Friday, May 16
Lunch outside
Classroom Tour of Art Fair
Multipurpose Room closed all day; LASF Art Fair take down

Saturday, May 17
Armed Forces Day
WHO Luncheon honoring Erin Caldwell; His Lordship's Restaurant on the Berkeley Marina, 11:00 AM-1:30 PM

Tuesday, May 20
CLUB FIT in Multipurpose Room; lunch outside
PFC Executive Board Meeting.; Lounge, 5:30 PM

Wednesday, May 21
PFC Sponsored Poets-in-the-Schools; 5th grade
CLUB FIT in MP Room; lunch outside
STANLEY OPEN HOUSE
Cub Scout Pack 200; Multipurpose Room, 6:45 PM- 8:30 PM

Thursday, May 22
AHS OPEN HOUSE

Friday, May 23
Student Council Spirit Day: STUFFED ANIMAL DAY

Monday, May 26
Memorial Day Holiday

Thursday, May 29
PFC Old Board/New Board Dinner; Time/Location TBD

Friday, May 30
Room 7 Tea; Amphitheatre, 10:45 AM-12:00 PM

Monday, June 2
OCEAN WEEK
Student Council Luncheon; Lower Field, 12:00 PM
School Site Council Meeting.; Office, 3:30 PM

Tuesday, June 3
Election Day; Multipurpose Room closed
Bargain Book Bonanza; 12:00 noon
Principal's Club Luncheon; Lower Field, 12:00 PM

Wednesday, June 4
Zun Zun Assembly; Multipurpose Room
Gr. K-3: 9:30 AM
Gr. 4-5: 10:50 AM
Lunch outside
2nd Grade Play (Miller/Churchill); Multipurpose Room 6:30 PM

Thursday, June 5
RAPPORT Meeting.; District Offic, 9:00 AM
Music Concert, Gr. 3-5; Multipurpose Room, 1:15 PM- 2:15 PM
2nd Grade Play (Jarvis/Hirsch); Library, 6:30 PM

Friday, June 6
5th Grade Field Day

A. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL 5TH GRADE ACTORS & ACTRESSES in the magnificent play, "THE MUSIC MAN"! What extraordinary talent we have in the Springhill community. Both casts were brilliant!!! Many thanks to Mrs. Kristi Buck, Mrs. Kathy Biro, Student Director (and former Springhill student) Madison Gerringer, Directors Joel Roster & Emily Garcia and all other parent volunteers for such a marvelous production! Well done!!!

B. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED OUR Gr. 1-5 OPEN HOUSE! We had a great evening of showing off our school and showcasing our students last Thursday! Great job, students and teachers!!! Thanks to all who attended!

C. THANK YOU all for attending Thursday's most successful LASF Art & Music Fair. It's hard to believe the level of talent at Springhill School! A huge THANK YOU to Kerry Bolen, Holly Nolan & Kathy Hamilton for co-chairing the event; to the great food team of Jaime Whelehan and her volunteers; and all other volunteers for coordinating and assisting during the Fair! And a job well done by Vicki Ghulam the Upper Grade Girls' & Boys' Chorus and Liz Brummell and the 5th Grade Strings and Band in the Amphitheatre last evening. THANK YOU ALL!!!

D. OCEAN WEEK: Yes, our 15th annual OCEAN WEEK is coming. Once again, we are trying to actually contain the events to a week (6/2- 6/6) and BEACH DAY on Monday, June 9. As in the past, this week is generously sponsored by our PFC--THANK YOU VERY MUCH! The program includes field trips, on-campus visitations by Lawrence Hall of Science and other institutions, workshops for students, etc. There is more scheduled for this exciting event and you can help! Do you have a certain expertise or collection of articles relating to oceans or waterlife that you would be willing to share, lend or donate to the school? If so, contact your child's teacher or Kim Brast in the school office. Also, there will be a number of activities in which volunteers will be needed!!! Thank you.

