SCHOOL NEWS
November 13, 2007

Veterans Day Celebration
Thank you to all the Veterans and Military personal that came to our assembly this morning. It was so nice to see so many heroes at Don Juan. A special thank you to Mrs. Lyon and Mrs. Wilson for organizing the program and our supportive PTA for providing all the refreshments. It was a wonderful picture, one which I will never forget, seeing the veterans talking with the military personnel about their experiences and the faces of our students as they sat perfectly quiet in awe and amazement.

Student Council Officers
Congratulations to all the students who ran for student council officers. Every student did a fantastic job with their speeches and we are proud of every student.

Thank you to Ms. Larwood for organizing the election and heading up Student Council.

Restaurant Night this Wednesday:
Look in your child's backpack for a flyer about Wednesday (11/14) night's PTA Restaurant Night. You can choose from Pick Up Stix, Rubio's, Pasta Bravo, or Tony Pepperoni! Just bring the flyer to the restaurant and they will donate 20% of sales back to the PTA at DJAES. Dine in, take home, call ahead, have fun, and give back to DJAES!

Fall Fundraiser Delivery:  
The items from our Reader's Digest Fall Fundraiser will be delivered to our students in their classrooms this Wednesday, 11/14. If your child will need help carrying the items home, please keep this in mind at pick-up on Wednesday. Thank you!

Family Safety Night
The Orange County Sheriff's Department and Orange County Fire Authority are sponsoring a community evening at Oak Grove Elementary school TONIGHT from 6-8pm in their Hall of Fame. Steve Rhymer, Aliso Viejo's Emergency Services Manager, will be speaking about disaster preparedness. Margo Beauchamp from Aliso Viejo Police Services will have Child Identification sheets for parents from the OC Sheriff's Department. The Orange County Fire Authority will have safety information about safely exiting your home in case of fire. This is a community event and everyone is invited to attend. 

PJ Night
We are looking forward to a wonderful night with stories and music on Thursday, November 15. The PTA will have their association meeting at 6:00pm and the Pajama Night will start at 6:30pm. Special surprise

AAA/GATE Fee-Based Test Capistrano
Unified School District (CUSD) is offering parents an opportunity to have their children take the Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test (OLSAT). The OLSAT is used by CUSD to identify students for the Accelerated Academic Achievement/Gifted and Talented Program (AAA/GATE).

The OLSAT tests both verbal and nonverbal reasoning. CUSD students who score in the 90th percentile in both math and reading on their fall CORE tests will be invited to take the OLSAT in January 2008 at their school site. Invitations to take the school site OLSAT will be mailed home during the month of December 2007. If a parent does not receive an invitation to take the OLSAT, he/she may have his/her child take the fee-based OLSAT on a designated Saturday in February 2008.

Students who score at or above the 95th percentile on the OLSAT qualify for the AAA/GATE program in the fall. The fee-based OLSAT will be offered on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at George White Elementary School, in Laguna Niguel (Grades 2-8) and on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Capistrano Valley High School, in Mission Viejo (Grades 9-10).

The cost for taking the OLSAT is $65.00.  OLSAT registration forms will be available in all CUSD school administration buildings in December.  Parents may also download the "Fee-Based AAA/GATE Test Application" from the CUSD AAA/GATE Website at www.capousd.org/aaa. Checks and registration forms must be postmarked by January 23, 2008 or delivered to the AAA/GATE Office before 4:30 pm on January 25, 2008, so that the appropriate number of tests can be ordered. No late registrations will be accepted.