Friday, January 18 
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MultiPurpose Room, 3:00 PM-5:00 PM 
Cub Scout Pack 200; MultiPurpose Room, 5:30 PM-8:30 PM

Monday, January 21 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Holiday

Tuesday, January 22 
California Symphony, Grades 2-5, MultiPurpose Room
Lafayette School District Public Meeting RE: Fields; Stanley Faculty Room, 6:00 PM-8:30 PM

Wednesday, January 23 
Lunch outside
Science Fair set up; MultiPurpose Room, all day

Thursday, January 24 
Lunch outside
Science Fair projects due in MP Room, 7:45 AM-8:30 AM
Science Fair Classroom Walkthrough 
Science Fair; MultiPurpose Room, 6:30 PM

Friday, January 25 
Lunch outside
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MultiPurpose Room, 3:00 PM-5:00 PM 

Monday, January 28 
Student Council; Room 23, 12:20 PM
School Site Council Meeting.; Office, 3:30 PM
Chess Club; Library, 2:45 PM

Tuesday, January 29 
2008-2009 Kindergarten Registration; MultiPurpose Room, 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Wednesday, January 30 
2008-2009 Kindergarten Registration; MultiPurpose Room, 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

Thursday, January 31 
District Strings Music Festival; Acalanes High School, 7:30 PM

Friday, February 1 
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MultiPurpose Room, 3:00 PM-5:00 PM 

Saturday, February 2 
Groundhog Day 

Monday, February 4 
Chess Club; Library, 2:45 PM
Cub Scout Pack 200; Library, 7:00 PM-8:00 PM

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGES

A. Help Master Plan the Lafayette School District's Outdoor Facilities (Fields) at Six Sites: 

Public Meeting for Community Input
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Stanley Middle School Faculty Room
3455 School Street, Lafayette

The Lafayette School District's landscape architect Carducci and Associates is seeking public understanding and input for the master planning of the district's outdoor facilities (fields) at its five school sites and the Montecito site. This is the first of two public meetings that will present site issues and opportunities, recommendations from turf and arborist assessments and presentation of field options for each site for review and comment. Community input is encouraged and welcome. Please contact the Lafayette School District offices for further information at 925-299-3502. We look forward to your participation. 

B. LOST & FOUND: Please check out all items in our Lost & Found to find that long lost jacket, sweater, shoe, etc. . . . In mid-January, we will be donating all Lost & Found items to a worthy charity. Take a look in the New Year for those missing items! Thank you! 

C. KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION: 
Kindergarten Registration for the 2008-2009 school year will take place on Tuesday, January 29, 9:00 AM-11:30 AM, and Wednesday, January 30, 9:00 AM-11:30 AM and all days following. Registration packets may be picked up from the Springhill Office earlier and returned on the actual days of registration. Please encourage all those you know in the Springhill community with kindergarten-aged children for next year to register on these dates, even if they are not sure their children are ready for kindergarten yet. 

D. 1st-5th GRADE REGISTRATION FOR 2005-2006: 
We will be accepting 1st-5th grade registrations for the 2008-2009 school year starting Tuesday, February 5. Please inform any new neighbors or those whose children are currently in private schools who plan to have their children attend Springhill School next year. Remind them to bring the child's birth certificate, immunization record and two proofs of address. Thank you. 

E. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH to the PFC and to Dianne MacArthur for the exceptional gourmet Teacher Appreciation Luncheon last Wednesday. As always, it was unbelievably delicious!!! 

F. 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 Mr. Anke's 4th grade, activities include differentiation to address level of understanding. Students are pretested regularly in math and spelling to determine the appropriate activity for their ability. 

*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!!!


A. ENJOY YOUR MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY AND REMEMBER THE MAN WHO PAID IT FORWARD DAILY SO THAT ALL PEOPLE COULD LIVE IN JUSTICE, FREEDOM & HARMONY! 

