Wednesday

Good Morning!!
Today is Wednesday September 30, 2009.

We will have menu groups.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud.
We will have writing workshop.
We will work on "THE GEOGRAPHY OF ME!"
We will respect each other.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney!!

SLEEP UNDER IS THURSDAY 6-8:30

Friday sharing is 'something from a tree'.

Morning Mystery Word:
MSOCSAP

We are going to start wearing slippers, so that we don't wear dirty shoes in the classroom. Stay tuned...

!! Sleep Under Reminder !!

Hi all! Just a reminder that we are having our "Sleep Under" this thursday night. It is from 6:00-8:30pm and dinner will be provided for each student. You can just drop them off at 6:00 and pick them up at 8:30. This is a night for the kids, so we are asking that parents and siblings do not attend. We will have a class potluck in the near future and that will give us plenty of time for all the families to play together. Thanks, this has been a great week so far!

Tuesday

Good Morning!!

Today is Tuesday September 29, 2009.
We will have menu groups.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have music with Heidi.
We will have read aloud.
We will work with MAPS.
We will work on our mystery animals.
We will be curious.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney

Morning Mystery Word:
SMICU
MUSIC

because we have music today and we read Music Over Manhattan yesterday.

Thursday is the sleep-under, 6-8:30. There will be a talent show, so be thinking of something that you might like to share. Remember, just for the 1-2 students. Parents and siblings stay home, if possible.

Check the folders.

Sharing for Friday is "something from a tree".

Ways to Help Outside of Class

Hello everyone. We are off to a great start to the year, and looking forward to the sleep under this week, and Trillium in Bloom the following week. In addition to the wonderful on-site volunteer opportunities for our class, we also have some very important ways you can help without needing to be available during the school day.


For Whitney:
1) Cushion Washing: Whitney would really appreciate having the riser cushions washed every couple of weeks. This will not only help keep the classroom looking great, it will also help to keep the germs under control as we head into flu season and beyond. I have laundry bags ready for transporting the cushions in and out of school. The cushions can be machine washed and dried. Available weekends before the winter break:

October 9 - 11 (long weekend, you get an extra day to get it done!!)
October 24-25
November 6-8 (another 3 day weekend!)
November 21-30 (Thanksgiving – you have a whole week!!)
December 12-13

If you can choose a weekend to help with this task, please let me know.


2) Snacks: Our hungry kids are going through the snacks like crazy. If you are out doing your shopping and can pick up some extra pretzels, goldfish, or other snacks to contribute to the classroom it would be greatly appreciated. Snacks are provided out of the activity fee, so any money we can save this way can be used for field trips and other classroom supplies.


For the Whole School Community:
1) Paper: The school uses a lot of copy paper (12 -16 cases per month), and as you all know, times are tough. Stephanie (the school’s director) has asked that each class donate one case of copy paper per month. The cost of a case of copy paper is approximately $20 - $25. Please let me know what month you could donate a case. If you are unable to donate a whole case, but would like to chip in with another family to purchase a case together, please let me know that as well. It does not have to be expensive paper: Cheap paper is great, recycled paper is great, anything that will work in the big Xerox machine in the office is great!


2) Art items: Trillium in Bloom is coming up quickly (October 9 & 10). The Art Sale for this event raised over $4000 last year. This year we are in need of art donations. Any kind of quality art & craft items would be welcomed. If you or anyone you know would be willing to donate, please bring your items to the front desk as soon as possible, but no later than October 5. Donations are fully tax deductible, and all proceeds from the sale will support the school. Donation forms are available at: http://www.trilliumcharterschool.org/uploads/09-10TIBDonationForm.pdf .


If you are able to help out in the classroom during the day, please see my post below about Reading Workshop helpers!


Thanks, Leigh Ann (gantee2003(at)yahoo.com, 971-404-8833)

Classroom Help

Hello everyone. If you have been looking for a way to help out in the classroom, here is your chance! We need classroom volunteers during Reading Workshop from 10:45 – 11:45 Monday through Thursday. If you would like to help by giving students some extra opportunities for one-on-one reading time, please contact me and let me know when you would like to help. You can volunteer every week, every month, once in awhile - whatever works for you. I can be reached at 971-404-8833 or gantee2003(at)yahoo.com. Thanks so much! Leigh Ann

Friday

Good Morning!!

