Springer Buzz!
 May 2nd, 2014

In This Issue

Calendar Dates
Principal’s Letter
News and Announcements
Parent Education Opportunities
Student Extracurricular Activities

Quick Dates for your Calendar

May 7, 8.45am: PTA Meeting- Enrollment and Facilities Discussion with Jeff Baier and a Board Member.
May 9, 4:00 – 6:00 pm: Los Altos Student Film Festival @ Covington Multi
May 23, 1:00 pm: Spring Concert, grades 4, 5 & 6
May 24, 5 pm: Springer Day at the San Jose Giants
May 26: Memorial Day, No School
May 27- 30: Volunteer Appreciation Week
May 29, 7:30 – 8:30: Volunteer Awards Breakfast

Principal’s Letter

Personal Best

If you had a chance to get out to the 54th Annual LASD Junior Olympics last Saturday, I'm sure you felt the sense of community, friendly competitive atmosphere, and overall fun of the event.  The volunteer hours, not just from our own Springer Junior Olympics Committee, but from all of our elementary schools is truly awe-inspiring.  The entire day is so well organized.  It really is an impressive endeavor.

There are so many warm feelings throughout the entire day that flow through me at each Junior Olympics.  Springer pride is at its height when we walk into the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies.  I always try to get to the field early to watch our students run longest run of the day, the 1320!  I admire our students who get up so early to push themselves through, what I consider, the toughest event.  When students run to me and tell me about what they accomplished in the softball throw or the jump rope or the basketball shot, I share their sense of accomplishment.  It really is about personal best.  

The great thing about personal best is that no one can define it for us.  We are the only ones to know if we achieved our personal best--based on our practice and effort.  I was so proud to see our student athletes reach their personal best, doing so while displaying immense spirit and sportsmanship.  Springer really stood out on Saturday!

I want to personally thank Springer's Junior Olympics Committee.  Much appreciation goes to Wendy Sarathy, Christa Kidwell, Katie Cowley, Jenny Jun and Julie McCullough.  A huge thank you goes out to our parent coaches as well who came out and worked with the students for weeks before the big event.

Have a great weekend,

Wade

News and Announcements

 A Huge “Thank you!” to all of our Springer Volunteers
 Junior Olympics 2014 was a success!
 Thank you:

75 yd. dash and 1320 volunteers

Set-up and Clean-up volunteers

School Rally Coordinators

Springer Tent Volunteers

Food Tent Volunteers

Springer Bakers

Parent PE Volunteers and Relay coaches

Teachers and Staff who came out to join us
 Thank you to all the parents and student athletes who joined us last Saturday!
 Co-Chairs: Wendy Sarathy, Christa Kidwell, Jenny Jun, Julie McCullough and Katie Cowley

Come join us at the Los Altos Student Film Festival next Friday, May 9th! The festival will take place from 4-6pm at the Covington multi, and will celebrate a wide variety of student films. The gallery walk of student films will be from 4-5pm, and award presentations will take place from 5-6pm. Student teams will be running a snack booth and helping guide guests to the different galleries. Students across the district have worked very hard on their films, so this a great opportunity to show support and visit with students from other schools. It’s going to be a wonderful event, so come join us for an afternoon of fun and films!

We Want Your Shoes!
Clean out your closets and garage and donate your used shoes! As a community project, the Springer Girls On The Run will once again be collecting used shoes to donate to "From Our Feet" - a Palo Alto organization that collects shoes to distribute to those in need worldwide. All types of shoes and sizes are accepted, including athletic shoes, dress shoes, cleats, flip-flops,boots, etc. Any shoes that cannot be used will be recycled by From Our Feet.
DATES:  Thursday, May 1 – Friday, May 9
Boxes will be placed around campus for shoe drop off.
Any questions? Contact Veronique Gobry at Veronique.gobry[at]gmail.com

Field Day Committee Forming:
Springer’s 2^nd Annual Field Day is on June 6^th.  This fun-filled day is a celebration for our students.  We are in process of forming a committee to begin the planning.  Honestly, there is not a lot of planning to do as we have a good working template already in place.  This committee would meet once or twice to get the ball rolling.  Can you help?  If so, please contact Wade Spenader.

