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The Springer Buzz August 29, 2014 |
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In This Issue:
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Quick Dates for your Calendar:
Meeting with Jeff Baier as guest
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Principal’s Letter |
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Thank You!! Thank you for a great start to the school year. The children have come in energetic (in a good way!) and ready to learn. There are lots of smiles and excitement. Thank you if you attended Tuesday’s Back-to-School Night. Your presence in our classrooms that evening sends a strong message to your children that you value their educational experience. Thank you for joining PTA. The support PTA provides for our students is vital. Thank you for your support of LAEF, which allows us to provide excellent programs that many school districts are unable to give to their students. Thank you for volunteering at Springer. It truly takes a village to deliver all that we do. And, thank you for signing in at the office when you come on campus to volunteer. It helps keep the campus safe. Lastly, thank you for being safe in the parking lot by following the procedures for drop-off and pick-up. Remember to watch your speed in and around the parking lot. Only enter the parking lot in the entry and only exit from the exit. Obey the crossing guard and be ever so watchful for pedestrians and bicycles. We really are off to a great start. Enjoy the extended weekend! |
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PTA Meeting Announcements |
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Regular PTA Meeting: September 3rd @ 8:45 am The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) would like to cordially invite all Springer parents to our first monthly association meeting, to be held on Wednesday, September 3rd at 8:45 am in the Teachers' Lounge. The main item on the agenda will be the presentation of the various programs that PTA is organizing this school year. We will also present, for approval by the membership, the 2014/15 budget associated with those activities. For all parents, and especially for parents new to Springer, this will be an excellent opportunity to get an overview of the multitude of programs that PTA sponsors throughout the year. If you've ever wondered where all the money goes that you are donating on the Back-To-School form (you did remember to fill that out, right?), this meeting will provide you with all the details. It is also your opportunity to participate in the discussion of the goals that PTA should be pursuing and to provide input about the programs you would like to see. In addition, we will have an update on the Hot Lunch program and introduce our new lunch vendor, ChoiceLunch. We will have additional updates on some of our other major programs and events, such as the technology program and the Walkathon. We also look forward to hearing from our principal, Mr. Spenader, and our teachers their thoughts on the school year that has now begun.
We will start the meeting with an update from LASD Superintendent Jeff Baier on the school district's current planning regarding the bond measure. The presentation will be followed by a Question and Answer session with Mr. Baier. We will then open the floor to general discussion, giving our members an opportunity to voice their opinions on the PTA's support of the bond measure. We will conclude the meeting with a vote on the proposed budget amendment. We hope you will be able to make time to attend these two important meetings and we look forward to seeing you there! Thomas Wieland (President) and Shannon Coin (Executive VP) |
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Choicelunch Is Here! |
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Our new lunch vendor, Choicelunch, will begin service on Tuesday, September 2. For more information click here. |
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Six Weeks Until The Walk-a-Thon! |
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GET READY TO WALK & ROCK--THE WALK-A-THON IS COMING! This year Springer's Walk-a-thon will be a ROCK-a-thon! We’ll transform the field into a fantastic celebration of rock-n-roll as we complete laps and collect sponsors for our annual fall fundraiser! Don’t forget to save the date – the Walk-a-thon is Saturday, October 11 from 10-3! If you’re not yet familiar with this stupendous and super-fun all-school tradition, watch for more information soon in Friday Folders and check out a few FAQs online at the Springer website. Wondering how you can get involved at the event? It's fun and easy to participate. Just click here to choose a one-hour volunteer shift, no training required -- we hope all Springer families will volunteer. We also need sponsors for the 2014 Walk-a-thon! Sponsorship at any level can make a difference. Donate raffle prizes, giveaways for students, or get your company logo printed on the ever-popular Walk-a-thon t-shirt! And remember, you can now pre-register for Walk-a-thon food via the Back-to-School Order Form you recently received via email. Questions? Please email your Walk-a-thon co-chairs, Christy Gammons (christine.gammons [at] gmail.com) or Karen McKinley (karenhey [at] stanfordalumni.org). And get ready to ROCK! |
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Back-To-School-Order-Form |
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Hello Springer Parents, The Springer Back To School (BTS) Order Form is a quick, easy, online tool that allows you to make donations, sign up for PTA memberships, order Birthday Books, select your child's Walk-a-thon T-shirt size, place Walk-a-thon Food Pre-Orders, and purchase Auction Tickets, Spirit Wear, and Yearbooks. This is a convenient way to make a single payment for your donations and orders! Click on the link below to open the form. We recommend reviewing the 2014-2015 Spirit Wear selection with your child before opening the form. Please consider making your BTS payment via e-check. We prefer electronic payments because they allow us to more quickly and easily process the BTS orders. (Last year, a parent volunteer made 27 trips to the bank to deposit over 1400 handwritten checks for the Springer PTA!) Furthermore, payment by e-check is less expensive for us. (Intuit charges the PTA a flat fee of $0.50 for every e-check. PayPal charges the PTA 3-5% of each payment.) The Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) accepts (and prefers) payments by e-check as well. Making your payment by check is of course still an option, if you prefer. We appreciate your support!! The link to the form is: Springer 2014 BTS Order Form The password is "stingers" (all lower case) The online form will close on Sunday, September 21 and payments are due by Friday, September 26. Thank you for your support of the Springer PTA! Thomas Wieland and Shannon Coin 2014-2015 Springer PTA Co-Presidents |
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Save Money on Your Energy Bill and Donate to Springer |