Today is Friday September 25, 2009.
It s Jackson's Birthday!
We will read a book up on request. (Ezra requested "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pigs")
We will have sharing (something from nature)
We will learn a new math game.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have our class meeting.
We will have a special treat!
We will be kind to each other.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney!!

Morning Mystery Word:
TBARHIDY
BIRTHDAY

Friday is a half-day, getting out at 12 noon.

Sharing Tomorrow

Just a reminder, tomorrow's sharing is something from nature. Oh, and the Morning Mystery Word today was omnivore in case you were wondering. The kids got it on their own. Pretty awesome.

Thursday

Good Morning!!

Today is Thursday Septemer 24, 20009.
We will work on our MYSTERY ANIMALS.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud.
We will have writing workshop.
We will play some MATH GAMES.
We will work on our big questions.
We will respect each other.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney!!

Morning Mystery Word:
NVIOREMO

September and October Dates for your calendar

Here are some important dates to remember for September and October, 2009.

• 9/22, 6:30-7:30. Grades 1-2 Back-to-School Parents' Night. Information and volunteer opportunities.
• 10/1, 6:00-8:30 pm. Grades 1-2 "Sleep-Under". Pizza dinner, activities+games; all kids sleep **at home** this year, breakfast the next morning before class.
• 10/2, 8:30. First Friday Coffee Klatsch. Coffee and treats in the Multi-Purpose room.
  
• 10/7, 8:00 am-? Safe Routes to School event. Walk or bike to school; equipment give-away.
• 10/9. NO SCHOOL: INSERVICE DAY.
• 10/9-10/10. Trillium in Bloom music festival, school showcase, place-making workshop, and art sale.
• 10/10, 7:00-11:00? Trillium in Bloom Bash. Adults only; music + appetizers + spirits.
• 10/23. Run for the Arts fundraiser, Patton Park. Parent volunteers needed.
  
• 10/24, 4:00-8:00? All-School Potluck and Movie Night (TFT event). Halloween costumes welcome!

IFCC Parking Lot

The IFCC and Portland Parks and Recreation has asked Trillium parents, students and staff to no longer cut through the IFCC parking lot by foot or by car.

Even when going from the Trillium front doors to Patton Park, we are going to start using the sidewalks which are on Interstate Ave. and Maryland.

Let's be good neighbors, keep the kids safe and be sure that Trillium can always use Patton Park.

Food Forms

Hi! Just a heads up that there are food allergy/issue forms in each of your folders located outside of our classroom. We would love to have these back ASAP so we can plan for food for the Sleep Under. Thanks!

Wednesday 9/23

Good Morning !!

Today is Wednesday September 23, 2009

We will share our MEDIATION COMICS.
We will read a special BOOK ABOUT BUCKETS.
We will have snack and recess.
We will continue to think about our MYSTERY ANIMALS.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud.
We will have MUSIC WITH HEIDI.
We will have writing workshop.
We can go to a DANCE PARTY.
We will work to keep our room clean.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney!

Morning Mystery Word:
MLAINA
ANIMAL

Next Thursday SLEEP UNDER!
6-8:30 - play, eat pizza, talent show, big parachute. Not for parents or siblings - just the students. Next morning (Friday) when you come to school we will make waffles and have breakfast together.

Friday's sharing is "Something from Nature"

Birthdays - Jackson's is the day after tomorrow. If you want to bring something a treat to share with the whole class to celebrate your birthday, it is really important that you talk to Whitney at least a couple days before hand.

Back To School Night Notes

Tonight was the back to school night for the 1st and 2nd grade classes. Here is a run-down of what was discussed, for those of you who weren’t able to make it.

Communication Methods:

There are several methods for communication from advisors to parents:

- Class blogs
- Student Mailboxes (please check your student’s box – right outside the classroom – for various communications from advisors and from the school).
- Conferences, which are held in November and March (for those of you new to Trillium, the students are included in the conferences)
- Report Cards, which come out in February and June
- You can always schedule additional meetings with your child’s teacher, as well
- And, of course, your liaisons!! (Susan & Leigh Ann)

Volunteers:

There was some discussion about volunteer opportunities. Your friendly neighborhood liaisons will be contacting you soon about volunteer opportunities for our class. Some options may include help with Math and Literacy in the morning, help with Reading or Writing Workshops, supervising students before school from 8:15-8:30, field trip drivers or chaperones, general help with the class such as making copies or running errands, or help keeping the classroom clean, organized, and in good repair.

