Friday, October 31
Halloween
Halloween Parade; 2:00 PM

Sunday, November 2
Daylight Savings Time ends (set clocks back an hour)
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk; Heather Farms, Walnut Creek
Springhill Garden Parent Work Day; 10:00 AM-2:00 PM

Monday, November 3
3rd Grade Pilgram Feast; Upper Yard, 10:45 AM
Chess Club; Library, 2:45 PM
Cub Scout Pack 200; Library, 7:00 PM-8:00 PM

Tuesday, November 4
Election Day (Multipurpose Room closed all day)
Lunch outside
Bargain Book Bonanza; 12 Noon

Wednesday, November 5
PFC-Sponsored Poets-in-the-Schools; 4th grade
Countywide Shelter-in-Place Drill; 11:00 AM
PFC Executive Board Meeting; Lounge, 5:30 PM
PFC General Session; Library, 7:00 PM

Thursday, November 6
KidzArt; Room 25, 2:45 PM

Friday, November 7
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; Multipurpose Room; 2:45 PM

Monday, November 10
Holiday

Tuesday, November 11
Veterans' Day; Holiday

Wednesday, November 12
PFC-Sponsored Poets-In-the-Schools; 4th grade
PFC Teacher Appreciation Luncheon; Lounge, 12 noon
LASF General Board Meeting.; Stanley Library, 7:00 PM

Thursday, November 13
KidzArt; Room. 25, 2:45 PM

Friday, November 14
Fall Music Assembly, Gr. 1-3; Multipurpose Room, 11:05 AM
Book Fair Set Up; Multipurpose Room
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; Library, 2:45 PM

Saturday, November 15
LASF Function; Orinda Country Club

Monday, November 17
Book Fair; MP Room
Student Council Meeting; Room. 23, 12:20 PM
Chess Club; Library, 2:45 PM
LSD Board Meeting; District Office, 7:00 PM

Tuesday, November 18
Book Fair; MP Room
Lunch outside
RAPPORT; DO, 9:00 AM

Wednesday, November 19
Book Fair; MP Room
Lunch outside
PFC-Sponsored Poets-In-the-Schools; 4th grade
Cub Scout Troop 200; MP Room, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM

Thursday, November 20
Book Fair; MP Room
KidzArt; Rm. 25, 2:45 PM

Friday, November 21 3rd Grade Pilgrim Feast; Upper Yard, 10:45 AM
End of First Trimester
5th Grade Play Rehearsal; MP Room, 2:45 PM

A. THANK YOU to all who participated in last Sunday's annual Lafayette Reservoir Run raising money for our schools, especially to Leslie Geannacopulos for coordinating Springhill's volunteers and runners. Mr. Wodhams was seen finishing up the 5K sometime Monday morning! Well done, Springhill community!

B. QUIET ZONE: Please remember that learning is still taking place in the upper grade classrooms until 2:40 PM. As you congregate with your children in the main courtyard and the Lower Field asphalt area at the end of the school day, please respect these QUIET ZONE areas until all students are dismissed. Thank you.

C. RED RIBBON WEEK/NATIONAL CHARACTER COUNTS WEEK: Last Friday concluded a very busy week of activities for Springhill students during which the character building that took place will set the character expectations for the rest of the year and beyond. Many thanks to Karen Elliott, Corrine Christensen, Doreen deRoque and Beth Brown for all of their efforts in putting this important and beneficial calendar of activities together!

D. HALLOWEEN is upon us. We will have our annual Halloween Parade through the halls today, Friday, at 2:00 PM. All kindergartens will have their parade earlier in the day. Please check the calendar for specific times. Please remember the following: Costumes of violence (e.g., dripping blood, slashers, Freddie Kruegers, Friday the 13th characters, terrorists, etc.), costumes with weapons or lookalike weapons (e.g., swords, guns, knives, etc.), or any negative representations of currently or historically- maligned ethnic groups or nationalities will NOT be allowed. Thank you. E. Join the PFC! Register for e-SCRIP!!

