Upcoming Events

I am recuperating from the best 9 days of my life! Melissa's grandpa is putting together a cd of all of the pictures of the trip for everyone. We have hundreds of great photos! Here are some from the river rafting trip https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3b5cxe2tjhhzse7/NdtP_vJ9aq

I can't believe the year is almost over! Below is a heads up about the next couple of weeks events:

Wednesday June 6: Family Night from 5pm-8pm There will be class exhibitions as well as festivities on the playground. Our class exhibition will include a slideshow of the 8th grade trip.

Friday June 8th: Six Flags Junior High Night. We will leave for the park at 9:00 am. At 6pm, the park closes to regular guests and only eighth graders and their chaperones with a special bracelet are allowed to stay. We will stay til approximately 11pm then head home. In the past, we have had parents pick up their kids around 2am, but I am thinking we may think about just sleeping at the school or something like that? (I need your feedback) The cost is $30. Some people are already covered. I will speak to you individually in the next week. PLEASE RSVP for your student asap as I need to pay in advance, preferably by Tuesday.

Tuesday June 12- Thursday June 14: POLs. Students will be given the instructions of the assignment and signing up for their particular time slot on Tuesday May 29. Parents, please come!

Thursday June 14: 8th Grade Promotion at Old Poway Park at 6pm. Immediately following we will have dinner at the Hamburger Factory(this is optional) Jennie will be sending more information about this as well as asking for help with the Promotion setup.

Friday June 15: Last Day of School / Report Cards will be handed out. We will also have a beach party at Mission Beach in front of the rollercoaster. Students will bring their own lunch, bathing suits, etc. Families are welcome!

Day 9: The drive home

We made it home safe around 10 pm Wednesday night. This was definitely an experience worth being a part of! I am so grateful for parents who trusted me with their precious kids for the past nine days. This trip could not have happened without the efforts of all of you. Here are some last photos of the last night campfire and the trip home.

Day 8

Woke up in paradise today. We got to Big Sur at dusk last night.The rush was on to set up camp. We finished with the help of car headlights. This morning we had bacon eggs and pancakes using the propane stove and kept warm by a morning fire. Once again we packed into the cars headed for Monterey Bay Aquarium. We got a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium which was really interesting. Some of the highlights were the jelly fish experience, seahorses, octopi, the giant kelp forest, the touch tidal pools, the giant tank with sea turtles, hammerheads and sturgeon. Again this will be a short blog as I am sitting on the side of the road typing this before losing cell phone range in a mile! We are headed to Pfieffer Beach next in Big Sur, then having our last meal and a campfire. We are sad to go home tomorrow.

Day 7

Hello all,

Sending this early since we will probably lose internet and cell phone access when we get to our destination in Big Sur in about two hours.

This morning we packed up and said our goodbyes to the beautiful river. Before we left Nathan, Nicholas, Brianna, Madison, Cassie, and Mark went on a 10 mile white water rafting trip. They had a blast and almost all the rest of us wish we would've gone.

Our next stop was the Jelly Belly factory. We got to learn the sights and smells of the Jelly Belly making process (even the not so good smells.) We should be arriving at Big Sur right after dark, which should make for a fun tent putting up experience. We will most likely be out of reception tomorrow until we get to Monterey Aquarium. Look forward to today's pictures on the blog tomorrow when I have internet access.

Day 6

We are winding down to the end of the trip. What a privilege it has been to be with the class this past week. We have had so much fun and so many memories!

This morning started with a drive to town for a tour of the State Capitol. In years past, this experience always started with a long search for parking, at least a ten block walk, and then a packed Capitol building. Sunday mornings are a completely different experience! We parked in front, walked into an empty building, and pretty much got an exclusive tour of the building with only a few other tourists walking around. Kyle, our guide was so much fun. He let us do a little more roaming than usual. The students learned quite a bit about the Senate and the Assembly. We discovered some secrets about the beautiful building, its structure and design. Ask your student about the nickname of the Bear statue in front of the Governor's office..

On the way out, we walked the grounds, spoke to a policeman on his horse and hugged a tree :) We made the decision to pass on the Reno trip in order to keep the sanity of the adults in the group. It seems a ten mile ride around here can take twice as long to get to due to windy, one lane roads. When we discovered that the drive on paper was only a couple hours would be at the least 3 hours one way, we decided to stay local. We could not see the sense in driving over six hours tonight, then another four tomorrow to Big Sur.

