Springer Star Newsletter

March 1st, 2013

In This Issue

Calendar Dates

News and Announcements

Parent Education Opportunities

Student Extracurricular Activities

Quick Dates for your Calendar

March 2nd, 9-1pm: Springer Swap & Reuse Day

March 6, 8.45am: PTA Meeting

March 6: Dinner Night Out at Armadillo Willy’s

March 8: Vocal Music Concert (K-3)

March 14: Springer Science-O-Rama

March 21: Minimum Day and Bike Rodeo

March 23: Springer Auction

April 4: Springer Open House

April 5: Minimum Day

April 8-12: Spring Break – NO SCHOOL

April 22-26 Book Fair

April 25: Blach incoming 7th graders Info Night

April 27: Junior Olympics

May 11: Springer Giants Day

News and Announcements

LAEF: Each year, the parent volunteers on the Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) Board partner with the Los Altos School District (LASD) administration to budget for enrichment programs for the coming school year. The annual LAEF survey is your way to provide input as we enter into the 2013-14 budgeting cycle.

Your feedback is critical and will be used to make funding decisions for programs at your child’s school like Art, Music, Library, PE, Junior High Electives and Class Size Reduction. Please provide your opinion about LAEF funded programs so that we can decide how best to invest our funds to improve the education of our children.

Please contact laef@att.net if you have not received an email with a link to our annual survey.    Thank you for your participation!

Student Council Officers to present at March 6th PTA meeting.  At our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, March 6th (8:45am in the staff room), all the officers from this year's Student Council will discuss their activities for the 2012-13 school year.  It is always a special treat to hear from our students, especially when they make such a positive impact at Springer.  

Springer Auction: Set Sail on the S.S. Springer - we’re nearly ready to embark!

It’s not too late to buy tickets: the purchase deadline is March 15th.  But hurry!

For more details on our major fund-raising event, visit the Auction pages on the Springer Website

Questions? Contact Renee & Wen at springerauction@gmail.com

And while you’re in the mood to set sail… ever thought of going on a cruise?

Bill Cooper, parent of two Springer graduates, is offering the Springer community the chance to take an unforgettable vacation and support Springer School at the same time!

The Caribbean? Hawaii?  Europe? Wherever you go, 5% of your cost will be donated to our school.  A special trip is already planned to Alaska in July.  Check out the attached fliers, and make your dream come true!

Cruise Fundraiser                 Alaska Cruise

Starting Arts Singing Concert:  Thanks to the great work of Teacher Diana from Starting Arts, our students are ready to show you what they have learned.  Please attend the Starting Arts Singing Concert on Friday, March 8th in the multi.  The Kindergartners and 1st grade will perform at 9:00 am.  2nd and 3rd graders will show off their talents at 10:25am.  This is always a great show and you will be impressed with the vocal performances!

Springer Family Dinner Night Out at Armadillo Willy’s!

THANK YOU to everyone for making all of our Springer Family Dinner Nights Out such a huge success!!  The next Family Dinner Night Out is Wednesday, March 6th at Armadillo Willy’s!  Grab a burger or some tasty BBQ and earn 20% on food and beverage sales for Springer.  Offer valid from 5pm to 9pm.  Please bring in this FLYER in with you.  See you there!

SAVE THE  DATE!

Saturday, May 11th is the Springer Community Day at the San Jose Giants! Game time is 7pm and our very own Springer Singers will start the festivities with their rendition of "God Bless America". Discounted tickets will be sold on campus closer to the date, so stay tuned!

And, back by popular demand, the 2013 Springer Auction will offer one lucky Springer boy or girl the chance to throw the first pitch at the game!! So be sure to attend the auction on March 23rd to place your bid on this fabulous prize for your child!

Don't miss out on the fun! Mark your calendars for May 11th and see you at the ballgame!

Science-o-Rama - March 14th

Springer's annual Science Fair is set to go on Thursday, March 14th.  The public is welcomed to visit the expo halls and view Springer's budding scientists from grades Kindergarten to 6th.  We have over 150 entries!  Displays are in the multi and library.  The expo opens at 5pm and closes at 7pm on March 14th.  

For more details of the event, click on Science-O-Rama

WOW: The weather is warming up, so now is the time to start walking or riding to school again!  Remember that we have bi-weekly drawings for those active in the program to win a Jamba juice bracelet and card.  Congratulations to Max Zonana and Nathan Korito for being the recent bi-weekly participant drawing winners.

Also, on Monday, March 4th we will have a WOW table BEFORE school to hand out key chains to kids who have Walked or Wheeled to school for 25 tips or miles; plus a blue disc for 50 trip or miles, and a red disc for 75 trips or miles.  Please have your WOWzer come a bit early and visit our table.  After Monday AM, we will leave a list and the handouts in the main office where students can ask for them.

Plus we are proud to announce that the Bike Rodeo is scheduled for Thursday March 21st and the Safe Move assemblies are scheduled for March 22nd. Both will educate and reinforce Bike SAFETY.  Please keep an eye out for more information as we get closer to these dates!  You can click here to see the recent bike rodeo in Mountain View.

