Fourth graders journey to Old California with a year-long social studies curriculum that focuses on the California Missions and the Gold Rush. With a classroom transformed into a trading post from the Old West - complete with murals on the walls and Mrs. Menzies' Livery Stable - it's no wonder that the children are often seen reading out of their social studies textbooks wearing bonnets and cowboy hats, or with their chairs in a new formation (boys vs. girls!) temporarily set up to recall a 19th century schoolhouse! Class trips to Santa Barbara and San Juan Capistrano Missions, Sacramento and Sutter's Fort, and the famous Mission Report are the highlights of the year. Family trips to individual missions are another tradition, as well as the infamous (and optional!) mission model - originally painted and decorated by each child.

Within the classroom, academic fundamentals lay the groundwork for more advanced preparation for secondary school. Small group studies continue in math, English, and reading, while classroom-wide studies include social studies, and Spanish. Trips to the Art Room and Science Lab are particulary beloved this year, as the fourth graders participate in the famed Roller Coaster Building Contest, where the children divide into teams and develop themes and mechanics for elaborate contraptions that they build themselves. At "Grandparents' and Special Friends’ Day," they will have the honor of presenting their creations, racing marbles down "roller coasters" built from toilet paper tubes and cartons of many shapes and sizes. Don't be surprised when if your child begs you to drive to school early for days at a time, to put the finishing touches on their "Candy Around the World" or "Jurassic Park" roller coaster.

The Public Speaking Program continues as fourth graders deliver bi-weekly Current Events. Fourth graders are also excited to begin to give school tours to prospective parents who come to visit the c\mpus. By the end of their Carlthorp School careers, these children are ready for anything!