March 2007 The Willow Wind Community Learning Center Newsletter 1497 E. Main Street, Ashland, OR. 97520, Center (541) 488-2684

NOTES FROM THE OFFICE MORE EVENTS

Green is the meadow, TIME TO GET INVOLVED Green is the fuzz, That covers up Planning for fall classes is starting now. The Course Where winter was. Selection Committee wants to hear from you! The Green is ivy and process of class planning is an open one, with ideas Honeysuckle vine. coming from kids, parents and teachers. However, we Green is yours really need to know what classes the community most Green is mine….. wants to see offered on the fall schedule. The ideas for course offerings that are most important are the ones As spring approaches, we see more green shoots that come from the community or respond to across the fields of Willow Wind. The baby calves are community needs. It’s hard to overstate how important chasing each other in the field next door. this feedback is for us. Without it, we’re just guessing Hopefully, you and your children will have a chance to what your needs are. watch the cute babies playing. The children are running around, too, and as they get hot, they shed This year, all age groups will come on the same their coats and many are left at Willow Wind. If your evening, but at different times. These meetings are a family is missing a coat… please come check the lost great place to express your needs and interests. Both and found! kids and adults are welcome to attend. It’s also an opportunity to hear what other people are thinking and Although we have just begun the new semester, we will to stimulate new ideas. Preparing a little prior to the have to be thinking about fall classes in the near future! meetings can be especially productive: The more advance notice we have, the more carefully we can explore the possibilities. I always enjoy working Talk with your kids about their with families to develop classes and explore learning interests. Are there areas in opportunities, so come by, have a cup of tea and let's which a teacher or class dream up some exciting new programming. support might open up learning opportunities? Like-minded If you know of families who are interested in attending parents or kids can get together Willow Wind next year, please encourage them to in small groups ahead of time to contact us. We will be starting our Inquiry List for Fall develop ideas or identify needs that can then be 2007, on the first of March. brought to the meetings.

It's time to get outdoors again: fly a kite, find a four-leaf Planning Meetings: clover, plant a bulb and enjoy the return of SPRING!  5–10 year olds: Tues., March 20, 5:00 – 6:00 EVENTS  11+ year olds: Tues., March 20, 6:30 – 7:30 INFORMATIONAL MEETING FOR FAMILIES WITH HIGH SCHOOL AGED STUDENTS Thursday, March 1 at 4:30 pm ALL FALL PROPOSALS WILL BE DUE ON How can my child take classes at Ashland High MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2007. School? Can he/she earn a high school diploma? What about a GED? Do you need a diploma to go to (In your Parent Handbook it says proposals are due on college? If you are looking for answers to these April 12 – we have extended the deadline) questions, or others concerning high school, please plan to attend this important informational meeting. One more event…

EXPLORING THE NIGHT SKY

Robert Scheppler, our resident astronomy expert will be leaving us. He has just decided to relocate to Texas with his wife and they will be moving the end of March. Because of this, there will be only one more class session of Exploring the Night Sky. The final meeting will be held on: Tuesday, March 6th from 7:00-9:00. Please take advantage of this final opportunity to view the night sky and learn from Robert's wonderful stories!

Announcements

SPRING BREAK Willow Wind will be closed March 26-30 for Spring Break.

GARDEN WORKDAYS We have Landscape/Garden workdays scheduled for April and May. Please sign up in the office if you are interested. That will help us plan the projects and maximize your time. · Sunday, April 29th: Noon - 4 p.m. · Friday, May 4th: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. · Sunday, May 20th: Noon - 4 p.m. · Wednesday, May 23rd: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

UPCOMING ASSESSMENT DATES  Reading Tests: March 6 - 9  Math Tests: April 9 - 12  Science Tests: May 2 - 4 This spring many Willow Wind students are required to participate in the Oregon State Assessments. If your child has registered for classes in the core content areas, he/she will be required to take these tests. All Parent Partner students also participate in all state assessments. You will be receiving a letter from us specifying the days and times for your child’s assessment. Some of the tests will be given in the classes and some will be at special sessions. Please call Debbie if you have further questions.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER The Spring Scholastic book selections are in the office. Look for the wonderful new fiction and non-fiction titles for teens, new science and interactive materials and the Earth Day and Easter selections for elementary grades. Book orders are due March 8th. Only ONE check, made out to Scholastic, is needed for all book club orders.

Free Educational Materials Available We have received a generous donation of educational materials from a former teacher and tutor. Judy Paulsen was a teacher in Ashland for many years and recently donated many boxes of educational books and games. If you are interested in looking through these items, please come by the office. She wants families to make use of the materials, so take whatever you can use!

