12/17/12

After the tragic school shooting in Connecticut
Gary Eagles, our County Superintendent of Schools, has shared the
following resources. I hope you find them helpful.

We are also available if your children need to talk about any difficult feelings
they may be having following this disturbing news.

Talking with Kids about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/handouts/talkingviolence.pdf
 
How to Help Children Cope with Trauma/Grief (English and Spanish)
http://www.scoe.org/docs/safe/coping-with-trauma.pdf

December 2012

December Reminders:

We have 3 field trips in the next 2 weeks and we need parent drivers.
Next week we are scheduled to go to HSU on both Wednesday and Friday at 1:00
to participate in a PE lessons given by HSU Kinesiology students.
This will be the HSU students' final project and they will be graded on their performance.
Please help us transport the children to and from campus- the lessons will last around one hour.
Sign-ups are in the kitchen.

Next, on Tuesday Dec. 11th,
the K-2 class will try again to get to the Natural History Museum by 10:00.
They are scheduled for a presentation on skulls as part of their unit studies.

We understand that everyone is busy, but we hope that you will try to find time to help get the kids out in the community during this wet and dark time of year.

Also coming up this month:

12/11: Steering Committee meeting at 6:00
12/14: Parent's Night Out & Arts Arcata
* We are looking for parents to volunteer a turn supervising children for this fundraiser.
Please let us know if you are available. Thanks.*

12/20: Multicultural Celebration 1:00-3:00
  Students will be presenting results from their cultural studies.
We will share food and traditions from around the world.
We hope you can join us.

12/21: Minimum Day: School is out at 1:10. There will be aftercare.

12/24/12-1/4/13: Winter Break
Enjoy your holiday celebrations and Happy New Year!

Important announcement:

Tomorrow- Tuesday October 23- there will NOT be early morning care 
available at Trillium due to staff illness.

The building will be open at 8:15.
Sorry for any inconvenience.

It is also picture make-up day beginning at 9:30.

Wednesday: Aly's class has a super fun field trip planned
at Freshwater farms.
She needs parent drivers to make it there at 9:30.
Please sign up to drive.

You can also sign up in the kitchen to help at the Halloween Carnival.
There are many options- or let us know if you have a new idea.

The 3-5 trip to Wolf Creek is NEXT WEEK from Monday -Wednesday.
Please be sure to communicate with Aly about driving, chaperones, supplies and food money.
Thanks.

Just a few quick reminders-

This Friday is Parent's Night Out!
Sign up in the kitchen if you would like to drop your child/ren off from 6:00-9:00.
You must pre-pay $10.00 per child.
Please feed them dinner before you bring them.
There will be an age-appropriate movie and snacks- pajamas are fine too.
Siblings will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Please talk to a staff member.

Many thanks to all our wonderful field trip drivers!

Aly's class trip to Wolf Creek Education Center is coming right up- 10/29-10/31.
Please let Aly know ASAP if you are willing and able to chaperone.
Also, we need to know if there are any students who will NOT be going on the trip
so we can make arrangements.
Thank you.

Our annual Halloween Carnival will be on Halloween from 1:00-3:00.
If you have an idea for an activity or game please talk to Marianne.
Look for volunteer sign-ups in the kitchen next week.

Picture make-up day will be Tuesday October 23rd at 9:30.
Every student had a photo taken for the yearbook last Tuesday and it is not too late to order prints.
Order forms are in the kitchen.

Next Monday, October 15th, is a Teacher Duty Day- no school for students.
That's all for now.

Fall Updates

September is coming to an end quickly and October is another busy month.
It seems that the classes are getting settled and we are ready to go out in the community.
Please put these dates on your calendar:

Sept 30: Garden Party & Potluck from 2:00-5:00
               Please join Meka and other garden enthusiasts to plant our fall garden, prune & clean-up
               summer growth and hopefully build a new permanent sand digging area.
               Brings tools, starts, gloves and some food to share. Parents with kids will take turns working
               and supervising- of course kids are always welcome to help in the garden too.

Oct. 3rd: K-2 field trip to the Blue Lake Post Office for a tour and to mail Flat Stanley on his
                adventure. Parent drivers & car seats will be needed.

Oct. 10: All school trip to the pumpkin patch- drivers & car seats will be needed.

Oct. 29-31: 3-5 graders to Wolf Creek: Please sign up to help

Oct 31: Halloween Carnival at Trillium from 1:00-3:00
             We need volunteers to run games and people to make snacks- look for sign ups in the kitchen

Look in your parent mailboxes for trip slips and return them signed in the kitchen. All students need a permission slip for off campus adventures. Also, you can sign up to drive in the kitchen too. Thank you!

