Burgundy Summer Camps

Registration for Burgundy's Alexandria Summer Day Camp is now open! Camp programs include sports (and swimming!), science, performing arts, visual arts, and photography for campers aged three years and eight months through twelve. The dates for the 2014 Burgundy Farm Summer Day Camp are June 16-August 8, 2014. Click here to register now! Contact Director of Auxiliary Services Hugh Squire (hughs@burgundyfarm.org or 703.842.0480) with questions.  

For more information about BCWS Summer Camp, you can attend one of the following slideshow presentations with BCWS Director Vini Schoene:

Saturday, February 1 - 11:00 a.m.

Burgundy Farm Country Day School (library)

3700 Burgundy Road, Alexandria, VA  22303

Sunday, February 9 - 2:00 p.m. 

Audubon Naturalist Society

8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD  20815   

You are cordially invited to Morning Coffee with Stephanie Borges, our Director for an Inclusive Community and Middle School Learning Specialist, and Elizabeth Schachter, our School Counselor. Stephanie and Elizabeth will provide coffee and pastries at each event, and everyone in the community is welcome to attend. Parents are encouraged to engage in open dialogue around these topics and to use one another for advice and support. Stephanie and Elizabeth will facilitate the discussions and chime in with research-based suggestions and information. Each of the gatherings is scheduled to last between 60 and 90 minutes. Dates and details are below:   

Date: Tuesday, February 4

Time: 8:40 a.m.

Location: The Loft

Topic: Limits and Boundaries at Home and at School: Elizabeth and Stephanie will facilitate a discussion on what social media and cell phone safety look like for middle and lower school students.

Guest presenters: Kari Cafeo, Assistant Head of School, and Joe Peacock, Director of Technology

Date: Thursday, March 6

Time: 8:40 a.m.

Location: The Loft

Topic: Kid Friendships: Elizabeth and Stephanie will guide a discussion with parents about ways they can help their child (in Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade) navigate the sometimes stressful and emotional dynamics of peer relationships.

Date: Friday, April 18

Time: 8:40 a.m.

Location: The Loft

Topic: Stress Less: Mindful Meditation: Stephanie and Elizabeth will complement the student mindfulness component of the Middle School Advisory Curriculum and the Middle School Social Emotional Curriculum by offering this mindfulness lesson/activity.

If you are interested in attending any or all of these events, please RSVP to Stephanie (stephanieb@burgundyfarm.orgor 703.842.0465).

Kathy Graber

Kathy Graber is a current Trustee, is a member of the Finance Committee and has served as

Secretary of the Board for the past two years. She was an antitrust and commercial litigator

in private practice before becoming Deputy Special Master of the September 11th

Compensation Fund with the Department of Justice. She has also served as the administrator

of several disaster relief funds and has served as in-house counsel at a trade association. She

currently works for the Department of Labor. At Burgundy, Kathy has served on the Development Committee and the Campaign Planning Task Force. Kathy and her husband John Roper are parents to Evan '16.

Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris and her husband Gary Puckrein are parents to Gari '16. Joanne has spent

more than 12 years volunteering for various organizations, including as Secretary (2009-2010),

President-Elect (2010-2011) and President (2011-2012) of the Burgundy Parent Association.

She has also supported Burgundy's Campaign Planning Task Force and Destination Imagination

teams. With 16 years of experience as a journalist and researcher, Joanne helped launch and

sustain American Visions, a national bimonthly publication initially funded by the Smithsonian

Institution to present African-American culture in a pop-scholarly fashion. Joanne is a graduate of Smith College.

Bruce Johnson

Bruce Johnson spent 27 years working for the federal government, serving as budget director for the U.S. Courts and in staff positions in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. General Accounting Office, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Many Alexandrians know Bruce Johnson as Alexandria's budget director or as the City's Chief Financial Officer or as Acting City Manager. For his commitment to Alexandria, alexandrianews.org selected Bruce Johnson as the 2012 Alexandrian of the Year. Bruce's three children went to the Beverley Hills Church Preschool. Bruce and his wife, Libby, attend Beverley Hills Church and learned about Burgundy as they learned about the history of the church and Rev. Bill Basom, one of Burgundy's founders. Bruce received a law degree and master's degree in public policy from Duke University. He earned his undergraduate degree in government from Harvard University.

Clark Madigan

Clark Madigan and his wife Karen Davis became members of the Burgundy community when their daughter Caithlin '03 enrolled in Junior Kindergarten. Clark previously served on Burgundy's Board of Trustees from 1995 to 2002, and he was Treasurer from 1999 to 2001. Clark was the Chief Executive Officer and President of Midwest Tower Partners, LLC. He co-founded Chesapeake Towers Development, Liberty Towers, LLC, and TeleCom Towers Inc., and he founded MTI Capital. Clark is an expert in merchant banking and venture capital and has worked with and consulted with a variety of companies and organizations. Clark earned a B.A. in economics and sociology from Colgate University, attended New York University Graduate School of Business, Rutgers School of Credit and Financial Management, and the Graduate School of Financial Management at Dartmouth. He also serves on the Boards of the Cleveland Park Citizens Association and Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, where he is Treasurer.

