Springer Star Newsletter

September 16th, 2011

In This Issue

Walkathon News

News and Announcements

Volunteer Opportunities

Student Extracurricular Activities

Community Events

Walkathon

The Springer Walkathon will be

Oceans in Motion!

Saturday, October 15th

The Springer Walkathon is our annual, fun day of fundraising—eliciting nearly 100% participation from Springer students!  A mighty wave of students will surge around the Springer Sea (field) collecting sunken treasures while they earn money for much-needed PTA programs.  Most families stay for the entire event, coming early and leaving late. Don’t miss it—it’s sure to be a WHALE of a walkathon! See the Springer Walkathon webpage for more information.

Volunteer to help! We need many volunteers to make this a fun and safe event!  It’s fun and easy! Please help us by signing up for a shift that day, using the Volunteer Google document.

Donations:  We are collecting donations to help keep down Walkathon costs.  Please drop off any donated cases of bottled water in the office.  We are also requesting small, give away toys to be used as incentive prizes:  toys from happy meals, birthday party gift bags etc.  Keep an eye out for collection boxes!

Extra t-shirt ordering form: Please print out and use this form to order any extra t-shirts for siblings, friends or parents.  Forms must be returned to the Walkathon office cubby by Wednesday, September 21st so the shirts can be ordered.

Questions?  Many answers can be found in the full Registration packet given to the new families and K–1st grade classes.  Find the rules, calendar, checklist, food pre-order form, and other useful walkathon information. You can also contact Walkathon co-chairs Karey Gutierrez kareytg[at]gmail.com and Katie Cowley ktcowley[at]yahoo.com.  We’re here to help!

News and Announcements

PTA Back to School Form: A huge THANK YOU to the 200 families who have completed the back to school form and submitted payment! We so appreciate your support. If you haven't submitted payment yet, please leave your check in the Back to School form cubby in the office by tomorrow, Friday, September 16.  (Make checks payable to Springer PTA and write "Back to School form" on the memo line.)  

We are still waiting to hear from over 100 families! If you aren't sure if you've completed the form, please email SpringerPTA@gmail.com, and we can let you know your status. Your child will receive a free lap at the walkathon if we have your completed form this Friday.  Begin now. Password: stars10.

PTA Updates—Goals and Programs Approved!

We kicked off our first PTA meeting last Wednesday, 9/7, by presenting the 2011–2012 Springer PTA Goals and Programs along with the budget to support the plan.  Both were approved by the association members and include the purchase of a new laptop cart to broaden our technology reach at Springer.  Check out the PTA presentation.

Hilary Burcell, VP of Volunteers, announced that we are still in need of a volunteer for the Springer Yearbook and a volunteer to manage the School Supplies program. The Yearbook is a treasured keepsake the kids look forward to every year, and the School Supplies Program is a valuable service keeping us out of long lines while back to school shopping. Your involvement is crucial. Don't let this be the year these two things go away!

Please join us at our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, October 5, 2011, at 8:45am, where Mr. Spenader will present the STAR testing results. Additionally, the bylaws we submitted last year have been approved by the California State PTA. We will vote to approve the new bylaws at our November meeting on Wednesday, 11/2, at 7 pm in the Springer Staff room.

Site Council Members Wanted:  School Site Council is a committee made up of administration, staff, and parents which researches and makes decisions that have an effect on programs at the school.  This year, the Site Council will undertake a school survey for Springer parents as well as investigate, research, and make recommendations for facility improvements at Springer.  This year's Site Council promises to make a big impact on the program at Springer.  If you are interested, please plan to attend our first meeting, Tuesday, September 27th at 3:15 in the Staff Lounge.  Meetings usually run about an hour in length.  For more information, contact Mr. Spenader.

Technology Committee Members Wanted:  The Springer Technology Committee is a group of parents and staff which researches and makes recommendations regarding the use of technology at Springer.  The group looks at the various options regarding hardware and software to better the education of our students.   If you have an interest in technology, at any level, we invite you to attend our first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 21st at 7:30am in the Computer Lab.  (Technology Committee was previously scheduled to meet on Thursdays.  It is now moved to Wednesdays.)

Khan Academy Information Meeting

On Thursday, September 29 at 8:45am, Springer will host a Khan Academy Coffee. This meeting will provide information and answer questions about the Khan Academy math program that will be used to supplement instruction in all 5th and 6th grade classes this year.  Khan Academy, together with Los Altos School District, has been receiving national attention because of its innovative approach to math instruction.  Alyssa Gallagher, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, will be our guest speaker, informing us about this exciting new tool to further our students’ engagement and knowledge of mathematics.  While this meeting is designed with 5th and 6th grade parents in mind, all parents are invited to attend.  This event is in lieu of the September “Coffee with the Principal”. The meeting will be held in the multi.  See the flyer.

Healthy Schools Act

The Healthy Schools Act of 2002 was signed into law in September 2000 and requires that all schools provide parents or guardians of students with annual written notification of expected pesticide use on school sites.  This notification will identify the active ingredient or ingredients in each pesticide product and will include the internet address (http://www.cdpr.ca.gov) for further information on pesticides and their alternatives.

Parents or guardians will receive 24-hour prior notification from the school site by email of individual pesticide applications at the school site. If you have any questions, please direct them to Los Altos School District, Maintenance Department at 650/559.8855 or email maintenancedept@lasdschools.org

Springer STAR submissions

If you’d like to submit an item for the Springer Star newsletter, please note that the deadline for submissions is Monday noon for inclusion in that week’s edition.  As a reminder on how to do it, send a text-only blurb to our newsletter editor at springer_star@yahoo.com.  If you like, you can also include a (PDF) flyer.

