January 12, 2012

Dear Cedaroak Families,

The week before break was highlighted with an evening music concert by Choir and Strings, a performance of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by our life learning students, a visit to morning meeting by our superintendent Bill Rhoades, kindergarteners singing Jackie Jack Frost for all students K-5, 2nd graders sharing their experiences learning about the salmon life cycle, 3rd graders presenting science theories to their parents, 4th and 5th graders cooking up a Colonial Soup and baking cornbread, and a whole school holiday sing-along the final school day of 2011. For me it was clear: Cedaroak is an ideal place to learn, lead, and work, and experiencing the events throughout our learning community that final week culminated an excellent year.

On the day our students returned in January, I toured every classroom and truly enjoyed seeing how eager and ready our students and teachers were to resume their good work. Students wrote about their vacation experiences, they started back into mathematical thinking, they resumed their reading and writing workshops, and they reconnected with their teachers and many friends. Students were excited to be back, and likewise, our entire Cedaroak staff really enjoyed having our students return.

With the start of 2012, I am reminded of a key message from our superintendent, Bill Rhoades. He reminds us of the Power of Newness, which is important for us to remember as we look toward upcoming changes in our district. Next year with the opening of two new primary schools, Trillium in West Linn and Lowrie in Wilsonville, our district will launch dual language programs at both schools. In subsequent years, the dual language program will grow to become a K-5 program at both schools. Although space may be limited, these programs are equally available to all of our district’s incoming kindergartners. If you are interested in dual language program details, I encourage you to attend one of the upcoming community meetings on January 24th or 25th.

Similarly, the School Board has set a target date of March 4th for making boundary decisions. The Boundary Task Force continues to meet and community members can provide input at a district meeting in February. Along with the opening of these new schools are the potential changes at our seven existing primary schools. Although the capital bond provides resources to construct these buildings and purchase resources, it does not provide monies to hire additional staff. Thus, our district will staff these new schools with teachers and staff already working in our district. While this may prompt the greatest changes at our most crowded schools, it may also cause minor changes here at Cedaroak. Embracing change, we are excited that our district will grow from seven to nine outstanding primary schools.

I encourage you to review the information available on our district’s website, join the school and district listserv, and attend community meetings. I also welcome you to contact me if you have questions about these upcoming changes. While some decisions are yet to be determined, I am happy and willing to share what I know and explain the processes that are in place for decisions yet to be made. As the year continues, I want you to know that the school staff and leadership teams in the West Linn – Wilsonville School District are committed to supporting and working with you and your children to create powerful learning communities for developing great thinkers and thoughtful people for the world. As always, please call me at 503.673.7105 or email me at mcdougap@wlwv.k12.or.us

- Peter McDougal

December 8, 2011

Dear Cedaroak Families,

During this busy season I want to take a moment to provide all of you with a glimpse of a different side of student learning. When students stay with their teacher for community lunch, they engage in many learning opportunities during this important time of day. Here is a sampling of lunchtime learning experiences from various grades:

Teachers read aloud novels and other materials to their students

Students socialize, taking time to visit with their friends and classmates

Students share information and learning with the whole class (current events, independent projects, pressing news, etc.)

Teachers lead conversations and provide instruction on nutrition and wellness

Multiple classes sometimes come together to share lunchtime with each other, and during these times they socialize, play games, or do other activities

Students watch videos about some of the content area topics they are studying

They engage in discussions about various topics or interest areas

Our youngest students learn about manners and character

Students solve riddles or do lateral thinking puzzles as a whole class

They have ‘picnics’ with their teacher and have small group conversations

Students engage in various community building conversations

We have been using our common space in many ways. Here are just a few examples of student learning in our spaces from the past two weeks:

Kindergarteners acted out Jan Brett’s The Mitten.

A class of students created an art project that they will soon give to their parents

Another class engaged in a novel study of Charlotte’s Web

A 1st and 3rd grade class came together to share in a ‘buddy’ art project

We met with approximately 25 parents and community members to prepare these volunteers to lead their respective Community Groups

Our life learning students enjoyed hands-on learning in Discovery Square

Two classes prepared and ate ‘Colonial Soup’ as part of a Colonial History study

Twenty-four parents attended Parent Math Night and learned about our District’s instructional approach, while 13 of their children played in the gym

Multiple classes came together to share their lunchtime

A 1st and a 4th-5th grade class met with their buddies to spend time together

Club K students used the space before and after school

A CEUM collection is available for all who pass by to experience, read, and learn

We encourage you to ask your students about their lunchtime learning experiences and about the ways they have had a chance to enjoy some of our newly remodeled spaces. We thank you all for your partnership during the fall and we appreciate the opportunity to work with your children each day. We hope you all enjoy winter break and the holiday season, and we look forward to continuing our work in the new calendar year. If you have questions, concerns, or would like to visit with me, my email is McDougaP@wlwv.k12.or.us and phone number is 503.673.7105.