Seileen Mullen

Seileen Mullen, parent to Arainn Murphy '15 and Kenna Murphy'18, has been Chief Operating Officer of Martin, Blanck & Associates since 2007. Prior to joining Martin Blanck, she was a health care consultant and lobbyist. Additional experience includes serving as the Director of Federal Government Relations for the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, six years in the Department of Defense as a political appointee and eight years on Capitol Hill that include being a Professional Staff Member on the House Armed Services Committee. Seileen has been Burgundy's Annual Giving chairperson for the past two years, has consistently been a volunteer for Annual Giving, the Fall Fair and the Auction. She received her B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Dave Wales

Dave Wales is currently a Trustee and has served as Vice-President of the Board for the past

two years. In addition to his Board service, Dave has volunteered on various Burgundy projects,

including the Fall Fair, the Annual Auction, and Annual Giving. For 2008-2009 and 2009-2010,

Dave was Annual Giving co-chair with his wife Jaime. Dave is a partner at Jones Day, where he

specializes in antitrust law. He has spent more than one-third of his career in public service, most recently at the Federal Trade Commission, where he was in charge of the agency's competition enforcement program. Dave also served several years in the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Dave and Jaime are parents of Madeline '13 and Ethan '16.

Neil Weissman

Neil Weissman is a current Trustee and is a member of the Finance Committee. Neil and his wife Nancy, parents to David '16, have established themselves as leaders in the community. As an internationally recognized expert in cardiac ultrasound as well as the president of MedStar Health Research Institute, Neil brings a deep understanding of research as well as governance and strategic management to the Board. He is a professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and has served on the boards of several national organizations. Neil received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Cornell University. 

Who Do You Know? Where Do You Go? What Do You Have? Donate Now! 

If you would like to solicit or donate an item and have missed today's deadline to turn in the donor form, we've got good news... Just keep them coming! Please note that we do not need to have the item you are (or the business you are soliciting is) donating at this time, we only need the donor form, which describes the donated item. In order to include a description of the item in our catalog, we need to receive the donor form by Wednesday, February 12. Any donations with forms submitted after that date will be included in an addendum (items listed in the addendum tend not to raise as much money for financial aid).

Please send your donation information to our Auction Coordinator Allison Niedbala, allisonn@burgundyfarm.org. If you have any questions, please call her at 703.842.0488.

Q. How would you introduce yourself to the Burgundy community?

A. My name is Cheng-Yin (Janine), and I am a native of Taiwan. I earned my undergraduate degree in violin performance in Taiwan (with minors in piano performance and conducting), completed a master's degree at Peabody Institute, and earned my doctorate degree at Louisiana State University, where I played chamber and orchestral music and served as the assistant concertmaster of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.  

I also enjoyed many inspiring and edifying experiences as a teacher in addition to being a musician. I have offered private lessons to children ages 7-16 as well as group class instruction for children's orchestras (grades 2-5) and undergraduate college students. I have a vision to guide students to enjoy playing music, to discover their inner potential and help them develop their musical talents.

Q. Why did you decide to work at Burgundy?

A. My first encounter with the Burgundy community was at a special meeting for parents and children involved in instrumental classes. I was impressed to see the students come with curiosity and focus to hear about their instruments. It was clear that the parents were very supportive of school events and invested in their children's educational development. When attending the first school assembly, I was touched and impressed to see the first- and second-graders' recitation of Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech. They were able to express themselves clearly and confidently. Not to mention the older students' outreach programs, helping the needy and encouraging soldiers in the US and other countries. What a pity that I was not available to make it to the ancient Chinese teahouse exhibition! It is such a privilege to teach at a school where nature, culture, language and art are viewed as important parts of each student's life. I believe that the students will benefit from the faculty and further bring blessings back to society in the future.  

Q. What are you most excited about in teaching at Burgundy?

A. My goal is to see the little musicians grow not only physically, but also with a better understanding and a deeper love for music. Eventually, I hope they will be able to combine a musical drama with their mini orchestra and perform for the community.

We are impressed with how many students have been bringing in Box Tops to help Burgundy raise money for Annual Giving. Each Box Top earns $0.10 for our school, and our goal is to raise $250 this year with Box Tops. So far, we've already raised $184.50. Thank you!

We only need $65.50 (or 655 Box Tops) more to reach our goal, and we'll be submitting our next batch of Box Tops on February 26. Please help us by bringing in Box Tops (please make sure that your Box Tops haven't expired and the date has not been cut away) to the Main Office or Advancement Office.  

Click here for Valentine's Day themed worksheet that will make collecting Box Tops even more fun!