We're expecting a mild and sunny day tomorrow -- perfect for the Fall Fair! Two brief and essential notes: 

Volunteer Sign In

Many thanks to all the parent, student, faculty and staff volunteers who are helping to make the Fall Fair a great success tomorrow. When you arrive on the Blacktop, look for the Volunteer Sign-In station to check in and get additional information about your shift.

Parking

There will be no parking on campus during the Fall Fair, so we ask you to park instead at Sunset Hills Baptist Church (corner of Norton Road and Franconia Road) or the Fairfax County School Technology Center (3701 Franconia Road). A shuttle bus will travel between these sites and Burgundy, starting at 10:30 a.m. The last shuttle will leave Burgundy at 3:30 p.m. If you choose to park on neighborhood streets, please park only next to a white curb (if you don't see a curb, you're in a no-parking zone). Do not turn around in or block anyone's driveway. You may be ticketed or towed.

On September 21, the 6th Grade class took a field trip to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond for a tour of the museum's collection of ancient antiquities and mythology-related art. Sixth-graders had been working on a research project about the cultural differences between various geographical regions of Ancient Greece, and the trip provided them with direct access to relevant archaeological pieces. The docents that guided our students around the museum noted how enthusiastic and knowledgeable they were!

On Monday morning more than 30 Middle School students, family members and teachers braved the 50-degree weather and threatening clouds to help clean up the Occoquan River at Fountainhead Regional Park. They went out  on the water in canoes, kayaks and jon boats to collect a huge amount of trash that had settled in the coves around the edge of the water.  Their trash collection filled more than an entire truck!  In addition to the expected bottles and pieces of plastic, they found tires, chairs, a slab of formica, assorted buckets of building materials and more. Many celebrated their efforts with a picnic lunch in one of the park's shelters.

This year we are closing up Cooper's Cove for the winter on the weekend of November 3 and 4, and everyone is invited to come help! 

It's a family-friendly event, and you are welcome to come for all or any part of the time. It's mostly a lot of hauling, packing, storing and weather-proofing, but it's also a time to enjoy the Cove at a very pretty time of year in the company of other people who love being there so much that they just don't care what the weather brings.  We all have a great time visiting as we work, we take time out for a nice walk and we enjoy catching up around the fire in the evening. We promise to feed you well, and all you have to bring is yourself, a pair of favorite work gloves,  and the usual bedding/layers of clothing that you would for a vigorous Cove visit. Children of all ages are welcome, and we do put them to work; but parents are completely responsible for any children they bring. This year we are going to try putting children in teams supervised by a couple of adults to carry out some group tasks, freeing up most adults to do the less child-friendly stuff.

Still interested?  Let us know you are coming by emailing vinis@burgundyfarm.org.

We need to know: how many/for what meals/any dietary issues.

See you there!

- Vini Schoene, Director of Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies  

The next Middle School Parents' Book Talk will center around The Tempest by William Shakespeare, which will be featured in the 8th Grade curriculum. Feel free to read it in advance and/or watch a performance of the play ahead of time on DVD. Even if you're not an 8th Grade parent, we'd love to have your company and input. We'll start the evening's conversation at 6:00 p.m. in the Library on October 18 with light refreshments.

After our last Book Talk centered around The Shawl, we received this note from a parent attendee:

Two things really stood out tonight -- your enthusiasm for creating opportunities for students to better understand themselves and others; as well your hope that parents will work with faculty to reinforce and expand that learning.  Well done.  The way you articulated the kind of progressive learning "Shawl" can inspire told the story of Burgundy's humanities program from start to finish (6-8) and how the school nurtures critical thinking.  You illustrated how the curriculum connects and deepens each year;  how connections are encouraged through the entire curriculum; and how it will help students not only build academic skills but understanding.    

Burgundy's Board of Trustees will meet Saturday, October 20, from 9:00 a.m. to approximately 2:00 p.m. in the Loft, and all Burgundy parents are welcome to attend. On Saturday, the Board will discuss the goals for this year from the administrators of the school, including the Head of School and Division Heads, as well as directors of finance, admission, technology, advancement, communication, and diversity.  If you would like to attend, please email President of the Board of Trustees Holly Sloan (smithsloan@aol.com) to ensure that there is plenty of seating.

Pumpkins for Sale

Please buy your pumpkins from Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, at the corner of Quaker & Seminary, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, throughout October. All sale profits are contributed to charities (most of which are local). Also benefiting are the Navajo Indians of Northern New Mexico, whose land and labor produce the pumpkins. The annual pumpkin sale is co-chaired by Wendy John (alumni parent, former Board member, a.k.a "the Pumpkin Lady").