End of the Year Field Trips

Mark your calendars! We FINALLY have the dates for our two end of the year field trips.

The first is to the Kalamazoo Rock and Mineral Show at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds on May 1st.

May 1st is also the same day as the Economics Sale AND the Walk-a-Thon.... so it will be a VERY busy day!

We will plan on boarding the bus and leaving for the fairgrounds at 11:30... which means we will plan on eating lunch that day at 11:00.  Any student who gets a school lunch will get their school lunch early that day.  

We'll stay at the Rock and mineral show a little over an hour. We'd like to be on the bus and ready to go by 1:30 so that we can get back for the Walk a Thon at 2:00.

  What is the Rock and mineral show?  It's AWESOME! The show features table after table of dealers selling precious and semi precious raw stones, polished stones, jewelry, fossils, and just about every specimen you can think of that has to do with gems, rocks or minerals.  There is a geode area where kids can buy geodes for $2 - $10.00 and have them cracked open right there. There is a "Mine Car" area where they kids can pay $1.00 to send a car into a mine.... when the car comes out they can use and old fashioned sifter to separate their gems from the sand.  This is a favorite!  

     

    Ladies! If you like your gemstones, there is no better place to buy them! They are all hand cut, and just as beautiful as the jewelry stores, WITHOUT the jewelry store prices. Stones are sold by current market Carat weight, not on how much the rent and overhead for the store is!  Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubies, Citrine, Peridot, Garnets.... you name it... it is here!

     The Show goes through Sunday. Typically some of the dealers leave portions of their tables covered up as when some of the other rowdier schools go through they've had things come up missing due to theft.... so if you go back on the weekend there is not only much more available to see, but tons more activities that are child centered to do. 

  If possible, we would LOVE to take only one bus. That would mean that like the ski trip, kids would be allowed to ride to and from  the show with their parent or parents as long as you fill out a liability release slip.  If we have to take a second bus, we will, its just crazy expensive to take two busses.  I would much rather use that money to buy activity tickets for the kids so that they can do at least one fun activity at the show free!

I'd like to get a rough count BEFORE I fill out the bus slip.  If you would like to drive your child to and from the show, zip me an email or a text before Friday January 30th.  Email me at tsadowski@vicksburgschools.org or text me at 269-501-3969.  If you text, please tell me who you are when you say "yay" or "nay" to driving your own child to the Rock and Mineral show.

More details on the show itself will be sent as the show gets closer.

NEXT.... The end of the year trip to Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery and South Haven will be Friday, May 22nd. I know that is the weekend before Memorial Day... but it was either that or May 8th. May 8th is just typically too early, too chilly or too stormy to be enjoyable so we went with the 22nd.

Due to the abundance of parents that attend THIS trip we only take one bus. This "drive your child" option was on the permission slip at the beginning of the year and we already know that we will only need one bus for this trip. We will send home the official release forms as May approaches. More details about the trip will be sent as this trip gets closer.

Thanks so much!

Tiffany Sadowski