Health Care Law Resources

Here are but a few links on the new health care law:

President Obama speaking in Iowa after health care bill passed.

White House - What will health reform mean for you?
What and When? - Washington Post
What it means to me - Washington Post
New York Times Health Care Reform Coverage
American Association for Retired Persons - Health Care Explained
CBS News health care reform summary

Here is the list of health care scenarios.

Snowdays Trip POSTPONED (and the forms)

Due to a paperwork mess up somewhere between Timberline, Trillium, and Snowdays, our trip has been rescheduled for NEXT Saturday the 10th. We will again have 10 spots available, and will most likely do a drawing to determine eligibility once students can confirm their ability to attend.

The trip will leave Trillium at 7:30 Saturday morning and return about 5:00 that afternoon. Snowdays provides EVERYTHING one could possibly need for a trip up and down the mountain (board and boots, jacket, snow pants, goggles, gloves, lunch, instruction, transportation, snack, oh my!). Find out more about Snowdays here

For those of us lucky enough to get to go, here are the forms that must be filled out ahead of time:
Snowdays Form
Timberline Release Form
Timberline Rental Form

If you are going, please also make sure the information on this form is correct. If it is not, email me (Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org) to make changes.

Teen Weekend Meditation Course Next Fall

There is a weekend meditation course for teens (age 12-17) at Dhamma Kunja, the Northwest Vipassana Center, in Onalaska, Washington November 19-21, 2010. Here is the application packet which has more information. This organization is non-sectarian and non-religious.

Video Story Telling Workshop

Here is a cool weekend opportunity from Mercy Corps. It starts soon, and runs through April. Click here for additional information.

Teacher of the Year Award

Hey all,

Your favorite teacher could win free money.

OnPoint Credit Union is putting up $45,000 for teachers that wow the crowds. The selection criteria is: "(a) demonstrated examples of the teacher’s creativity and enthusiasm in the classroom; (b) exemplary teaching methods and effectiveness; (c) examples of teaching methods that have a lasting impact on students, parents and peers (d) three letters of recommendation from teacher’s principal, a peer and a student/or student family member" (http://www.onpointprize.com/official-onpoint-contest-rules.aspx) You can find out more about nominating a teacher by clicking here. Completed nomination packets are due by April 16, 2010.

Ken

Mini Med School

Here is a cool opportunity for those students considering careers in the medical field. It is a weekend introduction into the field of medicine, and scholarships are available to defray the $300 price tag. This is a cool thing to have on a resume.
Click here to learn more.

FREE Snowboarding Trip

Thanks to the generous folks at the SnowDays Foundation, Trillium high school students once again have the opportunity to take part in an all-expense paid trip up the mountain! Our trip is at the tail end of Spring Break, on Saturday, April 3rd. We will meet at Trillium in the morning (check this blog, or with Ken for a more specific time as we get closer to the date). SnowDays volunteers provide students with all the gear, instruction, food, and support we could dream of. It is an amazing opportunity for students who have never been up on the mountain to get up there with their friends who many already know their way around the snow. This is the fifth year in a row Trillium has partnered with SnowDays: their dedicated group of volunteers has helped make each trip a memorable success for the students and staff who are lucky enough to participate. We are grateful. If you are interested in going on the trip, contact Ken via email (Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org), or catch him in the hallway.

Senior Project Survey

Hey seniors,

Fill this out.

Love,
Ken

This Week: Service, Forms, Photos, and more

Hey all,

As this Friday is the third of the month, it is our regularly scheduled trip to Ariadne garden.

Returning student forms are due to the front desk by this Friday.

Advising class photos are this week Thursday.

Spring break is the next two weeks!

Ken

Mid Term Course Assessment Surveys

Click here to complete a Course Assessment Survey.

Senior Class Photos

Hi all,

Senior class pictures have been confirmed for this Thursday during senior project class (12:15-1:45)! I look forward to the whole class of 2010 being able to gather for a group shot, as well as their individual pictures. We are truly fortunate to have parent and photographer Lori Threlkeld volunteer her time for this.

Ken

Senior Parent Letter

Dear Parents of the Class of 2010,

There are a few important things to keep track of as we move towards graduation.

* Your student should be on the home stretch with his/her senior project. Final Project Committee Review dates happen during the last two weeks of April. Projects are due to all PRC members sufficiently in advance of the final PRC meetings to allow PRC members to look over the work ahead of time. This is a stressful time for many seniors as the deadline for projects approaches. Students should be communicating regularly with a member of their Project Review Committee to problem solve any issues they might have around their project.
* Senior Pictures are happening soon. Lori Threlkeld, a professional photographer and Trillium parent, has been generous to do our senior photos for the last two years, and we are fortunate to have her services again this year. Lori will take a series of individual as well as a whole group shots. These will be used in the yearbook, Senior Project Night and Commencement programs. Lori offers this amazing service free of charge. Should you desire to print some of the photos yourself, she will provide students with digital copies.
* 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.
* We will be ordering graduation announcements soon and generally have them available to parents and students by May 1st. Please make sure Ken knows exactly how many you would like for your student. 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 are selecting the color of this year's caps and gowns in the next couple days. 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.
* All checks should be made payable to Trillium Charter School.
* Senior Project Night is a wonderful showcase of students' work and will take place on Friday, May 7th. Students will each have one 30-45 minute slot to present their work to parents, family members, and friends. The event takes place at Trillium. We are currently working in developing an additional opportunity to showcase students' work during the weekend of commencement so that visiting friends and family may also celebrate theses enormous efforts and great accomplishments.
* This information, as well as a the senior calendar, and other senior resources, are available on my blog (http://ken-trillium.blogspot.com).


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

Jacob Friedman Holocaust Writing & Art Contest 2010

In honor of Anne Frank and the Anne Frank Tree sapling which will be planted in Seattle:

How would your life be different if people were more respectful and tolerant of each other's differences?

How does change begin with you?


Deadline approaching! Entries accepted now through April 2, 2010.

Open to students in grades 5-12 in the Pacific Northwest (WA, OR, ID, AK).

Sponsored by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, this annual contest encourages students to connect the lessons of the Holocaust to their own lives and the world today.

More information and details here.

Stephanie announces her transition from Trillium

You can read Stephanie's letter to parents here.

Student Survey: High School Core Values

Hi all,

With the help of students, we have been formulating a survey over the past couple weeks to help high school advisors in formalizing the core values of the high school. The survey is available to view here, if you would like to look at it. All students will have the opportunity to fill it out today during class meeting.

Best,
Ken

Retruning Student Forms

Hello Families,

Please turn in your Returning Student Form by March 19, 2010 to ensure that your student has a spot next year!

You can find forms at the front desk. I have also passed them out to Advisors.

Turn them in to the front desk.

Thanks,

--
Cailie Madigan
Admissions
Student Records
Trillium Charter School
503-285-3833
cailie@trilliumcharterschool.org

Some Summer Science Resources

Hi all,

If you are looking for further opportunities for cool science experiences, here are but a few options:

Most of the state college's have summer high school programs in academic area's of study
oregonstate.edu/precollege

OMSI Summer Camps
oregon-summer-camp
Hoagies Gifted
marine adventure and hands on science
Education World ( free)
Marine Biology Summer Camps for teens
Outward Bound

Lead America robotics and engineering camp

Some Resources on Israel and Palestine

Here are some useful links to learn about Israel and Palestine:

British Broadcasting Corporation

CIA World Fact Book: Israel
Israeli Tourism Videos
Palestinian Tourism Site
A Zionist Perspective
Zionist Perspective: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zionist: Israel MFA II
Zionist: Israeli history
Palestinian Perspective: Palestine History
Palestinian: Timeline
Palestinian: Nakba

Trillium to host activist, film director

Hi all,

I am pleased to announce that the Health Speaker Series course I am facilitating will host a special presentation by Talal Jabari, director of Full Signal, a film about the impact of the proliferation of cell phone technology, on Wednesday, February 17th from 2:00 to 3:00.

