6 EASY Ways to support Measure J:

1. PLEASE, turn in your absentee ballots today
2. Wear your Measure J buttons, everywhere
3. When you get a Measure J phone call, please stay on the line
4. Get a lawn sign. (contact us at info@yesforexcellentschools.net)
5. Talk to your neighbors, or canvas your neighborhood
6. Circle November 6th on your calendar in a bright color right now, and VOTE. (Note your new polling place as the polling precincts in Contra Costa County have consolidated!)

Fact: In past elections parents, who already only represent about 17% of the voting population in Lafayette, have had the lowest voter turn-out record. Let Measure J be the election where we turn this number around!!!! Measure J needs your vote.

* Springhill phone bank dates:
Sunday, 10/21 3 - 6 pm
Thursday, 11/1 6 - 8:30 pm (reminder phone calls)
Saturday, 11/3 12 - 2:30 pm, 2:30 - 5pm (ALL SCHOOLS - reminder calls)
Sunday, 11/4 12 - 2:30 pm, 2:30 - 5pm (ALL SCHOOLS - reminder calls)

* Precinct Walkers Needed: We need to identify an additional 1,800 supporters within the next two weeks. To reach this goal, we are organizing a precinct walking program. We will try to contact all of the voters we could not reach on the phones.
Precinct walking will begin ASAP - we need to walk these precincts within the next two weeks. The best time to go precinct walking: Saturdays and Sundays OR weekdays from 6 - 7:30. Three precinct captains are needed from each school - would you like to help in your neighborhood?

Please contact either Kathy Hemmenway (933-5266 khemmenway@aol.com) or Doreen deRoque (945-6499 or dderoque1@yahoo.com) for questions or volunteer sign ups. Thanks for your continued support!

Facts brought to you by the Measure J, Yes for Excellent Schools Campaign.
www.yesforexcellentschools.net

Although I do not use this space to promote Measure J, I do wish to make the Springhill community aware of the rational and motives for the district putting this measure on November's ballot. Those reasons include:
---to ensure stable, locally-controlled funding
---to support critical programs, including: preserving small class sizes, K-5 science teachers and instructional technology support
---to attract and retain teachers: our beginning teacher salaries are 6th out of 7 of neighboring districts
---to eliminate structural deficit caused by the State no longer funding vital programs such as K-5 reading specialists, instructional materials and library support
---to reduce parent subsidies of core instructional programs, e.g., instructional aides.

I do strongly encourage all eligible Lafayette citizens to register to vote and to cast your vote on Tuesday, November 6!

Thank you!

Bruce L. Wodhams
Principal


PRINCIPAL's MESSAGES

A. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STUDENT BODY OFFICERS:
President: SAM deROQUE
Vice-President: JACK HEMMENWAY
Secretary: COLE TANNER
Treasurer: SALLY BRUCE
Sports Chairperson: MATTHEW WELCH
Congratulations also to all 5th graders who participated. All were very close races. Each of you did an excellent job of demonstrating democracy and good citizenship at Springhill School!!!
B. GOOD DECISION MAKING is highlighted during next week's RED RIBBON WEEK; but, it does not end with this special week. It is a daily process. Direct your children in the skills of making good decisions at every opportunity! Many thanks to Karen Elliott, Corrine Christensen and all other parent volunteers for your efforts in brining another exciting Red Ribbon Week to the Springhill students. John Abrams and the Bully Game was an excellent assembly enjoyed by all of the students focusing on the bullying and how to deal with it, including pointing out the difference between teasing and taunting, the difference between chatting and gossip, the difference between being part of the problem or part of the solution. Ask your children about the assembly. Next week, we will be pursuing the following activities for RED RIBBON WEEK. The "Four Agreements" listed will be read by a Student Council Officer over the PA system to start four of the five days.

Monday, October 22: AGREEMENT #1: Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Tuesday, October 23: Submission of "Good Character/Good Choices" Posters for Red Ribbon Week
AGREEMENT #2: Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Wednesday, October 24: EVERYONE WEAR RED DAY
Mrs. DEITCH's 3rd GRADE SPIRIT WEDNESDAY PRESENTATION. 8:30 AM
5th GRADE RED RIBBON BULB PLANTING, 1:05 PM, front of school

Thursday, October 25: AGREEMENT #3: Don't Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Friday, October 26: AGREEMENT #4: Don't Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

C. SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL: Thank you to all who participated in the School Site Council selection process. Congratulations to Mrs. Doreen deRoque, Mrs. Cathy Holt, Mrs. Kim Stewart and Mrs. Heidi Felt, our newly elected parent representatives to the council. Thank you again.
D. HALLOWEEN is approaching. We will have our annual Halloween Parade through the halls at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, October 31. All kindergartens will have their parade earlier in the day. Please check the calendar for specific times. Please remember the following: NO costumes of violence (e.g., dripping blood, slashers, Freddie Kruegers, Friday the 13th characters, terrorists, etc.), costumes with weapons (e.g., swords, guns, knives, etc.), or any negative representations of currently or historically-maligned ethnic groups or nationalities will be allowed. Thank you.
E. COINS FOR A CURE: As one of several initial PAY IT FORWARD Projects this year, Springhill School is again participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) COINS FOR A CURE Program. The drive will begin Monday, October 1, and will continue through Friday, October 26, and will consist of a collection can in each classroom for students and staff to contribute any spare change they wish. Collection cans and a packet of information arrived in classrooms on Friday, 9/28. The actual WALK TO CURE DIABETES will take place at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek on Sunday, 10/28, 10:00 AM. Several staff members will be participating. For further information regarding the walk, please contact Mrs. Heidi McLeod at: Heidi@ac3online.co m Thank you so much as we begin another successful year of PAYING IT FORWARD!
F. THANK YOU ALL WHO ATTENDED the Annual LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK last Saturday evening at Civic Park in Walnut Creek for Lauren Bishopp's Team and others.
Thanks also to all who attended the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society Fund Raiser for TEAM LAUREN BISHOPP at Mangia Restaurant last Tuesday.
G. GIRL SCOUT GOLD AWARD BOOK DRIVE: Jane Appert and Taylor Stern, seniors at Acalanes High School, will be starting a book drive October 22 to collect 1,000 books to create a library in Africa for their Girl Scout Gold Award Project. They are hoping to involve the community in their project by inviting elementary aged children to donate unused and unwanted books. They are looking for books for any reading level through 8th grade. The books will be sent to a primary school in Botswana, through the organization "The African Library Project", where a lack of literature leaves adolescents unskilled and illiterate. A collection box will be left outside the main office beginning October 22. The drive will run for approximately 5 weeks. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Questions? contact Jane Appert at jani2379@aol.com or Taylor Stern at taylorbrode@aol.com.
H. Join the PFC! Register for e-SCRIP!!

DIFFERENTIATION CORNER

*Differentiated Instruction takes place in all of our classes. Each week, we will be profiling a particular teacher's implementation of Differentiated Instruction every week in the Friday Flyer. Don't miss it!!!

In Ms. Bornfleth's kindergarten class, as part of the daily calendar segment, students do the "Creature of the Day." Everyday, Ms. B introduces a new animal/bird/fish/etc. to the class by asking them to use questions in order to guess what the day's creature is. The students' ability to create questions in order to identify the creature depends on the students' background of knowledge and analytical skills. After the class has identified the creature, Ms. B tells them interesting attributes and facts about the creature, and the class hypothesizes about why the creature has those attributes/skills. The Creature of the Day segment helps build questioning skills, gets all thinkers wondering "why", and helps students learn more about animals - a favorite topic for all in kindergarten.

*Differentiated Instruction is not individualized instruction, but rather the delivery of curriculum to students in a manner that complements their learning style while always challenging them at their ability level.

PAY IT FORWARD CORNER

Every week we will be including different aspects of our Pay It Forward theme for this year in the Friday Flyer. Character development should be a major component in any well-rounded educational program and it has been for many years at Springhill. Ask your children what their classes are doing for Pay It Forward. Come to Spirit Wednesday, 8:30 AM every Wednesday morning in the main courtyard and find out how we promote character development at Springhill School. We do have a significant change in the Pay It Forward program this year. If you are familiar with how this program was originally designed, you know that all of the "pay it forward" efforts remained anonymous in order to promote the altruistic and selfless nature of the act. Although we will acknowledge all of the acts themselves in the weekly Student Bulletin, at Spirit Wednesday and in the Friday Flyer, we will no longer identify the specific students who performed the acts. We are hopeful the enthusiasm for the program will continue to be as strong as it has been the last several years with this change. Thank you.
Keep up that PIF Spirit!!!

What a soggy week! But that does not stop us here at Springhill!!

Thank you to both Kathy Lagner and Stephanie Marrone for all of your endeavors with this year's Fall Fundraiser. Many homes in Lafayette and beyond are now better equipped to face an emergency situation.

Also, many thanks to Karen Elliott for organizing our assembly with John Abrams. Ask your child what the difference is between teasing and taunting! This was just one of the many valuable lessons learned on Monday.

Next week will be Red Ribbon Week here at Springhill. The school will be awash in red and on Tuesday posters made by the children will be up in the main hallway. Our theme is "Good Character - Good Decisions". There will be an event each day to reinforce this theme to the students.

Be sure to sign up for this year's Lafayette Reservoir Run. The date is Sunday October 28th. A portion of the proceeds raised benefit Springhill as well as the other schools in the community. We are still in need of volunteers!! Anyone interested in helping with this event, please contact Leslie Geannacopulos at lgeannacopulos@comcast.net or 979-1796.

Welcome home to the 4th Graders! They spent the last 3 days in Coloma at Outdoor Discovery School. A very big thank you to the teachers & parent chaperones that "bunked" with our kids, enjoyed the outdoors & help create memories for all. The gold mining days of California will not be soon forgotten for these kids!!

Have a wonderful weekend~


Corrine Christensen
2007/2008 Springhill PFC President
joeandcorrine@msn.com