Welcome to the new year!

August 30, 2010

Dear Students and Families,

Happy shorter days of summer to you. I hope this letter finds each of you in good spirits, enjoying time with family and friends and looking forward to the school year.

I am pleased and honored to be serving as your Advisor. For those of you new to high school at Trillium, I offer a special welcome. I am here throughout your High School experience to offer support and guidance for all things academic and personal. As a group, advising embodies the heart of Trillium's democratic community - small, committed groups working through issues and ideas to nurture the growth of our school. But, like all families, we will sometimes be at odds with one another. The tools of peaceful conflict resolution, mediation, and one on one conferencing empower us to address problems, reflect on ourselves, deepen our understanding of each other, and develop our communication skills.

Each year traditionally begins with an Advisor-student-parent conference. We discuss your academic path, review your transcript and assess your progress towards meeting graduation requirements. We also discuss learning interests and goals and collaboratively sign-up for a Semester 1 schedule designed to best meet your needs.

Advisors do home visits only for students who are new to the Advising group, or to whose homes I have not yet had the chance to visit. Returning 10-12th graders and parents whose homes I have visited in the past will have a scheduled conference in the classroom.

You may sign up for a one-hour classroom conference:
Tuesday, September 7th from 7:00 AM til 1:00 PM
Wednesday, September 8th from 2:00 PM til 7:30 PM.

You may sign up for a one-hour home visit:
Thursday, September 9th from 9:30 AM til 5:00 PM.
Friday, September 8th from 8:00 AM til 11:00 AM.
Saturday, September 9th from 9:30 til 11:30 AM.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience so we can work out a time that best meets your needs. If I have your correct email address, you should have received an email inviting you to sign up online through a Google spreadsheet. This is the simplest way for me to manage the schedule. You may also find a link to it on my blog at http://ken-trillium.blogspot.com/.

Please note that the first day of school is Monday, September 13th. Class starts at 8:30am. Students are to report directly to Advising rooms.

Trillium continues to offer an enriching academic experience in the midst of the budget stress all schools are experiencing. Significant cuts have been made to teaching budgets which have been used for the purchasing of books, curriculum, project supplies, basic classroom supplies, and room improvement. As teachers do with less, we are asking students and families to shoulder greater responsibilities in supporting the classroom. To assist in this planning I have written two lists below. One is what I have seen, over the years, as the basic school supplies students use the most. Also, I have included a classroom “wish list” that includes the supplies that support the creative hands-on projects and art that enrich your students' learning and that I have, in the past, purchased from my budget to stock the “art boxes” in the room. You will also notice that there are some food items on the list. I like to keep some staples in the class. Fed students are better learners than hungry students. Please do not feel pressure to purchase these “wish list” items, but do look around your house, keep an eye on yard sales, pick up something extra at a craft shop, or take a family trip to SCRAP to see if you can make a great score to pass on to our classroom.

I look forward to meeting with each of you soon to discuss all of the things that are going to make next year one of tremendous creativity, community, growth, and learning. Enjoy the last days of summer.

Peace.

Ken Gadbow

Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org,
503-348-9849 (mobile)
http://ken-trillium.blogspot.com


School supplies High School students commonly use
• a lot of pencils and a good eraser
• a couple of good pens, especially black ink
• college-ruled lined notebook paper
• black sharpies
• if you often choose visual projects, a set of high quality color art pencils or markers
• highlighters and/or sticky-notes to support reading strategies and research
• a water bottle 
• a personal organization system for classes: notebooks/binder/folders... something that works for you and keeps each classes' work separate and organized
• a planner notebook – ones with calendars are the most useful (store-bought, hand-made, SOMETHING!)
• a personal journal or notebook to capture ideas and expression
• a personal library card free of fines

Project Wish-List for our classroom
• Colored paper.
• Tape: scotch tape, blue masking tape, duct tape.
• Felt squares of all colors.
• Fabric scraps of all varieties.
• Needles and thread.
• Poster board and large paper.
• Surfaces to paint on... canvas, wood, recycled materials, etc....
• Art paper- Big sketch books, watercolor, charcoal, etc....
• Fabric scraps, screen printed patches, needles, thread.... all sewing stuff
• Black Sharpies of fine and wide tips
• Tissues.

• On going:
 Natural peanut butter
 Whole grain bread.
 Honey
 Herbal Tea
 Fresh flowers are always a nice touch.

* And if you might be willing to help buy books for the classroom, a Powell's gift card is always a delightful contribution.