What a wonderful week this has been! I hope your child came home with information to share from Colonial Craft Day. Marianne Hill did, as usual, an amazing job of organizing the day for all of 5th grade. And the day could not have happened without all the other parents who helped with preparing materials as well as those who helped out during the day. Thank you to everyone!

Students had another wonderful special event yesterday: Multicultural Day. Parents created wonderful displays and shared interesting information about 37 different countries. Students learned not only about the countries, but also about an animal indigenous to that country. They had a lot of facts to share once we got back to the classroom! Our class donated almost enough money to pay for our World Wildlife Fund animal (giraffe) donation. Many thanks to the students who contributed! If your child would still like to donate their suggested $2, have them bring in their donation by Monday.

Ranchoburg is happening on Friday, March 20. The schedule has not yet been finalized, but tentatively there will be 2 presentations, in the morning, beginning about 8:45 A.M. Students have begun very enthusiastically working on their scripts. It should be a wonderful day. All students know their parts now, and will know if they should dress as a male or female. Please spend time this weekend putting together their costume. As mentioned last week, for male parts students should wear dark pants (no jeans)--black sweatpants work well--a white, non-knit collared, long-sleeved shirt; kneesocks (baseball socks are great as long as they don't have a colored stripe); and dark leather shoes (no athletic shoes unless they are all black). A great addition would be a cravat (scarf-like tie) and/or a vest (maybe even one of Mom's patterned vests if those 80's artifacts haven't yet made it to the Goodwill box). For female parts, students should have a long skirt, a non-knit blouse (long-sleeved if possible), an apron, leather shoes (jazz dance shoes or ballet slippers work well), and a shawl (if possible). It is also a great idea of have the girls curl their hair (unless they are playing the part of a slave or servant). There is a flyer going home in today's Friday folder with more information. If you have any questions, please contact me. We have mob caps for all the girls, and some tricorn hats for boys. There some costume pieces available (some shirts, pants, dresses) at school, so please let me know as soon as possible (no later than Tuesday) if your child needs help with his/her costume.

Our trout are growing and appear to be thriving (only 2 eggs failed to hatch). We will be releasing them into Scottsdale Pond on Monday, March 30, in the morning. We will walk there and back (although the trout get to arrive by car). Parents are welcome to join us. I'd love to have at least 2 parents to help keep us together and safe on the walk there and back. Please let me know if you are interested. The more the merrier!

Report cards will be going home on Friday, March 20. The final trimester of 5th grade begins on Mon., March 16.

Reminder: Walker Creek Parent Information Night, in Rancho's multi-use room, will be held on Thursday, March 26, from 6-7 P.M.

Have a great weekend!