THE SIX PILLARS & PAY IT FORWARD CORNER

CHECK OUT THE SIX PILLARS BANNERS HANGING IN THE CENTRAL COURTYARD!

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.

A. COINS FOR A CURE: As one of several initial PAY IT FORWARD Projects this fall, Springhill School is again participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) COINS FOR A CURE Program. The drive will begin Monday, 10/13 and will continue through Friday, 10/31, and will consist of a collection can in each classroom for students and staff to contribute any spare change they wish. Collection cans and a packet of information arrives in classrooms on Monday, 10/13. The actual WALK TO CURE DIABETES will take place at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek on Sunday, November 2, Time TBA. Several staff members will be participating. For further information regarding the walk, please contact Mrs. Heidi McLeod at: Heidi@ac3online.com Thank you so much as we begin another successful year of PAYING IT FORWARD!

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. Newcomb's 4th grade, every Friday Room is a Math Menu Day. Math Menu uses stations to do a variety of hands-on math activities that include Marcy Cook tiles, Versatiles, Hands On Equations, math games and the computer. Each week the activities reinforce the math concepts being learned in class and allows each student to explore that concept at their individual level.

*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.

Thank you very much Leslie Geannacopulos and all of the Springhill Families that either volunteered or walked/ran in this year's Lafayette Reservoir Run. What a fun community event!

Also, thank you to Beth Roosa, one of Friday Flyer Editors, who just finished her stint as editor. I especially want to thank you, Beth, for your patience with me as too many of my letters arrived just after the deadline. Oops! I'm working on it!

Happy Halloween! Don't forget to join us this afternoon at 2 PM to watch the Halloween Parade. I can't wait to see what theme Bruce and Cathy come up with this year! Have a safe (and hopefully dry) night of trick-or-treating!

Today, Friday October 31st, is the deadline for Box Tops for Education. Please turn your box tops in by the end of the school day! please contact Shelli Shepherd at shelli.shepherd@comcast.net for information. Tuesday, November 4th is Election Day. Don't forget to vote! We will be holding our second PFC General Meeting this Wednesday, Nov. 5th in the Library at 7 PM. This is an awesome way to get involved in the PFC and find out what's happening in our school.

LASF is hosting their Annual Event at the Orinda Country Club on Saturday, November 15th. You won't want to miss this fun night of casino games, music & dancing, one-of-a-kind sign-up parties and a fantastic raffle. If you are interested in hosting one of the instant win parties, please contact Kathy Hamilton at katsvetmail@yahoo.com or Stephenie Teichman at tyklafsd@gmail.com.

Just a reminder to mark your calendars for the annual Book Fair which is being held during the week of November 17th. We will be offering evening hours on Tuesday and Wednesday night - with a special guest each night!

To find out how to get involved in the PFC, please visit the PFC website at springhillpfc.org, under PFC Leadership.

Beth Brown
2008-09 Springhill PFC President
pfcprez@yahoo.com
482-7956

Thought for the Week: Some days... it feels like I'm just rearranging chairs on the Titanic.

Thank You for a Successful Fall Phonathon
LASF would like to extend our appreciation to the generous donor families and volunteers who contributed to the clear cut success of the Fall Phonathon, which took place this past week. We surpassed our fundraising goal as well as our strategic goal of recruiting more callers, including many first-time callers. Although pledges and money are still arriving, LASF has raised approximately $35,000 towards our overall goal. As always, the Phonathon is a community effort, and LASF gratefully recognizes everyone who contributed their time and/or money to our cause of delivering quality educational support to Lafayette public schools. Thank you all!
Love Lafayette - Love Our Schools? Then RSVP for LASF's Fall Party!
Be sure to purchase your tickets for LASF's Annual Event, a community-wide celebration of our public schools happening on November 15th. Can't find your yellow invitation? Check out party details and pay for event and raffle tickets online at http://lasf.org/annualevent/.
Can't come to the party but want to help?
We are still looking for interested Springhill families to host a sign up party for our annual event and donations of wine. Specific information has been sent to each individual parent on how you can help. If you have not yet received the information please contact your individual LASF classroom representative or Kathy Hamilton katsvetmail@yahoo.com for more details.

