Our Mission

At Springer Elementary School, we will provide a safe and supportive environment that engages, inspires, and nurtures all students’ emotional and academic needs in order to become empathetic, productive global citizens and lifelong learners.

In This Issue: August 18, 2017:

• Principal’s Message

• News and Announcements

• Parent Education Opportunities

Quick Dates for your Calendar:

• Thursday, August 31, 6:30-8:00pm: Back-to-School Night

• Friday, September 1: Minimum Day, Dismissal 12:15 all students

• Thursday, September 7, 8:45am: PTA Mtg.

Principal’s Message

Aloha Springer Community,

What a great start to the new school year!  

LASD Solar Fest!

Solar Eclipse Viewing Opportunity - Information

On August 21, 2017, for the first time since 1918, a solar eclipse will be visible on a path across the United States. Los Altos will be in the path of a partial solar eclipse (75% at its peak) and we have been busy planning to make this once in a lifetime event a unique learning experience for our students district wide.

The school-wide viewing will begin at 10:10am and last approximately 20 minutes.

ISO Certified and NASA recommended viewing glasses will be provided for all students and staff, and we invite all parents to join us on campus during this time. We only have a few extra solar viewing glasses, so please bring your own eclipse glasses or be prepared to share.

As always, student safety is our top concern. Looking directly at the sun is unsafe. The only safe way to look at the partially eclipsed sun (or the sun at any other time of the year) is through special purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses”. Per NASA, homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun.

Although there is no way to fully guarantee student eye safety during such a rare event, we are taking precautionary measures including pre-education to make students are aware of the risks involved in directly looking at the sun. At no time should students or participants remove their eclipse glasses and look directly at the sun as it could cause permanent eye damage or other unknown effects.

Please speak with your child about the importance of following instructions and of keeping their eclipse glasses on at all times during this event. Here is an excellent NASA resource to learn more about solar eclipse and safe viewing tips.

Note the changes :

• Early Release Thursday – We have moved to an early release Thursday this school year. Minutes have been redistributed within the weekly schedule to allow for collaboration time: the school day will be a bit longer for students four days per week and shorter every Thursday afternoon.  Full schedule info is below.

Solar Project Installation – A new project that is coming to our school is solar shade structures in our parking lot. The District is excited to do its part in preserving our environment (reducing our carbon footprint) by installing these solar panels at all our school sites.  We expect to save $175,000 or more annually on our utility bills as a result of being able to grandfather in our current PG&E rate structure.  Installing the solar structures will enable us to save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year and reduce our carbon footprint, equivalent to 3.5 million pounds of CO2 annually.  Construction begins on September 18th and will continue until the beginning of November.  

Keep Calm and BE...– This year is our Be… awesome, curious, kind, a helper, artist, mathematician, author, singer…., the change we want in this world!  We will be spending the entire year around BE… Each week there will be classroom activities celebrating… BE…  This week it was BE responsible, have a growth mindset and show empathy (walk in someone else’s shoes… )  Ask your children about what they did.  

PTA:  One of the most important components of an effective school is the partnership formed between educators and families. Our wonderful PTA Co-Presidents Rachel Michelson and Kirsten Tashev, as well as their Board, are committed to providing opportunities for our families to come together and collaborate around making Springer a fantastic place for kids!  I hope to see you at the PTA meetings and other future events!

Do you know that many programs for our students are covered via your direct donations to the PTA?  This includes CSMA art programs, Starting Arts: Music & Dance,  supplies for our classrooms, additional books for the library, classroom and classroom technology like laptops and more that supports the whole child.  Be sure you join the PTA this year!  Thank you all for making these programs possible.  

Safe Move Assemblies:  Next week there will be a bike safety assembly on Friday for all grades.  

Have a wonderful weekend,

Lynn Boskie

 PTA Welcome!

A New School Year!

Hello! And welcome to the 2017-2018 school year. It's always hard to transition from the lazy days of summer to the routine of school. I wish you all ease for the coming weeks.

As your PTA President, it is my goal to create and foster an atmosphere of a community for all of our families. Last year we held a variety of community events -- Ho Down, Cookie exchange and movie nights. I hope we continue with these events this year.

Our first board meeting is scheduled for September 7th. It will start right after morning assembly and be held in the staff room. In these meetings, we update the association on the budget, upcoming events and have speakers present on a variety of topics.  I will send out reminders as we get closer to the date. I hope to see you there.

And on a final note: Our board is in need of a Parliamentarian. If you are interested in what this role entails, please send me an email and we can talk.

Back-To-School-Order Form

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

The link to the form is: https://fs12.formsite.com/Springer/bts2017/index.html

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

Thank you for your support of the Springer PTA!  

Hot Lunch

We are seeking volunteers to join the Hot Lunch crew for 2017-2018.   The Hot Lunch program would not be possible without the 20+ volunteers per week that come in to serve lunch!  The lunch volunteer shift is weekly, or alternating weeks, from 11:25-12:15.  Contact Donna Murphy (at HotLunchScheduling@springerpta.net) to join the lunch crew or if you’d like more information.

Art Docent Training

Los Altos Art Docents are looking for new volunteers to join us! Please come to our Informational Coffee on Wednesday, August 23, from 10-11:30am, at the LASD Board Room located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos. 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.

Click here for flyer and more information!

Living Classroom

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

It's time to harvest seeds from heirloom tomatoes, plant our winter wheat and veggies, search the schoolyard for animal homes, and learning about Native California Indian uses of plants!  If you like all those things and more, 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 on Monday mornings from 9am-Noon from Sep. 11th – Oct. 16th  (please see our Fall training flyer for locations).

Click here for flyer and more info.

Want to learn more about our program?  Please consider attending one of our upcoming Informational Meetings from 10-11am on Monday 8/21 or Monday 8/28 at the Los Altos School District iLearn Studio, 201 Covington Road, Los Altos and/or visit our website at www.living-classroom.org.

Questions? Email us at livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or call (650) 947-1103.  

Caroline Chan

Program Coordinator, Los Altos School District

Living Classroom

(650) 947-1103 (office)

(650) 303-9764 (cell)

livingclassroom@lasdschools.org

www.living-classroom.org

Looking To Fill Noon Duty Position

Springer needs a Noon Duty Aide on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:45 to 12:45.  Please call the Springer School Office at 650-943-4200 to apply.  

We are also looking for a Volunteer to manage and update our Springer Sign.  This position requires about two hours a month.

Parent Education Opportunities

Through an enriching presentations from local and national experts on topics of interests 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 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.