A few quick things…

Trimester 2 Report Cards go home today.  Teachers will either send an electronic copy to your email or a hard copy home.  As reminder, teachers have the option of reporting in either a Standards Based report (depending on subject) or a traditional grade.  This will change next year, as all reporting will be Standards based.   

Tomorrow night’s auction, with the theme Saturday Night Live!, promises to be a great time.  We had fun this morning at Flag Assembly, pulling raffle ticket prizes.  Raffle ticket sales exceeded $2000- all of which supports the Springer PTA.  I am deeply grateful for the support you show Springer through your PTA donations.   I hope to see you at the auction tomorrow night.

Finally, we are rapidly gearing up for Tuesday’s STEM Expo!  We have over 40% of our students participating in this year’s Expo.   Please come out Tuesday, from 4:30pm-7:00pm, to view the great work of our Springer scientists and engineers.  Food trucks will be here!

Have a great weekend,

Wade Spenader- Principal.

We are just one week away from Springer’s annual auction.  On Saturday, March 19th, Springer will go “Saturday Night Live”.  Next Saturday, I will see you at the Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto.  And I must say, I’m more eager to see parent costumes for this auction than any previous year!    Tickets are on sale now (have you bought yours yet?).

In years past, the auction featured a fund-a-need drive to fulfill a special project at Springer.   This year, we are not including a fund-a-need portion because PTA has effectively budgeted to get our students and campus what they need- although this year’s budget relies on a solid auction turnout.  We are super thankful for your generosity and hope you can make the auction.

You can find information about the Saturday Night Live Auction just below.

Stay dry this weekend!

Wade Spenader- Principal

It was a proud moment for me the other morning when Ms. Craddock grabbed the mic during flag assembly and announced that we have over 214 students participating in the March 22nd Springer STEM Expo.  Since that time, the number of participants has risen to 230!  I did some quick math and calculated that’s over  40% of our student population who will be exhibiting their science and engineering skills at this year’s Expo.   

As we approach the big event, we are still looking for adult (or young adult) reviewers to go through the inquiry process of our students about their projects.  This is done during the school day-not on the night of the Expo.  If you are interested in being a reviewer, please contact Ms. Craddock.

I was also beamng with pride this morning as I escorted LASD Superintendent Jeff Baier through many of our classrooms.  We saw high levels of student engagement and energy from the students.  We even were treated to an impromptu song in one class and an impromptu dance in another (thank you, Room 3 and Room 18).  

Today is the last day of the 2nd Trimester.  Teachers are busy compiling the assessment data and analyzing very carefully the measures they will use to report student progress. Report cards will go home on Friday, March 18th.   

On a different note: there hasn’t been a week this school year where I have NOT been approached by a parent or student telling me about an unsafe action taken by a driver during drop-off or pick-up.  What is distressing is that, in almost all of these stories, the unsafe action was committed by a Springer parent.  In past editions of the Buzz, I have done the friendly reminder and the pointed message.  Now I am going to give all of us the stern lecture: you must be safer while driving your car around our children.  You must not drop your child off in the middle of the parking lot.  You must not speed through the parking lot. You must not park in reserved spaces.  If you have a relative or nanny driving your child, it is your responsibility to make them familiar with the drop-off and pick-up procedures.  They are not complicated and they are based on common sense of what is safe.  You must keep our children safe!

Enjoy the predicted wet weekend!

Wade Spenader- Principal

I write this article this morning inside the Phoenix convention center, waiting for the final keynote speaker at a phenomenal conference about Professional Learning Communities.  It has been 3 days of tremendous learning and powerful takeaways.  

Professional Learning Communities, or PLC’s, have been around in education for a long time.  The basic premise of PLC’s is: by working collaboratively together, schools can have profound impacts on student learning, by identifying targeted learning goals, creating common assessments, and (this is the key element) then making sound instructional decisions based on the data.   There are, of course, more details to the process, and the process can look different from site to site.  But, this idea of professional collaboration, working as a team using a cycle of of inquiry, and dedicating the school to a continuous cycle of improvement is really what it’s all about.  

Fundamental to the PLC process are the 4 critical questions that teams of teachers, working together, should answer: What is that we want kids to know and able to do? How will we know if they learned it?  What will we do if they didn’t learn it? What do we do for the students who did learn it (extension learning)?  LASD teachers were exposed to these questions at our Jan. 19th professional development day and will use these questions as guides to improve student learning.

Have a great weekend.

Wade Spenader-Principal

This week we conducted the National Geographic Geography Bee. Starting in 4th-6th grade classrooms, students were asked random questions about geography- which can cover both physical and cultural topics.  Those students who answered 6 out 7 questions correctly qualified for the Final round.   Over 21 students qualified and met in the multi at lunch to answer more questions.  This process continued until we narrowed down our two finalists to compete in today’s Championship round (stay tuned for our winner).

