Week of December 1

Homework
Big Word: y t q a i u l
Sound of the week: oi as in foil
Math Number: 22
Reading: Have your students bring a just right book home and practice with you.
Sharing: bring something scientific (Friday)

All homework is optional but is helpful to support the lessons we are doing in class.

Intensives
The week before winter break is Intensive Week. This is an awesome week where many people in our community share their passions, interests and expertise in areas that are important to them. We are always looking for volunteer teachers and would love any assistance. The Intensive classes run from 9-11:30, Monday thru Friday of that week. It is great if you can teach a class the whole week but we understand time can be an issue so there are instances where two people can team up for a class or we are always looking for extra chaperones on certain days. Talk to me or Polly for more information or to get a class form.

Electives
Some students will be switching their Elective classes this week. Ask them how they are going and what their goal or purpose is in the class. We are trying to make this a class where they are pursuing their passions and putting it on their Individual Learning Plan (ILP).

Performance Night
The event is on Friday, December 12 at 5:30. Please plan to arrive around 5:15. Be asking your kids what group they are in and if they need to do anything like remember lines or come in costume. All the Ks are with me but the others are spread around. Be on the lookout for communication on this issue and talk to the adviser of the group for questions.

Snack
Snack is going great since I made my judgement call that no students can eat snack from their lunch. This was met with resistance but the JC upheld my decision after a few students appealed. My reasoning is that we provide a healthy snack with a lot of variety.(Thanks to Nephyr and the others who help out) If you have any issues with this decision or want to talk about it because it may be negatively affecting your child please let me know. The decision was made for health purposes and not intended to be a punishment to anyone in the class.

Class Jobs and Class Meeting
One disappointing part of this year so far has been the inconsistency of class meeting and the lack of Class Jobs. This week I will work to correct that. I want to encourage kids to take ownership of the classroom but have not designed time for them to express their needs or take action. We will have a class meeting on Wednesday and there we will set a consistent meeting day. This is what Trillium is all about and the kids are ready.

Pictures
Pictures are online at shutterfly.com thanks to April (Hunter's Mom). They are so cool and should be updated as we get more. April is doing awesome with that.
Login - billysk12@gmail.com
Password - 4trillium

Scholastic Book Orders
BOOK ORDERS ARE IN!!! They may not be ready until Tuesday but I have a box in my room.
Also, we can order books online. Here is the link, login and password
http://pcool.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp
Login - billysk12
Password - trilliumcs

THEME- Human Origins
Our performance night will be centered around this theme and we will be exploring the many stories regarding the beginning of humans. We will explore paleontology, talk about opposable thumbs and even through in some creation stories. We will try to keep religion out of the classroom but at times it will come up. I try to use these times as a way for us to learn to accept each other and our beliefs no matter what they are. We will be reading a lot of books and making our own time line.

Levels of Independence
We are once again instituting a Levels of Independence system in our classroom to reward and encourage responsible behavior. Nothing will be posted in the room and students all start at level 1. We are creating priviliges associated with each level and how to move up a level to acquire more independence in the classroom. Students have said that others should be 1)participating in class and 2)listening to others and respecting. These are the current criteria. If a student feels they are ready to be a Level 2 then they take that to the class and state their case. Then students can ask questions. Students then vote to see if the student moves up. I am hoping for a lot of quality discussion about behavior and how to be involved in a community.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE VOLUNTEERING FOR OUR CLASSROOM. IT IS SO AWESOME TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT NETWORK OF COMMITTED INDIVIDUALS AND TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU IN THE CLASSROOM. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT THERE.

Week of November 12

Hey all,

We have a lot on the docket. Keep helping your students with reading and I will see you for conferences.

Dinosaur Projects
We will be having our museum display and oral presentations on Wednesday, November 19 in the morning time. Students should have their entire projects done at that time. It will be helpful if some are done before that. This week students will be working consistently on their projects to create a display piece to explain their projects. Many of the students have already created a fabric dino and a clay specimen. This will be helpful to their displays. Some students are wanting to do a diarama and this will include some work at home. If you can help your students bring in supplies for the diarama that will be helpful.

Students will also be doing an oral presentation of their projects on the 19th. Be working with your students to help them practice their presentation. Students will self assess themselves on the following areas.

I was loud enough so that everyone could hear me.
I talked about my project and gave information about my dinosaur.
I looked at my audience and displayed my project well.
I answered questions about my dinosaur.

Oral presentations will be limited to 3 minutes.

Conferences
I have posted a conference sign up sheet. I am limited in the amount of time I have available which is why I will be holding most of my conferences on Monday, November 24. This is the first day of Thanksgiving break. Please try to accomodate my needs for this. I appreciate your assistance. Our main goal during the conference will be to set goals for a learning plan and create a goal for the Elective Block. We will also be discussing your child's experience in our community and look forward to the rest of the year. Remember these are parent-teacher-student conferences. Sign up by Friday for conferences. Thank you.

Performance Groups
We will be setting up our groups for Performance Night on December 12th. I will be accomodating all the Ks to work on a musical performance. I would love some assistance with costumes for the event. We will be working on many of the songs we have learned in Music with Heidi. First and Second graders will be given a choice of three other groups run by Whitney, Beth and Brian. Please remember to mark your calendars for the event. It is a lot of fun.

Intensives
The week before Winter Break is dedicated to Intensives. These are held from Monday to Thursday from 9-12. If any of you have something that you would like to teach then please let me know. The groups are small because of parent involvement and we encourage you to make time to participate in this unique part of Trillium. This year the whole school will be partipating which means there are a lot more teaching options since the older kids will be involved. I will be once again doing my "The Math of Bowling" class. I love this week!

Thank you to all the parent volunteers. It is awesome to have you in class on a consistent basis.

Nursing Students

Hi everyone. We are fortunate enough to have Linfield College nursing students work with us again this year. The students have to complete a rotation in a school setting so that they develop skills working with children. They teach us about healthy food choices, hand washing, toothbrushing, etc. They also have a component this year that requires that they complete a home visit with a family and do an assessment and training. Below is the information that they sent to Stephanie. Hopefully, one of our families will be willing to work with the student, Dee, to complete this. Let me know ASAP if you want to participate. Thanks, Beth

The family assessment and health promotion project asks that they interview a family for a 1-2 hour session in which questions about nutrition, physical activity, stress management, family support and resources will be asked. They would ideally meet at the family's home, but this is not imperative. The student will talk with the family about their priorities as to improving their health. With this information the student will design a simple health promotion activity to be presented to the family at a second home visit.

Data obtained in this visit will only be shared with their clinical instructor in a written paper. No information will be shared with any of the staff at Trillium Charter School.

The students need to make contact with the families by next Tuesday, October 21, 2008. I am copying this message to them so that they can relay specifics to their respective teacher preceptors as well, in an effort to hasten the search for families. They understand that the families would need to give consent to Trillium staff prior to being contacted by the students.

I hope that four of your families will be willing to volunteer their time in an effort to assist our students with this interesting project.

The students and myself will be grateful.

--
Billy Menz
K-1-2 Teacher
Trillium Charter School