Garden Road Family Newsletter #20

January 13 VAPA Vision

January 13 Variety Show Audtions

January 16, 23 & 30 Variety Show Rehearsals

January 20 No School - Martin Luther King Day

January 27 No School for Students - Professional Growth Day

Dear Garden Road Families,

Happy New Year! We welcomed 2025 this week with a return to our classrooms and all of the fun activities that make Garden Road Elementary School such a special place. Students were excited to see each other again and to get back into the routines.

This week we held our second school-wide Spelling Bee! The students put so much effort into their study of the word lists. It was a rigorous competition! I have listed the results below! Thank you to our PTA for sponsoring this event and providing the balloon arch, trophies and medals!

Spelling Bee Results

Overall Champions

1st place Aimee Matthew

2nd place Holden Cheng

3rd place Christopher Le

1st Grade:

1st - Abigail Belknap

2nd - Kole Wallace

3rd - Piper Miller

4th - Mirembe Kurtz

5th Havannah Hguyen

2nd Grade

1st - Kashvi Chava

2nd - Mackenzie Balcombe

3rd - Brayden Ward

4th Fiona Prevost

5th Amelia Johnson

3rd Grade

1st - Christopher Le

2nd - Joseph Goff

3rd - Talia-Faye Quiambao

4th - Aaron Diaz- Salazar

5th - Everly Marquardt

6th - Gabriel Cedillo

7th - Danica Wallace

4th Grade

1st - Aimee Matthew

2nd - Holden Cheng

3rd - Dylila Sass

4th - David Szabo

5th - Hudson Satterfield

6th - Hannah Baban

5th Grade

1st - Lianah Sayed

2nd - Joel Patil

3rd - Ashley Waller

4th - Caleb Capili

5th - Ashley McCormick

6th - Aurora Afker

2025-26 School Year Enrollment Communication

It’s hard to believe it but it’s already time to begin to think about the 2025-2026 school year!

Here are some important dates to mark on your calendars:

• Transfer Requests - beginning on February 1st at 8:00 am, we will accept transfer requests for students who live in the Poway Unified boundaries and would like to attend a different Poway school. This includes incoming siblings of current students, as well as students who have not yet enrolled. Transfer requests can be made on the Poway Unified website by clicking THIS link. The transfer window closes on March 31st at 5:00 pm.

• Continuing Student Registration - from February 28 - March 31st, all parents whose current students will continue in Poway Unified for the 2025-26 school year need to complete online continuing registration. Look for more information coming soon.

• New Student Enrollment - beginning on April 1st at 8:00 am, new student enrollment opens on the Poway Unified website. We are excited to welcome our new students!

More details can be found on the Poway Unified website at www.powayusd.com.

TK-4th Grade Families -

Digital Citizenship

In PUSD, we are committed to ensuring your child's online safety and privacy. As students engage in digital spaces—whether playing multiplayer games, using educational apps, or exploring new interests online—it’s crucial they understand the importance of keeping their personal information safe. With guidance on avoiding scams and protecting their digital footprints, students can enjoy learning and fun online while staying in control of their privacy. Families play an important role in helping children navigate these topics and establishing healthy, safe digital habits. Below are some Privacy and Security tips to share with your family.

• K-5 Family Tips

• 6-12 Family Tips

Sue Melnick

Principal

Download these 2 pages to learn more about Think Win Win and practice the habit with your family! Click here for the Think Win Win flyer!

Although much of the world festively rings in the new year each December 31, we don’t all celebrate the same way. In the United States, we all know the traditions: the ball drop at Times Square, sharing a hug with a loved one at the stroke of midnight, and countless fireworks. But elsewhere around the globe, traditions can include giving your house a thorough cleaning or cracking open a fresh pomegranate.

1. Various countries: Eating lucky foods: Throughout the world, New Year’s Eve is celebrated with a meal with friends and family. In some places, this means eating specific “lucky” foods. In Spain, Portugal, and much of Latin America, it’s 12 grapes or raisins, and in Italy, 12 spoonfuls of lentils.

2. Philippines: Wearing polka dots and eating round fruits: To ensure a happy new year, the Filipino community believes that wearing round shapes (such as polka dots!) promotes prosperity and good luck.

3. Brazil: Wearing white while jumping into the ocean: The Festa de Lemanjá takes place on 31st night to celebrate the goddess of the sea (Lemanjá). The culmination of the event is when everyone—dressed in white—runs into the water right at midnight to jump over seven waves.

4. Mexico: Walking around with an empty suitcase: In Mexico, to help ring in a year filled with travel and new experiences, people walk around with an empty suitcase or set it in the middle of a room and stroll around it.

5. Cuba: Throwing a bucket of water out the front door: people symbolically gather all the bad spirits and negative energy from the past 365 days and toss them right out the front door.

6. Japan: Visiting a temple for lucky charms: Shōgatsu (New Year) is usually celebrated with a visit to the local temple to exchange last year’s lucky charms (omamori) for new ones.

7. Ireland: Setting an extra place at the table: The Irish have several New Year’s traditions, such as banging the outside walls of their houses with bread to keep away bad luck and evil spirits and starting the year with a spotless, freshly cleaned home. But one of the most well-known is setting an additional plate at the dinner table for any loved ones lost in the prior year.

8. India: Building a sculpture of an old person and burning it down: The burning symbolizes the passing of grievances from the old year and makes space for a new year to be born.

What are your favorite traditions to ring in the new year? May 2025 be a year of good fortune with a generous dose of sanity. We need all the good luck we can get. And happy New Year!

Tuhina Lal

Library Media Tech

TLAL@powayusd.com

​(858) 748-0230 x 2160

Garden Road Mission: We are empowered learners, who lead ourselves and others, to contribute to a better world.

Email: smelnick@powayusd.com

Website: https://gardenroad.powayusd.com/

Location: 14614 Garden Road, Poway, CA 92064

Phone: 858-748-0230