Good Afternoon Cerrito Families!

It was wonderful meeting so many of you at our first parent/teacher conferences.  I always appreciate hearing your deep understanding of your student and discussing the best ways to support them for the year. I know they also feel held by our partnership.

Today we had a conversation about what is happening in Israel and Palestine. It has been heavy on my heart all week and I know the same is true for many of you. I asked the class if they had heard of what happened and of course, some had and some had not. They all had a range of what they understood about the conflict and some shared about family and friends they were worried about. I gave them a general explanation of what happened over the weekend and used terms like “acts of violence” and “people were killed and injured”. Students guided the conversation and I prevented getting into unnecessary details about the violence. We looked at maps of the region and talked briefly about the history of the land as well as the cultural identity of  the people of Palestine and Israel. I explained this is a complex issue and I am not an expert, and many people are worried about the violence that has occurred and will continue to occur. I shared with them that the goal of the conversation was to allow them talk about it in a structured way because many of them might be thinking about it and hearing things they have questions about. Some were wondering if it was similar to the war in Russian and Ukraine and I explained that it was different and also worrisome because anytime there is conflict in one part of the world it affects the rest of the globe. We also explored how access and control over  land has been a common cause of war or conflict historically. I let students know that if they wanted to ask a question or talk to me privately about anything on their minds, I was happy to talk with them.  There are helpful resources around how to talk about this issue with your child in the weekly bulletin to help you guide further conversation. If you would like any more clarity around our discussion, please reach out.

Science!

In the last few weeks, Cerrito students got to be hands on scientists as they created mixtures and then tried to separate them. They made a gravel and water mixture, powder (diatomaceous earth) and water, as well as a salt solution. With a screen, filter, and funnel they explored the best ways to separate each mixture. The salt solution was a quandary at first, but a few students suggested the concept of evaporation. In the next investigation students measured and weighed salt and water to create a salt solution. They saw that the weight of the solution did not change even when the salt had dissolved in to the water. Student poured some of their solution in to dishes that evaporated last week and they were able to examine the salt crystals through a microscope. This will be the start of understanding the building blocks of all things, particles and atoms! Periodic table of elements here we come!

The field trip to the Oakland Museum of California was highly successful.  It was a fantastic way to kick-off our cultural studies overview of California history with excellent and engaging exhibits.  All students behaved well making the trip seamless and enjoyable.  Thank you to the chaperones for helping us keep everyone together and safe on BART and at the museum.  We really appreciate you spending your day with us.

Please remember to send a water bottle and have your student pack their binders into their backpacks every day.

Enjoy the class and field trip photos attached!

Students preparing apples for the crisp!

enjoying the fruits of their labor