Do you have any idea what an Aleph Null is?  Do you know how to figure a Root Mean Square?  Can you remember what Pi is out to 5 decimal places?  What's the difference between a Proper and an Improper Fraction?  I dunno.  But I know who I would ask if I wanted to find out.

Eucalyptus Elementary School is so proud to announce that TWELVE of our students scored a PERFECT 600 on the California STAR Math Test for the 2010-2011 school year.  How do you get a perfect 600?

AMAZING, WILLING STUDENTS + WONDERFUL PARENTS + DEDICATED, CARING TEACHERS = PERFECT 600

The perfect 12 are:

Way to go Brainiacs!

December 16, 2011 - January 8, 2012 - Christmas Break, No School

January 9, 2011 - Back to Work!  Break time is over.

January 16, 2016 - Martin Luther King Day - No School

January 23 - January 27 - District Benchmark Testing.  Please make sure your child has a good night's sleep and a good breakfast each day.  Plan for success and high test scores.

Click here to view the complete HUSD 2011-2012 Student Calendar.  It was revised in September, so check it out to stay up to date!

Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee, Benjamin Franklin.  Each of these men were innovators, pioneers, odd balls. 

Steve  Jobs told us to, “Think Different”.  Now, because he thought things could be done better, differently, the world is a better place in that we have cool gadgets, but more importantly, he left us a sense that we should strive for excellence, that excellence is preferable over good enough.  

Tim Berners-Lee is a scientist who was searching for an easy way for colleagues around the world to share documents.  Unable to find anything that met his needs, he invented the World Wide Web.

Ben Franklin, believed we should, “do well by doing good.”  Believing that life could be better, he invented the lightening rod, the franklin stove, and bifocal glasses.  He believed in voluntary associations of people to improve the lives of all.  He created clubs/associations focused on self-improvement, voluntary militias for protection, the first volunteer fire department and the first lending library with his own books as the core.

These were all men who did not ask, “Why”, but rather, “Why not?”  They saw what was and thought they could make it better.  Furthermore, they did not stop at thinking, they acted; and we are all better off because of their actions.

Eucalyptus ElementarySchool has its own difference maker/odd ball in the Jobs/Berners-Lee/Franklin tradition.  Robert M., a 6^th grader in Mrs. Valdez class, was in the school library one day and asked Mrs. Almojuela, our librarian, if the library ever got new books.  She told him yes, at the end of the school year depending on how much money was left.  Robert asked, “Wouldn’t it be nice if kids could donate books from home that they aren’t reading anymore?”  “Well, yes that would be nice.”  Isn’t that where most of us normal thinkers would have stopped?  Not different thinking Robert!  He took the idea to the principal, Mr. Gunter, who agreed that it was a good idea.  But recognizing a teaching opportunity, Mr. Gunter didn’t take the idea from Robert.  Instead, he authorized Robert to take the necessary steps to put his plan into action, and made him responsible to see it through.  So Robert went and found an enthusiastic associate in Johanna C., also a 6^th grader from Mrs. Valdez Class.  (Voluntary associations only work if there are good-hearted volunteers.)  Together, they have collected laundry baskets and strategically placed them around campus, made signs explaining that the baskets are for collecting donated books, sent notes to each teacher introducing the program and asking them to pass the word to their classes and prepared introductory letters to go home with each student.

Time will gauge the success of Robert’s idea, but we don’t have to wait to see that there are young innovators out there.  Robert and Johanna prove that they are there, waiting for their opportunity to shine, to show what they’ve got and what they can do.  They are lurking among us, waiting for a little encouragement, waiting for someone to say, “Yes, that is a good idea.”  Thanks, Robert, for leading the way.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back to an exciting new year of school.  I trust that you have had a relaxing and enjoyable summer.  Several new rules are being implemented at our school this year to ensure that your children learn all that they can.  Please take some time to review these and to speak with your children about them.  Note:  each of these changes are designed to give teachers more time to teach, reduce interruptions to teaching, and to improve the overall quality of instruction.

      1.     All students will be required to speak using complete                    sentences.

2.     All students will be required to speak to school staff using “Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Ms.”

3.     Before school, parents will only be allowed into the cafeteria to be with their children, and NOT on the playground.  This change in policy prevents the interruption of teaching time so that teachers can immediately begin instruction.  Often parents want to speak with teachers on the playground preventing them from immediately beginning an important day of instruction.  (Note:  parents will be allowed onto the playground on the first day of school).

4.     Avoid checking your child out early from school because every moment of instruction is valuable.  School ends at 2:37 pm and 1:31 pm on Wednesday.

5.     Student of the Day recognition will occur during lunch and recess instead of during morning announcements.  I look forward to calling the parents of each child selected.

6.     Awards assemblies at the end of each trimester will conveniently be held at night to accommodate more parents’ work schedules.

Our mission statement clearly defines what we as a school community believe.  Please take the time to read it.  It is on the right side of this web page.

I look forward to another outstanding year.

Mr. Gunter

March 2011 saw this school year's edition of the annual Eucalyptus Elementary School MARCH TO A MILLION campaign.  Each year, principal Mr. Gunter, challenges Eucalyptus students to do something really big during the month of March.  March 2010 the challenge was to collectively do one million (yes, 1,000,000) math problems.  This year the challenge was to read for one million minutes.  And each year, if the students successfully meet the challenge, they are rewarded with something equally big (or embarrassing, depending upon your point of view).  One year Mr. Gunter had to sit on the roof of the school all day long, no computer, no book, just sit and contemplate; and was it ever cold and windy.  Another year Mr. Gunter had to perform the Napoleon Dynamite dance during a student assembly (see below).

This year, if the students succeeded, Mr. Gunter promised to have his head shaved during an assembly.  Not only that, but the students from each grade level, K - 6 (yes K), would get to do the shaving.  Much to Mrs. Gunter's relief, as of Monday, March 28, only about 800,000 minutes had been read. Well, click the link to see if Mr. Gunter is a Fur Ball or a Cue Ball.

You know about the abundant dedication, professionalism, concern and heart for all kids displayed by the teachers and staff of Eucalyptus Elementary; these truly are individuals worthy of respect.  But did you know that two have been acknowledged by their peers as personifying all of those traits, as displaying exactly what we all look for in the educators of our children?  We are so proud to have Kris Holmes as our Teacher of the Year and Kari Gonzalez as our Employee of the Year.  They were selected by the people they work with each day, who see how they interact with students and who know how they care and work for the education and well being of the students of Eucalyptus.  Congratulations to Mrs. Holmes and Mrs. Gonzalez!

Mrs. Holmes		Mrs. Gonzalez

Click on any of the pictures above to view the video of their recognition by the District.