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 Tomorrow is Burgundy's Fall Fair!
There are a few important notes below to help you fully enjoy your time at the Fair. It promises to be a fantastic day. We're expecting a day in the high 50s tomorrow. We may have clouds amid the sunshine, but we don't expect rain. All the fun -- benefiting student financial aid -- wouldn't be possible without all our volunteers, so one more thanks in advance to all of you, especially co-chairs Preston O'Neil and Amy Walsh!
See you tomorrow!
Allison Niedbala
Fall Fair Coordinator
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Coming Up at Burgundy ...
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Fall Fair: Important Notes!
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| | Get an egg raffle ticket for $1 at Burgundy Mart for a chance to win a dozen Burgundy eggs. |
Parking. There will be no parking on campus during the Fall Fair, so we ask you to park instead at nearby Life Community Church (formerly Sunset Hills Baptist Church; 3500 Franconia Road, at the corner of Franconia and Norton Roads). A shuttle bus will travel continuously from the church to Burgundy starting at 10:45 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.
Information Tent. 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 Information Tent to check in and get additional information about your shift. Will Call for Pre-Sale Fair Tickets. Did you order pre-sale tickets online for Fair activities? You can pick them up at the Will Call station, next to Blacktop Ticket Sales. Tickets will be available to purchase at the Fair on the Blacktop and at Games near First Grade. Don't forget to bring cash for Used Books Sale, Kids' Closet Sale, food and more!
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| | Austin Fodrie approves of the new Burgundy hoodies! |
Visit the Burgundy Mart tent on the Blacktop! This year you and your family will have plenty of Burgundy wear options! Choices include short- and long-sleeved t-shirts ($12 and $15, respectively), baseball caps ($20) and hooded sweatshirts ($30). Review all the Burgundy Mart selections (PDF) and plan your purchases! Also at Burgundy Mart, you can purchase chances ($1 each) for the Burgundy Egg Raffle -- if we pick your name, you'll win a dozen eggs from the Barnyard decorated with a Burgundy stamp. Bake Sale. Thanks to everyone who has baked for the Bake Sale tomorrow! We can still accept baked goods at the Admission Office today before 5 p.m. or at the Bake Sale table (next to the Admission Office) by 10 a.m. tomorrow. You can wrap your goodies for individual sale with clear plastic wrap and decorate with ribbons, stickers and more. Label and identify your sweets. Please remember The Fall Fair is a NUT-FREE event. We cannot sell any baked goods containing nuts. Work Smarter Series and Backpack Purges Next week, Burgundy invites 4th through 8th grade students to get some assistance with organizing their backpacks and folders at "backpack purges" Monday, October 19 and Thursday, October 22, 3:15-3:45 p.m. in the Library. Please email Director of Academic and Student Support De Shan Lett and your child's classroom teacher or advisor before the start of school on Monday, October 19th, if you are interested in having them attend. Dismissal will be from the Blacktop at 3:45. Students who attend Ex-Day should check in with Ex-Day first. Additionally, students who would like to come and complete homework in a quiet, supervised space are invited to come and work the library daily from 3:15 to 4 p.m. Students who attend Ex-Day should check in with Ex-Day first. Burgundy will host author Brigid Schulte for the Lois and Eric Sevareid Forum on Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m. Brigid is the founding director of The Good Life Initiative at the New America Foundation, a former award-winning journalist for the Washington Post, and author of the New York Times bestseller Overwhelmed: Work, Love & Play when No One has the Time. Registration is required; tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased online or paid for at the door (cash or check). Childcare will not be available for this event. Lois and Eric Sevareid were two of Burgundy's founders. The forum, established in their memory in 1994, features presentations by distinguished speakers on cutting-edge educational ideas and brings together current parents, alumni, alumni parents, and guests from the community and area independent schools. Calling All Federal Employees If you work for the government or another organization that participates in a United Way/Combined Federal Campaign, please consider making charitable contributions to Burgundy through your workplace, either as a direct gift or through payroll deduction. Tax regulations require Burgundy to receive all pledges in writing. Please send a copy of the United Way/CFC payroll deduction form to the Advancement Office. Burgundy's United Way number is 8380, and our CFC number is 15325. Please contact Advancement Coordinator Michele McCabe (michelem@burgundyfarm.org or 703.842.0470) with any questions, or learn more about ways to give to Burgundy.
