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10401 Vista Drive, Cupertino, CA 95014 - Phone: 408-255-7500 - Fax 408-446-4987

The Lawson LinkMay 6, 2009

Vol. 4 Num. 9

Principal: Karl Sonntag - Asst. Principal: Jeff Bowman - Counselors: Amanda Fried - Miriam Stevenson

Superintendent: Phil Quon - Board of Education: Anjali Kausar, Ben Liao, Josephine Lucey, Gary McCue, Phyllis Vogel

Lawson’s Toothbrush Drive! Dates To Remember Lawson is participating again, this year, in a Toothbrush drive. The goal is to collect as many new, unused toothbrushes as possible to donate to a group called International Medical Options. This group will take a team of Stanford medical students to Papau New Guinea and Vietnam this summer to distribute the toothbrushes and give some other basic medical services to rural villagers, mostly children, who would otherwise have no access. Last year Lawson collected over 3500 toothbrushes. Lets set that as a benchmark and show how much we as a school community can really care! me on the collection days. Class that collects the most gets a pizza party.

MAYMon., May 4 - Fri., May 14: STAR TestingWed., May 6: NO LATE START WEDNESDAY Progress Reports go HomeThurs., May 7: 80’s DayFri., May 8: Notice of Math Level sent home with 6/7 Grade StudentsTues., May 12: 6th Grade to Aromas Field TripThur., May 14: PTA meeting (7:15 - 8:15 p.m.)Fri., May 15: PTA Staff Appreciation LunchThurs., May 21: Sunglasses DayFri., May 22: Staff Learning Day (NO SCHOOL)Mon., May 25: Memorial Day (NO SCHOOL)Thurs., May 28: Spring ConcertFri., May 29 & Mon., Jun. 1: 8th Grade Portfolio DaysJuneThurs., Jun. 4: Sports Boosters Awards Night PTA MeetingMon., Jun. 8: SchoolapaloozaThurs. and Fri., Jun. 11-12: Minimum Days - school out at 11:37 am both days!Fri., Jun. 12: 8th Grade Graduation and Dance

Our Ancient

Greeks using our modern

technology during 6th Grade Greek

Olympics!

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Ms. Miriam Stevenson

408 - 255 - 7500 x 138

stevenson_miriam@cupertino.k12.ca

TEAMS: A, C, E, G & J

Mrs. Amanda Fried

408 - 255 - 7500 x 116

fried_amanda@cupertino.k12.ca

TEAMS: B, D, H & K

Counselor’s CornerPre-Algebra and Algebra Challenge Tests

6th and 7th grade students will be notified of their math level for next year by May 8, 2009. If you have a concern about your child's math placement, please contact your child's math teacher. If you are interested in the Math Challenge Test offered through the district, please read the Math Challenge Test article located on Page 4 in the CUSD News Section.

Parenting Workshop The city of Sunnyvale is offering a parenting workshop in May. The topic is Internet Safety. The workshop will be held on Thursday, 5/21/09, 6:15 -7:45 p.m., Sunnyvale City Hall Council Chambers, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale.Description: Children can become victims of internet predators. Learn how to avoid dangers and how to safeguard your children and family from potential internet criminal activity. Parents will learn about the dangers and risks of the internet and how to protect their children from them. Facilitated by the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. This workshop is for parents only.

Summer School Initial summer school information has been mailed home to families. Students who fail to earn 6 points in any class will be required to attend proficiency summer school. If your child has struggled to meet grade level standards, you should have already been notified about recommended summer school support classes. If you have any questions about your child attending summer school, please contact your child’s counselor right away.

Point Value for Each Academic Letter GradeA = 5 points B = 4 points C = 3 points

D = 2 points F = 0 points

Electives for the 2009-2010 School Year Current 6th and 7th graders will be receiving information about next year’s electives by the middle of May. All forms must be completed, signed by student and parent and returned to school by Friday, May 29th.

How to Survive the Economic Crisishttp://lawsonms.ca.campusgrid.net/home/Counselor%27s+Corner/How+to+Survive+Economic+Crisis

PIV Login:http://lawsonms.ca.campusgrid.net/home/PIV+LOG+IN

Suggestions for Academic Improvement:http://lawsonms.ca.campusgrid.net/home/Counselor%27s+Corner/Suggestions+for+Academic+Improvement

Lawson’s Represented in Cupertino-Toyokawa Sisters Cities ProgramOn April 25th, Superintendent Quon introduced the 12 students selected for the Cupertino-Toyokawa Sister Cities student exchange program on stage at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Among them, representing Lawson, was Sacheth Hedge! The City Council and School Board members were there to congratulate the students, and Mayor Mahoney presented each of the delegates with a City Proclamation certificate. Sacheth is preparing to travel to Japan. He and the other students are taking language and cultural lessons in preparation for their homestay with the families of the students that will visit Cupertino in the fall. While in the Japan, the Cupertino students will attend a Japanese middle school, tour the Toyokawa area, and take the bullet train to Kyoto.

