Springer Star Newsletter

April 19th, 2013

In This Issue

Calendar Dates

Principal’s Letter

News and Announcements

Parent Education Opportunities

Student Extracurricular Activities

Quick Dates for your Calendar

April 8-12: Spring Break – NO SCHOOL

April 22-26 Book Fair

April 25: Blach incoming 7th graders Info Night

April 27: Junior Olympics

April 29:  Star testing begins

May 1, 8.45am: PTA meeting

May 11: Springer Giants Day

May 23: Springer Picnic, 5-8pm

Letter from the Principal

Good Things Are Happening!

Welcome back from break and onto the final push to June 12th.  We'll surely be running at a full pace for the next 8 weeks.  But it's also good to stop, take a breath, and look at some of the good things that are happening at Springer:

• 4th, 5th, and 6th Graders are gearing up for their Junior Olympics on April 27th.  Relay teams are practicing with the guidance of their volunteer parent coaches.  Students are practicing their events during PE and the excitement is building.  A pep rally is scheduled for next Friday at 2:00 p.m.

• Ms. Presant's 6th grade class is being featured in a film produced by Skype that highlights the innovative ways in which Skype can be used to connect students and their learning to their peers around the world.  In this case, Ms. Presant's class has been Skyping with a class in South Korea for much of the year.  

• Caleb C, a 4th grader in Ms. Johnson's class, has come in 2nd place in the 2013 Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest.  This essay contest is open to all 4th graders in LASD or who reside in the city of Los Altos.  Caleb will attend a special ceremony and receive his award from the Mayor of Los Altos.

•  Kinder through 3rd graders have started their second week of dance with the Starting Arts program.  They are loving it!

•  The Book Fair is next week in our Art Room.  Family Night at the Book Fair is Wednesday evening.  

Those are things that I see from where I stand.  What do your kids say are the good things that are happening at Springer?  

News and Announcements

Announcing Student Ed-Con 2013: Learning Rocked and Redesigned!

LASD is excited to announce that we are offering a new opportunity for current sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students to share their ideas for reimagining and redesigning their educational experience, using the design thinking model. We know students are full of ideas about how learning can be improved—and this is the time for us to learn from them with the introduction of our new program, the Student Educational Conference (SEC2013).

SEC2013 is an innovative program designed to teach children a range of important critical thinking skills. It promises to encourage them to express their creativity and learn important lessons regarding teamwork and collaboration, systems design, performance outcomes and influencing others. 70 students from across the Los Altos School District will get the unique chance to work with facilitators to create and prototype new ways of learning.

The conference will take place June 13 and 14 from 8:30-4:00 p.m., and conclude on Saturday, June 15, from 8:30-12:00 p.m. All conference activities will happen at the Covington campus. For more information, please visit our website: http://lasd.studentedcon.org  Student applications are available through the website and will be accepted through May 11th.

We are currently looking for sponsors and donations to help with this event. If you are interested, please fill out the sponsorship form and we will contact you with more information.  

While the students participating in the conference will benefit from this unique learning experience, all parents and students in the district will know that we care deeply about students' feedback regarding what makes an ideal educational environment. We're counting on your support and participation!

Volunteer Appreciation Week

It's Spring and time to recognize our hard-working volunteers.  Volunteer appreciation week will be from 5/13 through 5/17.  Who better than our very own Springer community to help us nominate volunteers who deserve the various awards?

Nomination forms are available at the front office.  Or click here to download the form.  You can email the completed form to wenbk[at]aol.com or turn it in at the front office

The Springer Story Laboratory Book Fair is next week!

April 22 through April 26th, 2013

in the Springer Art Room and online from April 19th through May 5.

We hope you'll join us April 22nd - 26th at the Springer Story Laboratory Book Fair. We will have a great selection of the latest and finest titles for kids, teens, and adults.

Mark your calendar for our Family Evening, Wednesday, April 24th from 6-8pm. Bring the whole family, pack a picnic or purchase food from our friends from Gold Rush, MoBowl and Waffle Amore food trucks!  Hang out with your friends, shop and listen to a story from our guest scientist readers.

Our Student Council is also planning a Spirit Day for next week, so stay tuned for more information.

PLUS: The Online Book Fair is back April 19 - May 5, so you can place an order from the comfort of your home.

The Book Fair is a great way to get everyone excited about reading and the perfect opportunity to stock up on summer reads all while supporting Springer School.

To check out more details on our website, click here

Spring Family Picnic - May 23rd, 5-8pm - SAVE THE DATE!

Spring is officially here!  And that means that we are getting ready for the Spring Family Picnic, with food trucks, music, games, and more.  If you would like to help with this fun event, please contact Amanda Steele at amsteele[@]ymail.com

Spirit Wear Coordinator Needed

We are looking for a Spirit Wear coordinator for next year, to manage ordering and distribution of Springer clothing (t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.).  Eighty percent of the work is in the first couple months of school.  Please contact Donna Murphy (jcdrm[at]yahoo.com) or Renee Johnsen (chefskate[at]gmail.com) if interested.