All Trillium community members are invited and encouraged to attend. You can find more information about the film here and here and here. If you plan to attend, please RSVP me (Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org) so I can be sure to plan well.

You can view trailers here.

I realize this is a controversial issue, and look forward to bringing out diverse concerns and ideas from our community.

Best,
Ken

Cell Phone Safety Resources

For those of you in Health Speaker Series, or just plain interested, here are some resources on the debate over cell phone saftery:

This is from the Federal Communications Commission
This is from the World Health Organization.
This is from RespectPDX.org
A link to a Full Signal, a new film about international health care safety.
More on RF signals from the FCC here.

Health Coverage for all Oregon Kids

Governor Kulongoski announces the Healthy Kid Plan, open to all uninsured children:

February 5, 2010


All Oregon Children Now Have Access to Health Care, Over 30,000 Already Enrolled

(Salem) — Governor Ted Kulongoski today announced that all Oregon children now have access to high-quality, comprehensive health care under the state’s Healthy Kids plan, realizing one of his top priorities since taking office.

Healthy Kids was passed by the legislature during the 2009 session and has been implemented in phases over the last six months. This week, the Oregon Department of Human Services began providing coverage to families under Healthy KidsConnect, the final phase of Healthy Kids.

Healthy Kids provides access to health care in three ways: 1) No-cost option through the Oregon Health Plan (OHP); 2) Low-cost options through cost-share models; and 3) Full-cost options through newly-created state-sponsored private insurance plans – depending on family income.

No Cost: The plan provides free coverage through the Oregon Health Plan for children in families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($44,100 for a family of four).

Low-Cost: The program offers a cost-share model to assist Oregon’s middle-class families earning between 200 -300 percent of the federal poverty level (between $44,100 – $66,000 a year for a family of four). These families earn too much to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, but too little to purchase private insurance on their own. On a sliding scale, these families share the cost with the state or can receive a subsidy to help pay for their child’s coverage through an employer-sponsored insurance plan.

Full Cost: For children in families with incomes above 300 percent of the federal poverty level (or $66,000 for a family of four), the program provides access to a new state-sponsored private insurance plans collectively called Healthy KidsConnect. These families pay the full premium.

To date, the state has enrolled more than 30,000 children in Healthy Kids. The goal is to enroll 80,000 children by the end of this year.

Parents can learn more about Healthy Kids and apply online at www.oregonhealthykids.gov or by calling 1-877-314-5678.

S2 Advising Workshop Offerings

You can find the new staff and student-led semester two workshop offerings here.

Write about Peace, Win Money

The Physicians for Social Responsibility is holding their annual Peace Writing Contest for 11th and 12th graders. Check it out.

A great critical reading resource from the University of Oregon

Here is a great guide, "On Reading Well/ On Being Well-Read," produced by the University of Oregon.

End of Semester Class Surveys

Hi students,

Please fill out end of semester surveys:
Click here to take the Senior Project Class survey.
Click here to take the Global Studies Class survey.

Ken

Exhibition Schedule

Here is the latest schedule for Exhibition Day. This will change slightly to accommodate student resource needs.

Please Come to Trillium this Friday

Hi all,

As we talked about during our conferences back in December, this coming Friday the 29th is Exhibition Day. Students will each take turn being in the spotlight in front of peers and community members presenting their work from the past semester. You are warmly encouraged to attend.

Best,
Ken

High School Newsletter

Welcome to 2010!

As many of you know, the high school ended the 2009 school year on a very positive, pro-active note, with our first ever “Social Justice Symposium”. This symposium was the culminating event in our semester long drive in our individual advisings to “be the change” that we wish to see in the world. In addition to presentations on the service work that students have been involved in all semester, we had guest speakers, exhibitions, and smaller workshops run by students that ran the gamut from short films about Gaza to workshops on hunger and the prevention of HIV / AIDS. The event was a success, in our eyes, and we look forward to other symposiums like this in the future. However, before we can start planning our next symposium, we need to finish out this first semester, and there's a long list of tasks that both students and advisors need to accomplish before Friday.

First and foremost, the All School Project Fair will be held this Thursday at 6:30pm. The high school will be participating in this event in a different way, in comparison to years past, in honor of the hard work that students did in preparation for the “Social Justice Symposium,” and the fact that our fifth semi-annual annual “Exhibition Day” will be held the following morning from 9:00am to noon. The high school's contribution to the evening will be a panel discussion about the high school, presented by several advisors and the few high schoolers who are willing to give up some of their precious, last minute work time. Parents are invited to attend both the Project Fair and Exhibition Day, if they are so inclined.

Parents and other Trillium community members are warmly welcomed at Exhibition Day, this Friday, from nine to noon. Each student will have his or her turn to present and defend his/her from the past semester in front of a group of peers and family. Please come celebrate your student.

In addition to these presentations, students are also signing up for next semester's classes during advising, which they've hopefully spoken to you about in conversation. The course catalog is available online, should you chose to walk through course sign-up with your student at home, if you wish to augment what's already happening in advising. Course sign-up will officially end on Friday, and students will receive their new semester schedule when they return to school on Wednesday, February 3rd (Remember : Monday and Tuesday are in-school service days for teachers.)

As always, we're available to talk about your particular student by e-mail, so please don't hesitate to ask questions about missing work or overall student performance.

Thank You For Reading.

The Trillium High School Team

Exhibition and Class Sign Up

Hello parents,

Please come celebrate your students work over first semester by taking part in Exhibition Day on Friday, January 29th. Each student will have about seven minutes to present and reflect in front of their peers on a significant project, work, or experience from semester one. Parents are encouraged to attend. Exhibitions run the entirety of the Friday half-day. A schedule will be out early next week to highlight the time-slot in which your student will appear.

Course selection sheets and catalogs are now available. I have conferenced with most students around selection and will finish up doing so on Monday and Tuesday.

And as long as I have your attention, my advising is swimming in graciously donated supplies, of all consumable varieties, for which I am most grateful. We seem to have come away with a preponderance of spreadable staples like butter and peanut butter, but nothing on which to spread it (save for Finn's daily delivery of bagels!). We need bread. Can toast. Can freeze. Not too picky, except I only want to feed the students whole grains.

Best,
Ken

Course Sign Up!

Hi all,

Here is the link to course catalogs and sign up sheets. Please have them in early next week.

Ken

News from Humble Hearts

Hi ,Polly and Trillium

We opened school yesterday HH was already flocked with parents and kids by the time I arrived there, everyone was eager to hear and know the way forward.

I was frank to tell them that we had been given just three months to vacate from the slum area according to information from the District Officer who represents the government

The parents not knowing where else to take their children agreed in unison that we should put up temporary structures for kids to continue with classes as we look for a way to solve the problem, parents and guardians immediately started raising money to buy poles while others went ahead to start construction. I was so shocked on how these people proved their love for the school.

The community loves and trusts HH so much that even with no proper classes right now we are getting new parents who are asking for vacancies for thier children who are either not in school or are in another school that is not performing well academically.

At HH we are putting up classes for the babies and small kids who cannot cross the road to the church that we haverented to hold temporary classes. Classes four,five,six,seven,eight,form one,form two,form three and form four are learning from the church, for us to create good learning class like environment, we need to do timber and ply wood partitions that will be put aside every Saturday to create room for the church on Sunday, the primary kids are learning from the church hall while secondary have been given each a room that is normally used by the Sunday school kids

The demolsion and the one to come in March has caused so many families to move,not all the kids have reported .I cannot tell who will be coming back but we can know this for sure at the end of this month. I feel hopeful to have had as many as we have return.

Am of the idea of us looking for land for HH, land that will not be in the slum and not far from the slums, it is difficult to get such land but we are continuing to scout around, then we can start fundraising starting with the money that has been raised for rebuilding HH, we need to look for a long term solution to this.

