Hello everyone,
First of all, I wanted to let everyone know that I will be absent from class a significant amount of time over the next two weeks. I will be absent the following days due to family obligations and a workshop. BILLY OUT:
Thursday, Feb 28 Friday, Feb 29 Monday, Mar 3 Wednesday, Mar 5
I would appreciate if you talk to your children about the importance of being responsible when a sub is there and that school goes on very similar to when I am there. Carrie Mae will be my sub and I will advise her to take up issues with ya'll. I will be working with my students on sub behavior this week since our last sub experience was something we would all like to forget.
Homework
Sound: Cr as in creak
Turn in Wednesday
Number: 100
Turn in Thursday
Big Word: O C D E Y C M R A
Turn in Friday
Theme: Students can continue to work on their publishing party stories at home. It is great to work on final drafts or illustrations at home.
Turn in anytime
Wacky Wednesday: Funny hat day
Turn in Friday
Sharing: Favorite Book
Sharing is on Friday at 9:00
Field Trips and Swimming
WE ARE GOING SWIMMING TODAY, MONDAY FEB 25 AT 1230. Hopefully everyone shows up to drive. Please leave carseats for the drivers.
Here are our field trips for the rest of the year.
Feb 25 Swimming @Mt. Scott
Mar 7
Mar 21 Buddie Trip to Audobahn Society
Apr
Apr
May
May
June
Report Cards go out today. Please read them over with your students and if you have any questions you can ask me or ask to have a meeting. Conferences are a good time to discuss issues involving report cards
Buddies
We have been working with our Middle School Buddies more often and we are planning some Friday trips with them soon. We will be going to the Audobahn Sanctuary on Friday, March 21st. We are also trying to combine on an Auction piece for the May 10 Trillium Auction. So far we only have the idea of chess boards and pieces. If anyone has a great idea for a large group to do for the auction, please let me know.
Theme Unit
We have left the Everglades which was a very successful unit. The kids really got into building the Pinelands part of the ecosystem. We talked about the ecosystem and how delicate it can be and what happens to it when even one producer or consumer is removed. I think most of our students were very aware of how these things can affect the entire balance.
We are now moving on to Washington D.C. and studying the democracy of our country. We will be holding an election in our class for a new mascot. Students will be nominating mascots and working on campaigns to elect them. It should be a lot of fun.
Publishing Party
We are all working very hard to get our stories done for the Publishing Party on Mar. 7th. The Ks will start tomorrow. Students have chosen to work on stories for the event and will have a choice as to whether they want to be in it. On the 7th, everyone who has published can attend the event with others who have published. In order to be "published" you should go through the process of writing. Generating and organizing ideas, writing a draft, edit and revise, create a final piece of work.
The Ks will be starting their stories this week and will probably need help with the writing part of their stories. If they choose to publish then they will need some assistance with reading at the event. All parents are invited to attend and we will have some special snacks and treats for the kids who publish their work.
Conferences
I will be scheduling conferences for the week before Spring Break. Please try to sign up at a time when I have indicated, but feel free to talk to me if none of those times work. If need be I will overflow into the Monday of Spring Break since we will be working hard on the Project Fair that week.
Project Night
Project Night is Thursday, March 20th. This is a big event for Trillium where students get to see each other's work and where students get to display a lot of the work they have been doing. This will be the focus of our time over the next few weeks and students will start "expert" classes next week. I will be teaching an architecture class about the Bridges of Portland.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
This week's HOMEWORK
Sound: Oi as in foil
Turn in Wednesday
Number: 14 or 70
Turn in Thursday
Big Word: E O G T S I N G E A R
Turn in Friday
Theme: Students can continue to work on their publishing party stories at home.
Turn in anytime
Wacky Wednesday: Backwards Day
Turn in Friday
Sharing: Favortite song
Sharing is on Friday at 9:00
Sound: Oi as in foil
Turn in Wednesday
Number: 14 or 70
Turn in Thursday
Big Word: E O G T S I N G E A R
Turn in Friday
Theme: Students can continue to work on their publishing party stories at home.