With Halloween at the end of the week, you can guess what our focus was in the library!

Some of you may know that this has also been the week of Divali celebrations for many Indian and Hindu families. Among the traditions of this five-day festival of lights is setting out candles in small clay containers, cleaning house thoroughly, wearing new clothes and jewelry, eating special foods and sweets, and even enjoying bright and colorful fireworks. Because the Hindu calendar is a lunar one, Divali doesn't fall on a set date each year but comes in October or November.

When the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Halloween night, it is the Spooky Hour. Witches, ghosts, skeletons, trolls, spiders, and many other creepy creatures come out and head toward the castle. And what do they find there? Ask your kindergartner to tell you what happens in Tony Mitton's Halloween counting tale.

What do you do when your BIG sisters say that the pumpkin you've picked to carve into a jack-o-lantern is too small and ugly? If you're little Nell in Margery Cuyler's book The Bumpy Little Pumpkin you get some help from your animal friends and make a jack-o-lantern of it anyway. And to Nell it's the most beautiful one of all! After hearing this story, first graders shared their ideas about perfect pumpkins to carve.

You know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. But things are a little different in The Three Bears' Halloween by Kathy Duval. One Halloween, the bear family go trick-or-treating and discover an empty house. Second graders delighted in finding the clues in the text and the pictures and guessing what was going on long before the bear family figured it out.

Los gatos, los esqueletos, los fantasmas, and many other creatures gather on Halloween night, where they party merrily away until: Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes is a bilingual look at this favorite holiday. For third graders I paired it with a look at some of the rituals practiced by many Latino families on Day of the Dead.

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich was a big hit last year. He's back this year in Frankenstein Takes the Cake. While I did need to share some background on some of the references (or at least be sure that all the fourth graders understood them) we all enjoyed Adam Rex's humorous verses and plays on cultural icons. Medusa, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", Peanuts, Dracula, Edgar Allen Poe, the Sphinx, and even Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds were among the many references.

I didn't see the fifth graders this week as I attended a seminar in San Jose with the other district elementary librarians on Monday. Peggy Sharp is a former teacher/librarian/college professor who puts together a program each year in which she highlights the best children's books published in the past year and offers suggestions to teachers and librarians on ways to use them in the curriculum. I've been attending her seminars for the last twelve years and I always come away with lots of notes about wonderful new books I want to add to our collection and share with our students and staff. Luckily, our Book Fair is coming soon!

Don't forget to check out 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, an updated library wish list, reviews of new books, and links to many helpful resources on the website, too.

Remember, there are over 100 reasons to read. This week, reason number 7 is "It keeps you out of trouble."

Sherry Mattern, Library Specialist
smattern@LAFSD.K12.CA.US

Remember to Vote on November 4th

This November's election is expected to draw a record voter turnout. The following information is provided for parents who are registered to vote in Contra Costa County.

Find Your Polling Place
The sample ballot mailed to all registered voters in early October lists your polling place. If you no longer have this information, you can find your polling place by going to: http://www.cocovote.us/PrecinctFinder.aspx. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voting by Mail
The deadline for registering to vote by mail is October 28. If you know that you will be out of town or will have limited time to go to the polls on Election Day, you may request an absentee ballot online at: http://www.cocovote.us/EmbeddedPage.aspx?id=9. If you plan to vote by mail, your ballot must arriveat the Contra Costa County Elections Department by November 4th. Absentee ballots may also be delivered to any polling location in the county.

Vote Yes on Measure E
There are several items of local concern on the November ballot. One item that could be of particular interest to parents is Measure E, a $93 million school facilities bond for the Acalanes Union High School District that will not raise our current tax rates. The Acalanes District serves high school students in Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, and portions of Walnut Creek. Our Parent Club has voted to endorse Measure E.

