Field Study

I had alot of fun today at the field study.
I cant wait for the next one on tuesday.
We have a great class this year!
And a great teacher! Thank you Frank!!!
-HeAtH

great day

today was so cool we went to colonel Sumner's park. for a moment i had no idea where we were going as soon as we got there I got there every thing was clear. It was a nice day the sun was shining and every one was happy. I had fun playing two man tag,blob tag, and fire in the jungle. i hope to have even more fun on the next field study later

Rowan

First Field Study

Lots of fun! Students will post more information.

Lots of Excitement

The 2009 school year has gotten off to a great start. The students in this class are amazing, have lots of positive energy and are really supporting each other as we build a community that will be together for the year. I've left each day happy and excited for the next.

Today is our first field study. It is a bit of a practice trip in that it is a short one and the goal is to understand field study safety and etiquette for traveling to and from the bus stop and how to be polite, respectful TriMet passengers. The weather forecast is showing sun.

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the 2009-2010 School Year! I would like to take a little of your time to introduce myself, let you know about some of the exciting things that will be happening this year, and ask for your help in making this a wonderful year.

It is amazing for me to realize that I have spent six of the last seven years deeply involved with the Sunnyside Environmental School (SES) community. This will be my fifth year as a Core teacher at SES. After completing my student teaching at the Environmental Middle School (pre-SES), I taught at SES for two years and then, after the 2005-2006 Year of the Mountain, I joined the Peace Corps and moved to Guinea, West Africa. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I was placed by myself in a small village and taught mathematics at the local middle school. Some immediate differences were that I taught in French and my class sizes ranged from 85 to 100 students! Unfortunately, political unrest and forceful military response caused the evacuation of all Peace Corps Volunteers in Guinea and the eventual suspension of the program. At that point, I embarked on an extensive trip through West Africa before returning to Portland and Sunnyside.

The Year of the Forest is filled with interesting projects and activities. The fall will primarily focus on ecology, botany and the native tribes who lived here. The Pacific Northwest is beautifully situated in the temperate rain forest and an excellent place to learn these topics. A highlight will be an overnight trip to Eagle Fern.

The many activities that take place at Sunnyside require a lot of help from you, the parents. Most Tuesdays, our class will take a trip within the greater Portland area. In order to make this possible, at least one additional adult must be available to travel with me or the class will be unable to go. Volunteering on field studies will be greatly appreciated by this class and is a great way to participate in your child’s education while meeting their friends. If you (or a family friend) have a special expertise even remotely related to the topics of this year, please contact me as it is wonderful when outside community members visit the class.
There are also many ways to showcase your skills and abilities while helping out in the classroom. Just let me know what you would like to do to help!

In addition to the curriculum taught during the year, I feel that it is extremely important to build a strong community within the classroom that fosters respect for all members and a curiosity in learning. Please let me know if there are any needs that your child requires as the year progresses.

I am very excited to be working with your children and am looking forward to a wonderful year.

Thanks!

I wanted to thank all of the students for a wonderful school year. Your energy, enthusiasm, desire to learn and ability to form a strong and entertaining community in the classroom made the year special. I hope that everyone has a summer doing the things you enjoy and spending time with your family.

See you all in September!

Iron Chef

Iron Chef Menu

*Sun dried tomato, Swiss chard and Asian green Ravioli with a hint of blackberry

*Amazing mixed greens, radish and broccoli salad with a blackberry vinaigrette dressing

*Blackberry crepes

Today featured Stage 1: Preparation of the first annual SES Iron Chef competition. In our class, each student was given a garden plot this spring to cultivate. The garden squares are approximately one square foot that each student was charged with planting, weeding and watering. We are still trying to find the best way to have 30 students garden a 2 x 13 strip of land but we are learning and having fun as we go. I was excited along with the students to see crops take off and grow. Some were successes, others not. Some plots had a recent surge in tomatoes - volunteers from last year's crop. Today, many of the plots were harvested and students will be preparing the soil for the next crop.

In addition to our garden plots, we harvested and froze blackberries in the fall and used the solar dryer to prepare sun dried tomatoes. Eggs were brought in by students who have chickens or are taking care of a few nice hens. Honey was brought in from a a student's hive.

Several items were purchased/bought and these include:
*Milk which was used in the crepe batter and the making of our mozzarella cheese
*Sugar for the crepe batter
*wheat berries which was ground into flour for the crepe batter and ravioli dough

General items of use from the community kitchen included salt, vinegar and oil.

I think that we had an enjoyable time gardening and preparing this meal. The final touches will be put on tomorrow as our dishes are judged at Sunnystock. Please come by at 12:30 and stay through the family picnic after school.

For photos of the preparation of this meal, please click garden