Turn in anytime
Wacky Wednesday: Backwards Day
Turn in Friday
Sharing: Favortite song
Sharing is on Friday at 9:00
Monday, February 11, 2008
Homework for Feb 11
This week's HOMEWORK
Sound: SH as in SHOP
Turn in Wednesday
Number: 8 or 64
Turn in Thursday
Big Word: S Y C E S O M T E
Turn in Friday
Theme: Students can continue to work on their publishing party stories at home.
Turn in anytime
Wacky Wednesday: Pajama Day or
Turn in Friday
Sharing: Share a small piece of electronics
Sharing is on Friday at 9:00
Swimming is on hold until Mt. Scott gets back to us about when we can come. It will probably be next week.
Sound: SH as in SHOP
Turn in Wednesday
Number: 8 or 64
Turn in Thursday
Big Word: S Y C E S O M T E
Turn in Friday
Theme: Students can continue to work on their publishing party stories at home.
Turn in anytime
Wacky Wednesday: Pajama Day or
Turn in Friday
Sharing: Share a small piece of electronics
Sharing is on Friday at 9:00
Swimming is on hold until Mt. Scott gets back to us about when we can come. It will probably be next week.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Valentines Day and Independence Board
Hello all,
As many of you have noticed I tried to institute a Levels of Independence chart in the room this week to motivate kids to show more responsibility which would lead to more independence with their own learning. A few parents have suggested their concern in this matter especially with the display of where kids are on the chart. "It feels kind of icky." As an open-minded person, I have considered these critiques and my opinion is that if it feels icky it probably is.
The board will not be on display any longer but the levels of independence will continue to be discussed. It is important for our students to understand that at Trillium we have freedom with our learning but that comes with responsibility. I don't believe it is developmentally appropriate for students to not see consequences for their actions. This works both ways. Many times it is of the positive variety. I don't believe it to be fair or aligned with our philosophy at Trillium for me to insist that all students go out for recess if they are inclined to work in the room during that time. At the same time, if certain students are not proving responsible in other areas it is difficult for me to decide on my own who gets to stay and who doesn't. The Levels of Independence provide me with a gauge as to who has earned that right through their actions. It is meant to be a positive reinforcement.
This is why I have decided to take the board down. It's appearance was negative and displayed a negative effect on certain students. That is the last thing I want. We talk in our class about helping everyone succeed and our goal is for everyone to obtain a significant level of independence with their learning.
I may not be clear as I write this, but I have a vision and I encourage any of you to talk to me about the system. We have been struggling with this in class and I felt that action was needed. I hope that I did not offend anyone or harm any student's learning in the process. If I have then I am truly sorry
On a lighter note, Valentines Day is approaching and the one rule we have is no candy at school. Not all of our students can enjoy the pleasure of sugar and we don't want anyone to feel left out. As far as valentines are concerned I don't encourage students to bring any from home, but I also understand that it is an uncontrollable holiday. If your student is insistent on bringing valentines who am I to say no. The only thing I ask is that bring one for everyone so that no one feels left out. We will be creating valentines bags on the day and writing compliments for our friends. I would encourage you to incorporate compliments into your valentine cards in an effort to stay in line with our theme.
We will be having a special heart bagel snack with cream cheese for the day and I will discuss with Nephyr a vegan and wheat free option.
Thanks for your understanding.
As many of you have noticed I tried to institute a Levels of Independence chart in the room this week to motivate kids to show more responsibility which would lead to more independence with their own learning. A few parents have suggested their concern in this matter especially with the display of where kids are on the chart. "It feels kind of icky." As an open-minded person, I have considered these critiques and my opinion is that if it feels icky it probably is.
The board will not be on display any longer but the levels of independence will continue to be discussed. It is important for our students to understand that at Trillium we have freedom with our learning but that comes with responsibility. I don't believe it is developmentally appropriate for students to not see consequences for their actions. This works both ways. Many times it is of the positive variety. I don't believe it to be fair or aligned with our philosophy at Trillium for me to insist that all students go out for recess if they are inclined to work in the room during that time. At the same time, if certain students are not proving responsible in other areas it is difficult for me to decide on my own who gets to stay and who doesn't. The Levels of Independence provide me with a gauge as to who has earned that right through their actions. It is meant to be a positive reinforcement.
This is why I have decided to take the board down. It's appearance was negative and displayed a negative effect on certain students. That is the last thing I want. We talk in our class about helping everyone succeed and our goal is for everyone to obtain a significant level of independence with their learning.