The present HH is made of tin roof and polythene wall we have made very temporary, we do not want to incure any cost then experience great loses later.


Beatrice

Freshmen Update

A note from Elizabeth Johnson, facilitator of Freshmen Inquiry:

Dear Freshmen Parents,
I would like to take a minute and update you on our work in Freshman Inquiry class so that you can support your student's learning and progress. The end of the term is just a month away and two important assignments are in progress. First, after a month of arduously following the writing process, in-class lessons on essay basics, and teacher/peer editing sessions (most) students submitted their analytical essays before we left for Winter Break. On our first day back students will have their final copy returned with an evaluation and grade attached. As clearly written on the evaluation, students may AND ARE ENCOURAGED to revise and resubmit their essay as many times as is necessary in order to receive the best grade they are capable of. Asking to review the essay and its evaluation is a great opening to supporting your students' development as a writer. As a High School program we have focused Freshman Inquiry on analytical writing skills because it is such an essential foundation for their success. Most of the students in class were writing an essay for the first time in their school experience and a learning curve is natural and okay. Those students, however, for whom this process was very difficult and stressful may benefit from additional support outside of the classroom. If this is the case for your student, I encourage you to speak with their student's Advisor about their writing (Advisors have copies of student essays and evaluations).

With essays (mostly) done we now turn our attention to our next task: independent projects. Typically, this unit is about two months long. This year, however, the group required extended time on the reading and writing unit and so our projects have taken on the exciting new requirement of a time challenge of 3 weeks. Students may do their project on any topic of their choice but must follow and document the process laid out in class: project proposal, research/gathering, planning, creating, presenting. It is this process that students will be evaluated on, which is a shift from many of their Middle School experiences where projects are drawn out over a long period of time (with a lot of socializing and procrastinating throughout!) and the emphasis is primarily on the exhibition of the final product. I will be encouraging students to make personal choices that will lead to their success, such as picking a high interest topic that requires few outside resources or in-depth research. Coming to class prepared and focused will also help them make the most productive use of our daily hour together. In class we will look at the popular website created by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher “Learning to Love You More” that is filled with an extensive list of creative assignments that could be great jumping off points for a more fully developed project. This may be fun to look over as a family.... and maybe even collaborate on something together! (www.learningtoloveyoumore.com)

I hope this email leaves you feeling more informed on our class happenings and with a great opener to good communication with your child about their learning and classwork. Please let me know if you have further questions, ideas, or are wanting specific feedback on your student. We are all halfway through the exciting transition to High School freshman year provides... let's keep learning and growing together.

Best,
Elizabeth Johnson

Writing Contest!

Multnomah County Library is sponsoring a writing contest for people in grades 6-12. Winners take home a $75 Powell's gift card. Entries are due by January 18th. Check it out by clicking here.

A Holiday Thank You

Happy New Year everyone,

I am grateful this holiday season for the generosity of the parents who graciously donated supplies for our classroom. In an environment where we emphasize creative expression of learning through projects, it is a wonderful gift to offer students rich resources. We now have wonderful acrylic paints and brushes, amazing high-quality colored pencils, a plethora of colored tapes, card stock, poster board, an array of Sharpie markers, needles and thread, construction paper, and much more. I was also fortunate to receive gift cards to Powell's and am thrilled to be able to buy some additional books for the classroom. Thank you for taking the time and thinking of your student's classroom.

Best wishes for a safe and peaceful year,
Ken

Sad News from Humble Hearts

Dear community,

We have received terrible news about Humble Hearts, our sister school in Nairobi, Kenya. The school and surrounding neighborhood was flattened by bulldozers just a few days ago. It has been difficult to get information, but it has been confirmed that the school has been destroyed. The slum in which the school had been located, Sinai (Paradise), is a narrow, seven-mile long area atop a buried petroleum pipeline managed by the federally-owned Kenya Pipeline Company, to which all of the residents pay rent. There are no laws in Kenya protecting against forceful evictions, or even requiring that residents be notified before such evictions take place.

Below is the latest update from our dear friend, Beatrice Anunda, the director of Humble Hearts, who discovered what had happened to her school upon the return from her wedding. This is of tremendous impact for the surrounding community, as well as the students and their families. Humble Hearts had been the primary source of water for the neighborhood, and the source of the only daily meal taken by many of the children.

I will continue to post updates here on the blog. If you are moved to assist the Humble Hearts community, Kids for Kenya sends 100% of all donations directly to Humble Hearts. Checks should be made payable to “Kids for Kenya” and sent care of Trillium Charter School, 5420 N Interstate Avenue, Portland, OR 97211.

Peace and blessings this holiday season,

Ken


Hello friends of Humble Hearts,

The information you got is very true, the school was completely flattened while I was in the remote interior of Malindi coast where my husband George comes from after my wedding. When it all happened at 3am, my mum and my sisters were called and ran to the scene. They found the bulldozers and armed policemen streaming in - not even the wails of women and children could stop them. As they were demolishing the neighboring houses, people were helping to remove the desks and books. It is only the school that was allowed to removed some of the belongings in a hurry, but the residents were not given even a second families were left homeless in a blink of an eye.

I am so mad at the government because they they now say all the demolition was done by mistake: the pipeline company has nothing to do with it. No one seems ready to tell the truth. We are being told to rebuild again with no compensation at all. All the affected persons have been called for a meeting tomorrow. Some residence have started rebuilding. I want us to wait and hear what the government officials have to say and am working on strategies of raising funds to rebuild by approaching local companies and banks to assist in which ever small way, unfortunately many offices are on Christmas break and they say we should try January.

Thanks so much for your encouraging words and concerns. The whole of HH is mourning. I am being asked so many questions on the way forward from both the children, parents and the community, it is now that people have realized that HH has had a positive impact on many.

So far nothing has been done. Its just today that i have been able to get some money for internet. We will appreciate any help you can offer towards this. I will keep you posted. I continue approaching more and more people for help as school must open come January.

My wedding was great George's family helped in making the day a success we are grateful to God and all of you who contributed through gifts and well wishes.

A merry Christmas to you and your families

Beatrice

Financial Aid Night this Wednesday

Hi Parents of the Class of 2010,

As many of you hopefully know, Trillium is hosting a Financial Aid Night this Wednesday at 7:00. It is an on-line interactive video program put on by NELA and will be held in my room. Families and students are encouraged to attend. More information can be found below.

Please let me know if you plan to attend and how many you will be.

Best,
Ken


At the NELA Center for Student Success, we believe every student should have access to unbiased and accurate college information, no matter how large, small, or isolated the school they attend.

On December 16th at 7:00 pm, we will be hosting “FAFSA Night with the NELA Center”, a virtual financial aid night, available to high schools in communities all over the Northwest. As always, there is no charge for services offered through the NELA Center.

During our one hour session, we will go over the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process and the individual FAFSA questions, so that by the end of the session, families will:
· Develop a personal plan to complete the FAFSA
· Identify which family members’ information should be reported on the FAFSA
· Identify which data will be required to successfully complete the FAFSA
· Register for a PIN with the US Department of Education

This will be a facilitated discussion; each site will be able to type in questions for the presenter. In addition, we will have financial aid administrators available by telephone to answer more detailed questions.

Intensives Shout Out

Hi All,

We had our first day of intensives today and it went great. We are needing some extra help with a few things.
First -I need a adult to go swimming with the swimming intensive. The intensive has a leader but needs another adult in the water.
Second - We need some drivers for drop off and pick up.
If you are available for either of these please let me know.

Thank You,
Polly
Service Coordinator
Polly@TrilliumCharterSchool.org

This Great Week

Hi all,

Almost there, almost there..... As we all think deep thoughts of snowstorms that cancel school and the break that is right around the corner your students and I are preparing for a creative break from the usual routine.

