HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of our Campers ! This has been a Fall we will all never forget, filled with complex experiences no one could have predicted. Through it all, our Campers have used the online communication tools offered by Camp Internet to keep our students focused, to give them a spirit-building connectedness with other learners, and we have seen some great student and teacher work emerge. Thank you all for your participation.

We have a live student ASTRONOMY DIG this week open this week through the 21^st, and then will reconvene with students January 7^th. TEACHERS have several project workspaces that will remain open until January 6^th, so feel free to use the winter break to catch-up on your posting projects. SEE the NEW ‘Camp News and Events’ listings, #5 on the Camp Portal, to prepare for upcoming LIVE events in January and Camp activities in the New Year.

DID YOU KNOW – Camp Internet is one of the ONLY online programs in the country that allows direct students and teacher postings? In fact, we ENCOURAGE your self-publishing as a way to build technology literacy. While other programs may offer online content and an occasional chat – there are very few other opportunities to actually SHARE teacher and student work with your own learning community, online, live, with your peers. So, SHOW us your Stuff ! It is great fun for everyone to see one another’s work and accomplishments!!

THIS WEEK we are also sending out Holiday Cards to every teacher, at your home address. These cards go out each year to every Outpost Leader to thank you for your friendship and goodwill, and to wish you and your students the best for the New Year.

Please share the card with your students as our thanks for your participation in Camp Internet.

**LIVE EVENTS for this week – all Campers are invited to join in creating STUDENT SHOWCASE REPORTS and to join the ASTRONOMY DIG – open through December 21^st.

ASTRONOMY DIG – this is a longer DIG than most and might be a good chance to divide the class into teams and assign each team a different set of question to research and respond to. There are 16 Challenges, so 4 teams could each handle 4 questions. It is located in the CAMPWIDE DIG room for everyone to enjoy.

STUDENT SHOWCASE - ALL students in Camp Internet are invited to prepare a Fall report on one or more activities they have accomplished since September that relate to their Camp subject track. They can describe a model they built, a book or film report, a field trip, a GPS activity, a garden report – or a project unique to your classroom. They can also send in scanned images of art projects or science projects in action. POSTINGS will be done by teachers of collected student work in the FIELD REPORTS rooms by track. All reports are requested to be posted by December 21^st, and by special request, we will also keep the room open over holiday break so teachers can add postings anytime, 8am-10pm through January 6^th. SEE TEACHER’S CHAT ROOM for instructions, and then go to main portal, #3 – Field Reports / your track’s room, to post.

OTHER ONLINE TEACHER ACTIVITIES OPEN THRU JANUARY 6^th

Responding to Teacher Requests – we will keep open the FIELD REPORT / SCHOOL INTRO and FIELD REPORT / TEACHER TRAINING rooms through January 6^th for these highly recommended posting projects by teachers.

**TRACK HIGHLIGHTS

Islands – We continue learning about EUROPEAN explorers and learn about the Chumash in the Astronomy Dig.

Backcountry – We head out to the southern California coast this week to meet the Chumash and Gabrielino. Astronomy Dig includes Chumash and Gabrielino star lore.

Southwest – We head out to the southern California coast this week to meet the Chumash and Gabrielino. Astronomy Dig includes Chumash and Gabrielino star lore.

Garden – Learn how the moon influences planting and plant chemistry. Take the reading quiz for Charles Dickens, and the Internet Dig includes use of the Farmer’s Almanac.