Did you Know?...LAEF funds Physical Education Specialists for 1^st-6^th graders
Junior Olympics is this weekend! Your contributions to LAEF help make this very special tradition possible, by funding the Physical Education program for all first through sixth graders. Make plans to cheer on our student athletes on Saturday, April 26 at Mountain View High School, and please continue to support the PE program with your donations to LAEF!
LAEF representatives at Springer are:
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.net

Tickets on sale NOW for Springer Day at the San Jose Giants!
Game time is Saturday, May 24 at 5 pm. At the start, our very own Springer Singers perform the National Anthem; and 1st-grader Colby Basset throws out the first pitch!
Look for the Giants' ticket booth on the quad, before school or simply stop in the office to purchase tickets. Tickets are $5 per person. There is no admission charge for children 4 years and under.
Don't miss out celebrating our great Springer Nation, the amazing Springer Singers, and Spring ball!
Questions? Contact Chris Leahy (cleahy94025[at]yahoo.com) or Karen Eichstadt-Coy (eichcoy[at]yahoo.com).  Go Giants!
Springer Singers at the San Jose Giants
Calling all past Springer Singers….
The Springer Singers will be singing the National Anthem at the San Jose Giants Opening Ceremonies Saturday, May 24^th and we would love to have you join us.
If you participated in the Singers at any time we would love for you to join us again for this special evening.
Please contact Heidi Rockett at rockettland[at]comcast.net to participate.

Help Springer win the Drive Less Challenge April 22-May 7!
To celebrate Earth Day 2014, Green Town Los Altos is sponsoring its 4th annual Drive Less Challenge and School competition!  Starting April 22, this two-week competition encourages Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View residents to explore alternatives to driving kids to school in gas-powered vehicles. Kids learn lasting habits from their parents, so why not encourage healthy commuting habits by walking, wheeling, or carpooling with another family?
The competition will be between the 10 Los Altos area public elementary schools plus Egan and Blach middle schools for the Greenest School in each category. WOW parent volunteers will be at school to cheer on your students during the Challenge. The School District will survey student’s mode of transportation to school on Bike to School Day - May 7- the last day of the Drive Less Challenge. This survey will determine the winners.

The Greenest School awards include the following:

1.         Greenest School - Percentage of students using alternative green transportation i.e. bike, walk, rollerblade, carpool with another family, public transportation; anything but being dropped off by a parent in a car.

2.         Most Improved - Most improved when compared to the last measurement taken in May 2013.

3.         Parent Participation - Highest percentage of parents pledging to Drive Less at www.DriveLessChallengeLA.com. Parents must note their school affiliation to be counted.

GreenTown Los Altos will notify the Principals of the winning schools as soon as the counts are in. A commemorative plaque will be awarded to the winning schools along with a school-specific celebration Party.
May the best school win!

Pertussis Booster for Students in Grade 6: Students currently in grade 6 must have proof of a Tdap or Dtap (Pertussis or Whooping Cough) booster given after their 7th birthday (after 10th birthday is recommended) in order to begin seventh grade in August of 2014. Please provide a copy of your child’s immunization record to your school office as soon as possible!

Parent Education Opportunities

 NO PARENT LEFT BEHIND: Common Core Standards Workshop
 Saturday, May 3, 2014
 10.30am-12.00pm at Peterson Middle School, 1380 Rosalia Ave., Sunnyvale
 FREE: registration required
 Understand how you can impact your child’s learning using academic enrichment activities with common core standards in English language arts and mathematics.
Register here or contact brenda_mariano-paz@scoe.org for more details.

Common Core & Students with Learning Challenges
 Wednesday, May 7, 2014
 Hospitality: 6:45 PM
 Meeting: 7:00 PM
 Egan Middle School Multi
 100 West Portola Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022
 Click here for more information

Student Extracurricular Activities

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.

How to submit an article to the Springer Buzz

If you have an article to submit to the 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.