Wednesday September 13th, 2006
Dear Parents and Middle School Students,
We are going camping again! We are going to Milo McIver State Park on the beautiful Clackamas River. We are going Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning, September 19th – 21nd (NOTE: this is the second week of school). It should be great fun since our last several trips there have been such successes.
We need drivers! Our carpools will be loaded and on the way from Trillium around 1:00 Wednesday (please arrive with gear to be staged in the common space by 12:00). NOTE: If you come earlier than 11:45 it disturbs the lower school so plan accordingly. We are encouraging the students to have already eaten lunch when they show up at school. Snacks will be provided at the campsite before dinner.
It is about a 45-minute drive depending on traffic. We shall leave for home from Milo McIver by 11:00 am Friday, and you can pick up your students at the usual end-of-school time (12:00 pm). Please decide on whether or not you can chaperone, help with meals and facilitate the cooking, and/or volunteer to drive back and forth. Let your advisor or liaison know as soon as possible
We also will have email sign-up, phone calls, and a list at the front desk and with each advisor. Home visits are an excellent time to let us know how you can participate. Parent support makes this trip run smoothly and an extra chaperone or two for supervision and activity facilitation will be greatly appreciated.
As a staff we came up with a list of essentials for each student to bring:
Sleeping bag
Tent (please bring an extra to loan if you have one!)
Flashlight
Rain gear (you never know)
Sunscreen
2 pairs of pants (shorts optional)
2-3 short sleeve shirts
1 long sleeve shirt
1 jacket (this is important: it is always cold in the morning)
2 pairs of shoes
4 pairs of socks
Reading material
Journal (if you wish)
Frisbee, kite, games, disc (for disc golf) etc.
1 plastic bag
1 garbage bag
We have been asked about swimming. Our policy is to be advised by the rangers on site. If they feel it is safe and encourage it, we may find a suitable place with constant supervision. If there is any doubt about the safety we will NOT swim. If you have any personal reservations, please let us know and please do not pack a swimsuit for your student.
It can be very chilly and windy at any time in Oregon, even when the sun is shining beautifully. Be prepared by dressing in layers, and don’t forget a jacket of some sort that will cut the wind factor. It always gets cold at night. Have warm, dry clothes available.
On this trip there will be required group activities led by parent volunteers and staff members after lunch both days (2-4 p.m.), as well as after campfire each night (these are required). This might include trips to the river, the surrounding forest, hiking, bacci, Frisbee, touch football, jump rope, soccer, and more. There will be plenty of time to read, hang out with friends, and have quiet time to oneself. We have experimented with allowing Boffer fencing on more than one campout. IT IS NOT ALLOWED ON THIS TRIP. Please let your students know.
There are some rules of course, and some things to leave behind:
*
Your teacher will be organizing the sleeping arrangements in the tents. Once this is done NO ONE may move or change tents. Consider this rule set in stone. Lights out at 10:30 p.m. and this is also the signal for quiet time. If students cannot settle, they will be moved. Boys and girls sleep separately without exception.
*
Please DO NOT bring along any electronic devices (this includes Walkmans, CD players, Gameboys, PSPs etc.). We are camping. Feel free to bring an acoustic musical instrument, board games, cards, books, or a song!
*
Snacks will be provided so please, NO soda, NO candy, and NO sugary snacks. If you have a student with blood sugar issues, let the staff know.
*
The adults will be doing the cooking. There is no need for you to bring matches, knives of any sort (even Swiss Army or Leatherman tools), campfire hatches, or tools of any kind.
*
There will be parent chaperones sleeping over and helping with the carpool. Please consider every parent as a staff member of Trillium on this trip and give him or her the attention, gratitude, and respect that they deserve.
NOTE: If you have paid, the beginning of the year activity fee covers the price for the camping trip.
We hope that you and your student will participate in this beginning of the year event. It is a wonderful way to relax and get to know each other. And please let us know, again, if you would like to help in any way. We need support. We look forward to having a great time. Thank you!
Kurt, Tobie, Nick, and Kirk
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
UPCOMING EVENTS
Trillium Potluck at Peninsula Park
September 8th
3-7
First Day of Classes
September 10th
Back to School Night
September 18th
6:30-8:30
Middle School Campout
September 19-21st
September 8th
3-7
First Day of Classes
September 10th
Back to School Night
September 18th
6:30-8:30
Middle School Campout
September 19-21st
Camping Trip
Details are still being worked out for the Fall camping trip. The dates, however, are set. The middle school campout will be September 19th-21st. I have insisted that we go someplace that has a chance of being dry. Anyone who has not blocked out the memory of last years "camping in the monsoon", will understand.
As always, we will need drivers and brave adult souls to camp with us. Camp outs are a key time when middle schoolers build community, have time to get to know each other informally, and develop communication and independence skills. And yeah, eat a ton of S'Mores and have fun. Join us if you can.
More info soon.
As always, we will need drivers and brave adult souls to camp with us. Camp outs are a key time when middle schoolers build community, have time to get to know each other informally, and develop communication and independence skills. And yeah, eat a ton of S'Mores and have fun. Join us if you can.
More info soon.
Contact Information Updated
Here is my contact info for this year.
Please do not hesitate to call, email, or drop by the school to talk with me. I am excited to have some extra time to make this year's experience positive, creative and exciting. If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns--just let me know. I will work hard to include your ideas, address issues, and support your child in this oft crazy adventure that is Trillium.
tobie@trilliumcharterschool.org
503.522.3392 (7am-9pm)
Please note, my email is different.
