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| Third grade Viceroys sing a haiku song they composed.
Video by Emily McCrory.
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The trees around us
Are billowing in the breeze.
The flowers are here!
- 3rd Grade Viceroys
Earth Haiku Song |
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
- T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland |
This week was Earth Week. Wednesday, Earth Day, we enjoyed many campus activities that were cross-curricular and cross-grade level and, most important, that contributed to the beauty, care and sustainability of our campus! It was awesome to see the array of activity and the energy exerted. Activities ranged from (recovered school) trash art to removal of invasive species and planting of native species. We enjoyed an all-school assembly at day's end focused on Earth Day and our role as steward-citizens of our planet.In addition to being the host of Earth Day and Earth Week, April is National Poetry Month. The poems above each represent the special and intense way that springtime ignites our emotions. Fortunately, the haiku song from our third graders by far captures the predominant spring mood on campus, one filled with anticipation, wonder and appreciation of the natural beauty around us! But very soon, and even now, a little of Eliot's poem creeps in, too, as graduation and other transitions near. Even the coming of summer, for some of our students, elicits a little sadness (how many schools can say that honestly?!). As we move into the heart of spring, at certain moments -- seeing a flower sprout or a seedling we've been nurturing suddenly appear, or just walking or running across the campus now suffused in morning light and many hues of green, now noticing the privacy we've regained as the trees regrow their leaves, or driving past the Beltway toward the Cove -- we are all filled with gratitude and even, in just the right moments, a bit of grace... It is spring, and everything is possible! Enjoy the spring. Soon this school year will be done! 
Jeff Sindler
Head of School |
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Coming Up at Burgundy ...
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Burgundy Bulletin
Susan Thompson, mother to 2nd grade Buckeye Sawyer, is directing a Broadway musical revue with Take the Stage Performance Company Friday-Sunday, May 1-3. The performers are 4-10th grade students and while Sawyer is not performing, he is helping with the production and gave the show its name: Loud and Clear. The show is great for the whole family! Free tickets are available for Burgundy families with the discount code BFCDS at www.takethestageperformance.org.
Burgundy teacher Mary Akeley is seeking a small house, guest cottage, "mother-in-law" apartment, or townhouse to rent. She says: "I have a fairly small budget, but I am a great tenant - I have no pets, I don't smoke, and I have always taken good care of and improved the properties that I have lived in (with the owner's permission of course!) I love to garden, can do plant installations (perennial, annual and vegetable), and small landscaping projects." Please call Mary at 240-676-8199 if you or someone you know has a property for rent.
Are you doing a kitchen renovation? Burgundy's maintenance team is looking for a hand-me-down refrigerator. If you may have one to give, contact Larry Inguagiato.
Carpool Reminders: Help Us Be Safe!
Carpool rules are in place for one reason: to keep our students safe. Unfortunately, this week we have seen a few instances of unsafe behavior, especially in the mornings. Your cooperation is expected and appreciated.
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The campus speed limit is 5 m.p.h.
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Please refrain from using cellphones while in the carpool line. Your children's safety needs your full attention!
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Morning carpool begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 8:25. Students should be on campus by 8:25 so classes can begin promptly at 8:30.
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After you have dropped off or picked up your child, wait until the car at Station #1 pulls away before following station by station. Pulling around risks pedestrian and/or vehicle accidents.
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If you want to walk your child to class, first drop him or her off in the carpool lane, then park and meet your child at the Blacktop. We want to avoid children crossing the carpool lane so they are out of the way of drivers.
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Do not back up from the circular parking lot during carpool times. This creates the potential for rear-end collisions or other accidents. If you park, please wait until after carpool to back out.
Extended Day Pickup Reminder
Please be cognizant of proper parking protocol when picking up students from the Extended Day building. Double parking or creative parking creates unsafe conditions for children and others. Please utilize the parking spaces as marked.
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Don't Forget-
The last Middle School dance of the year is tonight. As part of their transition to Middle School, Burgundy 5th graders are invited to this dance as well.
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 Cove Opening Weekend is here! This weekend, April 25-26, we will open up the Cove for the 2015 Season. Contact Vini Schoene ASAP if you're interested in coming. Please share how many people will come; what meals they plan to eat at the Cove; and whether they have any food allergies. Children are welcome and will be put to work; parents are responsible for their supervision.
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The Burgundy Parent Association invites JK through 3rd grade students, families and siblings to a Family Fun Movie Night on Friday, May 1, 6-8 p.m. in the Gym. New families who will enroll their children at Burgundy this fall have been invited as well. The Book of Life will be shown. Please RSVP by April 29 if you plan to attend!
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The Burgundy Book Fair is Monday, May 4 through Friday, May 8. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. You may pay for your purchases by cash, credit card, or check. A portion of the proceeds support Burgundy's Library.
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Burgundy Summer Camps: Registration is ongoing for both of Burgundy's summer camps: Burgundy Farm Summer Day Camp on the Alexandria campus and Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies Camp at Cooper's Cove. Please note that junior session at BCWS is already full, and Sessions 1 and 3 (senior) are full for girls. Contact Michele McCabe if you'd like to be added to the waitlist.
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Complete Burgundy Calendar
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Mayapples Growing on Campus
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| | Mayapples near Hawk's Nest. |
In various places around campus, mostly near the Dome and Hawk's Nest, mayapples are growing. Kindergarten teacher Carrie Ustun reports these are rare and protected wildflowers in Virginia. They have many other names, including podophyllum, mandrake, and hog apple. The number of mayapples growing around Burgundy has dwindled due to playing children and animal foragers, so recently Carrie and our maintenance team have cordoned off some areas to protect the mayapples. Coopers students Arin Bolunmez, 4th, Max Heltzer, 5th, and Dae Taylor, 4th were inspired to cordon off additional mayapples as a special Earth Day project. The mayapples will blossom and grow fruit during the summer, so please play carefully in areas where you see them!
Missing Something?
Looking for a lost raincoat? How about your child's missing lunch box or scarf? The Lost & Found (located outside the girl's bathroom in the Loft) has a profusion of clothes, jackets, water bottles, and more just waiting for their owners to pick them up. Before the school year ends, please visit the Lost & Found area to claim your missing items. Anything unclaimed will be donated to a local charity at year's end.
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At work on segments of the gabion wall.
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Campus Renewal Construction Updates
Construction of the Outdoor Classroom and Discovery Playground steadily continued this week. Work on the gabion wall stone-filled baskets has continued. To facilitate this work, last evening the "short cut" pedestrian bridge from Extended Day to the JK side of West Barn was removed. Temporarily, access to West Barn is again via the walkway between Hawk's Nest and Monarch Haven. We do plan to replace the bridge soon, but progress on the adjacent gabion wall is dependent on good weather.
Earlier in the week, concrete was poured in additional segments of the pathway behind the Library that leads to the pool and the Science Cottage. The concrete footer for the pond's floating dock was also installed.
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Parting PhotosA selection of photos from Earth Day activities. Check out many more on Burgundy's Facebook page!|
| | Buckeyes decorating their truck farm garden containers. |
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| | Coopers planting flowers with help from teacher Mary Akeley. |
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| | Teacher Emily Jonas '03 and Head of School Jeff Sindler quiet the crowd at the assembly after a singalong to "This Land Is Your Land." |
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