It's time to show your talent in the PTA Reflections Art Competition. This year the theme is "I can make a difference by..." This competition is open to all students. You can submit a piece of visual art, photography, literature, a musical composition, a dance composition or a film/video. The deadline for submissions to the office is 3pm Friday, October 19, 2007. For more details, look in the blue folder for a flyer. Entry forms and rules are available in the office. For more information, please visit www.nimitzpta.org or contact Susannah at pta@mrjim.com.

Ask your children to tell you about the Red Ribbon activities.

Nimitz' curriculum addresses refusal skills and drug, alcohol and tobacco awareness. Teachers will have grade level appropriate discussions and projects in their classrooms designed to help our students begin building their own value system that will make them able to say 'No' to the peer pressures involved in drug abuse.

You can support our curriculum through discussions at home on your values. A strong value system can empower students to make educated decisions rather than simply be influenced by peer pressure.

Our second session of our after school programs will begin on Monday, October 29th. This session will run for six weeks, concluding on Friday, December 7th. We have two programs: ACE, which is for students who need academic support, and Enrichment, which are fun, extracurricular classes. Students must be recommended by their teacher for ACE. Sign-ups for ACE are taking place this week and are done by the teachers. Sign-ups for Enrichment will be the week of October 22nd. Watch for the flier coming home next week in the Thursday folder.

f you plan to be away from school for a minimum of five school days and a maximum of ten school days, please contact your child's teacher at least one week ahead of your departure date to arrange for a special Independent Study (IS) Contract. This way your child can keep up with class. The following guidelines must be followed:

• A student must be enrolled for three consecutive weeks before an IS contract can be initiated.
• The contract and homework must be returned the first day back to school with all the work complete, so days missed do not count as unexcused absences.
• Students who are absent for more than ten consecutive days will be dropped from the roster of their school. When the student returns, if space is available at his or her school, the student will be reinstated. If no space is available, the student will be assigned to another school in the district where space is available.

Last week, the Dolphin was sent via email to over 350 families. In addition, only one paper copy of the Dolphin was sent home to each family with the youngest child. We are now making 440 less copies of the Dolphin each week! If you signed up for the email and did not receive it, please email Kristen Nelsen at nelsen_kristen@cupertino.k12.ca.us. Also, you might want to add this email address to your address book to avoid it being filtered as spam or bulk email. If you would like to be included in the parent email group, the forms are available in the office.

(Cascade Drive) after school on Tuesday from 1:25-1:40pm. If you are available to help, please contact the office. This is an opportunity to work with wonderful children, while helping the school maintain a safe environment.

Research shows that children with consistent school attendance learn more. Punctuality also promotes learning. A student who is 10 minutes late every day will miss 30 hours of instruction during the year. Children who are late or absent can copy notes or make up an assignment, but they can never get back what's most important - the discussion, the questions, the explanations by the teacher and the thinking that makes learning come alive. Your child's success in school depends on having a solid educational background - one that can only be gained through punctuality and regular school attendance. Research shows that attendance is the single most important factor in school success.

It's that time of year again when all eScrip members must renew their commitment to shopping at Safeway. Safeway requires all eScrip supporters to renew their commitment to them every year. For Nimitz to continue receiving your contributions made through your grocery shopping at Safeway, YOU MUST RENEW YOUR COMMITMENT BY NOVEMBER 1ST. It's so easy to renew! Choose one of these 3 easy ways!

1. By phone: Call 1-800-801-4973 (must have your Safeway club card number available)
2. Visit www.escrip.com and click the red checkmark "Yes! Renew" icon.
3. Contact your eScrip coordinator, Peggy Ngai to renew for you at (408) 720-8714, or email bradleyngai@yahoo.com (provide your first and last name).

If you do not renew by November 1st, your contributions to Nimitz will stop, so please renew today! Have questions? Contact Peggy Ngai at (408) 720-8714 or by email at bradleyngai@yahoo.com. Thanks for your support!

The Cupertino Union School District's "Community Based English Tutorial" (CBET) Program is once again sponsoring an adult English class at Nimitz and John Muir Elementary Schools. The Nimitz class is scheduled to meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. and the John Muir class is scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. The starting date for both classes will be determined based on the number of applicants. The applications for the CBET Program are available at www.cupertino.k12.ca.us Preference will be given to parents with children in English Language Development programs at their schools. The CBET classes are not mandatory for parents.

The purpose of the CBET Program is to provide free or subsidized programs of adult English language instruction to parents or other members of the community who pledge to provide personal English language tutoring to English learners. Since these classes are for adults only, no childcare will be provided. Proposition 227 provides funding for this program. In accordance with Education Code Section 315 and Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations Section 11305, these funds may be used for direct program services, community notification processes, transportation services, and background checks required of the tutors who volunteer in public schools settings.