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

Tuesday, February 5 
Election Day; MultiPurpose Room closed
Lunch outside
2008-2009 1st-5th Grade Registration; Office, 9:15 AM-11:30 AM
Bargain Book Bonanza; noon

Wednesday, February 6 
Ash Wednesday

Thursday, February 7 
RAPPORT Meeting.; District Office, 9:00 AM
4th Grade Winter Concert; MultiPurpose Room, 7:00 PM

Friday, February 8 
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MultiPurpose Room, 3:00 PM-5:30 PM 

Monday, February 11 
Student Council Meeting; Rm. 23, 12:20 PM
Chess Club; Library, 2:45 PM

Tuesday, February 12 
Abraham Lincoln's Birthday
California Symphony; MultiPurpose Room
9:00 AM-9:40 AM: All 2nd Grade
9:45 AM-10:25 AM: All 3rd Grade
10:45 AM-11:25 AM: All 4th/5th Grade
District Wellness Council; District Office, 3:15 PM
Lafayette School District Board Meeting; District Office, 7:00 PM

Wednesday, February 13 
3rd Grade SMILE TRAIN Fund Raiser
5th Grade Stanley Chorus Assembly; MultiPurpose Room, 2:10 PM
LASF General Board Meeting; Stanley Library, 7:00 PM

Thursday, February 14 
St. Valentine's Day
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MultiPurpose Room, 3:00 PM-5:30 PM

Friday, February 15 
District Holiday


Monday, February 18 
Presidents' Day Holiday 

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGES

A. 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! 

B. 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. 

C. 1st-5th GRADE REGISTRATION FOR 2008-2009: 
We will be accepting 1st-5th grade registrations for the 2008-2009 school year on Tuesday, 2/5, 9:15 AM-11:30 AM in the Office and all succeeding days. 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. 

D. 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!!! 

E. THANK YOU TO ALL who attended last night's LASF SCIENCE FAIR. It was an amazing evening that showcased the exceptional scientific talent of Springhill students. Many thanks especially to Carol Davis, Rhodora Del Rosario & Sharon Kidd and all of the parent volunteers and volunteer scientists who made it happen! A job well done by all!!! 

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. Fisher's 5th grade, students participate in a Math Investigation Unit where students learn about the relationship between patterns, functions (also called rules), graphs, T-tables and geometric shapes. Students model figures using power polygons. Given the first three figures in a pattern, they extend the pattern using the manipulatives, record the data in T-tables and state the rule in words. Students then create and find rules for designs of their own. 

*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. 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! 

February 15th is the deadline for all donations to be turned in for this year's Parent Party and Auction!! Wow, there is quite the buzz circulating around with all kinds of amazing donation ideas. It is time to get these ideas onto a donation form and turn them in!! If you have any questions please email Stri Zulch at stri@zulch.com. 

The LASF Science Fair was a huge success!! Many thanks are due to Carol Davis, Rhodora Del Rosario, Sharon Kidd, Kathy Hamilton and the countless other volunteers that helped make this event run as smoothly as it did. Also a big thank you to all of students that participated and to all of the teachers and parents for their encouragement and support. 

Mark your calendar now for next months PFC General meeting. It will be held on Wednesday February 20th at 7:00 pm in the Library. 

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm and dry!! 

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 Corner: 

The LASF Science Fair was a wonderful success! We would like to extend our sincere thank you to every one of our incredible volunteers! 
Our overwhelming success was due to all of the VOLUNTEERS WHO GAVE GENEROUSLY OF THEIR TIME! Thank you. 

Check back in next week for Science Fair highlights and an overview of the evening's activities. 

REMINDER: 

Projects should be picked up TODAY, 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. 


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 

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 

An important message from Kathy Hamilton, Springhill K-5 Rep: 
I just wanted to give special thanks to my Science Fair Co-chairs, Carol Davis and Rhodora Del Rosario along with Sharon Kidd our Science Fair Shadow!! Through your hard work and dedication, Springhill has once again had a fantastic science fair. I also wanted to thank the numerous parent volunteers who helped make this event possible. LASF depends on the support of parents like you to continue to bring additional art and science programs to Springhill along with special events like the Science Fair. Keep watch in the next month for notices regarding our next LASF sponsored event, Math Night!!

This Week in the Library

This week in the library the kindergartners heard a counting story about the songs that birds sing. There are songs that the birds start singing when the sun comes up and carry on until the break of day. Did you know that the White-cheeked Chickadee sings "dee" six times in a row? Ask your kindergartner which bird song he or she liked the best. 

