Springer Star Newsletter

May 25th, 2012

In This Issue

Calendar Dates

Principal’s Letter

News and Announcements

Student Extracurricular Activities

How to Submit an Article to the Springer Star Newsletter

Quick Dates for your Calendar

May 29, 5:30pm: Los Altos City Council/LASD Board meeting

May 30, 7pm: LASD/Bullis Charter School meeting

May 31, 5pm: Hit-the-Beach Family Picnic

Letter from the Principal

We Can't Do It Without You!

Prospective Springer parents often ask me what is the best thing about Springer.  I usually respond, half jokingly, "How much time do you have?"  There are so many aspects of Springer that make it a great place that I can talk on that subject for a long, long time.  When I run down the list of facets that create our great school, I make sure to include a long segment about all of our volunteers.

I never cease to be amazed at the amount of dedication and caring that all our volunteers give to our kids.  We have some volunteers who have registered hundreds of hours this year, fulfilling various roles that are needed to deliver our excellent programs.  And we have volunteers who give just what they can, maybe an hour here or there, but they are no less important to us.  

The brain spins when you start to consider all of the jobs our volunteers fill at Springer.  It could be room parents, hot lunch servers, literature docents, library helpers, cross walk helpers, Walk-a-thon workers, Friday folder stuffers, Book Club parents, Kindergarten center volunteers - the list goes on and on.   There's a saying that, "it takes a village"; I like to add that sometimes it takes a metropolis!  We could not do what we do, all of us, without the help of each other.  

At the risk of leaving anyone out, I want to personally, and publicly, thank some individuals who have contributed so much of their time this year.

Anita Rao and Anita Wood - Their help with the Science-o-Rama back in March was invaluable.  Their attention to detail and commitment to having a great Science Faire is much appreciated.

Denise Massone and Kathy Stiles - Their work in the garden, including Wednesday's Nature Zone lunch club, provided a beautiful space for our kids.

All of our FunVisor leaders who run lunchtime programs.  Clare Delaney helps organize these fun activities.  Laurie Pasmooij heads both the Lego and Art Club.  Jenni Tellefson leads the Run 4 Your Life team.  Rita Estrada and Lisa Maneatis run the Bingo games on Thursdays. Claire Hubel teaches origami in the library two days a week.  They add so much to our campus.  

Elena Baquero, Denise Massone, and Kathy Stiles - They took the Book Fair to new heights this year.  By having it in the multi, they were able to make it a bigger event, which raised more money for our programs and created a new community event in the evening.  I also want to recognize Elena for her work as the lead volunteer for our library program.

Karey Gutierrez, Katie Cowley, Linda McCarthy, and Seana McKean - The four of these ladies lead our fund-raising efforts this year.  Karey and Katie's work on the Walk-a-thon was impressive.  And Linda and Seana ran a successful, and very fun, Springer Auction.  Their teams were dynamite as well.

Beth Wolff - Beth came to me and asked what we could do to get our recycling efforts at Springer to be more effective.  Better yet, she educated and involved our kids to make them aware of the importance of recycling.  Now, our students are "greener" and our waste is much less.

Liz Malone - As head room parent, Liz was vital in funneling out communication and helping the traditional events (Gingerbread Houses, Costume Parade Parties) go off without a snag.  I appreciate Liz's cool demeanor and commitment to kids.

Leslie Bossett, Andrew Towell, Wendy Sarathy, and Ginger Case - What a great Junior Olympics team!  

Karen Eichstadt-Coy - Karen is always on the move and the positive energy she brings in planning evening events, from next week's Hit the Beach Spring Event, to getting food trucks for the Book Fair is awesome.  

Bob Haeckl, Paul Gallo, Nancy Miller, Peter Bassett, Drew Calhoun, and Griff Derryberry - This group helped out each Friday afternoon for Principal PE.  I really appreciated it, as taking a whole grade level out for PE can be a bit daunting without some help.  I hope they had as much fun as the kids did!

Lara Daetz and Tina Klaassen - The Project Cornerstone leads, and their amazing docents, were so vital in getting the Project Cornerstone program up and running.  

Hilary Burcell - She, and her team of hot lunch volunteers, made distributions of lunches easy and seamless.

Florina Tico, Diana Steele, Sepi Zoufonoun,  Fredilinda Mavar, and Christy Gammons - These five assist with yard duty at lunch time throughout the week.  I cannot thank them enough for helping out with this important role.  

Donna Murphy - Quietly, Donna shows up on campus and beautifies certain parts of the campus.  

Thanks to all of you, who make our community and school so strong.

News and Announcements

LASD/Bullis Charter School Tentative Agreement Meeting

Please join Superintendent Jeff Baier and members of the LASD Board for an informational meeting on Wednesday, May 30th at 7pm in the Springer multi.  Mr. Baier and members of the Board are hosting meetings at each elementary school site to discuss the tentative long-term facility agreement between LASD and Bullis Charter school.  Meetings include a question-and-answer session.  This is a good opportunity to learn about this issue and provide feedback to Board.

Los Altos City Council/LASD Board Special Meeting, Tuesday, May 29, 5:30 pm

Please attend the joint meeting with LASD and the Los Altos City Council in the Community Meeting Chambers at Los Altos City Hall (One, North San Antonio Road, Los Altos)

The aim is to have at least 50 people from each school attend!

You can RSVP here 

For more information, see the city’s website

MEDICATIONS:  Please pick up your child’s medications from the health office on the last day of school!  Medications cannot be stored over the summer. If your child is attending summer school, please pick up their medications and paperwork and take them to summer school on the first day. Thank you!

Hit-the-Beach Family Picnic and Celebration

Thursday, May 31, 5-8 PM

Springer campus

There is one more big, fun community event that needs organizing and execution. It is the Hit-the-Beach Family Picnic and Celebration, known as the "Spring Picnic" in previous years.

