Sunday, April 23, 2006

End of Q3 - Conferences, Talent Show, Fundraiser, and more

Happy Spring,

We just finished up third quarter on Friday, April 21. This Monday starts Q4 with a modified schedule to accommodate for state testing. All freshmen and those sophomores who have not yet passed the reading or math portions of the test are required to take it. Others are encouraged to do so as well, as it provides a way to track student progress. The week's schedule should have already come home with your student. But, if for some reason, it did not, I have included it at the end of this post.

Teachers are compiling grades and writing narratives for Q3 now. Grades will be sent out Monday, May 1.

End of the quarter, and getting to be the end of the year, means parent-student-teacher conference time. I am scheduling conferences after school Tuesday the 2nd, Thursday the 4th, and Friday the 5th. Appointment times are on the half-hour from 2:30-4:00 Tuesday-Thursday and 12:30-4:00 on Friday. I am also available most mornings before school at 7 and 7:30. Please email me at gadbow@gmail.com to sign up for an appointment.

The Trillium Talent Show is coming up Saturday, April 29 from 6:30 to 8:30. Come see students and staff dazzle and amaze!

Get up your appetite for a hearty lunch in the afternoon before the Talent Show. Stop by Wild Oats on NE Fremont and 15th between 12 and 4 to get a custom made burrito and a soda for only $5. The Burrito Feed is a fundraiser for the high school. Wild Oats provides all of the staff and the yummy food and we get to keep all the money! Such a deal. Please bring hungry friends and family to fill up on tasty food and support Trillium at the same time. We will be using the money for the Spring Campout.

The annual Trillium Auction is coming up Saturday May 13th. Please mark your calendars and look for ticket sales coming soon

The Spring Camp Out is a two night adventure at Cape Lookout this year from Wednesday May 24- Friday May 26. Your student should have brought home a form asking for drivers and chaperones for this event, as well as requesting a $20 contribution for each student or requesting a scholarship. We were not able to find enough parent drivers for the fall campout and subsequently hired a bus to take us. We have not yet recouped those costs, but will still be able to make the spring campout a reality for all Trillium high school students with your support.

High School graduation will be held on Saturday, June 3rd at Norse Hall at NE 11th and Couch. Graduation announcements have been ordered and will be available the first week of May. Announcements will cost $1 each.


This Thursday is All School Service Day. Each student and staff, and many parents, will be volunteering time during the school day to work at different sites around Portland. Courageously orchestrated by our Americorps volunteer Rachael, students selected their top three choices of volunteer locations last week. Students should arrive at school at the 8:30 and will be back at school by 12:30.

This Friday, the high school students will participate in a workshop facilitated by Portland State University faculty entitled "Local Justice: Social Justice Education for Adolescents." Trillium hosted the workshop last year and we are pleased to be able to do so again this year. The workshop will focus on identifying and understanding forms of oppression and challenge students to reflect upon different types of diversity.

This week's (April 24-28) modified schedule looks like this:
Monday: high schoolers test from 12:30-2:10. HS students are not required to come to school in the morning.
Tuesday: same as Monday.
Wednesday: All Q4 classes, both A and B days will run this day. Each class will only be about 40 minutes.
Thursday: All School Service Day!
Friday: PSU facilitated workshop: Local Justice: Social Justice Education for Adolescents

It's a busy spring and I hope it finds you well. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. And don't forget to sign up for conferences!

Ken

Friday, April 07, 2006

Friday Workshops

This Friday, April 19th, the high school is hosting three morning workshops:
  • Stencil Cutting with Guest Artist - Arranged by Nick Sherbo
  • Bicycle Chopper Building 2 with Ken
  • Cigar-box guitar building and jugband extravaganza with Solomon

Advanced Spanish Interview Assignment

The following assignment was handed out to students prior to Spring Break in order to allow them time to conduct interviews on their own, if they chose to do so. Interviewees will be provided this Thursday, April 13 during class for those wishing to conduct their interviews here at school. Tuesday's class will be spent preparing for the interview sessions.