B. THE SPRINGHILL COMMUNITY COLLECTED 438 POUNDS OF DRIED FOOD AND CANNED GOODS FOR THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FOOD BANK DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER! WELL DONE, SPRINGHILL!!! ANOTHER PAY-IT-FORWARD TRIUMPH! THANK YOU FOR PAYING IT FORWARD!!! 

By now, you've all received letters asking for donations to Springhill's Annual Auction and Parent Party. Our goal at the 2008 auction is to raise money so that every child at Springhill has many opportunities to experience and learn. Most importantly, we want our children to have choices! A priority is to expose them to options and open as many doors for them as possible so that they can realize their full potential. So donate to the auction...talk about the auction....come to the auction....enjoy a wonderful party where Springhill parents come together to give their children an outstanding education. 

Next Thursday and Friday is the LASF Science Faire. There are still a few openings to volunteer as well as many opportunities to be a guest scientist (no experience necessary!!) Please check the PFC website for viewing times and contact your LASF Room Rep if you are interested in volunteering. 

Enjoy your 3 day weekend (no school Monday)!! Stay warm out there! 

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

Education Advocacy Day Trip - February 27, 2008: 

Legislative Rep News Education Advocacy Day Trip - February 27, 2008: Sign Up to Protect School Funding and Curriculum 

California's looming budget deficit threatens to erode public school funding -- potentially during the current school year as well as in the 2008-9 fiscal year. If mid-year cuts hit our schools (which already receive among the lowest funding levels in the State), the district could be forced to cut programs and staffing this school year! At the same time, the Governor and State Legislature recently received commissioned studies from education experts that lay out the issues and areas on which California schools need to focus to RAISE the quality and performance of public schools. That is not consistent with funding cuts. Click onhttp://www.lastrampaspta.org/getsmart_dec07.html for a reader-friendly overview and more detail. 

What can you do? Sign up to go on the Education Advocacy Day Trip to Sacramento, on February 27, 2008. Join fellow parents and concerned citizens from Lamorinda and Walnut Creek who will visit with our elected representatives, Senator Tom Torlakson, Assembly Members Loni Hancock and Guy Houston, and education officials. Hear what their take is. Advocate funding and support of public schools. Sign up by February 15th: http://www.lastrampaspta.org/08AdvocacyDay.pdf Contact Karen Guthrie (925.283.7956 or kfguthrie@earthlink.net), Springhill's Education Legislation Advocacy Representative, for more information. 

LASF Science Fair: 

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the LASF Science Fair next week! 

When preparing your poster, please remember to put your child's or children's name(s), the teacher's name, and the grade on the top of the poster so that it can be put in the proper location in the MP room. 

On Thursday, January 24th please bring all projects directly to the MP room before school. Projects should be turned in by 8:30 a.m. sharp! One of the Science Fair team members will be at the MP room from 7:45 am. Please be on time so that the room will be ready for Guest Scientist Student interviews which start at 9:30 am. Let your children know that Thursday morning they will be talking with a Guest Scientist at school who will ask them some questions about their experiment such as "Why did you study this? Did you encounter any problems? What would you do differently next time? Was your hypothesis correct? Did you discover anything unexpected?" 

Then, join us that evening, 6:30-8:30 pm and enjoy this exciting event. All students and families are welcome even if you did not submit a project. Explore the student projects and enjoy hands on activities at the LASF, Springhill Garden, 5th grade, Adventure, and Sarah's Science tables. All students can participate in a scavenger hunt for a chance to win prizes. 

Projects will stay overnight and should be picked up Friday the 25th after school (from 1:00-3:00pm). Volunteers will be there to assist your children in collecting their projects and getting them into your car on Friday. Please let us know if you need to make special arrangements for getting your project home. Any projects left in the MP room will be discarded the following week. 

Any questions? Feel free to contact the Science Fair coordinators for help coming up with project ideas, turning your question into an experiment, planning your test procedures, or with any other Science Fair questions. Contact: Carol Davis (283-0838,carol_davis@comcast.net , Rhodora Del Rosario (962-0438, roepd@hotmail.com). There may still be some volunteer positions available. Please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Sharon Kidd (274-1747, skidd@calmail.berkeley.edu )for more information. 


