Intensives! Hurray!

November 17th, 2010

Hello Trillium Parents & Community,

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 January 31st – February 3rd. These are classes offered during the whole day from 9:00 to 3:00 and can be any sort of focus that a teacher decides upon. Depending on our offerings this year, there is a possibility of running a half-day intensive, then handing off the second half of the day to a teaching partner (this can make schedules easier to manage). To make intensives successful we ask that parents share their talents, skills and interests by teaching a class.
With your involvement we can have small group sizes and opportunities to use the time more effectively than with a larger group. So we need your help! If you want to be involved please come to ONE of these two sessions (3:30 pm or 6:00 pm) on Wednesday, December 15th.

Some past offerings have been swimming, bowling, cultural exploration, fitness, working with horses, hands on science, claymation, hiking, acting, cooking, arts and crafts, music, RPGs, strategy games, social justice education and so much more. You may:

Teach an intensive class based on a skill, talent, focus or activity that you are eager to share with kids (that's ideally from 9-3, M,T, W and Th)
OR
Team up with another parent or teacher to offer an intensive that shares your similar interests
OR
Help with an intensive on days that work for you
OR
Help with driving, since some of them require transportation to get kids to the class locations
OR
Help with supplying/facilitating snacks

All you need to do is send a description of what you would like to teach to Kirk Ellis at kirk@trilliumcharterschool.org

IF you know what you would like to offer, or if you have offered something in the past and would like to do it again, please send the following information..

Your description should include:
Class title
Brief description of the class and what will be learned
Age of students for which it would be appropriate (it can be kindergarten to grade 12, or any smaller grouping in between)
Number of students that would be best for your class
Any additional cost for supplies
Will it be on-site or off-site?

If you are able to support an intensive or be a driver please contact Kirk as well. However, we will have a separate transportation coordinator.

We have some expectations as well:

Attend information night
Complete background check (or have on file at school)
Ideally have a partner/other adult to assist with intensive and be present
Fill out a provided assessment form about the students who participate
Commit to the entire week
Communicate needs (transportation, supplies, space etc.) at least one week prior to intensives

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

The Intensives Committee

Sign Up for Conferences Right Here!

Hi all,

It is fall student-teacher-parent conference time! Upper school advisors host conferences in the weeks following Thanksgiving break. This should give families time to reflect on the midterm progress reports which should arrive in the next few days before conferences.

Please sign up with this form by clicking right here.

Happy Thanksgiving/Genocide Awareness Day.

Peace,
Ken

Introducing Jacob Jonas-Closs, student teacher

November 22, 2010

Dear parents and guardians of Explorers and Resistance Daily 1 students,

Hello! My name is Jacob Jonas-Closs. I have been observing and interacting in
your student’s classroom since the beginning of the school year. I have very much
enjoyed watching them learn and grow. Following Thanksgiving Break I will be
working with your students as their primary teacher for the rest of the school year.

I look forward to meeting all of you. For now, I would like to take a bit of space
to introduce myself. I am a student at the Lewis and Clark Graduate School of
Education working toward a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and an Oregon
Teaching License in Middle and High School Social Studies. Prior to entering
graduate school I attended Earlham College, a small Quaker Liberal Arts College
in Indiana, where I received a Bachelors degree in Human Development and Social
Relations, and a minor in both Education and History. After I graduated I was
pretty sure I wanted to teach but wanted to try other jobs before I went back to
school. I spent a year working in Human Services at two group homes, one for
adults with Mental Retardation and another for Children with Autism; I did these
jobs in my hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. During this year I began to apply
for programs and noticed my favorite program was the one offered at Lewis and
Clark, and I had heard that Portland was an excellent city to live in, so decided to
attend this program. I love to teach and learn, and am excited to be making this
journey alongside this great group of students.

To start things off in December we will be analyzing Current struggles of
American Indians before we delve into Celilo Falls in January. Please feel free to
express any of your questions or concerns about this change to Ken and to me, our
contact information is listed below.

I am greatly looking forward to working with this group of students!

Sincerely,

Jacob Jonas-Closs

jjonascloss@lclark.edu

Ken Gadbow

gadbow@gmail.com

Writing Contest

Write about environmental disaster, win cash. Click here.

Some great things said about Trillium

Can be found by clicking here.

Vote Mercy Corps!

Mercy Corps is so close to getting the $150K. You can vote everyday by clicking here. (www.50daysofgiving.com).