E. DEAR PARENTS: If there is the possibility that your child(ren) will not be attending Springhill School next year (with the exception of current 5th graders) due to moving or attendance at a private school, please let your child's teacher know as soon as possible to assist us in planning for the 2008-2009 school year. Many thanks!

F. PLACEMENT INPUT: Two weeks ago you received a letter and form outlining the process for providing relevant input for your child's placement for the 2008-2009 school year. It is neither required nor suggested that you provide this information; if, however, you feel that your child has special needs that should to be considered for placement, please feel free to utilize this process. Please read the policy and procedure carefully and return the form to your child's current teacher by today, Friday, May 16. Thank you.

G. AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH to the PFC and to Joni Avery and her scores of volunteers for the DAY OF THE TEACHER luncheon last Wednesday. Thank you also to Darcy Cole who arranged Yard Duty for an hour, allowing all of our teachers and aides to attend. The meal was unbelievably delicious and greatly appreciated by all the staff as were all of the gracious acknowledgments and generous gifts from the PFC!!!

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 Mrs. Deitch's 3rd grade, for many of the class novels read, students are given a Tic-Tac-Toe of activities related to the book to choose from. A variety of modalities are addressed as well as varied degrees of difficulty. For example, when reading Sarah, Plain and Tall, students can pick from creating a prairie landscape and a seascape and completing a Venn diagram comparing the two, researching and compiling a book of Prairie Wildflowers, reading another book in the series and reporting on it, writing another chapter for the book to come after the last chapter, tracing Sarah's route on a map and computing how many miles she traveled and how long it might have taken her, learning and performing a song that the father might have sung to the children, and creating a list of similes and metaphors found in the book.

*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. STUDENT COUNCIL QUENCHERS SALE : Our annual fund raiser to benefit the National Brain Tumor Foundation in memory of former Springhill student, Zane Melmed, took place yesterday, May 8. We also have several other former students currently afflicted with brain tumors whom we hope to benefit with this effort. For those wishing to contribute to the NATIONAL BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION further, check out information at: logsdon@braintumor.org Thank you all for helping to find a cure for brain cancer.

2. TRUST IN EDUCATION/CHANGE FOR CHANGE: Mr. Budd MacKenzie will be returning soon from Afghanistan and will show our 4th and 5th graders what a difference Springhill School's efforts have made in the last five years for the school and the community of Lalander, Afghanistan. Soon we will begin our CHANGE FOR CHANGE drive and continue to make a positive difference for Lalander!!! Thank you.

There is no slowing down here on the Springhill campus! We have had quite an amazing week filled with a variety of talent!!

First of all, a tremendous Thank You to Kristi Buck and Kathy Biro as well as all of the 5th grade parents for the phenomenal 5th grade musical "The Music Man". The kids were spectacular, and we are grateful to you both for sharing your time, effort, and talent to help continue such a wonderful Springhill tradition.

We are not stopping there, onto Thursday night and the Springhill Open House and LASF Art and Music Fair. It was so fun to have the campus open with a variety of activities throughout the classrooms, quad, amphitheatre and Multipurpose Room showcasing our teachers', staff and students' best work. Many thanks to Jamie Whelehan for coordinating our delicious Top Dog dinner and to ALL of the volunteers who made this evening possible including the fabulous LASF team of Kerry Bolen, Holly Nolan and Kathy Hamilton!

It is heating up, be sure to wear your sunscreen!

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

A note from Kathy Hamilton, LASF Springhill K-5 Representative

What a great turn out last night even with the heat wave!! Hope you all had a chance to view your children's art, visit their teacher's open house, relax with a "dog" and some ice cream and cap off the evening by listening to some great music.

Thanks to all our LASF room representatives, parent volunteers and fabulous LASF art teachers who participated in making our annual Art and Music Fair a great success. Thanks also to the Springhill teachers for their hard work preparing their rooms with all the colorful presentations during open house.