All volunteers must fill out a form for a criminal background check. These forms must be turned in to the office before you may volunteer with students in any capacity, including field trip driver or chaperone. The forms are available at the front desk. *If you turned in a background check form last year, you do not need to turn in another form.*

Some help will be needed for the sleep under and the first field trip (see below).

In the meantime, if you would like to provide healthy snacks for a school staff meeting (held every Friday afternoon, about 25 people), Susan is organizing those volunteers, and I'm sure she’d love to have your help.

Sleep Under:

The Sleep Under is being held on Thursday October 1. It is from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. This event is for students only, not for whole families. However, some parent volunteers would be helpful. There will be pizza for dinner, a talent show, crafts, games, and dancing. The students will go home at 8:30, and return the next morning for breakfast at school, beginning at 8:15. Breakfast will be on-going, so you do not need to be there right at 8:15. Some volunteers for the breakfast would also be helpful.

Food Allergies:

There will be a form available to let the advisors know of any food allergies prior to the sleep under.

Writing Curriculum:

The classes are using the book About the Authors for writing focus. The students have been making books in class.

The advisors ask that we all encourage our children to write, and to use inventive spelling. This allows the students to write more without any added stress about whether or not their words are spelled correctly. The students will be given the conventional spelling for their story as part of the entire writing process, but it will come at the end, after the story is complete.

Reading Curriculum:

The classes are using the Reading Workshop curriculum. Reading at home is important, and there are forms for keeping track of what is read at home. Strong readers “read every night, and read everything in sight!” The Readinga-z.com website is an excellent resource. We will get the log-on information for Whitney’s class to you asap.

Math Curriculum:

Investigations is the curriculum foundation. The advisors handed out a sheet of various math games that can be played at home, such as playing a version of Go Fish where the object is to find two cards that add up to 10, rather than two cards that match (the game uses only cards A-9, no 10's, Jacks, Queens, or Kings). There is a focus on the fluency of working with small numbers, and on trying to attach math to real life objects, rather than abstract concepts.

The students may have mentioned their “number talks”. This is where an equation is written on the board, and the students are given tools to help them solve the equation. Each student tries to solve the problem on his or her own, and gives a private signal to the teacher when they have solved it. This way, the other students can continue solving the problem.

Other Information:

The first field trip will be to the World Forestry Center. There is no firm date, yet, so more information will be coming on that soon. Transportation will be by Max, but some parent chaperone help will be needed.

Sick Policy

Hi all! As that time of the year approaches when illnesses are more likely to strike, I wanted to refresh everyone on Trillium's sick policy.

Trillium Charter School

Illness Policy

When to keep your student home from school due to illness:

• When the child has a fever, or if you have given a child a medication to bring down a fever. Your child should be fever free and fever reducing medication free for 24 hours.
• When your child feels nauseous or has vomited within the past 24 hours.
• When your child has a sore throat.
• When your child as a persistent cough.
• When your child has yellow/green mucous coming from nasal passages.
• When your child exhibits signs of extreme fatigue and/or generally overall ill feelings.

If your child arrives at school with any of these conditions, you may be asked to take your child home immediately.

If your child exhibits any of these conditions during the school day, they will be sent home. It is imperative that we have reliable contact information for you at school.

If you are unreachable and your child needs to be sent home, we will call people on your emergency contact list.

We understand that ill children can make lives more complicated. If we learn to reduce exposure at school, hopefully it will eventually lead to less days home sick.

Tuesday

Tonight there is a Back to School Night for 1-2 parents from 6:30-7:30! Y'all come!

Good Morning!!
Today is Tuesday September 22, 2009.
We will learn morn about mediation.
We will have snack and recess.
We will each ADOPT A MYSTERY ANIMAL.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud. (Whitney is reading CATWINGS by Ursula Le Guin)
We will have writing workshop.
We will do some MATH.
We will continue to work on our big questions.
We will be kind to each other.
We...will...have...fun!!..Love,...Whitney!!!

Morning Mystery Word:
OMEOS
MOOSE (something that was read about yesterday)

Announcements:
When crossing Insterstate, only cross when there is a walk signal.
Wash hands before snack and lunch and after going to the bathroom. There has been some sickness going around.
Tonight is Back to School night at 6:30.
Friday sharing is going to be something from Nature.
Friday is a half day. School is out at 12 noon.

Monday - Week 2!

Good Morning!!

