Springer Buzz!
November 8, 2013

In This Issue

Calendar Dates
News and Announcements
Parent Education Opportunities
Student Extracurricular Activities

Quick Dates for your Calendar

November 11: Veterans’ Day; NO SCHOOL
November 18-22: Book Fair
November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break; NO SCHOOL
November 25 & 26: Parent/Teacher conferences     
December 5, 7pm: Kinder and New Family Information Night in the Multi

News and Announcements

LAEF:  Throughout the week of October 21, Springer parents volunteered their time to help with LAEF’s annual Phonathon.  Callers reached new families and shared information about how donations to LAEF make art, library, music, physical education and STEM programs possible for Springer students.  Many families received friendly reminders to send in their donations, visit the LAEF website to make a donation online, set up installment payments, and/or apply for their employer’s corporate matching program.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the following volunteers who gave their time generously on a weeknight to support LAEF.  Together we all help to provide an excellent education and build a strong community.  Thank you!

Chris Brey, George Casem, Griff Derryberry, Jeff Fixler, Greg Heppberger, Candice Lin, Michael Milliken, Jen Mulcaster, Mike Tomasello

LAEF representatives at Springer are:
Nancy F, nvfazioli[at]hotmail.com
Susan Longyear, sue.longyear[at]gmail.com
Brooke Schiller, bbwc[at]sbcglobal.net
Kristin Najarian (member at-large), kristin_najarian[at]yahoo.com 
Make Your Tax Deductible Donation Today!  www.laefonline.org

The Reading Oasis Book Fair is November 18 through 22 in the Springer Multi!

Starting next week and throughout the Book Fair, you will have a chance to Choose Your Mummy!  Bring your loose change or dollars to the office or the book fair and vote for who you’d like to see wrapped as a Mummy on the final day of the Book Fair. We will use these donations to continue the community service efforts of Springer’s Class of 2013 and support the YWCA’s Holiday Store, where families from their shelter will have the opportunity to shop for the gifts their children will receive this holiday season. We will also accept donations of new games, art supplies, and of course, books, for the Holiday Store.
In addition, Scholastic Book Fairs will match our efforts by donating one book for every dollar collected to Kids In Need Foundation and Kids in Distressed Situations. Both non-profit organizations are dedicated to helping children, families, and teachers acquire books and educational resources.
So bring in your change and vote for your favorite Mummy!
See you at the Reading Oasis!
Kathy Stiles & Elena Baquero

2014 Springer Auction, Call for Amazing and Unique Experiences

The Springer Community is amazingly well connected and extraordinarily unique! Your 2014 auction committee is looking for one-of-a-kind experiences that only the Springer Community can make possible. Here are some ideas:

- Access to unique experiences: sports teams (high school to pro), behind the scenes tours (workplace or other), cultural experiences, etc.
- Access to someone famous, unique or interesting
- Vacation homes (flexible dates are best)
- Air miles or hotel points
Be creative and share your ideas and connections and benefit Springer! You can help make this year's auction amazing!
Please note a follow-up call for Community party ideas will come a little later in the year.
If you have an amazing or unique experience idea to offer, please contact the 2014 Auction Committee at: springerauction@gmail.com.  Or if you prefer, you can fill out our form.

Parent Education Opportunities

MVLA Schools, Parent Education Speaker Series
Wednesday, November 13, 7-9pm in the Los Altos High School Eagle Theatre
Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, speaks on Our Distracted Mind: Brain, Memory and Multi-tasking
Aimed at parents of 4-12^th grade students.

Reading in Preterm and Full Term Children
Do you have a six year old? Are you interested in how reading develops?  Here at Stanford, we are 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.
If you are interested in having your child participate in this study, please click here for more details.

Student Extracurricular Activities

You can fly!  Peninsula Youth Theatre presents “Peter Pan.” Join Wendy, Michael and John as they soar to Never Neverland with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to battle the dastardly Captain Hook. This beloved musical is always a best-seller so make sure to order tickets early!  You might recognize some young actors from school or your neighborhood.
November 9 through November 17           
Saturday, the 9th at 2pm & 7:30 pm       
Sunday, the 10th at 1pm & 6:30 pm
Friday, the 15th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, the 16th at 2pm & 7:30 pm       
Sunday, the 17th at 1 pm

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts on Castro Street. Free parking underground on Mercy St. Tickets: $22 adults; $18 seniors/students/children (12 & under). Tip: Buy them at the box office! They are much cheaper than online.

