Meeting Reminder

Reminder: The next meeting of the Family-School Committee will be Wednesday, April 2nd from 6:30-8:00 pm downstairs in Megan's classroom.

School Yard Update

Hi FGCS Community,

I want to thank everyone who participated in our School Yard Design Workshop. We gathered a lot of fantastic ideas and I look forward to seeing how they all come together. If you were not able to attend or stay for the workshop portion, your input is still welcome. Please send any ideas to s.vasquez@fgcschool.org and I will forward them on to our Communitecture consultant, Mark Lakeman.

Mark will soon combine all the ideas from your emails and the workshop into several design drawings. As soon as I receive them, I will post his drawings in the school and on the website for you to provide feedback. Depending on your responses we will decide on the next steps, which could be anything from approving one of the drawings as a final to holding another work session.

It was great to see such a great showing of the school community. Thank you so much for attending and showing your school spirit at this important, school development event.

Stephanie

Theater class for Level2 and 3 Students

CALLING ALL ACTORS! Join the FGCS After-School Theater Class

Theater in the Grove is pleased to offer an after-school class for Level 2 and 3 students interested in a fun, dynamic theater experience.

Led by Jeanna Van Dyke, an experienced stage actress and director of TITG’s Theater Arts School, this class for Level 2 and 3 students offers the chance to study acting and the art of the theatre in a rehearsal and performance environment. Students will help select a theatrical piece, audition, rehearse and ultimately perform their work for the school and the public at the end of the class session. Students interested in technical aspects of theater – set design, lighting, costumes – are also encouraged to join.

Classes will be 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. Fridays beginning April 11 through May 30 at Theater in the Grove, two blocks from school at 2028 Pacific Avenue. Class will be held on April 18 and 25 (no school days). Performance dates for the school and the public will be announced later.

Please use the Theater in the Grove registration form to sign up. Class size is limited to 15 students. Scholarships are available. Please contact Karen Torry at k.torry@fgcschool.org or 503-359-4600 to request financial assistance

REMINDER Play Yard Design Workshop Tonight

March 20, 6pm

Forest Grove Community Auditorium (1915 Main St)

Tonight we will be meeting to discuss and design the school yard at Forest Grove Community School. This is your chance to provide the architect and administration with your input and ideas.

Sustainability Director Stephanie Vasquez and Mark Lakeman of Communitecture Consulting will be hosting a workshop open to parents, staff, and interested community members. We will begin with student presentations of their ideas for the school yard. Mark will then present examples of work done at other schools like ours, and host a workshop where everyone can provide their own ideas and input. This is a critical piece in the design process - we want the yard to reflect our school community, and we can't do that without your participation and input.

Mark Lakeman is a very skilled and highly recommended architect, who uses his skills to advance goals of social and environmental importance. His design firm, Communitecture, has designed a number of other playgrounds and community spaces that integrate community, play, art, and learning. We are very lucky to have him working on this project with us!

Please RSVP to s.vasquez@fgcschool.org so we know how many chairs to bring!

This is your opportunity to tell us what you'd like to see in the yard behind our school. Help us build a green space for learning and play.

This event is open to the community. Hope to see you then, Stephanie

Level 1 Spanish Class

Dear Level 1 parents: Amiguitos, the after-school Spanish class for Level 1 students, will be offered again after Spring Break for a seven-week session. Please read the attached flyer for details and use the attached form to register your child. Please bring the completed form with payment made out to Amy Reilley to the school office. If you have any questions, please contact Amy at amy104@verizon.net.

Request for feedback on Technology Use Policy

This month, we are rolling out our new procedures for instituting major school policies and initiatives. This procedure includes a period of community comment and feedback and we ask that you participate in this process to ensure that we end up with good policies that are relevant to the needs of the school.

To get you up to speed, here is an overview of the process we are working on as it stands so far:

• The need for a policy or initiative is identified by someone in the school community. This "someone" might be students, teachers, board members, administrators, parents, work groups, or non-school member with a specific official interest (like the fire marshal)
• The individual or group of individuals makes the need for policy known to the appropriate policy-forming body (administrator, board, or work group)
• The policy-forming body researches the need, seeks input from appropriate stakeholders, and drafts a policy that addresses the need.
• Final Draft Policy is brought to the board for review during a regularly scheduled meeting. Board checks to see that the process whereby the policy was drafted is sound, makes revisions as needed and posts the Final Draft Policy to the website for public comment for a 3 week period.
• Board reviews public comment and makes revisions to the draft as needed.
• Board votes to institute the policy Board Secretary posts the policy to the documents page of the website.

The first policy we’d like you to review is the Use of Technology Policy. The reason we are using this policy as our test case is that we are (finally!) about to open the computer lab and need to have all our ducks in a row regarding the use of this room before we open it. In addition to the policy, Karen is working with teachers to set up schedules and procedures for using and supervising room. In another part of this process, teachers will work with students to identify qualified student representatives who will become members of the tech team. The tech team is responsible for maintaining tech equipment, software and infrastructure. This work group is headed up by Dave Cebula and is supervised by Karen, our administrator in charge of school operations.

So please review the policy and let us know what you think! We’ve included a box on the feedback form that you can check if it is ok with you that we post your comment as part of the “feedback synopsis” that we will publish at the end of each feedback period. And thanks again for your input!

