Preparation for Next Year…

I’m always amazed at how busy the month of May can be.  We are simultaneously wrapping up one school year and getting ready for the next- both at a school and district level.  It’s fun, exciting, and busy work!

One process we will begin soon is building classes for the next school year.  I am in awe at the effort and hours the teachers put into this important task.  Teachers build heterogeneous classes for the next grade level while factoring in academic needs, social dynamics, and a litany of other elements.  Teachers go through several iterations of classes before they decide they have created the best makeup for overall student success.

It is normal for parents to feel anxious about this process.   I ask that you share your concerns with your child’s current teacher in the context of strengths and areas of growth for your child without requesting a specific teacher.  If you wish, you may also share that same information with me as well.   

As is the practice, your family will be emailed a letter a week prior to school starting that indicates the classroom placement.  And, as reminder, PTA will be purchasing all school supplies for every student so the kids and teachers can hit the ground running in August.  

Safety Reminder

It is everyone’s responsibility to keep our campus and the streets around it as safe as possible.   To that end, we encourage you to sign-up for cross-walk duty when your grade level’s turn has come.  We like to have crossing guards at the Limetree cross walk on Rose and one at the crosswalk in front of the library for the parking lot.   Your help with this is greatly appreciated.

Enjoy your weekend

Wade Spenader-Principal

Good luck to our Springer Olympians!

Despite the rain in the forecast, I know that tomorrow’s Junior Olympics will be an awesome event for our students and the community as a whole.  Junior Olympics is truly a “feel good” day for LASD.   I love seeing our students compete to do their personal best.  I love it even more when I see the Springer Stingers display great sportsmanship.  Walking into the stadium as a school, seeing proud parents cheer is also a highlight.  And, I am always impressed with the huge corps of volunteers who put on this well run event and who take the time to coach our athletes.  We ended today with a Junior Olympics rally to pump our Stingers up for tomorrow.  It promises to be a great day.  

SBAC Testing…

We’ve reached the end of the first week of Smarter Balanced testing and it’s gone well.  The students are doing their best work and we’ve suffered very few log-in issues.   So far, so good.  We are finding that testing is taking a bit longer to complete than the suggested time-- but we’ve been able to work through that and are pleased that our students are working so diligently on their tests.  

One area of concern is the amount of students, after only one week, who have missed some of the testing.   For those students, make-ups become a logistical problem as all of the testing is done online and needs to be proctored by a test administrator (aka- the teacher). In the “old days” of STAR testing, this was easier to do as it was a paper and pencil test.   I am asking, again, that you, if at all possible, refrain from scheduling appointments or other activities that will have your child out of school during testing.  Illness cannot be avoided, but appointments can be rescheduled.   

As a reminder, we need to wrap up all SBAC testing on May 8th.

Best regards,

Wade Spenader- Principal

SBAC Testing begins Monday

Statewide testing, known as the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments) begins on Monday and will run through the next 3 weeks, ending on May 8th.   Each grade level, from 3rd through 6th, have a separate testing schedule, so the days your child takes his/her test will vary.  Teachers will provide their individual testing schedules to families.

Students will take online tests in English/Language Arts and Mathematics.   Both subjects also have a Performance Task component as well.   There are no time limits on any of these tests but the total amount of testing for 3rd-6th graders is about 7 hours- hence the reason why we spread out the testing over 3 weeks.  Students have been practicing the test by logging into the online testing environment and taking sample questions.   

What can you do as a parent to prepare your child?

• Please make sure children arrive at school on time.  Some of the testing begins at the beginning part of the day so getting to school on time is always important- but especially during testing.

• Make sure that your child is getting a good night’s sleep and eating a healthy breakfast.  

• Encourage your child to do the best they can but not worry about results.  Use the growth mindset ideal of praising the effort and not the outcome.   Because the tests are computer adaptive, and test questions become more difficult as the student correctly answers questions, students WILL hit a wall eventually on the test.  

• Remind students the SBAC is a way for the school to learn how and what is the best ways to teach students.   A student’s individual results will not have an impact on grades or progression through the grades.  The results we get as a school will help further refine our instructional practices to some degree.  

Since this is the first year the SBAC is official, we will all be entering a learning curve.  Learning how to log-in, how much time each test actually takes, and coordinating schedules are just a few of the complexities we, as a staff, are working through.  We anticipate a few bumps in the road, as with any first year test, but will plug on!  In the end, all will be fine and we’ll come away from testing better for it.

Have a great weekend.

Wade Spenader- Principal

Springer’s Teacher of the Year (and a little bit about SBAC testing)

Starting last year, Springer’s teacher staff began selecting their own site’s Teacher of the Year.    This year, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the staff has made Mrs. Linda Mooers their 2015 Springer Teacher of the Year.  Anyone who has any contact with Mrs. Mooers understands why she was selected.  I have not met many people in life who genuinely exude so much love and enthusiasm for her students.   She has made an enormous impact on the children she has taught, and with over 30 years of teaching here at Springer, the impact goes far and wide!

Mrs. Mooers, along with each LASD site’s winner, was honored at a reception on Tuesday at Covington.  She was well supported at the event with a large contingent of Springer staff and her two grown children (Springer graduates themselves) Congratulations to Mrs. Mooers!  We are so proud of you.

SBAC testing...

I know it’s a bummer to talk about testing just before Spring Break but I wanted to make sure you have the correct information regarding SBAC testing.

This spring our students in grades 3-6 will participate in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium California state testing (SBAC). The SBAC replaces the STAR test many of you may remember from past years. The test is completely online for English-Language Arts and Math, while the California Standards Test (CST) in Science will still be administered in paper/pencil format to 5th and 8th graders across the state, including here in LASD. Our students in grades 3-6 last year took the pilot version of this test. We did not receive any results from that test; rather, it was to help us understand how the online test environment would function and what infrastructure we would need to support online testing. This year both parents and the school/ district will receive test results. Since the testing format is very different from the previous STAR test, it will take time to analyze and understand the information we receive. For example, the STAR was all multiple choice. The new SBAC testing has extensive open response questions, writing, math problem-solving (not choosing answers from a list), and performance tasks that build off a classroom activity prior to the test. In short, it is a much better test — though not perfect by any means.

Teachers have begun providing practice for students in how to access the test online and operate within the online testing environment. However, our job as educators (and yours as parents) is NOT to prep students for this test. Our job is to provide practice within the testing environment, while also delivering 180 days of quality, robust instruction that will allow our students to demonstrate their knowledge, competence and passion in a variety of ways — including this assessment tool.

The SBAC testing window opens for us beginning on April 20th and ends on May 8th.  Testing dates vary according to grade level.  Teachers will be sharing their testing dates with families for each class.   

I wish you a restful and relaxing Spring Break

Wade Spenader- Principal

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

Planning for Next Year

Coming home in your child’s Friday Folder is an important piece of paper that helps us plan for next year (yes, we are already working on next year).  The paper, entitled “Next School Year Plans”, is a the way you will communicate whether your family is returning to Springer next year.  It’s easy to fill out.  Please return it to your child’s teacher no later than April 3rd.  You may also drop it off in the office.  

Let’s Rock at the Auction!

Tomorrow night is the Springer Rock and Roll Auction. The event begins at 6:30pm at the Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto.   The auction is one of the major fund raisers for the Springer PTA, which provides so much of the “stuff” we need to give our students a well-rounded, rich educational experience.  

I want to thank Kirsten Tashev, Elizabeth Thompson and Rachel Michelson,  our auction co-chairs, who have worked so hard throughout much of the year to put on this event.  A huge thank you also goes out to their incredible team of volunteers.  These events don’t just “happen”; they require hundreds of hours of preparation.  If you see the chairs, or any of their team, please thank them for their efforts.

Parking Lot Safety

It’s time for another scolding from the principal regarding parking lot behavior.  I wish I didn’t have to send these reminders a few times a year but we still continue to have adults acting in unsafe and disrespectful ways in the parking lot.   

• There is absolutely no stopping and parking in the middle of lanes.  This blocks access through the lane and stifles traffic flow in the parking lot.  You may also not stop in the middle of lanes and drop off your child.  The yellow curb is used for drop off.

• You may not park in the auction parking spots unless you won them at the auction.  They are clearly marked with the family’s name and are reserved for only that family.

• You may not park in a handicapped parking space unless you have a handicap placard.

• You may not drop off/pick up along the fire road by the Kinder yard

• It is against the law to make a u-turn in the middle of a street.

