 | Important Items:
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"The mission of the Springhill School Community is to
learn, work and play in a safe place where respect for each other and
responsibility for our own actions creates trust, teamwork and an
atmosphere of friendship."
2007-2008 Springhill Spirit
Theme:
PAY IT FORWARD: Gratitude and Caring
FEBRUARY SPIRIT
REMINDER: Show gratitude and caring to the elderly by giving them a
helping hand!
| Calendar of Events | |
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-5:00 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-5:00
PM
Friday, February 15
District
Holiday
Monday, February 18
Presidents' Day
Holiday
Tuesday, February
19
5th Grade Healthy Kids Survey
Wednesday, February
20
PFC Meeting:
Executive Board Meeting; Lounge, 5:30
PM
General Meeting; Library, 7:00 PM
Anti-Bullying Workshop with
Rick Phillips; Stanley Library, 7:30 PM
Friday, February
22
George Washington's Birthday
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MP
Room, 3:00 PM-5:00 PM
| Principal's Messages | |
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGES
A. 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.
B. 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.
C. THANK YOU TO ALL who attended last week'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!!!
D. ATTENTION 3rd GRADE
PARENTS: Results of
the OLSAT (Otis Lennon School Abilities Test), which was administered to
third graders in the fall, will be available for you to pick up at the
school office starting Monday, February
4th. You are invited
to attend a parent
information night on Wednesday, February 13th at the District Office at
6:30 PM. A general
interpretation of the scores will be provided. Results must be picked up
by a parent. If you
would like to have the results mailed to you, please send a stamped,
self - addressed envelope to the school office. Students who have been
invited to participate in the self- contained magnet classes at Burton
Valley will be notified by February 9th. Questions regarding test
results or placement in the self- contained magnet class at Burton
Valley may be directed to Rachel Zinn at the district office (284-
7011).
E. 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
Mrs. Graham's & Mrs. Quinn's Kindergarten class, students use Marcy
Cook task cards and tiles to differentiate some of their math lessons.
Depending on the student's math level, he or she may be working with
matching groups of objects to numbers, while another student may be
solving simple addition or subtraction problems.
*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!!!
1. SMILE TRAIN: Be looking for the 3rd grade
to present its annual SMILE TRAIN FUND RAISER
ACTIVITIES to
benefit the Smile Train Organization which provides cleft palette
surgery for $250 per surgery for those in need across the globe. Help
support 3rd grades' special effort for this worthy organization! More
information to follow! Thank you!
2. Be looking for Student
Council to act soon on fund raisers to address
school supplies for a classroom in Bamako, Mali, Africa, and to support
and assist Christopher Rodriquez, the 10 year old Oakland boy shot and
paralyzed while having a piano lesson. More information to follow!
| PFC President's Message | |
Your PFC $$'s at work - Darci Cole, a Springhill parent
and Roberta Noel,
our Springhill P.E. Specialist have replenished the supplies needed to
support our P.E. program. 2 stopwatches, 20 kick balls, 18 basketballs,
10 soccer balls, 20 frisbees, 5 small hula hoops, 6 jump ropes, 20
pinnnies and sidewalk chalk are just some of the new supplies purchased.
We also have a new basketball hoop on both the upper and lower
playground. Thank you so much to Darci and Mrs. Noel for taking on this
task.
Parent Party Information - In case nobody has
mentioned it to you . . . the Parent Party and Auction is just weeks
away!! Many volunteers are working diligently on putting this
party/auction together. We need your help today! Please turn in your
donations and/or forms asap. February 15th is the deadline but the
sooner the better. Any questions?? Contact Stri Zulch, stri@zulch.com.
New to the PFC
Website - Next week
job descriptions of all of our PFC Committees will be listed on our web
site. Discover what each committee does and think about how you might
want to become involved either this year or next year. For questions
about '08-'09 committees, contact Beth Brown, VP of
Communications, atbeth@kidshideout.net.
Say goodbye to
January and hello to February!!
Corrine
Christensen
2007/2008 Springhill PFC President
joeandcorri ne@msn.com
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| LASF Science Fair / LASF Corner | |
LASF Science Fair Corner:
The 2008 LASF
Springhill Science Fair, held last week, was terrific fun! We started
off during the school day by having Guest Scientists (parent/relative
volunteers) speak individually with each child who submitted a project.
The students were all very proud of their work and rightfully so. During
these class walk-throughs all students were given an opportunity to view
the large variety of interesting projects.
The evening event was
a celebration of science! Families came to see the creativity and
ingenuity of the student scientists. Children scurried around carefully
reading each project to unlock the answers to the ever popular scavenger
hunt. Then they were off to measure what makes the best bubble at Mrs.
