The Direct Give Contest is in Full Swing!

We are now a few weeks into the Direct Give Contest and the competition is heating up! This year three prizes are up for grabs. Each student who donates the minimum of $150 will receive a limited edition CLIPCO water bottle designed by one of our own CLIP parents. The homeroom in each grade (Meyerholz) or the grade in middle school (Miller/Lawson) with the highest participation will win a root beer float party. And finally, each student in the homeroom that reaches 100% participation will receive a t-shirt with the matching design to go with the water bottle!

As of this week, Room 5 of 1st grade is taking the lead with a participation rate of 82%. However the competition is fierce with Room 14 of 5th grade nipping at its heels at 81%. The grade with the highest average participation is Kindergarten at 77% participation.

We are two weeks away from the end of the competition on November 4th. Anything can happen in two week's time, so don't give up just yet! If you have not donated, please do it now. Donation can be made by check using the pledge form or by credit card online. For more information please visit the CLIPCO Direct Give website.

To understand how the donations are used to support the CLIP program, please see the 2011-2012 Budget approved by the CLIP Advisory Committee (CAC).

"Thank you to CLIPCO's support for our two 7th grade classes at Miller. CLIPCO funded our instructional materials, resource books, and technology support. The Chinese instructional materials that we use in 7th grade include Meizhou Huayu (美洲華語) textbooks, reading comprehension books, and essay writing workbooks. For social studies, each student received a copy of "The Medieval World and Beyond" in Chinese. We just recently put in a request to purchase a set of world civilization books in Chinese. In mid-September, the 10 MacBooks from Lawson were delivered to Miller. Wendy Chew, who works as a technology support staff for two hours per week at Miller, makes sure computers work in our classrooms." - Ling-Ling Chern, CLIP 7th grade teacher

"Having a CLIP resource room for teachers has allowed our program to have a multitude of resources all in one place for teachers to easily check-out and use in the classroom: children books, teacher resource books, grade level curriculum binders, teaching posters, Chinese culture enrichment class activities and Chinese culture art materials. With the CLIP TOSA (teacher on special assignment) position, we have been able to have small group instruction for 4-5 students at a time focusing on a specific goal in either English or Chinese as identified by the grade level teachers. Both the CLIP resource room and CLIP TOSA position have only been made possible through generous parent donations to CLIPCO." - Grace Chu, TOSA

"Thanks to funding from CLIPCO, we were able to purchase the MeiZhou (美洲華語) Chinese Textbooks for each of our students this year. The MeiZhou teaching materials provide a conversational style learning experience which helps to create a well-rounded language curriculum for the students. Because they are especially designed for children growing up in North America, the topics discussed are more closely tied with the students' social surroundings. Currently the MeiZhou Chinese textbook is incorporated with our Chinese curriculum and students all enjoy it very well." - Catherine Huang, CLIP 2nd grade teacher

"Having taught at several schools and programs in the district, I've found the CLIPCO parents to be the most passionate and proactive when teachers have needs for their classrooms. The fifteen MacBook laptops that were purchased for the 5th grade are a perfect example of such amazing support. Not only does such a purchase help give me the tools to continue to challenge my own thinking of what is possible in the highly interactive, student centered, and collaborative classrooms of today but also of how to draw out the best our students are capable of thinking and dreaming up. With these tools the students have been able to grow and flourish as 21st century learners, learning to use interactive, processor intensive tools such as Voicethread, Glogster, Sketchup, as well as blog, use wikis, and learn object oriented programming with Scratch to name a few. In short the CLIPCO purchase of the newest technology makes it possible to create highly interactive multi-media presentations that would have been much more difficult if not impossible with the aging machines that were available before. All these types of activities help meet our high achieving students' needs to challenge themselves and be prepared for what awaits them in this repository of start ups, rapid change,  innovation, and visionary dreams we call Silicon Valley." - Derrall Garrison, CLIP 5th grade teacher

"Our child was recently transferred from a private bilingual school to CLIP. We are impressed by the great teaching quality and felt truly welcomed by the friendly teachers, staffs, classmates and their wonderful parents. Comparing to the hefty tuition AND donation we used to pay in the past, we think the $500.00 per student pledge is a reasonable amount and believe the money will be well spent to further improve our child's education. Let's all participate in improving the learning environment for our children!" - Meyerholz parent

"As a returning parent, I am truly impressed with how much progress the CLIP program has made in the last few years. The curriculum is strong and challenging. The teachers are  backed by critical budget and resources needed to teach most effectively. I can clearly see how all of our past donations have contributed in making CLIP one of the best immersion programs in the US. I know Lauren is in good hands and we look forward to taking our third CLIP kid through this wonderful journey called Chinese immersion." - Meyerholz parent

"This year is our 7th year in the CLIP Program! Wow, time flies. Our oldest daughter started CLIP in Kindergarten and is now in 6th grade CLIP at Miller. We still remember how lucky we felt when our number was drawn in the lottery and we knew that we were going to get in. The CLIP Program has been a wonderful experience for all of us and has given both our daughters a great education in learning how to speak, read and write Chinese. We feel very fortunate to receive this bilingual education for just a fraction of the cost that a private school would charge in tuition. Please realize that it is a gift we have been given to be in the CLIP program and let’s continue to make it successful. There are many families who would love to be in CLIP and have not been able to get in." - Miller & Meyerholz parent

Student classroom work
is now featured on the CLIPCO
website! Throughout the year we will
be updating the website periodically
with the work of each grade.
This week we spotlight

Parent Information Meeting & Online Registration: Early December
There will be a parent information meeting in early December to give parents general information regarding the contest. Online registration will start after the information meeting. Please look for the flyer in your child's Thursday folder.

Chinese Art Contest: Thursday, January 5 to Monday, January 9 
All art contestants will receive the paper in their Thursday folder, and all art pieces are due at noon on Monday, January 9 to the front office.

Chinese Language Contest: Friday, January 20 
The contest will be held from 2:45 pm. to 5:30 pm at Meyerholz Elementary School.

For more information please contact Cathy Lu at clc@cusdclipco.org.

The next Dining for Dollars will take place at Pizza My Heart in Cupertino for three consecutive days: Monday, November 14 to Wednesday, November 16.

Come join us for dinner between 4pm to 9pm and help raise money for the Chinese Language Contest! There is no need to bring a flyer. Just mention to your server that you're there to support CLIPCO and 30% of your check will be donated to the Chinese Language Contest program.

Dine in, take out or order delivery as many times as your heart desire! For more information, check out our Dining for Dollars website or contact Tina Wang at dining@cusdclipco.org.

Pizza My Heart
20530 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-253-6000

The CEEF Annual Gala will be on January 28, 2012 at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel. This year's theme is "An Evening of Aloha."

More than a word of greeting or parting, “aloha” signifies respect, compassion, and love -- the essence of all relationships. This year, CEEF's Gala will be a gathering place for greeting old and new friends, as well as celebrating the success of the Cupertino Union School District and our wonderful community. CLIPCO will donate a basket to the gala. All funds raised go to benefit every school in CUSD.

Who is CEEF?

CEEF stands for Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation. It is a non-profit foundation that works closely with CUSD to help improve the standards of our school district. CEEF uses donations to support all the schools in CUSD. Over the last 26 years, CEEF has funded enhancement programs including classroom music, arts, math, and technology. CEEF has also supported innovative professional development for teachers and partnered with parents and the community to protect teachers' jobs and sustain great education in CUSD.