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.