To learn more about Measure E, and to view a list of high school facilities upgrades that would be funded by this measure, go to: http://www.AboutMeasureE.org/

I have been struggling mightily, recently, trying to ascertain what, exactly, is a "glycemic index". Why is it that every time I try to fully understand the labels on the food I buy in the grocery store I find my self studying molecular structures? Don't these people know that I am an accountant for goodness sakes???

The glycemic index is the latest, greatest way for us to judge our food. The Glycemic Index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. I certainly understand and agree with the concept. It is a way of judging foods based on how dramatically it elicits a response from our pancreas to start producing insulin. A bad glycemic response is one in which a food would cause your blood glucose to spike really high - so your pancreas will react by flooding your bloodstream with insulin, resulting in blood glucose levels that are then too low - which in turn causes your body to produce adrenalin. When observed in a 2nd grader it looks like this: At 10am a tired, lethargic, hungry second grader is fed -aaackkkk a cookie!! Blood glucose levels spike causing insulin surge causing rapid blood sugar dip. A now tired, lethargic, shaky 2nd grader feeling very sick can not concentrate on his lesson is flagged as academic problem, note is composed for parents. Now the dip in blood sugar causes a rush of adrenalin to counter act the low blood sugar - tired (still) hungry hyperactive 2nd grader flagged as discipline problem is sent to the principal's office. Longer note is composed for parents.

This is no joke - the glycemic response of your children's body can dramatically affect their behavior and abilities in school and elsewhere. So the concept of judging our food based on this glycemic response is not a bad idea. However, as in most cases in dealing with food there are many things to be considered. One downside to using a glycemic index to judge food is that interestingly fructose becomes a hero. Because fructose is not metabolized with insulin, it has a low glycemic response. Now I could write a book on why too much fructose is bad - and I will address HFCS in a different article. Suffice it to say, the GI can not be considered in a vacuum. Here is a good rule of thumb. You want to, as much a possible, feed your kids food that takes a longer time to metabolize so the insulin reaction is more measured rather than sudden. Think protein and fiber and complex carbs. Especially when the child has not eaten for a few hours because that is when the roller coaster ride of high blood sugar, low blood sugar, adrenalin will be the most intense. If you are going to feed you child something high in sugar or simple carbs or starch, try to combine it with protein, complex carbs or fiber. Piece of Cake. - I mean NOT A PIECE OF CAKE!

Diabetes Research Foundation Walk
Please support Sam Mcleod's team "Sam's Clan" and others.

Come Hang Out at Hideout
Sign-Ups are now being taken for Tuesday, Nov 11th (Veteran's Day School Closure) and for Thanksgiving Camp. Discounts will be given for early registration! Come joins us for lots of Arts, Crafts, Games, Science and Baking activities. Registrations forms can be found in the school office or at Hideout. You can also download the forms from our website at www.kidshideout.net/Forms, then go to IN-SERVICE DAYS or Camp Registration Forms. For more information, please contact Beth at 283-7808 or beth@kidshideout.net.

Watch Our Garden Grow
Springhill Garden's next work day is scheduled for Sunday, November 2 from 10-2pm. Bring your work gloves & sunscreen! We are looking for some help with a few larger projects.
If you, a friend or a local business are knowledgeable about:
* installing irrigation throughout the garden
* tree service; we'd like to use tree logs for hillside erosion control
* create an online newsletter featuring updates & progress reports, linked to our PFC website please contact Kathy Hemmenway at khemmenway@aol.com or 933-5266.

Keep sending in your clean and dry plastic grocery and shopping bags for the Wal-Mart Kids Recycling Challenge. There is a collection bin in the office. We will be collecting bags through the end of March. So far, we have filled two 60 gallons bags with bags for recycling!

