On April 21, a group of Gr. 3 students traveled to Mission San Juan Bautista to learn about the early history of California. Refusing to let the cold, wet weather stand in the way of a fun and educational outing, the students toured the historic location and discovered what daily life was like during the time when the Spanish missions were at their most influential in this state.

Later, the group visited the Tops A Rock Shop just down the street from the mission for a lesson on sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. The session proved to be timely, as the students had just finished learning about rocks in their science classes. As a bonus, the presenter gave each student four types of rocks to keep.

To complete the excursion, the group went to Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor for treats. “The ice cream parlor was the hit of the day for the kids,” said Heidi Gough, lower school California history teacher. “No surprise there!”