Last week I sent home a paper newsletter to everyone, but it is back to the online version this week. As you know from email alerts, Colonial Craft Day is coming on Wed., March 11. We are just finishing up our explorers unit, so it is coming a bit fast for our class, but we'll be delving into colonial times starting Monday! If you haven't already signed up to help on Wed. but you'd like to help out, please contact Marianne Hill. It is a fun day!

Ranchoburg is Fri., March 20. Again, we'll be talking more about this in class on Monday. For Ranchoburg, students work in groups to write and then perform their own short skits about a part of colonial life (for example, as a blacksmith or someone who works in the print shop, or someone visiting the tavern, etc.). Families should start thinking about possible costumes: anyone playing a male part can get by with black pants, white socks, a white cotton (non-knit) collared shirt, and leather shoes. Vests are a wonderful addition to the costume. Those playing girl parts should think about long skirts, cotton (non-knit) shirts, shawls, and leather shoes. Students do not yet know what costume they need--but by the end of next week they will know. There are some costume pieces available at school and more information will be coming home regarding that later. All girls playing girl parts need a mob cap, and these are available at school (plenty for everyone). Some of the boys may wear tricorn hats (few actually need them), and there will be some available at school. Again, more information will follow soon!

I appreciate all the parents who helped us with our field trip to the Tiburon Audubon Center and Sanctuary on Wed. It turned out to be a beautiful day! We only had to dodge raindrops for about 10 minutes. If you haven't already heard about the field trip, be sure to ask your child about the relative density of fresh, brackish, and salt water, as well as about some of the interesting animals and plants they saw. Hopefully they can describe some of the interesting adaptations of the creatures that inhabit the tidal areas we explored.

Just an FYI...our next field trip is to Petaluma on April 23 to see some blacksmithing demonstrations. More on that later.

As always, students are encouraged to read every day. We already have 2 students in the class who have read over 1,000,000 words (as measured by AR tests taken) this year, with several other students VERY close. Every 5th grader should be reading at least 1,000,000 words during the school year. Academic success is very closely correlated with the amount of time a student spends reading material they can comprehend.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact me. It is best to send in a note or email me as there is currently a problem with my phone (It takes 2 days before I get messages!!). I have put in a work order to have my phone fixed, but in the meantime, a note or a message through Mrs. Curtice work best.

Have a great weekend.