Good Senior Info, Said Better

This went out to Elizabeth's advising and repeats most of the information found elsewhere on this blog, only it says it better:

Hello Parents of Seniors:

What a pleasure it was to see you at Senior Project Night supporting your students in one of several culminating moments happening. The combined emotions of stress, accomplishment, pride, worry, and excitement will be with use for two more weeks as we near Graduation on June 12th.

This Friday, June 4th, is the last official day of school for Seniors. By the end of this school day teachers will have reported to HS Advisors whether Seniors are PASSING or NOT PASSING classes. With this information I will be evaluating transcripts and credits once last time to officially declare students' graduation status. As we have discussed, this falls into three categories: graduating with a signed diploma, walking in the graduation ceremony with an unsigned diploma (no more than 1 credit outstanding and a plan for completion), or not graduating this year (more than one outstanding credit). I will be mailing you out official letters that afternoon and welcome all needed phone (503-287-0740 H) and email conversations.

An essential part of being eligible for a diploma this year is successful completion of the Senior Project. Some of your students have met this expectation and been approved by their PRCs in a final meeting. Others are still working on writing and need to schedule that final PRC. Again, passing the Senior Project is a graduation requirement.

Whether or not your student continues to attend school after June 4th will vary from individual to individual. It is my hope that Seniors will continue to be engaged with the community up until the last day of school on June 17th. I have advised Seniors to be sure they have clear expectations from each teacher... some teachers may say they are done and others may need them to continue to attend. Please support your student in this important comunication about expectations.

In Senior Inquiry class students will be finishing up the last parts of their projects and preparing for graduation, which includes writing and rehearsing their short graduation speech.

PLease send all questions and needs my way. Let's continue to work together in supporting these amazing people through these last days of their high school experience (WOW!)

Best,
Elizabeth

Seniors, oh how I salute thee.

Candidates for the Class of 2010 and your beloved supporters, I bring yet more dates and reminders:

* Your Senior Project Night presentations were amazing. There's a slideshow of a few of the captured moments running to your right.
* Seniors' last official day at Trillium is this Friday, June 4th. This is also the last day for seniors to submit work to be considered for graduation!
* Senior and Alumni Dinner is Thursday, June 10th at 6:00 at Trillium. No families or friends for this one, just Trilliumites past and present.
* Senior Commencement is Saturday, June 12th at 2:00. Seniors need to be there at 12:00. The event is held at Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building room 104 (pictured above) at Portland Community College Campus, on the corner of Albina and Killingsworth. Click here for a map of the campus.
* I need your baby, childhood, and life PICTURES to make into a slideshow for graduation. Please email them to me in large file sizes, give them to me on a disk or flashdrive, or bring in hard copies by Thursday, June 3rd.
* Seniors must ask someone to speak for them on graduation. Most students choose a teacher. Please let me know by Thursday who your person is, so I can make the schedule for commencement.
* Seniors should be preparing their own 2 minute speeches to give at Commencement. Yes, everyone has to give one. Sequence of events: You are spoken about, you receive your diploma, you speak.
* The program for commencement will not be finalized until next weekend, but we know that there will be an opening by the Drum Choir, and we will have student performances by Carly & Max, Mariah & Kirk, and Katerina interspersed among the student and staff speeches.
* Seniors may pick up caps and gowns on Thursday, June 10th. The cost is $30 and should be paid to the front desk.
* Seniors who picked up graduation announcements and have not yet paid for them (they are $1 each) should do so at the front desk. FYI: You don't get your diploma until you do.

Best,
Ken

Parent Survey

You can fill out this year's online survey by clicking here.

Intensives Additions

Greetings!!

Due to the short timeline for catalogs and a missed communication, the offering for 6-12th graders to work on the Killingsworth Mural with Jeremy, Lyndsey, and Jenny's classes was omitted.

Please "Write In" this choice of Mural Project to your list of choices. THANKS!!!

Killingsworth Mural Project: We have space and welcome artists from grades 6-12 to help with the mural painting project. We will be using stencils to paint a repeating pattern of Trillium flowers across the lower part of the wall (up to the windows.) The inside of the petals will convey beauty, creativity and all things Trillium. Your creative expression will come into play here! Come help younger students carry out this ambitious project to help beautify Trillium for years to come.