A special thanks to Holly Nolan and Kerry Bolen, my wonderful art chairs, whose hard work coordinating this event was much appreciated by all. Additional thanks to Liz Brummel, Janet Johnson and Victoria Ghulam for their melodious musical presentations; Jamie Whelehan and Kim Stewart for organizing the Top Dog provisions; Quan Nguyen for his continued dedication to assisting with our many LASF/school wide events and Dreyer's for donating the free ice cream sandwiches.

Congratulations are also in order for this year's Luck of the Draw winners! .

Luck of the Draw randomly picks one student's name from each grade and will send their art from the art fair to Fast Frame in Lafayette. Anthony Ruiz of Fast Frame, generously donates his framing service to beautifully prepare and display each child's masterpiece. The art is sent on tour for one year around various establishments in Lafayette, then hung in our very own Springhill office for an additional year. Winners from 2007 will be displayed at this year's art fair before going on display in the Springhill office.

The 2008 winners are:

Kindergarten - Ryan Owens

First Grade - Zachary Wenger

Second Grade - Zak Singh

Third Grade - Anastasia Izmailov

Fourth Grade - Sophie Catalanello

Fifth Grade - Sam deRoque

LASF Spring Phonathon Update!

Due to the efforts of our many volunteers who made thousands of phone calls we had our most successful phonathon to date! We have raised over $ 840,000.00 so far and the donations are still coming in. WOW...what a fantastic community we live in!

Special thanks to Julie Novak and Laurie Wondalowski, the LASF fundraising chairs, for their hard work coordinating both Donation Day and the Springhill parent callers.

To make a donation or for more information on LASF, please visit the website at www.lasf.org or call the office at (925) 299-1644.

Some of you may know Skippyjon Jones, the Siamese cat who thinks he's a Chihuahua. Skippyjon wants to be a paleontologist after he digs up a bone from his neighbor's yard. Next it's into his closet to look for more dinosaur bones with his friends in the Chimichango gang. But what does one small "dog" do when many huge dinosaurs actually appear? Ask your kindergartner what Skippyjon does in Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones.

Trixie is taking her unique friend Knuffle Bunny to school to show her class. But Sonja has a Knuffle Bunny, too! Ask your first grader how the two young girls deal with the resulting confusion and mix-up in Mo Willem's Caldecott Honor book, Knuffle Bunny Too. We also talked about the Caldecott, an award given for the art in children's books and looked at this year's winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

How many of you remember hearing about Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System? Dewey's system is a way to organize nonfiction books by subject in a library. I introduced the concept of organization to second graders by giving each table group a cup of buttons and asking them to group their buttons. Each table grouped their buttons several different ways and then we talked about different ways to group books. I then took students on a tour of the nonfiction section, with laminated pictures to help them see some of the many subjects and how they are organized.

Imagine a girl who loves horses and finds herself stranded with the herd by a thunderstorm. When she meets a beautiful stallion that invites her to run with the herd she must make a choice. Paul Goble has written and illustrated many beautiful books based on tales Native American who live on the Great Plains tell. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses is one of these tales. It won the 1979 Caldecott Medal and was a perfect way to introduce Caldecotts and this year's winner.

How would you like to be responsible for choosing an award-winning book? We wrapped up our study of art in children's picture books by reviewing the most important elements of an illustrator's work. Then table groups of fourth graders then began to analyze the stack of books on their table and to choose the one that they felt was worthy of a medal. Finally, they had to explain their choice to the whole class. Each table had a stack of books that had won the Caldecott Medal and Honors for a given year; after the students explained their choice I shared which of the books had actually won the medal. There was often spirited disagreement with the adults' choices!