Please do not hesitate to call, email, or drop by the school to talk with me. I am excited to have some extra time to make this year's experience positive, creative and exciting. If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns--just let me know. I will work hard to include your ideas, address issues, and support your child in this oft crazy adventure that is Trillium.
tobie@trilliumcharterschool.org
503.522.3392 (7am-9pm)
Please note, my email is different.
Home Visits
I am attempting to schedule home visits. The list I have from the school has quite a bit of outdated information. There are several numbers that are not working, incorrect addresses, etc. I am also encountering many message machines.
If you do not have a time set up, please email me at tobie@trilliumcharterschool.org. Let me know what times and days work best for your family. I am attempting to set up visits by neighborhood, so I will use this information to help in that. I will call you with the time of your visit based on the info you provide.
At the home visit we will create the Personalized Learning Plan that students will work from starting the first week of school. We will also sign up for courses for Q1. With so much to do, please fill out the interests/activities/passion side of the PLP. It should be in your packet, but i will also email a copy out to those of you who did not receive one in the main. Since Trillium uses email as its main form of communication, this is a good time of year to check your account often.
I am very excited to see students from last year, as well as meet new students and this years 6th graders.
If you do not have a time set up, please email me at tobie@trilliumcharterschool.org. Let me know what times and days work best for your family. I am attempting to set up visits by neighborhood, so I will use this information to help in that. I will call you with the time of your visit based on the info you provide.
At the home visit we will create the Personalized Learning Plan that students will work from starting the first week of school. We will also sign up for courses for Q1. With so much to do, please fill out the interests/activities/passion side of the PLP. It should be in your packet, but i will also email a copy out to those of you who did not receive one in the main. Since Trillium uses email as its main form of communication, this is a good time of year to check your account often.
I am very excited to see students from last year, as well as meet new students and this years 6th graders.
US Schedule Change
Our upper school schedule will be changing for the upcoming school year. We have worked to create a program that better serves Middle School needs. Our new schedule provides fewer transitions/fewer teachers per quarter, larger blocks of time to focus on projects and student centered work, and more autonomy from the High School students during classes. We will be using advising as the core of our program, working with Personalized Learning Plans (PLP). Advising will be an academic period--like a homeroom-- not just a community and social time. For students coming up from the lower school, this will feel familiar. For newer students, this schedule will allow for Trillium to emphasize the things that make it unique: strong community relationships, student centered learning, and the democratic model.
On the surface, it may seem that there are fewer choices offered. However, students will still have ownership of their own learning through their choices within advising, intensives, and block classes. Instead of having a large list of classes they are taking, they will have fewer courses, but more supported choice within those classes.
On the surface, it may seem that there are fewer choices offered. However, students will still have ownership of their own learning through their choices within advising, intensives, and block classes. Instead of having a large list of classes they are taking, they will have fewer courses, but more supported choice within those classes.
New Space
This year our advising will be in a new room. We are moving to the corner room across from Stephanie's office. In the afternoon, the room will be used as a middle school science lab.
This is ideal for a few reasons. First, we will have a slightly larger space, a little bit more removed from the hustle of the main hall. The room will also be used for middle school math and science classes, creating a space that is used only for middle school--a little bit of an oasis. Finally, during advising, we will have science supplies for our PLP's. Even though I have opted to change roles (from a science teacher to a math teacher), I am still passionate about experiments and explorations and hope to see PLPs that include both.
I spent last weekend along side of David Ayers stripping, staining and sealing the floors. We will be paining this week, and moving in. I am hoping to find some new (to us) furniture, as well as make an IKEA run. I really hope to make this space a glowing special place. If you have any plants, flowers, posters, fun lamps, Christmas lights, etc. please let me know. While students will start to add their touches, I would love to have the space ready and inspirational the first week of school. If anyone would like to help set up, decorate, or even pick up furniture please let me know.
This is ideal for a few reasons. First, we will have a slightly larger space, a little bit more removed from the hustle of the main hall. The room will also be used for middle school math and science classes, creating a space that is used only for middle school--a little bit of an oasis. Finally, during advising, we will have science supplies for our PLP's. Even though I have opted to change roles (from a science teacher to a math teacher), I am still passionate about experiments and explorations and hope to see PLPs that include both.
I spent last weekend along side of David Ayers stripping, staining and sealing the floors. We will be paining this week, and moving in. I am hoping to find some new (to us) furniture, as well as make an IKEA run. I really hope to make this space a glowing special place. If you have any plants, flowers, posters, fun lamps, Christmas lights, etc. please let me know. While students will start to add their touches, I would love to have the space ready and inspirational the first week of school. If anyone would like to help set up, decorate, or even pick up furniture please let me know.
Change in Tobie's Schedule
This year I will be working a part time schedule at Trillium (.66667 position). I will be teaching advising and math; all of my classes will occur before lunch. I have opted for this schedule for a few reasons. With my baby turning rapidly into a little boy, I spent much of last year feeling the conflict of balancing home and Trillium. They say Trillium is a lifestyle (or addiction, if you knew how many hours teachers spend there...). While I love our school, I also need to have more family and personal time.
In addition to spending more time with Teo, I will also be working with Oregon State University's MAT program, baking bread, gardening through the winter, and approaching life more slowly. If there are any big issues in the afternoon, I will be within reach. We will also have a student support position this year; they will help with mediations and issues that arise in the P.M.
In addition to spending more time with Teo, I will also be working with Oregon State University's MAT program, baking bread, gardening through the winter, and approaching life more slowly. If there are any big issues in the afternoon, I will be within reach. We will also have a student support position this year; they will help with mediations and issues that arise in the P.M.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)