No regular academic classes are happening during this week The last month of Semester 2 is in January, when we return from break. Instead, we will be participating in school wide Intensives every morning and Advising projects in the afternoons. Your student is expected to attend and participate fully all week. Here's our schedule

Monday- Thursday
Advising morning check in 8:35-9:50
Intensives 9-12pm
Lunch 12-12:30pm (this is a little shorter than usual, so students should plan to bring their lunch, have school lunch, or get to-go close by.
Advising 12:30-3:15
Friday
High School Social Justice Symposium 10-12pm

Your student found out on Friday which of their three Intensive choices they were placed in. Students are expected to participate fully in Intensives. While they are not, by default, available for credit those options may be possible. Your student should ask their Intensives teacher if there is extension work available (in addition to full attendance and participation in the class, for .25 credit.

9th and 10th graders will continue to complete their statewide reading, math and science tests throughout the week.

The main focus of our Advising afternoons will be for students to complete their groups work in preparation for Fridays big event- the High School Social Justice Symposium. Your students will be presenting, teaching, making art, and educating at literature tables. Students have been given invitations to share with people outside of school whom they would like to attend.

In our group we also felt that we needed some holiday cheer and fun in those long afternoons together. So this is what we came up with (and notice the places where we could use your support!)
Make holiday cards (I have some supplies, but would love to get block printing goods like linoleum squares and knives!)
Make holiday cookies (borrowed cookie cutters or other decorating things would be great!)
Make dip candles (tapers). We are asking for a $5 donation to help offset the cost of supplies for this.
Watch a film a little bit each day IF symposium work is rolling along well.
Have a potluck on Thursday (help your student make or buy something to bring in!)
Draw random names and gift each other with the theme of "Bringing in the Light" (should be handmade or no more than $3.... a joke, a poem, a drawing, a lightbulb ;)

It's going to be a great week!

And on December 18-20, Elizabeth's advising is spear heading a great opportunity to share our time again in service with the farmworking community. Volunteer students and parents can help to sort and package toys gathered in a toy drive (we are not doing a lrage scale drive but welcome any donations in order to bring a small box with us. There will also be a collection box with Adib, Cody and Fabian at their table on FSSW and WFWA during the Social Justice Symposium... bring something by when you come to visit!). We can also spend a day cooking and preparing for a huge Christmas feast and then serving and cleaning up from the event (which gathers several hundred people.... families within the farmworker community). I am excited to share in the spririt of giving during the holiday season and hope your student will join in.

Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts. Thank you for supporting your student during this busy busy week.

Peace.

Ken

Intensives and You.

Hi all,

Intensives week is coming up soon (Dec. 14-17), and we have some fabulous offerings to look forward to. Polly, the organizer of Intensives (Polly@TrilliumCharterSchool.org) is asking for a few more hands to finish getting things together. Needs right now:
* Spaces! - We have so many offerings and so few places to put them! If you have a warm sheltered area (house, business, studio, etc.) not terribly far from school that could house an Intensive, please let us know.
* Drivers! - If you might be willing to shuttle some students just once (or even every day), that would be stellar.
* Hands! - There are always small tasks to be done. Whatever the time you have to volunteer with us, your work will be appreciated.
* Phones! - We have a long list of community partners that we need to keep in contact with to run this smoothly. If you have a moment and willingness to make some phone calls, that would be great.

Again, please contact Polly (Polly@TrilliumCharterSchool.org) or find her at the Kids for Kenya cases in the lobby in the mornings if you might be able to lend a hand.

Ken

Two Changes to the High School Social Justice Symposium

Hi all,

With the collision of testing week, Intensives, and Symposium, we have decided to make two changes:
First, we have moved the Social Justice Symposium to Friday, December 18th.
Second, parents are invited. We will open the symposium at 10:00 and will run until 12:00.
Students have been working hard to synthesize the work they have done through our Be the Change theme in advising over the past several weeks. We will have speakers, multi-media presentations, posters, tables with information on hunger issues, gardening, conditions facing migrant workers, and much more. We hope you can make it.

Best,

Ken

Hurray for Intensives!

A note from Polly:

Hello Everyone, I am writing inform everyone that all school intensives are coming up in December, from

Dec 14-17 From 9:00 to 12:00. As many of you may know intensives are week long classes that are offered to our student in a mixed age grouping taught both by our staff and volunteer parent and community member based on there interest and talents . The goal of these classes are to provide students the opportunity to work in small groups of about five to ten students per class and have the time to explore a subject deeply. In order for this exciting opportunity to work we need you to volunteer.
There are many ways to get involved.
- You can volunteer to teach a class for all four days.
-You can volunteer as a helper for as many day that can work with your schedule.
-You can volunteer as a driver as many days as you can.
-You can volunteer to help with logistics and set up and clean up , mostly done Dec11-13 and Dec18.
If you are available in any of these ways or have additional question please respond to this email.
Thank you in advance,
Polly

Polly Christopher
Service Learning Coordinator
Kindergarten Advisor
Trillium Charter School

Teaching About Thanksgiving

Happy Day all,

Here is a wonderful resource for understanding the complicated, and oft overlooked history of this day. A great story to share with family and friends.

Blessings,
Ken

Middle School Social Studies Sharing Photos

Hi all,

Thank you to the students and visiting parents and staff for making our project sharing in middle school social studies a success. I particularly appreciate the hard work that students put into their independent projects, and am thankful that parents could take time out of the middle of their day to stop in and share with us. We are sure to to do it again.
Here are a few of the photos from the event.

Best,
Ken

The Winter Time Wish List

Project Wish-List for our classroom

If you might be interested in contributing to the classroom, here is our latest list of items that would help make the day better (and the projects richer) for your student.

We would be thrilled to have:
* Black Sharpie fine point pens
* Colored construction paper.
* Art paper- Big sketch books, watercolor, charcoal, etc....
* Tape: scotch tape, blue masking tape, duct tape.
* Needles and thread.
* A few yards of some fun fabric.
* An hour or so of time from a confident sewer (I need some pillow covers).
* Poster board and large paper.
* Acrylic paints in all colors and brushes- artist quality (oil and watercolor paints are good, but not used as often)
* High quality colored pencils.
* Tissues.

On going:
* Natural peanut butter
* Whole grain bread.
* Honey
* Herbal Tea
* And if you might be willing to help buy books for the classroom, a Powell's gift card is always a delightful contribution.

Middle School Social Studies Sharing

Hi all,

My Middle School Social Studies class will be sharing their projects tomorrow, Thursday, November 19th, during class from 11 to 11:30. Parents, friends, and family, are warmly invited. It will be upstairs in my room. Feel free to call with questions. 503-348-9849.

Best,
Ken

money SENIOR money MEETING money TOMORROW

Hi seniors,

If you want $ for the next round of your projects, come to class tomorrow, Monday the 16th! Catherine Murphy will be there from the TFT to talk about process, and hand out grant applications.

Tell your friends. Show up. Get some money.

Best,

Ken

Great Gardening Depends on You

Hi all,

We are thrilled to have a great new gardening connection, and we need your help to get there. The next two Fridays, November 13th and 20th, we have set up a service learning time with some radical gardeners on the West side. Please contact Polly (Polly@trilliumcharterschool.org) if you might be able to help drive. We would take TriMet, but it simply takes up too much of the day to get there and back. We need help! Please lend a hand if you can.

The 'meat' of this experience is this: we will be put to work composting, working with the rabbits, chickens, and goats. It is a small community with great reverence for the land and animals, and an incredible knowledge of sustainable living.

I am so looking forward to it. We have been working in a small community garden area in NE Portland - this well be another whole universe for the students (and for me). Hurray!

On other fronts, don't forget to sign up for Parent Teacher Student conferences. There is a link on the right side of this page to do so.

Best,
Ken

Open House Follow Up

Thank you to all of you who came for our Open House/Parent Night last night. I sincerely appreciate the openness of the group, and feel excited to be part of our next parent gatherings.

Best,
Ken

Fall Conferences

Hi all,

It is time to sign up for Parent-Student-Teacher conferences. Folks in my advising can sign up by clicking here.

