One More Week Until Summer Vacation!! WooHoo!

Jump Up Day, Monday, June 7, 9:25-9:50 am

Jump-Up-Day is when our first through fourth grade students “jump” into the next grade level, visit their classrooms for next year and meet their new teaching teams. We have found this process eases the transition into the next grade level. Teachers talk about highlights the students can look forward to next year.

5th grade Portfolio Night, Tuesday, June 8, 6:30-8:00 pm  

4th Grade French Presentation, Tuesday, June 8, 5:30 pm, French Rm.    

Pet Day, Wednesday, June 9, 2:00-3:00 pm, Paddock

From 2:00 to 3:00 pm we invite families to show off and share the joy of pets. You are by no means required to bring a pet to school. There’s plenty of fun in being free to visit all the pet areas. Dogs go to the paddock, cats go to the science room, other small pets go to the art barn, and photos of pets go to our Virtual Pet Gallery in the foyer of the Lower School (pictures can come to school in the morning).

If it does work for your family and your pet to come to campus, the pet should arrive at 2:00 pm and someone must be responsible for the pet at all times.

Common Sense and Safety Considerations: Clean up after your pet. Never bring a pet who has been known to bite. Consider the potential for reactions to being around many other pets. Dogs must be on a leash. Water will be provided in buckets in the paddock.

Dismissal Plan: All children must check-out with a homeroom teacher before leaving campus at 3:10.

Field Day, Thursday, June 10, 12:15-2:15 pm, Track

Don’t miss this fun event! Parents are encouraged to come along. We always need helping hands and enthusiastic supporters. Sign up to volunteer by emailing Carrie at blankc@catlin.edu. At the end of the day everyone gets a Popsicle! Children should wear shorts, t-shirts and athletic shoes.

We will be having a slip and slide so please be sure to/bring a bathing suit to school (towels will be provided). Parents may want to bring along some sunscreen as well. Remember to send a water bottle too!

5th grade Graduation, Thursday, June 10, 2:30-3:15, LS Library

Last day of school, Friday, June 11, regular school day, dismissal at 3:10 pm, ASC available

Disco Friday! 7:50 am, LS Library

Notes from Vicki

Don’t put it in the pile for later!!!

Please Return Those Forms!!
RETURN THEM BY NEXT FRIDAY, JUNE 11

You should have received a packet of important forms which was sent to each household with children enrolled for next year. Please don’t let this mailing get lost in the shuffle.

• Sign and return the two sided emergency medical forms. Please Note: Even if you do not make any changes we still need your signature.

Additional Forms
• Directory Listing
• Parent professional and grandparent information form
• Photo identification denial form

Your children’s health and safety and your family’s directory listing depend on you doing your homework. Thank you for your prompt attention to these materials.

Lower School Yearbooks

Each child’s account will be charged $23.00 for one yearbook. They will be distributed on the last day of school. If you are in need of financial assistance, please contact Vicki at roscoev@catlin.edu.

After School News

Parents of First and Second Grades Only

Please let Julie know by June 14 if you would like to have your child switched from Spanish to Mandarin Chinese, or from Mandarin Chinese to Spanish. If one of the languages fills to capacity, we will honor requests “first come, first served.”

Please Return Those Forms!!
Don’t put it in the pile for later!!!
RETURN THEM BY JUNE 11

This past week you should have received a packet of important forms which was sent to each household with children enrolled for next year. Please don’t let this mailing get lost in the shuffle.

• Sign and return the two sided emergency medical forms. Please Note: Even if you do not make any changes we still need your signature.

Additional Forms
• Directory Listing
• Parent professional and grandparent information form
• Photo identification denial form

Your children’s health and safety and your family’s directory listing depend on you doing your homework. Thank you for your prompt attention to these materials.

Class Placement Form for 2010-2011 Due Tuesday, June 1

So how will class placements be made for next year? As always, we spend a great deal of time considering the best placement for each child. Class lists will be made taking into consideration the balance of gender, personality, friendships, learning style and special needs.

Notes from Vicki

I just returned from spending the night with six second graders in a yurt at Champoeg State Park as part of the annual second grade class trip. I only attended the second half of the three day trip. Here were the highlights according to my adult eyes:

Meet our new Mandarin Chinese Teacher

A SHORT STORY FROM THE LIBRARY

Now is the time to round up and return those overdue library books !

 Yes, we allow students to keep and check-out new materials in the next few weeks if they are needed for DEAR, bedtime reading or class research. But start making that transition to your local public library!

Thanks so much for helping

to preserve the treasure of our library.