Homophones, anagrams, palindromes, letter puzzles, synonyms. Who knew that playing with words could be so much fun! We read Fred Gwynne's book, The King Who Rained, and the new book by Gene Barretta, Dear Deer, then moved on to Jon Agee's books such as Sit on a Potato Pan, Otis. Next we puzzled over CDB and CDC by William Steig, and finished up with Rick Walton's book Why the Banana Split.

New Books in the Library Do you love soccer, loud music, or dancing? How about calligraphy? If you care about any of these things then you have something in common with Ali, the young hero of Silent Music. He lives in Baghdad where, inspired by Yakut, a calligrapher who lived in Baghdad 800 years ago, he chooses to create beauty during a time of bombs and missiles. The artwork includes beautiful calligraphy by the author, James Rumford.

Happy Birthday to our Author/Illustrator of the Week! Caroline Arnold was born on May 16. She has written and/or illustrated over 140 children's books, most of which are nonfiction. Ms Arnold studied art in college but her earlier books were illustrated with photographs. Recently she has begun writing and illustrating nonfiction books for younger children. Her books include Bat, The Ancient Cave Dwellers of Mesa Verde, Ostriches and Other Flightless Birds, and South American Animals. You can check out these and many other books written and/or illustrated by Ms. Arnold 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 monthly updates on what's happening at the Springhill Library, more reviews of new books, and links to many helpful resources.

Sherry Mattern, Library Specialist

"The Lafayette School District's Learning Resources Website"
The Lafayette School District is proud to announce:
"The Lafayette School District's Learning Resources Website"

Summer is almost here! If you are wondering how to support your child and actively engage them in learning activities this summer, please go to www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/summer.

This website is filled with a selection of resources for you and your child to explore.

ATTENTION CAMPERS! IT IS TIME TO SIGN UP FOR CAMP READ-A-LOT!

Please sign up for Camp Read-a-Lot, Lafayette School District's summer reading club for students entering grades 1-5 in the fall. Sign up sheets will be sent home in your child's Friday Folder. You may return the sign-up form by Monday May 19th or you may sign-up May 15th at Open House. Teachers will have a sign-up roster in their classrooms.

This recreational reading program is designed to encourage a love of reading. A book list is available for downloading from the school web site (www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/springhill/read). Students who sign up will receive a copy of the requirements and a recording sheet. A prize will be given to all students who meet the requirements and turn in their recording sheet to their new teachers in the Fall. If you have any questions, please contact Jeannie Pitney or Jill Tarkoff in the Reading Lab. (Ph. # 283-8281 ext. 112)

Students entering sixth grade will hear about Stanley's exciting summer reading program, Reading Through the Dog Days of Summer, later this spring.

Happy Reading!

Jeannie Pitney, Jill Tarkoff and Sherry Mattern

Still looking for A Few Good Men & Women!!!
Take a look at the following list and then read more about the position on the PFC website at www.springhillpfc.org/pfcleadership under Job Descriptions. Please remember that all of these jobs can be shared! Thanks for your support!

EXECUTIVE BOARD OPENINGS
Vice President, Communications

COMMITTEE CHAIR OPENINGS
Assemblies/Red Ribbon Week, (Co-Chair)
Auditor
Bulletin Board
Club Fit Field Day (5th Grade Parents)
Directory/Membership (Co-Chair)
Friday Flyer Editors, (Co-Chair)
Old Board/New Board Dinner
Young Authors

If you are interested in any of these positions or for more information, please contact Beth Brown, VP of Communications 07-08, at 482-7956 or pfcprez@yahoo.com!

Last Call for Portraits of Springhill
For those who did not attend the Springhill Party & Auction, portraits of your children will be available in the front office for purchase for two more weeks. This is your last chance to purchase these beautiful black & white photos of your children, which have been professionally printed, retouched, and matted. The cost is $60 each. Springhill School will receive 50% of the proceeds of the sale. Please write a check payable to "Springhill PFC" and leave in the Parent Party box in the office.