I am hosting our half-hour meetings all day on Veteran's Day, Wednesday November 11th, and in the afternoons on Thursday and Friday, November 19th and 20th.

Best,
Ken

Open House Tonight at 6:30

Hi Parents,

Looking forward to seeing many of you this evening. Thanks for the positive feedback and my apologies for our calendar mix-ups.

Best,
Ken

Senior Project Grant Applications

Attention seniors: please note a new link on the right which should take you to the grant application materials for your projects. The deadline for this month's application is this Friday, the 6th (a day on which students do not have school, so you may want to turn them in Thursday). There will be other rounds in January and February, as indicated on the syllabus.

You may also want to (or maybe not want to) note that you have now passed the quarter way point for senior projects.

Peace,
Ken

High School News

Hello all, below are images of the latest high school newsletter. Click below to make it bigger, or you can find a PDF of the newsletter here.

Unfortunately, there are some errors in the 'Happenings' part. Please note:
o Service Day always the third Friday, it should be Nov 20,
o Winter Break is December 21st through January 1st.


Best,
Ken

Pie Day Tomorrow!

Hi all,

Thanks to Colin's proposal in class meeting on Wednesday (and our awesome amendments and consenus decision making powers), we will be having pie in advising.

I am making pie right now! And we will commence our feasting on pie at 11:00. Here is why:

The general schedule for tomorrow is...
8:30-9:30 All School Meet
9:30-10:30 HS Meet (full agenda)
10:30 Gap Year Guest Speaker (within hs meeting)
10:50-11am Break (talk individually with Gap Year guy)
11-12pm Be the Change Class in Advising

Ken

Head Lice Information

Hi Advising Famillies.

If you have a younger student at Trillium you know that the 345 classes have had several students found (and sent home) with head lice. A High School student was also found to have head lice. On Thursday, we checked all of the Upper School students for lice during advising. In order to contain this within the school any students found to have nits and/or lice will be sent home. It would be helpful if you could do a thorough head check in the morning before your kiddo comes into school.

Below is some helpful information for preventing and treating. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll give an update on how we're doing.

- Ken

Head lice are extremely contagious. Close contact or sharing personal belongings, such as hats or hairbrushes, puts people at risk. Children ages 3-11 and their families get head lice most often. Personal hygiene has nothing to do with getting head lice. Parents, please express to your child how important it is for your child NOT to share hairbrushes and combs, barrettes and rubber bands as well as hats.

As a school, we cannot stress how important it is to be vigilant in following the proper procedure when dealing with lice &/or nits. The school requires children to be free of lice and nits before returning to the classroom.

Below is information gathered from Medline Plus
Head lice are parasitic wingless insects. They live on people's heads and feed on their blood. An adult is called a louse and is about the size of a sesame seed. The eggs, called nits, are even smaller - almost like a dandruff flake. Lice and nits are easiest to detect at the neckline and behind the ear, but they can really be found anywhere on the head. The students that I sent home today both had nits and/or lice on the TOP of their head.
Symptoms are
• Tickling feeling in the hair
• Frequent itching
• Sores from scratching
The most important step in treating head lice is to treat the person and other family members with medicine to kill the lice.
How can I treat head lice?
Head lice can be treated with over-the-counter or prescription products. Shampoos and lotions that kill head lice contain pesticides and other chemicals, so it is important to talk to your doctor before using these products, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you have allergies or asthma. It is also not safe to use products with pesticides on or near your eyes. If you find head lice or nits in eyelashes or brows, talk to your doctor.

The products that kill head lice don't usually kill all nits. To reduce the risk of another lice infestation, pick the remaining lice and nits by hand or by using a special comb (one brand name: LiceMeister comb) to remove them. Comb through all of the hair one section at a time every 3 days or more often, for at least 2 weeks or until you stop seeing head lice and nits.

You should also use hot water to wash any bed linens, towels and clothing recently worn by the person who had head lice. Vacuum anything that can't be washed such as the couch, carpets, your child's car seat and any stuffed animals. Because head lice don't live very long away from the scalp, you don't need to use lice spray on these items.
Additional information regarding non-toxic methods can be found by clicking here and detailed instructions by clicking here.

Here are some other tips and suggestions that might be helpful:

Steps to take at home
1. Children WITHOUT lice should lather up their heads with hair gel each morning before school. Lice do not like hair gel. And girls should wear their hair in a braid or pony tail every day.
2. Place your child's hats and coat in a very hot dryer the moment you come home from school.

Preventative Care:
I've read (several places) that head lice are repelled by tea-tree oil & rosemary. You can find all natural shampoo, conditioner & hairspray formulated to repel head lice (supposedly) here
Also, I found at New Seasons Giovanni shampoo and conditioner that has tea tree oil & rosemary oil.

Additional tips and suggestions:
* KeepKidsHealthy.com

*Center for Disease Control
* Pediatrics.com(1)
* Pediatrics.com(2)
* CDC (2)
* KeepKidsHealthy.com (2)

LiceGuard Robi Comb (available at drug stores)
Retail Price: $35.00
Web Price: $29.95

International Bestseller
ZAP LICE dead on contact while combing DRY hair.
As the comb slides through the hair, it makes a soft humming sound until it encounters a louse.
The humming sound stops and a small electrical charge passes from the comb's teeth through the louse. Using the small brush included in the package, the user removes the dead louse from the comb's teeth and resumes combing.
The comb can be stored and used repeatedly by the entire family!

Paradise Lost: Kirabati Found Poem Assignment

Here is the link to the video clip we watched on Kiribati. Write a "found poem" on your impression of the situation.

PSAT

Good Afternoon,

We should send some communication home regarding this upcoming test this is what I have, feel free to edit, copy or paste as needed.

Trillium will be administering the PSAT on Wednesday the 14th in the morning. It is important that on the 14th everyone taking the test is prepared to do so. They should have eaten breakfast, come prepared with a calculator or arranged to borrow one, have sharpened number 2 pencils and have arrived to school on time. Students arriving late will not be tested. All eleventh graders are expected to take the exam, unless they have a written note from their parents excusing them. All other grades taking the exam should come with $13 for the exam. On the morning of the 14th, it is extremely important that the hallways remain quiet and as clear as possible.

If you have an question regarding the exam please go to this website: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html

Thank You,
Jess

Fall Campout Letter

September 24, 2008

Dear Parents and Guardians,


The annual Fall High School Campout and Retreat is coming up next week. We will be leaving for Silver Falls State Park outside of Salem on Wednesday, September 30th and returning to Trillium Friday October 2nd . Students should arrive at school on Wednesday 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.


The cost of the trip is covered entirely by the student activity fee. If you have not yet arranged payment for your activity fee for the year, please contact your student’s advisor or the front desk as soon as possible.


The retreat portion of the campout will take place during the first half of the trip, Wednesday afternoon and evening, and Thursday morning. During this time, students will be engaging in small group as well as whole high school activities designed to foster a sense of community and increase our skills as communicators. Some of these events will be outside, and some will be inside. Please be sure that your student brings clothing appropriate for our lovely, unpredictable, Oregon fall weather. The remainder of the campout will be set aside for student choice time. There will be a few pre-determined group activities in which students may choose to participate. All activities are encouraged to be inclusive and non-coercive (if you don’t want to play, you don’t have to). There are also plenty of beautiful areas for walks, hanging-out around camp, or sitting inside by the fire.


The space in which many of us will be staying is primarily a large, open room with bunk beds enough to accommodate 76 people. There are private and separate areas for bathing and changing clothing. There is also a large central fireplace and an industrial kitchen. Ten tent camping spots are available outside the main building for those wishing to be apart from the large group to sleep. The bunks inside are designed to sleep two on the bottom and one on top. There are no mattresses or padding on the bunks. It is important that all students bring bedding and whatever cushioning (blankets or pads) with which they could feel comfortable sleeping on a wood bunk.