Hungerford's 5th grade hosted activity table. Edventure Camp provided a
lesson on making gak, where students mixed colors and different amounts
of glue to make different types of gak. Sarah's Science Camp provided a
lesson on making a catapult, and students were able to take home their
own catapult. Our upcoming Springhill Garden plans were displayed by our
own Melissa Edwards at an informative table and kids guessed different
smells from bottled substances and viewed optical illusion cards (you
might know the one with the can-can dancer versus the old woman)
provided by our own LASF science instructors. The room was abuzz with
excitement!
A
big Thank You goes out to all the Springhill parents and relatives who
volunteered their time for the Science Fair. We had over 50 volunteers
who worked as Guest Scientists, created activity tables, and helped
set-up and clean-up. You made the Science Fair happen for our kids.
Thank You!! Also thank you to Edventure and Sarah's Science Camps for
donating their time and materials. A hearty thanks to Shay Kurtz for
jazzing up the Friday Flyer notices, Kathy Hamilton for her tireless
assistance wherever needed, Mrs. Hungerford and Mrs. Brast for going
above and beyond in coordinating the 5th grade activity table, and
Mr.Wodhams for providing the infrastructure to make it all happen.
And... last, but not least, thank you LASF for providing this wonderful
opportunity for our children to learn how to be scientists!
We look forward to
seeing you at the next LASF Springhill Science Fair in 2009. And don't
forget, science experiments are all around you. . . LASF Science Fair
Committee: Carol Davis, Rhodora Del Rosario, and Sharon Kidd.
LASF
Corner:
Love LASF and
have a just
3-4 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
LASF Facts of
the Week:
-Blood is about 78%
water! -The heart beats about 100,000 times each day! -Your system of
blood vessels is over 60,000 miles long. That's long enough to go around
the world more than twice!
Funny
Science!
We were doing a
science lesson on how plants grow. The children all got a chance to
plant their own seeds. As the teacher I planted a few extra seeds for
the children whose plants did not sprout. After a few weeks of watching
them I secretly exchanged a few. The next day one of my students said
"Look teacher, it's a miracle, my plant is growing". I said "Yes, seeds
sprouting is very exciting". He said," No teacher, that's not the
miracle, I ATE the SEED and it is growing
anyway!"
| This Week at the Library | |
This Week in the Library
Groundhog Day comes on
February 2 so the kindergartners heard Go To Sleep,
Groundhog!, a story about a groundhog that simply couldn't get to
sleep and saw things that he didn't usually get to see. Ask your
kindergartner which of Groundhog's sights 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
at http://c aliforniayoungreadermedal.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 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 first grader if the boy finally gets the green light for his
iguana.
The
second 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 so far as
getting a super hero outfit to stand out. Ask your second grader what
kinds of deeds Dex does to help out in his community.
Have you ever
imagined that an action figure comes to life and has all kinds of
adventures right in your own environment? The third graders heard and
acted outTraction Man Is Here!, the story of an action figure who
overcomes dangers such as protecting toys from evil pillows. Ask your
third grader which of Traction Man's adventures was the most
daring.
The fourth graders heard and acted out Mr. Maxwell's Mouse.
Mr. Maxwell (a very elegant cat) is having a special lunch to celebrate
his promotion-a live mouse! But his "lunch" has other ideas in this
witty battle of words. Ask your fourth grader who finally wins.
The fifth graders
acted out and heard Basho and the River
Stones, a story about a poor poet named Basho who generously shares
the cherries from his cherry tree with all of the foxes in his
neighborhood. Then a greedy fox plays a trick on Basho, magically
transforming himself into a monk who offers Basho three gold coins if he
agrees to give all of the cherries from his tree to the neighboring
foxes. This story captures the beauty of Japanese folklore and
transports the readers to another place and time. Ask your fifth grader
what the fox left for Basho at the end of the story.
New Books in the
Library
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is the first-
person story of Greg Heffley, who knows that he'll be famous one day but
who, for now, is stuck in middle school, where he hasn't yet reached his
growth spurt. He deals with bullies, parents, teachers, and friends with
crazy ideas in humorous entries that span the school year.
Happy Birthday to
our Author of the Week
Rosemary Wells was
born on January 29. She has written and illustrated many picture books
for children, creating several beloved characters along the way. Who can
forget her bunny Max or that lovable little dog, McDuff? Some of her
books are: Yoko,
Hazel's Amazing Mother, McDuff Moves InZ, and Noisy Nora. You can
check out all of these and many others either here or at the public
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
| Wellness Corner | |
Buying Organic?
Have you ever
wondered where you should spend your money on organic food? The general
consensus tells us to buy the following foods organic: apples, cherries,
grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, strawberries, peppers, celery,
spinach and potatoes. Generally, you don't need to worry about buying
the following foods organically grown: avocados, asparagus, bananas,
broccoli, cauliflower, corn, onion and pineapple. For more information
on buying organic, check out the following website: http://www.mayoclinic.
com/health/organic- food/NU00255
For additional
wellness information, log onto lafsd.k12.ca.us/wellness.html. Also feel
free to contact the Springhill Wellness Committee if you have any
questions....Erin Benisek, Anne Bone, and Meagan Hagglund.
| Springhill Odds and Ends | |
Tired
of fighting the crowd at school? Try the Lamorinda School
Bus! Pro-rated
annual passes (Feb. - June 08) are $129 for one way and $199 for round
trip. Applications and schedules are available at www.lamorindaschoolbus.org.
You can also try the bus with a one trip pass for $3.00. Call us at
299-3216 or 299-3215.
Photos for
Yearbook - Parents we need cute shots
of your kids! And don't be shy, the more photos you turn in, the better
the yearbook. Please submit for any events that have occurred this year.
In order for us to track correctly, we have the following requirements:
For digital photos, please turn in a cd only (no prints of digitals) of
jpegs labeled with your name, phone number, and the event(s) included.
Important: If you have multiple events on one cd, separate shots into
different event folders. Better: Put only one event on each cd. If you
still have 35mm photos, we much prefer to receive cds, (Costco cost for
a cd = $2.89), but we will take hardcopies too. Write your name, phone,
and event on the back of each 35mm print. Turn in to the Yearbook slot
in the office. Lastly, if you have 6 or less photos to submit, then you
can email them to our photo editor. Please contact Lucie Paladino,
979-1252 for the correct email address. Any questions? Contact Danna
Wright dannawrighton@aol.com,
945-1212.
Auction Wine Toss
What does a first
growth Bordeaux have to do with Football? Well, you won't want to miss
this year's wine toss at the Springhill School Auction. Attendees will
once again have the chance to win a great selection of wine, and this
year, we will have 2 Raiderettes there to cheer you on.
Did we forget
to mention that we need the wine as well? Yes, it is your donations that
make this event a success. So take a tour of your cellar, dust something
off and donate it today.
Please drop them off at
the school office by the PFC area by Friday, February 29th. There will
be a wine box designated for the auction. Please include your name on
the bottles or send us an email to confirm that you have
contributed.
Thank you!
Maria Nelson (mariasnelson@comcast.net)
Wendy Gilberd (wgilberd49@yahoo.com)
<
u>To all incoming 6th-8th Grade Stanley Middle School Families.
Can you put your financial acumen to help with the Stanley PTA? We are
in search of someone to become our PTA Treasurer for the 2008-2009
school year. Why is our search so early? Ideally, we would like this
person to spend some time with our current Treasurer, getting up to
speed with Stanley's finances. If you have any interest, please contact
Michelle Chan at 283-9519 or mmchan6@yahoo.com. Thank you
!
Bargain Book Bonanza: 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
| Parent Education | |
Madeline Levine, Ph.D, author of The Price of
Privilege will be speaking at Seven
Hills School on Weds., Feb. 5th from 6:45 - 8:30 PM. Her main topic will
be "Has our over-involved parenting style created a generation of kids
with an impaired sense of self? If so, how can we work to get it back?".
Tickets are $15. For more information, go to: http://
sevenhillsschool.org/SchoolLifeLectureS%20. htm
The Lafayette
School District Parent Ed Committee presents:
Anti-Bullying and
Communication Skills Workshop
Has your child ever been
bullied? Has your child come home in tears because they were excluded
from an activity? And you didn't know what to say? Or do?
By Rick
Phillips MS.Ed
Director/Founder of Community Matters
*Nationally
renown speaker who has been featured on Good Morning America
*
Equipping Parents to Address Bullying, Other Forms of Mistreatment
and Communicate with their Children More Effectively
This is a two
hour workshop that will help parents, of all ages, interact and
communicate with their children on some tough topics. The workshop will
address the impact bullying- cyber-bullying, physical and relational -
has on learning/academic achievement, child development and school
climate & security.
When: Wednesday, February
20, 2008
Where: Stanley Middle School Library
Time: 7:30
PM
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.
| Community Events & Info | |
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!"
"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 .
| Quick Links... | |
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