5th GRADE FIELD DAY IS HERE!!!
Save the first Friday in June (6th) and come join the fun!! The more parent volunteers we have the better the event---and the kids have SOOOOO much fun!!! It's only in the morning so if you REALLY have to work- you can go back after joining us for lunch!!! You do NOT need to be athletic and we have 'home' work that can be done for the event as well!! No excuses- just go-for -it- fun, Fun, FUN!! You can call your child's room parent for more info or Celio's mom, Michele (who's helping me pull it all together!) Thanks- can't wait to see you there!

Jump for Heart Picture Taking!!
On Wednesday the 30th we're having our picture taken! This picture may even get put into the local newspaper and in the AHA calendar!! So if your child participated in Jump and won a t-shirt, please have them wear it or bring it to change into on Wednesday the 30th for this exciting event!! Say CHEESE!!

Stanley Wild Cat Days:
Mark your calendars for Stanley WildCat Days. August 20: 8am-Noon and 2pm - 6pm & August 27: 3:30- 6:30pm. August 20th is also 6th grade orientation and picture day, so plan on bringing your student and don't forget your checkbook!
If you would like to help with WCD, we need lots of volunteers! Please consider working a shift (or 2). We also need volunteers to stuff mailers on July 10: 8am- Noon. If you would like to volunteer please email Brenda Balfrey at Balfrey@sbcglobal.net.

CAMP HIDEOUT: Passport to Adventure - Summer of '08
Camp Hideout is still accepting registration for summer camps. Please go to www.kidshideout.net to get information and download forms.
We are also accepting Fall Registration. These forms can be downloaded for our website as well. If you have any questions, please contact Beth at 283-7808 or beth@kidshideout.net.

Summer Technology Camp
VisionTech Camps and Classes is a California non- profit company. We have successfully completed a Spring Robotics program in Lafayette Community Center, which was a great success. We are offering a Robotics and game Design Summer Camp in Lafayette in partnership with City of Lafayette and Lafayette Moraga recreation district.For more information call Lafayette Moraga Recreation at (925) 284-2232.

For details about the program contact VisionTech Camps at http://www.visiontechcamps.com or call VisionTech at (925) 699-9602. Registration is open for Town Hall Kids Summer 2008 Theatre Arts Classes.
Announcing a new set of world-class shows designed for kids from pre-school through high school. Choose an AM or PM class for 3 different sessions, each of which runs for 3 weeks. Classes for ages 7 to 11 -- Session 1: The Emperor's New Clothes starts June 23. Session 2: Princess and the Pea starts July 14. Session 3: Peter Pan starts August 4. Many more classes for preschoolers, middle-school kids, and teens. Town Hall's classes expose children of all ages to theatre arts while developing self-esteem, confidence, and leadership skills. Each class culminates in a performance. Hurry, space is limited. Located at 3535 School Street, Lafayette. For more information and to register on-line visit www.townhallkids.com or call 262-1159.

Summer Film Camp
Are you an aspiring film maker, actor, director or writer? Kids will have an opportunity to act, direct, and create a short film with Joey Travolta and his professional film crew. Camp is open to typical peers and high functioning kids on the autism spectrum, ages 8 to 18. Low adult to student ratio. Located at St Mary' College in Moraga, July 7 - July 18. Space is limited. Scholarships are available. For more information and application, visit www.fullcircleofchoices.org

Lafayette Parks and Recreation 8th year of Summer Basketball.
It is for all boys and girls going into 2nd through 9th grade, this fall. Games are on weeknights and practice is usually on Saturday afternoons. There are no activities on Wednesday evenings or Saturday mornings so as not to conflict with swim team. The season begins on Saturday, June 14 and concludes the last week of July. It is a six week program with a fun tournament at the end. If you are interested in participating, go to www.lafayettesummerbasketball.com for more information and the ability to print out a registration form.
Guaranteed placement ends on June 2; but we will continue to accept players on a space available basis until games start.

