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.

The PTA invites you to submit an entry to the PTA Reflections Competition. The deadline for submissions is this Friday, October 16th at 3pm. Please insure that you have completed and signed the entry form before submitting them to the office.

Due to state budget cuts, the School Site Council is seeking alternate sources of funding for Nimitz. There are many grants available for schools. We are looking for volunteers who have grant writing experience or would be willing to learn about the grant writing process. There is a Grant Writing Workshop on Tuesday, November 17th from 1:30-4:30pm sponsored by the Santa Clara County Office of Education. If you are interested, please contact Russ Ottey at (408) 736-2180.

Our first session of our after school enrichment program will begin on Monday, October 19th. This session will conclude on Friday, November 20th. There will be no classes on October 26th and November 11th due to school holidays. All classes will be held at Nimitz. Confirmation of enrollment will be sent home in this week's blue folder.

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.

The PTA is planning a book fair on the evening of Thursday, December 3rd. We thought it would be nice to have a small pre-holiday craft fair on the same night. We are looking for crafters who would like an opportunity to sell their products (e.g. jewelry, soaps, etc.) and would be willing to rent a table for the evening for a small price. This will be a great opportunity to buy some holiday gifts and help support the school. If you are interested in selling your craft or know of anyone, please contact tracey.terrett@gmail.com.

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@cusdk8.org. 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 or email nelsen_kristen@cusdk8.org.

Given the unprecedented magnitude of the state budget crisis and the uncertainty surrounding Cupertino Union School District's funding, Superintendent Phil Quon will be holding a number of budget update meetings throughout the District during October 2009. The Superintendent would like to invite all interested parents and community members to attend and hear what steps the district is taking to try and weather the state budget crisis. Please attend any meeting that is convenient for you Here is a list of schedule and location of the meetings:

• Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 - 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
  Lawson Middle School, Event Center (10401 Vista Drive in Cupertino)

• Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 - 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
  Cupertino Middle School, Gymnasium (1650 S. Bernardo Avenue in Sunnyvale)

If you have any questions, please contact Jeremy Nishihara at (408) 252-3000, Extension 323.

Christa McAuliffe School is one of the district's four alternative programs. McAuliffe, a K-8 parent-participation school in the Cupertino Union School District with a whole-child, developmental philosophy, offers a program which advocates for children to take ownership of their learning, to work collaboratively, to express their opinions, and to explore their interests. All interested parents are invited.

Middle School Information Night
Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009, 7-9 pm,
in the Performing Arts Center (PAC),
12211 Titus Ave., Saratoga
Teachers will present an overview of middle school goals and curriculum; McAuliffe alumni return to share their memories of middle school and to describe their transition to high school.

Middle School Parent Forum
Thursday, Nov 19, 7-9 pm, in Room 19
Panel of middle school parents will address questions in a casual environment.

Middle School Tours
Nov 6, Jan 15 & Jan 28, 8:45-11 a.m.
These tours are in conjunction with McAuliffe School tours, join a specialized tour of middle school classrooms led by a parent guide. Call 253-4696 or sign-up online at www.mcauliffek8.com. CUSD students only.

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department guidance recommends that, based on current flu conditions, students and staff with flu-like illness stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).

You can help keep our schools healthy by adhering to the following guidelines:

• Continue to enforce proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette - The recommendations continue to emphasize the importance of the basic foundations of disease prevention: stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible or alcohol based hand sanitizer, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).

• Leave accurate information as requested on the school's absence line if your child is sick. This will help the school identify any potential issues as soon as possible.

• Promptly pick up your child from school if they are sent home for being ill. The school will keep ill students separated from others until they can be sent home. Please make sure that the school office has your updated contact information.

• Any returning students after an illness with a fever will need to have their temperature taken in the school office before returning to class. Teachers will be sending returning students back to the office to have their temperatures taken if they arrive directly to the classroom without being cleared.