Reminder: Performance Night

Just a reminder that we are having our performance night/Greek potluck tomorrow (May 28th) at 5:30 in the playground area.  This is going to be a blast!

Wow, Our Kids Are Troopers

Just wanted to say that today was a really big day for our kids.  We started out with All School Service Day which saw students going as far as Sauvie's Island to get involved in community service.  They were working hard in this hot, hot weather.  Then we ended the day with our Olympic Games in the park.  Students were running and throwing and really going for it.  I for one was exhausted at the end of the day.  I can't believe how hard they worked all day and always had big smiles on their faces.  I am so proud of their enthusiasm and work ethic!

Thank You Drivers!!

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who was able to help drive students over the last two days.  I know they were both treks but it means so much to the kids.  They had such a blast and I just loved seeing the joy in their eyes and witnessing them come together as the year winds down.  Thanks again, it was a blast!

What is special about today?
Music with Heidi and Swimming at Mt Scott!


Today is Wed May 27, 2009.
We will have performance groups (final days of practicing before Friday's big night!)
We will have snack and recess.
We will have music with Heidi.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will go swimming at Mt. Scott.
We will work to keep our room clean.

"We...will...have...fun!...Love,...Whitney!"

Announcements:
Swimming safety
Bring a couple dollars (if you can) to Ramona to help with this year's yearbook.
Joshua's little brother was born! His name is Zachary.

Word of the day:
MWISNGMI

Swimming!

Swimming Tomorrow

Just a reminder that we will be going swimming tomorrow (Wed. May 27th).  Please have your student come to school with a bathing suit and swimming suit.  Also, we are still in need of drivers.  Thanks!

Morning Message - 5/26

Good Morning!!
Today is Tuesday May 26th 2009.
We will have performance groups.
1 o'clockers will have music with Heidi.
We well have snack and recess.
3 o'clockers will have garden with Arianne.
1 o'clockers will work on their Greek projects.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will go roller skating
We will respect each other.
We will have fun!!

Morning Mystery Word: MILCOSYP
Solved: Olympics

Announcements:
We still need more drivers for our swimming trip tomorrow!
13 days of school left!

A Few Reminders For Tuesday

All four K-1-2 classes will be going to Oaks Park on Tuesday for some roller skating and (modified) Greek chariot races.  I just wanted to update everyone on a few things:

1).  There was talk of asking parents to pay a fee for this event.  As we all know, budgets are getting rather tight.  Luckily, we've been able to save enough in our team budget so that we can cover all of it.  No need to send money with your child.

2).  We're still short on drivers.  A few parents (many with younger children) have told me that they can drive if we are in  a bind.  But if you think you can drive and haven't signed up, please e-mail me this weekend to let me know.

3).  Please make sure that your child wears/brings a pair of socks on Tuesday.  We will try to have some extras on hand, but the more students who have socks the better.

4).  We will be leaving Trillium at 12:30 and returning at 3:00.  This means that all Kindergartners will be staying the full day.

Thanks so much.  This is going to be a really, really exciting week!

Class Meetings

Every Friday Whitney's class has a class meeting.

The other day Whitney and I got to talk about what the class meeting is all about. He told me that it is similar to the all school meeting, but it is an 'all class' meeting. The kids get a chance to talk about how school is going, what excites them or concern them about their class.

The class meeting itself has a clear structure. Proposals are made before Friday. Then on Friday morning the class elects a moderator for the class meeting. Proposals are presented by the person who created it and the voted on by the whole class. Whitney has one vote like everyone else.

Whitney told me this great story about how early in the year Joshua made a proposal for Wednesday to be Candy Day in Whitney's class. There were ideas discussed about how much money would be spent on candy and how much time of their class time would be devoted to the eating and sharing of candy. The kids asked great questions about the impact of such an idea on their families and on the class. After a whole lot of discussion and voting, it was resolved (by the kids!) that the Candy Day was not right for Whitney's class.

The class meeting would be a great way to get a sense of how the democratic education model works at Trillium on a classroom level. You are welcome to attend the class meetings and watch it unfold.

Good Morning!!!

Today is Thursday May 21, 2009

We will have performance groups.
We will have snack and recess.
We will continue our Greek projects.
We will have lunch and play in the sun.
We will what happens with Charlie and Mr. Wonka (only one child is left).
We will have reading workshop in the park!
We will have Greek activities.
We will have ILP time.
We will will respect each other.

Everyone: "WE...WILL...HAVE...FUN!!...LOVE...WHITNEY!!"


Mystery Word:

LOLPOA

Apollo


Announcements:

• Next week...

Monday: No school for Memorial Day
Tuesday: Roller skating at Oaks Park (Drivers Needed...see Whitney's post)
Wednesday: Swimming at Mt. Scott (Drivers Needed...see Whitney's post)
Thursday: Field Day (location TBA) and all school service day
Polly is meeting with volunteers at 8:30am in the lobby on Thursday
Friday: Performance Night 6pm-8:30.
Wearing Greek clothing, performing Greek plays, eating Greek food!

• Friday's Performance Night will also be a Potluck Dinner with a Greek theme. There are simple Greek recipes on Beth and Whitney's doors.

Yesterday's Question found an answer!