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Do you want to save money on your electricity and donate to Springer at the same time?Then click here to check out Ohmconnect. What is Ohmconnect? Ohmconnect is a home energy tool that combines the energy reductions of a community and sells that reduction back into the grid. We can generate an estimated $5k to $10k across a school's community, which is then donated to Springer Elementary School. How do users sign up? 1. Sign up at www.ohmconnect.com/springer 2. Connect your utility account to Ohmconnect 3. If you have a central AC or electric car, send an email talk@ohmconnect.com to receive a free electric car charger and/or wifi thermostat to automate your reductions and donations. Questions? |
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Creating Conditions of Discovery and Inquiry in our Schools: A Conversation about Innovation with Lisa Kay Solomon and Warren Berger |
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How can we best prepare our students with the foundational critical thinking and creative problem solving skills required to thrive in times of increasing ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty? What will it take to shift our classrooms from stand and deliver models to more inquiry-driven methods that foster discovery and personal engagement? How can our teachers, administrators and parents create environments that promote questioning, experimentation, co-creation and collaboration? And, how can we do this all amidst the realities of performance demands, testing requirements and quantified measurement assessments? Join authors Lisa Kay Solomon and Warren Berger Thursday, September 18, 6:30 pm at Mountain View Center for Performing Arts for a thought-provoking conversation power to influence schools, classrooms and community organizations. Drawing on their insights from their newly published books Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change (Simon & Schuster, 2014) and A More Beautiful Question, Lisa and Warren will explore a new way of thinking about how to create cultures and conditions for discovery and lasting impact. For more information contact agallagher@lasdschools.org or to RSVP go to https://www.facebook.com/events/375552049263231/. |
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Notice From District Nurse & Attendance Policy |
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Notice from the District Nurse: School is a place where colds and diseases can spread rapidly. Children who are ill should stay home from school, rest and recuperate. Sometimes it is difficult, especially early in the morning, to know whether or not to send your child to school. The following guidelines are indications that you should keep your child home:
It is required to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom free without medication for 24 hours. Please call the Springer Attendance Line (943-4240) if your child will be absent due to an illness. We must receive a call every day your child is sick at home. Also, NOTIFY THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY if your child is exposed to or contracts chicken pox, mumps or measles. These conditions can be life threatening to students who are undergoing therapies that suppress their immune systems. Attendance: Absences and late arrivals are to be reported to the school by a parent or guardian by calling the Springer Attendance Line at (650) 943-4240 by 9:00am. Children who arrive after the school day begins must sign in at the office to receive a late arrival pass. For an appointment during school hours, please go to the office to sign out your child. Your child will be sent to the office to meet you. Observed religious holidays are considered excused absences as long as the absence has been requested in advance in writing by the parent or guardian and approved by the principal or designee (E.C. 48205, B.P. 5113). |
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Noontime Funvisor Program! |
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We are thrilled to begin our seventh year of Funvisor Programs at Springer! Our weekly 2014/2015 Noontime Funvisor schedule will be posted at Morning Assembly to remind students of the many activities from which they can choose after they finish their lunch. No registration is required to participate. Some programs like volleyball and STEM sometimes are designated for a certain grade level but most programs are open to all students. Funvisor Programs will begin mid September and run through the middle of May. Planned programs include LEGO, Run4YourLife, Arts, Board Games, Volleyball for Upper Grades, Garden, and Writing and Poetry. We would love parents, grandparents, and caregivers to help out even if just once a month! Especially we need help with our NEW VOLLEYBALL program for upper grades which is bound to be very popular!!!! Donations of LEGO, Connect4, JENGA, Boggle, checkers, and new decks of UNO would be very much appreciated and can also be brought to the office. Please contact Noontime Funvisor Coordinator Laurie Pasmooij (Laurie.Pasmooij[at]mac.com) for more information. |
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Join Our Arterrific Stinger Team! |
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Looking for 4th - 6th Grade volunteers to help during noontime Art Club on Wednesdays! Last year over forty 4th - 6th Grade students volunteered 1-13 hours of their time to work with younger grades at Art Club helping younger students with tasks like hot gluing eyes on pine cone groundhogs, stringing lanyards, affixing mustaches on paper puppets, cutting legs for tennis ball crabs for the Walkathon, and constructing and testing miniature sailboats in water. They had a great positive impact on our community! This year we are recruiting students in 4th through 6th grades to join our Arterrific Stinger team to lead activities in Arts and Games on Wednesdays at lunch that include volleyball training, board games, writing, trivia contests, and art projects. A training meeting for interested Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Grade students will be held Wednesday September 10 at lunch in the multi. Students are welcome to bring their lunch to the meeting. Please contact Funvisor Coordinator Laurie Pasmooij (laurie.pasmooij[at]mac.com) for more information. |
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Student Extracurricular Activities: |
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There are after-school activities at Springer for all grade levels. For more information, please click on the following links. |
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girlsSPARC |
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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 Fall Session twice a week - Mondays for 2nd & 3rd grade girls, and Thursdays for 4th, 5th & 6th grade girls. It is an 8 week program, starting on 9/22. Registration starts 9/1. For more information, contact Tracy Stone, tracy@girlsparc.com or Anita Mathew, anita@girlsparc.com. |