When it all comes together

Perusing the STEM Expo exhibits this week, I found myself absorbed in a couple of projects where students deconstructed a clock.   Lifting the lid of a clock is fascinating as it exposes all the cogs, springs, and other parts intricately pieced together, each part performing a specific function to help the machine work as a whole.   The analogy of the clock and the STEM expo was not lost on me; we had so many pieces of it behind the scenes, working together to make the event happen.  First and foremost were the hours of student work displayed in each project.  Behind the scenes of each project was parent help, support, and  collaboration.   The STEM expo event itself was put on by a team of staff members headed by Ms. Craddock-- each person responsible for a distinct element of the event.  And on the day of the event, the very important “piece” came into play-- that of our parent and community volunteers who came to review every project.   I was so pleased to see their dedication as they facilitated a discussion with each student about their work.    Behind all of this is the larger community’s support of Los Altos Educational Foundation that makes our STEM program possible.   

A couple of weeks earlier, I saw the same type of “clockwork” at the Springer auction.  Similarly, a team of parent volunteers, each taking on a specific function, worked together to put on one of Springer’s most successful auctions by raising over $100,000 for Springer’s PTA.  This money ensures that our students continue to receive instructional materials, supplies, music, art, and other clubs/activities.  Critical to the work of PTA is the continuation of upgrading classroom AV systems.  Thanks to very generous donors during our Fund-a-Need session at the auction, we were able to raise enough money to outfit 5 more classrooms with efficient and effective audio/visual equipment that has become so essential to our students’ classroom experience.   

At both the STEM Expo and the Auction, I was again overwhelmed with the Springer community’s support and enthusiasm.   I invite you all to continue to get a sense of this tremendous community by attending Open House on Thursday.   When you walk through the classrooms, see the great student work, talk to the teachers and the students, you will get a view of how it all comes together.  

-- Wade