There are couple of points I want to make here.  First, I invited any student who wished to watch the Final round to come to the multi.  I was so pleased to see so many students, from every grade level, show up to support their school mates.  The student interest was high and they really did cheer on every contestant.  It was great to see that Springer spirit!

Secondly, I found myself in conflict with the format of this competition.  While our finalists proved their interest and passion in geography, I worry that those students who didn’t qualify might not consider themselves good geographers.  Even worse, I fear that if a student didn’t qualify, he or she might be turned off by the subject of geography.  The Geography Bee format really plays to the strengths of students who have a strong visual/spatial sense of the world (since students aren’t allowed to refer to a map to answer the questions).  We know that humans have strengths and challenges in all types of thinking; whether it be visual processing, auditory processing, spatial sense, memory, etc.  Anyone can be a good geographer by using all types of thinking, so a competition that utilizes a specific type of thinking should never be a measure of the true interest and passion of a subject.  I feel the same way about spelling bees; just because someone isn’t strong at spelling words orally doesn’t mean they aren’t good spellers! (I happen to be one of those people)

It’s our job as parents and educators to help children understand that such competitions are not a genuine indicator of interest or potential.  Because a student cannot rip through a math facts page at rapid speed is in no way an indication of a poor math student.  Just because a person isn’t the fastest runner doesn’t mean they cannot be a great soccer player.  There is a potential danger in celebrating an enhanced skill if we don’t also acknowledge the many other traits that make up the whole.  

If this reads to you like another plug for growth mindset- well, it is. It’s also a call for all of us to honor all types of efforts and thinking towards achieving a passion for learning- in any area.

Thank you for being a wonderful community.

Wade Spenader- Principal

I was listening to a radio interview this morning on the way in to school with the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Chip Kelly.  He said something that resonated with me and our belief about learning.  When asked what type of offensive coordinator he was looking to hire, Coach Kelly stated that he wanted to find someone who came from a completely different system as to the offensive style Coach Kelly is accustomed to running. The reason he gave for this thinking was that he wanted to learn and develop from a different perspective or point of view, other than his own.  I found this approach from the new head coach to be very “Lincolnesque”; Abraham Lincoln filled his presidential cabinet with people who often opposed Lincoln’s viewpoints so that all sides of an idea were examined.  Time will tell if Coach Kelly rises to the “Mt. Rushmore” of NFL coaching.  Mr. Lincoln’s status as a president is already confirmed in history!

This concept of collaboration, of embracing the idea of working with others with different ideas and perspectives, is becoming more the norm in both the work world and at school.  Hence, when I observe our students collaborating, sharing their ideas, problem solving, and even disagreeing, I am witnessing vital skills being honed to help our students thrive in the future.  Critical to this process is the belief of having an open mind to collaborating without a fixed outcome in mind for any individual within the group. The genius of the whole can be much greater than the persistent offerings of a few.  I frequently see our teachers helping students to understand this concept of  collaboration, even when bumpy, can yield huge results when all ideas are put out on the table.   

On the topic of collaboration, this past Tuesday the Los Altos School District teachers and administrators had a very productive day working together defining mastery, what is an essential standard, working in grade level groups digging into standards and looking at progression of Common Core Standards- Kindergarten through Eighth grade.  Teacher’s learned more about, not just the acquisition of knowledge, but how does knowledge become real and transfer for greater understanding.  This is hard work, but very exciting and worthy work to help prepare our students for their future.

Enjoy the weekend,

Wade Spenader- Principal

It’s the Cold and Flu Season

The cold and flu season, like the rain, has hit Springer hard this winter.   Students and staff, alike, have been bit by the bug and it’s no fun!   It is everyone’s responsibility to keep Springer as healthy as possible.   Please pay close attention to the article below.  It contains important information about when to keep your child out of school.

No School on Monday or Tuesday

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, Jan. 18th as we celebrate the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  There is also no school for students on Tuesday, Jan. 19th as teachers have a professional development day.  The focus of their training is the further implementation of standards based reporting.   We’ll see all the children back at school on Wednesday, Jan. 20th.  

Have a great extended weekend!

Wade Spenader- Principal

Welcome to 2016!  I hope you and your family had a fantastic break and are enjoying the great start to 2016. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?  Resolutions are good because they can lead to new and healthy change.  Sometimes resolutions aren’t new behaviors or habits; sometimes they are just re-commitments to principles to which we already adhere.    In the spirit of re-commitment (and fun), here are some good resolutions to which we all could adhere:

I resolve to use my growth mindset- to know that I can get better at anything with hard work and effort over time.

I resolve to be more present in the moment- to be more mindful of my surroundings and grateful for those around me.

I resolve to drive more safely, especially around Springer’s campus.  On that note, I resolve not to leave my car when parked along the drop-off curb!

I resolve to model the behavior I want to see in those around me.

I resolve to read the Buzz every week!

Again, these are not new resolutions but re-commitments to the things we value.   

Hoping you have a wonderful weekend!

Wade Spenader- Principal