Thank you, Cerrito families, for all your support and encouragement throughout the year! We had a year of growth and learning and it wouldn’t have been possible without the love and care you all have brought to Cerrito Creek. It seems like it was only yesterday when all of your fresh and smiling faces walked through the door and now you’re all moving on to great things! Oh The Places You’ll Go! Cerrito Creek, please read this blog for important summertime information:

Fifth graders heading into sixth at TBS or elsewhere: you know what to do because Loa told you all about it. You can email her if you have any questions: lortiz@theberkeleyschool.org.

Fourth graders heading into fifth grade, here’s what you need to know about staying sharp this summer. Avoid the summer slide…unless, of course, you are at a water park 😉

•Math: Show Me 1/2 packet. Do it all by the beginning of fifth grade. It’s easy…ish once you get rolling. Keep in mind that the “1” changes after ten pages or so, so watch out for that.  You will need Cuisenaire rods to complete the packet. Here’s a link to the rods. Bring them to school next year and you can use them in class, too.  I will also let you sign some out for the summer, if you don’t want to buy them and promise to return them. Fractions are the hardest work of fifth grade math, so get ahead. Julia also sent home your Bridges workbooks, so if you really love math and want even more, do a page or two a day to get even more practice. If you lost your packet in the final day shuffle, here’s a download to the whole thing!

• Reading: You must read one of the following three books this summer for a lit circle we will have in the first few days of school in September. Read about them to decide which one is right for you! You may of course read all three (and lots more!).

Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo

Guided Reading Level R

From Kate DiCamillo’s website: The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends, and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship-and forgiveness-can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.

The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Guided Reading Level Z (in our experience, this is such an engaging story that readers at about level U and above enjoy this book)

Get lost in Ada’s story, set against World War II, The War that Saved My Life is a 2016 Newberry Honor Book, and highly recommended for fans of Counting by 7s and Sarah, Plain and Tall.

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, by Dana Alison Levy

Guided Reading level V

The Misadventures of The Family Fletcher is a fun and exciting book about taking the traditional family-story structure and bringing it up to date by introducing same-sex parents and multiracial children.

“The start of the school year is not going as the Fletcher brothers hoped. Each boy finds his plans for success veering off in unexpected and sometimes disastrous directions. And at home, their miserable new neighbor complains about everything. As the year continues, the boys learn the hard and often hilarious lesson that sometimes what you least expect is what you come to care about the most.”

•Writing: Writing is a process, and a writer is not created overnight. It takes practice, so we encourage you to write as much as you can this summer. With a journal or notebook and a pen you can explore your world! Write down what you see. Write about how you feel. Write a short skit for a television sitcom. Create a blog or become a community journalist. All of these writing exercises will help develop your writing skills because a “Writer is someone who writes.”

For all of you returning Cerritans we will see you soon ,and for those moving on to new adventures know that what you learned in Cerrito will be with you wherever you go! We hope you enjoy your summer!