Congratulation to our CEEF ePIc Film Festival Winner1We are happy to inform you that Lawson student, Vinitra Swamy, 6th Grade, has won the CEEF ePIC Film Festival Award in the category 'Best Instructional Film' for her film 'Magic of Quilling'. Vinitra is the only Lawson student to get this award! The Awards Ceremony was held right here at Lawson on April 3rd. It was very grand and was in a Oscar Style format. Vinitra made this movie with her sister Varsha who is in Murdock Portal 4th Grade. Congratulation Vinitra and Varsha!

Lawson’s eClub Represented at Cupertino’s Earth Day Event!

The eClub was invited to the Earth Day Festival on Sunday, April 19th in Cupertino. It was great for the eClub's Sow-and-Grow program, and they had a blast! They had many people come to their booth-at least 150 people received plants and planted some seeds from them-and they were

busy throughout the entire event. The eClub also got invited to a couple of more city events. There will be more information on this at a later date. The mayor came to the eClub booth and so did the press. You may have all ready seen them on the local TV stations!A special thanks from eClub President, Shailee Samar, goes out to Neha, Vidya, and Powen for joining her at the festival. She hopes you guys had as much fun as she did!

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School PoliciesBelow are some of our

school policies. Please be

sure to read them and if

you have any questions, just

ask! You can also read about

more of our school policies in

the student handbooks in the

front of the planers.

Lunch/Homework Drop-off

Please note that lunches may

be dropped off only through

the office. To ensure minimal

disruptions to the classroom

please drop all lunches at the

round table in the office.

Principal and staff policy is

that all homework submitted

to the office will be time-

stamped and placed into the

teacher’s box. Please review

these policies with your

student.

Cell Phones/Electronics

Students may possess cell

phones, iPODs and CD

players. These items must be

TURNED OFF during the

school day, including brunch

and lunch and must be kept

in the student’s purse or

backpack at all times. First

offense, the items will be

confiscated for one day;

second offense – one week,

third offense – for one

year. Parents will be

required to pick up the item

after the second offense.

Technology Policies

As new technology continues

to emerge, the district is

balancing the use of

innovative technology at the

school site with the

protection of the identity of

our students. Due to this we

do not allow any students to

take pictures or shoot videos

for their personal use.

Students caught doing this

will have to face disciplinary

action. http://

lawsonms.ca.campusgrid.net/

home/Technology+Forms/

Technology+Policy+Form

2008-09 District CalendarMay 25 - Memorial Day

June 12 - Last Day of School

Thank you for all your support for those who participated in the Yes on Measure B campaign helping with the phone banks, the precinct walks, talking to your neighbors, and hosting signs in your yards for these past few months! We appreciate your efforts to do all you can for our schools. At our April PTA meeting we voted in our slate of officers for the 2009-2010 School Year. We are excited to welcome some new members to our board and it pains us to have some of our board leave as they transition out of Lawson and on to high school. We will miss Suman Ganapathy, who has been active in shaping the PTA a year before Lawson opened its doors, and Chanchal Sahai, who has served as our Communications Chairperson for the past 3 years. Please look over our list of officers on our website lawsonpta.org and be sure to thank them for their service to our kids. It is wonderful to have so many parents willing to help make Lawson a great place for our kids. We just want it to get better and better! Also at the April meeting, the PTA voted to donate $15,000 to purchase needed technology for the kids. With the budget situation this year, the district has not been able to provide the needed funds for additional technology for our children, so we voted to give the school the funds to use as they needed to provide technology for our kids. May 4-14th will be STAR testing and we are looking forward to a successful week for our kids. Let us make it a relaxing week so our kids can be fresh and ready for each day’s test rather than stressed and anxious. We will celebrate the end of STAR testing with a final Staff Appreciation Lunch for the year on May 15th. Our teachers are amazing and I hope you can let them know how much we appreciate all of their dedication to our children. This is the all-school Appreciation Day, so I hope you can help us let them know that we appreciate what they do every day. The PTA will be hosting a Chinese Take out Lunch for the teachers but we still need desserts and salad. Please feel free to also contribute cash to help us pay for the yummy Take-out food. Please let Kathy Fujii know how you

want to help. Her e-mail is kathyfujii@comcast.net. Also on May 15th the kids will enjoy an assembly sponsored by the PTA by the founder of the WEB program. He is a wonderful speaker who comes highly recommended by many teachers on our staff who have seen him in the past. The California State PTA convention was on April 30-May 3rd at the San Jose Convention Center. We had 3 representatives from Lawson attend since it is local this year and we are able to send more people at a lower cost. It is a great opportunity to see how the PTA is working for us at the State and National levels. PTA is a way for you to have a voice in California policies on behalf of the children even if you are not a citizen. You can be a PTA member which allows you to be counted among the over one million PTA members in California as they talk to legislators on issues that affect our kids, like the state budget. Historically, PTA initiated school lunch programs, TV ratings for children, and smaller class sizes in California. It is a wonderful organization that really does great things. Thank you for all of your support of the Book Fair last month, it was wonderful so see so many people and to hear about the success of our Destination Imagination teams and to honor the Reflections participants as well. Our PTA Honorary Service Awards were also announced:

The Golden Oak Award : Suman GanapathyThe Honorary Service Awards : Carrie Reichenberger and Ione YuenThe Very Special Person Awards: Chanchal Sahai, Kelly Takahashi, Agnes Pommier, and Elizabeth Burke.

