Springer Buzz!

March 21st, 2014

In This Issue

Calendar Dates

Letter from the Principal

News and Announcements

Parent Education Opportunities

Student Extracurricular Activities

Quick Dates for your Calendar

March 22: Springer Auction

April 2, 7pm: PTA Board Election Meeting and Mid-year Budget Approval

April 3, 6-8pm: Open House: CSMA Art Show from 6pm, Classrooms open from 7pm-8pm

April 4: Minimum Day 12.15am dismissal 1st-6th; 11.35am Kindergarten

April 7- 11: Spring break – NO SCHOOL

April 21 – 25: Book Fair

April 24: Book Fair Family Night, Family Picnic and Art Show 5-8pm

April 26: Junior Olympics

May 24, 5 pm: Springer Day at the San Jose Giants

Principal’s Letter

Science Fair Take-Aways

My long commute home gives me the "down time" I need to reflect on each busy day. I always make sure I spend some of that time thinking about the positives I saw during the day. Imagine my drive last Thursday night, coming home from our annual Science Fair.

There were so many great take-aways for me from that evening. Sure, the student work impressed me.  And I'm continually amazed at the huge turn-out we have each Science Fair evening. But I want to highlight a couple of "aha's" for me from the Science Fair.

The first one came from overhearing a student-to-student conversation. Two students were sharing with each other their experiments, what went well, and what did not. This was not an adult-directed conversation, but rather a completely organic, COLLABORATIVE conversation about their work.  One student lamented that her hypothesis was wrong; that her findings did not match what she Mthought was going to happen in the experiment. The other student said, "That's what I like about the science fair. It's Ok to be wrong about what you thought. In fact, I think that's the point."

I wanted to interject right then and bellow a hearty, "YESSSS." What a great moment. For a student to express that we don't always come up with the right, or expected, answer AND that it is perfectly OK not to do so. Her positive viewpoint on this is part of the growth mindset we want to instill in our students. It is vital to teach our children that when the desired or expected outcome doesn't materialize, there is still valuable learning in the process.   

The second take-away came in the afternoon. As I was helping to put participation certificates on the science boards, I was able to be a witness to the pack of judges who were beginning their deliberation on which experiments should receive awards. With the students back in their classrooms, each team of judges were free to walk around to the exhibits, re-examine them and then make their arguments to the team members about where they thought the experiment should place.  It was gratifying to hear many of the judges cite their earlier conversations with the students. One judge noted that a student so thoroughly went through his reasoning when coming to his findings that the judge got lost in the content. "This kid really knew his stuff."

I can't thank our judges enough. We had over 40 of them (yes, 40!!!) who not only donated their time, but also strongly contributed to the scientific process for our students by asking critical thinking questions and thoroughly examining each 4th - 6th grade experiment. It was yet another awesome example of community support at Springer.

News and Announcements

LAEF: Did you Know?... Art lessons are in every grade thanks to your LAEF donations.

The Los Altos Art Docent program has brought a sense of excitement about art and the freedom to be creative to students in the Los Altos School District since 1970. A combination of art appreciation and hands-on lessons build on each other from year to year, and art elements are woven throughout the elementary curriculum. By the end of sixth grade students have gained an appreciation for fine art, learned a basic art vocabulary, and have participated in the process of creating their own individual works of art.

Student Art Shows will be at four schools this Spring: April 3rd at Oak, April 24th at Springer, May 22nd at Santa Rita and May 22nd at Gardner Bullis. Stop by and see the creativity!

Please visit laefonline.org to make a donation that benefits this treasured program.

LAEF representatives at Springer are:

Nancy F

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

Annual PTA Board Election Notice

Please join us for the annual PTA Board election to be held during the Association Meeting on Wednesday, April 2, at 7:00pm, in the Springer Staff Room.

You are Invited!

Prom Night:

Springer School Auction 2014

March 22, 2014, 6:30-10:30 pm

Michaels at Shoreline

This is more than just an auction, it’s the party of the year! Join your fellow Springer parents and teachers for an evening of fun and fundraising benefiting Springer School.

       Buy Tickets - for yourself or if you need a proxy

       Volunteer           

       More Information

Secure your babysitter, check out Abracadabra for details of their babysitting service here

Donate wine for the Springer Auction

The Springer auction is looking for donations of wine for the wine wall! The wine wall is a Springer auction tradition. It works like a raffle and raises lots of money for the school. There are two ways you can help:

· If you have a bottle you would like to donate, please bring it to the office. If you would like a receipt for your donation please email Hilary Burcell (hilary[at]burcell.com) with your name and the value of your wine.

· If you have a connection to a local winery that might be interested in making a donation, please contact Hilary Burcell or Doug Isaacson (doug_isaacson[at]yahoo.com).

THANKS for supporting the auction!

Questions? Email 2014 auction co-chairs, Rachel, Kirsten & Elizabeth at springerauction@gmail.com

The Sochi Olympics might be over, but the Los Altos Junior Olympics are just starting their training!

Our 4th through 6th grade kids will represent Springer at the annual Junior Olympics Field Day onSaturday, April 26th, doing fun events such as hurdles, basketball free throws, chin ups and more...

