The Springer Buzz

January 16, 2015

In This Issue:

• Principal’s message

• News and Announcements

• Parent Education Opportunities

Quick Dates for your Calendar:

• Dec 5 - Feb 6: Kindergarten & new family registration

• Jan 19, Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. birthday, no school

• Jan 20, Tuesday: Staff development, no school

• Jan 30, Friday, 8:45am: Coffee with the Principal

• Feb 16- 20: Winter Break, no school

Principal’s Message

Geography is alive and well!

One of the knocks we hear about public schools is that American students can’t even find Canada on a map!  I’d like to offer up proof to refute the claim that we are not giving students a good grounding on where things are in the world.

Springer participates every year in the National Geographic Geography Bee.  We keep it low-key, low-pressure; the verbal questions given to students (who aren’t allowed to consult an atlas) are really testing their visual-spatial sense of the world- which isn’t the only measure of a good geography student.   Students in our 4th through 6th grade participated in the classrooms at the preliminary round.  Each student  is given 7 questions to answer.   The questions get progressively hard as the rounds progress.   What is most impressive is we have 19 students who answered all 7 questions correctly.  Equally impressive were the over 30 students who were able to answer 6 out 7!   As a teacher at Blach, I ran the Geography Bee in my classrooms to both 7th and 8th graders.  I can remember that it was rare to have so many students at the junior high level do so well as Springer students did this year.  

The 19 students who had perfect scores will compete in the finals on Wednesday. Within a couple of weeks, we will crown a school champion.

Have a great, extended weekend.

Springer Auction--Tickets on Sale!

Save the Date: Saturday, March 14, 2015, 6:30-10:30pm

Location: Crowne Plaza Cabana, Palo Alto

Get ready to party like a rock star at the 2015 Springer Auction! The Springer Auction is one of our largest and most awesome fundraising and community building events of the year! The auction brings together the Springer parents, teachers and community members for an evening of laughs, delicious food/drinks, fundraising and dancing late into the night! For more information about the auction visit the FAQ or learn more about contributing a party or item to the auction.

Purchase your ticket now!

o Online by Credit Card

o Or by check using this form

Questions? Email 2015 auction co-chairs, Rachel, Kirsten & Elizabeth at springerauction@gmail.com

It’s Here!
The 2015 Springer STEM EXPO

Wednesday, March 25

Click here for all of the details, timeline and forms.

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.

Jazz Band For 6th - 8th Grade LASD Students

If you are interested in joining Jazz Band, the link below will give you information on our 2015 Spring Semester beginning on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 from 5:15pm to 6:15pm in the Blach Intermediate band room. Jazz Band is for all students enrolled in 6th-8th grade level education, not just music students. However, at least one year of music reading experience is required for the student to get the most out of the class.

Please email me with any questions at vlewis@lasdschools.org

Thank You,

Mr. Lewis

Go to:

https://sites.google.com/a/lasdk8.org/blach-instrumental-music/jazz-band

Then click on New Jazz Band Site

Common Core Math & LASD

Integrating Common Core Standards into our Educational Programs
February 6, 2015
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Covington School Multipurpose Room
For details and registration click here

Project Cornerstone

This month’s Project Cornerstone book is When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry.   Students are exposed to a variety of skills and techniques to use when their emotions are really strong.

1.   To reinforce this lesson at home:

o   Help your child identify and acknowledge how they are feeling with words. “You are frowning, is that puzzle frustrating? Can I help?” “You are using a loud, angry voice. Are you mad? Tell me about it.”

o   As a caring adult, notice and acknowledge your own feelings. Role model the techniques you use to stay calm and in control. Share your successful strategies with youth.

o   Help your child chose safe ways to calm themselves:

o   Go on a walk or bike ride.

o   Take deep breaths.

o   Count to 10. If still angry, count to 10 again and add deep breaths.

o   Remove yourself from the situation. Take a break in a safe, quiet place.

o   Use art materials such as markers, paint, or other art materials to express feelings.

o   Do physical activity. Put on music and dance away the anger.

Being able to calm yourself down is one of the first steps needed when learning how to be resilient.  January’s “It’s a Springer Thing” focuses on Resiliency.

Vocabulary:  Resiliency is the ability to bounce back, recover from adversity or return to your original form.  Resilience is built with repeated positive experiences with competence, confidence, support, positive values, contributions to others, coping strategies and personal power.

When you “catch” kids modeling positive behaviors... Notice it, Name it, and Celebrate it!

LAEF

LAEF provides Jr High Electives at Blach and Egan

LAEF funding is distributed proportionately across LASD students. Thanks to LAEF funding, Jr. High students have a wider range of elective choices to personalize their learning experience.

List of electives: Art * Band * Creative Writing * Director's Cut/Video Production * Drama * Engineering * Innovation Expedition * Language * French * Spanish * Leadership *Make A Difference/My 14% * Photography * The Power of Gaming * Public Speaking * Robotics * Study Hall * Survivor * Yearbook

LAEF cannot fund these electives without your support!

Make your tax-deductible LAEF donation today at www.laefonline.net (or bring a check to the school office)

LAEF Questions?

Web: www.laefonline.net … Phone: 650.559.0445 ... Email: admin@laefonline.org

Thanks in advance for your support of LAEF.

The LAEF parent-volunteer board

Springer Singers

Does your child love to sing? Then Springer Singers is where you want them to be.

Springer Singers is a great way to get your kids singing and dancing with their Springer friends.  The chorus is open to all Springer student grades 1–6.  We practice on Wednesday’s after school.  Applications available in the office. Please complete form and return with payment to the office (scholarships available) to participate. Please email Heidi Rockett rockettland@comcast.net with any questions.  Spring session begins Wednesday January 14th. Please click here for the registration form.

Fun!visor & Spirit Week

Run4YourLife ended a fun Spirit week; filled every day with Fun!visor activities for the students including YOGA, art, LEGO, volleyball, gardening and STEM activities at lunch.  At Run4YourLife bonus laps for all students wearing green were awarded and students received special stickers. Even those students not wearing green were given the option to add a green dot with a marker and receive bonus laps. Thank you Jenni Tellefsen and her team for a fun day on the track and for inspiring Springer to run at lunch!

GOTR Registrations are still open!

There is still time to register for Girls On The Run!

The program will start Tuesday March 03 and will run until the 5K final event on May 16.

To register follow this link:

The GOTR Coaches

Winter Session of After-School Clubs

Lego Robotics -- Winter Session is starting January 14th!  Click here for details.

Our after-school Art Club for Grades K - 2 is now enrolling.  Click here for info on class dates, location and time.

Art Club for Grades 3 - 6 click here.

MVLA after-school soccer winter session starts January 14; click here for sign-up details!

Student Extracurricular Activities:

There are after-school activities at Springer for all grade levels.  For a list of all of the activities and more information, please go to Springer’s website by clicking here.   

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.