A Cheerful Noise Winter Concerts - Featuring Past/Present Springer Students!
Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 5 pm
First Congregational Church
1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto
Ticket information
Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 4 pm
Old First Church
1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco
Ticket information
Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 4 pm
Cunningham Memorial Chapel
Notre Dame de Namur University
1500 Ralston Avenue, Belmont

Ticket information

Ragazzi Boys Chorus presents A Cheerful Noise. Take some time out of your busy Holiday schedule to enjoy the vocal beauty and youthful energy of our upper-level trebles and changed-voice singers. Classics of choral literature will be featured, including pieces by Mozart, Purcell and Handel. Patrons are invited to sing along with carols, and will be treated to the hushed intensity of Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria. Ragazzi will also present an exciting piece by Paul Halley that combines the ancient chant Ubi Caritas with African chants and drumming.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, December 7^th/8^th and 14^th/15^th
This wonderful holiday show, reviewed as a “charming alternative to the Nutcracker,” will be performed by children of all ages at Woodside Performing Arts Center on Saturday December 7 (4:00pm), Sunday December 8 (1:00pm and 4:00pm) Saturday, December 14, (1:00 and 4:00), and Sunday, December 15 (1:00 and 4:00).
Tickets available at www.twasthenight.org or by calling 650-323-5292.  Come support your fellow Springer student!  For more details, click here

The Los Altos High School Marching Band Annual Fall Finale show is this Saturday at Los Altos High School on their football field. After the show, the members of audience are invited to come onto the field to march with the band students. This is great fun for kids to do.
This is also a fundraiser for the LAHS Instrumental Music program with a bake sale and hot chocolate to help support their program.
The program starts at 10:30 am this Saturday morning, November 9th at LAHS on Almond Avenue, Los Altos. Many former Springer alumni are in Marching Band from seniors to the freshman class. Come support them in this event!

Los Altos Recreation Upcoming Classes
Hello-ho-ho-ho, Holidays.
This time of year, there is so much going on at Los Altos Recreation that it is hard to keep track of it all without a scorecard or…a list…that we can check twice…
Included in the upcoming holiday happenings is our annual Gingerbread House Exhibit. The free exhibit runs the week of Dec 2 BUT, if you wish to enter your own gingerbread house for all to see, the deadline for entry is Nov 15. Santa Visits are on the books for Dec 13 and 14. Due to the popularity of the big elf, this allotted time fills up quickly, so don’t delay if you would like a house visit from the big guy himself. We’re also offering 3-day holiday camps (Dec 20, 23 and 24): Camp Candy Cane and PreTeen Holiday Camp. Great for kids and their parents (who might be a wee bit busy at that time). Lastly, the New Year’s Day Fun Run returns to downtown Los Altos at 9am sharp on…when else…January 1. A fun and free way to welcome the New Year!

For more information on all of these events—plus all our on-going classes—go to www.LosAltosRecreation.org and click on the photo of our Holiday Fun kids.
We have HOLIDAY FUN in Los Altos!

LOS ALTOS-MOUNTAIN VIEW PONY BASEBALL - REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Registration is now open for the 2014 baseball season!  LA-MV PONY Baseball is for boys and girls aged 5-19. This is the 29th 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 go from late March through the spring.  Please register as early as possible in the coming month for our league's planning purposes. For more information and to register please visit the league website at http://www.lamvpb.org/

LEGO Robotics
GRADES 4-6, Tuesdays from October 15th 2013 – December 10th 2013
CLASS TIME: 2:45pm – 4:15pm, STEM Room

MVLA SOFTBALL SIGN-UP
Registration for the Spring 2014 season of MVLA Girls Softball opens on November 1.
Learn more about us at: www.mvlags.org

Play In A Box After-School Fall Drama Class
For more details or to register online, go to:  http://pytspringerfall2013.eventbrite.com

Public Speaking Classes
For registration and more information, click here!

How to submit an article to the Springer STAR

If you have an article to submit to Springer Buzz, please send it to the editor at springer.buzz@gmail.com by noon on Monday for inclusion in the next edition.  Late arrivals will be included if possible but can’t be guaranteed! All flyers must be in either WORD or PDF format, accompanied by a brief summary of the activity in the email.