Are you there?

This is a test post to see if you are receiving blog updates. If you do get this email please leave a comment or send a confirmation email to trilliumcs@gmail.com. Thanks. A new blog update will go out next week.

August means school starts soon!

The countdown is on! We are open and getting ready to begin school on Monday August 27th. We are excited to see everyone again and welcome our new families and students. Again- please do let us know ASAP if your student is not attending this year. We have a very active waiting list and would like to be sure everyone can come to the first day of school. Thanks. Anyone who has expressed interest in summer work trade- now is the time. There are many area that need attending to, including the garden, the libraries, the kitchen, Sarah's classroom, Katie's classroom (formerly the Magic room), and the completion of our new aftercare space (formerly Katie's room). If you are not available during daytime hours please call or email and we can arrange access at your convenience. Speaking of Aftercare, this year Kindergarten will be released at 2:10 and there will be Kindergarten only aftercare available from 2:10-3:10. Regular aftercare will begin at 3:10 starting the first day of school. All families MUST pay down their aftercare bill in order to use the program in the fall. It has come to my attention that the reminder letters didn't go out with the final bills, so this is your reminder. If your balance is over $100 you must pay at least half of your bill and make immediate payment arrangements on the first day of school. We cannot carry large balances- our budget and our district will not allow it. Please read your aftercare contracts carefully. And for those of you who have dutifully made monthly payments- we sincerely thank you. Another update to note is that, due to budget cuts, we will have some unfortunate reductions in our supplementary staff hours. This means that parent volunteerism will be more important than ever to keep things running day to day. There will be a list of volunteer jobs available on the first day of school and we ask everyone to commit a minimum of 2 hours a month to Trillium. For working families there are many options that are flexible and can even happen from your home. We are working on additional aftercare discounts for families that will sign a monthly commitment agreement. Look for details in your paperwork packet on the first day of school. Lastly, the first day of school will include our annual meet & greet lunch potluck. Families are invited to join us for lunch at 12:45. Paperwork packets will be available for pick up and staff members will be here to answer any questions. We hope you can join us.

Summertime

Hi everyone! It's summer and hopefully everyone is enjoying all this lovely weather. We had such a great school end of the year trip this year! Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a joy to camp together! If you didn't make it this year we sure hope you will think ahead for next year's trip. Please look for your final aftercare and/or lunch bills in the mail. Depending on your aftercare account status, there may be an important letter attached to your bill for you to read. If your bill is less than $50 you will only receive a bill. If you're bill is more than $50 but you have been making regular payments throughout the school year yours is just a reminder to pay down your account before school begins. *If your bill is more than $50 and you have not been making regular payments or have violated a previously signed payment agreement- please read your letter carefully. You will not have access to aftercare until payments have been brought to current status. If you have interest in a possible work trade for some of your bill please email us at trilliumcs@gmail.com. There are many projects happening over the summer and we need people power. PLease include your phone number in the email. Thanks! The front bulletin board at the school has information about summer activities, including camps, family events and free lunch sites for kids. Come check it out. The office will be closed for regular hours from July 2-August 13, however we will be checking mail, messages, emails and such. You can certainly contact us if needed. If for any reason you are not sending your child to Trillium in the fall- PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP. We have quite a long waiting list for Sarah's class and only one opening in Aly's class. It is so difficult for students to miss the first day of school, so please let us fill a space if you are not going to use it. Thank you. Some changes for next year: Kindergarden will be dismissed at 2:00. There will be K aftercare beginning at that time. Katie is moving into the former Magic Room and Aftercare is moving in to Katie's room. (This is one of the projects that could use people power.) Budget cuts are hitting all the school hard. Due to reductions in supplementary staff time we will be asking for 2 hours a month of volunteer time from each family. This does not have to be during school hours- there are plenty of behind the scenes jobs that make a huge difference. As always, financial contributions are accepted if your time is unavailable. School will begin on August 27 at 9:00 sharp! As usual, we will host a family potluck lunch that day from 1:00 - 3:00 for families to meet and greet, tour classrooms, hear about exciting events and fill out required paperwork. We hope you will be able to join us. Have a great summer!

Welcome back from Spring Break!
Hopefully everyone stayed dry and had some enjoyable family time.

Many thanks to the dedicated Trillium gardeners who did it again!
Check out the yard- it looks wonderful.

