Trillium Tweet
January 11, 2019
A Message from the Principal
Dear Trillium Creek Families and Friends,
On behalf of the Trillium Creek staff, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and welcome everyone back. We are also excited to welcome some new families into our school community. In addition, I want to thank you for your generosity during our TC Food Drive sponsored by our 4th grade during the month of December.
As 2019 begins, I’d like to take this opportunity to address a discussion that is happening throughout our community. One of the questions I have received most frequently over the past few months is around behavior and discipline. We know that children are just learning how to manage their words, bodies and emotions in their primary years. We also know that they need support in doing so. What does this support look like at Trillium Creek? As parents, how can we trust that these supports will keep all of our children safe? As you might imagine, this is a complex question to answer, but my hope is that some background, context and specifics will provide some clarification and allow us to build even greater trust within our school community.
Procedural Guidelines and Practices
At Trillium Creek and throughout the West-Linn Wilsonville School District we apply an “All - Some - Few” model to build and sustain a positive and safe school community.
The following items listed describe how we take care of our whole school. These practices are provided for ALL students to promote and maintain a safe community.
- All students participate in school-wide and classroom based social and emotional learning (SEL) learning opportunities. The purpose of SEL is to grow skills to understand and regulate one’s emotional state for personal health and strong, safe relationships. We teach lessons from Second Steps SEL curriculum across all of our grade levels.
- We explicitly define, teach and review school-wide and classroom behavioral expectations several times a year.
- During Morning Meeting we promote positive character traits (Pillars of Character) and teach skills for maintaining healthy relationships. For example, during December, we discussed the character trait of “kindness” and students were encouraged to demonstrate extra amounts of kindness and notice kind actions by peers.
- In classrooms, Community Circles occur regularly to teach skills such as empathy, kindness and careful listening. Circles are designed to create a safe space for all voices and to encourage each participant to step in the direction of their best self.
- School counselors and teachers facilitate lessons in classrooms about personal safety, problem solving and ways to prevent bullying.
We have found that some students need more care and support in order to feel connected to the school community. Additionally, when harm is caused, students need extra care and support to repair the harm. Restorative practices are used when harm has been done to another person or the school community, in order to restore relationships and promote positive choices in the future.
- Restorative Circles help build relationships and community. The “Showing Gratitude and Appreciation Circle” is used to build relationships through positive recognition, increase skills in giving compliments and increase awareness of the strengths of each child. Restorative Circles also provide a structure and process for addressing conflict and harm. The “Being Left Out Circle” is implemented to learn about social exclusion and develop practices to prevent negative social dynamics. A Restorative Circle might involve an entire classroom or a small group of students and/or adults.
- Restorative Dialogue involves a meeting between the person who harmed others, the people directly impacted and a trained facilitator (teacher, counselor, principal, etc.). All participants recount what happened to them at the time of the incident to gain a clear understanding of the full impact of harm. They then collectively decide what to do to repair relationships affected and prevent further problems. Agreements are recorded and followed-up on.
- Targeted instruction, behavior support plans and/or extra supervision are implemented as needed to ensure safe and healthy behaviors are learned and practiced by students.
- Check in/check out protocols serve a variety of helpful purposes. For example, a teacher may check in with a student at the beginning of the day to encourage strategies for making new friendships and then check out at the end of the day to see how the strategies worked. A staff member may also check in with a student at the beginning of each recess to review safe choices for recess games. A check out would occur at the end of recess with the student and recess teacher to see how well the safe practices were followed and how successful the student felt.
A very small number of students, or few, may need more progressive levels of support.
- Patterns of negative behavior are sometimes the result of a complex array of factors. We work closely with children and families to understand the full context of the child’s experience and identify the most effective strategies to support them. We are careful to note the difference between making a “bad” choice and being a “bad” person. We believe all children are good and desire to be their best selves in all aspects of their lives.
- We use a restorative approach to discipline. Collaborative meetings between school staff, students and families are sometimes required to solve problems. Disciplinary consequences for actions may result, and, when appropriate, the consequences are linked to repairing harm/relationships and learning new skills to solve similar problems in the future. For example, a student may spend several recess times to reflect and write a plan for how they will be safe at recess in the future. We also strive to include student voice in developing appropriate consequences. Students of all ages are very capable of developing plans to repair harm. They are especially invested in creating these plans when they feel listened to and understood by the adults supporting them.
- We always maintain a primary focus on learning new skills to replace negative behaviors.
- Suspensions occur only in a limited number of instances and are implemented as defined by Oregon law, typically when adults need time to create or revise a plan to ensure school safety.
- Students are welcomed back into the school by adults and other students after restoring relationships to peers and/or the community.
Why does Trillium Creek use restorative practices instead of “zero tolerance” practices?
- While it is clear that protecting the safety of students and staff is one of our most important responsibilities, evidence suggests zero tolerance policies actually have an adverse effect on student academic and behavioral outcomes. Psychological research demonstrates suspensions and expulsions are likely to further reinforce negative behavior by denying students opportunities for positive socialization in school and nurturing a distrust of adults. Additionally, research consistently indicates disproportionate percentages of African American, Latino (to a lesser extent), disabled, and poor students are suspended and expelled in schools with zero tolerance policies.