~ Peter

November 17, 2011

Parent Math Night – December 1

Thank you to everyone who attended our Parent Math Night on Thursday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m. and thank you PTA for providing childcare so all parents could attend. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, at this event we presented an overview of our math instructional program, including a look at the growing body of research that supports an increased focus on conceptual understanding and student dialogue.

Over the past several years, teachers throughout our District have engaged in an examination of math best practice instructional strategies. This study has helped us to gain a better understanding of the strategies that increase student learning and performance. Here I offer a brief synthesis of what we have learned.

In a high quality math program, student achievement and math proficiency flow from an instructional design that emphasizes conceptual understanding. Students investigate real-world problems and concepts, and they gain new learning by building on their prior knowledge. Students are inventive and they generate thoughtful ideas through discovery. Wrong answers are often viewed as starting points and ways to explore contradictions.

In the classroom, students gain skills and learn through dialogue and discourse, questioning and listening, and by engaging in mathematical argumentation. Reasoning and understanding occur when challenging material intrigues students and when they enjoy engaging as learners.

Quality math learning still includes memorizing procedures and facts and developing mathematical proficiency, yet it is more than this. Students represent their thinking in many ways (e.g., graphs, tables, charts, equations, visuals, and with manipulative materials), and they share their thinking aloud with their classmates so they can learn from and with each other.

In addition to mastering the symbolic mathematical language, students learn through word problems and open-ended, worthwhile tasks that have a variety of solution paths. Throughout the K-12 instructional program, students develop an efficiency that follows deep conceptual understanding, and they gain mastery of important math facts within the context of this understanding.

According to research, in successful math programs, students study fewer total topics, but they study the most important topics more deeply. Additionally, students use reflection and metacognition-thinking about their own thinking-to gain and maintain awareness of themselves as learners. And, in the end, success is measured not only by test scores and assessment data, but also by the degree to which students crave more math learning following each lesson and each school year.

We enjoyed spending the evening with all who were able to attend. If anyone was unable to attend and has questions about our math instructional program, please call me at 503.673.7105 or email me at mcDougaP@wlwv.k12.or.us.

- Peter McDougal

November 3, 2011

Hello Cedaroak Families,

Each fall Oregon schools receive the State Report Card and the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Report informing parents and the community about school performance based on multiple standards and indicators. We are pleased to share with all of you that Cedaroak Park once again was rated as ‘Outstanding’ according to the State Report Card and met all AYP standards. These two reports are provided as attachments with this mailing. Highlights include:

94% of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students met or exceeded the state standards in reading. This marked an improvement from the 89% who met or exceeded during the 2009-10 year.

The percentage of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who met or exceeded increased in mathematics when compared to the same standards in 2009-10 (09-10: 90% and 10-11: 93%).

There was an increase in meeting or exceeding the reading standards among students with disabilities and students who are economically disadvantaged.

90% of 5th graders met or exceeded the state standards in science, which outperformed socio-economic comparison schools (89%) and the state average (75%).

89.3% of Cedaroak Park teachers have their master’s degree.

We met the AYP standard in each demographic sub-category for all areas, which included reading, math, attendance rate, test participation, and academic status.

While we again earned the highest rating and made AYP, we intend to continue our focus on improving student achievement in a variety of ways, some of which are listed here:

We will increase our support for students meeting the new math standards, which are presented for the first time on this 2010-11 State Report Card. (And, the Cedaroak Park community should note that for this year, higher standards have been set in reading.)

We will continue to focus on providing the highest quality personalized literacy instruction to ensure that our students make strong growth in reading, writing, vocabulary development, and spelling.

We will continue to emphasize conceptual understanding in math, science, and other content areas, while ensuring that students exceed desired proficiency levels in all performance areas.

We will seek ways to increase student engagement through high-cognitive interactions, and rich student dialogue and discourse.

Ultimately, we strive to ensure that each and every child continues to grow and make excellent progress toward his/her potential. Although it is a number of years away, it is important to remember that each student must meet state standards in all tested academic areas to earn a high school diploma. Parents, thank you for your partnership in working with and supporting your child at home. By working together we ensure the highest possible levels of learning and growth for each and every child.