Saturday, May 11th is the Springer Community Day at the San Jose Giants! Game time is 7pm and our very own Springer Singers will start the festivities with their rendition of "God Bless America" and will also lead the crowd with the ever-popular "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch! Discounted tickets will be sold on campus closer to the date, so stay tuned!

And, back by popular demand, the 2013 Springer Auction will offer one lucky Springer boy or girl the chance to throw the first pitch at the game!! So be sure to attend the auction on March 23rd to place your bid on this fabulous prize for your child!

Don't miss out on the fun! Mark your calendars for May 11th and see you at the ballgame!

Springer Swap & Reuse Day is nearly here:  time to start cleaning out your closets!!

·         Plan: Have a swap and reuse day for Springer families in the neighborhood.

·         People can bring: toys, games, books, sports equipment; stuff elementary school families would want.

         ·         Where: Springer Parking Lot

·         When: March 2, 2013 9AM - 1PM

·         Why: To get people reusing stuff so it doesn't get thrown away and wasted

Fundraiser for Lyndsey Dworkin, March 8:

The 6th grade Loyola Students invite the Springer community to a fundraiser for Lyndsey Dworkin (and another local girl with cancer). The fundraiser is a movie night (Wreck it Ralph) in the Loyola Multi.  Doors open at 6:00pm, and the movie starts at 7:00. Popcorn, hot dogs, pizza and much more will be served! Come help us support Lyndsey and her family!!!!

Junior Olympics are coming - save the date!   Saturday, April 27th for 4-6 grades.

Parent Education Opportunities

EDtalks with LASD

Please mark your calendars for three upcoming Edtalks.  These events are intended to provide parents with information about the work we are doing to revolutionize learning for all students.  All Edtalks begin at 9:00 am and are held in the iLearn Studio, located next to the District Board Room.  Space is limited, so interested attendees must reserve a spot via the Eventbrite link for each event.  For more information visit Edtalks on the LASD Website.  

March 22nd:  Expanding Horizons with Innovative Strategies

April 19th:           STEM Education & Beyond

May 24th:            Ed Tech/Technology Integration

We hope to see you there!

James P. Steyer: How technology is shaping the younger generation — and what to do about it.

Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30 PM in the MVHS Auditorium, 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View.

Do you have a gifted or high achieving kid?

Please join the new yahoo group to connect LASD families of gifted and high achieving students.  Conversations in this group may offer suggestions, support, advice, share experiences and resources to help support LASD GATE families. If you're interested, you can subscribe by sending an email to GATEtalk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Student Extracurricular Activities

Youth Drama for All (YDFA) presents Adventures in Wonderland!

2pm Saturday, March 9, 2013 at Gardner Bullis Elementary School

For more details, click here

The 29th Annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest theme is related to the exhibitBear in Mind: The Story of the California Grizzly. Grades 3-6 students may choose from two essay topics: one historical and one creative. For the full essay prompt please visit the Los Altos History Museum website: www.losaltoshistory.org.  Essays are due March 8, 2013 and the prizes will be presented on May 7, 2013 at the Los Altos History Museum and the City Council meeting that same evening.

Los Altos Recreation Department

Look out for our three new classes: Melody’s Piano Beginners for kids 5-7 years old; Intermediate Junior Golf for those kids 7-17 years who are ready to build on their golf skills; and a brand new class, Skateboarding Intro to Half-pipe (ages 6-18yrs).

To check out and/or register online for all of our upcoming classes and camps, go to LosAltosRecreation.org and click on the photo of our WINTER 2013 RECREATION GUIDE.

And remember, we have a great variety of adult classes, too. Join us!

LA-MV PONY BASEBALL REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!!!

Registration deadlines for PONY baseball registration are as follows:

(Mustang – Pony, AGES 9-14) Registration still available

(Shetland – Pinto, Ages 5-8) Feb. 28, 2013

Click here for more details!

Medaka no Gakko, a Japanese cultural summer program runs from June 24-July 12, 2013 at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple in Palo Alto. For more information, please visitwww.medakanogakko.org or email medakanogakkopaloalto@gmail.com.

Save the date: Come to see Springer students perform when Peninsula Youth Theatre (PYT) presents "Fiddler on the Roof" on March 2, 3, 9, and 10 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. More information to follow.

After School Soccer Program for Grades 4-6

Wednesdays, 3:00pm – 3:45pm starting March 27 Join your friends and have fun representing your school and playing matches against teams from other LASD schools! Everyone Plays!! Supervision provided on the field from school dismissal. This fun eight-week program is $155.00, sibling discount is $135.00. For more info or to register, please go to http://tinyurl.com/mvla4-6 or visit www.mvlasc.org and click on After School program

After School Soccer Program for Grades 1 – 3   Wednesdays, 2:45pm – 3:30pm starting February 6  For more info or to register, please go to http://tinyurl.com/mvla1-3 or visit www.mvlasc.org and click on after school programs.

After School Art Club for grades K-3, Thursdays, Jan. 10 - Apr.18, 2.30-3.30pm in the Art room.  For 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.  See flier for details of 2013 sessions.

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!