Because of this change of plans, we were able to slow it down a bit today and relax near the river. The girls went to the gift store at Sutter's Mill to buy tails (!). Maddie and Nicholas went down to the river to pan for gold. Some kids went to the pool and others hiked around.

Around 4:30 we loaded into the cars on a trek to the highest point around to watch the annular eclipse. We made some pinhole viewers, and looked up a live feed on my computer. Fortunately, after we arrived, another couple came up to the mountain. They had a welders mask that they graciously allowed all of us to use. It was neat to see the change as the moon came over the sun. If it wasn't for the slightly darker and cooler air for a few moments, the sky was so blue and the sun was so bright, it was hardly noticeable until we used our pinhole viewers and the welder's mask. Although we did not get the opportunity to meet with my cousin Bryan, an astrophysicist and an expert in this stuff, I think we made the right decision by not driving to Reno! It was nice to have a relaxing evening around the campground. Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Question of the day: What is the significance of and colors of the Senate room and the Assembly room in the State Capitol?

Day 5

FYI make sure you click on the collage. (Not all the pictures may show up on the screen)

This morning, we went to the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse and discovered what it was like to be a student in the 1800s. Things were much different back then. Schoolhouses were required to be within two miles of every student. Before the civil war, only men were teachers, but when they were enlisted, women took over the job. Female teachers had to abide by many rules such as one couldnt go into an ice cream parlor unescorted, and long nails were strictly forbidden. Boys and girls could receive lashes for playing together on the playground, climbing over three feet up a tree, showing up to school dirty, and many other offenses. All grades were taught by one teacher at the same time. Our class got a taste of what it was like to sit in the classroom, answer questions (boys were required to bow and girls curtsied whenever they were called on or answered a question), do a reading lesson, and experience life as a kid during the 1800s.

After a brief stop across the street at Candy Heaven, we piled into the cars for a short ride to Gibson Ranch for the Civil War re-enactment. We got there just in time to witness a mock battle. We sat on a hill and watched as the Union and the Confederate soldiers fought each other. The cannons were quite loud and impressive! It seemed a little confusing without narration and as Enoch said, it would have been much more dramatic with music like you see in the movies! We enjoyed ourselves regardless. After the battle we were able to wander through the encampments and listen as the soldiers and civilians described life during that period.There were many demonstrations to see and I got caught up at the medical hospital tent, where wounded soldiers were taken. We learned about the damage done when bullets hit flesh and bone and amputations. The instruments used back then were archaic to say the least! I also watched a clothing demonstration. I can't imaging wearing seven layers or so of clothing required to be in fashion! Later Robert E Lee spoke to us about the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Antietam in 1862.

On our way home we stopped at Marshall Gold Discovery Park where James Marshall first discovered gold at Sutter's Mill. The park has a replica of Sutters Mill as well as a museum and trails. At the end of the trail we stopped to do what any true blue kid would do at the shore of a river.... skip rocks!

Question of the day: How did James Marshall discover gold?

Day 4

FYI: Your screen may not show the full collage. Click on the picture to view all photos

We had a fantastic day today! After two days of moving and shaking in San Francisco with the hustle and bustle of the city, it is so nice to be out in nature. We woke up at our leisure today to beautiful blue skies and warm weather. Today we went to Moaning Cavern, California's largest cavern. It can hold the Statue of Liberty inside of it. We descended 245 stairs on a spiral staircase to the base of the cavern. We saw formations such as the chocolate wall, Winnie the Pooh, Darth Vader, a king cobra and an elephant. While we were down at the bottom we got to see two people rapelling down the center of the cavern. After the trek into the center of the earth, we watched as Madison, Nicholas and his dad ziplined through the trees and Alec, Chase and Isabel scaled the rock climbing wall.

After a long drive home, the kids jumped into the pool and tested the river. It was pretty warm out today so the dip in the water was quite refreshing. The boys were in charge of dinner tonight and it was quite comical watching them attempt to open a can of tomatoes for chili. How many boys do you think it takes to open a can? After dinner the kids went up to the rec center for a mean game of ping pong and pool.

Question of the day: What is so special about Calaveras County?