Questions? Email Lisa at ellenbergl@catlin.edu

After-School Care News

Volunteers Needed for Field Day, June 10

Please contact Carrie Blank at blankc@catlin.edu if you are available to volunteer on June 10. There will be a meeting for all volunteers on Friday, June 4 at 8:30 am in the LS faculty room.

Pet Day is June 9th!

Spring Festival

Thank you so much to the committee and all the volunteers who helped pull off another fabulous Spring Festival!

Peggy McDonnell would love to have some pictures of the event. Pleae send them to her at mcdonnellp@catlin.edu.

Celebrate Global Education with Head of School Lark Palma and Global Education Coordinator Spencer White

Global Education Themed Viewfinder Screening Friday, April 23, 6:30 p.m.

Special guests: Maru-a-Pula Marimba Band from our sister school in Botswana, Maru-a-Pula

Article text

Notes from Vicki

How do you teach philanthropy to children?

Leaving

Teressa Barsotti, fourth grade Teaching Assistant, will not be returning next year, but instead will be off on other adventures. She would like all the families to know how much she has appreciated getting to know their kids and that she will miss them all.

Spring Festival - Sunday, May 2, Noon – 4 pm

Campus Day

Friday, April 16, 1:45-3:00 pm

Next Friday we will reunite with our Experiential Days groups and work together to beautify our campus. This is our way of giving back to our community and allows us to reconnect with the new friends we made during Experiential Days. Dress for dirt. We provide work gloves, but if your child brings his/her own, be sure to label clearly.

Picking up your child on Campus Day

Students will not return to their classrooms. Please note that it will be difficult to pass along messages of last minute change of plans. Please call Julie before 1:30 pm on this day.

Dismissal is at 3:00 pm

• Grades 1-4 will meet on the Barn deck. We will have large signs so children can gather by grade level.

• Grade 5 will meet on the 5th grade deck.

Volunteers needed for snack time!

This is the most popular moment of the day and you can be part of it! We need about 4 parents to distribute the snack when everyone comes back to the Barn after completeing their work. If you want to be a Campus Day hero, please email Julie. Thank you very much!

Spring Festival, May 2

Sunday, May 2, 12:00 - 4:00 pm

Please come join your child at the Spring Festival! Your child has been dancing dances and singing songs from all over the world and will share them on that day.

Performance Schedule:

1st graders: Report to the 1st grade by 12:15, Maypole dance will be at 12:30.

2nd graders: Report to the music room by 11:45. Performance will be at 12:45.

3rd graders: Report to the music room by 1:30. Performance will be at 1:50.

4th graders: Report to the music room by 2:25. Performance will be at 2:30.

5th graders: Report to the music room by 3:00 pm. Performance will be at 3:15.

String ensemble: Valdine will send more details. Performance is at 1:30.

Please dress your children in festive attire. Performances will be held in the Barn.

Dress Suggestions:

Boys: Clean dress pants or dress shorts and a collar shirt

Girls: Festive dresses, skirts, skorts, dress pants

Fifth graders: Black bottoms and white tops

Please confirm your child's participation by emailing Peggy McDonnell. Thanks!!

Bicycle clinic and information evening

April 21, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Middle School Commons

Go greener. Get healthier. Find the fun in bike riding. Come to the Middle School Commons on Wednesday, April 21, from 7 to 8:30 pm, to learn about bicycle safety, handling, fixing, and purchasing from our guest Brian Lacey of BikeEMPOWERED.

As spring weather improves, this is the time to learn the skills and strategies for safe bike commuting and bike maintenance. Feel free to bring your own bike for an assessment. Parents, students and friends are welcome to join us for this free workshop.

For more information contact Len Carr at carrl@catlin.edu or 503 297 1894 ext. 406.

Visiting Irish Dancing Troupe

An Irish dancing troupe performed for the Lower School community meeting last Friday, impressing our students with their precision, speed and skill.

College counselors present two free events for Portland students and families

College counselors Kate Grant and Nancy Donehower provide expertise and insight to Portland families who seek guidance about the college search process. This outreach event is a way for Catlin Gabel to share one of our strongest programs with students and parents who have limited access to college counseling services. The program is free and open to the public. Tell your friends and neighbors.

Monday, April 12, 6:30 pm
Hollywood Library, 4040 NE Tillamook, Portland 97212

Tuesday, May 4, 6:30 pm
Hillsdale Library, 1525 SW Sunset Blvd., Portland 97239

Calling all gardeners!

Help us make this year's (free) Plant Exchange a success by starting to gather divisions, starts and seedlings from your yard. They can be stored at school beginning April 26. Please label all plants and please no invasives. Many thanks!