In addition to the official stuff, I’d like to take some time here to thank all those who have been involved in the tech support for the school. These volunteers are the reason we have phones, computers, printers and copiers, Internet capability, wireless support, tech security, and the many other technological amenities that we enjoy in the school. Dave and Brad in particular have been working on the tech infrastructure since the very beginning of the school and have put in many hours late into the night during the remodel to make sure the right wiring was in place before the walls were closed up. In addition, they have schlepped around huge piles of donated computers, checked each one and installed upgrades, written grants for tech support and who knows what else. (as an aside, Brad built the first website and continues to work with webmaster Mark Waggoner and Karen on the web architecture) So next time you see any of these people, give them a round of applause for their great work and dedication to making this school a great place to learn and work!

Dave Cebula, parent with professional skills in tech systems development and support
Brad Stec, parent with professional skills in tech systems development and support
Eric Roper, parent with connections to a major donor of our tech equipment
Mark Bailey, parent with professional skills in technology in the classroom

Computer Lab facilities
These volunteers all worked on installing lab furnishings:
Tom Aurant
Steve O’Day
Fred Schrader
Dave Cebula
Eric Anderson
Josh Lichtner

So that’s it for this month. Coming up next month – our exciting new Purchasing Policy!

Remember, please review the
Use of Technology Policy and give your feedback at http://www.fgcschool.org/feedback

Important Announcements

1. Student-Led Conferences DATE CHANGE

We are changing the dates of student-led conferences because of a conflict with Level 2 students' trip to Outdoor School.

Please mark your calendars: Student-led conferences are scheduled for Thursday, April 17 and Friday, April 18. There will NOT be school on April 17 or 18. There will be school on April 10 and 11, the previous dates set for conferences. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Torry at k.torry@fgcschool.org or 503-359-4600.

2. School Yard Design Workshop

March 20, 6pm

Forest Grove Community Auditorium (1915 Main St)

This is your opportunity to tell us what you'd like to see in the yard behind our school. Help us build a green space for learning and play.

Sustainability Director Stephanie Vasquez and Mark Lakeman of Communitecture Consulting will be hosting a workshop open to parents, staff, and interested community members. We will begin with student presentations of their ideas for the school yard. Mark will then present examples of work done at other schools like ours, and host a workshop where everyone can provide their own ideas and input. This is a critical piece in the design process - we want the yard to reflect our school community, and we can't do that without your participation and input.

Mark Lakeman is a very skilled and highly recommended architect, who uses his skills to advance goals of social and environmental importance. His design firm, Communitecture, has designed a number of other playgrounds and community spaces that integrate community, play, art, and learning. We are very lucky to have him working on this project with us!

Please RSVP to s.vasquez@fgcschool.org so we know how many chairs to bring!

3. Donated Tools Needed for Student Projects

This is a call out to our wonderful Charter School family. I am volunteering with a group of our level III students, helping them apply lessons learned in the classroom to real life. Mostly they plan to build things to benefit the school. We just finished building benches for the play yard and they have big plans for a bike rack and a place to safely lock up skateboards outside.

My problem is I don’t have enough tools to fill all their willing hands. I suspect there are lots of tools out there gathering dust in garages or shops. Heck, we're not picky -- we’ll even take slightly not working stuff that they can either fix, or learn why they can’t. So give me a call (don't reply to this email) and let me know what you have.

Thank you

Eric Anderson

503-809-6255

eac97119 (at) verizon.net

3-11-08 board meeting

The Agenda and documents for the 3-11 board meeting can be found on the web site at

http://www.fgcschool.org/board/meetings.php

Returning Students

Dear FGCS Families: Today we sent home a letter asking you to let us know whether your student will be returning to FGCS next year. In case the letter went missing between school and home, an electronic copy is attached here. Please fill out and return the form to the school office by Friday, March 21st. If you have any questions about the form, please contact Karen Torry at k.torry@fgcschool.org or 503-359-4600.

We also wanted to clarify for Level 3 parents that we do intend to add 10th grade next year. Our middle/high school program will be reconfigured to accommodate 7th through 10th grades and to reflect the ongoing development of our high school program. We'll provide more details in the coming weeks but, meanwhile, if you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact Vanessa Gray at v.gray@fgcschool.org or 503-359-4600.

Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair begins tomorrow (Tues., 3/11). Hours will be 8-9 a.m. and 2:45-4 p.m. Tues., Weds. and Thurs. and 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

School will be OPEN Friday March 14th!

Dear FGCS families: This is a reminder that we DO have school this Friday, March 14th. Other district schools are off for the day for conferences, but we will be operating as usual.

Scholastic Book Fair & Pizza Wednesday

News from the FGCS Fundraising Committee:

• The Scholastic Book Fair will take place at school next week Tuesday through Thursday. Books will be for sale in the main foyer (behind the double doors on the main floor). Hours will be 8 to 9 a.m. and 2:45-4 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, with evening hours 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday only.

• Pizza Wednesdays begin tomorrow - thanks to all who ordered this week. A new, multi-week order form is available on the web site. Please place orders with payment in the fundraising box in the main floor hallway by Tuesday morning to receive your slice on Wednesday.