Today is Monday September 21, 2009.
We will play "Will It Float?"
We will have snack and recess.
We will talk about elective blocks.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud.
We will have writing workshop.
We will ask our big questions.
We will be curious.
We will have fun!!
Love, Whitney

Morning Mystery Word:
ALOTF

Tuesday night 6:30-7:30 is Back to School Night

Homework Reminder

Just a reminder to all students that you should bring in an item Monday from your house that you think will either float or sink. Please don't test it before bringing it in! Be prepared to explain why you think it will either float or sink. Think about things like shape, size, weight, and what its made of. Thanks!

Back To School Night

Hi everyone! Wow, what an awesome week we had. Next tuesday, the 22nd, we will have a back to school night. It will be a time for us teachers to talk about what our school year will look like and for all of you to ask questions. It will be from 6:30 to 7:30 in The Multi-Purpose Room. We will have child care in one of our classrooms, but this is more of a parent-teacher night. Once again, I can't even sum up what an absolutely wonderful week this has been. See you on Monday!

Tuesday's 1-2 Orientation

On Tuesday evening there will be an orientation for 1-2 classes.

Details to follow...Whitney, when is it? 6:30? I'm assuming we should bring the kids...?

Hope to see you there!

Susan

Friday

Good Morning!!

School is out at 12 noon today. Only snack time on Fridays, not lunch. Hope all our new families know!

Today is Friday September 18, 2009.

We will have an all SCHOOL MEETING. (Happens every Friday morning in the multi-purpose room. Making decisions for the whole school. It is usually optional - whoever is interested can go - but today everyone is going. Today is a fun meeting where everyone gets to know each other.)
We will have read aloud.
We will have snack and recess.
We will do SCIENCE.
We will have SHARING.
We will work to keep our room clean.
We will have fun!!
Love, Whitney

Morning Mystery Word:
TOAHRU
no one could guess! "Whitney, you stumped us!"

Thursday Morning

Good Morning!!
Today is Thursday September 17, 2009. (Jackson updated the calendar)
We will finish our continents.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud.
We will have writing workshop.
We will go on an adventure to Peninsula Park.
We will be kind to each other.
We will have fun!!
Love,
Whitney

Morning Mystery Word
ANRGDO
DRAGON (We are reading My Father’s Dragon)

The students expressed interest in working on books today.
Sharing for tomorrow is an artifact from your summer. You do not have to bring sharing, if you don’t want to.

Emmy’s pet is an artifact from her summer, because that’s when she got her pet. Several other students expressed interest in bringing in their pets, also. If you want to bring a pet in for sharing, a parent or someone else must talk to Whitney about it first.

At the request of several students, Whitney is going to bring in his pet hippopotamus and his pet tiger.

Whitney read Anansi The Spider to the class.

!!Field Trip Forms!!

Tomorrow we are planning on taking a walk to Peninsula Park with Beth and Brian's class in order to play some cooperative games and to practice field trip behavior/etiquette. In order to do this, we do need to have a completed field trip form for each student. I know many have filled these out (they were in the home visit packet) and handed them in. If you have not yet, please let me know tomorrow morning. I will have extra forms on hand and it will only take a moment to complete it. Thanks!

Wednesday's Morning Meeting

Note: Classrooms are open at 8:15 for playtime. You can come through the 3-12 graders waiting outside and in the lobby. Eventually we hope to have all the 1-2 playing together from 8:15-8:30 either in the multi-purpose room or in the resource room, but for now we'll be in the classrooms.


8:40 "Ok everybody, let's clean up and come to the red risers for our morning meeting!"

Today is Wednesday September 16, 2009. (Marley updates our calendar)
We will continue working on our continents.
We will talk about rights and responsibilities.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop (build reading skills).
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud (Whitney reads aloud to the class).
We will have writing workshop (building writing skills).
We will go dancing! ("Everyone is getting a little bit tired in the afternoons, so this will be something fun for all the 1-2 students to do.... In school we sometimes try things that are new to us. So I would like everyone to give dancing a try. And if you absolutely don't like it, then there will be other choices.")
We will be curious.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney

Whitney read Green Eggs and Ham and talked about trying new things.

Friday sharing theme: "artifact from you summer"

Morning Mystery Word:
ENOCA
OCEAN

We have a new student! Her name is Audrey Perez. Today was her first day at Trillium.

First Two Days Have Been Great!

