Dear Trillium Parents,
From Room Parents – End of Year Gifts
Hello Trillium Families!
It’s hard to believe we are nearing the end of the school year already…we knew May was going to fly by!! At the end of each school year we ask our community to thank Jennifer and Matt for the amazing support and enrichment they offer our children. I know how grateful we all are for the work they put in with our children; their thoughtfulness and kindness is present each day in the classroom.
As always, contributions of any amount are welcomed and much appreciated. Everything we collect will be carefully and anonymously compiled to be given to Jennifer and Matt. Per tradition, a portion of the donations from each classroom are combined and used to purchase gifts for the support staff as well.
Donations can be placed in the black “Donations Box” at the front desk in the file marked Trillium Room.
Also in the Trillium Room file you will find cards for Jennifer and Matt. Please take a moment to sign these cards. Even if you choose to not participate in the group gift, we still encourage you to share your words of appreciation. Please also sign the cards for the support staff!! They are located in the same box.
Appreciation Gift Donations are due by Wednesday, June 5.
Cash or checks payable to Margo Walsh are accepted as is Venmo to @Margo-Walsh
Please let us know if you have any questions!
Carolyn, Margo and Emily
Thank you, Trillium Families!
Hi families! What gorgeous weather we had at the picnic yesterday! Somehow I neglected to take any photos so if you have pictures you’d like to share, please send them to me. I will send Sunstone a little write up about the day with a few photos that may go into the Sunstonian.
From Jennifer – Wishes for Spring Break – 3/22
Dear Trillium Families,
From Jennifer 3/20
Dear Trillium Parents,
From Jennifer 3/19
Dear Trillium Parents,
From Jennifer – Unplanned Trip
Dear Trillium Families,
I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day! I shared a small story today about St. Valentinus from the days of the Roman Empire in Italy. We heard about his help for sick and poor members of the community and how they oftentimes converted to Christianity because of it. He wrote notes to them from jail, where he was imprisoned for this loving act, signed “your Valentinus.” I hope we can show our gratitude and empathy to others in even small ways this Valentine’s day. Your children certainly show this to each other everyday!
I am writing to share that I have to take an unplanned trip to Michigan to be with my family as we say goodbye to a wonderful man who has loved me my whole life. He’s like a second Dad to me and his two children my “near-siblings.” I’ll be flying off to the snowy northern land tomorrow. In my absence, Matt and Kristen will care for the children. With my previous plan to go to the Refresher Course in New Orleans, we already have no school on Friday. I’ll miss your children on Wednesday, Thursday, and Tuesday, but return full of gratitude for our days together.
I look forward to seeing you at Student Presentation Day next Thursday, February 21, between 2-3pm for lower el (1-3pm for Lupine).
Thank you for your support and grace,
Jennifer
Happy last day of January –
In the Trillium today, we talked about what we did during this month and what we can still do in the final hours of January 2019 to be kind. The children made this list of ways they’ve expressed kindness throughout the month…
We hosted children’s house visitors and introduced our new hamster, Snickers.
We offered compliments to one another.
We helped take care of friends when someone was sad.
Helped each other with our jobs and research.
Helped one another when we were upset.
We are helping friends learn to read.
Read to younger children in their classrooms.
Helped friends open lunch containers.
Showed new friends how we do things in our class and how to attach pouches to their research..
Cooperated during snack.
At home we help with younger siblings.
Played friendly games on the playground and had fun.
Escorted friends to the front desk and other places in our building.
Helped a brother find his sunglasses.
Helped with the art auction project, including finding needles.
Helped my mom at my house when my dad was gone.
Helped with writing in our journals.
Helped each other score goals during soccer games at recess.
Cheered up my brother at recess.
Let other children have turns or sometimes gave up what we want to make a friend feel happy.
Worked hard to solve arguments and compromise.
… your children are KIND and helpful!
Our class has been so happy to welcome Camilla and her family to our community. Camilla is a second year and she has already crafted research with friends and done many science experiments. We heard the first Great Story of the creation of the universe together and have been exploring timelines of early animal life and humans. It’s wonderful to have our group feel so full of friendships and productive work partnerships.