Please look on the PTA page at lawsonpta.org and click on PTA Service Awards to read about the wonderful contributions these people have made to our Lawson community. Our Golden Oak Award winner and the Honorary Service Award winners will be honored at the Council Honorary Service Award Banquet on May 8th.

Thanks for all your support!Ione Yuen

PTA Section

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CUSD NEWSMATH CHALLENGE TEST INFORMATION — PRE-ALGEBRA AND ALGEBRA CLASSES — PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIREDRegistration forms will be available in middle school offices the week of May 11, 2009. The Challenge Test will be offered the week prior to the beginning of school to accommodate vacation plans of district families.

When: August 11, 2009; 9:00-10:30 a.m. August 12, 2009*; 9:00-11:30 a.m. *Only required of students with a 90% passing score on August 11 test Where: Lawson Middle School, 10401 Vista Dr, Cupertino

The goal of the Cupertino Union School District is to place all its students in the highest-level mathematics course for which the students are prepared to succeed. The current placement process at the middle school sites includes multiple assessments and teacher judgments. If your son/daughter is presently a sixth or seventh grader and believes s/he is prepared for a higher level than s/he is recommended to take, s/he must demonstrate this readiness by passing the appropriate challenge test with a score of 90% on both Level I and Level II tests. The student needs to pass the Pre-Algebra Challenge Test (Level I and II) to enroll in an Algebra class in the fall. Similarly, the student needs to pass the Algebra Challenge Test (Level I and II) to enroll in a Geometry class in the fall. Students considering taking a challenge test are required to discuss their choice with their teacher and/or counselor before signing up for a challenge test. The signature of the student’s current math teacher or counselor is required for the registration to be accepted.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:

• The Challenge Tests are not designed to be general placement tests.

• The Challenge Tests are only appropriate for a small number of

advanced students who feel their placement is incorrect.

• Past summer test results show that very few students qualify to "skip" an entire middle school math course.

• Although some students take summer courses in Pre-Algebra and Algebra, these four- or six- week courses seldom result in a student successfully challenging an entire year-long middle school mathematics course. Such summer classes are not a substitute for successfully completing the challenge test.

• PLEASE consider carefully whether or not such a rigorous testing experience is appropriate for your student

• Incoming Grade 7 students may not challenge the Algebra class to take Geometry in the fall.

Pre-registration for the Challenge Tests is requiredThe challenge test dates for Levels I and II have been set for August 11 (Level I) and August 12, 2009, (Level II) at Lawson Middle School, located at 10401 Vista Drive, Cupertino. Students should pick up a copy of the registration form from their middle school office. Additional information is on the registration form. All registration forms are due at the district office by 5 p.m., June 4, 2009. No exceptions will be made.

Due to district budget constraints, the test will be on a fee basis. Parents will be asked to pay a non-refundable fee of $25 per student to take the challenge test. In case of financial hardship, please contact René Jones at 252-3000, extension 147, before you send in your application.

PROTECT ARTS & TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AT OUR SCHOOL Join CEEF in raising funds that will directly benefit our school’s arts and technology programs.

CEEF Cares Donation Drawing Grand Prize: 2 BR/2B Beach Villa at Seascape

Resort on Monterey Bay for Five Days with S’Mores Beach Bonfire PackageTickets are $20 each or 6 for 100. Order your tickets by completing the green CEEF flyer in your child’s weekly folder and mailing your check to CEEF at 10301 Vista Drive, Cupertino, CA 95014. Our school can win 2 tickets to the 2010 CEEF Gala if we sell the most drawing tickets!

CEEF’S 23rd Annual Golf TournamentMonday, June 22, 200911:00 a.m. Shotgun StartStanford Golf Course$250 tournament fee includes: tee prize, golf, cart, range balls, lunch, unlimited drinks on course, awards dinner, and auction.

District Golf Championship: Recruit a foursome to represent our school at the CEEF Golf Tournament and chance to win individual prizes, as well as a Flip camcorder for our school. Email CEEF at golf@ceefcares.org for more information or to receive a tournament invitation in the mail.

END OF THE YEAR ATTENDANCE POLICYStudents must be in attendance on the last day of school to guarantee their place in the school they are registered in for the 2009-2010 school year. 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. If the student is ill, parents must notify the school of the absence and provide documentation.

When you are making travel plans, please consider the possible ramifications. If you have any questions, please contact Student Assignment at (408) 252-3000, Extension 110.