Contact contact Marjorie with any questions at  Dialmdial@mindspring.com

Laptop program showcase

April 28, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Upper School Library

Do you want to know more about the Upper School laptop program? How are laptops used for schoolwork? Should you buy a Mac or PC? What are the latest laptop models? How does purchasing through Catlin Gabel work? Learn all the ins and outs of the laptop program at the seventh annual laptop program showcase.

Discover the many ways audio and video tools introduce modern language concepts. View student film projects from the media arts classes. See how social networking tools are used in a variety of classes including English and history. Students, find out how you can participate in the robotics program and learn about computer languages taught in programming class.

Take the new Lenovo and Apple laptops for test drives. Talk to IT staff about the pros and cons of each model. Get the scoop on accessories available for purchase with your laptop.

Catlin Gabel information technology staff members will be available to answer questions and provide laptop ordering information. Light snacks and giveaways will be available!

The showcase is geared toward new students and incoming freshmen, current Upper School students, and parents, but we also encourage any interested students, parents, faculty, and staff to attend. You won’t want to miss this event! Please mark your calendar now!

The Parent-Faculty Association nominations

The Parent-Faculty Association (PFA) will be accepting nominations from March 1, 2010 until April 15, 2010 for the 2010-11 school year.
 

Anyone interested can apply. The PFA welcomes parents who are new to the school and parents who have not considered leadership involvement before. Generally, it is best to start out by volunteering as a grade representative before serving on the executive council. Nominating yourself is encouraged.

Please e-mail pfa@catlin.edu  to nominate a candidate (including yourself) for any of the following positions:

• Grade representatives (preschool through twelfth)
• Volunteer coordinator
• Advisor to Council
• Beginning School coordinator
• Lower School coordinator
• Communications coordinator
• Treasurer
• Vice president
• Spring Festival Coordinator 2010-2011

Salmon Release

About 35 fourth graders and their family members met at Vicki and Paul's home last weekend to release 10,000 baby Coho salmon into Salmon Creek. This is the sixth year that Paul and Vicki have participated in a program to increase the salmon population in Salmon Creek in Vancouver. The hope is that half of the one percent return in three years to lay their eggs and repeat the life cycle. The salmon were a little over an inch long at the time of release. Fourth graders studied endangered speciece this year so were invited over to be part of the process.

After-School Care News

Lower School After-School Activities next week include: 

• Monday Chess Club for experienced Chess players meets in the Barn after School, 3:30-5:00 pm.

• Tuesday after-school Homework Club for 4th and 5th graders whose parents have made advance arrangements with Sue Sacks, LS Learning Specialist.  Students report to the Barn for snack before 3:30 pm. HWC is billed by the session attended and lasts until 5:00 pm.
 
• Wednesday LS Strings Ensemble Playing Group will meet right after school from 3:15-4:00 pm in the US Choir room.

• Wednesday Individual Strings Lessons as scheduled afternoons.

• Thursday Chess for Learners meets in the Barn after school 3:30-5:00 pm. 

• Fusion Yoga meets in the LS Library at 3:15-4:00 pm on Friday.

• Spring Robotics for Middle School students and 5th Graders begins next week.  Participants must be pre-registered.  They may attend one or two days/week 3:15-5:00 pm M-Th.  Students must be picked up promptly at the Nutshell lab or at the curb by 5:05 pm, or go to After-School Care at that time. The robotics fee of $195 will be billed to your Catlin Gabel account if students are still a member of the group on Friday, April 23rd. 

Also After School: Girl Scouts  The Grade 2 Girl Scouts will meet this week. Girl Scout groups in Grades 4 and 5 will not meet this week.

Lower School Strings Players

LS Strings players who wish to perform at Spring Festival this year must be in at least their 2nd year of strings study and must attend practices on at least 2 of the following 3 Wednesday afternoon from 3:15-4:00 pm: 4/14, 4/21 & 4/28. In addition, players must pick-up the sheet music from Peggy McDonnell by 4/12 and memorize it by 4/14. Students should bring a snack from home. If not picked up by 4:00 pm, they will go to after school care.

This program is administered by After School Care.  To obtain registration paperwork, email Ginny Malm.  For questions regarding Spring Festival requirements and performance, contact Peggy McDonnell.

EXPERIENTIAL DAYS NEWS

Fossil Hunting – Rock Climbing – Outdoor Art – Fly Fishing – Pets & Vets –
ABCs of Japan – Drawing – Skiing/Snowshoeing/Snowboarding – Photography –
and more!

