Parent Survey

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

Intensives Additions

Greetings!!

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

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

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

-Jenny

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

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

Intensives Sign Up

Hi all,

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

Click here to view the Intensives Choice Worksheet.

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

Ken

Trillium Front Yard

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

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

Senior Project Night Schedule

The long awaited schedule can be found here.

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

A happening week.

I wanted to remind everyone about the events this weekend.

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

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

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

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

Spring Campout Letter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

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

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

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

A list of suggested supplies for your student is below:

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

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

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

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

Regards,

The Student Camping Committee and High School Advisors

Campout Attendance Proposal

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

Camp-out Attendance Proposal
Ken Gadbow
May 18, 2010

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

Intensives!

Hello Trillium parents,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seniors, fill this out: it's EASY.

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

Ken

Seniors!

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

The last service day - this Friday

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

More Senior News

Howdy and bless your working hearts Class of 2010,

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

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

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

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

Senior Information

May 6, 2010

Dear Parents of the Class of 2010,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best,

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

Trillium Finances, Increasing Enrollment

Click here to read a letter from Board of Directors Chair James Hindes on the state of Trillium's budget and what we can do about it.

$20,000 for Trillium

Hello parents,

As I hope your student has told you, or you have seen in the front lobby, Trillium is putting on our one and only big fundraiser of the year right now, the Trillium in Bloom Raffle. There is over $8000 worth of great stuff in four different collections: Gardening, Alternative Transportation, Best of Portland, and Cooking and Kitchen. Tickets are only $5 a piece and the number of tickets sold for each collection is limited to 1000, so your odds are pretty good. Better yet, the money directly supports our great school.

Most students in our advising have elected to take tickets home to sell. Please ask your student about them, or stop by the table just inside the front door before or after school to make your purchase.

Historically the high school has the lowest parent buy-in for fundraisers, and we want to change that. Our advising has challenged Jess's advising to see who can sell the most tickets in the one week remaining before the raffle closes. Please consider helping us beat Jess's group, change the reputation of high school involvement, and raise up tp $20,000 for Trillium.

Details about the raffle can be found by clicking here.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this event.

Best,
Ken

Senior Meeting: Project Night Date Change

Hello seniors and advocates,

Responding to student request to push the date of Senior Project Night back, the high school team met to debate the idea, and the entire Trillium staff was been given the opportunity to weigh in on this decision. The greatest reservation on behalf of staff was how to best respect the hard work and commitment that students have put into getting their work ready for the May 7th Project Night. While moving the date may come as a great relief to some, it might be seen as an insult to the work of others.

Ultimately, we made the decision to move Senior Project Night to Friday, May 21st.

I invite any and all seniors to voice any opinion, concern, or appreciation about this decision to come to a Senior Class Meeting tomorrow, Monday, April 26th during senior project class. I specifically would like to hear suggestions on how to best to honor the hard work of students who have, or will, meet the original deadline.

Best,
Ken

Jess's Advising is Going Down

The following was sent via email to Jess just moments ago:

Dearest Jess,
Your advising said my advising could decide what the next competition was for our friendly rivalry.

We have chosen.

On Monday, Mary Drinkhouse will be visiting my room at the beginning of advising. She will have with her all of the supplies to get us started selling raffle tickets. You should be there too. With your advising.

And, you should prepare for a battle. We are ready to bury your advising in a mountains of raffle tickets. They will be so thick about your face, neck, chest, and head that you will scarcely be able to call for help.

You will be pleased to know that your suffering will not be long lived: ticket sales end Friday. In the interest of fairness, we will not begin our selling onslaught until Monday.

It is so.

UPDATE: Jess has accepted the challenge. It is on.

Trillium's Front Yard

Hello Trillium Community

What better way to celebrate May Day than with a chance to do some real work for your community! On May 1st, from 1 pm until 4 we will be meeting in the multipurpose room.

Come join us as we work to finalize plans for the converting of Trillium's front space into a beautiful FRONT YARD.
( I have included a small drawing to give everyone the "feel" of the front yard with a cob wall and gated entrance way.)

I encourage you all to come a join us. Everyone in the community is invited. This is your chance to be part of something that will have a major impact on the look and feel of Trillium.

Here is a list of the work we will be accomplishing:

1. For the artist and design types we will be creating a scale clay model of the cob wall we want to build, including benches, windows, kiosks, and magical spaces for kids to play. Bring your creativity!

2. For those with welding skills we are forming a group of welders to design and plan the 12 foot still fence that we want to create as the main entrance to the school. Don't have welding experience but have ideas for the gate or want to learn from some pros, we'd love to have you.

3. For those who want to reach out to the community we will be working to organize volunteers for the upcoming work parties and finding ways to encourage local businesses to participate in our effort.

4. For those with construction interest and experience we will be planning the foundation of the cob wall that will need to be in place by the time of the Village Building Convergence (when all the cobbing will take place) on the 28th of May.

Please let me know if you have any questions, ideas or suggestions.

Rob

--
Rob van Nood
Trillium Charter School
Intermediate Advisor (8-11 year olds)

High School Campout

The Spring High School Campout will take place Wednesday May 26 through Friday May 28 at Eagle Creek Overlook in the Columbia Gorge. Click here for more information about the location. Please mark your calendars, and let your student's advisor know if you may be able to help drive or chaperon the trip.
As the date approaches, students will bring home more information, and it will be posted here.