-Jenny

And from Art Teacher Andrea:
Thousand Cranes Set Crew - This is not the same as the Thousand Cranes Actors Session.

I need a creative team of 5-15 students to help as a set crew for A Thousand Cranes Play! Students in this session will be helping stage the play- doing fun behind the scenes stuff. Students will need to be available to attend the play on June 11th at Da Vinci Middle School, and arrive at 5:00 to help get the stage, sound, and lighting ready!

Intensives Sign Up

Hi all,

Click here to view the catalog of offerings form Spring Intensives.

Click here to view the Intensives Choice Worksheet.

Choices are due TOMORROW, Tuesday, May 25th. Students must select multiple offerings.

Ken

Trillium Front Yard

Hey Everyone,
We need volunteers at school Tuesday morning at 9am to help set the posts in the front yard space. You don't need any experience just be willing to use some muscle. It should take about 2 hours if there are lots of hands.
Contact me or just show up to help.
Thanks!
Megan Klepp

Ken adds: The Front Yard is looking awesome. Many people braved the Oregon wonder weather this weekend to lay the foundations for the benches. So exciting. The posts for the main gate are massively big and metal. Putting them up will be fun.

Senior Project Night Schedule

The long awaited schedule can be found here.

Seniors need to show up at 5:15. Families and friends will be welcomed at 6:00.

A happening week.

I wanted to remind everyone about the events this weekend.

Friday at 6pm - Senior Project Night at school. Everyone welcome

Saturday 9-3 or any amount of time during the day, Work Party on front space

Sunday 9-3 Work Party on front space
Sunday 1-6 Frisbee Team Championship Tournament - Cook Park Tigard
Sunday 4:30-7 Blues fundraiser at Krakow Cafe for Trillium front yard.

It is definitely a Trillium weekend. Hope to see you all here and in Tigard.

Spring Campout Letter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The annual Spring High School campout is coming up May 26-28. We will be leaving for Eagle Creek Lookout Wednesday morning and returning Friday afternoon. Students should arrive at school by 8:30 as usual. We expect to leave around 9, and will return Friday around 1. We still need parent drivers and chaperones for the trip, as well as people to help with cleaning and organizing when we get back. Please contact your student’s advisor if you think you might be able to help.

We are expecting around 50 students to come this spring session, but we still need drivers (and chaperones). To be a driver, you have to be over 18 and have a legal background check. If you are willing and able to drive, please email Ken at ken@trilliumcharterschool.org. We would greatly appreciate drivers, and this campout would not be possible without that assistance.

The cost of the trip is covered entirely by the student activity fee.

A list of suggested supplies for your student is below:

Tent w/ground cloth and rain fly
Sleeping bag or blanket/sheet bedroll
Sleeping pad
Flashlight/headlamp
Toiletries
Towel
Swimsuit
Change of clothes
Sleepwear
An extra pair of sneakers
Warm clothing for potentially cool nights
Light clothing for potentially warm days
Sunscreen
A rain jacket or poncho

It is pretty amusing living in the Pacific Northwest and trying to project the weather, but a few showers are predicted for our first 2 days with the temperature projected around the 60's.

All students on the trip are expected to share in cooking and cleaning duties. Drugs and alcohol are, of course, strictly prohibited on the trip. Game systems and loud music are requested to stay at home, while we encourage students to bring cards, board games, and musical instruments.

We look forward to another great high school campout. Please let your student’s advisor know if you have any questions.

Regards,

The Student Camping Committee and High School Advisors

Campout Attendance Proposal

To be voted on during an all-high school meeting Thursday, May 20th:

Camp-out Attendance Proposal
Ken Gadbow
May 18, 2010

I propose that any student who does not attend the campout must attend school during those same days. A high school staff member will stay at school in order to facilitate this new part of our program. Students' work during those days will be determined jointly by the student, parent and the high school team.

Intensives!

