Welcome to the 2013-2014 School Year!
Dear Springer Community,
I want to welcome everyone back to what promises to be another outstanding year at Springer. I can honestly say, as I enter my 19th year in public education, I have never been as excited as I am now to start a new school year. We are poised to have one of Springer’s best years ever due to our teachers' push for innovations that create engaging and powerful learning experiences, support from the community that never ceases to amaze me, and the Los Altos School District’s commitment to revolutionize learning for all students.
We are very busy getting ready for the first day of school on August 21st, but I want to remind you about a few staffing changes that have been made and a couple of additions that were not in place at the end of the school year in June.
We are delighted to welcome new members to the Springer staff. Ms. Alison Mort joins Mrs. Rubinstein and Ms. Presantas a member of our 6th grade team. Ms. Mort is a Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo graduate who received her teaching credential from Santa Clara University. Ms. Mort will be teaching the science rotation to all 6th graders. She played volleyball at Cal Poly and brings a wealth of enthusiasm to Springer. The 6th grade team has already met several times over the summer to plan and they have an exciting year in store for the Springer class of 2014!
Mrs. Crystal Gippe will be heading our Resource Program. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Mrs. Gippe brings a working knowledge of Springer. Last fall, Mrs. Gippecompleted her student teaching under the direction of Ms.Sasaki in our Resource room. Because of this, Mrs. Gippebegins the year already knowing many of our students and our program. Ironically, Mrs. Gippe is also a volleyball player, having played professional volleyball internationally. (I’m currently trying to organize a district-wide staff volleyball tournament- which Springer certainly would be seeded 1st. My principal colleagues have not yet acceptable the challenge.)
Many of you may have heard through the grapevine that Ms. Wendy Johnson accepted a 3rd grade teaching position in the Rocklin School District in late June. Ms. Johnson is an outstanding teacher and the decision to leave Springer was a very difficult one for her. Ultimately she felt the time was right and is now living closer to her family and in a more affordable area of the state. I felt very fortunate to hire Mrs. Jessica Millman who will be joining the 4th grade team. Mrs. Millman is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and taught in Palo Alto Unified School District the last two years. During the interview process, it was clear that Mrs. Millman has the LASD “mindset” and would be a solid addition to the 4th grade team.
We feel extremely lucky to have Ms. Joanie Craddock join the Springer staff as our STEM teacher. Ms. Craddock has taught both high school and junior high science in her career. She comes to us after teaching 3rd grade at Loyola for over 10 years. Her role will be to work with our teachers in delivering hands-on science lessons, as well as other Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics experiences to our students. Thanks to LAEF funding, this exciting STEM program will take place at all our elementary schools with Ms. Craddock being Springer’s full time STEM teacher. In order to ensure the success of the STEM program, we have converted the Art Room into the STEM lab which will serve as Ms. Craddock’s classroom (the old “Exploratory Lab” is now the Art Room).
The Community School of Music and Arts “Art in Action” program will continue. However, we will have a new CSMA Art Teacher. Mrs. Edie Bella has retired and we are pleased to announce that Mrs. Laura Hale will serve as Springer’s CSMA Art teacher.
Other new faculty members include Mrs. Diana Rudolph, a Springer parent, who will be our new clerk. And, while she is not new to Springer, Mrs. Linda Ripley Smith has made a smooth transition into the Secretary role. Someone else you’ll be seeing in the office on a more frequent basis is our school psychologist, Ms. Kathy Hartley. Ms. Hartley will now be at Springer 5 days a week (we no longer have to share her with another school!). This will allow Ms. Hartley to provide more student support and take on some administrative duties as well.
We welcome Mrs. Melissa Kelly and Ms. Brandy Castro as this year’s CHAC (Community Heath Awareness Council) intern counselors. CHAC counselors are used in all LASD schools and provide mental health and social services to our students.
These new additions to our staff, both in personnel and program, fuel my excitement and confidence for a fantastic year at Springer. As captain of the Springer ship, I know that we are only as good as the crew we assemble. The crew, along with your dedicated support to Springer as parents, give me great pride in knowing that we will deliver the best educational experience to your students.
By Friday of next week, your child will receive a letter from me, welcoming him/her to the school year and indicating their classroom placement. I invite all families to our annual “Pop and Stop” on Friday, August 16th from 3pm to 5pm. All class rosters will be posted on the multi windows and popsicles will be distributed. It’s a great chance to come out and reconnect with friends you haven’t seen in a while and to make new ones.
You will learn more about the exciting year ahead at our annual Back to School Night on Tuesday, August 27th. More information on times will follow. Please also note that Friday, August 30th is a minimum day (Kinder dismissal at 11:35 for both morning and afternoon classes, 12:15 dismissal for grades 1st through 6th).
Enjoy the last few days of summer,
Sincerely,
Wade Spenader- Principal
Please see these important reminders below:
Hot Lunch Order Deadline Reminder – By Monday 8/12!
Kid Chow’s Fall 2013 menus and Pizza Thursdays for grades 1 – 6 and A.M. Kindergartners are now online athttps://kidchow.com/ and available for ordering lunches for the beginning of school. THE FIRST ORDER DEADLINE IS MONDAY 8/12 FOR
THE WEEK OF 8/19-8/23. Kid Chow lunch service will begin on Wednesday 8/21. Click below to download the lunch flyers:
AND:
Volunteer for Hot Lunch!
The Hot Lunch crew is looking for volunteers on all days. Sign up every week or every other week for shifts from 11:35-12:15. Hot Lunch is a PTA fundraiser that gives you a way to see your kids during the day and earn a free lunch credit for your child, for use in future orders. Have questions? Contact Hilary Burcell (hilary@burcell.com) or Anita Leo (amleo73@yahoo.com).
SCHOOL SUPPLIES:
If you ordered school supplies through School Pak, your child's supplies will be in the
classroom on the first day of school. If you were not able to make a supply donation in the Spring, you can view your child's grade level supply list by following this link. Scroll down to each grade level to view a list of needed supplies.