Peralta families,

Exactly one week after the tragic fire that spurred our community into action, Peralta students are returning to school at our new temporary home at the Carter campus, which has received a Peralta makeover that would put any reality TV producer to shame.

This morning please bring your Peralta students to Carter Middle School, 4521 Webster Street at the corner of 45th Street. For this first day, to accommodate the large numbers of parents who will be coming onto the campus, the blacktop area by the field where the basketball goals are will be open for parking -- but please walk around and enter the building on the Webster Street side -- all other school building entrances will be locked. There is also plenty of Street parking near the Webster Street entrance, so try that first.

Students (and parents who wish to stay) will gather in the central courtyard "quad" area. There will be no official lineup in the morning - students will just go to the classrooms with their teachers when the bell rings. There will be lineups as usual for lunch recess. Details will all be worked out during this first week, and are subject to change.

The Peralta site phone number has been transferred to Carter, so you may continue calling the 879-1450 number. However, please be aware that the phone lines flash but there is no ringing sound so it is unlikely your incoming call will be noticed. District workers will hopefully fix this problem on Tuesday. In the meantime, if you urgently need to reach the school, call someone on their cell phone. Mine is (510)414-1723.

There will, as you can imagine, be lots of media present tomorrow morning. We are choosing to seize that opportunity to announce the "Peralta Rising" campaign and generate funds for the re-Peraltification of Peralta when our campus is returned to us.

Please send your students to school in their Peralta t-shirts tomorrow - and wear yours too!

At 8:30 when school starts, students will go to their classrooms to get their bearings with their teachers in their new space. At 9:10, there will be an all-school assembly with Ms. Costello. Parents are welcome to stay in the central courtyard and attend the assembly in the multipurpose room.

Please note that our monthly PPTG meeting will continue as scheduled, this Wednesday April 4, at Carter's multipurpose room. A large portion of the agenda will be dedicated to counseling, crisis intervention discussions, and general community sharing of thoughts, feelings, concerns, personal stories, and ideas brought on by the fire.

Hats off and a big cheer to each and every one of you for pulling off this amazing act of love and hope this week. and hats off to the hardest-working and most selfless person I have ever met -- our Principal Rosette Costello -- for being the glue that has held us together through all of this, without ever flinching (or sleeping).

Peralta is an example to this district and indeed, to the world. The dove is rising.