Hello Trillium parents,

As you may or may not know we will be having intensive classes once again at Trillium. They take place Monday through Thursday the week of June 7th-10th. These are classes offered during the morning from 9:00 to 12:00 and can be any sort of focus that a teacher decides upon. To make them successful we ask that parents share their talents, skills and interests by teaching a class. This makes it possible to have small group sizes and opportunities to use the time more effectively than with a large group. We need your help. If you can be involved let us know by this Friday May,21. This is how:

• Teach an intensive class based on a skill, talent, focus or activity that you are eager to share with kids (that's from 9-12, M,T, W and Th)
• Team up with another parent to offer an intensive that shares your similar interests
• Help with an intensive on days that work for you
• Help with driving, since some of them require transportation to get kids to the class locations

All you need to do is send a description of what you would like to teach to Polly at polly@trilliumcharterschool.org
Your description should include:
Class title,
Brief description of the class and what will be learned,
Age of students that it would be appropriate for, (It can be K to grade 12 or any smaller grouping in between.)
Number of students that would be best for your class
Any additional cost for supplies.

If you are able to support an intensive or be a driver please contact Polly.

Thanks for helping to make Trillium an amazing place to learn.

If you have further question or would like additional information about helping or leading an intensive please attend a brief informational meeting on Thursday May 20 @6:00. ( If you are chaperoning on the 1st 2nd grade camp out
and can not attend the meeting please contact Polly .)

Seniors, fill this out: it's EASY.

I need this little bio on all seniors. Most have done it. If have not, click here and fill it out.

Ken

Seniors!

Senior Project Night is this Friday, at Trillium at 6:00. All candidates for graduation MUST have PRC approval to present there: If you haven't had a PRC meeting lately, you have to have one this week.

The last service day - this Friday

This Friday, May 21st is our last advising-based service day. We will be working at, and saying goodbye to, Ariadne Gardens.

More Senior News

Howdy and bless your working hearts Class of 2010,

For some of you this information is more pressing than others. Here it is:

Ken dearly needs to know how many graduation announcements you would like and how many people will be attending commencement. Check your email for a message from him AND RESPOND TO IT pretty please.

Time is of the essence, as you all know. Your PRC members are running out of it, just like you are. You must schedule your final PRC meeting TODAY, if you have not already done so.

You MUST have a PRC meeting prior to presenting at Senior Project Night (SPN). Your PRC must approve you to present there, which they might do even if your project is not totally complete. Students not approved to present at SPN still have a chance of passing their project, but it gets considerably more difficult to do so. In these extremely rare cases, arrangements are made with the PRC, the entire high school team, the director, the student, and his/her parents to determine precisely what the student would need to do in order to satisfactorily fulfill the requirements of the Project. This is not a pretty scenario. Avoid it at all costs. But, if you find yourself there, know that there is still hope, and that you have work to do.

Senior Information

May 6, 2010

Dear Parents of the Class of 2010,

Happy spring and welcome to the home stretch. This is a very busy time for seniors as we move toward graduation. Here are a few important things you'll want to keep track of:

Your student should be done, or very nearly done, with his/her senior project. Projects are due to Project Review Committee Members before the final PRC meeting, which must be completed prior to Senior Project Night.

SENIOR PROJECT NIGHT will take place Friday, May 21st at six o'clock. The event will be held at Trillium. There will be multiple projects presented throughout the building at any one time, with each senior having 25 minutes to present his/her work. Seniors are expected to attend for the entirety of the evening, regardless of the time of their presentation slot. This is a wonderful event for families and friends to honor the hard work and persistence of Class of 2010. Please come celebrate with us.

Commencement will be held at the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building at Portland Community College Cascade Campus on Saturday, June 12th. Exercises begin at 2 o’clock.

Graduation announcements are being printed, and we need to know how many you each family would like. Please make sure Ken knows exactly how many you would like for your student (call or email him ASAP at the contact information below). Announcements are printed on beautiful, one hundred percent post consumer material with soy based ink, come in envelopes, and will cost one dollar each.

Students have selected that this year's caps and gowns be black and that tassles be dark green. They will be delivered in the end of May and cost about $30 each. We use a cap and gown company that rents us high quality robes that we then return to them.

Senior Prom is June 4th and tickets are on sale now. The theme is "Living Dead Romance."
Class of 2010 member James McKinley's final work, the Peace and Love Concert will take place the following Saturday, June 5th at Trillium.

This is an exciting time of year and of life. I would be happy to help with any questions you might have around your graduates’ experience.

Best,

Ken Gadbow
Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org
503-348-9849