Mr. Heeb spends the next few weeks helping the kids practice and train for these events during PE andhe needs several volunteer parents to help time kids and keep them organized at their different practice stations.  We need more volunteer help, especially for the 5th and 6th grade PE times.  Please visit the volunteer schedule and sign up for any open spots where you can spend some time with the kids.  No experience necessary!

4th grade calendar:  http://vols.pt/p9qAbt

5th grade calendar:  http://vols.pt/vNwb9m

6th grade calendar:  http://vols.pt/yin2o8

Questions?  Email or call Katie Cowley (ktcowley[at]yahoo.com)

Did you know that all Springer students are eligible for a FREE Los Altos library card?  Click here to learn more

Parent Education Opportunities

Reading in Preterm and Full Term Children

Do you have a six year old?  Are you interested in how reading develops? Stanford Reading study continues, see here for details.

Student Extracurricular Activities

LASD Film Festival is Coming!

The countdown has begun! There are two weeks left to submit videos for the LASD Student Film Festival. The submission window closes on Friday, March 28th. The festival will take place on May 9th from 4-6pm in the Covington multi; we are hoping to showcase many original entries!

FILM FESTIVAL CATEGORIES:   EDUCATIONAL, MUSIC VIDEOS, ANIMATION/CLAYMATION, COMEDY, STORY, CLASS COLLABORATION

EACH CATEGORY WILL BE JUDGED BY GRADE LEVEL:  (K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

For more information, please visit http://lasdfilmfest.org/home.html . This website includes event information, submission information, rules, frequently asked questions, and a thank you to last year’s sponsors! The submission form is on the website, or can be accessed here.

If you have any questions, please email lasdfilmfestival14@gmail.com  

Thank you, and have a great week! We’re looking forward to receiving all entries!

Film Festival Team

Covington 6th Grade

DezignKidz Summer Camp @ Springer this Summer!

DezignKidz, a fun, locally-run program for aspiring designers (which made its debut at Springer in 2009) is returning to its roots on Rose Avenue with even more options for creative kids.

Choose from our popular Fashion and Accessory Dezign sessions (including Fashion Dezign 3 for middle school fashionistas), add some style to your space with Interior Dezign, create beautiful handprinted fabrics in Textile Dezign, perfect your fashion sketching skills or try our BRAND NEW SESSIONS in Plush Toy Dezign and Cutting -Edge Quiltz.  "Dezigners" will learn turn hand and machine sewing and other textile arts techniques as they turn their ideas from sketches into completed garments, accessories or home decor items. Check out our web gallery for photos of last year’s fun!

Week-long programs run 6/16-6/20, 6/23-6/27, 6/30-7/3, 7/7-7/11 and 7/14-7/18.

Sign up online at www.dezignkidz.com or call 650 346-5896.

PRE-ENGINEERING WITH LEGO

Mondays from April 14 – May 19, 2:45pm – 4:15pm in the Springer library.

Open to grades K-3

See flier for more details

Join Springer Singers for our Spring season singing selections “From the Movies.”  Songs from Cars, Oliver, Yellow Submarine, Mary Poppins, Disney movies and more! Grades 1-6 rehearse Tuesdays in the multi from 2:30 – 3:30.

For more details about the Springer Singers, please contact Heidi Rockett, rockettland[at]comcast.net

Peninsula Youth Theatre presents "The Sound of Music" at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts on March 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9, with matinee and evening performances. Tickets are $22 for adults and $18 for children at the box office.     http://pytnet.org/shows/SoundOfMusic/tickets.htm

Los Altos Recreation: NOW REGISTERING FOR SPRING CAMPS/CLASSES AND SUMMER CAMPS

The spring brochure (which introduces our spring classes/camps as well as our summer camps) is out! Registration is underway. Read it over, mark your classes and camps, and register today!

To read about and register for all of our summer camps and spring classes/camps, go to LosAltosRecreation.org and click on the photo of our new SPRING 2014 RECREATION GUIDE.

But wait…winter is not over yet! To check out and/or register online for our final winter class, go to LosAltosRecreation.org and click on the photo of our current WINTER 2014 RECREATION GUIDE.

The brochures are full of educational and just plain FUN classes for kids and adults! Join us!

girlSPARC

girlSPARC - a Science Plus ARithmetic Club is an after school extracurricular STEM program for 2nd - 6th grade girls, with the goal of exposing girls to engineering, math & science topics in a fun, supportive environment.  We are offering a Spring Session twice a week - Thursdays for 2nd & 3rd grade girls, and Tuesdays for 4th, 5th & 6th grade girls.  It is an 8 week program, starting on 2/25.  For more information, contact Tracy Stone, tracygstone[at]yahoo.com, or Anita Mathew,anita.mathew10[at]gmail.com.

Medaka no Gakko

Registration applications are now being accepted for Medaka no Gakko, a Japanese cultural summer program for children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade. The parent cooperative program features arts and crafts, music, literature, cooking, social studies and language. Classroom activities are enriched by demonstrations and performances by artists and community members. Dates:  June 23 - July 11, 2014; Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple in Palo Alto. After school care available until 3:00 p.m.  For more information, please visit www.medakanogakko.org or email medakanogakkopaloalto@gmail.com.

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.