The Springer Buzz

August 19,  2016

In This Issue:

• Principal’s Message

• News and Announcements

• Parent Education Opportunities

Quick Dates for your Calendar:

• September 1, Thursday: Back-To-School Night

• September 2, Friday: Minimum Day, dismissal 12:15pm

• September 12, Monday: First day of extended day Kindergarten dismissal 2:15

• September 14, Wednesday: Photo Day!

• September 23, Friday: Staff Development Day, No School For Students

Principal’s Message

Dear Families of Springer,

Welcome back--the 2016- 2017 school year has begun!  There was a buzz of energy in the air the first day that never dimmed.  Our hope is that your children had an incredible first week of school.  As I greeted them in the morning when they arrived and visited them in their classrooms their faces showed the excitement as they absorbed the newness of the school year.   

”Ohana” is our theme for the Year: Ohana is an understanding that aloha (love and caring) is an essential commitment to do everything we can to support each other, our students and our families.

The word comes from oha, which is the highly revered taro plant, and it signifies that all ohana come from the same root. No matter how distantly ancient Hawaiians were related, they recognized that they all came from the same root and thus were all part of the same family. Ohana is more generally used to describe any group of people with a common bond.

This year we will be emphasizing “Ohana”.  Ohana is an understanding that aloha (love, caring) is an essential commitment to do everything we can to support each other.    At Springer we want all our students to show responsibility, teamwork, a helping hand, perseverance, empathy, and (mindset) a can do attitude.  Through the Ohana at school we will work to ensure students are successful!

Wednesday Assembly: Every day we will continue to honor the school flag and morning greeting tradition.  On Wednesdays we will celebrate together by sharing important information and celebrate our growth both academically and socially.  Every Friday will be Aloha Friday, a school spirit day celebrating “Ohana”.  Show your spirit by wearing Aloha wear or your Springer wear!  

Thank you:  Thank you parents who have donated to the PTA!  This summer our teachers had professional learning opportunities in reading, responsive classroom and in collaboration because of your contributions.  All of our students will directly be affected by the new strategies learned during the summer professional learning.  In addition our library has taken on a new look with brand new furniture because of your generosity.

I would like to personally thank all of you for your support as the new principal at Springer.  Go Springer Stingers!

Sincerely,

Lynn Boskie

Principal, Springer Elementary School

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

― Thomas A. Edison

Back-To-School Order Form

The BTS Order Form is a quick, easy, on-line tool that allows you to join the PTA, make donations, and purchase Auction tickets, Spirit Wear and Yearbooks.  This is a convenient way to make a single payment for your donations and orders!

The link to the form is: Springer 2016 BTS Order Form

The password is: "stingers" (all lower case)

Thank you for your support of the Springer PTA!

Crosswalk Volunteers Needed

Crosswalk Volunteers

We ask every family to volunteer for Crosswalk Duty, at least two times per year, per student.  This greatly helps improve safety and reduce speeds in our parking lot and on Rose Ave, before and after school.  For more information and links to sign up, go to the Crosswalk page on the Springer website.  Thank You!

LAEF welcomes you to the 2016-17 School Year!

The Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) is a non-profit organization led by parent volunteers that raise funds to provide enrichment programs and smaller class sizes for LASD students. This year's teachers and staff for STEM, PE, libraries, art, music, computer science, and smaller class sizes in grades K-3, are all supported by your 2016-17 tax-deductible LAEF donation.  

New this year, LAEF is also funding an Instructional Support Teacher (IST), who is dedicated to supporting our amazing teachers by improving instruction, collaboration, and learning across disciplines, with an initial focus on 6th-8th grade math.

The suggested annual donation is $1,200 per student. Our goal is $3.7 million and 100% participation from all of our LASD families, so every gift in any amount is appreciated. Learn More & Make Your Tax-Deductible Donation Today at www.LAEFOnline.org

LASD Art Docents Looking For Volunteers

Los Altos Art Docents are looking for new volunteers to join us! Please come to our Informational Coffee next Wednesday, August 24 at 10:am at the Los Altos School District Board Room; 201 Covington Road. See attached flyer for more details. If you are unable to come to the coffee, please contact the Art Docent office at (650) 947-1195 or kdickerson@lasdschools.org for more information.

Share Your Love Of Nature With Kids

Become a LIVING CLASSROOM docent... share your love of nature with kids!

It's time to harvest seeds from heirloom tomatoes, plant winter wheat and veggies, search the schoolyard for animal homes, learn about Native California Indian uses of plants, and much, much more!  If you like all those things and enjoy connecting kids with nature, please consider becoming a Living Classroom docent!  LIving Classroom is looking for docents to help deliver hands-on garden-based lessons to the students of the Los Altos School District.  No experience necessary as we provide all the training needed!  Our Fall Docent Training will take place Monday mornings from 9 - Noon from Sept. 12th – Oct. 17th.  Want to learn more about our program?  Please consider attending one of our upcoming Informational Meetings from 10-11am on Monday 8/22 or Monday 8/29 at the LASD iLearn Studio located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos.  Please click HERE to view our Fall training flyer.

Questions? Email us at livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or call (650) 947-1103.  For more information about Living Classroom, please visit our website at www.living-classroom.org.

Parent Education Opportunities

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.

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.