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Don't Forget!
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Friday, October 23: Java with Jeff, 8:30 a.m., Loft. Conversation will focus on managing time pressures, in anticipation of the November 3 Sevareid forum with Overworked author Brigid Schulte. |
Tomorrow: Fall Fair, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Monday, October 19: JV soccer home game against Browne, 3:30 p.m., Field.
Tuesday, October 20: JV soccer away game, 3:30 p.m., Alexandria Country Day School.
Thursday, October 22: Varsity soccer home game against Alexandria Country Day School, 3:30 p.m., Field.
Friday, October 23: Pizza Day. Java with Jeff, 8:30 a.m., Loft. Conversation will focus on managing time pressures, in anticipation of Sevareid forum with Overworked author Brigid Schulte.
Monday, October 26: Make Up Picture Day. Da Ponte String Quartet performance, 10:30-11:30, Loft. Varsity soccer away game, 3 p.m., Gesher Jewish Day School.
Tuesday, October 27: Halloween Parade, 1 p.m. Volleyball home game against St. Thomas Aquinas, 3:30 p.m., Gym. JV soccer away game, 3:45 p.m., Congressional.
October 28-30: 4/5 Redtails at the Cove.
Wednesday, October 28: Varsity soccer home game against Edlin, 3:30 p.m., Field.
Thursday, October 29: JV soccer home game against Gesher, 3:30 p.m. Field.
Continuing: Dori Gonzalez-Acevedo offers a weekly "Morning Mindfulness" with meditation and yoga, 7:30-8 a.m. Wednesdays, Loft.
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All Parent Meeting Report
On Tuesday evening around 80 parents joined Burgundy administrators and other leaders for the fall All Parent Meeting. There were brief remarks from Charlie Rawls, president of the Board of Trustees, Kelly Abramson, president of the Burgundy Parent Association, and Amy Walsh, co-chair of the Fall Fair. Director of Advancement Jen Pusatere reminded attendees that so much of what makes Burgundy special is thanks to volunteers and generous donors to the Annual Giving Fund. Then Jeff Sindler and Elizabeth Lener addressed some topics before taking questions.
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| | A model of the Outdoor World Learning Lab, which will be built between the Science Cottage and the pond this fall. |
Following some remarks contextualizing the importance of a Burgundy education, Jeff focused on an update of Burgundy's Campus Renewal Initiative. He noted that there are still a few elements of the Outdoor Classroom & Discovery Playground to come, most notably: planting the orchard, which will be done in the next several weeks (optimal planting season); and building the Outdoor World Learning Lab, which will be started within the next few weeks now that additional permits are in hand. After that construction, a few punchlist items, and further planting, access to the pond will be restored.
The next part of campus renewal will be the Community & Arts Center and Campus Green -- "the biggest thing we'll have ever undertaken, other than founding the school," as Jeff said. This project will see the demolition of the Loft and Blacktop. Burgundy's visual and performing arts classes, as well as a new multi-use theater and art galleries, will be housed in the new Community & Arts Center building. The adjacent Campus Green will reshape the heart of campus with welcoming landscaping and shade trees more befitting our unique school environment. We hope to begin the project this summer if design, financing, fundraising, and final permitting for the project all continue to progress.
Elizabeth first highlighted a conscious effort to enhance professional development for teachers with a sometimes underutilized resource: interaction with and feedback from their fellow teachers. She also outlined the math curriculum review process. Last year, parents gave feedback on their experiences with and perceptions of math -- it was encouraging that most parents said their child had high confidence in math work and liked or loved the subject.
Currently, teachers are in the midst of integrating a few lessons from each of four possible alterative math programs and soliciting feedback from students. Burgundy currently uses Everyday Math; one of the four programs under evaluation is an updated version of Everyday Math. The goal is to complete the review of programs before winter break and whittle them down to two finalists. In January and February, teachers will be able to visit schools who have recently transitioned to the two math programs, see the curricula in action, and ask questions. A decision on which math program to use will be made in the spring, followed by training for teachers before they begin teaching the new program next fall.