In other news, we have our new hamster! After a few rounds of voting, his name has been decided upon: Snickers. He’s very loved and the children have been inviting younger friends over each day to make introductions.
Thanks to Jennifer, Henry’s mom, and Carolyn, Declan’s mom, we have an art auction project well underway! We had a lovely lesson on weaving from Jennifer and she made individual looms. Thank you for your great efforts to bring this art project to life.
I hope to see you at the Gala on March 2nd! It’s a great party and a wonderful chance to socialize and support our school.
Here’s to February – and another month of kind togetherness,
Jennifer
Happy New Year, Trillium Families!
From Jennifer: November News
Thank you, Trillium Parents!
In the classroom…
In housekeeping…
Upcoming Events
Our Fall Mixer will be from 6pm – 7:30pm on October 4th. All classrooms will be open – feel free to visit with our parents and mingle throughout the rooms. This event could use donations of beverages and snacks.
October 6th is the Fall Festival on the front lawn with lots of games, a bouncy house and clothing exchange. There is also a Green Team table and early release Gala tickets!
Picture Day for us is October 18th. Try to have your child here that morning for our class picture and individual photos. Be sure to return your photo packets with payment to the front desk if you’d like portraits. Thanks!
Conferences are November 8 and 9th. Sign-up opportunities will be sent to you via email. Keep reading the Tuesday Communications and Sunstonian for current events and info!
Thank you for your support and for sharing your wonderful children with us. We are truly having fun everyday! I’m attaching a couple of photos showing how mixed age mentorships are so very meaningful to your children. The peer guiding that happens in our classrooms solidifies your child’s learning and confidence, and builds a culture of community that sticks with your children for years.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
From Jennifer – Trillium News
Greetings Trillium Families,
Our days are so enjoyable and clipping by! We have been settling into routines, helping one another, and sharing lessons together. Your children are showing their best selves as they provide guidance for new children and offer compliments on successes and hard work. We’ve shared the book The Empty Pot, about honesty and courage, and Have You Filled a Bucket Today? to help us visualize the effect of our words and actions on others.
Gratitude
Thank you for attending Back to School Night. It was nice to see so many of you and have a chance to communicate the culture of our classroom in person. We are inviting another parent to join Emily and Carolyn as a room parent – this is a fun role that includes communicating with our parent group, delegating tasks for special events, and attending occasional meetings with other room parents and our administrative staff. Thank you for considering!
Thanks to Matt for sending pictures this week – we will continue to share these glimpses into our daily life in Trillium as often as possible. And, thank you for your generosity in donating items from the wish list and Amazon book list! It is so fun to receive these treats to augment our classroom library and supplies.
Nuts and bolts
Please, guide your child in all that s/he is capable of – and show her how to pack snacks in separate containers and prepare lunches. It is really helpful for each child to have a raincoat at school and wear outdoor shoes that can handle running and weather at recess.
From Jennifer – Back to School Night
Dear Trillium Families,
What a wonderful beginning we are having here in our classroom community. Thank you for supporting this transition time and helping your children get the sleep and care they need. It’s exciting to see them grow into their elementary selves and take on responsibilities, such as packing their snacks and lunches, and choosing clothes for the day. They are such a lovely group!
I look forward to seeing you on Thursday for Back to School Night. We’ll begin in the Commons at 6:00pm and then come to Trillium to talk about the ins and outs of our classroom. This is a great opportunity to get to know other parents and ask questions. We’ll also have sign-ups for volunteer and wish list items available.
Of note right away, these are the nuts our classroom needs to avoid: pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts and peanuts. Almond and sunflower butters are fine!
Here are a few pictures from this morning. We’ll share the first Great Lesson on Wednesday! This first story is about the creation of the universe and our earth, and it inspires the geography and history work to come.
With thanks,
Jennifer
From the Room Parents – Welcome Back!
