Dear Cerrito Creek Families,

Happy summer! We hope that you have found calm and rest in your months away from TBS and are as excited as we are about another year of deep learning and exploration.

For those of you new to the class this year, my name is Mike Sinclaire, and this will be my ninth year at The Berkeley School as lead teacher of Cerrito. I have two children at TBS named Milo, in Blackberry Creek, and Ruby, in Sweet Briar. We spent our summer on the beaches of San Diego and the high mountains and alpine lakes of Tuolumne Meadows. Julia Poock is my fabulous assistant, and she is in the second year of her master’s and credential program in the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute. In addition to cooking, gardening, and dyeing her own clothes with natural dyes, she got married in Nevada City this summer, so make sure to wish her a big congratulations!

We are excited about teaching Westward Movement–you will learn your states and capitals and all about early US History, from Constitutional times through Lewis and Clark, the Oregon Trail, all the way until the transcontinental railroad was built. We will also be learning all about electricity and magnetism, so get ready to connect wires, batteries, switches and bulbs in science class this fall. That’s just a taste of all the year will bring, so get excited and we will see you soon.

Below is a list of school supplies to purchase for the beginning of the year and some important dates. 

Classroom Supply List

Please be sure your child has the following items for the first day of school. Teachers will guide students to implement organizational systems in fourth and fifth grade that will support them throughout their academic careers and personal lives. The tools below will help them begin to establish sound organizational habits.

Item: One 2-inch, 3-ring binder with zipper closure. Mead makes a good one. If you bought one last year that is still in good shape, please reuse it. They range from 8 to 20 dollars. The zipper is important so papers do not fall out.

Item: Five folders that come 3-hole punched and snap into the binder. 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 orange, and 1 green. These can be tricky to find but will help your binder stay organized. Students: if you can’t find all the colors, don’t sweat it, just have five folders that clip into your binder and we will label them.  Make sure you have a backpack big enough for the binder.

Nutrition

Students are responsible for bringing their own snacks and lunches each day. Those who sign up for hot lunch should still bring their own snacks, as one is not provided. Water cups will be provided by teachers.

Upcoming Important Dates