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=**Welcome to Trillium Charter School's 345 Grades (Intermediate) Wiki Space**=

=**Who We Are: 3-4-5 Advisors**= **Rob van Nood (3-4-5 Teacher)** When you can create an environment where a child can freely and safely explore their questions, curiosities and passions, and provide the support to solve problems when they come up, you have set the groundwork for that child to explore the world and themselves on their own terms, and discover their place within it. Creating this kind of environment has been my goal for the 12 years I have been working in classrooms and with children. I joined the staff at Trillium because I believe it is a place where I can help make this vision of education a reality not only on a classroom level, but for an entire school.

After having had the opportunity of working in many educational environments, from the streets of Montreal as an art instructor, to the rolling hills of Battle Ground as a teacher in a multiage classroom at the Gardner School, to suburban Portland as an Intermediate level teacher in the North Clackamas School District, I had the great fortune of landing on the steps of Trillium in the months before it opened its doors.

What makes Trillium the greatest and most challenging setting of my years as a teacher is the opportunity to create a place that is new, ever changing and built on the passions of those who work at, and attend, the school. My greatest passion has always been in finding ways to make this a place where kids are not only eager to come to school every day, but also where they are challenged and introduced to great new ideas about the world. I love the democratic process and have always believed that students and staff need to work together to make a school great. That means lots of freedom to explore the world on terms that make sense for each person and the responsibility to help make decisions about how the school functions.

On a more personal note, I am passionate about reading, writing, building and construction of all forms, playing soccer, painting, drawing, yoga, traveling, biking, cooking, politics and most importantly my family.

**Jenny Shotts (3-4-5 Teacher)** //When you walk, you might like to take the hand of a child. She will receive your concentration and stability, and you will receive her freshness and innocence. From time to time, she may want to run ahead and then wait for you to catch up. A child is a bell of mindfulness, reminding us how wonderful life is.// --Thich Nhat Hanh, **The Long Road Turns to Joy**

This quote inspires my journey as a teacher and parent. The tremendous excitement and growth I see in children is a treasure to me. An important role of schooling is to prepare children and young adults to become responsible caretakers of the world. Students learn to lead by leading. For example, starting a composting and recycling project introduces scientific and social science inquiry and helps students integrate classroom learning with real world problem solving. As students practice and develop critical thinking and questioning skills, they develop the practice of lifelong learning.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, Portland, Northern California, and Central Oregon all feel like home to me. In high school and college, I traveled east to school in Boston and New York. I also visited Mexico, Spain, France, and China. Missing the trees, mountains and coastline of the West, I returned to Seattle and then Central Oregon and worked in real estate sales and marketing after college. In 1998, I moved to Portland to pursue teaching.

In addition to my Masters in Teaching focusing on early childhood and elementary education, I have a reading specialist endorsement for grades K-12. I see my role as a teacher is that of a guide. By valuing the goal-setting process, I see to develop a student's social, emotional and intellectual achievement at his own level and pacing. My goal is to encourage each child to explore her passions and work toward individual learning goals. I model the traits of a learner and a researcher, asking questions and sharing discoveries, and encourage my students to do the same.

My research area links sign language with literacy, adding a hands-on connection to spelling. I also seek ways to integrate literacy with scientific inquiry and mathematical thinking. Last year, I joined OMSI's Expedition Northwest team to offer hands-on science in my classroom. I then worked over the summer to develop engaging math activities tied to award winning picture books. This year, I conducted a trial unit for Lawrence Hall of Science's (UC, Berkeley) newest Seeds of Science, Roots of Reading program. Students investigated chemical changes and designed their own inquiry projects. This summer I taught Camp Invention programs through the National Inventors Hall of Fame and developed a teaching unit with open source computers in the classroom. Using kid friendly programing languages, students animate, design, and interact with multimedia programs and share projects with other students around the world.

I spend my free time chasing my own young children around. I enjoy running, biking, swimming, and bouldering. I am also renewing my 'skills' at golf this summer. I practice yoga regularly, and am trained as a Yoga Calm instructor, teaching balance and strength poses to engage the body and the brain together.I continually seek out varied ways to integrate mind, body and heart in learning.