October 20, 2011

Dear Cedaroak Families,

Teaching and instilling in our students moral character is one of the hallmarks of our school, our District, and our community. We partner with parents, community, and other schools in our District so our students develop, learn and think about traits such as honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, kindness, compassion, and courage. We have many ways to promote and teach these character traits, most of which are embedded in the daily learning experiences of our students. Below is a sampling of some specific character learning opportunities.

In Every Classroom: Each teacher understands the importance of establishing a learning community in which students treat each other well. Teachers create many ways so students have an active part in creating a positive learning community. Throughout the year they keep character learning in mind as they guide the positive development of each student and of the whole learning community.

In Community Groups: Monthly our students meet for 30-minutes in multi-age groups of about ten students. Instruction is designed to develop a positive school community and solid character in each student. Throughout the year students engage in learning centered on topics such as friendship, gratitude, bully-proofing, sharing their writing, and making a difference through service. Our first community group is Friday the 28th. Students will examine friendship and how they can be friends with people who are like them and different from them. We will read the book Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsely, which helps students think about self-belief, courage, and the power of friendship.

At Morning Meeting: Periodically we lead our whole school in thinking about and discussing character, including how we treat each other. Recently, for example, students revisited the first part of The Cedaroak Way: “At Cedaroak we follow the Golden Rule. This means we treat each other with respect and kindness.” As a part of this character learning experience, students talked with each other about how they are a good friend and also about how they want to be treated by others.

With Behavior Incidents: When students make behavior choices that are counter to these positive character traits, we take a character instruction and development approach. We take time to listen, and we also make sure students understand both how and why we should do things differently. Developing this understanding ensures that each student continues to grow in character and that our whole school learning community continues to thrive. Additionally, we know that logical consequences are sometimes a part of the teaching, but it is far more crucial for our students to learn how and why they should make choices that align with the character values of our school and community.

Feel free to call me at 503.673.7105 or email me at mcdougap@wlwv.k12.or.us if you would like to visit about character learning or anything else that you feel is important to discuss.

- Peter McDougal

October 6, 1011

Dear Cedaroak Families,
At each Friday Morning Meeting several students share their work with the whole school. We invite and encourage any and all parents to be a part of the audience for these 10-minutes on Fridays. This is a great opportunity for students to share their work and learn from each other, and it provides another way for parents to experience the learning our students are engaged in at Cedaroak.

Here is a sample of classroom moments during which students created work that has been shared: 

Kindergartners made pizza in the Pine Diner and then ate their delicious creations. They chopped tomatoes, basil, and oregano from our garden and it was blended into sauce. They stretched dough onto baking sheets, spread the sauce, and then sprinkled on cheese, pepperoni, and pineapple. After baking, students selected and enjoyed cheese, pepperoni, and pineapple pizza, and nearly every student asked for seconds.

Second graders created water-color self-portraits and wrote poems to share and introduce themselves to their classmates. They first practiced on scratch paper with pencil portrait drawings, and they eventually filled in the spaces with water color paints. They experimented with figuring out the water-to-paint ratios and then wrote poems with starting lines such as I am . . . and I am excited . . . and I want to share.

Third graders wrote personal narratives which included problems that were resolved. After completing rough drafts, students took turns sitting in the writer’s chair to read their work to the whole class. After listening, students shared their questions and compliments, and wonderings and thinking with the authors. Among the many topics were a Mt Hood skiing expedition, a lost tooth, and a mother losing her cell phone.

Fourth and fifth graders studied force and created projects in which they explained and demonstrated how selected forces work. Some of these forces included gravity, the atmosphere, lightning, waves, and football. Students conducted research by reading books and other printed resources, and by searching on the Internet. The process included planning, creating an initial draft, and then crafting a final copy.

Another fourth and fifth grade class has been creating How-to Books in which students explain how to do something. These expository pieces have included topics such as how to make ice-cream, pizza, and pancakes, how to play video games, and how to do many other activities as well. Adding to the complexity of these pieces, students are practicing by trying to hook their reader. They also share their drafts with peers so they can get feedback and continue to improve their writing pieces.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please call me at 503.673.7105 or email me at mcdougap@wlwv.k12.or.us.

- Peter McDougal

September 22, 1011

Ongoing teacher professional learning is an important part of providing the very best education for our Cedaroak students. With that in mind, I want to share some important details about our eight early release Wednesdays this year.

On Wednesday, September 28, we will have our first 2-hour early release day. On these days, children will be released from Cedaroak at 12:10 p.m. Students will eat lunch at school and there will be bus service. Afternoon kindergarten children will have a slightly different plan, as they will keep their regular school schedule of 11:30 – 2:10. Busing will be provided, but because they are the only class going home at 2:10, new bus routes will be created for them. This means they may not have their regular bus driver and 1st through 5th grade siblings riding the bus or walking home from school with them. Our school secretaries have called the families of our afternoon kindergarteners who ride the bus to help families organize a safe trip home for these children.

