Mini Maker Faire: Sunday, Oct 14th

Calling all aspiring inventors, DIY-ers and gadget-savvy folks!  Let's meetup at Mini Maker Fair in Oakland (at Park Day School- I believe the founder of Maker Faire has kids there).

See some more cool pix of last year's Maker Faire in San Jose

Let's form a geek posse and meet up there!  I know of about a half-dozen folks who are going. Feel free to use the comment section (pencil, at upper right) to announce your intention to go...

Let's inspire our kids to be makers and not just consumers of technology!      

- Evan Specter (Luka 5th, Katie 3rd)

Diana Warren, the new Lower School Head

Diana Warren, the new head of the Lower School, being introduced to the student body last Friday...

"What do YOU think?" (bootleg video)

Each school year at Black Pine Circle begins with a K-8 assembly and the highlight is always John Carlstroem's song, which introduces the year's theme.  This year, a short fable about Dragodon the Gladiator precedes the song.  Be sure to hit the full screen button in the bottom right!

Community News Roundup

Hank Maninger & Lynn Maes' band The Better Haves will be at the The Atlas on 20th St in San Francisco on July 5th, playing two sets from 8:00-10:00. And another show coming up soon, on August 11th, at the Cafe Du Nord.  

Donkey & Goat Winery (Jared & Tracey Brandt, 1st grade parents) is opening its Berkeley winery (near Picante) for its Summer Solstice Fête TODAY Saturday 1-4pm. Gourmet Poltana Pizza, 1st grade parent Hank Maninger's band The Tear Jerkers, and kids welcome. < details & to RSVP >

Boutique Kid Dynamo (Erin Carter, 1st grade parent) and Erica Tanov (Erica Tanov, 5th grade parent)  needs votes before June 30th to win a grant. < click, log in with Facebook, and Vote >

Flowerland Nursery on Solano Ave (Carly Dennett, K & 7th grade parent) now has an on-site coffee bar, hosted by the same java-obsessive folks who run Local123 near BPC!  Pick up some tomato plants and try the espresso!  < hours+ >

Tumbleheart, Evan Specter's (3rd & 5th grade parent) improv theater ensemble, is performing in Mill Valley next weekend, June 30th & July 1st < video & info >

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Got news of your own?  Share it

Summer Reading Suggestions from the BPC Librarians

Summer Reading Recommendations from the Black Pine Circle School Librarians

Kindergarten and Grade 1

• Farm by Elisha Cooper

• Iris and Walter (series) by Elissa Haden Guest

• Max's Words and sequel Max's Dragon by Kate Banks

• Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends (series) by Wong Herbert Yee

• Pierre the Penguin: a true story by Jean Marzollo

• Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated) by Florence Parry Heide

• Quiet in the Garden by Aliki

• Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka

• Up, Up, and Away by Ginger Wadsworth

Grades 2 and 3

• 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy

• Around the World in 80 Mysteries (series) by Carole Marsh. Titles include The Mystery of

the Ancient Pyramid and The Breathtaking Mystery on Mount Everest

• The Boy Who Invented T.V.: the Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull

• The Day-Glo Brothers: the True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-

New Colors by Chris Barton

• The Hallelujah Flight by Phil Bildner

• If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky

• Lawn Boy and sequel Lawn Boy Returns by Gary Paulsen

• Redwoods by Jason Chin

• Summer Birds: the Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle

• You are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O'Brien

Grades 3 through 5

• Green by Laura Peyton Roberts

• Into the Volcano: a Volcano Researcher at Work by Donna O'Meara

• The Magic Thief (trilogy) by Sarah Prineas

• Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War: how the North used the telegraph, railroads, surveillance

balloons, ironclads, high-powered weapons, and more to win the Civil War by Thomas B.

Allen

• Meanwhile: Pick any path. 3856 story possibilities (graphic novel) by Jason Shiga

• No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

• Real Kids, Real Places (series) by Carole Marsh. Titles include The Ghost of the Golden

Gate Bridge and The Mapcap Mystery of the Missing Liberty Bell

• Rules by Cynthia Lord

• The Secret Language of Girls and sequel The Kind of Friends We Used to Be by Frances

O'Roark Dowell

• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Grades 6 through 8

• Almost Astronauts: 13 Women who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

• Charles and Emma: the Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heilegman

• Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Jill Wolfson

• Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

• Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

• Into the Volcano (graphic novel) by Don Wood

• Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

• The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon

• Shifty by Lynn Hazen

Berkeley Public Library Recommendations

Cilck to View Grade Specific Lists K-5    Click for 6th-8th and Special Themes

At the Central library, they have a yellow sheet "If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid..."  I recommend it!

Slathering on Sunscreen, Early and Often

DOH!  With studies showing that sun exposure as a child increases risks later on, children must be taught early on about the dangers of sun exposure and make a habit of using sunscreen.

http://nyti.ms/K4oDqI

Donate your Old Backpack on the Last Day of School!

Ditch Your Old Backpack! 

Donate your old backpacks on the last day of school!

Dirty?  Used?  That's okay!  Bring it and we’ll put it to good use!

Families Make A Difference is excited to let you know that we are entering into a new partnership with Hope Through Opportunity and this End-of-Year Backpack Drive is our first effort to make a difference across the globe!  Hope Through Opportunity is a non-profit founded in 1998 by Alice Hiatt, Grandmother of Akaisha Hiatt in 6^th-soon to be-7^th grade. 

The mission of HTO is to bring education, health and self-sufficiency to the people of Africa in order to help them create and sustain a better future. Their efforts are focused in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. 

Who will be receiving the backpacks?

Kids of the Upendo Orphan Club will get your old, worn backpacks!

These children have lost their parents and wander the area seeking shelter wherever they can find it.  There is no orphanage for them. In 2005, Alice was introduced to the orphans and witnessing the great need, vowed to help them by creating Hope Through Opportunity. Since HTO has been helping the Upendo Orphan Club, life for these children has improved.  Last year HTO provided uniforms, pencils and notebooks so they all may attend school. Assistance to the now 500+ children of the Upendo Orphan Club with food, clothing, medical care and other aid is ongoing. Believe it or not, having backpacks will greatly impact the lives of these children! Our old, dirty, worn backpacks will be part of a humanitarian supply 40' cargo container to be shipped out this October.  Alice Hiatt will be at Black Pine Circle to receive the backpacks and talk to anyone interested in the work she is doing.  She will also be in Tanzania when the container arrives in next January or February.  Patience grasshopper. 

So Ditch your old Backpacks on the last day of School!

For more information, please contact:  Rachael Jackson, rachael00@gmail.com or liz mcbee-horner, bpc.FMD@gmail.com.  And, stay tuned this fall to see what else Families Make a Difference is working on with Hope Through Opportunity!