A list of suggested supplies for your student is below.

• Sleeping bag or blanket/sheet bedroll
• Sleeping pad or blanket for cushion
• Pillow
• Flashlight/headlamp
• Toiletries
• Towel
• 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 in the fall. We’ll know better as we get closer, but right now we are planning for sun, rain, cold, and hot. Students should prepare especially for cool and wet, as Oregon is notorious for delivering both in plenty. It is better to bring rain gear and extra clothes and not need them than the other way around.

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,

Elizabeth, Jess, Ken, and Will
High School Advisors

Calling All Pillows

Hello everyone,

I need old cushions, pillows, or mats suitable for sitting on the floor, and I need several - 40 of them in fact. So, if you have some tucked in your basement, attic, or garage, or you wander buy some perfectly good ones on a curb, at the bins, or a garage sale, please think of Trillium and bring them on in.

I look forward to the first day of school. We start Monday at 8:30. Students should go straight to advising to get their schedules.

Best,
Ken

Free Bus Passes

From the front desk:

We have Free Bus passes for all High School Students. Your student needs to come in to Trillium and speak with Hillary about the passes. There is a form they need to read through and sign before they can have the passes. She is there from about 9-1 during the day.

Forms and Catlogs

Greetings everyone,
The latest catalog changes, and many useful Trillium forms, are now online.
Just click here.

Course Selection Survey

Hello high school students and parents,

Please take a moment to fill out the course selection survey. You can find it by clicking here. It is also posted on the bar at the right.

Ken

Ken out of town

Hi all,

I will not be reachable August 19th-30th. I will begin responding to messages Monday, August 31st.

Ken

Conference Sign-up Update

Hi all,

I have emailed invitations to all returning students at their Trillium gmail accounts in order to help with sign up. I have also adjusted the access requirements to the spreadsheet so that one hopefully does not have to sign into the page in order to sign up. I have experimented with accessing the document from other accounts and have found, oddly, that I could not access it directly on the first try (it wanted me to sign in), but when hitting the back arrow and trying it again, I got the document directly. That might be a method worth trying if you are having trouble accessing it.

Failing that, signing up for google docs is cost free and, as near as I can tell, free from propaganda and spam, if you are willing to do it.

You should be able to sign up by clicking here, if you have not already done so.

Best,

Ken

Welcome!

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. My summer has been a full one, completing my final courses for my masters’ degree, and spending time with my kids, and visiting family.
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. (For returning students, you should find a copy of your transcripts enclosed in the sent home packet.) We also discuss learning interests and goals and collaboratively sign-up for a Semester 1 schedule designed to best meet your needs. One change this year is that all Advisors will be doing home visits only for students who are new to the Advising group. Returning 10-12th graders and parents will have a scheduled conference in the classroom. I will be scheduling classroom conferences from 8am to 4pm on Thursday 9/3 and Friday 9/4. Home visits for new students will be Sat 9/5. 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. Please also note that on this year's calendar the first day of school falls later in the month to Monday, September 14th. Class starts at 8:30am.

Enclosed in the packet sent home is also a letter from Trillium's Board of Directors discussing how we are working to continue 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. Full 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 in the beginning of September with each of you 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)

Basic 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 (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.
• Glue sticks and White glue.
• Tape: scotch tape, blue masking tape, duct tape.
• Felt squares of all colors.
• Fabric scraps of all varieties.
• Needles and thread.
• Scissors.
• Rulers.
• Paint brushes.
• Poster board and large paper.
• Knitting and crochet needles, yarn, and pattern/how-to books
• DIY craft/design books with simple to use ideas... ReadyMade magazine is great!
• Acrylic paints in all colors and brushes- artist quality (oil and watercolor paints are good, but not used as often)
• Surfaces to paint on... canvas, wood, recycled materials, etc....
• Art paper- Big sketch books, watercolor, charcoal, etc....
• Drawing pencils and pink pearl erasers
• Fabric scraps, screen printed patches, needles, thread.... all sewing stuff
• Black Sharpies of fine and wide tips
• High quality colored pencils.
• A toaster.
• Cushions for sitting on the floor.
• 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.

Senior update

May 25, 2009

Dear Senior Parents,

As we prepare to celebrate the culmination of your student’s high school experience, there are a few dates and happenings you might want to keep in mind.

A few students still have outstanding requirements to meet in order to successfully complete their Senior Projects. Please be sure your student is done or knows what he/she must do in order to complete the project. Successfully completed projects, approved by the student’s PRC, are required to graduate.

Please make sure Ken has a copy of your student’s senior project. We are building our senior library for future generations of Trillium students and look forward to including the amazing work of the class of 2009. Not all projects will fit in our library, of course, but we request a finished copy of the written piece at the very least.

Senior Dinner is Friday, June 5th at 6:30 at Trillium. During this annual event, Trillium alumni attend to serve the class of 2009, reminisce about times past, and share insight into times to come.

Commencement will take place at the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building at Portland Community College Cascade campus (see map on back). The ceremony begins at 2:00. Seniors need to be at Moriarty twice that day: we will have a 9:00 a.m. rehearsal of the ceremony, then seniors need to be back at the theater by 1:30. Commencement will last three hours.

All seniors are preparing their speeches for Commencement. Each senior will select a staff person to speak about him or her at graduation, after which the student will speak about the significance of his/her school experience.

All seniors have picked up their graduation announcements, which cost one dollar each. Seniors who still need to pay for their announcements should bring a check or cash to Ramona at the front desk. She will then issue a receipt which the student should bring to me.

Caps and gowns are on their way. The rental company with whom we are doing business assures me they will be here in time for graduation. In fact, I have asked the company representative to assure me over and over and over again. The gowns and caps are forest green and the tassels are gold. We are pleased to support this company which uses high quality materials, and produces their goods in the United States. Students may keep the tassels. Rental for cap and gown is $40. Check or cash should be given to Ramona. Any student for whom the cost of cap and gown is an obstacle should speak to Ken privately. Scholarships are available. Students must return the cap and gown to the front desk by June 12th.

Seniors have begun bringing photographs and images from their past with which I will make a video slideshow for graduation. Please encourage your student to bring baby pictures, photos from their youth, or any Trillium scenes that are significant to them. I can accept printed as well as digital images and will have them available to return to students after graduation.

Seniors’ last official day of school is Friday, June 5th, but all are welcome and encouraged to attend for the last week of school and engage in Intensives offerings.

It has been my great privilege to work with your student this year. Thank you for the opportunity.

Warm regards,

Ken

Advisng Update

Hello Families,

Welcome to end of year activities. As we draw to a close, there are several events about which it may be helpful to have reminders. This is also an opportunity to extend sincere thanks and gratitude to Polly for her dedication, enthusiasm, and support working with our advising group this year. I will be back at Trillium full time in the fall as I will have completed my PSU coursework this spring. Polly will continue to be a major part of the Trillium community as the Service Coordinator and working in the mornings as Trillium's Kindergarten teacher. Thank you, Polly, for sharing your amazing talent of making even the most mundane tasks feel like adventures.

I was truly impressed by the sincerity, honesty, and boldness of the high school community during last week's high school meeting in the multi-purpose room. We all sat in a giant circle and respectfully allowed each and every member to share their ideas on the health and integrity of this great Trillium experiment we are all a part of. I was proud to be a member of a community that so clearly values making our educational lives feel meaningful. I look forward to many more such conversations.

All School Service Day is this Thursday, May 28th. Students from all grade levels will be involved in serving the community in different locations throughout Portland during the morning. Service Day begins at regular school time, 8:30. We then go out into the community and come back to Trillium to all have lunch together. Afternoon classes will run on their regular schedule.

Students will have the final meeting of their Friday classes this coming Friday May 29th.

June 1st - 4th are the last regular meetings of Upper School morning classes.

Field Day is Friday, June 5th. Students K-12 will participate in games and events in the park.