I may not be clear as I write this, but I have a vision and I encourage any of you to talk to me about the system. We have been struggling with this in class and I felt that action was needed. I hope that I did not offend anyone or harm any student's learning in the process. If I have then I am truly sorry
On a lighter note, Valentines Day is approaching and the one rule we have is no candy at school. Not all of our students can enjoy the pleasure of sugar and we don't want anyone to feel left out. As far as valentines are concerned I don't encourage students to bring any from home, but I also understand that it is an uncontrollable holiday. If your student is insistent on bringing valentines who am I to say no. The only thing I ask is that bring one for everyone so that no one feels left out. We will be creating valentines bags on the day and writing compliments for our friends. I would encourage you to incorporate compliments into your valentine cards in an effort to stay in line with our theme.
We will be having a special heart bagel snack with cream cheese for the day and I will discuss with Nephyr a vegan and wheat free option.
Thanks for your understanding.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Week of Feb 5
Hey all,
Tomorrow we will be having a Mardi Gras Parade in celebration of Fat Tuesday. The parade will begin at 1245 so that everyone can enjoy.
We have a new member to our community. Her name is Brynan and she will be with us for the next six weeks. She is a masters student at Concordia University and will be doing her practicum in our classroom. Please introduce yourself if you see her. She will be slowly moving towards more teaching and will be teaching quite a bit in about 2-3 weeks. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Levels of Independence
We are starting a new behavior recognition program in our class similar to what they do in the 3-4-5. We will be establishing levels of independence for students from 0-4. Everyone started at level 1. The higher you go on the levels the more independence and freedom you have within the classroom and school. The idea is to reward and give more responsibility to those students who are consistently managing themselves while at the same time teaching other students who need a little more support how to manage themselves in the classroom environment.
Themes
We are in Louisiana this week for Mardi Gras and will be studying an artist by the name of Clementine Hunter. She was born after slavery but lived a slavelike life on the Melrose Plantation near Cane River in Louisiana. She died on New Year's Day 1988 at the age of 101. She is Louisiana's most famous female artistHunter painted the scenes of African American plantation life and has become wildly popular in the "folk art" style. Students will be painting in the style of this wonderful artist. Have your student google Clementine Hunter and a bunch of sites pop up.
Next week we will begin to explore the Everglades and attempt to build a replica of the environment surrounding and inside the Everglades National Park. There is a rich amount of diversity and each advising group will be working on one area of the landscape of diversity. We will be learning about the habitat and the animals that live there. We will also talk about the dangers that exist because of development to this essential resource.
After the South we will walk up towards Washington DC where we will be studying the journey of Civil Rights and explore election politics. We are hoping it ties in nicely to the primary coverage in the news right now. Students will be rehearsing and performing plays in each advising group. Our class will be doing a rendition of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
That will take us nearly to Spring Break. However, for the last three weeks before the break and Project Night we will be having groups geared towards projects for the event. I will be teaching a class on Portland Bridges. Students will be choosing groups during interviews with me for report cards over the next two weeks.
Report Cards
Oh the report card process. It is truly enjoyable for me to sit down and write about your wonderful children. Daunting, but enjoyable. Over the next two weeks I will be writing report cards, interviewing students for reflection and creating an updated learning plan with each student. We are all aiming to have report cards in everyone's hands by Feb. 19, but if you know Trillium, I would not hold us to that date. I sure hope I am done by then.
New Students
For those of you who don't know, we lost Nate to a school in Gresham at the break. We all miss him, but wish him well in his future endeavors. We are hoping he will come and visit us. That said we now have two new smiling faces in our community. Chet started last week and actually attended Trillium preschool a couple of years ago. He is a first grader. Tomorrow Abigail begins with us and comes from Texas. She has been at Vernon this year, but recently moved here from Dallas. Howdy!
Snack
Thanks to all of you who continue to contribute to the snack fund. It is great to have such healthy and fresh snacks. Everyone should thank Nephyr and Aaron for making this happen each and every week. It is a great contribution to the community.
Book Orders
I have to apologize for the book order fiasco. I think a check got lost and Scholastic has messed up some orders. I know how great these things are and how affordable. I will try to get it back up and running and get the online thing worked out. Thanks for your patience.