YEARBOOK PORTRAITS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS If you want your portrait in the yearbook, please attend one of these sessions. We hope to be able to photograph everyone this year! Mary will be photographing at these times only:

 Monday, March 19 11:00 – 2:00  Tuesday, March 20 11:00 – 2:00  Thursday, March 22 11:00 – 2:00 Announcements (cont’d)

WE NEED HELP WITH THE YEARBOOK!!! We need to complete covers, create collage pages, and insert text. If you are willing to help, please come in the office and sign-up. We will begin work in April and will set the times based on the availability of those interested in participating. Older students are welcome to come with their parents, but all students must have an adult with them in order to attend. This is a great way to get family service hours, meet other families and contribute to our wonderful yearbook!

Family Service We are now well into the semester. Please be aware of how many family service hours you have accrued as time flies quickly! The weather is getting nicer and there will be garden workdays coming up in April and May and two events before the end of year. Check in with Judith Anne if you do not feel connected with a way to earn your family service hours. Registration for classes starts before the semester ends, so you need to make sure your hours are completed in plenty of time.

A FRIENDLY REMINDER….. Please try to get your children to class on time. A number of our teachers who have morning classes have requested we remind parents how important it is to come to class on time. Thanks for making the effort!

Lunch Bunch Helpers Needed We have a really large group of kids at Lunch Bunch this year. The staff feels that kids would be better supervised with more adults on the play area at lunch. Please sign up to help with Lunch Bunch supervision. Remember, you can accrue family service hours!

The Barn Project Update

The barn project has met its $20,000 match! We are currently at the $320,000 mark. Two large foundations have invited an application from us and we are waiting to hear from a few others. The irons are in the fire!

This week the foundations under the timbers were poured. The preparation for the pour has liberated some lovely quarried stones (some with fossils) that will be used for landscaping around the barn.

Enclosed in this newsletter you will find a letter for a fundraising project that will not only beautify the property around the barn but will give us all an opportunity to leave a legacy at Willow Wind. The “paver project” is a way for us all to help get the barn over that financial hump to break ground.

Candace Doyle is looking for someone who would like to earn family service time by helping with processing the order forms for the pavers. Please talk to Judith Anne if you are interested.

We are looking to put together a small committee of people who have experience either as a building contractor or project director for building projects to put together a request for proposals for a project director for the next phase of construction on the barn. This committee will also evaluate applicants and help decide who to hire. Please contact Judith Anne if you are interested in this process.

Thanks to everyone who has already contributed time and/or money.

-Judith Anne What’s Happening at Willow Wind?

Language Arts Learning Night Carol Ingram

On February 15th, Willow Wind hosted our first In the class called "Color" we are working with the color round-table discussion about reading and writing. Our wheel to learn how to mix complex color and to put it all turnout was small, yet the conversation was interesting together into a composition. Right now, we are and thought provoking for parents and teachers alike. studying the color of shadows by asking questions like: We began our evening with questions that parents What color is the shadowed side of an orange in bright brought with them. Some of the questions included: light? It's harder than it sounds! What about inventive spelling, and exactly when do you switch to a formal spelling program? How do parents Sunbeams Class: A Full Moon over Africa nurture a love of reading in their children? Do we force children to read? What is normal development in January kicks off the Sunbeams’ next in-depth study of reading and writing? How do we identify a child who is Africa. Studying a topic for 3-4 months allows ample not experiencing typical language arts development? time to weave in plenty of math, reading, science, These are a few of the topics that were addressed. crafts, social studies, writing and lots of fun. In addition Sheryl Cochran brought several hands-on games and to creatively teaching through all the academic areas, activities for emerging readers to enjoy. The parents we will be inviting guest speakers who have either lived who did come left with a sense of growing awareness or traveled in Africa, making everything more authentic. and a few ideas for fun language arts activities to share with their children. Sheryl Cochran

TEACHER REPORTS: In Reading Workshop we are writing books about what peace means to us, inspired by The Peace Book by Kevin Cooney Todd Parr. Soon Judith Anne's Celebration of Learning students will join us to do buddy reading. In Media Mania both morning and afternoon sections have finished student multi-media biographies, and Nancy Rush-Yates have now moved onto the task of developing broadcasting scripts with a partner. Students are What have we been doing in A Stitch in Time? Felting learning to work with Apple's Garageband, and a woolen apple pincushion and needle holder to be ultimately the scripts will become "podcasts" -- audio used with our almost-completed sewing bag, practicing shows that can be broadcast out across the internet. sewing stitches, and celebrating Valentine's Day with a dried-flower-and-lavender-filled heart sachet. Whew! In Renaissance Studies More fun to come. (Shakespeare and the Queen) students are investigating the Dana Yearsley similarities and differences between art in the classical, Playground Soccer is medieval and Renaissance playing lots of soccer twice a period. We are also considering week. We are learning the end of the Dark Ages, and the teamwork and developing challenge that the Black Plague our game skills. posed for Europe. We will be watching excerpts from The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Field Sports has focused on Bergman over the next few weeks. We will also be soccer. We will now move studying eastern European geography. into learning Lacrosse, then street hockey and flag football. The group is developing some great soccer Judith Anne McBride skills.