**Jeremy Neldon (3-4-5 Teacher)** The important thing about growing up in the NJ/NYC metro area, no matter how far North and West my journey has taken me or how arguably little of the accent remains, the very open, honest and, at times, animated communication style that flourishes there still resides with me like an old, loved pair of beat up jeans. With so many different cultures living in such density, it's no wonder that sharing ideas can be like vying for the last seat in a game of musical chairs. Ideas often pour out of me in a torrent as I recount stories of my former life in the Alaskan wilderness or as I passionately affirm the creative and unique ideas bubbling up from my students. But the important thing about growing up in "Jersey" is that we love to talk!

The important thing about my life in Alaska was that wilderness adventure and peronal growth required participation in the community. I wanted to climb craggy mountains and ski down them; I wanted to paddle my kayak around the misty fjords and barren capes in waves and wind and live off the land. So rather than go "Into the Wild" on my own, I volunteered with the local conservation council and with an adaptive wilderness recreation organization, where I made lasting friends and mentors who taught me how. I wanted to become more expressive as a storyteller, an actor and a community activist. So I volunteered and worked with our regional theater and GLBT organization, where again I gave countless hours and beads of sweat for the benefit of the community while simultaneously gaining nourishment for my soul. I wanted to share my passion for adventure and learning, so I worked in the schools and with the help of my small group of peers and mentor teachers, completed a Masters in Teaching. But the most important thing about my life in Alaska is that personal growth and success requires participation in the community.

The most important thing about teaching is collaborating with others. I began my teaching career as a "Specialist," a Gifted and Talented Teacher for a public elementary school in Alaska and later as an Art and Drama teacher for a K - 8 public school in Beaverton. I was "special" because I, like the gym teacher or the music teacher, had the pleasure of working with most if not all the school's students, yet I had no teaching partner with whom to share ideas and create powerful learning experiences. Luckily, I have always found other educators who wanted to put their heads together and share the work of planning and prepping lessons. But most importantly, it has been my experience that remarkable student learning happens when many educators on a staff and in a community plan, teach and reflect together.

And the most important thing about Trillium is that I feel I belong here! Moving to Portland just a few years ago, I am relieved to have found such a spiffy new professional home that is only a five minute bike ride from the house I share with my spouse, Chris. At Trillium I have found new friends who love to laugh and share stories. Here I have found a community of willing collaborators with whom I am excited to tinker and create!


 * Lyndsey Arnold**

I grew up in the high desert of Central Oregon with a backyard of beauty; big, old rocks, the awesome Deschutes river, and twisted juniper. My parents were both teachers, and I was a kid that loved learning in and out of school. My observations and explorations of nature inspired my creative pursuits and in fourth grade I finally identified myself as an "artist". In high school I focused on arts and theatre, and was simultaneously on track to become a pilot and an astronaut ( I know, what a contrast; but, I'm full of surprises).

I traveled to the Oregon valley to go to college. There I realized my attraction to studying the culture of community, social interaction and people. I frequented concerts, camp outs and classrooms. In 2000, I received a degree in Sociology with an emphasis in deviance and social "control" and also got married to Jacob, an amazing musician and best friend. I was often drawn to teaching and learning with kids; however, I was unsure; most likely because it was something my parents did (ah... rebellion). My interests in meaningful, authentic curricula, the possibilities of different kinds of learning experiences in public ed., and my plans to integrate my other passions, led me to grad school and then to the classrooms of Springfield, OR. I have had the opportunity to teach kindergarten, 3rd grade, 5th grade, intermediate blends, and serve as a TAG coordinator as well as a math and literacy specialist. Last year, I took a leave to adventure, "muck around" and learn lots with my kids; Ruby (a new kindergartener at Trillium) and Miles (almost two).

We also relocated to Portland and I searched for schools that intrigued me. When I read "About Trillium" and the goals, I felt an instant connection with the school; most likely a result of our common interests in student choice, a cooperative classroom culture, and fostering both the individual's and group's learning process. As a teacher, I work to co-create a classroom community of problem solvers, where students feel safe and well-equipped to engage in meaningful discourse, independent and innovative thought, and worthwhile activities. I am a creative, curious and passionate learner and support those qualities in both the students and the teachers I work with. I promote a depth of sense making and self-awareness and because I think the asking of great questions propels great action, I use inquiry as a springboard for learning.

When not teaching, I am playing, creating and producing (printmaking and jewelry/metalsmith are my crafty focus at present), reading (mostly non-fiction and children's books), and exploring Portland and beyond.

P.S. I look forward to having fun, being challenged and doing some great thinking with the Trillium community!