- While we do not subscribe to a traditional “zero tolerance” philosophy, we always intervene when we learn of unsafe or hurtful behavior. We promote evidence-based practices most likely to promote positive student and staff behaviors.
- Research shows it is effective to provide clear expectations for behavior, teach skills needed to succeed in the school environment, and respond to problems with strategies to strengthen connections and relationships, rather than push students away. Schools seeking to create positive communities and respond in effective ways when problems arise are increasingly turning to restorative practices. The aim of restorative practices is to develop community and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm and building relationships. Restorative practices strengthen students’ connections to both staff and other students, and that’s why restorative practices support both prevention and response. Focusing on positive connections and support contributes to a positive school climate. Repairing harm and restoring relationships after transgressions helps keep students connected to a positive school community.
- Clear expectations, fair consequences, and restorative conversations and agreements only work when students have self-regulation, emotion knowledge, and social skills—competencies taught through social-emotional learning (SEL). Social-emotional competence prepares and supports all children for the intellectual and interpersonal challenges of the formal school environment. Restorative practices that build positive school climate and healthy relationships depend on the foundation provided by SEL: students’ abilities to take other’s perspectives, be aware of their own thoughts and feelings, communicate effectively, and solve problems.
Our concern about student safety and learning extends to all of our children. What I hope you heard in reading this, is that we take student safety very seriously, we respond appropriately when needed, and that we respect the dignity and needs of each and every student that we serve. I welcome continued conversations on this and other topics of discussion.
Thank you,
Jim
Pizza Bingo Night!
Pre-Order your items on the PTA website HERE. See the attached flyer on the bottom of the Tweet for more info.
If you are in need of a sponsorship for Pizza Bingo Night, please contact Ms. Ramos at ramosc@wlwv.k12.or.us
Dual Language Information Night
Dual Language Program Information Meeting is being held at Lowrie Primary School and Trillium Creek Primary School.
Lowrie Primary School - January 15th - 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Trillium Creek Primary School - January 17th - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
A flyer is attached to the bottom of the Tweet with more info about the Dual Language Program.
The lottery for the Dual Language Program is being held at the District Office on February 6th @ 10:30 AM.
Trillium Creek Adult Social and Auction
PTA Adult Social and Auction is set for February 23, 2019 at the World of Speed in Wilsonville.
Our planning committee is currently seeking donations for February’s Adult Social and Auction. Please go to the PTA website at trilliumcreekpta.org or our Facebook page to see what is needed. You can also reach out to Hayley Denney at hayleymontgomery@msn.com for more information.
Counselor Corner
You are invited on Thursday January 24, 6:00-8:00 PM to the Gladstone Center for Children and Families for a meeting about "Understanding the Impact of Digital Exposure on the Development of Young Children". See the flyer below for more info.
Free & Reduced Application for Meals at Trillium Creek
Primary Strings
As a reminder, our classes will resume after the break on Tuesday Jan. 15th for Wilsonville students and Thursday Jan. 17th for West Linn students. We look forward to seeing all of you back next week!
MAP-Music and Arts Partners
Please present the attached voucher and up to 25% of your purchase will go directly to MAP! Voucher is at the bottom of this Tweet.
Primary School Calendar
Visit The West Linn Public Library
The West Linn Public Library has many fun events throughout the month.
To read their monthly newsletter click here: Newsletter.
West Linn Girls Youth Lacrosse
West Linn Girls Youth Lacrosse will be hosting two FREE Try Lax events open to all 1st - 8th grade girls. Come out have some fun & give lacrosse a shot! We supply all the equipment and no registration required - just show up and have fun!
* Sat, Feb 2, 3:00 - 4:30 pm at Rosemont Middle School
* Sun, Feb 10, 3:00 - 4:30 pm at Rosemont Middle School
More details can be found at the following link: Click Here
Trillium Creek Yearbooks On Sale Now
Yearbooks are not given out until the end of the year but you can order yours NOW. Follow this link to Lifetouch. Our ID Code is 11619619.
Lost and Found
Upcoming Events at Trillium Creek Primary
- January 16, Early Release at 12:10 PM
- January 16, PTA Meeting 9:00-10:00 AM
- Jaunary 17, 6:30 PM Dual Language Information Night at Trillium Creek
- January 21, No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- January 25, 8:30 AM 1st Grade Field Trip
- January 25, 5:30 PM Pizza Bingo Night
- January 28-31, Forest Flyers
Important Links
Listserve Subscriptions
Please make sure you are on the current ListServe. To manage your West Linn-Wilsonville ListServ subscriptions please go to the following URL:
http://www2.wlwv.k12.or.us/News/LatestNews/ListservSS/
Sign up for Flash Alert
For "Inclement Weather Closure Status" sign up on Flash Alert to be notified. Snow will be arriving before we know it: https://www.flashalert.net/login/
Sign up to Volunteer at Trillium Creek
PLEASE remember to register as a volunteer. All parents and guardians MUST be registered as VOLUNTEERS to help in classrooms or attend field trips. You can take care of this at home through our school website, (just click on the parent link).
https://www.helpcounterweb.com/welcome/apply.php?district=wlwv
Trillium Creek Primary
Email: crawfora@wlwv.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.wlwv.k12.or.us/tcps
Location: 1025 Rosemont Road, West Linn, OR, USA
Phone: 503-673-7950