WOW: Starting on Earth Day and running for 2 weeks, Green Town Los Altos will sponsor the third annual Drive Less Challenge with a specific focus on our elementary and middle schools. A competition will be held between the 8 elementary schools and between the 2 middle schools all for the bragging rights to be the Greenest Los Altos/Los Altos Hills elementary and middle schools. GreenTown Los Altos, with help from homeroom teachers, will conduct a biannual student transportation survey, where teachers poll their students on a random day and log each student’s mode of transportation to school.  More details can be found here.

A commemorative trophy will be given to the winning schools at a student assembly.

Last Chance To Order Yearbooks This Year

Don't miss this chance to order what is sure to be a cherished keepsake, filled with pictures of the children at Springer.

Deadline to order is Friday April 19, 2013 and yearbooks will be delivered in June.

TO ORDER (or to verify that you have already placed an order on the BTS form) please go to:http://fs12.formsite.com/Springer/form12/index.html (or fill out the yearbook envelope and leave a check for the Springer PTA in the yearbook cubby)

Cost $20. Questions? e-mail: lisa[at]twardowski.org

Saturday, May 11 is the Springer Community Day at the San Jose Giants!

Beginning at 5 pm sharp our very own Springer Singers perform the National  Anthem. Admission is $5 per person. Look for the ticket seller in the quad or simply stop by the office and purchase tickets there. (Checks to Springer PTA.)  Don't miss out celebrating our great Springer Nation, the amazing Springer Singers, and Spring Ball! Questions? Contact Karen Eichstadt-Coy (eichcoy[at]yahoo.com).

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

Parent Education Opportunities

MVLA Council presents: Bully: The Film

Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 6:30-9:00 pm at Mountain View High School.

Admission is Free – see flier for more details

Upcoming EDtalks with LASD

April 19th:           STEM Education & Beyond

May 24th:            Ed Tech/Technology Integration

 All Edtalks are held in the iLearn Studio, located next to the District Board Room.  For more details on these, including times, visit Edtalks on the LASD Website.  

Student Extracurricular Activities

66th Annual Los Altos Kiwanis Pet Parade

Saturday, May 18, 10 AM

Downtown Los Altos

March with other community members and their pets!

Springer has a marching position in the Los Altos Kiwanis Pet Parade.  A beloved tradition, this community event allows children to parade with their dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, chickens - even worms! Assembly time will be prompt at 9:45 AM under the Springer sign. (Exact meeting place still TBD.) This is your chance to dress up your pet in that adorable costume! Please wear your own Springer spirit wear too.

Contact Justine Dachille (jdachille[at]gmail.com), or Karen Eichstadt-Coy (eichcoy[at]yahoo.com) for more information.

CSTEM Competition and Showcase:  You are invited to the LASD CSTEM Competition and Showcase on Friday, April 26th from 4:00pm to 5:30pm at the Almond School Multi.  Play fun computer games created by sixth graders from all 7 LASD elementary schools.  Learn about computer programming robotics and 3D design from the LASD sixth graders.  Prizes will be awarded to the competition winners at 5pm.    The 6th grade CSTEM Program teaches Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) with a focus on the 3 c's: Creativity, Collaboration, and Computer Science.  CSTEM is funded by donations to Los Altos Education Foundation (LAEF).

Saturday, May 11th – Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk

9:00 am at Westwind Community Barn, 5K, 10K and 1 mile Family Fun Run.

Please register on-line here. Use the Discount Code of "owlhouse".  (The discount is for $10 off of the 5K and 10K run/walk).   All participants receive an owl design dry-wick t-shirt.

Spartan Sports - Spring Break Basketball Camp (Open to grades 4-8), April 8-12, 9am-12pm

For more info or to register, visit www.SpartansSportsCamp.com or call 650.479.5906

Los Altos Recreation Department

If golf, ice skating, hockey or singing is on your child’s “want to try” list, the week of April 22 is all theirs. Yes, the Los Altos Recreation Department has classes starting in all of these areas next week! Specifically, we have the following classes slated to start: Parent/Child Golf (7+yrs), Junior Golf (7-17yrs), Intermediate Junior Golf (7-17yrs), Parent/Me Ice Skating (2.5-5yrs), Beginning Hockey Skating (6-12yrs), Tot Ice Skating (3-5yrs) and Private Singing Lessons (9+yrs).

To read about and register for all of our spring classes and summer camps, go to LosAltosRecreation.org and click on the photo of our SPRING 2013 RECREATION GUIDE.

Remember, we have a great variety of adult classes, too. Check us out!

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 visit www.medakanogakko.org or email medakanogakkopaloalto@gmail.com.

After School Soccer Program for Grades 4-6

For more info or to register, please go to http://tinyurl.com/mvla4-6 or visit www.mvlasc.org 

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!