Dear Trillium Room Community,
Welcome to all new and returning families! We wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves as the Room Parents in the Trillium Room – Carolyn McDonald, (Declan 2nd year), and Emily Neuhaus, (Liam 2nd year). Our responsibilities as Room Parents are varied and we would like to take the opportunity to let you know what we do and how we might be able to help with questions, support and ideas that you might have.
- Volunteer Opportunities – We help communicate volunteer opportunities within the classroom. If families are needed to sign up for flowers/laundry, classroom wish list items or to volunteer at Solstice, you may hear from us. Some are able to give their time, others would rather offer donations. We encourage you to volunteer in a way that is right for your family. You can check out a list of volunteer opportunities on the parents page of the website. Please let us know if you have questions about any of the opportunities.
- Gifts and Staff Appreciation – We coordinate gift giving efforts for Jennifer, Matt and the support staff during the holiday season and at year-end. We also coordinate a staff appreciation meal once a year. For staff appreciation each classroom chooses one month during the year to provide a meal to honor the whole school staff and show our appreciation for all that they do for our children. Meal ideas include breakfast goodies, brunch, or serving homemade soups and baked goods for lunch. If you have any ideas or suggestions, we welcome your input! We will let you know when our selected month is and send out more information at that time.
- Winter Solstice Activities and Class Auction Art Projects – We help plan and procure supplies for the Winter Solstice craft activities as well as the Trillium Room art auction project, so if you have any special talents or can volunteer your time, please let us know. You will also see donation sign ups in the Tuesday Communications as these events near.
- Trillium Community Events – We organize special events for the Trillium community. In addition to the back-to-school picnic held in August, we will be planning other classroom gatherings for some of the in-service days so watch for those details. There is also an end of year picnic which is typically planned in conjunction with the Camassia Room. Date to be determined as well.
Class communication
Throughout the year we will use this listserv to communicate to you information regarding all of the above items.
We highly encourage you to check out the Trillium link under “From the Classrooms” in the Tuesday Communications each week.
School Directories
School directories can be found on the parents page of the website under Directories – Password: Sunstone. The classroom rosters will be published there shortly.
Thank you to all the families who were able to make it to our Back to School picnic. It was nice to connect with some of the new families as well as catch up with some old friends.
Upcoming Events and Announcements
Back To School Night on September 13 @ 6:00pm.
Fall Mixer on October 4 @ 6:00pm. Stay tuned for more on this and volunteer opportunities!
Room Parent Opportunity! We are looking for a third parent to join Carolyn and me as room parents this year. If you are interested please let me, Carolyn or Jennifer know.
We look forward to sharing a new school year with all of you!
Warmly,
Emily Neuhaus – emily.clover@gmail.com
Carolyn McDonald – Carolynmcd17@gmail.com
From Jennifer – Welcome Back & Items to Bring
Dear Trillium Families,
We are so happy to be back! Our second and third year children are getting ready to welcome new friends on Thursday.
Snack, Lunch & Indoor Shoes
Please, remember to send your child with indoor shoes, a healthy lunch and snack, and a small mug. Children bring their snacks into the classroom when they arrive in the morning and keep them in our snack basket. It is really helpful if they have packed their snack in a separate container – labeled with their initials or name.
Thank you! We are really happy to be starting our year out together.
Our best to you,
Jennifer and Matt
From Jennifer – Welcome Back Gathering
Dear Trillium Families,
Welcome to your new school year! Matt and I are so excited to see you in the coming weeks and begin our school days in the Trillium classroom. If you can come to the orientation and campus clean-up morning, we’ll be greeting children between 9:30 and 11:30 next Thursday, August 30th. Your child may bring a small mug, indoor shoes, and a raincoat to keep at school. It’s also a nice time for them to choose a journal from the office and put it in their drawer.
Plan to stay for a while after – we are having a casual beginning of the year picnic on the front lawn. Please, bring your own picnic and utensils (the school is not formally hosting and cannot provide supplies). We’ll gather on the front lawn to get to know one another and let the children play. We’ll be picnicking from 11 – 12pm. We hope to be joined by Lupine families as well!
With gratitude,
Jennifer and Matt