LASF Corner: 

Love LASF and have a few free nights in your schedule? Your help is needed! 

Interested in helping LASF? It is as easy as 3-4 TOTAL nightly meetings during the months of February, March and early April! We are looking for someone who is knowledgeable of the parent population at Springhill, someone with contacts, who can help suggest names to the nominating committee and assist them in finding replacements for vacant board positions next year. It does NOT require you to take any board positions personally, simply help to fill them by using your contacts as a resource! If interested, or you just want a little more information, please contact Kathy Hamilton at 939-9905 or at katsvetmail@yahoo.com 


MORE LASF Corner: 

Organized? Computer Skills? Free time in your schedule? We need you! 

Lafayette Arts & Science Foundation (LASF) is seeking a Program Administrative Assistant. General office skills and computer knowledge required. This is a year round, part-time position. 

If interested, please email your resume to: office@lasf.orgffice@lasf.org.

This Week in the Library

I have a dream! This week in the library students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and talked about the huge impact he had on civil rights. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a very intelligent young man and started college at the age of fifteen. In 1955, King received his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University. After his studies were done, Dr. King was instrumental in forming the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. The SCLC was a group created to conduct non-violent protests in the service of civil rights reform. These organized, non-violent protests were publicized in all of the media. In the 1960's, Jim Crow (Southern segregation laws that date back to 1877) were still promoting racial discrimination and restriction of civil rights. Dr. King organized and led marches urging people to highlight the negative effects of segregation and to promote labor rights, and other civil rights they deserved to have. This led to the success of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom in 1963. His "Letter from Birmingham Jail", written in 1963, is a passionate statement of his crusade for justice. On October 14, 1964, Dr. King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the United States. In April 1968, Dr. King went to Memphis to address wage issues for African American sanitation workers and was shot while he was on the balcony of his hotel room. King's death was a great loss; however his legacy lives on. His birthday is a national holiday because he cared about all Americans and he taught people to fight with words not fists. He is highly revered in American history and will always be remembered for his dream that one day there would be no hatred, injustice, or violence in the world. 

New Books in the Library

Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman is the true story of the Montgomery bus boycott. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus and give up her seat to a white man. Her quiet refusal to surrender her dignity sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, which eventually ended segregation on buses. Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman covers this highly emotional journey and tells us why African Americans decided to walk rather than ride the bus. Freedman breathes life into the key personalities and events that contributed to the yearlong struggle, which was a major victory in the civil rights movement. This is an impressive and moving book that is illustrated with effectual black and white photographs from the time period. 

Happy Birthday to our Author of the Week 
Happy January birthday to author Lloyd Alexander! Lloyd Alexander is the author ofThe Black Cauldron, The Book of Three, The Castle of Llyr and Time Cat. Check out these and many more at the Springhill Library. 

Springhill Library Website
Explore our website at http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/people/smattern/index.htm . You can find a full update on what's happening at the Springhill Library, find more reviews of new books and links to many helpful resources.

Sherry Mattern, Library Specialist
Kimberli Sparks-Buckley, Library Aide

After School Hoops presented by ONE ON ONE BASKETBALL 

One on One Basketball is proud to present AFTER SCHOOL HOOPS. AFTER SCHOOL HOOPS is conducted by skilled instructors who have been trained extensively to teach young players the game of basketball. Developing players benefit by improving their individual skills such as passing, dribbling, shooting, rebounding, and defending while, at the same time, learning how to work within the framework of a team. Boys and girls of all skill levels are encouraged to join. For more information please emailbrent@1on1basketball.com or check out our website at www.1on1basketball.com 

Dates: January 30th thru March 19th
Day: Wednesday
Time: 2:40-3:50

HIDEOUT - Upcoming Events and Announcements... 

Registration is open for Friday, February 15th. (Springhill will be closed in observance of President's Day.) Register by January 25th to receive 10% off. See form for details.

