Please be sure that costumes are comfortable, provide good visibility, and are easy for your child to remove. All costumes must be non-violent in nature and follow our Zero Tolerance policy. Weapons (guns, swords, knives, martial arts weapons, etc.), fake blood, and hairspray containers must be left at home. Children must bring a set of school clothes in a bag, clearly labeled with name and room number.

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.

So look for your friendly Nimitz barista and get a free small cup of coffee while supplies last!

All children have an intrinsic or natural desire to learn. In a very literal way, we are "programmed" to be seekers of meaning, and to try to understand ourselves and the world we live in. In most children, the process of learning brings about great joy.

One of our most important jobs as teachers and parents is to maintain in our children their natural desire to learn. Some ways we can do this:

• Model learning as adults: discuss with children the things and ideas that fascinate or confuse us.
• Allow children ample time to explore topics of interest.
• Don't be afraid to answer "I don't know" when children ask questions that we don"t have an answer to, but follow that up with "How can we find out?"
• Make learning and school relevant to children's lives. We should always have a good answer when children ask, "Why do I have to learn this?"
• Don't turn learning into a competition. This changes the child's focus from their own learning to how they compare against others.
• Don't overemphasize grades. This can have the same effect as competition, and it shifts the student's motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic. Some children get very good at figuring out how to get a good grade, but lose the fact that school is supposed to be about learning, not grades and scores, and there's an important difference.

      - Dale Jones, Principal

The PTA invites you to submit an entry to the Reflections Competition. The deadline is this Friday, October 17th at 3:00pm. Please insure that you have completed and signed the entry form before submitting them to the office.

If you plan to be away from school for a minimum of five school days and a maximum of ten school days, please contact the office and 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 400 families. In addition, only one paper copy of the Dolphin was sent home to each family with the youngest child. We are now making 500 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.

How can you as a parent support your child's learning? Maintain an effective and consistent "homework habit." We live such busy lives with so many outside activities; however, support for your child's education must be a top priority. Your consistent daily support sends a message of "first things first" to your child.

• Find a place for your child to do homework. Have them put their backpack there and work there every day. That's one way to signal to the brain, "OK, now it is time to get down to work." When time is up, place all school materials in the backpack and place it by the door.
• Use a timer. Find a kitchen timer and use it when needed. Many children have no sense of time and many do not know how to budget their time. Using a timer will help develop these skills. Your child may need a silent timer, as some can be noisy and distracting.
• Provide a tool kit. A child who has to get up every five minutes to look for a pencil or piece of paper can't properly focus on homework. Have them put together a box with homework supplies. Include pens, pencils, erasers, a ruler and glue. Add other supplies, as your child needs them. Have your child get their tool kit out when it is time to start homework and put everything away at the end of study time.
• Set a regular homework time. Kids thrive on routines. If your child does homework at the same time every day, they'll probably put up less of a fuss. There isn't a "best" time to do homework. Some kids need to let off energy after school. Others want to get right to work. Find the time that works for your child and your family.
• Set homework goals. At the start of each study period, ask your child to make a list of what he/she needs to do. Use the assignment sheet or a list to check off each task as it is completed.

     - From "Parents Make a Difference"