Homework
All of you are doing awesome on the homework. I am really appreciative to have a significant number of students doing the homework because it provides background when we talk about those things in class. Just to clarify one last time since I have said different things.
Sound homework is reviewed on Wednesday
Number Homework on Thursday
Big Word Homework on Friday
Sorry for the confusion.
Learning Plans
We are still working on our learning plans but time has been an issue. Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on one goal at a time and helping students engage more in the process of following through.
Tomorrow we will be having a Mardi Gras Parade in celebration of Fat Tuesday. The parade will begin at 1245 so that everyone can enjoy.
We have a new member to our community. Her name is Brynan and she will be with us for the next six weeks. She is a masters student at Concordia University and will be doing her practicum in our classroom. Please introduce yourself if you see her. She will be slowly moving towards more teaching and will be teaching quite a bit in about 2-3 weeks. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Levels of Independence
We are starting a new behavior recognition program in our class similar to what they do in the 3-4-5. We will be establishing levels of independence for students from 0-4. Everyone started at level 1. The higher you go on the levels the more independence and freedom you have within the classroom and school. The idea is to reward and give more responsibility to those students who are consistently managing themselves while at the same time teaching other students who need a little more support how to manage themselves in the classroom environment.
Themes
We are in Louisiana this week for Mardi Gras and will be studying an artist by the name of Clementine Hunter. She was born after slavery but lived a slavelike life on the Melrose Plantation near Cane River in Louisiana. She died on New Year's Day 1988 at the age of 101. She is Louisiana's most famous female artistHunter painted the scenes of African American plantation life and has become wildly popular in the "folk art" style. Students will be painting in the style of this wonderful artist. Have your student google Clementine Hunter and a bunch of sites pop up.
Next week we will begin to explore the Everglades and attempt to build a replica of the environment surrounding and inside the Everglades National Park. There is a rich amount of diversity and each advising group will be working on one area of the landscape of diversity. We will be learning about the habitat and the animals that live there. We will also talk about the dangers that exist because of development to this essential resource.
After the South we will walk up towards Washington DC where we will be studying the journey of Civil Rights and explore election politics. We are hoping it ties in nicely to the primary coverage in the news right now. Students will be rehearsing and performing plays in each advising group. Our class will be doing a rendition of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
That will take us nearly to Spring Break. However, for the last three weeks before the break and Project Night we will be having groups geared towards projects for the event. I will be teaching a class on Portland Bridges. Students will be choosing groups during interviews with me for report cards over the next two weeks.
Report Cards
Oh the report card process. It is truly enjoyable for me to sit down and write about your wonderful children. Daunting, but enjoyable. Over the next two weeks I will be writing report cards, interviewing students for reflection and creating an updated learning plan with each student. We are all aiming to have report cards in everyone's hands by Feb. 19, but if you know Trillium, I would not hold us to that date. I sure hope I am done by then.
New Students
For those of you who don't know, we lost Nate to a school in Gresham at the break. We all miss him, but wish him well in his future endeavors. We are hoping he will come and visit us. That said we now have two new smiling faces in our community. Chet started last week and actually attended Trillium preschool a couple of years ago. He is a first grader. Tomorrow Abigail begins with us and comes from Texas. She has been at Vernon this year, but recently moved here from Dallas. Howdy!
Snack
Thanks to all of you who continue to contribute to the snack fund. It is great to have such healthy and fresh snacks. Everyone should thank Nephyr and Aaron for making this happen each and every week. It is a great contribution to the community.
Book Orders
I have to apologize for the book order fiasco. I think a check got lost and Scholastic has messed up some orders. I know how great these things are and how affordable. I will try to get it back up and running and get the online thing worked out. Thanks for your patience.
Homework
All of you are doing awesome on the homework. I am really appreciative to have a significant number of students doing the homework because it provides background when we talk about those things in class. Just to clarify one last time since I have said different things.
Sound homework is reviewed on Wednesday
Number Homework on Thursday
Big Word Homework on Friday
Sorry for the confusion.
Learning Plans
We are still working on our learning plans but time has been an issue. Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on one goal at a time and helping students engage more in the process of following through.
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