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The Springer Buzz January 22, 2016 |
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In This Issue:
Quick Dates for your Calendar:
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Principal’s Message |
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I was listening to a radio interview this morning on the way in to school with the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Chip Kelly. He said something that resonated with me and our belief about learning. When asked what type of offensive coordinator he was looking to hire, Coach Kelly stated that he wanted to find someone who came from a completely different system as to the offensive style Coach Kelly is accustomed to running. The reason he gave for this thinking was that he wanted to learn and develop from a different perspective or point of view, other than his own. I found this approach from the new head coach to be very “Lincolnesque”; Abraham Lincoln filled his presidential cabinet with people who often opposed Lincoln’s viewpoints so that all sides of an idea were examined. Time will tell if Coach Kelly rises to the “Mt. Rushmore” of NFL coaching. Mr. Lincoln’s status as a president is already confirmed in history! This concept of collaboration, of embracing the idea of working with others with different ideas and perspectives, is becoming more the norm in both the work world and at school. Hence, when I observe our students collaborating, sharing their ideas, problem solving, and even disagreeing, I am witnessing vital skills being honed to help our students thrive in the future. Critical to this process is the belief of having an open mind to collaborating without a fixed outcome in mind for any individual within the group. The genius of the whole can be much greater than the persistent offerings of a few. I frequently see our teachers helping students to understand this concept of collaboration, even when bumpy, can yield huge results when all ideas are put out on the table. On the topic of collaboration, this past Tuesday the Los Altos School District teachers and administrators had a very productive day working together defining mastery, what is an essential standard, working in grade level groups digging into standards and looking at progression of Common Core Standards- Kindergarten through Eighth grade. Teacher’s learned more about, not just the acquisition of knowledge, but how does knowledge become real and transfer for greater understanding. This is hard work, but very exciting and worthy work to help prepare our students for their future. Enjoy the weekend, Wade Spenader- Principal |
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From Springer’s PTA |
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PTA Nominating Committee Volunteers Needed Looking for a fun, short-term way to get involved with the Springer PTA? The PTA needs volunteers to join the Nominating Committee whose job it is to determine the slate of officers for next year’s PTA Board. The Nominating Committee meets in February and the PTA Board nominations are held in March. If interested, please contact us at: springerpta@gmail.com |
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Live It’s Saturday Night! |
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Date: March 19, 2016, 6:30-10:30pm Come dressed as your favorite SNL character, the choices are unlimited: Operaman, The Samurai, Hans und Franz, Pat, Linda Richman, Wayne’s World, Spartan Cheerleaders, Debbie Downer, Dieter, Stuart Smalley, Church Lady, Stefon…..
The 2016 auction team needs your help. Do you have any auction ideas or items to donate? We are looking for: · Wine: donate a bottle or two of wine for the Wine Wall Raffle · Cool Gear: iPads, Xbox, PlayStation, Beats, etc. · Sports Tickets: baseball, basketball, football, etc. · Parties: Host an awesome party for kids or adults! Questions? Email 2016 auction co-chairs, springerauction@gmail.com |
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Project Night Night |
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Project Night Night
Springer Brownie Troop 61163 is performing a community service project to benefit Project Night Night (projectnightnight.org). Each year, 1.5 million American children are homeless. Children arriving at a shelter often come directly from an emergency situation. Most of them have only the clothes on their backs. We are collecting items to go in a Night Night package for these children to give them comfort while they are homeless. Each Night Night package contains three essentials that help children feel secure, cozy, and important: a new stuffed animal, a new security blanket, and a like new book (appropriate for a child 12 or under). If you would like to help us, please bring your donation to the office before February 3rd. With your help, these homeless children can dream big while they are still small. Thank you for your help! |
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Bloomsky Weather Station |
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Springer now has its own weather station! It shows the current and past conditions, the weather report, images of the sky and some great time lapses too. It is located on a pole behind Mrs. Craddock's STEM lab and next to the picnic tables. To see what the data that the weather station captures, download the app (search for 'Bloomsky' in the Apple or Android stores) or create an account on the web at http://bloomsky.com. To find our station, zoom into our area and then select "Springer." You can 'follow' our station and others all over the world including Tahoe, Half Dome at Yosemite and even Paris. For the techies among us, the station works with IFTTT and has an API. Thanks to Bloomsky for donating the station to Springer! |
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Cub Scout Bake Sale, Saturday Jan 23 10-2pm |
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The Wolfs from Pack 36 Den 5 are having a bake sale at Safeway from 10am-2pm on Saturday, Jan 23rd as their community service project. All proceeds will be donated to the VA Hospital in Palo Alto. Please come by if you'd like to purchase some yummy baked goods and help a good cause. |
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STEM Expo is Coming! |
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The Springer STEM Expo is coming on March 22, 2016! For more information, go to: https://sites.google.com/a/lasdk8.org/lasdstemexpo/ Sign up before February 26th. |
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DELAC Meeting |
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District English Advisory Committee (DELAC) Meeting On January 28th at 8:45 am in the Santa Rita Multipurpose Room, 700 Los Altos Ave, Los Altos, there will be a district-wide meeting about the English Learner program in LASD. This is a public meeting and all who are interested are invited to attend. Please contact Ann Haigh at (650) 947-1180 if you have questions. |
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Student Extracurricular Activities: |
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If you haven’t signed your child up for their favorite after-school activity, many of our clubs are back for Winter/Spring sessions: Also continuing, Chess, Speak/Debate, Soccer, and Tennis. Click here to see all of our after school activities and registration information. |
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Raise Funds For Springer With OhmConnect |
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The Springer community started using a novel fundraising platform last year, called OhmConnect. We raised $930 by having a handful of parents of the school turn down their electricity usage just one hour per week. We're aiming to raise $5,000 this year and all you need to do is signup using this link and connect your utility account. |
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Shop Springer! |
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Dear friends of Springer: Are you aware that we have a ShopSpringer (www.shopspringer.com) website where 4-12% of your purchases are paid directly to our PTA, just for directing traffic to their sites?!? On this site you will find active links to a variety of online vendors, including Amazon, iTunes and Walmart.com. Rest assured that using this site will have no impact on pricing, discounts, special shipping offers, etc.. So by simply stopping first at ShopSpringer.com, on your way to Amazon, you make $$$ for our kids!!! Thank you for your support! Springer PTA |
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Are You A Parent Of A Child With ASD? |
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Parenting a child with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder can be challenging. Here is an opportunity to learn some coping strategies. This free program is offered at Stanford. Click here for further information. |
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Parent Education Opportunities |
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Through enriching presentations from local and national experts on topics of interest to parents, faculty and staff, the MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series seeks to contribute to the academic, physical, and emotional health of our students. All events are free of charge and are for parents, faculty and staff in Los Altos and Mountain View public schools. For a schedule of upcoming presentations, please click here. |
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How to Submit an Article to the Springer Buzz |
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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. |