Question: How did ancient Greeks eat?
Answer: With their hands, spoons and knives. But no forks!

Today's Question is from Josh:
How did the ancient Greeks come up with their mythology?

Some answers:
Jackson: Based on the constellations.
Natalie: They liked making up stories.
Bella: They needed to believe in something.
Rose: They wanted to be blessed because it was a hard time for them.

Field Trip Drivers Needed!

As many of you know, we have two field trips planned for next week. Tuesday to Oaks Park for some skating/chariot races and Wednesday to Mt. Scott for an afternoon of swimming. So far, we don't have any drivers signed up. If you think you can help out, please let me know by signing up outside the classroom. This is going to be an absolute blast for the kids!

Kenton Park today?

I'm going to Kenton Park today after school. They have a new water playground. All are welcome!

Good Morning! Today is Tuesday May 20, 2009!

Good Morning!!!

Today is Tuesday May 20, 2009

We will have performance groups.
We will have snack and recess.
We will continue our Greek projects.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will read more "Charlie" (and the chocolate factory).
We will have reading workshop.
We will write a story together.
We will have elective blocks.
We will will be kind to each other.

Everyone: "WE...WILL...HAVE...FUN!!...LOVE...WHITNEY!!"


Mystery Word:

OSIOPNDE

Poseidon


Announcements:

• Next week...

Tuesday: Roller skating at Oaks Park
Wednesday: Swimming at Mt. Scott
Thursday: Field Day (location TBA) and all school service day.
Friday: Performance Night 6pm-8:30.
Wearing Greek clothing, performing Greek plays, eating Greek food!

• Friday's Performance Night will also be a Potluck Dinner with a Greek theme. There are simple Greek recipes on Beth and Whitney's doors.
• Monday May 25th is Memorial Day. No school.
• 16 more school days till summer!
• June 6 at 2pm is the Trillium graduation ceremony at PCC.

Everyone: "Good Morning!"

Today is Tuesday May 19, 2009
Two of our friends will be shadowing today. (Natalie and Taswell - 2nd graders - will be visiting Rob's class where they will be in the fall.)
We will have performance groups.
We will have snack and recess.
3 o'clockers will have garden.
1 o'clockers will work on their Greek projects.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will read aloud.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have afternoon Greek activities. (Mask making, building columns, practicing for the Greek Olympics with the shot put.)
We will have ILP (individual learning plan) time.
We will work to keep our room clean.

Everyone: "We will have fun!! Love, Whitney"



Announcements:

• Everything in lost and found will be donated tomorrow 5/20.
• Clean your drawer. They look even worse today than they did yesterday.
• Marker supply is low. If you have extra markers at home, bring them to help us get to the end of the year.

Favorite question of the morning:

"Whitney, why does it smell in here?"
Whitney: "Sometimes it gets smelly..."

Morning message, new projects, field trips, performance night

See below for info on today's schedule, upcoming field trips, K12 performance night and other announcements.

Today's schedule

All together, sitting on the red stage at 8:45: "Good Morning!"

one kid at a time is called on to read each line...

Today is Monday May 18, 2009. ('If today is Monday, what was yesterday? What is tomorrow?')

We will have our performance groups.
We will have snack and recess.
We will work on our Greek projects. (2 new projects. See below.)
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud. (continuing with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
We will have reading workshop.
We will have elective blocks.
We will respect each other.

All together: We will have fun!! Love, Whitney


Morning Mystery Word: VOSIEL
hint: it is from Friday's myth...Athena gave a gift of...OLIVES!


Greek Projects

Finishing up...
Billy's god and goddess trading cards
Brian's time line projects
Beth's weaving project
Whitney's Trojan horses

New projects starting today...
Brian making life sized Roman columns
Beth making Greek clothing for all K12 kids for the K12 performance night.

Performance Night
K12 performance night will be May 29th from 6-8:30

Field Trips Next Week - Tues, Wed, Thurs starting at 12:30 (for kindergartners too)
Tues - roller skating at Oaks Park
Wed - swimming at Mt. Scott
Thurs - Greek Olympic games (park TBA)

Announcements

• K12 newsletter is ready. Available outside classroom.
• Whitney asked everyone to clean their drawers. They are looking pretty cluttered.
• Whitney asked everyone to take their invention projects home.

Welcome to Whitney's!

Hi, this is Susan Maginn - mother of kindergartner Grace Campbell.

I'm going to be working with Whitney to share some of the amazing stuff that is happening in his classroom with parents by way of this blog.

Whitney's class starts their day with a Morning Message - a time of talking about what is going to happen that day and in the week ahead. As of Monday 5/18, we'll start getting the Morning Message on this blog, so you'll know what is happening each day. We'll do our best to do this most days of the week.

My hope is that as parents learn more about what is happening in the class, we can know what kinds of questions to ask when our kids are at home. We might even be inspired to volunteer to assist Whitney in activities that are exciting to us.

I hope you will subscribe to this blog. That way every time there is a update about Whitney's class, you will know about it. To subscribe, click on "Posts" in the upper-right corner of the page and choose your feed reader. You can also follow all the comments by clicking on "All Comments" and choosing your feed reader. You can also become a follower of the blog by clicking on the "Follow" link on the sidebar.