SPRINGHURST QUARTERLY A Publication of Springhurst - The Whole Child School Volume II - - - - - - - - Issue 2 - - - - - - - - - Winter 1998

An Exciting Time it is truly an exciting time to be part of the Springhurst family. Our year is well under way -- it's almost half over in fact -- and there hasn't been a dull moment yet. Students and teachers have been busy studying everything from dinosaurs to web pages. Using our immediate experiences as a point of departure, students have been able to pursue a wide variety of interests through their independent projects. Victoria has done some marvelous three-dimensional artwork. Laurel recently completed her Puzzle Book which we have published and made available for purchase. Trey is working on a final draft of Adventures of Star Kiwi, a short adventure story. We have found that one of the strongest aspects of our school environment is that students can individually tackle objectives at a challenging and appropriate level. During what we call "skills and tools time," Linda and Seth! work with children on basic skills that will enable them to accomplish other, more complex learning tasks. (Linda has been with us since October and we are pleased to report that the students have found her to be a pleasant and valuable asset to our school. See the Autumn issue for her story.) During our group study time we have been learning to read music and play the handbells. The students really enjoy this! We have also been learning about our family histories. This lays a good groundwork for placing other historical events within the context of our own families, if not our own personal experience. During the month of January we will begin an ongoing study of the Spanish language. This winter will also find us learning about the Olympics, Japan, human body systems, and other exciting avenues yet to be discovered. Don't you wish you could come here every day? Springhurst really is a family of learners!

A New Location on November 25th we completed a real estate purchase for Springhurst. Our plan at present is to move to the new building on July 1st, in time for our summer programs. Needless to say, we are very excited about this very big step. The school will grow from having just a few hundred square feet to having over 1,400 square feet. The new location, just four blocks from the current site, features an office and several classrooms. Located at 10737 124th Avenue NE, it should be quite convenient for all of our present and future Springhurst families. Springhurst Gets A Mascot it was another first for Springhurst. On Tuesday, November 4th, the Springhurst family elected a school mascot. The competition was tough. Our nineteen voters nominated twelve candidates -- from Blue Birds to Fennics to Wizards. The response to our winning mascot, Dolphins, has been quite favorable. Congratulations to all of the students and other Dolphin fans and thank you to all who made nominations. Be sure to take a look at the new Dolphin sweatshirts featuring student artwork. Turn to page 2 © 1998