• It is against the law to block a residential driveway on a street

I believe wholeheartedly in not reprimanding the whole for the acts of a few.  Yet, it is repeatedly reported to me that we have parents violating these basic principles of safety, the law and common sense.   Bottom line: please adhere to these principles for the safety of everyone and as a model of a positive example for our children.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Wade Spenader- Principal

Our annual Starting Arts concert, showcasing the music talents of our TK, Kinders, and 1st through 3rd graders is just a week away.  On Friday, March 6 our students will entertain the audience, in a true performance task, with vocal music performances that highlight the 18 weeks of music lessons provided by Starting Arts and their teacher, Ms. Diana Torres-Koss.  The first show begins at 9:00am and will feature performances from our Transitional Kinders, Kinders, and 1st grade.  The second show starts at 10:30 and will display the talents of our 2nd and 3rd graders.   This is always a special concert and I hope you can attend one or both!

Starting Arts wouldn’t be possible if it were not for our strong Springer PTA, who provides the funding for this excellent program.  The Springer PTA provides many things, like Starting Arts, that enrich our students’ educational experience.   I appreciate your continued support of PTA and encourage you to attend the Springer Rock’n’Roll auction on March 14 (for more information scroll down).  The auction, along with the October walk-a-thon, serve as the major fundraisers for our PTA and our crucial to giving our students the very best they deserve.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Wade Spenader-Principal

I think it’s important, in any line of work, to take a step back and look around at things to celebrate.  I call it “taking a snapshot”; the idea of pausing time to really appreciate what you see, including the small details.  Let me share with you a “snapshot” of great things I saw this week:

• 3rd graders proudly sharing their learning about their Famous American.  By having the students present in a “wax museum” format, students were involved in a true performance task.

• 2nd graders, just as proudly, presenting their research on their dinosaur reports.

• I walked into a 5th grade room and witnessed students breaking down molecular models and applying chemistry to their findings.

• 4th graders enthusiastically teaching me about calcite and properties of other rocks.  One student journal read, “studying rocks rocks!”

• 6th graders caringly, and patiently, celebrating Valentine’s Day with their TK buddies.

• 1st graders practicing in earnest for their upcoming vocal music concert (March 6th)

• Many students jump roping at recess, still inspired by the Sol Jumpers assembly a couple of weeks ago.  Working in teams, practicing tricks, and having fun.

• Other students, collaboratively inventing new games at recess

• Teachers, laughing heartily together in the workroom, enjoying each other’s company.

Yes, it was a busy week as we wrapped up many projects before break.  But, it was also a very gratifying week.  It’s great to see the students so engaged.   And it’s always an affirmation this time of year to see so much growth in the children.

I hope you have a restful and gratifying break.

Wade Spenader- Principal

February’s Theme: Nurturing

As part of “It’s a Springer Thing”, February’s focus is on the character trait of being nurturing.  The idea of caring for and assisting with the development of a person is a trait that can, and should,  be encouraged.  Valentine’s Day, for elementary school students, is a good opportunity for students to show their nurturing side- hence the strategic placement of emphasizing nurturing during the month of February.

While children, and adults, need nurturing from others for their own development, there are ways in which children can start on their own nurturing spirit for others.  A young child can begin to display this in the way they take care and ownership of a stuffed animal.  Older children might be given the responsibility of taking care of a plant or small pet.  Showing kindness and compassion to family members or friends also show nurturing.  Nurturing, in essence, is the result of being empathetic.

In a world that continues to speed up rather than slow down and where the stressors become more pronounced, our community’s ability to nurture each other is of paramount importance.   Our children need positive nurturing, both at home and at school.   Loving support, patient guidance and timely coaching are all things we can give to our students- and each other.

Thank you for being a wonderful community

Wade Spenader- Principal

Geography is alive and well!

One of the knocks we hear about public schools is that American students can’t even find Canada on a map!  I’d like to offer up proof to refute the claim that we are not giving students a good grounding on where things are in the world.

Springer participates every year in the National Geographic Geography Bee.  We keep it low-key, low-pressure; the verbal questions given to students (who aren’t allowed to consult an atlas) are really testing their visual-spatial sense of the world- which isn’t the only measure of a good geography student.   Students in our 4th through 6th grade participated in the classrooms at the preliminary round.  Each student  is given 7 questions to answer.   The questions get progressively hard as the rounds progress.   What is most impressive is we have 19 students who answered all 7 questions correctly.  Equally impressive were the over 30 students who were able to answer 6 out 7!   As a teacher at Blach, I ran the Geography Bee in my classrooms to both 7th and 8th graders.  I can remember that it was rare to have so many students at the junior high level do so well as Springer students did this year.  

The 19 students who had perfect scores will compete in the finals on Wednesday. Within a couple of weeks, we will crown a school champion.

Have a great, extended weekend.