Our mottos guiding us during the organization of this event are "FUN-for-the-kids" and "EASY-on-the-parents." The 6th graders have begun rehearsing and are looking forward to showing the community their jump-rope performance!

Since most of us are quite spent by the end of the term, we really mean the "EASY-on-the-parents" part. So we booked a few food trucks already. But still we need helping hands to deliver a few, fun activities. Please consider committing to a small volunteer responsibility at the event, one of the last opportunities to be part of community building, hang out with other Springer families, and say, "Good-bye" to the 6th graders and their families.

 Please join us, and don't hesitate to contact Karen Eichstadt-Coy (eichcoy[at]yahoo.com) or Nancy Miller (nancy94024[at]gmail.com) for a really fun job or for more information.

Join the Springer Incoming Kinder 2012-13 Yahoo group!

This group is for families of incoming kindergarteners for the school year 2012-13. We will use this group to communicate about summer play dates and get togethers, and also as a forum for parents to ask questions and get to know one another. This group is not listed on the Yahoo directory.

Follow this link  Springer_Kinders_2012-13 and then click on the blue "Join this Group" button or email Renee Johnsen to be added to the group.   See you there!

OUR THANKS TO THE LOS ALTOS ART DOCENTS!

The Los Altos Art Docents are 95 dedicated volunteers who have taught more than 725 art lessons to the elementary school children in the Los Altos School District this year.

This year at Springer, the docents taught 107 art lessons.  We send a special thank you to the following Springer parents who contribute to the success of our program: Katie Cowley, Kacey Fitzpatrick, Lara Rahn, and Lisa Twardowski.

New docents are taught the LAAD lessons by experienced docents on Wednesday mornings from September through April. The Los Altos Art Docents welcome new members to join the next docent-in-training class in September.  To learn more, you are welcome to come to our informational coffee on August, 24th at 10:00 in the training room of the district office.

Check out our newly designed website at www.losaltosartdocents.org

2012 SPRINGER AUCTION UPDATE

Due to the generous business/community donations, fabulous Springer families and dedicated volunteers, the 2012 Auction has raised over $100K!! This is money that goes directly towards Springer's academic and extracurricular programs, library books, technology and facility improvements. So, thank YOU for your participation and support of our wonderful school and children!

SAVE THE DATE: The 2013 Springer Auction is scheduled for Saturday, May 23 at the University Club in Palo Alto. More details will be forthcoming in the fall, but please be sure to mark your calendars now as this will be one party you will not want to miss!

WANTED: Website Manager

We are seeking a volunteer webmaster to maintain and update the Springer website for the 2012-2013 school year. Please click here for a more detailed description. If you or someone you know is interested in this position, please contact Linda McCartney at LM28476[at]gmail.com.

Order your 2012-2013 school supplies through School-Pak! Best prices before June 15

School-Pak offers one-stop shopping for your child's school supplies, saving you time and convenience over the summer!  Parents with kids entering grades 1-6 can now order school supplies through School-Pak. Supplies for incoming kindergartners are purchased separately by the school, using the school supplies money contributed at the time of registration.

Online ordering for grades 1-6 is now up and running, and you have a few options:

-PREFERRED: Order by June 15 and have supplies sent directly to Springer. Supplies sent to Springer will be labeled with your child's name and delivered to the right classroom by the first day of school.

-You may also choose to have the supplies sent to your home, and then you'll need to bring them to school on the first day. Please note that the supplies should not be used before school starts!

- Orders placed after June 15 will be sent to your home.

Click here to select the package for your child's grade.

Questions? Contact Hilary Burcell (hilary[at]burcell.com)

Box Tops and Labels for Education

Don't forget to turn in your Box Tops and Labels for Education.  Each Box Top earns Springer $0.10. We've earned over $500 this year.  Points from Labels for Education are accumulated and exchanged for school supplies and equipment.  This year, we were able to get two dozen new playground balls.  The collection box is located in the office.  For more info on the products that offer Box Tops and Labels for Education, please visit the following websites:

http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/clip/brands.aspx

http://labelsforeducation.com/earn/participating-products.aspx

Attention photography buffs! We're looking for photos of what members of the Springer community are up to, to showcase on the Springer website or the Springer Facebook page. So pull out that camera to capture those moments, and then upload them here

Springer Family Dinners Out

Mountain Mike's Pizza      (1724 Miramonte Ave, MV): Every Thursday & Sunday

Chevy's                               (2116 El Camino Real, MV): Every 3rd Thursday of Month

Pizza My Heart                   (El Camino @ El Monte): June 6

Flyers are available in the office, Abracadabra and online via the Star newsletter.

Questions? Contact Contact Lara Rahn at lara.rahn[at]yahoo.com

Student Extracurricular Activities

Sports camps: www.SpartansSportsCamp.com or call 650.479.5906  for more information.

Science and Nature Summer Programs:  www.evols.org.

Media Center Summer Camps: www.midpenmedia.org/digiquest/ 

Summer Fun at Starting Arts: www.startingarts.com 

Summer Camps & Lessons at Foothills Tennis & Swimming Club: www.foothills-club.org

DezignKidz Summer Camp 2012:  www.dezignkidz.com 

ScholarKids, Summer 2012:  www.scholarkids.net .  

CTC Summer Theatre Conservatory 2012: www.ctcinc.org

Los Altos KidzAdventures: www.lakakidz.com 

How To Submit an Article to the Springer Star

Please send your submission to the editor at springer_star@yahoo.com by noon on Monday for inclusion in the next edition. All flyers must be in either WORD or PDF format, accompanied by a brief summary of the activity in the email.

Late arrivals will be included if possible but can’t be guaranteed!