Questions from meeting attendees followed up on these topics and brought up several more. Among them: - Burgundy's strategic plan: The Board of Trustees approved an extensive strategic plan (PDF) in 2008, with an update in 2012. The Board is beginning work on another, final update of this plan.
- Calendar and school closures: In creating the school calendar, we balance many factors. We try to create sufficient professional development time for teachers with minimal impact to the regular school calendar. Burgundy makes independent decisions about weather-related closures, which typically allows Burgundy to miss fewer days than peer schools while still keeping safety as our top priority. As noted in the parent handbook, after two consecutive snow days, teachers may use email and/or the PCR or Haiku systems to assign school work or teach lessons.
- Transition to Middle School and High School: Some parents with children in Lower School had questions about the transition to Middle School. Seileen Mullen (parent of Kenna Murphy, 6th grade, and Arainn Murphy '15) and Mary Sexton (parent of Dylan, 6th grade) offered to be a resource for parents with questions about Middle School. Leslie Summey (parent of Emi, 5th grade, Ayo, 7th grade, and three Burgundy graduates Ayinde '13, Dara, '11 and Njeri '09) offered to help current parents wondering about life after Burgundy.
- Foreign language curriculum and classwork: Last year, we had an interim review of our foreign language curriculum. We will share the reflections from that review in next week's Constant Comment. Several parents also expressed a desire for more information about day-to-day work in foreign languages, and we will make an effort to share more from each class through Haiku and other methods.
- Nut-free policy: Burgundy strives to be a nut-free environment for safety reasons. Several years ago, two younger children experienced serious allergic reactions. Because we don't have one defined cafeteria space and students move around campus, a school-wide nut-free policy better ensures safety.
Personnel News
Music teacher Cathy Manley has been away from campus recently. Cathy's father recently passed away after a long illness and she took time away to attend to her family. Upon her return Cathy had to have a surgical procedure that had been put off because of her father's death. Cathy is recovering and plans to return to Burgundy on Monday, October 26. Her colleagues have been helping make sure her classes and duties are well covered.
We are fortunate to have Michael Shields serve as her substitute teacher. He has a strong musical background and is familiar with our philosophy and many of the students because of his work as a substitute teacher as well as with Burgundy Farm Summer Day Camp and Extended Day. Please keep Cathy in your thoughts at this difficult time. Contact Elizabeth Lener if you have any questions or concerns.
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A group of students helped clean up the Occoquan Reservoir on
Columbus Day. Photo by Charlene Pritzker.
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Community Service Update Middle School students have completed several successful community service projects in the last several weeks. On October 12, about 40 students, parents, and siblings met at Fountainhead Regional Park and spent the morning in kayaks, canoes and john boats cleaning up around the coves surrounding a part of the Occoquan Reservoir, the water supply source for Fairfax County and other nearby areas.Students brought in boats full of materials that had floated into the edges of the water. Although the most common items found were water bottles,
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| | Volunteers prepare to clean Burgundy Road. |
we also brought in tires, construction materials, and, believe it or not, a boat!Many of the group enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park afterwards.
On October 11, students and parents delivered meals to homebound seniors as part of Burgundy's monthly commitment to Senior Services of Alexandria's Meals on Wheels program. In another recurring project, on September 26, nearly 20 students, parents and teacher volunteers completed an Adopt-a-Highway cleanup of Burgundy Road. The group filled six bags with trash and recycling.
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Parting Photos
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| | Burgundy alumna Jennifer Williams Caton '90 brought animals from Bar C Ranch to campus this week as part of the 4/5 curriculum on animals' environmental adaptations. Check out more photos on Burgundy's Facebook page! |
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| At Burgundy, you're never too young to help out in the garden.
Thanks to all volunteers! Photo by Doug Fishman. |
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| The 7th and 8th grade cross country girls won first place in their meet this week.
Our 6th grade girls took third place. Photo by Laura Davis. The next cross country meet is Wednesday, November 4. |
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| | Rome, a 1st grade, reads with class pet Domino. Photo by Kira Cotter. |
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| | Sofie, 7th grade, works on a plant identification project at the Cove. Photo by Doug Fishman. |
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