John F. Kennedy University's EXPRESSIVE ARTS CAMP
For Children ages 6 through 12
Monday, June 16 through Friday, June 20, 2008 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Sponsored by John F. Kennedy University's Graduate School of Professional Psychology 100 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523- 4817

A Five Day Exploration of Art Experimenting with various art forms, the children will engage in both individual and collective art projects, expanding notions of themselves and of their relationships to others. The camp encourages personal growth, self-confidence and creative cooperation. The Art Camp fee for the five days is $200 per child and includes all art materials. Pack a lunch for your child each day - we will provide snacks.
Staff: Camp Director Francine Ostrem, MA, MFT, PhD (Literature) and Graduate students with specialized training, experience and interest in the area of children and the creative process.
For more information, please visit our website: www.jfku.edu.

LAMORINDA WATER POLO SUMMER REGISTRATION
The Lamorinda Golden Bears host one of our nations most successful boys water polo programs with an emphasis on quality fundamental training and world class competitive opportunities. As a member club of USA Water Polo we are dedicated to the advancement of the sport for youth ages 8-18 on a year round basis. Registrations are being accepted for all age groups 10un, 12un, 14un, 16un and 18un ; novice to elite skill levels. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to give this sport a try regardless of previous experience or attained ability. We provide excellent training at all levels under the direction of Coach Boyd Lachance, Lamorinda's founder, Executive Head Coach and two time Associate Head Coach of the 2X, NCAA, Div I, Champions from CAL. Come join us! Schedules, fee's, forms and information can be found at: www.lamorindawaterpolo.org E-Mail inquiries to: lwpinc@comcast.net.

Spanish Immersion Summer Camps and Classes
Viva el Espa–ol, a non-profit Spanish Language Center in Lafayette is offering engaging, interactive Spanish language camps for kids. Themes include Sizzlin' Safari, Under the Big Top, Los Deportes (Sports) and Going Hawaiian! Camps are week-long and are designed to give children a unique opportunity to give a big kick-start to Spanish language learning or greatly improve Spanish language skills over the summer months. Half and full day options are available. Viva el Espa–ol also offers Teen Internship opportunities, private tutoring, adult classes, and programs for toddlers and pre-school children.
For more information please visit www.LamorindaSpanish.com or call 925-962-9177. Join us for storytelling, music, art, games and TONS of fun in espa–ol!

Mandarin and Chinese classes
Small World Mandarin programs for kids offers beginning and 2nd-year Mandarin and Chinese culture classes for pre-school through elementary school aged children - right here in Lafayette! For more information, please visit www.smallworldlamorinda.com or email info@smallworldlamorinda.com for the 2008/2009 school year schedule.

Saint Mary's College Summer Athletic Camps
Summer will be here before you know it! It is not too early to register for Saint Mary's College Athletic Summer Camps. With 39 years of excellence, SMC offers 30+ sports camps on one of the most picturesque campuses on the West Coast. Saint Mary's offers boys and girls Overnight, Day, Team, and Specialty Camps for ages 5-18. Summer 2008 Offers All Sports, Baseball, Basketball, Flag Football, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball. Click on summer camps at www.smcgaels.com for detailed information and to register online.

Arts, Adventures & Academics 2008 Summer Camp
Check out Arts, Adventures & Academics Summer Camp Grades 1-8, June 23-July 25th. 9:30-12:30 at Walnut Creek Intermediate School. All classes are hands-on & discovery- based, allowing students to learn by doing. Our small class sizes, high quality programming and caring teachers, artists and arts educators have made this program a favorite for 25 years! For more information go to www.arts- ed.org/aaa.htm or call 943-5846.

To submit entries to the Friday Flyer, email Traci Lawrence: fridayflyereditor@yahoo.com

All entries due Wednesday before 3:00pm. Entries must be kept brief, please.
Subscriber info: annmariemwarren@yahoo.com

Web: http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/springhill