After reading the folktale, “The Village of Round and Games Class has lots of energy! Sprout Ball, Dr. Square,” Celebrations of Learning built a model African Dodge Ball, and Netgame are a few of the games we village of round and square huts. Next this tabletop will play. evolve into fairy tree houses with local artist, Beth Powel. Garden Update

It has been a busy and productive time for the Garden Committee. Our goal for the winter months was to build a vision for the garden area and landscape of Willow Wind. We have met several times in the last three months and have made quite a bit of progress toward a comprehensive plan for both beautification and utilization of our property.

The top three priorities for the garden committee right now are:

1) To rebuild the existing fence around our current vegetable garden and the former Peace House garden. 2) To plant a small orchard in the area out front, next to the path that goes from the Hug n’ Go to the main building. 3) Clean up and organization, even loveliness, in the area in front of the vegetable garden.

Willow Wind is now the proud owner of 20 new fruit and nut trees, donated to us by a generous Willow Wind family. Most of them will be planted in the entrance area, where the octagonal beds and struggling fruit trees are currently. We have a strong desire to see the entrance be lovely and inviting.

We are working with our irrigation specialist to create a comprehensive design for the area in front of the vegetable and Peace House gardens. We have a design from a local woodworker for a large arbor structure that can be used as an outdoor classroom and a shade house.

We could really use your help! You can fulfill your family service hours with the garden and landscape project. Let Nigel Kirby or Robin Hawley know if you are interested in contributing to any of the following projects.

Shade house/arbor area We need: post hole diggers, excavation and leveling of the ground, application of ground cloth and bed of crushed granite for the foundation of the area, people willing to assist and collaborate with the builder of the structure, a crew to begin sheet mulching and putting compost on the dirt surrounding the structure to prepare for planting.

Willow Wind general landscape We are looking for families who are interested in adopting a flowerbed to plant and maintain on a regular basis. We would like to paint signs for the beds around our campus saying something like, “This bed lovingly cared for by the _____ Family.” As you may have guessed, we are also looking for people to build and paint little wooden signs for us. Instead of buying plants for our garden beds, we would like to start plants from seed in our greenhouse. If you would like to plant and maintain seeds, or adopt a bed, let Nigel know. We also need someone to keep the grass cut around the perimeter of the garden.

Jessica Mycelia is the newly appointed Queen of Compost in the Willow Wind garden. She has been collecting compost material and using the tumbler in the garden to create soil fortification. She is going to need help in building small compost bins, moving current compost materials, and continuously caring for the compost. Mycelia is the person to talk with if you would like to get involved in making the most of our soil.

Please let Nigel or Robin know if you have a desire to be involved in any of the above projects. We have a large and lovely vision for our landscape, and we need your help to make it happen! North Mountain Park

Nature Talk 3: Wildflowers of the Siskiyous and Surrounding Areas Wed, Mar 7, 7–8 pm. Join Phyllis Gustafson for a colorful PowerPoint presentation on wildflowers of southern Oregon.

Nature Drawing with Irene Brady Saturdays in March; 3, 10 & 17, 9:30 am–2:30 pm. Join local author and artist Irene Brady for a miniseries in Nature Drawing!  Class 1: Nature Sketching Techniques, March 3.  Class 2: Landscape Sketching Techniques March 10.  Class 3: Watercolor Pencil Techniques March 17.

Renewable Electricity Wed, Mar 7, 7–8 pm, Wed, Mar 14, 7–8 pm. During a slide show presentation, learn about the rapid development of clean electricity projects in Oregon, how green power is benefiting our environment and economy, and opportunities for individuals to help create a clean energy future. Free.

Spring Equinox Family Herbal Celebration! Sun, Mar 18, 3–5 pm. Join local herbalist Julie Avena on a medicinal plant adventure as we discover the new wonders of spring in the gardens and make herbal medicines and tasty treats.

PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE: PARENT COUNCIL WILL MEET THE SECOND TUESDAY THIS MONTH ONLY.

WE WILL MEET TUESDAY, MARCH 13 2:30 – 4:00

Yearbook Order Form

2006-07 Willow Wind Yearbook Order Form

Date ______Method of Payment: Check# _____ Cash ______

Name______Phone______

Number of Yearbooks ______x $15 each = $ ______

Yearbook business card ad + yearbook ______x $29 each = $______

Please make checks payable to WWCLC. Deadline to order is April 6th.

If you have a business and would like to advertise in the yearbook, we are offering business card size ads for $29. This great price includes a free yearbook! Please include your artwork or business card with your order. Thank you!