We are now in the final stretch of the year- only 9 weeks left.
We have a lot going on in these final weeks so please read the front board,
check your parent box, and read the blog and the website to stay informed.

Here is a preview:

Next week:
Monday 4/23: Steering Committee meeting 6:00
Thursday 4/26: School Spelling Bee 2:00-3:00
Friday 4/27: 3-5 grade field trip 10:30-2:30
This field trip will need parents to drive to the Natural History Museum in Arcata for a presentation,
then on to Redwood Park for lunch and forest explorations. Please sign up in the kitchen.

May 8-16: STAR Testing for 2-5 graders

Thank you so much to parents- we have had 100% participation for 6 years in a row and it has really helped our school.

This year we are hoping to increase our scores and continue to show the skeptics that charter school kids
are learning just like all students in California.

STAR Test week is always fun- believe it or not- filled with special activities & snacks.
If you could volunteer to make a healthy snack or a treat on any day we would love it.
Look for sign ups in the kitchen next week.

The popular vote from our parent meeting was YES- families want the End of the Year Trip.
For new families, this is our annual family camp-out that takes up our last few days of school.
It is always a wonderful and relaxing time and our favorite way to say so long for the summer.

Information will be going out in the next few weeks for people to confirm their attendance
or- if they cannot make the trip- gauge whether or not kids will be at school on those days.
The response from our community will dictate the planning for these days- so please return let us know.

This year we will be camping on Avenue of the Giants at Humboldt Redwood Group Camp in Weott.
On our way down we are planning some fun stops at the Loleta Cheese Factory, and possibly
Clendenines Orchards or the Kinetic Museum.
We'll keep you posted- and let us know if you have any ideas.

In order to fund our wonderful trip- we are having a school yard sale!
Donations are now being accepted.
If you have furniture or large items we can plan pick-up with advance notice.
The sale is on Saturday May 12, and there will be a sorting party on the Thursday or Friday before.
Tell your friends!

If you have already checked it out- our school website is

You can use it to get to this blog, check out the lunch menu, and more.
We hope this will make it simple for you to access school information.

We are still collecting parent evaluations in the kitchen.
Your input is extremely valuable to help us serve the needs of our families.
Please take a few minutes to fill one out. They are anonymous- so be honest!

Also- if there is ever anything you are concerned about- please let us know.
We are here for you.
We can't anticipate everyone's needs, but we are always open to hearing your input
and will do anything possible to meet your child's specific needs.

That's all for now but more is coming soon.

Spring

It's feeling like Spring!

As always, we get very busy this time of year
so here's the current happenings:

This Friday (tomorrow)- the whole school is going to HSU to the Math Fair.
So far, the K-2 class has enough drivers/chaperones but we still need seats for older kids.
Please sign up if you can help- and don't forget those car seats for students under 8.

Sunday is the Foggy Bottom Milk Run- the kids have been training hard and
are ready for this event.
If you are planning to carpool- Sarah will be meeting at Trillium at noon
and leaving promptly at 12:30.
Katie is willing to drive Eureka students, so if you are interested please call us ASAP.

*DON"T FORGET THE TIME CHANGE*
Clocks are moving one hour forward Saturday night.
Also- please consider that there is only one road in and out of Ferndale.
If you are planning to meet us there plan for extra travel time as there will be congestion.

Next week:
Monday:
* Science Fair projects will be moved to the County Science Fair.

* The Steering Committee will be meeting at 6:00

Friday:
* 3-5 grade students will visit the County Science Fair at HSU
They are planning to walk & have a picnic lunch if the weather is good.

March 21
* K-2 students will try again to visit the Natural History Museum- parent drivers needed

March 30
* 3-5 grade students are going to see the Eureka Symphony
This show begins at 9:30 so we need to be there by 9:20!
Please help us get there on time.

Looking Ahead:
April 2-6: Minimum Days and Parent Conferences all week
These are the last scheduled conferences for the year- please look for sign ups

April 9-13: Spring Break


Thank you so much to everyone who donated to help us buy a chiller for our baby salmon.
If you have not seen it yet- the tank is set up in the Magic room.
Your generosity is sincerely appreciated.

As you probably know- the budget crisis in California
is hitting schools very hard this year and into next.

We are looking at some spring fundraisers for our end of the year trip
and improvements for the fall. Please watch for information in your parent boxes.

As always- if fundraising is not something you have time or energy for
you can always donate directly to the Trillium Club.

We are currently enrolling students for the fall.
If you know someone looking for Kindergarten
or maybe just needing a change, please have them call us at 822-4721.

Thanks!