Springer Star Newsletter

November 9th 2012

In This Issue

Calendar Dates

News and Announcements

Parent Education Opportunities

Student Extracurricular Activities

Quick Dates for your Calendar

Monday, November 12th: Veterans Day (no school)

Tuesday, November 13th, 7pm: Auction Team Kick-off Meeting

November 19th-20th: Parent/Teacher Conferences (no school)

November 21st-23rd: Thanksgiving Break

News and Announcements

Santa Clara County Office of Education Library Resources Center has a great collection of Parent Education/Self Help Books not usually found in our regular libraries (also available as eBooks).  Their service is free.  Find out more about them at www.sccoe.org/depts/library/

New Field Day Committee Forming

This year we will be switching formats in the way we handle the end-of-year grade level picnics.  Instead of individual picnics held on separate days, we will have a school-wide "Field Day", tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 7th- which is a minimum day, making our field day a half-day event.   The purpose of the end-of-year picnics is to provide the students with a day of fun and a celebration of the end of the year.  A "Field Day" will still accomplish that purpose.  Please note that this will not affect 6th graders.  They will continue to have their traditional swim party as a final celebration of their years at Springer.

The reasons for this change are many.  First, we believe that the demand for volunteers will be decreased, as each homeroom will only be responsible for one event or activity.  By all homerooms working together on the same day, we can share the workload and resources.  By having the day centrally organized, much of the planning is taken off the plates of room parents.  Secondly, parents who have children in multiple grade levels, and who volunteer at all their children's picnics, will be able to contribute on just one day.  Additionally, scheduling just one day of activities for the entire school eases the hectic end of year calendar.  Lastly, we believe an all-school field day will create a more community feel.

It should be noted that other district schools, notably Covington and Gardner, have used a Field Day model for years with great success.  The students have a terrific time.  

In order for this to be a great event, there is a lot of work to do.  For that reason, we are forming a committee to plan and organize the event.  If you would like to contribute your ideas to this event, please consider joining the committee.   The committee will work out the details of the event, from times and how the classes rotate through the activities, to the materials needed. Once the work is done, homerooms will be assigned an activity to run and a location on the campus as to where to stage the activity.  Please contact Principal Wade Spenader directly if you have an interest in working on the Field Day committee.

Auction Team Kick Off Meeting  - Going once. Going Twice. Sold!

Join us in planning the 2013 Springer Auction. Whether you like to plan parties, work the data or something in between, we want you on our team!

Our kick off meeting is on November 13th at 7pm in the Staff Lounge.

Check out the committee descriptions.

Need more information? Contact Renee & Wen at springerauction@gmail.com

Springer Auction Sponsorship

Is your business planning its advertising budget for next year? Please consider sponsoring or advertising with the Springer Auction. Benefits include hyperlinked logos on our new online auction website, print ads in the auction catalog and special mention in pre-auction letters to the Springer community.

For more details please contact Auction Co-Chairs Wen Crane and Renee Johnsen at springerauction@gmail.com.

Science Fair Judges Still Needed: if interested, click on this link to fill out the online form.  

Funvisors  - For details of all current Funvisor activities, click here.

Student Extracurricular Activities

Do you have a six year old? Are you interested in how reading develops?  Stanford Medical School is conducting a longitudinal research study which uses psychological testing and new brain imaging technology to see how reading skills develop in preterm and full-term children.

Children aged 5 years and 9 months to 6 years and 5 months are eligible to have their reading, language and thinking skills evaluated, at no cost.  Find out more here.

Los Altos Recreation Department classes starting the week of November 12 include My First Art Class (for kids ages 1.5-5), fencing classes including Basic Sabre and Open Sabre, plus LED Light Sabre (for ages 7+) and Crazy About Horses Day (for kids ages 6 years and up).

Also, now through November 26 we are accepting applications for our annual Gingerbread House Exhibit! As always, this exhibit is FREE to both participants and all who visit this sweet event! Houses are to be delivered the morning of December 3, and the exhibit runs that whole week. Applications and rules are available at LosAltosRecreation.org or at the Recreation Office (M-F, 8am-5pm).

To check out and/or register online for all of our upcoming fall classes and activities, go to LosAltosRecreation.org and click on the photo of our FALL 2012 RECREATION GUIDE. And remember…we have many fun adult classes, too. Check it out!

“ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”

Reviewed as a “charming alternative to the Nutcracker,” this show is performed by over 130 students representing 45 peninsula schools (including Springer).  Performances at Woodside Performing Arts Center on Sunday December 9th (1:00pm and 4:00pm), Saturday December 15th, (1:00pm and 4:00pm) and Sunday December 16th, (1:00 and 4:00). Tickets available at www.twasthenight.org or by calling 650-323-5292.

Girls on the Run Program Sign Ups December 1st!

The two words that best describe Girls on the Run are “FUN” and “RUN”.  Every aspect of this program is geared toward helping girls feel good about who they are - physically, emotionally and socially. We are excited to offer this great program to the 3rd-5th grade girls at Springer this coming spring!  Click here for more detailed information!

LA-MV PONY BASEBALL - UPCOMING REGISTRATION

Registration opens November 1, for the 2013 baseball season.  LA-MV PONY Baseball is for boys and girls aged 5-19. This is the 28th year serving our community. We hope you and your families will join us on and off the field as we once again make this a very special year for our players, coaches, parents and the community. Practices begin in early March, and games begin in late March. Please do go ahead and register as early as possible in the coming month for our league's planning purposes. For more information and to register starting on November 1, 2012 please visit the league website at http://www.lamvpb.org/. or click here.

Spartans Sports Camp Holiday Basketball Camp, December 26th-29th

Visit www.SpartansSportsCamp.com or call (650)479-5906 for more information

MVLA SOFTBALL SIGN-UPS BEGIN NOVEMBER 1st

Learn more about us at: www.mvlags.org

Math Olympiad - Sports for the Mind! Interested in fun, innovative, and challenging math problems?  Fridays after school.  For registration and more information, click here.

Springer Singers: Mondays after school.  Gr.1-3 2:30-3:30pm; Gr. 4-6 2:45-3:30pm

Academic Chess Club, Thursdays after school, see flier for details

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!