Free Thanksgiving Celebration

From one our active high school students and his family:

Appreciate the Table of Thanksgiving, community style

Talented entertainment, fun volunteering, very good food, new and old friends on their best and most real behavior - How could we not come back to a table like that? It’s a beautiful thing and we hope to see you there:Thanksgiving Day: 12-4pm FREE

-Vegan and vegetarian options
-Donations: non-perishable Thanksgiving-related food items or paper goods

-Volunteer: pass out flyers, chef, prep food, set up, serve food, cleanup, and more

-General information call Michael at 503-936-3704
-Volunteers call Sara at 503-505-1298 | se habla Espanol

-Entertainers call Robin at 503-890-5393

info@properusa.net

We’ll be celebrating at Celebration Tabernacle at 8131 N Denver, next door to Po’Shines Cafe de la Soul - as the space has become just too small for our turnouts. Come out of your self, bring what you have to the Table of Thanksgiving: Music & Storytelling | Good Food | Community. Hope all is well with you and that we’ll see you there.

Help Mercy Corps get $150,000

Trillium has partnered with Mercy Corps in numerous programs over the past years, most notably our direct student to student exchanges with youth in the Palestinian Territories and Iraq.

You can vote everyday for Mercy Corps to get $150K by clicking here. (www.50daysofgiving.com)

Letter from Stephanie to Students

Here is a link to a thoughtful, loving message from Stephanie to the students. This was read aloud last Friday at high school meeting.

Genevieve Appointed as new Executive Director

Good morning,

I'm writing today to let you know that the Trillium Board of Directors voted unanimously on Monday, November 8th to appoint Genevieve Bouwes as the Executive Director through completion of the school's Charter Renewal.

Genevieve has been with Trillium for five years, having served most recently as the preschool Director and staff development coordinator. Before that she taught a wide range of ages for ten years. In her role as staff development coordinator, Genevieve has worked with the entire staff for the past couple years to build a shared vision and turn that vision into progress within the school. She has a BA from the University of Wisconsin in cultural geography and a Masters in Education from Bank Street School of Education in NYC.

There are a number of discussion points and details regarding the appointment, expectations, and the support Genevieve is seeking that you will see in the minutes of the November 8 Board meeting when they are published. I'd like to repeat my heartfelt thanks to all of those who attended and gave their input. Please join me in congratulating and supporting Genevieve as she takes on the role.

Thank you,
James Hindes
Parent of Holden, 4th grade, and Annie, 2nd grade
President, Trillium Board of Directors

Autumn Advising Update

Find the latest advising update letter by clicking here.

Taunia Mann, Class Liaison Extraordinaire

Hello Ken's Advising Families-

I am Taunia Mann, and my husband Mike and I are your parent liaisons for the year. Our role is to keep you all updated with information or needs from Ken and our advising class.

Here we go:

Trillium needs PAPER! You have probably received the all school letter that went out today detailing why we need paper. The goal is for each family to purchase and bring in one box of paper this year. One box should cost $20-$30.
-
Sign up on this google spreadsheet. Drop off your box of paper at the office during the beginning of the month for which you sign up. I will send an e-mail reminder to you at the beginning of your month. If you find it on sale, let us know so we can all take advantage of the savings.

Ken conveyed some items that he and the students would love to have.
Clipboards (I started last year with 25. I started this year with 6. Where do they go?)
A steady supply of butter and peanut butter. The snack station in my room is well visited and now well-stocked with bread, thanks to John and Connie Ross. Sometimes we have things to put on the toast. Sometimes we don't.
Poster board.
Large heavy quality paper for painting or drawing.
This one is going to sound odd: squeezy things. Some jittery students can focus better if they have something to play with that will not distract them. It would be awesome to have some of those springy flexy jobbies like this one just sitting out on tables for students to use. Seems like some parents must have one of those lying around that they never use, or might find one at the Bins.
I am trying to buy extra peanut butter when it goes on sale. Butter, too. My goal is to send in a tub of PB and a pound of butter a week. No sugar in the PB, please. If you can contribute any items from this lovely list, Ken and the kids would greatly appreciate it.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Thank you!!
Taunia
mama to Colin Mann- gr. 10

Oh dear, we don't seem very well liked, do we?

In cruising for Trillium reviews on the web, I found mostly unflattering comments, such as "We really feel that this school should not be operating." If you feel differently, provide your own review at education.com and city-data.com.

Coffee Time Permission Form

High School Advisors and students have made some changes to Coffee Time to make the expectations clearer. Here is the updated Coffee Time permission form, as adjusted by the High School meeting today. As before, students need signature of parent and Advisor. Students must demonstrate knowledge of the Rights and Responsibilities from the Trillium Constitution before I will sign off.

Teen Meditation Course

For any teens interested in meditation training, this is from the Vipassana meditation center up in Washington:

We still have plenty of room for teens to participate in the upcoming weekend Anapana course for teens between 13 and 16 years old taking place the weekend of November 19-21 at the Northwest Vipassana Center.

