroom Library Book Drive! Help us build our classroom libraries and clean out yours by donating gently used K-6th grade children's books.

Drop off your books at donation bins located at the school entrances from Monday, March 1st through Friday, March 5th.

Books will be distributed among our classroom libraries and the school library. Any remaining books will be donated to the Children's Book Project in San Francisco.

For questions, please contact Ali Granbery and Annie Schmidt at GardnerPTAPresident@lasdschools.org.

Follow these easy steps to participate and celebrate the diversity that makes Gardner Bullis so special!

1. Sign up to represent your country.

Go to: gardnerbullis.classroomparent.com, login and look for "Upcoming Events" on your homescreen to add your name.

2. Purchase country-themed snacks, treats or trinkets by Monday, 3/15 to help fill the Grizzly Yum Box!

Each family will receive a Yum Box with Around-the-World goodies donated by YOU to enjoy during Multicultural Week while they participate in virtual activities led by Ms. O.

3. Sign your child up to dance, sing or play an instrument that represents your country.

Two-minute video performances will be assembled and shared with the community at the conclusion of Multicultural Week.

Sign up at: gardnerbullis.classroomparent.com in the "Upcoming Events" section

For more information, please see our FAQs page.

For questions, contact Mona Ahuja: ahuja_mona2001@yahoo.com

Every day, our teachers work hard to design and deliver an excellent educational experience for all students, both in-person and virtually. They strive to provide every student the support they need during this challenging year. Thank you, teachers!

Donations to LAEF are down over 20% compared to last year, which could jeopardize our funding for teachers and staff for STEM, Wellness, Literacy, and Arts at every LASD school.

Please give what you can to help fully fund our teachers this school year!

Eight generous LASD families have offered a Challenge Match.

Donate to LAEF today and your gift could be DOUBLED! We welcome one-time donations, pledges, or smaller monthly/quarterly donations.

Learn more about LAEF’s Grant to the Los Altos School District this school year.

Read our Frequently Asked Questions, which includes school funding information.

Organized shortly after the pandemic started, the LASD Community Give Back project directly supports families within our school district who are grappling with food insecurity. If you have any unneeded homegrown fruit and vegetables and/or non-perishables, please consider donating them to this very worthy cause. Food may be dropped off on Sunday mornings before noon in front of the Covington Elementary multi-purpose room (right across from the parking lot) at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos.

Additional background and information are available in this recent article in the Los Altos Town Crier. Questions may be directed to LASD Board of Trustees member Jessica Speiser at jessica4lasd@gmail.com.

Check out our latest selection of t-shirts, sweatshirts and other gear including the #GardnerStrong bear and masked bear for 2020-21. Go Grizzlies!

Get absurdly fresh groceries and help us hit our fundraising goals. We've partnered with Good Eggs, a local Bay Area grocery delivery service: New customers can use the code GARDNERBULLIS at checkout to get $25 off their first order. Here's a brief tutorial on how to shop and where to put GARDNERBULLIS code at checkout.

Visit about.goodeggs.com to learn more about what makes them different from an Instacart or Whole Foods. Or head straight to goodeggs.com to place your order!

• Good Eggs is receiving absurdly fresh local fall produce daily.

• Good Eggs has seasonal recipe zines with ideas from local producers and their in-house culinary team. And a coloring book for kids, if you need a new activity!
• Good Eggs has a full collection of paleo and gluten-free baking items, prepared foods, and meal kits for every type of diet. You can even get a 3-Dinner Kit to help you easily plan the week.

The eScrip program provides money directly to Gardner Bullis every time you shop at Draegers with a registered debit or credit card. Just visit the link http://www.escrip.com to register your cards - it's quick and simple and keeps giving back to our school all year long! Please view this video for more information: https://www.screencast.com/t/eldcRiazC15

Please consider shopping at http://www.smile.amazon.com for all your amazon purchases and select Gardner Bullis School as your charity.

The Town of Los Altos Hills is partnering with the County of Santa Clara to offer COVID-19 testing in our community. Testing will be by appointment only.

To make an appointment please visit https://scl.fulgentgenetics.com/appointment/screen/landing

You can schedule from your phone or from a computer using a web browser other than Internet Explorer. Appointments are open for scheduling now. Once all appointments are filled, this location will no longer appear for scheduling on the website.

This testing site is not designed to test individuals with symptoms of COVID-19. Individuals with symptoms should contact their healthcare provider for evaluation and testing. Visit sccfreetest.org for additional testing locations.

Date: 3/1/2021
Day: Monday
Time: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Council Chambers

March, 2021

Los Altos Village Association

Even if you aren't a patient of El Camino Health, you can still get a free COVID test from them!

El Camino Health offers free testing for anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in their district, which includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, most of Mountain View, ad a large portion of Sunnyvale. The next testing in Downtown Los Altos is scheduled for Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:20 p.m. at Assistance League of Los Altos, 169 State Street. Tests are scheduled by appointment, which helps to minimize wait times.

There is no cost to be tested and tests are for individuals who do not have COVID-19 symptoms (i.e., asymptomatic). A short, half-inch swab is utilized to obtain self-administered nasal samples needed for the COVID-19 tests.

Sign up online by 4PM Monday, February 8th by clicking the button below.

If you prefer, you may schedule by phone by calling 650-940-7022. Choose option 4 to schedule your free test. Please mention Downtown Los Altos as the testing location when calling.

Schedule a free appointment now!

Questions? Contact Scott & Shannon at LAVA.

info@downtownlosaltos.org

Los Altos Village Association | 650-949-5282 | downtownlosaltos.org

STAY CONNECTED