Just wanted to let everyone know that our first two days at school have been absolutely wonderful. I am just so excited about how well the kids are meshing and how they are already creating a fabulous and strong community. This year is going to be great!

PS. You might want to check in with your child about having enough lunch. Many of the kids are getting really hungry in the afternoon. One extra piece of fruit or something else might help. Thanks!

Activity Fee

There is an activity fee and it is $150. This covers the field trips Whitney's class will do throughout the year, our classroom supplies and snacks for the classroom.

Last year the field trips were swimming at Mt. Scott, bowling, seeing "Hansel and Gretel" at NW Children's Theater and, of course, the spring camp out at Cape Lookout State Park. Am I forgetting one?

We need drivers to make all of these events happen, so please fill out that driver form and get it to the office, so that you can join in the fun when the time comes.

There might be another field trip added this spring (like a trip to the zoo). If the 1-2 teachers decide to add this, then we'll organize an additional fee at a later date.

1st/2nd Grade Handbook

Hi all! Here is the text from our 1st/2nd grade handbook. I will try and have ones to hand out this week. (If anyone is looking for a volunteer job, you could copy and bind them for us). Here it is:

First & Second Grade

Handbook

2009-2010

First & Second Grade Handbook

2009-10

Dear Families,

Thank you for taking the time to read through some important information that will help you, your child and us have an exciting year. Keep this handbook for future use.

Beth, Brian, and Whitney are all excited to be back at school this year. We love working as a team to provide your child with the best personal education we can. This year’s theme is “The Seven Continents.” We will be learning about our world. We will frame our studies through thematic questions about community, caring for our world, the animals that are there and more. Once again we have a winter performance night planned and an end of the year feast. You will find those dates and more information in the following pages noted below. Thanks for reading this and remember to ask any questions you might have!

Contact Information

Beth, Brian, and Whitney can be contacted by telephone or email for questions and concerns. Since drop-off and pick-up time are usually busy, please feel free to call or set up an appointment if you need a longer time to chat.

Beth Molenkamp 503.706.6742 email: beth@trilliumcharterschool.org

Blog: http://bethk-1-2.blogspot.com

Brian Porter 541-941-0515 email: brian@trilliumcharterschool.org

Blog: http://briansclasstrillium.blogspot.com

Whitney Sweet 503-975-2246 email: whitney@trilliumcharterschool.org

Blog: http://whitneysclass.blogspot.com

Thank you for your dedication to our students and our school. We look forward to working with you.

*Beth, Brian, and Whitney

Monday through Thrusday Schedule

Our typical schedule for the beginning of the year looks as follows, things change as the year progresses and special topics are developed and classes planned. Note that there is a different schedule for Fridays as Friday dismissal is at noon.

Monday through Thursday

8:30 Class begins – Please be on time – Check in, Morning Brain Teasers, Morning Message, calendar, and announcements.

9:00-10:05 Math and Literacy Menus

10:05-10:20 Snack

10:20-10:45 Recess

10:45-11:45 Reading Workshop

11:45-12:45 Lunch – lunch recess

12:45–1:55 Writing Workshop

1:45-3:15 Monday & Wednesday Art Block

Tuesday & Thursday Thematic Instruction & ILP Time

3:15 Dismissal – Please be on time.

Friday Schedule

8:30 Class begins – Please be on time – Check in, Morning Brain Teasers, Morning Message, calendar, and announcements.

8:45-9:15 Buddies, story, group activity, or presentations

9:15-9:45 Class meeting

9:45-10:00 Sharing

10:00-10:10 Snack

10:10-10:30 Recess

10:30-11:30 Science or Cooking Friday

11:30-11:45 Clean up

11:45-12:00 Class sharing time

12:00 Dismissal - Please be on time

Supplies

We are including a supply fee in the activity fees this year. You do not need to bring in regular supplies. We may ask for special items to be brought during projects, but they should be things you find around the house.

First Week Things to Bring:

• Extra clothes in a Marked Zip-loc bag (Mark with child’s name on clothes)
• Emergency Contact Information, and all other paperwork.
• Activity fee and other forms from website
• Old T-shirt to be used as a paint shirt by the class community
• Slippers for in-class wearing
• Leak proof water bottle

Sharing

We love to be able to give the opportunity for all students to share each week. In order to make sharing an interesting and valuable part of our day, each class will have a sharing schedule that will be posted in the class. Sharing is not a time to share toys one may own. DO NOT SEND TOYS. We will have a schedule with a theme for sharing. Please make sure the item or story they share is related to the topic for the week. Check newsletters or calendars for the current themes.

