Monday, September 1
Labor Day; Holiday

Tuesday, September 2
First of Ramadan
Computer Lab begins
Gr. 4-5 Back to School Night; 6:30 PM

Wednesday, September 3
New Parent Coffee; Lorraine & Don Miller home; 8:45 AM
CHARACTER COUNTS! Committee Mtg.; Office, 2:45 PM
Room 3 Back to School Night; 5:30 PM
Gr. 1-3 Back to School Night; 6:30 PM

Thursday, September 4
Library Volunteer Training; Library, 9:00 AM
Upper Grade Musical Orientation Assembly; MP Room
-----5th Grade: 1:30 PM
----- 4th Grade: 2:00 PM
AHS Back to School Night

Friday, September 5
ROTARY CLUB Dictionaries distributed to 3rd grade

Monday, September 8
Instrumental Music begins, Grades 4-5
Cub Scout Pack 200 Pack Committee Meeting; Library, 7:00 PM-8:00 PM

Wednesday, September 10
PFC Mtg.; Library, 7:00 PM

Thursday, September 11
PATRIOT DAY
Stanley Back to School Night

Friday, September 12
Springhill PFC Picnic; Lower Field, 5:00 PM

Monday, September 15
Chess Club; Library, 2:45 PM
LSD Board Mtg.; District Office, 7:00 PM
Cub Scout Pack 200 Parent Orientation; Library, 7:00 PM-8:00 PM

Wednesday, September 17
4th Grade Coloma Gold Rush Camp Parent Orientation; Library, 6:30 PM

A. WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER YEAR AT SPRINGHILL SCHOOL!!! IT PROMISES TO BE A FABULOUS ONE!!! I HOPE YOUR SUMMER WAS RELAXING, FUN & PRODUCTIVE!!!

B. PARKING: Thanks to everyone's cooperation the parking lots have been running very smoothly. If you are using the front lot please pull up to the front curb by the office and a volunteer will assist your child from the car, and direct them to the lower playground where they will be supervised until school starts. The Kindergarten child will be directed straight to the classroom. Please, DO NOT get out of your car, or leave your car unattended. If you need to still walk your child to class after the first week of school you must find a parking stall. If you are using the Briones lot there will be a volunteer to assist your child from the car to the lower field. Thank you for your cooperation. Please remember that the parking lot situation is difficult for everyone. Leave yourself a few extra minutes to get your child to and from school safely. Also, please be nice to the parking lot supervisors. They are volunteers giving their time to keep the parking lots running as smoothly as possible!! Please respect the private property (the blocking of driveways & mailboxes in particular) of our neighbors. Also, San Reliez Court is a private road and the residents have asked that those visiting the school do not park there; you are subject to having your car towed if you do. Thank you especially to the parent volunteers in the morning parking lot. You are doing a fabulous job!!!

C. WE MUST INSIST that students (other than AM kindergarten) not arrive before 8:15 AM as we cannot provide any supervision before that time. Thank you for your cooperation.

D. THANK YOU TO ALL who attended our K BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT! It was a great turnout and your commitment to Springhill School is greatly appreciated! We shall see the rest of you at this week's two Back-to- School Nights for Grades 1-5!

E. THANK YOU AGAIN TO PFC FOR ALL THAT YOU DO! WELCOME TO BETH BROWN AS OUR NEW PFC PRESIDENT AND TO ALL OF THE NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRS! PFC IS THE BEST!!!

F. A SPECIAL THANKS TO AMY DeLONG- MARTIN , KATIE SOWARBY & ALL OF THE PARENT VOLUNTEERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN PROVIDING A VERY SMOOTH AND SUCCESSFUL SCORPION DAYS AND ALSO THE SAME TO BETH BROWN FOR THE WELCOME BACK COFFEE FOR PARENTS ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. THE TREATS WERE DELICIOUS!

