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Parent
Newsletter – November 2000
Thank you parents! Thank
you to all the parents that provided us with feedback and support during these
first few weeks of school. Your input and, most importantly, your participation
in your child’s education are critical to the success of The 21st
Century Community Schoolhouse. We encourage parents to share feedback about
their child and the school. This communication helps provide us with a good
measuring stick on how your child is doing.
Feel free to contact us by phone, fax, email, or arrange a time to stop
by and meet with members of our staff. We are working hard to help your child
succeed, but need your ongoing feedback and support. Progress Reports / Report Cards Student
progress reports will be mailed to parents the first week in November.
Reports will indicate academic and behavioral areas where your child is -
or is not - progressing. This will be the first of three progress reports mailed
to parents throughout the school year. The
progress reports are not formal report cards. 21st Century
Community Schoolhouse report cards will be distributed three times during
the school year, following each term. Report cards are tailored specifically for
our school’s instructional programs. A
traditional Salem-Keizer School District report card will be distributed at the
end of the school year. The 21st Century Community Schoolhouse
Levels of Mastery system (see “Documenting Student Achievement” section in
the Parent-Student Handbook) will be used to assign letter grades and credits
for this district report card. For
term one, The Community Schoolhouse will not have designated
parent-teacher conference days. However,
parents are encouraged to arrange individual meetings with staff/teachers to
discuss student progress. Open House Event Our
inaugural Open House event on October 9th was a success!
An overflow crowd of parents, business owners, community members and
students filled the school for informal tours and an overview of the school’s
instructional program. Student presenters did a great job highlighting
components of the school’s integrated learning program, as well as sharing
student reflections of their new school. A short video spotlighting the
development of The 21st Century Community Schoolhouse was also
shown. Congratulations
to all the students that participated in the Open House event. They did a great
job describing and showing off their new school. Thank you also to all the
parents and community members that were able to attend. We appreciate your
support! Charter School Board of Directors
The primary responsibilities of
The Community Schoolhouse’s Board of Directors are to set policy for
the school, to elevate the school’s profile within the community, and to help
raise funds for the school. The following is a current list of Board members and
their phone numbers and email addresses: Jane
Markham, chairperson, 503-378-0271, thejanemarkham@hotmail.com Rob
Worral, secretary, 503-581-6201, RobWorl@viser.net Meredith
Brodsky, 503-838-8824, brodskm@wou.edu
Raul
Ramirez, 503-588-7971, raulra@open.org Nancy
Gordon, 503-378-1338, IMUR9@aol.com Pam
Johnson, 503-390-0310, proposalrock@email.msn.com Robert
Ruck, 503-588-0467, ruckcpa@aol.com Please
feel free to contact any of the board members if you have questions or concerns
that cannot be addressed at the school level.
The Board normally meets monthly at the school.
21st Century Council / LSAC Committee
The Community Schoolhouse is seeking parents to serve on the school’s 21st Century Site Council and Local School Advisory Committee (LSAC).
Site councils are required through Oregon’s Educational Act for the 21st Century. Membership will consist of teachers, classified district employees, building administrators and parents of students. Sites are encouraged to also include business partners as part of the site council process.
The LSAC serves as a liaison between the school, community, the school principal (director) and the School Board. The meetings are open to the public.
If
you are interested in serving on either of these committees, please contact Tom
DeJardin, the school’s executive director, at 503-763-8958 or through email at
school@communityschoolhouse.org.
Mentor Program Update
The 21st Century Community Schoolhouse links students with members of the community in working partnerships. This program allows students to spend four hours each Friday serving an internship with a local mentor from the business community. These interns are placed at sites based on students' career interests. This requires a site supervisor to take on a mentorship role, one that fosters a true "teacher-student" relationship.
Community Schoolhouse students are receiving six weeks of “Community Classroom” training, focusing on career research, resume writing, interviewing and workplace skills. Also included are visits to local universities and colleges. This mentorship preparation course includes six assignments, all of which students must complete up to standard before beginning their mentorship placement.
Several
students have been matched with community mentors and will begin their Friday
internships on November 3. Other students will be placed as mentorship matches
become available and students complete the required course assignments. If
students are not placed by November 3, they are expected to be at school on
Fridays from 8:40 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Instructional
Block Updates
Science
& Society Block
Students
have been busy learning Government and Economics basics towards their Social
Studies credit and are exploring the foundations of Ecology and Environmental
Science for their Science credit. Social
Studies concepts include: types of governments; purposes of government; features
of nation-states; the branches of power; presidential elections; ballot
measures; and fundamental economic concepts such as scarcity, opportunity costs,
productivity, economic systems, and economic institutions. Science concepts
include: geologic time and the history of life on earth; balance of nature;
ecosystem structure and interactions; sustainable use of resources;
biogeochemical cycles; biomes of the world; and biotic relationships in
ecosystems All
of these concepts will be applied by the students in their end-of-term thematic
project. If
you would like further detailed information on student assignments, please see
our assignment Web site at: http://www.communityschoolhouse.org/blue_team_assignments.htm
These
assignments are updated as they are given to students. Global Literacy
For
further information on Global Literacy, please view the following Web site: http://www.communityschoolhouse.org/learning_modules1.htm A copy of the book review format is also available at that site. Health
& Adventure
In
Health & Adventure, students have been studying a variety of issues related
to mental health. Instruction has
focused primarily on the biological reaction to stress, identifying stressors
common to teens (relationships, drugs and alcohol, time management, etc), and
developing effective strategies to manage this stress.
This will be an ongoing focus as students work to improve skills in
stress management (such as identification of stressors, goal setting skills,
communication skills and self awareness about how to cope unsuccessfully and
successfully with distress.) Presentations
in class are being scored in accordance with Certificate of Initial Mastery
standards and papers are assessed based on the writing scoring guides.
These assessments will also continue throughout the year.
Students
will discuss the grieving process and effective communication in this class as
well. Additionally, as holiday season begins, students will have the opportunity
to work on various service learning projects in the community.
For
more detailed information on our homework assignments, see our website at: http://www.communityschoolhouse.org/red_team.htm Students may refer to this website to find their assignments on a regular basis, as we will be updating it regularly. Student
Government Elections Candidacy speeches for The
Community Schoolhouse student government offices were held October 24th
at Loucks Lecture Hall at the Salem Library.
The speeches followed month-long campaigns in which candidates shared
their vision for the school, their plan to implement that vision, and their
overall concern for the school. Voting
for the four available executive council positions (chairperson, vice-chair,
secretary and treasurer) was held following the speeches. A subsequent run-off
election was held on Oct. 26 to determine the final outcome of two council
positions. The final results are: Sarah Miler, chairperson; Bryan Riester, vice
chairperson; Tim Thorpe, secretary; and Andrew Chastain, treasurer. The
student executive council will meet in early November to begin activity/program
planning for the remainder of the school year. Lunch Program / Lunch TicketsMarriott Food Services began implementing the school’s hot lunch program last month. Expansion of the program will continue throughout the next few weeks. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Lunch and
breakfast tickets are sold at the school on Monday mornings only. Students
are requested to purchase enough tickets for the entire week. Volunteers
Needed
Volunteers are needed in a variety of instructional and support areas at the Community Schoolhouse.
Please contact Ryan Kinnett, instructional assistant (503-763-8958, ryan@communityschoolhouse.org),
if you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering at the school. |
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contact: school@communityschoolhouse.org |
The
21st Century