Volunteers

We are looking forward to a year of partnering with all of the adults in the lives of our students. We hope to be able to learn from your experience with your child so that together we can make his/her experience at Trillium a great one. We have a wide range of opportunities to volunteer in and out of the classroom. Please sign up with your child’s teacher to help or talk to the classroom liaison to help. Each class needs volunteers for a few ongoing projects:

• Photographer – Takes pictures on field trips, during presentations and project nights. Teachers are frequently too busy to do this, but we really like the pictures. Print those out for us or email them to us for use in newsletter or blogs.

• Dictation – Either takes dictation from students in class or types up recorded dictation that students have made in class.
• Portfolio Assistant – Scans and assists in getting work into electronic portfolio system.
• Reading Group Facilitators – Help work with small groups of students in reading groups with guided, leveled oral reading.
• Menu Time/Project Time Helper – Help with math and literacy menus so that children have adult support in their small group learning.
• Before School, Lunch and Recess Duty Helpers – Help assure safety of children during these times and supervise games.
• Project helpers – Help students work on ILP projects.

Please contact your child’s teacher if you would be willing to work on one of these projects. Your help is incredibly appreciated.

Trillium and PPS have a policy to help ensure the safety of our children and community. If you are planning to help in any way that gives you access to other people’s children we are required to complete a criminal background check. Those forms are available through the school and help us all to feel better about who is working with our kids. Thanks for your cooperation in completing these quickly so that we can all be involved.

When we go on field trips and you choose to chaperone, remember you are there to help and it is okay to reinforce positive behaviors of children as well as remind them of appropriate limits. Check with any of us if you have questions. Remember that if you volunteer to chaperone we are expecting that you make that your priority and that you take care of all children in your charge just as carefully as you would your own.

While we generally have an open door policy when it comes to parent involvement in the classroom, we are requesting that for the first two weeks of school parent volunteer time be limited to work outside the classroom. We would like for the first two weeks of school to give the students an opportunity to form a tight-knit community with one another and allow us to form our own relationships with the children. We are excited to welcome parents in the classroom beginning with our third week of school, September 21^st.

If you have time before the school year begins we would really appreciate volunteers for all sorts of reasons. Thanks, in advance, for your help.

Parent Meeting and Project Nights

We will have a back to school parent meeting night on Tues, Sept. 22^nd. We have two project nights, Dec. 11^th and June 4^th. The parent meeting nights are for parents only. We will focus on classroom support and we will answer questions you have. Project nights are for sharing work!

Communication

All newsletters and important class and school information will be distributed through three avenues: the home files located in/outside each classroom, through electronic emails, and on our blog through the main Trillium Website. Please check your file daily to keep up with all of the new and exciting activities in the primary classes and at Trillium. Talk to your child’s teacher if your family needs more than one home file. Make sure we have the correct email information for your family.

Recess, Park and Garden Activities

We would love to be able to go outside daily throughout the year to play, work in the Trillium garden and play at the park. Please send your child to school with appropriate outerwear/raingear for the beautiful wet Oregon days.

Birthdays

We would love to celebrate your child’s birthday in class. Students with summer birthdays can celebrate their birthday on their half birthday or at another time that we can arrange during the year. Please let us know in advance if you are planning on bringing a snack at 10:00 for the class. Snacks should be healthy and not sugar laden. Advance notice is necessary so we can address food allergies.

SleepUnder

We have a SleepUnder on October 1^st, beginning at 6:00 with pizza dinner and fun activities and games to be enjoyed by all. Parents are invited to come and play and stay if they want or leave their children in our care for the evening. Children should be picked up by 8:30 and go home to sleep and return for a group breakfast with us the next morning. It will be a lot of safe fun for all.

Campout

We will be having a primary campout on May 20^th & 21^st. We will go to Cape Lookout State Park at the Oregon Coast, 12 miles southwest of Tillamook. We leave in the morning of the first day and return on the second at about 3:00. A parent is strongly encouraged to come, as this is a community activity and a chance to meet the community members and welcome new families. Between the classes there are 13 yurts. Each yurt sleeps a maximum of 8 people. Tent sites are also reserved. If you are planning to bring a whole family you might want to make your own campsite reservations since we will not have room for everyone’s families. The cost of the campout and food is included in your child’s activity fee for your child; any additional family members attending will need to pay an additional fee of $25.00 or $10.00 for those 4 or younger.

