Sarah Ferguson, one of this year's artists-in-residence at Springwater, knows first-hand how art can build community.  Trained in fine arts with experience in painting, sculpture, ceramics, and other media, she began bringing art into schools when her own children were young.  

She joined the roster at Young Audiences about ten years ago, and now travels throughout the region working with schools to create permanent art installations and other multi-media projects. "Exploring art making processes allows each person to expand their visual vocabulary and make things with their hands; building, getting messy, making mistakes and finding solutions, and learning from each other as we work together," explains Sarah.

In her role as artist-in-residence, Sarah acts as teacher, collaborator, and art director - sharing techniques, encouraging students and helping them solve problems, keeping track of everything, and very importantly she adds, "trusting the process."  At Springwater, students returned from winter break to begin the brainstorming and planning stages. Working with all grade levels, Sarah notes that the students' knowledge of the natural world "is extraordinary and vital to the design of the different parts of the exterior installations we will be creating.  All ages have had much to share as we discussed different possibilities for their work in clay, from the youngest ones' knowledge of insects and arachnids to the older students' awareness of how the earth is shaped by natural forces, and the specific biology of this region."

The Springwater Singers - our school's first extracurricular choir, made up of 3rd - 7th graders -- performed traditional Christmas songs at the winter bazaar on Dec. 10th.  More information soon regarding the possible continuation of choir as an after school offering.

Traffic safety along Springwater Road, specifically the stretch that our school resides on, is becoming a bigger concern as our population of families increases.  There have been a number of incidents noted, such as cars traveling over the speed limit, reckless driving, drivers passing in the no passing zone, drivers passing the families who are pulling into the school, and even drivers passing the school bus loaded with children. Fortunately there have not been any major accidents to report; however, we would like to take a proactive approach to ensure the safety of families, staff, and most importantly the students.

Our School Board and Safety Committee are already taking steps to have the stretch of Springwater Road deemed a School Zone and marked 20 mph.  It is going to take time and persistence to make this change happen, if it happens at all.  Clackamas County has stated that our school cannot have a 20 mile per hour sign posted because not enough of our students walk to school, causing the need for the traffic to slow down.   The School Zone is currently under review and will require County staff to visit the site and observe the children that do walk to school.  They will contact us once this process is completed.   However, we feel that there are enough children in route to and from school, either in vehicles or on the school bus, during the peak hours to warrant a speed limit change.  Both the Committee and the School Board will keep us updated on this issue.

The general parent/family population can take a stand in making this stretch of Springwater a safer place to travel.  The County suggested that we register a complaint with the Clackamas County Sherriff's Department.  The higher the volume of complaints received, the greater the chances of having a traffic officer patrol our area.  In short, we have to register a complaint EVERY time it happens. Families can do so three ways: E-mail Cara Seifert at  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  with your name, time, date, contact number, and a brief description of the incident; register your complaint in the Traffic Complaint Log located in Katy's office (your complaint will be forwarded to the Sherriff's Department); or go to www.clackamas.us/sherriff, click on Traffic Complaint on the left hand menu and register your complaint there. 

Our Community has the right to arrive to and from school safe and sound.   By working together we can make the necessary changes take place.  For more information you can contact Safety Committee members Elizabeth Mathis or Margaret Evers.  See below for the letter sent to the Clackamas County Commissioners concerning this issue: