| Campus Happenings |
Kindergarteners studied the pond habitat during art class
Zun Zun performed to kick off Ocean Day, and students - and even Percy - did the limbo!
5th graders dissected squids during Ocean Week
Kindergarteners sang at the Promise & Renewal Celebration
First graders at Promise & Renewal
8th graders helped give out sprout sandwiches at Promise & Renewal
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7th Graders celebrated PI Day
Mick Dawson presented to
Middle School students about his experience sailing across the Pacific.
Mick Dawson (middle) with Percy, Gateway Parents and a representative of Save Our Shores, after his talk to middle school students.
6th graders received an award from Second Harvest Food Bank for gathering 24 lbs. of food per student during the Holiday Food Drive.
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FROM THE HEAD'S DESK 
by Percy L. Abram, PhD, Head of School
Dear Parents,
The recent
natural disasters in China, Chile, Haiti, Mexico,
and Russia - coupled with
the human tragedy of lives lost in West Virginia
and Poland
- remind us of the capriciousness of nature and life's uncertainty. Despite borders, our fate and fortunes are linked to the
individuals in this ever-shrinking world. Faced with these incidents, our students instinctively ask what they
can do to help. Their spirit of
benevolence, selflessness, and concern helps us to recognize how we can make
a difference in the lives of those affected.
As many of
you have heard, our Middle School students organized a drive to raise funds for
the local Red Cross Organization to assist with relief efforts in Haiti. Their inspiring efforts helped to raise $1,800
toward the relief efforts in Haiti.
While the idea that an individual can make a difference in his/her community is
not new to our students, it is important that students - and adults - are
reminded of this lesson frequently.
This sentiment
was evident at our recent Promise and Renewal celebration - featuring the
Enviro-Rock band Zun Zun - in which
our students pledged to preserve the environment through small, yet meaningful
individual acts. They foster an
understanding of their responsibility to protect the environment around
them. Next week, we will take part in an
All-School Beach Clean-Up on Earth Day, April 22nd, with our friends
at Save Our Shores. We will spend the
morning with two docents from SOS learning about their efforts and assist them
with cleaning up the beach Gateway
School has adopted, Its
Beach, as well as parts of Lighthouse Field.
The message gleaned
from these efforts is simple; your individual actions make in difference in the
lives of those around you. The current
theme in our socio-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum is Love & Friendship. Our students are learning about the nature of relationships with
friends, and realizing that we are all strengthened when we learn ways to help and care for others. One of the questions our students are exploring
is, "How can friends and family help us to keep hope alive?" For me, I remain
hopeful knowing that Gateway
School students will be
tomorrow's scientists, political leaders, musicians, activists, and
teachers. Given their commitment to the
world around them, I have no doubt that they will leave this world a better
place than the one they entered.
Warm Regards,
Percy
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SCHOOL LIFE 
UPCOMING
April
22nd All School
Beach Clean-up
for Earth
Day
April
28th Bookshop
Santa Cruz
Benefit Day
for Gateway
April 28th GPA
Parent Event at Bonny Doon
Wine Tasting Room
(Tickets are $15 in the Main Office)
Promise & Renewal- Thank you so much to the following people who
worked so hard to make all the elements come together so beautifully for our
Promise and Renewal ceremony! Big huge
thanks go out to Alexandra Armstrong, Lea Pittman, Diana Rothman, Jana Thomson,
Sarah Knight, and Gerilyn Van Pykeren. A special big thank you to those wonderful, hard working 8th graders too
for all the cutting, washing, preparing and serving of the sprout
sandwiches! Thank you to Jeannie Wholey
for the hummus and cream cheese toppings we all so love to eat! And of course, thank you to Music Teacher
Kristin Allen, and to Jeremy King for setting up the equipment and arranging
all of the logisitics.
Parking Reminder- Parking on the grassy field adjacent to the church lot is only
available for Gateway
School to use during
special all-school events. If the church
lot is full, please circle back around and look for parking on Pelton Avenue. Please also remind caregivers or others who
might be taking your children to and from school of this policy.
Student Council Fun Event Jamba Juice Sale - Wednesday
April 21st (after-school). Tasty and healthy fruit smoothies will be available for students
to purchase for $3.60 each (one drink per student). The following
flavors will be available: Mango Tango, Strawberry Surf Rider and Razzmatazz. So
that we can give Jamba Juice a general idea about ingredient count, please
specify your drink preference on the order form(please note that we cannot
guarantee that there will be enough of every flavor). The form is due back to
your child's teacher by Monday, April 19th.
70's Flashback- Two
important things were started in 1970: Earth Day and Gateway School!!
To celebrate the 40th year of Earth Day on Thursday April 22nd,
our entire school will do a Beach Clean-up! We will partner with Save Our Shores
to help clean up Its Beach and parts of Lighthouse Field between 10:00 - 12:00
pm. Look for more information from your
child's teacher about how your child's class will be participating.
Our Green Gateway Group invites all parents to join in on One Million Acts of
Green. Just in time for Earth
Day, here is a great way for our Gateway community to demonstrate
our green acts (some you already do and you can choose to pledge new
ones as well). Follow this link to
sign-up on the website today! Lets see how many families and faculty we
can sign up by Earth Day, April 22nd! How to do this: Click on the link and set up an account (there is some information
to put in. You can use "undisclosed" as a choice, as needed). Then check
your e-mail account and wait for the GreenNexxus Welcome e-mail, which
enables you to confirm your joining. Once you follow the link in the
e-mail you'll be in on the site and have many Acts of Green to choose
from and it will show you how you are reducing your carbon footprint
through these various acts. About One Million Acts of Green GreenNexxus connects people, enabling them to learn from each other
about how they can also reduce their environmental impact. It provides its
members with the ability to share their environmentally focused projects
and thoughts, belong to groups, invite friends, and attend events. This
online community will help the reduction of humanity's impact on the
environment and promote active green living by facilitating the
networking and collaboration of like-minded people and organizations.