Snack

We encourage you to pack a healthful snack for your child each day. We will have basic snacks available, but we have found that the children prefer their own snacks better. Please make it something nutritious and fast to eat with no preparation needed.

Lunch

Lunch is eaten in the classrooms. Lunch should be sent with your child daily or hot lunch may be purchased. Please try not to send food that your child cannot prepare by her/himself. Please remember to send utensils and food that does not require refrigeration or heating. School lunches are available this year from Organic Fresh Fingers. The cost is $3.00. These lunches are also available at free and reduced cost. Please complete the PPS form for eligibility to receive a free or reduced lunch. Even if your child chooses to bring their own lunch, if you qualify for free lunch please complete the form as it qualifies Trillium for additional funding for special programs. Check the Trillium website, http://www.trilliumcharterschool.org/index.php?page=home-visit-packets , for the link.

Field Trips

We will be planning our field trips differently this year. We are using an inquiry based approach to our thematic lessons and we will let the children have input and planning for our field trips. We have some dates set already, as you can see below, but many will be planned during the year as part of the curriculum. We will notify you two weeks in advance to plan for them. We will try to use public transportation as much as possible. Some of the ideas we have so far are: Tears of Joy Puppet Theater, NW Children’s theater, Art museums, OMSI, Zoo, Washington park, art schools, Chinese Garden and ethnic restaurants. We need chaperones for all of these field trips. Date Location

Sept. 22^nd Back to school Parent Meeting

Oct 1^st SleepUnder- Games & Fun!

6:00 to 8:30

Oct 2^nd Group Breakfast

Mid October Forestry Center

Dec. 11 Performance Night

Dec. 14 -17 Intensives

Jan. 29^th All-School Project Night

Feb. 4 Little One Inch, TOJ Puppets

April 7 Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Later April Chinese Garden

*May 20/21 Campout, Cape Lookout

June 4 World’s Fair Project Night - FEAST! 5:30 – 8:00

June 7-10 Intensives

Activity Fee

There is an activity fee that is all-inclusive this year. It covers all field trips, a campout, supplies and cooking activities and art fees for your child. The cost is $150.00. We should not have to ask for any additional money for our class this year. The only other charge could be an intensive your child chooses. Please make the arrangements for payment or work out a payment schedule with the front office. Please give all payments to your child’s teacher. If you qualify for free and reduced lunch you can receive a scholarship from TFT by filling out the scholarship request form in the home visit packet. You must fill out the scholarship form however. TFT cannot access free and reduced lunch information so you must request the scholarship. These fees make field trips possible. Additional siblings or family members that attend must be paid for separately and in advance.

TFT

TFT or Together For Trillium is a parent organization that supports the school. It sponsors Trillium in Bloom various social activities to enrich the Trillium community. Please consider participating and or attending the Potluck, skating party, swimming party, and Auction. It’s your chance to help the school, be involved and meet new friends.

Conflict Resolution

We use peer mediations as a form of nonviolent conflict resolution at Trillium. We want to give students the tools to solve their own problems. They do so with the support of their teacher and other staff. Please familiarize yourself and your child with our constitution bill of rights and responsibilities. This serves as a foundation for our mediation process and how we frame our responsibilities as members of the community. Mediations are not punitive, but rather a way to fully understand and solve issues.

If the same behavior keeps occurring over and over, then the issue can be taken to Judicial Committee. This is a group of students who ask questions and help to come up with solutions to the ongoing issue. It is much like a multi-mediator mediation. Once again, the goal is to solve issues nonviolently and in a way that works for all members involved. If you have questions about this process, please ask. Please support your child in developing nonviolent conflict resolution skills.

How Do You Know?