Senior Commencement is Saturday, June 6th at 2:00 at the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building at Portland Community College Cascade Campus.

All School Intensives, where students get to choose from a rich variety of engaging activities, arts, and investigations will take place during the mornings of Monday, June 8th - Thursday, June 11th. Afternoon classes will run on schedule Monday through Wednesday.

High School student exhibitions will take place on Friday, June 12th, the last day of school. All high school students will present highlights of their semester's work to their peers. We will share our work, do some closing activities, and say our good-byes.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Peace.

Ken

Faith and Conflict Update

Hello Faith and Conflict Students,

A schedule change and a reminder: First, your first draft of your second paper is due on Wednesday. You should be working with the idea you submitted to me on Thursday unless I have suggested otherwise. You will have time in class on Tuesday and Wednesday to work on your papers.

We will NOT be having our video conference with the Gaza students on Tuesday. It has rescheduled to Wednesday morning.

Below is the list of questions we generated as a class to ask the Gaza students during the video conference. I have forwarded the list to them so they can choose which questions to ask. I would like to use them all, but we would run out of time.

Peace.
Ken

Proposed Trillium Questions for Gaza Students
May 22, 2009

Pleasantries
1. How was your day? What is a typical day like for you?
2. What does it look like where you live? Could you describe your home, your neighborhood? What is the weather like in Gaza?
3. How many people are in your family? How is your family?
4. What is your favorite food dish? What kind of music do you like?
5. What do you do in your free time? What games or sports do you like to play? What is a favorite book that you have read? What is your favorite movie? What did you like about it?
6. What is the most important thing to you right now? What goals do you have for your life?
7. Have your religious beliefs ever conflicted with your personal beliefs?
8. Have you ever wished to move and live somewhere else?
9. What has been one of the best days of your life?

Life amidst Conflict
10. How does the conflict with Israel affect you personally? What is it like living amidst violence? Are you ever afraid of where you live?
11. To what extent does the conflict with Israel define who you are as a person?
12. How do you feel about the war with Israel? How do you feel about Israelis? Do you separate the two?
13. What do you think might be the future of the walls around Gaza and West Bank?
14. What do you think about the election of Netanyahu as Prime Minister of Israel?
15. Do you think Palestinians will ever return to their rightful homes?
16. What do you think of the United States government and its people? What is it like to speak with Americans knowing our government supports the Israeli government?
17. What are your thoughts, feelings, or opinions on Hamas?

Understanding Conflict
18. What books or films do you feel could help an outsider better understand Palestinians and the conflict with Israel?
19. How do you resolve conflicts in your daily life, like an argument or misunderstanding with friends or family?
20. Do you think a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be found? Where might it come from? What positive step might be taken to help stop the conflict?

Looking Forward
21. How might Palestinians one day be able to heal the divide with Israelis? Will it ever be possible for you to forgive the state of Israel for what it has done? Will you be able to forgive the citizens of Israel? Have you ever, or might you one day, be willing to have conversations like the one we are having right now with Israeli youth?

High School Campout

May 7, 2009


Dear Parents and Guardians,


The annual Spring High School campout is coming up next week. We will be leaving for Milo Mciver 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.


This time we're taking Trimet: we're going to travel in two groups of 30 with each group having 2 chaperones with one extra chaperone in case we need to divide into one smaller group. We will meet the number 33 bus at the Rose Quarter at 10 am then transfer from the 33 to the 31 which will take us into Estacada. From Estacada we will have about a 2 mile hike into Milo Mciver along the river. If there is any change to the transportation plan we will be forwarding that information on to you all as soon as possible. We are also asking that students pack as light as possible for simpler transportation purposes.


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, James and,

Will, Elizabeth, Jess, and Ken

High School Advisors

Senior News

April 11, 2009

Dear Parents of the Class of 2009,

This is an exciting time for your senior and there are a few important things to keep track of as we move towards graduation.

• Your student should be nearly done with his/her Senior Project. The big push is on as the due date of Friday, April 17th quickly approaches. Each student must set his/her Final Project Review Committee date before the end of this month. During this session, the student will present and defend the finished project to his/her PRC. During this meeting, the Committee deliberates as to whether the student has met expectations for a quality senior project. Three results are possible: Approval, Conditional Approval, or Rejection (1).
• Senior Project Night is Friday, May 1st at 6:30. All family members and friends are encouraged to come celebrate with us. The class of 2009 will be presenting their projects to you and the broader community. Each student will have about 30 minutes to present and answer questions about his/her project. Three or four students will be presenting throughout the school at any one time during the evening. This is a special night, and an important time to honor the hard work your student has done. Please encourage friends and family to attend.
• Senior Pictures are happening on Wednesday, April 15th, individual as well as a whole group shot, by photographer and Trillium parent Lori Threlkeld. This will take place during Senior Inquiry class from 8:30-9:30 in the morning. Lori is generously donating her time and talents to take a few head shots of each student and will provide digital versions of these at no cost to families. Lori is also available for hire to do extended photo shoots of your senior for a more traditional senior picture experience. She does great work and we recommend her highly. To see some of the photos she took of the class of 2008, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/gadbow/SeniorShotsKensAdvising#. If you are interested in a more extensive photo shoot, please contact Lori directly at threlkeldlori@aol.com.
• Commencement will be held on Saturday, June 6th. Exercises begin at 2 o’clock.
• Graduation announcements are being printed now and will be delivered May 1st. Please be sure to email or call Ken with the exact number of announcements you would like for your student by Friday, April 24th. 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 elected that this year’s Caps, Gowns, and Tassles be gold, white, and green. They will be delivered in the end of May and cost $40 each. Students may keep the cap and gown.
• All checks should be made payable to Trillium Charter School.

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
Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org

(1) 1. Approval: If the Committee approves the project, the student has satisfied this requirement for graduation. 2. Conditional approval: The committee may approve the project pending some future modifications by the student. The project cannot be approved in full until these modifications are made. The PRC generally reconvenes in order to re-evaluate the project should this occur. 3. Rejection. The committee rejects the work of the project as to be of insufficient quality to be considered for graduation. This is rare.

Plan for Ken's Absence

Dear Families,

As most of you know, Polly and I are part of the Kids for Kenya student service trip to Nairobi. We will be leaving with our splendid group of eight high schoolers (two from our own advising, Elias and Marcus) this Saturday. We will be performing service at our sister school Humble Hearts for the entirety of the two weeks just before Spring Break.
I will have a substitute, David DeFauw, for all of my classes, including advising. David is engaging, capable, and well liked by students. He will be a responsible, creative presence for the daily activities of advising. Should you or your student have need of the advocacy skills specific to a high school advisor, you (and they) are encouraged to seek out one of the other advisors during my absence. They are prepared to assume this role and will be able to help with any concerns you might have. They may be contacted via email at:
• Elizabeth@TrilliumCharterSchool.org
• Jess@TrilliumCharterSchool.org
• Will@TrilliumCharterSchool.org
Each of my advisees has been encouraged to seek out the advisor with whom they would feel the most comfortable working.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns for David directly he can be reached via email at DavidDeFauw@hotmail.com.

Best,

Ken

Why Not Posting Assignment 1

Why Not Posting Assignment 1
February 24, 2009
Due: Tomorrow, Wednesday February 25th

You may do the following with a partner of your choice or work on your own. It is up to you.
You are to create a handwritten introduction for the Why Not website.

PART I
• Your introduction should include:
o Your name(s),
o Your age(s)
o Something you value about yourself.
o Something you value about your school.
o Something you value your city, state, or country.
o Something you value about the opportunity to communicate with Palestinian students.
o A question for your audience (youth in, or concerned with, the Palestinian.

