Hello Families,
We took our first field trip of the year to Zellerbach Hall on UC Berkeley’s campus to see Kodo – Tsuzumi: One Earth Tour.  We were met with a slew of unexpected transportation delays, but the chaperones and third graders made it happen! Instead of taking the 51B bus to Zellerbach Hall, we decided to try to take BART to Downtown Berkeley and walk over. The show was dynamic and consisted of ensemble pieces that were dynamic and full of life. There was a comedic trio featuring a fan drum, wood block, and Buddhist bell and another solemn and mournful piece that featured a large drum, flute, and singer. After the field trip, Temescalians had time to reflect and share not only a highlight from the performance, but also how the performance made them feel. We talked about how a live performance was different from watching a show online, and they noted, “The performers can hear us when we clap, laugh, or talk!” “You can feel the drumbeats in your body.” “You don’t know what to expect in the performance!”
Here is a study guide from a past performance, but there is history, as well as the different instruments named in this study guide. Click here to see more about taiko drumming.

Friendship Week is upon us! We pulled Secret Pal surveys on Friday. I hope that each Temescalian had some time to prepare for their Secret Pal over the weekend. The schedule of events is as follows:
Monday – handwritten note
Tuesday – Valentines and Acts of Kindness
Wednesday – handmade item (friendship bracelet, lanyard, paper creations, drawings, baked item*. Please note that certain individuals have vegan or vegetarian diets so please check in if your Temescalian would like to prepare a food item for their Secret Pal.)
Thursday – a gently used book
Friday – We’ll do things in the classroom so no need to do anything beyond acts of kindness!

We’ll be celebrating in class and revealing our Secret Pals on Friday. Please sign up on this sheet if you can bring in sprinkles, cookies, plates, or join us to help with the decorating!

We also want to highlight that it is Spirit Week too!
Monday – Wear school colors/gear. (Navy, white, or the color of the depot dome)
Tuesday – Acts of Kindness
Wednesday – Favorite character t-shirts
Thursday – Hat Day & Tailgating Party 3:45 – 5:15pm at French American to support the TBS basketball team
Friday – Pajama Day

100th Day of School is celebrated in different ways at TBS. K-2 bring in 100 Collections. 3rd graders team up to focus on a local ecosystem and create things that can be found in nature and add up to 250 items (for the Bay/Coast or Forest ecosystems) or 333 items (for Wetlands or Grasslands ecosystems). I have sent home information on a green sheet that needs to come back with their completed project on Monday, February 27.
We invite families to come by K-3 classrooms to see 100 Collections of 1,000s Projects on Tuesday, February 28 from 8:30 – 9:00am.
To get an idea of projects from years past, please click on the following links:
1,000s Projects from 2020
1,000s Projects from 2019

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way!

A few other views from the week:

Upcoming events
February
13 – 17 Friendship Week & Spirit Week
20 – 24 February Break (no school)
28 – 100th Day of School. K-3 Classrooms open from 8:30 – 9:00am