Registration also available for Friday, March 14th (Staff Development Day). 

Spring Break Registration will be available mid-February. Join us as "Hideout Goes Hawaiian"! 

Spring Break sign-ups will be out in mid-Februaray. Join us as "Hideout Goes Hawaiian"!

For more information on any of the Hideout events, please contact Beth at 283-7808 or beth@kidshideout.net. 


Camp Hideout, Summer '08 - Passport to Adventure 
Join Kid's Hideout this summer! We will be holding week-long camps from June 16th through August 15th. Enjoy Big Discounts if registration and fees are received by Friday, February 1st. 

Summer Camp Themes: Surf's Up!, Silly Science, It's a Jungle Out There, Transportation Exploration!, So You Think You Can Act?, Chef, Baker, Candy Maker!!!, Sports Around the World, Amazing Race & The Great Outdoors. 

Camp Hours: 9 AM to 4 PM. Half-day camps & extended care available. You can attend 2 to 5 days per week. Please stop by Hideout, or the Springhill office, to pick up your registration packet today! 

"Oh! The Places You will Go" ... when you join us this summer at "Camp Hideout!" 


Anti-Bullying and Communication Skills Workshop 

SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 PM @ Stanley Library 
Sponsored by the Lafayette School District Parent Ed Committee . 

Anti-Bullying and Communication Skills Workshop: Equipping Parents to Address Bullying and Other Forms of Mistreatment and to Communicate with their Children More Effectively 

Rick Phillips, nationally renowned speaker, educator and trainer, will present a parent workshop on preventing and dealing with bullying and other forms of peer-to-peer mistreatment. He is the co-developer of Safe School Ambassadors, a youth-centered violence prevention program implemented in schools across the nation; Director ofCommunity-Matters.org; and co-author of "From Bystanders to Peacemakers: Empowering Youth to Stand up to Bullying and Cruelty". 

Make plans now to be at this important event! Contact Parent Ed reps, Sereta Scholz (sereta.scholz@century21.com) or Lori Green ( tmgreen@comcast.net) for more information 


If you haven't cleaned off those book shelves for all the new books you got over the holidays yet, now is the time!!! 

We had an awesome turn-out for our December book sale, selling most of our inventory! We are in desperate need of books for all grade levels, from kindergarten books to chapter books to non-fiction. We will have our next sale on Tuesday, February 5 at lunch. Please bring your books in boxes or paper bags to the foyer of the multi-propose room or you can call me to arrange pick-up. Thank you ahead of time for the continued support of this fun sale for the kids. They love coming by to see the new books and purchasing them for only 25 cents. All proceeds go to our fantastic library. Any questions, please call Michelle Foster at 284-4695


Lindsay Wildlife Museum's Winter Programs and Summer Science Camp Sessions 

Lindsay Wildlife Museum's Winter Programs and Summer Science Camp Sessions are now available for enrollment! There are great afternoon classes for children ages 4 and up as well as programs for preschoolers, home schoolers, adults and families. Check out their website, www.wildlife-museum.org .


Heritage 6-10 Year Old Soccer Clinic 

Heritage 6-10 Year Old Soccer Clinic--1-3pm, Jan 27, Feb 10, Feb 17 at College Park High School Turf Field, $60 for all 3 sessions. www.heritagesc.com. For more information or a PDF flyer, please contact Rupert Dusauzay, Jr. Heritage Soccer Club 415-518-6991



Sweet Thursdays at the Lafayette Library

Join the Friends of the Lafayette on Thursday January 24 at 7:30 pm and meet GAIL TSUKIYAMA, renowned Bay Area writer who shot to literary stardom with The Samurai's Garden, and then delighted her fans with Dreaming Water, The Language of Threads. Her latest novel, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms tells the remarkable story of two orphaned brothers and the women who love them in war-torn Tokyo, 1939. Michael Chabon calls Tsukiyama "A writer of astonishing grace, delicacy, and feeling." Tsukiyama is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award.