Civil War unit begins

Hello,

The class has taken sides. We have 16 Union Yankees and 8 Confederate Rebels. Both sides have chosen a general. Congrats to Luke and Chelsea on that front. As for names, each student was assigned a battlefront and a homefront persona. They will use these identities in their journals.

Contingents have been made with their own flags and mottoes. Ask your child what they stand for. We have started "marching" to and from our classes. We have had locker inspections. Points are awarded or taken away in much the same way that our classroom economy worked, but this is much more intense, with very few actions ignored.

We started the day with reveille and ended it with taps. Missing reading logs on the Union side were very costly this morning. We ended the day with the Confederates up 970 to 673. The extra members are a big advantage for the Union, except when penalties are awarded. They have a much better chance of having someone standing out in a bad way.

No homework clubs this week. Sorry about the change in plans. I take part in the teacher contract negotiation meetings, and they have been planned for Tuesday and Thursday this week.

Gettysburg Trip News: I talked to the good people at Artillery Ridge Campground in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania this weekend. I have put in a deposit for our group camping sites. It looks like the cost for the four day trip, which will leave on Thursday morning, the 23rd of June and return Sunday night, the 26th, will once again be $100 per child. The only way we can do this so cheaply is if our volunteer drivers pay for their own gas. I thank you in advance. The campground website is www.artilleryridge.com. If you'd like to reserve a cabin (and sleep indoors) those reservations will be up to you. Those go fast, so you might want to call right away if you'd rather have a bed and a stove.

More details to follow in an information sheet this week. I'm almost done with that. I just wanted to get the major details out asap. This trip is not affiliated with the Brunswick School Department.

All for now,

Mr. Shea