A NOTE FROM YOUR PRINCIPAL …

If you wish to contact me, please send me an e-mail, or a written note on my door.

Martin Luther king, jr.day

Dear SES Families,

The birthday of Martin Luther King is an important touchstone for the school and for me, as a person.

I was raised as a Quaker in Pennsylvania and was fortunate to have a person in my Quaker meeting invite me to the march on Washington where MLK gave his "I Have A Dream". I was a thirteen year old girl and I remember well the challenge and possibility he offered us that warm, summer day. 

Years later, his children asked all of us who cared about his work, to honor him through a day of service. I have always thought about those four children that he references in his "I Have A Dream" and  that the least we could do for them was to honor their very simple request. "Make this day on and not a day off." "Make this a day of service."

Because of the unspeakable gift Martin Luther King and his family gave to our country and the world, we decided, as a school, to honor this gift with our own gift of service. This month, all of the classes are studying the civil rights movement and developing ways to help the world in some small way.

The Hunger Banquet is our special event for SES families. A quiet time to recognize the inequities in our world, teach our children, remind ourselves and raise some small gift for the worlds hungry.

This is a family event. I don't think it matters so much how old your child is but if you attend, please consider attending as a family.  The incredible middle school students who are working so hard on this event want it to be all ages and, in truth, hunger is painful, in part because it does not discriminate against age and vulnerability.

This is also a good day to join Sisters of the Road Cafe in their downtown march and rally or to volunteer in some other way. Small kindnesses add up and this is our special day as a community and a country to celebrate the courage of kindness.

I am wiring this because it was suggested to me that some background on service-learning and the banquet would be helpful.

The event starts at four with an art instillation in the auditorium as well as a few service activities. The banquet is about 45 minutes long. Most families will sit on the floor and eat a simple meal of rice. A few will have some beans and four will have a full meal with a dessert. There will be a song to sing altogether and a short presentation by the 8th grade students. It can be a little noisy and confusing but I am sure that is how it might feel in a refugee camp or the places people went to in Hurricane Katrina. The important part is the discussions this inspires for your child and family.

Tickets will be sold in the hall before and after school tomorrow or you can get a ticket at the door. We also hope you will use this time.,as a family to talk about Martin Luther King Jr and how his work and the work of other civil rights leaders changed the world.   ~ Sarah Taylor
shtaylor@pps.k12.or.us

Second Trimester Conversation

Dear SES Families,
 
This Friday marks the end of the first trimester of the school year. One third of the school year has been experienced with two thirds yet to come. The lovely first warm days of sunflowers, harvesting, and friendships made by a campfire are memories that linger on as we move increasingly indoors. We end this season with our Forest Festival as we celebrate and acknowledge the expansion our students have experienced as both learners and members of a community. Knowing that each of us has experienced both joy and challenges as we struggle to meet deadlines, care for relationships and remain strong in our commitment to the mission of the school, we can look forward to 2007 with a sense of accomplishment and determination.
 
In the last few weeks, three students who went to or are now at SES, have had a beloved parent die. I am humbled by their grief. No one planned for these premature deaths or the incredible loneliness and shock they would cause. We all hope that if we plan enough, care enough, communicate enough that we can protect our children and ourselves from pain but it is surely as much a part of the learning process as any lesson ever taught at school. Perhaps one of the most important things about an environmentally based education is that we teach that life has its many overlapping cycles and that the world is a resilient and self- healing place.  We learn that when a tree falls in the forest, it lets light in where new plants can grow. We learn what good friends the insects who live on our forest floor are and how without them life on earth could not exist. We learn that all plants have developed a perfect way to create seeds that will move through space and time in just the right way to begin a new life and in learning this come to trust that we too will find our own best way.
 
The second trimester, our winter days trimester, is intended to build on the experiences of autumn through a well thought out curriculum and several key community events. In this letter I hope to share what we have to look forward to:  There are many wonderful activities for your child and family. We know your lives are already full so please pick the ones that most meet your family’s needs and enhance a sense of life-long learning.
 
January 2 - School starts again after winter break
 
January - Begin rehearsals for the all school musical – Seussical ( show is the last week-end of April)
 
January 5- Adult dodge ball with Dian
 
Inventions Conventions has been moved to the spring and will focus on inventions that help us with sustainability.
 
January 6 and 7 - Middle school students recycle your holiday trees and wreaths so they can become compost. They also serve a pancake breakfast.
 
January 8 - Principal teas are informal gatherings to ask questions and meet parents.
 
January 12 - A middle school dance with the added feature of a parenting group with Kathy Keller-Jones. Drop the kids off and get some much needed parent talk time.
-  k-2 service day in honor of MLK Jr.
 
January 13 - There is no school but there is a Hunger Banquet put on by middle school students. The banquet begins at 5:00 pm with all proceeds going to eliminate world hunger. There will also be a service fair and an educational silent auction. $$$
 
January 22 - Site councils all year long are the perfect way to be with teachers in a meaningful way while discussing issues of importance to the school. A great way to participate and get to know people. It’s always at 3:30 in the library and everyone is welcome.
 