G. Join the PFC! Register for e-SCRIP!!


THE SIX PILLARS & PAY IT FORWARD CORNER

Springhill School has recently sent a team of eight (four parents and four staff members, including myself) to San Francisco for three days this summer where we were introduced to an impressive, character development framework used nationwide known as CHARACTER COUNTS! It has an excellent track record primarily with schools, but also with sports organizations, businesses, nonprofit institutions, etc. We are eager to share what we learned at this workshop with the Springhill community. As parents, you will have opportunities to learn much more about how we might use CHARACTER COUNTS! as a framework for all that we do at Springhill. Through school communications, parent ed presentations from our PFC and your own children, you will be kept apprised of this endeavor as the school year progresses. CHARACTER COUNTS! is based on the Six Pillars: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. We are enthusiastic about every aspect of CHARACTER COUNTS! and are looking forward to introducing its components to the student body. Because of the way in which the framework is designed and the flexibility with which it can be implemented, it can serve as an umbrella under which we will continue our PAY IT FORWARD program and our regular SPIRIT WEDNESDAY activities, and, perhaps, can create the opportunity for a number of additional activities. You will be receiving much more news about CHARACTER COUNTS! as the year unfolds, but you may also access the following website for more information: http://charactercounts.org/

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 made a significant change in the Pay It Forward program last 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 no longer identify the specific students who performed the acts (e.g., "Two 2nd graders had a lemonade sale over the weekend and raised $30 for the school's Coins For a Cure Diabetes Drive.") 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.


DIFFERENTIATION CORNER

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

*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.


STAR TESTING CORNER

Recently, you received the results of your child's STAR Test taken in May, 2008. Throughout California, the STAR Testing Program has become a major part of the information provided parents as to the progress of their children in school. With this in mind, Springhill will be providing a feature in the Friday Flyer for the next several weeks, providing answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the STAR Program.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the STAR program?
The Standardized Testing And Reporting (STAR) program was authorized in 1997 by State Senate bill 376. The purpose of the STAR Program is to annually measure how well students are learning required academic skills.

Who must take the STAR Program tests?
All students in grades 2 through 11 must take the designated STAR tests. Students learning English and students in special education programs are included. Only students with written parent/guardian requests to exempt them do not take STAR tests.

What tests did the students take in spring 2008?
The STAR Program has four components:
1. California Standards Tests (CSTs): Grades 2- 5
2. California Achievement Tests (CAT/6): 3rd Grade only
3. California alternative Performance Assessment (CAPA)--an assessment produced for students with significant cognitive disabilities, who are not able to take the CSTs or CAT/6

Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year! Hopefully, we are all settling into our new schedules and things will begin to run smoothly.

I'd like to take a moment to welcome all of the new families to Springhill this year. We're so excited to have you join our Springhill Family!

We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful families who have worked effortlessly to kick off our new school year! Katie Sowarby and Amy Delong-Martin spent many hours this summer preparing the Scorpion packets and organizing Scorpion Day on Monday in order to make the registration process easier for all of us! Thank you, Katie and Amy, and thanks to all of the volunteers who helped to make this process run flawlessly! And especially - a HUGE thank you - to Cathy Sturman and Melissa Hom for spending many hours preparing the student/teacher/room cards for Scorpion Day!!

I'd also like to thank Dr. Jim Felt for administering our TB tests once again this year. We truly appreciate the convenience this service brings to our classroom volunteers!

Thank you to Rhodora & Mark DelRosario for organizing our Welcome Back coffee in the Library on the first day of school. It was fun to catch up with our "seasoned" friends and meet new ones as we enjoyed a few refreshments.

Thank you to Holly Nolan and Lorraine Miller for Coordinating Buddy Family Program. The New Families Coffee will be held the Miller home next Wednesday, September 3rd.

Please take a moment to visit our website, www.springhillpfc.org , where you will find the school calendar, resources, announcements, and contact information for the Executive Board and the Committee members. And don't forget to mark your calendars for our first General Membership Meeting on September 10th, 7 PM in the school Library.

Now, since this week has been so busy, I mentioned to Bruce Wodhams that we could use another 4-day week to ease back into this whole school routine -- so he suggested we take next Monday off, too! So go out enjoy your three-day weekend!