Example:
Portland Youth Extend Greetings
Hello. This is Frank and Joan. We are 16 year old students at Trillium Charter School in Portland, Oregon. We are excited to be making this connection for the first time and want to share a little about ourselves. We both play guitar and skateboard, and enjoy the fact that our school has small classes and we can call our teachers by their first names. We feel fortunate to live in Portland, a progressive city where people are generally kind and open-minded. We are looking forward to communicating with other youth all over the world about issues that our important to us. As a way to join that conversation, we would like to ask a question. We are currently studying the history of the Palestinian conflict in our “Faith and Conflict” class and would like to know what people would recommend we read, see, listen to, or experience in order to better understand the situation. Peace, Frank and Joan.

PART II
• Log in to the Why Not Website, hosted by Global Citizen Corps, at www.whynotyouth.org.
• Go to “GloPal Impressions”
• Go to “ADD and Edit Post in the Lounge”
• Post your introduction. Be sure to give it a title.
• Click “Add Post” when you are ready to put it online.

PART III
• Finally, go to “The Lounge” and read some of the many other postings on their.
• Next, respond to at least one of the posts on the Why Not website that you choose, by clicking “Add Comment” and typing in your thoughts or ideas.
• Be prepared to share with the class which posting you chose and why.

Writing in Advising this week.

Hi Parents,

Coming up this week during advising, all high school students will be taking the statewide writing assessment. It is a pencil and paper essay in response to one of a series of prompts. All students are required to do it. We will use Monday for prep and practice, and Tuesday-Thursday for writing, revising, and editing.

Please remind your student that this is coming up. It is important that each student take part. The writing sample is an excellent opportunity to focus on creating concise, structured writing to use as part of a student's portfolio.

Best,

Ken

Faith and Conflict Syllabus and Vocab

Faith and Conflict: Israel, Palestine, and Afghanistan
Class Syllabus
Trillium Charter School S2 2008/9

Instructors:
Ken Gadbow and Melina Reynoso
Email: Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org, RealismIsRealistic@gmail.com
Blog: http://ken-trillium.blogspot.com/
Ken’s Mobile Phone: 503-348-9849

Course Overview
This course explores the roots and current events of the ongoing social and political conflicts in Israel-Palestine, and Afghanistan. Special attention is placed on understanding the historical significance of the religious groups involved, and post WWII developments, including the Cold War. Students will have the opportunity to engage in real world and real time dialog with students in the Palestinian territories via web-dialog and video conferencing through the Mercy Corps Why Not program.

Melina Reynoso, a senior at Trillium, will be co-planning and teaching this course with Ken Gadbow, as the primary focus of her Senior Project. Melina plans to pursue a career as a social studies teacher, and has demonstrated outstanding commitment and perseverance in her work at Trillium as a student. Melina and Ken have been working together to coordinate this course since the fall of 2008. We are fortunate to have Melina’s skills, experience, and leadership in this class.

Code of Conduct
All students are expected to know and uphold the Rights and Responsibilities of the Trillium Constitution. We will use the non-violent conflict resolution process that includes conversations, mediations, and agreements.

Grading policies:
Student and teacher negotiate the individual grading system. The way in which the final grade will be determined is up to the individual student. Below is a range of options from which students will be asked to choose at the mid-semester point. Students may choose any percentage from the possibilities below, as long as they add up to 100%.
Weekly Responses (Due each Tuesday): (5%-15%)
Quizzes (Each Thursday): (10%-30%)
Projects (Writing, Presentation, Performance, etc.): (20%-35%)
Participation (Class activities and discussions): (30%-50%)

Attendance and Tardiness Policy:
This course requires participation in order to be successful for the student, the group, and the class. Therefore it is imperative that the student take part in all class activities. Our partnership with Mercy Corps’ ‘Why Not” program allows for the unique opportunity of communicating live via video with students in the Palestinian territories. Due to the time difference, and the security situation in Gaza and the West Bank, these video conferences will take place according to the schedule of our counterparts in the Middle East. This means we may need to meet quite early in the morning before school in order to take part. All students are expected to attend these sessions. They are mandatory.
A person is considered on-time if he/she is in the classroom, in his/her seat ready to work when the bell rings. A person may be considered tardy if he/she does not meet the above criteria or comes to class less than 5 minutes after the bell rings. Three tardies constitute one un-excused absence. A person will lose one letter grade for every two unexcused absences. A person who is tardy will still benefit in coming to class as he/she will better understand what is happening in the course, and will be able to participate and contribute to the class in a meaningful way.

Course Material:
We will draw from a variety of books, films, and periodicals in this course. These will include, but are not limited to: Promises (A PBS documentary), Three Wishes by Deborah Ellis, Night by Ellie Wiesel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Bread Winner Trilogy by Deborah Ellis, Martyr’s Crossing by Amy Wilentz.
Students are encouraged to keep up to date on relevant topics through any of the following news source:
• The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/),
• The British Broadcasting Corporation (http://www.bbc.co.uk/),
• National Public Radio (http://www.npr.org/)
• Rethinking Schools (http://www.rethinkingschools.org/)
• The Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/),
• Al Jazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net/),

Other titles and sources that may be of interest will be included on Ken’s blog as they become relevant.

A note on sources: Students should take special care when researching on-line to find credible information, especially due to the volatile nature of this particular topic. Government (.gov) and university (.edu) websites are among the more reliable. PBS, BBC, NPR, and National Geographic are also likely to offer well researched material. Wikipedia.org has its merits, and can be a useful tool, but like most sources, can contain biased or inaccurate information. All sources should be treated critically. Always use more than one source. Compare and contrast the information you find. ALWAYS site your sources. Failure to do so is considered plagiarism, a form of stealing, and will be dealt with accordingly. If you have questions about plagiarism, I highly recommend speaking with one of your teachers and/or consulting the following web resources:
• The On-Line Writing Lab at Purdue University (OWL) (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/)
• The University of Southern Mississippi Plagiarism Tutorial and Quiz (http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/plagiarismtutorial.php)

Weekly Schedule:
Every Tuesday: Weekly Response due (see below for topic list) at the beginning of class.
Every Thursday: Weekly quiz over geography, readings, vocabulary, or current events.


Weekly Response Topics
Faith and Conflict Class
Semester 2, 2008/9

Students must turn in a response to one of the following questions each Tuesday. Responses are to be typed or neatly handwritten, and double spaced, between one-third and one-half page in length.

Topics:
1. What ways could this class be better, and why should those changes be made?
2. What things do you like or appreciate about this class and why?
3. Describe an event in your out of class life that relates to material covered in class.
4. What is important to you about education? Describe your ideal education environment as if you were telling it to someone who had never seen an American school. What does it look like? What happens there?
5. How has your family or culture influenced you? How might you be different if you grew up in a different family or in a different culture? How would you describe your family or culture to someone who was unfamiliar with American culture? What makes it special or unique?
6. What traditions and foods are important to your family and friends? Give specific examples.
7. What past times do you enjoy and what do you like about them? What sports, music, or hobbies do you appreciate and why?
8. Describe a conversation you have had about class material outside of class. What did you talk about and why?
9. Describe a time when you felt safe and comfortable. What was the around you that helped you feel that way?
10. Describe a time when you felt unsafe, scared, or threatened? What was happening that you felt that way?
11. Imagine if war were happening around you and your family, what do you imagine you would do? How might you feel? How might it affect your daily routine?


Vocabulary Terms, Part One
Faith and Conflict Class

Arab
Arab Peace Initiative
Arab-Israeli War
Balfour Declaration
British Mandate of Palestine
Camp David Accords
Camp David Summit
Checkpoints
Diaspora
Fatah
First Intifada
Gaza Strip
Hamas
Holocaust
Islam
Israeli
Israeli Settlements
Jerusalem
Jew
Judaism
Multilateral
Orthodox
Palestinian
Palestinian Authority
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
Peace Process
Pogrom
Refugee
Right of Return
Road Map to Peace
Second Intifada
Security Fence or Wall
Sinai Peninsula
Six Day War
Suicide Bombing
Two-State Solution
UN Resolution 242
Unilateral
United Nations
West Bank
Zionism