We know that our District, our parents, and our community value teacher professional development, as it ensures that we are able to provide the very best education for each and every child. As educators, one of the ways we continue to improve is by coming together to learn about new teaching methods and increase our content knowledge. We are able to further increase the positive impact we have on student learning by studying the research, by thinking about and designing excellent instruction, and by examining student work and student thinking. Although we believe we provide a high quality instructional program here at Cedaroak, we also know that by taking time to collaborate and learn together, we can continue to improve our practice. Some of the focus areas our teachers are studying this year include literacy learning and literacy workshop, math best practices, inquiry and student conversation, reading intervention, science and garden literacy, and character and community building.

If you have any questions about the logistics of early release days, please contact our office at 503.673.7100. If you would like to learn more about our teacher professional learning or if you have any other questions or concerns, please call me at 503.673.7105 or email me at mcdougap@wlwv.k12.or.us.

- Peter McDougal

September 2, 1011

Dear Cedaroak Community,

Our September 1st Open House and Library Dedication Ceremony was a tremendous success. The majority of our students and parents came to drop off their supplies, meet their new teachers, reconnect with friends, and see our amazing new spaces.

After connecting with their classrooms and teachers, students were drawn to the newly finished spaces: the Library, Discovery Square, Exploritorium, The Canopy (our amphitheater), and our new gardens. With the construction of these spaces now completed we culminated our Open House with the Library Dedication Ceremony, which was well attended by students, parents, staff, and community members. For those who were unable to attend, we would like to highlight some of the moments from the dedication.

Starting at about 1:30 students and parents began wandering into the Library to try out the furniture, see the alcoves and window seats, and look at the various books on display. They entered the Exploritorium to enjoy cookies and lemonade, meet their new principal, and see our new Pine Diner. They played with learning games in the Discovery square, including colorful blocks and a game called Architecto. At one moment two kindergarteners struck up a conversation about a brain building game called Equilibrio, as one studied a diagram and explained what to do, while the other assembled the geometric building blocks so it would resemble the diagram. Listening to this discussion between these two students provided a moment that brought the Discovery Square and these new spaces to life. After all, these are perfect places for learning together, creating, discovering, and imagining.

By 2:40 these spaces were filled with people to participate in the Dedication Ceremony. After a few words from Dr. McDougal, including honoring the many people and organizations who made these new spaces possible, all those in attendance participated in a choral reading. The words of the choral reading are provided below, as is the list of people and organizations who made these new learning spaces possible. And, to make it official, our ceremony ended with one of our students stepping forward and cutting the ribbon.

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to those who were unable to make it, please stop by and visit. We would love to share these new learning spaces with our community.

Choral Reading to Dedicate these Spaces

We, the students, families and community members of Cedaroak Park Primary School dedicate our new library, Discovery Square, Exploritorium, Pine Diner, The Canopy, and our new gardens to the learning of our present and future students. Our new spaces are places where we will gather to celebrate learning, thinking, and being a part of a peaceful community.

We dedicate this building to the ideals that created our new spaces: Freedom, Creativity, Character, Honoring our past, Looking to our future, Learning, Thinking, Growing, and Creating a peaceful world. We also dedicate this building to the people of our community: Hardworking students, Families that support them, Dedicated teachers, and all of the adults who support learning at Cedaroak Park Primary School.

We would like to especially honor, recognize, and thank . . .
- Our School Board members and their efforts to identify these beautiful projects
- Our West Linn and Wilsonville communities for their support, including generously passing the Capital Bond
- The Ed Specs Planning Committee (Glen Friedman, Corinn Brown, Tara Perkins, Becky Dierickx, Becca Stecher, Carolyn Miller)
- The West Linn – Wilsonville Long Range Planning Committee
- DOWA (Dull Olsen Weeks Architects), and we especially want to recognize Norm Dull
- TODD Construction, including project managers Bob Teters and Nancy Hubbard
- Former Superintendent Dr. Roger Woehl
- Director of Operations Tim Woodley and the district operations staff
- Many district staff who helped with the final preparations of these spaces
- Many volunteers contributed their time and help
- Our teacher-librarian Tara Perkins
- Our building engineer John Hartley and former evening custodian Blaine Christopher
- Our Cedaroak parents and the Cedaroak school community
- Our Cedaroak students, teachers and staff

Thank you all!

Peter McDougal, D.Ed., Principal
Cedaroak Park Primary School