On November 1st, there will be free e-Waste recycling event at Diablo Valley College, at the Overflow Parking Lot #7- Across from Main Campus Go to this link for information on other events: http://www.noewaste.com/calendar/index.php

You can also recycle e-waste and other items at at: Recycle for Breast Cancer, 800-315-9580, 31 Beta Ct., Suite C, San Ramon, CA 94583

For more information please visit: www.RecycleForBreastCancer.org

Fall Vocal Music Assembly
This event will take place on Friday, November 14, from 11:05 AM to 11:50 AM for grades 1,2,3. Friends and families are invited to watch all the children sing. Other performers will be the 5th grade Springhill Chorus, and the Army Reserve Brass Ensemble, including our own Mrs. Liz Brummel.
Got questions? Contact vghulam@lafsd.k12.ca.us

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Tristan Uhl Melewicz in Miss Bornfleth's 5th grade class is once again co-captain for the 5 mile walk in Golden Gate Park this month to raise money to cure Breast Cancer. He and his Mom, Valery Uhl, have participated in the American Cancer Society's walk: "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" for the last 8 years.

Tristan has a can for money/check/change donations in Miss B's classroom #13 and you can also donate via his team (Summit Medical Center) online at: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgains tBreastCancer/MSABCFY09California? px=1204666&pg=personal&fr_id=11604&et=HmTRSS ftHK9o8XjqZRiLUQ..&s_tafId=193570

Please, let's find a cure for breast cancer together!

Book Fair
Our book fair is hosted by "The Storyteller", a local children's bookstore in Hacienda Square. During the week of the book fair, if you decide to do more shopping or want to purchase books which you don't see at the fair, just inform them that your purchase should be credited to Springhill and a percentage of your purchase will be credited.

"Fish For A Great Book" at the Springhill Book Fair
Monday, November 17
7:45 am - 3:30 pm

Tuesday, November 18
7:45 am - 3:30 pm
Gerald's Magic! (6:30 pm-7:30 pm)
Shop while the kids watch the great magic show
Bring the blue booklist! (Evening hours 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm)

Wednesday, November 19
7:45 am - 3:30 pm
Family Night (Evening hours 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm)
Join Mr. Wodhams' Guitar Sing-A-Long (6:00 pm-6:30 pm)
Dine and Shop! Pizza slices $2, pizza & drink $3 (cash only, until 7 pm)

Thursday, November 20
7:45 am - 9 am - Last chance!

Please bring your checkbook if possible as credit cards such as VISA take 3% as a handling fee.

BARGAIN BOOK BONANZA SALE
It's that time again...Bring your quarters to school on Tuesday, November 4 to buy your favorite gently used books. Kindergartners can buy books between 11:10 and 12:10 in front of the kindergarten classrooms. 1st through 5th graders can buy books after they finish lunch in front of the multi-purpose room. All proceeds go to our school library. We also gladly except donations of books. Please bag them, label the bag with"bargain book's and place them in the foyer of the multi-purpose room or call Farrel Vance @ 937-8230 to assist you.

Risky Behavior: What is happening? What can we do about it?
Thursday, November 6, 7:30p.m. Stanley Middle School Library
What is 'risky behavior' for our middle schoolers today? Which behaviors should parents worry about? Please join Principal Schrag, Police Resource Officer Birch, Counselors Tiffany Sullivan and John Barakos, Drug, Alcohol and Violence Prevention Coordinator for the County Office of Education Ralph Cantor, Sandra Lessenden MFT, and Beth Feree PhD Psychologist for a lively, up-to-date review of the current risky behaviors in our middle school, and how we as parents can identify and address them.

Single Parents - Mark your Calendars!!
The District Parent Education committee introduces a series for single parent families with monthly meetings on a variety of topics:

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
From the Kids Perspective: Caught in the Middle
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Holidays: Recreating Traditions
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Two House Tango: Schedules, Transitions, Household Guidelines Tuesday, February, 10, 2009
You're Not My Mother: Introducing New Relationships to your Kids
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Whose Business is it?: What to say when, to whom, and how to say it.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Creating a Legacy: Remembering What's Important

These sessions will be held from 7:00-8:30pm at Stanley Middle School in the Faculty Lounge or the Library. More information to follow.

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: bethhutson@comcast.net

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