Beth Brown
2008-09 Springhill PFC President
pfcprez@yahoo.com

A message from Kathy Hamilton, K-5 LASF Springhill Representative:

The Lafayette Arts and Science Foundation (LASF) welcomes you and your families back to Springhill, with a special welcome to all of the new families joining us this year!

The 2008-2009 school year is already proving to be an exciting one! LASF is funding a variety of programs in every grade level, some with stimulating new curriculum changes. Our ongoing support of music, art and science in the classroom as well as special events like the Science Fair or Art and Music Festival will continue to be a mainstay at Springhill.

Please consider joining our team by signing up to be an LASF room representative at back to school night! Your help is needed to forward information about upcoming LASF events and obtain volunteers from your classroom for these events as needed. This is a fun and easy job for both stay at home or working parents as the majority of your task can be done via e-mail. Look for a complete description of the LASF room representative position at back to school night or contact me at katsvetmail@yahoo.com .

Keep your eye on the LASF corner for updates on future events.

Next week: Meet your LASF Springhill Team Chairs!!

Thinking about more ways to contribute to the Springhill community? Here's a list of the ways you can get involved!

Contact Melissa Johnston if you're interested and she'll point you in the right direction: johnstonfam@comcast.net

Assemblies/Red Ribbon Week-- looking for a shadow for next year
Main duties include coordinating Red Ribbon Week in October and additional educational programs, with the PFC President and Principal. Research educational programs for assemblies to be brought to the students & contact speakers. The Chair(s) oversees publicity, event setup, creating a schedule of events & volunteer assistance.

Auditor
This position requires someone who is familiar with standard accounting practices to audit the PFC when necessary.

Box Tops for Education
This position sets up Box Tops drop-off in school office, publicity & submits Box Tops for credit at the end of school year.

Bulletin Board
This position requires weekly posting of notices on the bulletin board located in the quad. Weekly flyers include a hard copy of the Friday Flyer and any other notices that are sent home. Items posted must be approved by Principal. Rotating seasonal backgrounds are encouraged.

Club Fit Field Day (5th grade parents)
Every Spring our fifth graders participate in this half- day event. Kids rotate through stations that review most of the lessons learned during the year in Club Fit. Coordinate event volunteers, rotating stations, picnic lunch & games.

Earthquake Preparedness
This position updates all of the emergency backpacks located in each classroom with individual emergency forms, which are turned in during Scorpion Days. This project is required to be completed by the 1st week of school.

Friday Flyer Editors-- 2 open positions for this team
Friday Flyer is a weekly online publication and is an important resource that the PFC provides to the school parent community. The team of Friday Flyer editors take responsibility for creating the Friday Flyer which is typically distributed on Friday mornings. Each member of the editorial team is responsible for approximately 6 - 8 weeks during the school year to create the online newsletter. Approximate time that it takes to complete the Friday Flyer is four hours weekly, on Thursdays. Constant Contact is the program used to create the newsletter but prior knowledge is not required. This is a great opportunity to stay tuned into what is going on at Springhill. Perfect for parents who want a job they can do at home.

Young Authors (4th and 5th grade parents)
Every year, the 4th and 5th graders publish projects that they have worked on throughout the year. Coordinate volunteers needed to assist in the binding process with all the students.

School Supply Coordinator
Work with the Springhill staff to determine supplies for the following school year, place the order, and deliver supplies. This position takes place in the Spring and Summer.

Unsubscribe How-to
If you're no longer a Springhill family go to the end of this Friday Flyer to the Safe Unsubscribe link.

Springhill Spirit Wear
It's not too late! You can still order Springhill Spirit Wear until Friday12th. Pick up your order forms in the office. Return your order form (with check made out to Springhill PFC) to the spirit wear box in the office. Let's show our school spirit by wearing our Springhill t-shirts (or sweatshirts) on Spirit Wednesdays! For any questions, you may contact Katie Sowarby katiesowarby@comcast.net or Amy DeLong-Martin mikeamymartin@comcast.net.