The teenagers’ meditation course is specifically designed for young people, ages 13 to 16 years. During the course, students will learn how to practice Anapana meditation. They will meditate with guided instructions for periods of up to 30 minutes. These sessions are interspersed with discussion sessions, break periods, games and art activities throughout the day.

Complete gender segregation will be maintained at all times throughout the weekend. Boys and girls will attend separate, concurrent courses in separate facilities with separate teachers.

Families with teens who might be interested in attending or who would like more information can visit the new Teens' Course Page of the Dhamma Kuñja website for more details and application materials. More information can also be found on the beautiful new international children's course website.

Best wishes,
The Teens' Course Organizers

Northwest Vipassana Center - Dhamma Kuñja
445 Gore Rd.
Onalaska, WA 98570
Phone: 360-978-5434
Fax: 360-978-5433

Leadership Transition Announcement

Good afternoon,

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to the Trillium community to let you know that Stephanie Hinkle has resigned her post at the school.

Stephanie has been thinking about her next steps for a while, and I know she has a bright future before her. Stephanie's development of and contributions to Trillium over the years have been tremendous, truly without measure. I ask that all of us celebrate her accomplishments, support and respect her decision, and support her next steps in the larger community. Stephanie has spoken to many of us in the past about staying involved in the Charter community because of her rich experience in the field. I look forward to hearing more about her next steps and successes.

We delivered the above information, along with a few brief comments on succession plans, to all students in a special meeting this morning in accord with the school’s "stop-rule" protocol. After the meeting they returned to their advising groups so the advisors could field initial questions and return to the school day. If you see your child's advisor today or this week, please take a moment to thank them.

Over the next few days, Genevieve Bouwes (our current preschool director and staff development coordinator) will act as our interim director and overall go-to person for the school. Please do all you can to support Genevieve.

Our goal, of course, is to make the next few weeks and months as smooth as possible as we transition to a successor. As many of you know, we started our search for a new Executive Director over the summer after Stephanie let us know that she was planning to leave at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Because that search has taken longer than expected, the Board approved (at their October 20th meeting) engaging with outside services to place an interim Executive Director in the role. On Thursday, October 28th, at 6pm at the school, the Board will convene a special meeting to hear any public input on the placement of an interim Executive Director. The board will also deliberate and potentially decide on whether we should also look at people within Trillium to take on the interim position until a permanent Executive Director is hired. "Interim" in this case typically means a period of anywhere from 3-9 months.

As we proceed in the coming weeks, you will receive active and direct communications from the school frequently. If you find you still have questions, please let me know.



Thanks,

James Hindes, Trillium Board of Directors

jhindes@trilliumcharterschool.org

Halloween Parade!

I am looking forward to our Halloween-like Friday this week and want to send along a reminder about expectations.

The committe to develop Halloween guidelines came up with the following items regarding Halloween costumes and activities.
1. Costumes should be appropriate for a mixed age setting.
2. Masks are allowed only during the halloween parade.
3. Weapons of any sort are not allowed at school.
4. Accessories that are disruptive or a violation of the rights and responsibilities are not allowed or should be turned off.

Hurray for dressing up!

Best,
Ken

Trillium Website Functional

Hello Trillium Community,

When visiting our web site, you may still receive a warning message indicating the site may harm your computer. The site was re-infected over the weekend, however, Isaac did clean it up again. I am working with Google to report the site as clean again so the warning message goes away.

Thanks,

-Nick

--
Nick Fenger
-Information Technology Director
-Administrator of MS/HS Scheduling & Transcript System
-Testing and Assessment Coordinator
-Outdoor School Coordinator
-Board Member, Communication Committee Chair

Trillium website virus update.

Hello Trillium Community,

Since last night, I've been working with our site tech Isaac and our hosting company Spiretech to bring our site back up. As of right now, it appears the content is intact, however, the engine that runs the CMSMS based site was broken by an intruder.

Tonight, Isaac will begin the work to re-install the engine portion of the site and restore functionality. I will update you on his progress tomorrow. I have the highest confidence in Isaac's abilities as he has done a tremendous job at supporting the site that he built. He started this work as a PLP/ILP when he was a student here and continues to work as a paid contractor.

Thank You,

-Nick

Trillium Website Has A Virus!

Hello Trillium Community,

The Trillium Charter School web site, as of about 14 hours ago, is unusable. Another malicious web site has co-opted it, making it a potential security threat. DO NOT VISIT THE TRILLIUM WEBSITE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! Firefox and Chrome should give you a warning but older versions and internet explorer may not.

I will inform you when the site is usable again.

Thank You,

-Nick