How to find things out at Trillium
August 13, 2009

 Check the school’s website frequently for calendar and school information
http://www.trilliumcharterschool.org. The website is kept up-to-date and is
easy to navigate.
 Join the parent listserv for official announcements. Go to the following
website and follow the instructions for subscribing:
http://lists.trilliumcharterschool.org/mailman/listinfo/trillium-parent.
 Ask teachers at school, or via email:
teacherfirstname@trilliumcharterschool.org.
 Check out teachers’ blogs—go to the website for links, e.g.,
http://www.trilliumcharterschool.org/index.php?page=3---4---5 for the
middle school blog links.
 Talk to your Classroom Liaison.
 Check the white board calendar and bulletin boards in the front lobby area.
 Flyers and newsletters are often put in take-home folders (in the lower
school) or handed to students in the upper school. The school newsletter is
also posted on the website each month.
 Attend monthly TFT (Together for Trillium, our answer to the PTA)
meetings (or just come when you can!): check the calendar on the website
for dates & times.
 Check at the front desk.
 Talk to a Board member—any of them would be happy to answer
questions—check the website for their information:
http://www.trilliumcharterschool.org/index.php?page=board-bios. If you
want to be more involved in overall school issues, attend a Board meeting
and see where you can help!
 Join the "TrilliumCommunityDiscussion" listserv for networking, business
promotion, resource sharing and discussion. It does not get a huge amount of
traffic but can be a great way to share information with other families. Go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TrilliumCommunityDiscussion and click on
the "join this group" button toward the top of the page.

Vaccines

A new Trillium parent asked me if she needed to have her child's vaccine information to the office. I checked with Ramona and she said that this information is requested by the state in the middle of the school year. So if information is needed, she said that you will be contacted around February.

Trillium Potluck Dinner and Movie Night

Saturday October 24th will be a Potluck and Movie night at Trillium, hosted by TFT (Together For Trillium - our version of PTA).

I'll pass on details as it is announced.

Susan

In caps are the things that are special about today...

We will begin CREATING OUR OWN CONTINENTS (Whitney's will be called Whitlandia).
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop (when the class focuses on learning to read - books on shelf organized by four different levels).
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud (when Whitney reads aloud to the class).
We will have writing workshop.
We will learn about MEDIATION (supposed to do yesterday but ran out of time).
We will play an OUTSIDE GAME (it gets hot in the classroom in the afternoon, so good to get fresh air).
We will respect each other.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney

Morning Mystery Word:
FACRAI
AFRICA (Gigi's favorite continent)


Announcements:

Reminder: Sharing on Friday will be 'Artifact from your summer'. You don't have to bring in anything. It is optional.

Opio's sister is at preschool. Joshua's sister too.

First Day of School!!

Parents, please consider coming to any part of the school day to see what happens and assist Whitney. It really make a difference to the kids to have adult help in the class.

Here is the schedule for the day - found on the white board every day.

The day starts with a class meeting, sharing the following.

We will introduce ourselves.
We will explore our classrooms and our school.
We will have snack and recess.
We will have reading workshop.
We will have lunch and recess.
We will have read aloud.
We will talk about mediation.
We will learn about Warm Fuzzies.
We will begin talking about continents.
We will be very curious.
We will have fun!! Love, Whitney

Morning Mysetery Word:
LMITLURI
TRILLIUM


Every Fridays we have sharing time. This Friday the theme will be 'an artifact from your summer'. What is an artifact? An item from your summer. Something that might tell us a lot about your summer. Some fun questions from the crew: "Can I share my pet?" "Can I bring something from another summer?"

Introductions: We are going to go around and say our name and then we are going to say an adjective. What is an adjective? Yes, it is a describing word! Is sticky a describing word? So when we say our name then pick an adjective that starts with the first letter of your name and describes you and then act that out.

Maybe too tough...so let's go around say your name and your age.

Risers rule - no feet on the pillows so that we can keep them clean. Don't jump off the back. Don't climb through the cave - the holes in the risers. We will have time today for everyone to climb through and then we are going to agree to not climb through for the rest of the year.

Tune in tomorrow!

Did you know?

There are a series of forms that need to be completed and returned to the office at the beginning of the school year. You probably did many of these last year. They need to be filled out every year.

To download the forms go to:

http://www.trilliumcharterschool.org/index.php?page=home-visit-packets


See you in the morning!
Susan Maginn
mother of Grace Campbell

Monday Morning

Hi all! I can't believe our first day is just around the corner! I just wanted to let everyone know about a change we will be making for our mornings. As you know, the school doors open at 8:15am and traditionally the students wait in the common area until 8:30am when the classrooms open. This year we will have the students meet from 8:15am to 8:30am in the new resource or mulit-purpose room during that time for some group activities. Unfortunately, neither space will be open on Monday, so instead those activities will be going on in Beth's room for those who arrive before 8:30. If you could, please have your student drop off their lunch and other items in our classroom before going to Beth's. When you walk into our room you will be able to find a cubby with your student's name on it just to the right. Thanks so much and I can't wait!