January 24 - PTSA meetings always include a parent education component. Check the SES Messenger for topics. A good way to get in step with the pulse of the school.
 
February 3 - The all school auction at Smith Ballroom at PSU. A chance to have fun,
meet people and support the school.  This is the most significant fundraiser of the year.
 
February 9 – An all school talent show at 6:30 pm. Just plain fun ! All ages. Sustainability inventions are displayed.
 
More site councils, parent teas, PTSA and dances with parent groups…….
 
February 12 - All school spirit week and val-o-gram sales (check your calendar and newsletter for specifics) Just a silly midwinter thing to do.
 
February 23 - Another pre-school story hour by our good friend and Belmont librarian, Jane. Bring your preschoolers to the library for a story. (there is one each month)
 
March 2 – Stone Soup: a family event for the k-1-2 who make supper for their families and serve in the early evening.
 
March 2 - Read Across America
 
March 3 - Ahh. Spring must be on its way as we have a garden day. Please plan on coming for some part of this day, with your family to help get the important work of gardens started.
 
March 9 – An all school sock hop. Come dance to the oldies and eat pizza. Lots of fun for the whole family.
 
March 12 - Free university all week. Teach a class, show a film, lead a discussion. Free classes for the community, parents and students all week.  A week dedicated to the concept of life-long learning and each one teach one. Start thinking what you might teach.
 
This trimester ends with student led conferences on March 21st and a well deserved spring break
 
 
Second trimester curriculum themes
 
k-1-2  Folk and fairy tales around the world with drama residencies
 
3-4    Bones. Road Dahl author study
 
5       US history in the colonial period
 
6-7-8  The heart, civil rights, forest issues
 
****Grades 3 through 8 take part in state testing including math and reading in the computer lab and a writing assessment in the classroom.
 
Volunteering
 
Our school is a busy, creative and ever changing place where we strive to bring people together in a spirit of community. It is based on the idea that schools can be and need to be centers in the community where people come together to learn, to play, to celebrate and to ponder that which is difficult in life. We hope that the second trimester offers many things that will engage your student and your family in the life of the school. We hope that no matter what activities you choose they will strengthen your family and our community.
 
The best way to volunteer is to be present. To come in the building whenever you can and ask, “what needs to be done?” You can ask me, the secretaries, Mia and the teachers.  It’s like a big Thanksgiving dinner. It was great but the dishes have to be done. Here at school we need to put chairs up and down, hang art, work in the garden, send home packets, raise money. If you look at the whole thing, it is so much but we are a 1000 strong parent community so really each person just has to model for their children the spirit of hard work; the spirit of pitching in.  Some people love to tackle a big project like Ben and Cindi with the community kitchen but others are happy to come and tear out the tables on a Saturday morning and someone, thankfully, was willing to sweep up after the mess. Some people like Jon direct whole big k-8 musicals and someone will make the program and many more will come and be the ever needed audience.
 
We are a web and each one of us plays a vital role in the care and education of these amazing children who we collectively call our own. What makes a school delicious is the parent volunteers.  What makes life delicious is the many talents and gifts that we all share with one another. All the events I have described need parents to make them their own. Right now they are letters on a page. What will make them alive and beautiful is the artist, the scientist, the baker, the scientist, the organizer that dwells within us all.
 
Sarah Taylor
December 13, 2006

Sunnyside Environmental School
Second Trimester Volunteer Sign Up
 
Please return this (pdf) to Sarah or e-mail and let us know what you can do.
 
Name____________________________________________
Student name______________________________________
Teacher’s name ____________________________________
Phone ____________________________________________
 
 
____ Help Nicki in the office one afternoon a week. Call her.
 
____ Help with tree recycling. Call Tim Provinsal ( 503-232-5900)
 
____Help with the Hunger Banquet
 
____ Auction help contact Melinda Patterson ( 503-252-9008)
 
____Help with the musical  contact Jon Schade ( 503-788-5290)
 
____Teach a Free University Class. Contact Sarah. What class? What day and time of the week?
 
 
____ k-1-2 Stone Soup. Contact your room parent.
 
_____Help Mia with the art and garden. Contact Mia (miaems@yahoo.com)
 
_____ Coffee, tea and bake sale for Garden Day on March 3rd.
 
_____Help with the Talent Show(organizing, food, tickets, advertising)
 
_____ Help with schoolyard grant( ecoroof, outdoor learning)
 
_____Help with teacher lunch space during Forest Festival
 
_____Help Sarah with 8th grade retreat ( must have a coordinator ASAP)
 
_____Help Sarah coordinate the 6th grade girls overnight)
 
 
After school activities include Seussical, Mad Science, MUSE, guitar, violin, gardening with Mia on Wednesdays, Spanish, Chinese, 4-H, basketball by grade level as organized by parents, chess.
           
If you have an idea, please let Sarah know.