We're going to the Science & Nature Museum! 🦴

Hi families! 👋

Big news from Room 7: on Thursday, October 15 we are taking our whole class to the Riverside Science & Nature Museum. This isn't just a fun day out (though it absolutely will be) — it lands right in the middle of our Rocks, Fossils & Living Things unit. The kids have been arguing about whether a tomato is a fruit and whether dinosaurs had feathers, and the museum settles both. 🦖

We'll get a guided tour of the fossil hall, dig for real (well, real-ish) fossils in the dig pit, and end in the butterfly conservatory where the morpho butterflies sometimes land right on a kid's shoulder. This is about a 90-second read — everything you need is below, and the permission slip is attached. Please send it back signed by Friday, Oct 9.

• A sack lunch + water bottle. Label both with your child's name in big letters. The museum has water fountains but no cafeteria, so a packed lunch is a must. (Picky eater? This is a great day for the safe, beloved usual.)
• Comfy closed-toe shoes. We walk a LOT — sneakers, not sandals. Tape down any wobbly velcro at home so we're not re-sticking shoes all day.
• A light jacket or hoodie. The fossil hall runs chilly and October mornings are cool. Layers win.
• A small backpack only. Big enough for lunch and a jacket, small enough to wear all day. No rolling bags, please — stairs.
• Their excitement. Ask them tonight which exhibit they're most curious about — it makes the morning bus ride magic. ✨

This trip lives or dies on grown-up helpers. I need 6 chaperones to ride the bus and stay with a small group of 4-5 kids all day. No special skills required — just walking feet, a head count, and a willingness to say 'please don't touch the dinosaur' more than once. 😄

Chaperones ride free, get a free museum entry, and earn the eternal devotion of one very grateful teacher. Siblings can't come along on this one (museum policy), so plan childcare if you sign up. Spots fill fast — first come, first served.

• Cost: $9 per student covers the bus and museum entry. Send it in the envelope with the permission slip, or pay online by Oct 9. If the cost is a hardship, just reply to me privately — every child goes, no exceptions, no questions.
• Dress code: Room 7 'Cedar Brook' shirts if you have one (it helps me spot our crew in a crowd), plus weather-ready layers.
• Please leave at home: money, toys, trading cards, and electronics. Phones and tablets stay in backpacks the whole day — the museum is the screen. 📵
• If your child is absent that day: no problem and no refund needed — just let me know that morning so I'm not holding the bus. We'll have a quiet make-up activity ready.
• Medication or allergies? Note it on the slip AND text me so I can brief your child's chaperone group directly.

Thank you for trusting me with your kids on the open road and under a giant dinosaur. 🦕 Get those slips back by Friday, and I'll see the chaperones bright and early at the front loop.

Adventure awaits,
Mr. Whitlock 🌿