Attention Camp Read-A-Lot Campers
It's that time of year to turn in your Camp Read-A-Lot forms to claim your prize. Don't worry if you've lost the form, just write down the titles of the books you read, put student's name at the top with current teacher and parent signature, that's all you'll need for a winning ticket. Prizes will be distributed the week of September 15th so hurry, hurry, hurry and turn in your Camp Read-A-Lot record sheet. Additional sheets can also be printed from the school website under Camp Read-A- Lot.

Buddy Families
ATTENTION NEW FAMILIES!! Are you a new family to Springhill School this year? If so, we would like to give you a "big buddy" to help you through the transition. This person will welcome you to the school and be able to give you an overview of the Springhill community and answer any questions you may have. If you would like to have a big buddy, please contact Holly Nolan at HollyNolan@comcast.net or (925) 988- 0865. And don't forget the New Families Coffee to be held on Wednesday, September 3 8:45-10:30 at the home of Lorraine Miller, New Family Buddy Program co- chair. Come by after drop off and meet your big buddy and other Springhill parents. All new and existing families welcome!!

1st and 2nd Year Spanish Classes Offered Daily on Springhill Campus
Based on the successful before-school Spanish program offered on campus last year, Viva el Espanol (a local Spanish language organization) will be back to Springhill for the 2008- 2009 school year. Daily classes will be offered before school from September 2 - May 29. The program uses a full- immersion approach and the instructors are native Spanish speakers with experienc e working with and teaching children.
Spanish classes will be held from 7:45-8:15 AM Monday-Friday and are open to all grade levels. Students will be divided into two groups, with 2nd year students being taught a more advanced curriculum that continues from what they learned last year. In order to create the best environment for our children to learn (and speak!) Spanish, we will have two instructors and space is limited to 20 students combined for both groups. Registrations will be confirmed on a first-come first- serve basis. Registration information is available by calling Viva el Espanol at 925-962-9177 and via the Springhill school website.

Lamorinda Water Polo Club
Registrations are currently being accepted for our Fall 10un, 12un and 14un programs (both genders), Sept.- Nov., 2-3 nights per week w/ USAWP tournaments/scrimmaging arranged. Basic swimming skills are needed but no experience required. Registration @: www.lamorindawaterpolo.org E-Mail: lwpinc@comcast.net

Pizza Night Fundraiser at Round Table Pizza in Lafayette!
Last winter, after witnessing repeated instances of speeding, reckless driving, and sadly, one fatal car accident, residents of Acalanes Valley and Ridge approved a ballot measure to make neighborhood streets safer for our children and all pedestrians. We are responsible for raising $30,000 by October in order to ensure construction can begin next summer.
Join us on Wednesday, September 3 between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. for Pizza Night at Round Table Pizza in Lafayette. Dine in or carry out your order and Round Table will donate 25% to our project!
You must provide our flyer to the cashier when ordering!
Please visit our website at http://www.acalanesvalley.com to download our flyer and learn more about the project.

Sweet TUESDAY: Annie Barrows, author of NY Times Bestseller The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and the Ivy & Bean Books
The Friends of the Lafayette Library launch their 08/09 literary season with bestselling author, Annie Barrows, on Tuesday September 9 at 7:30 pm at the Lafayette Library. Barrows, co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society with her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer, will read from the book, share details about the process of writing with her aunt, and talk about the unforgettable and inspirational characters who inhabit this island of Guernsey in the aftermath of WW II.

Smart Discipline for Parents Seminar
The nationally acclaimed Smart Discipline for Parents Seminar will be presented on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Parish Hall. This fun-filled, information- packed two-hour seminar, which is based upon Dr. Larry Koenig's best-selling book of the same name, will be presented by the national spokesperson, Dr. Dale Hancock. Parents will learn proven ways to help their children take responsibility and control for their behaviors and bring back a sense of peace and cooperation within the home. The presentation will also focus on how parents truly are the main influence in the development of positive self-concepts in their children. Please call 925-254-3770, ext.10 or e-mail office@ststephensorinda.org to reserve your seat for this empowering evening of learning and laughter. Admission is $15 per person.. You may also visit www.smartdiscipline.com for further information.