Four days of focused learning is brought to you by the Annual Fund. Make your donation http://www.catlin.edu/giving/annual  and participate today.

IMPORTANT Experiential Days Information

Who should you call? Not Julie

Julie will be out of town the week of Experiential Days. Ginny Malm and After School Care will be the Lower School contact during this time. If you need to get messages to your child or if you have any questions please call Ginny Malm at 503-297-1894 ext. 353. Ginny will also check ext. 666.

This includes:
• Messages about changes in after school care plans
• Updated trip arrival times (the front desk at Toad Hall will have this information as well)

What if I’m late picking up my child?

Children who are not picked up from Experiential Days groups within 15 minutes of the publicized end-time will be sent to ASC. The Village under the Barn will help you locate your child.

What if I need to talk to someone in the Lower School office?

Julie will be in Sunriver with Flying on Snow and Vicki will be in North Carolina with her group. Ginny Malm will be the contact for the week. You can reach her at 503-297-1894 ext. 353 or by email at malmg@catlin.edu. Jonathan Weedman, LS counselor will be available for more pressing issues that may occur. You can reach him at 530-297-1894 ext. 336 or by email at weedmanj@catlin.edu. He will be out and about every day but will check his voicemail and email each afternoon.
 

Will After School Care be offered next week? YES

Before and After-School Care will operate on their usual schedules during Experiential Days.  Regular participants who are on campus will be expected unless parents tell us otherwise.  Please leave messages regarding after school care changes at 503-297-1894 ext. 353. Ginny will also check ext. 666.

Are After School Care Enrichment Classes meeting? NO

None of the enrichment classes (Chess, HW club, strings) or Girl Scouts will meet the week of Experiential Days.

Will route buses operate during the week? Only on MONDAY

LS Experiential Days, MS Discovery Days and US Breakaway are all happening the week before Spring Break. Our bus fleet will be used for trips therefore there will be no route buses Tues. Fri.  

Will the Barn be open during Experiential Days? NO

The Barn will not be open Tuesday, March 16-Friday, March 19. Please plan accordingly.

A BIG Thank You!

Thank you parents for all the wonderful and delicious food! I heard more than once that day "I am so happy I do not have to think about what I'm going to do for lunch today." It is greatly appreciated by everyone!

Notes from Vicki - Student-Led Conferences

I hope you enjoyed your student-led conference. I saw many kids grinning ear to ear. Even many of the upper grade students going through the super-cool-don’t-show-your-emotions stage couldn’t wipe the smile from their face. And why should they? After all, they’ve just had the undivided attention of their parents and teachers -- some of the most important adults in their lives -- who have celebrated their strengths and shown support in working on their weaknesses and challenges. The dynamic of unconditional love is downright intoxicating. Even those who felt a bit more somber with the weight of needing to make some immediate improvements knew they were surrounded with support to do their best.
 
I know you’ve heard me say this a million times, but teaching is about relationship building. Once healthy bonds are made between the teacher, the student, and their parents, there is no limit to the learning that can take place. Student-led conferences are an opportunity for the child to be in the position to be an active participant in the reporting of his/her progress. Let’s face it – the adults can talk until they are blue in the face, and set the most meaningful and relevant goals in the world for the child, but they will never be realized until the kid is actually involved. Our goal is for the children to be intrinsic learners; we’ll never get there unless they are empowered to be part of the process.

Effective student-led conferences can only happen when there is quality instruction including meaningful instructional assessments, daily feedback, and ongoing opportunities for students to honestly self-reflect. They take a great deal of front-end loading on the part of the teachers, and then the children actually practice communicating the most important things you as parents need to know. As the students get older you will notice they are more and more involved in the selection of which pieces of work to show you, and their goal setting becomes deeper and richer.

What if my child’s self-assessments are inaccurate? Our experience shows us that if students are given ongoing opportunities to be part of the evaluation process, and are expected to be honest and show integrity that their self-assessments are amazingly “right on.” Their own perspective brings a richness and an authenticity that we would never be able to fully know without their involvement. In fact, we find that more times than not, students are actually harder on themselves than we would be as evaluators – that’s how seriously they take this process! In the occasional case where a child overrates him/herself, the teacher finds time to privately compare the differing perspectives. In the occasional case where a child has perfectionistic characteristics and is being unreasonably hard on him/herself, the teacher works with the child on this issue.
 
What if we didn’t get through all of the work prepared chosen to be shared at the conference? Students share only a sampling of work for the conferences. Many of them were involved in the selection of such work samples that illustrated their strengths as well as areas they need to improve. Please find time at home to have your child finish showing you their work.
 