La entrevista

Español Avanzado

Proyecto final

23 de marzo de 2006

For the final project of quarter 3 in advanced Spanish, each student is expected to interview a native Spanish speaker and produce a brief essay about his or her life entirely in Spanish. Students wishing to conduct an interview with a native speaker of their own choosing outside of class are encouraged to do so. Or, students may choose to take part in the group interview process that will occur the web after spring break, on Thursday, April 13. These in-class interviews will take place in groups of 3 to 4 students. Our guest native speakers will include Trillium´s two Spanish speaking exchange students, Claudia and Patricia, as well as a couple of friends of Ken´s from Ecuador and México.

Iraq War Class - Essay Assignment Rubric

Below is the rubric we will be using to evaluate the final papers for the Iraq War Class:

Scoring Rubric Name ___________________________

Final Paper Assignment

The US-Iraq Conflict

Third Quarter 2005/6

Points Possible: 200

Comment Abbreviations – Excellent (E), Adequate (A), Needs improvement (NI), Not Covered (NC), Unclear (UC).

Ideas and Content

_____ Paper makes a claim or argument/ Paper contains a thesis statement.

______ Paper topic is relevant to the material presented in class.

______ Paper contains sufficient evidence to defend thesis/argument.

_____ Paper uses specific examples to illustrate points.

Comments:

Clarity and Organization

_____ Paper is well organized with an introduction, a body, transitions and a conclusion.

_____ Paper is clearly written and follows a logical order.

_____ Paper is turned in on time.

Comments:

Grammar and Punctuation

_____ Paper uses proper punctuation.

_____ Spelling is correct throughout.

Comments:

Format

______ Paper includes a bibliography of at least 3 sources for freshmen/sophomores or 5

sources for juniors/seniors.

______ Bibliography consists of a variety of reliable resources.

______ Paper is of appropriate length (5 pages for freshmen/sophomores, 7 pages for

juniors/seniors.)

______ Paper is typed and double-spaced in 12-point font with one-inch margins.

______ All sources are properly cited.

Comments:

Iraq War Class - Essay Assignment

Below is the final essay assignment for the High School Iraq War Class. The paper is due this Monday, April 8, 2006. The rubric that will be used to evaluate the essays can be found in a seperate post.

US Conflict in Iraq
Research Paper
Trillium Charter School Q3 2005/6
20% of course grade

Outline Due: Monday, March 20 (5%).

Paper Due: Monday, April 10 (15%).

This assignment is designed to allow the student to investigate more fully one of the issues we have touched upon in the course thus far. Freshman and sophomore students are to research and write a 5-page, double-spaced paper. Juniors and seniors are to research and write a 7-page, double-spaced paper. Possible topics are discussed below.

This writing assignment must demonstrate depth of research, and include a bibliography of at least 3 sources for freshmen and sophomores, and at least 5 sources for juniors and seniors. The paper must be typed, in 12 point font, with one inch margins, and include a bibliography. Juniors and seniors must create a standardized bibliography in APA style.

Please note that there are two due dates above. An outline is due on Monday, March 20th and must include a topic idea, thesis statement, and outline of supporting ideas for the paper. The outline is worth 25% of the grade for the project. A paper The final project is due immediately after spring break, Monday April 10th. This paper is considered to be a history paper, and as such, should be written as an argument. The paper should defend a central claim, or thesis, rather than simply tell a story.

Students may choose to research and write upon any topic relevant to our discussions in the class, with approval from the instructor. Some possible topics may include:

        • Headscarf bans in Turkey and elsewhere.
        • Gulf War Syndrome
        • Habeas Corpus
        • Prisons at Guantanamo
        • Russian-Afghan War
        • The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan (The Northern Alliance, The Mujahedin)
        • Ethnic separations in the Middle East (Hazara versus Pashtun, for example.)

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Spring Break!

Happy Spring Break, and welcome at long last to Ken's blogspot. Hopefully, as I get the hang of this thing, this spot will serve as a place where students and parents can get regular updates on class and school activities.