Schoolwork for day 4

Hello students,
Looks like day 4 didn't print out in your work packet. Today we will be going to Moaning Cavern, California's largest cavern. It can fit the statue of liberty inside of it! Check out the main page on the Moaning Cavern URL below. When you are done, read and do the activities for Cavern Geology, Cavern Life, and People & Caverns. The links are below. (On your map highlight our path from our campsite in Lotus to Moaning Cavern)

When we get back to the campsite, we will be exploring the beautiful South Fork of the American River. The first gold in California was discovered about a mile down the river at a place that is now called Sutter's Mill. (On your map, draw a gold star where Sutter's Mill is located) Find out what was happening that led up to the discovery of gold there. Who was involved? Would you have been someone who would have packed up your life and moved to California for a dream of fortune?

Have fun!


http://www.caverntours.com/MoCavRt.htm
moaning cavern URL.

Lesson 1 cavern geology
http://www.caverntours.com/cgp1.htm

Lesson 2 cavern life
http://www.caverntours.com/classroom/clp1.htm

Lesson 3 people and caverns
http://www.caverntours.com/classroom/pcp1.htm

Day 3

We survived San Francisco and now conquering Sacramento! This morning included cleaning the house and packing up again. I have to admit, it was much faster when we had all you parents helping but the kids did pretty well!

We braved the San Francisco traffic (35 minutes to travel a few miles) again to get to Alcatraz Landing. The weather cleared up just for us and the warm sun made the morning much more enjoyable. Everyone had a great time following the audio tour of the prison. It seems the days are flying by. We were hoping to do a little more touring but wanted to get on the road. We didnt make it to Fairfield before 4 o'clock so our Jelly Belly tour is postponed until Monday on our way toward Big Sur.

We got to our campsite around dusk. The kids were so excited! There is nothing better than nature to brighten the mood! Unbeknownst to me, the campsites I got for the boys are twice as nice as the girls! The girls aren't to thrilled about it... sounds like war! By the time we ate dinner and unpacked it was way too dark to explore so we are excited to do it tomorrow. It is beautiful out here. We are a mile north of Sutter's Mill in Gold country.

Question of the day: What else was Alcatraz used for besides a prison?

Day 2

Eight graders at home.... we miss you! Answer to yesterday's question: Freaking cold, windy and misty! Pictures are in backwards chronological order. Still trying to figure out how to post them on this blog. Ugh!

We had a very fun day today experiencing San Francisco. We went to San Francisco State University and got a taste of college life in their commons, bookstore, Fine Arts Building and baseball fields. Sound stage Director of Cinema Arts Professor Jamison Goldner was kind enough to give us a small impromptu lecture on directing. He has been around since 1963 as one of the founding members of the Dept of Cinema. He and our tour guide Jimmy, a second year grad student gave us some interesting information about college life. We visited the Gators baseball field and had photo ops in the dugout.

After a quick lunch out of the back of the cars we drove to Blazing Saddles for our bike ride. I stayed back with three of the kids while the rest braved the cold misty wind for the ten mile ride along San Francisco Bay and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Two hours later, our famished group walked to the Rainforest Cafe for refueling and a well deserved dinner. Unfortunately we ran out of time to get on the tour bus before they closed so we did some very touristy stuff....The Wax Museum (ask your kids about the electrocution chair!) and Ripley's Believe it or Not. We dragged ourselves back to the cars close to 9:30 and am still wondering when the kids are going to run out of energy!

Question of the day: The bridge is celebrating a milestone birthday this year. Find out how old it is.

8th grade trip Day 1

Hello Parents! Day 1 of our trip is complete! We made it safely to San Francisco! We stopped a few times along the way to load up on junk food and stretch.... pretty uneventful. The weather was hot and beautiful along the drive and as we drove into Oakland, the wall of fog was covering San Francisco. It is quite cool here! We are staying in Christine's brother's beautiful home near Golden Gate Park. They were kind enough to leave their home in our care for two days. We have a fun filled dayof exploring the city tomorrow.

As I reflect upon the anticipation and preparation that went into taking this trip, I just want to say how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to be a part of your childrens' lives as well as yours. I have one of the best jobs on the planet and feel it a privilege that your children came into my life. Thank you for supporting them and having faith in me. I feel I have learned as much from them as they have from me. We have a busy day tomorrow so until then.......

Question of the day: What will our weather be like today?