We will have special reserved seating, an opportunity to participate in the kid's parade before the game, and recognition on the scoreboard. The tickets, which are normally $40, are being sold to us for only $12 each. Please fill out the flyer sent home in the blue folder or via email and send it in to the office by Wednesday, October 22nd.

Children often misplace jackets that are brought to school. Please write your child's name on the label, so that it can be returned in the case a jacket or sweatshirt is lost. Also, it is easy for students to pick up the wrong jacket. Please send back any jackets that your child may come home with that do not belong to them.

Please take the time to check your schedule to assure you will be able to attend at your scheduled time. It is very difficult to reschedule if you wait until the week of conferences. It is also important that you show up on time, as teachers have to adhere to a strict schedule to ensure that they are able to meet with all the parents in their classroom. Also, please be prompt in picking up your child at dismissal time (12:25 pm). Thank you.

The state of California has adopted a Zero Tolerance policy, which is designed to ensure that our schools remain safe for our children. If any student brings a weapon, drugs, or alcohol to school, they may be recommended for expulsion from the district.

Students that fight may be suspended and repeated fighting may also lead to a recommendation for expulsion. The following are some important tips for parents regarding these laws:

• Even plastic knives come under Zero Tolerance. Be careful not to include plastic knives in your child's lunch.

• Toy guns, squirt guns, plastic or rubber swords or daggers (Halloween costumes) are forbidden.

• If your child needs to bring medicine to school, make sure that you contact the office or our school nurse, Katy Waugh. We must have a protocol from your physician.

I always share with the students a scenario in which you make a mistake and send a plastic knife in their lunch. The important point is that if this should happen, or something similar in which a child suddenly finds herself in violation of the law, that they immediately tell their teacher. This happened to a student who inadvertently brought a pocketknife to school after a camping trip. The student told me as soon as she realized what had happened. I held the knife until the end of the day and then returned it to her and her parents. What could have been a disastrous situation was avoided because the student remembered to tell an adult.

Please discuss Zero Tolerance with your child. If you have any questions, please give me a call.

     - Dale Jones, Principal

It's time to participate and show your talents in the PTA Reflections Competition. This year's theme is "WOW!" Competition is open to all students from grades K - 5. You can submit in any of the six art areas of Visual Arts, Photography, Literature, Musical composition, Dance Choreography and/or Film Production. Deadline for submissions is 3:00 pm Friday, October 17, 2008. Entry forms for each category are available in the office. For additional information, please contact Suneetha at nimitzreflection@gmail.com.

To succeed, your child must attend school every day, and be on time! If your child will be absent from school for any reason, you must inform the office by calling our 24-hour attendance line at 736-2180 ext. 6, and leaving a message including the child's name, room number, and reason for absence. You need to call in every day that your child is absent. If not, the absence will be unexcused. Absences must be verified within 48 hours or they will remain unexcused. Please note that absences due to religious holidays are excused only if they are recognized as religious holidays by the school district and are called in to the attendance line. Only personal illness, medical appointments, religious holidays, or family bereavement are acceptable excuses.

In an effort to save paper and reduce duplicating costs, the Dolphin Newsletter was sent via email this week to over 400 families. In addition, only one paper copy of the Dolphin was sent home to each family with the youngest child. This will greatly help the school by saving over 15,000 sheets of legal-sized blue paper for the school year! Please note that all communication from teachers will continue to be sent home with each child. If you would like to be included in the parent email group, the forms are available in the office.

Either spontaneous or planned in advance, random acts of kindness are encouraged by various communities. We would like to encourage our Nimitz students to perform random acts of kindness in our community. Here are some recent examples:

• A 4th grader, without being asked, was lying on the grass reading out loud to two 3rd graders and a kindergarten student who were sitting around him engrossed in the story.

• One of the student's in Ms. Woods's class invited the entire class to his party at Golfland. The students that attended played in the arcade after golfing. One child suggested that they pool all the tickets that they had won to "purchase" a gift for Ms. Woods. A parent at the party mentioned the plan to the clerk behind the counter. Even though their pooled tickets were not really enough, he offered for them to take a basketball. Last Monday, they presented it to Ms. Woods saying it was from everyone in the class.

We would love to hear from you. If you have witnessed any Random Acts of Kindness by Nimitz students, please submit them to the Dolphin for our new column. Once a month, we will try to publish a list. Please email your Random Acts to nelsen_kristen@cupertino.k12.ca.us or submit them to the office.