I’d still like to talk to the teacher privately but there wasn’t time. Most of the teachers scheduled in some time for the teacher and parent to chat privately following the student-led conference, or asked you if you felt you wanted this additional conversation. If you did not get this time, and still have questions or topics you’d like to discuss, please feel free to contact the teacher to set up another conference.

So if student-led conferences are so valuable, why don’t more schools do them? There are many reasons why some teachers and schools hesitate to conduct student-led conferences. They take a great deal of extra time to prepare for, and with the increasing number of students in a classroom, it is difficult to have a meaningful loop of feedback, assessment, self-evaluation and individual goal-setting conferences. It would also be fair to say that some educators may not be familiar with or convinced of the value of student-led conferences. And just because you have student-led conferences does not mean the students attain the depth we are looking for – it could simply involve the students explaining/sharing a few pieces of pre-selected work samples and that’s it.

I remember sitting in the long empty hallway of my elementary school while my mother attended the parent-teacher conference. This may sound funny, but I had no idea what the teacher was saying to my mother. Later that day I’d be shown my report card with letter grades that seemed fairly random. I was always surprised by my grades. It was much later in my life when I actually learned that math was actually strength – for some reason I thought it wasn’t. I was never invited to participate in the process of figuring out where I needed to improve in school.

Gone are the days when the child was kept out of the evaluation loop!
 

Community Meeting Video

Watch the video of today’s community meeting at http://www.catlin.edu/lower
 

Any Changes in the Lower School Next Year?

Hsiao-Yun Shotwell, Lower School Mandarin Chinese teacher, will not be back next year. She and her husband are hoping to pursue graduate work. Hsaio-Yun said, "I am going to miss everyone here at Catlin Gabel, this supportive and loving community. It has been one of the best teaching and learning experiences for me. Thank you all for this wonderful journey." We wish she and her husband the best. Hsaio-Yun has been an excellent Chinese teacher and she will be sorely missed!

Mimi Tang, first grade teacher, will take a leave of absence next fall to be with her baby. Fran Snell will sub for her until January. John, Mimi and Fran will jointly give the First Grade Parent Orientation Meeting (for parents of our current kindergartners) on Apr. 8. Most of you know that Fran is a veteran teacher who taught grades 1-2 in the Lower School for years before retiring a year ago. She is eager to be back!

Michael deForest, Wood Shop teacher, will teach grades 2-3-4-5 next year and Jennifer Marcus will teach gr. 1 wood shop on Fridays. Jennifer had these students in wood shop as kindergartners and is thrilled to be able to teach them again next year.

After School Care News

During the coming week Monday, March 15 – Friday, March 19

• After School Care will be available upstairs in the Barn and downstairs in the Village as usual.  Use the ext. 666 number to make changes, or call Ginny directly at 503.297.1894 ext. 353.
• We will expect children as per their usual ASC schedules, unless we have been notified otherwise.
• Enrichment Activities including Monday and Thursday Chess Clubs, Tuesday Homework Club, Fusion Yoga and the Girl Scouts will not meet.
• Strings players should check with their teachers regarding their after-school strings lessons.
• The CGS Route Buses will run on Monday but not on Tuesday-Friday.

After-Spring Break, most after-school activities will resume.  Mathamazing has ended
 

Notes from Vicki

A Thank-you from Mercy Corps

Please take a minute to view this short “Thank-You” video for supporting the relief efforts in Haiti. It is heart-warming and sincere; indeed, our significant contribution to Mercy Corps was noticed and one of our alums, who works there, has contacted us with the offer to come and personally thank the children and let them know how the money is being used to help people in Haiti. We’ll likely have her join us for a Community Meeting sometime this spring.

Hearing about the meaningful work our Catlin Gabel alums are involved in continues to amaze and inspire me. The quarterly Caller magazine often profiles a sampling of what our alums are doing and I love reading their stories. This fall I attended a dinner honoring “The 100 Best Nonprofits to Work For in Oregon” (Catlin Gabel was in this group) and during the course of the evening several people saw my nametag and excitedly wanted me to know that they were an alum. I shouldn’t have been surprised because our students do go on to make a positive difference in the world. I am proud to say that our students see themselves as efficacious and empowered to cause change. They are genuinely interested in service – and of course this starts during their Beginning School and Lower School years.
 

Catlin Gabel route buses cancelled during Experiential Days

During the week of Experiential Days, March 16 through March 19 there will be no route bus service.

Community meeting, March 12

5th gr. French students will perform the play  “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge” or "Little Red Riding Hood" at community  and the second grade will present “Musicians of the Sun."