This week in the library we also read some of the nominees in the Primary category and the Picture Book for Older Readers category for the California Young Reader Medal award. To find out more about CYRM visit their website athttp://californiayoungreadermedal.org;. 


This year's nominees for the Primary category are:
Dex: The Heart of a Hero or previously titled Superdog: The Heart of a Hero by Caralyn Buehner. Illustrated by Mark Buehner
The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning.by Sandra Horning. Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Henry and the Buccaneer Bunniesby Carolyn Crimi
I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff. Illustrated by David Catrow
Traction Man is Here! by Mini Grey

This year's nominees for the Picture Books for Older Readers category are:
Basho and the River Stones by Tim Myers. Illustrated by Oki S. Han
Dad, Jackie and Me by Myron Uhlberg. Illustrated by Colin Bootman
Mr. Maxwell's Mouse by Frank Asch. Illustrated by Devin Asch 

The first graders heard Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, a story about Barnacle Black Ear and his son Henry who has no taste for the sordid seas. Can you imagine a bunch of buccaneer bunnies sailing around on a ship called the Salty Carrot? Ask your first grader what Henry liked to do more than buccaneering. 

Do you think you would like an iguana for a pet? The second graders heard I Wanna Iguana , a story about a boy who tries to persuade his mother to let him have an iguana for a pet. In a series of hilarious notes, the boy reminds his mom of all the advantages there are in having a pet. Ask your second grader if the boy finally gets the green light for his iguana. 

Small dogs are so cute! They look so sweet and cuddly. Do you think other dogs tease them for being so small? The third graders heard Dex: The Heart of a Hero, a story about Dexter a small dog that is determined to prove himself to the other dogs in his neighborhood. He even goes as far as getting a super hero outfit to stand out. Ask your third grader what kinds of deed Dex does to help out in his community. 

The fourth graders acted out and heard Basho and the River Stones, a story about a poor poet named Basho who loves to share his cherries with all of the foxes. Then a greedy fox plays a trick on Basho. The fox magically transforms himself into a monk to trick Basho by offering him three gold coins if he agrees to give all of the cherries from his tree to the neighboring foxes. This magical story captures the beauty of Japanese folklore and transports the readers to another place and time. Ask your fourth grader what the fox left for Basho at the end of the story. 

New Books in the Library

In Ms. Bitsy Bat's Kindergarten by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Groundhog, Snake, Possum and the rest of the kindergarten class are excited about going to the second day of school. However, when they get to class, their teacher is not there. Instead they meet their new teacher and she's a bat! The class will need to adjust to things like Ms. Bat hanging upside down and flying around the room. This is a great book to reassure children that will be going into kindergarten. Henry Cole's illustrations are colorful and fun to look at. 

Happy Birthday to our Author of the Week 
Happy Birthday to Pat Mora, author of A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Ines, The Rainbow Tulip,and Tomas and the Library Lady. Check out these and many more at the Springhill Library. 

A Goodbye From Mrs. Sparks
Sadly this will be my last newsletter that I will write for the Friday Flyer. I will be leaving the Springhill Library and moving over to the Stanley Library starting on January 28th. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to work in the Springhill Library and meet so many wonderful students and parents. I am very excited about this move, but I will miss you all very much. Springhill is very dear to me. I also wanted to let you to know that it has been a pleasure helping all of the students in the library and I have enjoyed working with all the parent volunteers too. I hope to stay in touch - Stanley is not that far away! 
Thanks so much!
Mrs. Sparks 

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

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


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-February. 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!" 


ReEntering the Workplace 
Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 7:00-8:30pm 
an Elementary School Parent Education event
Speaker: Sherry Berman MA, life transition counselor and recruiter; founder of SWITCH (Supporting Women in Transition and CHange) 
No fee, register in class
Rsvp to Vera Babor at ( vbabor@acalanes.k12.ca.us)

As one door shuts another is opened. For many women, looking into the world of paid employment after a major life transition (motherhood, divorce, illness) can be an intimidating and overwhelming prospect. This workshop answers your questions, and provides the support, information and innovative strategies needed to explore career options and run a successful job search.


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 


"STUART LITTLE" Proves That Size Isn't Everything In Upcoming Production 
The Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education's Junior Theatre production of "Stuart Little" will run Feb. 1 and 2 at Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek. Follow the adventures of the tiny mouse with the big heart as the talented young performers of Junior Theatre present "Stuart Little.". Tickets are $13 and $15. For more information on the program, contact Civic Arts at 925-943-5846. 


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 .