Bookshop Santa Cruz Benefit Day - Wednesday April 28th. Bookshop Santa Cruz
is hosting a benefit day for Gateway School, where 15% of all purchases made by parents,
teachers, friends and family that day or night (even
including online purchases) go to Gateway
School to purchase books
for our classrooms and library! We will
also have a school "wish list" of books that you could purchase for the classrooms,
which will be made available both in the store and online. Bookshop Santa Cruz Benefit Day is a
great supplemental program to support our school and to acquire new books for
the classroom teachers and the library. Thank you for supporting Bookshop Santa
Cruz and our library program!
After
School Chess Classstarted this
week. If you are interested in signing up please download the Wednesday Flier
here.
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GPA NEWS
by Sheri Corona, GPA President sheric2000@yahoo.com
Art Tour Reception - May 14th 3:15pm in the West Cliff Room. Our annual Art Tour is the week of May 17th - 21st, where student artwork from the year is on display throughout the school. Come enjoy this reception in the West Cliff Room to kick off this very special week! |
 ADMISSIONS NEWS by Colleen Sullivan, Admissions Director
colleen.sullivan@gatewaysc.org
Gateway Host Families Needed- 2010-2011 Host Family program pairs
new families with current Gateway families to act as ambassadors throughout the
year. If you would be interested in being a Host Family, please contact Host
Family volunteer coordinator, Naomi Bendiner Woldemar at naomi.devi@gmail.com.
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FACULTY PROFILE
 Lydia Parker, 6th Grade Core
lydia.parker@gatewaysc.org
1. Where were you born?I was born in Lone Pine, California, a small town
in the eastern Sierras. It has a wonderful view of Mt. Whitney
and sits at 4,000 feet elevation.
2. Where did you attend college? What did you study
in college? I went to UC Berkeley, Southern Oregon College, and San Jose State University.
I graduated from SJSU with a major in art history and a minor in humanities. I
earned my lifetime credential while teaching fourth grade and adult education
in northern California
and have completed graduate work in education and educational therapy.
3. What are your hobbies?I love to hike, sketch,
read and daydream in nature.
4. Who was your favorite (elementary or middle
school) teacher? Why? I had several teachers I liked and admired. In elementary
school, I loved Miss Davis, she was always praising us and encouraged our
strengths. I was fortunate to have her for both first and second grades. In
those days, all elementary school teachers had to play the piano, and I fondly
recall Miss Davis energetically fingering our favorite tunes on an old upright
piano while we sat on the floor by the piano singing at the top of our lungs
and playing triangles, sand blocks, or any other small hand-held instrument. We
were joyful no matter how it sounded.
5. What do you like most about teaching at GWS?I
love the energy and enthusiasm our students bring to learning. I have noticed
that the students, in any grade in which I have taught, have been eager to
tackle an assignment in a creative and thoughtful manner. Now that I teach in
the middle school, I am impressed by our students' desire to take on more
responsibility around the school and to self-advocate when it comes to
understanding an assignment.
6. What project or lesson that you assign GWS are you
most proud of? Why?I enjoy the caves reports the students do in the fall
because they learn to appreciate prehistoric artwork as well as the creative
and inventive mind of our distant relatives. They have a new perspective on
early humans and understand what amazing creatures we are. My second favorite
project is the seated meditative figure they create in art after they have read
a story about the life of Siddhartha.
7. What project or lesson excites your students the
most? Why/how? I think the students love the DIG project at the end of the
year. They incorporate all the themes and elements of a civilization they have
learned during the year into creating their own civilization. Each section, 6A
and 6B, invents a civilization, in secrecy, and creates artifacts for it. The
other section does the same. At an appointed time, they exchange artifacts and
documents. Then each section must decode the language and elements of that
society and reveal the findings to the group that created it. The students love
the freedom involved in the creation of their civilization. They really love
keeping the process a secret and using spy tactics to try to find out what the
other group is doing.
8. How would your students describe your personality
in class?I think they would describe me as a creative and firm task-master.
Hopefully, they enjoy my brand of humor and understand its delightful place in
our lives.
9. What is your favorite tradition at GWS and why?I
like graduation because it is bitter-sweet and joyous at the same time. It is
one of those rituals that defines the year and students' lives. I am
consistently impressed by our wonderful graduates.
10. Describe something about yourself that no one
(until now) knows about you?I think people would be surprised to know that I
was a partner in a pack station years ago. We took people on horseback into the
Marble Mountain Wilderness Area of northern California. I would teach during the school
year and travel the mountains on horseback in the summer. Some days we left the
pack station at daybreak; I led the riders while two packers brought the pack
horses and mules. We might ride six hours (one way) unload the equipment, help
set up camp, and ride back to the station. I still recall a night ride back to
the station when I was glad to have a white mule in the lead; he was all I
could see in the moonless night.
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Classifieds
Send your free classified ads (maximum 50 words) to kristin.smith@gatewaysc.org or put them in the Development mailbox in the Main Office. Submissions should be received by the first Monday of the month to be included in that month's issue. This information is provided as a service to parents and faculty.
Gateway is not endorsing or making representations about the quality of
these classified services.
4BR, 1 bath home for rent in Seabright. Long term lease available. For more information, contact Jessica at jessica.donovan@gatewaysc.org.
Brother and sister cat need new home
together.Two beautiful black cats, 2 years old, have lost their home. Oona, is
adventuresome and playful. Kai, is very affectionate and loves to play
too. They are fixed, have shots, and come with lots of accessories. Trial basis
is ok. Contact Linda Snook 457-9291.
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