Volunteer Opportunities

Living Classroom Highlights

If you have a first grader this year, they may participate in the "Food Machine" 3-part Living Classroom lesson. Students are introduced to the Food Chain, learning that plants provide a central role as the converter of the sun’s energy for all animals. While plants receive their nutrients from soil, air and water, the special process they perform, photosynthesis, makes them unique. We humans cannot do that! In one rotation, they taste plant parts:  roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit. In another activity they measure a plant in centimeters, label their plant, dig the hole, place it into their garden, and water it, and they start a data chart to record their plants’ growth each week. In a later lesson, they'll measure and record the plant growth, and in the final lesson they will make soup with their produce. Ask your child about their experiences.

If teaching lessons like this interests you, we invite you to the training sessions being held on Mondays in the District Office from 9–11:30 a.m. More than 600 requests for Living Classroom lessons have been submitted this year in the district. Please contact Mike Sanderson to enroll at  msanderson[at]lasdschools.org or at the Living Classroom Webpage.

Student Activities

LEGO Club is back on! 

For the 2011/2012 school year LEGO Club will be held in the Science Room on Mondays at Lunch and is free and open to all students after they have eaten. Our theme for the first month follows that of the Springer Walkathon: Oceans in Motion. On display in the office and at our LEGO Club on Mondays is our Blue Whale LEGO Sculpture. How many LEGO do you think it took to build the Blue Whale and its habitat? We will announce the top three estimators and award prizes at the Walkathon. LEGO Club accepts donations of new and used LEGO on an ongoing basis and deliveries can be placed in the office or brought to LEGO Club.

Questions: please contact Jenni Tellefsen, Kimiyo Straw, or Laurie Pasmooij.

Springer's Lunchtime Art Club has begun on Fridays! 

We are excited about fun projects ahead making use of as many recycled materials as possible. For the month of September, all of the planned art projects are marine-themed in honor of the upcoming Springer Walkathon. Students will be making whales, fish, and ocean scenes out of milk jugs, plastic bottles, shells, and pine cones. As with all Springer Lunchtime Funvisor Programs, Art Club is free and open to any student after they eat lunch. Art Club will be held in the quad or in the Multi again this year. Springer Art Club can use unwanted art materials as well as recycled material donations. For the months of September and October, we are looking for clean caps and lids, green plastic baskets that typically hold berries or tomatoes, and any type of paper plates. Collection boxes will be placed in the office and in the quad. And of course we welcome parent Volunteers to help at lunch! Thank you!

Questions: please contact Laurie Pasmooij, Jen Mascola, or Kimiyo Straw.

Cub Scouts

Cub Scout Pack 36 of Springer School will hold its first Pack meeting of the school year on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the Springer Multi.  We are forming new dens for boys interested in Cub Scouting, especially in First Grade through Fifth Grade.  Please join us for a fun evening with a visit from Happy Birds Performing Parrot Show.  Families and siblings are welcome and information will be provided to parents for boys interested in joining Cub Scouts.  For more information on Cub Scouts, please contact Cub master Julie Rome-Banks at cjjjbanks[at]comcast.net or 650-961-1653. See the Cub Scouts Flyer.

Springer Singers Starts on September 19

Springer Singers is a great way to get your kids singing and dancing with their Springer friends. The chorus is open to Springer kids in grades 1–6 and will practice on Mondays after school until 3:30.  The first practice will be September 19!!  Applications are available in the office. Completed applications and payment are due by September 19. See the Springer Singers Flyer.

HELP SAVE MONDAY ART CLUB

This is a fantastic enrichment opportunity for students!  The fall session Art Club theme isLearning from the Masters.  We will be working with a variety of materials: pastels, ink, acrylics, tempera, watercolors, ceramic clay, wire, & wood!

After School Art Club

Springer School Grades 4–6

Mondays  Sept. 12–Nov. 28

3:00–4:00 pm  Art Room

Tuition: $160/12 weeks (includes registration fee)

Course number: 53223

Register online at Arts4All Website or come directly to class where I have registration materials!

Academic Chess at Springer

All levels welcome.  Thursdays 2.30–3.30, starting September 15.  See the Chess Flyer for more details.

Math Olympiad—Sports for the Mind! 

Interested in fun, innovative, and challenging math problems? Fridays after school, Springer will host after school Math Olympics for Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade students.

Start Friday 9/30 Time: 2:50–3:40

Friday 9/30 will be an introductory class for new students to try the class and for returning students to practice problem solving. Registration for the rest of the year will follow the introductory class.

Community Events

Train Days at the Los Altos History Museum—September 17 &18!

Come enjoy two days of train-filled fun under the beautiful oak trees of the Los Altos History Museum. See elaborate train track layouts, intricate scenery and scaled renditions of engines and whimsical theme cars with steam, lights and sound. Donation suggested ($10/family)—free for Museum members.

Mountain View’s International Day of Peace

Come Celebrate Mountain View’s 2nd Annual International Day of Peace on Saturday, 17 September 2011. This event is free and open to the public, so do come and join us! The event will be held outside in the plaza in front of the Mountain View Civic Center and Performing Arts Center.

There will be live music, interfaith prayers and readings, as well as arts & crafts for kids and adults. The Mayor of Mountain View will help us open this special event and do a Proclamation of Peace

For more info, go to: http://www.mvbahais.org/peaceday.