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Last Saturday's Fall Fair was fantastic! Thanks to the hundreds of parents, students, faculty and staff who volunteered their time and talents to make this community event a fun experience for all!
Burgundy's Fall Fair 2015 again attracted hundreds of visitors--including more than 100 Burgundy alumni. The Fair showcases our incredible campus and community. The Fair is a great expression of what makes Burgundy special and even unique, and it's a great opportunity to support student financial aid.
Most schools our size could never put on such an event; it takes many hands to help it all come together, and it would be impossible for me to thank each of them by name in this column, but I'd like to give special recognition to a few below.
First, Fall Fair Co-Chairs Amy Walsh and Preston O'Neil and Fall Fair Coordinator Allison Niedbala worked to orchestrate the many details involved and made sure the key volunteer positions were filled.
We also had event chairs, who organized and implemented specific events: - Alumni Reconnection: Michele McCabe
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Artisan Mart: Kelley Sullivan
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Bake Sale: Audrey Dreibelbis
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Barnyard Visits: Ali Shepard '04
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Burgundy Mart: Ann Blakey
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Entertainment: Paul Miller, Hannah Miller '15 and Emily (McCrory) East
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Face Painting: Charis Calhoon and Melissa Koval
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Food Tent: Nancy and Neil Weissman
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Funnel Cakes: Minh Vu
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Games: Nicole Thorpe and Marnie Jones
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Kid's Closet: Wes Callender, Tovah Ravitz-Meehan and Julianna Lindsey
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Lemonade Stand: Mary and Chris Sexton
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Moon Bounce: Missy Murrell
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Pesto Sales: Vini Schoene '73
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Pumpkin Painting: Lori Adams and Cathy Guertin
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Used Book Sale: Jane Hanson, Jan Foster and Dori Acevedo-Gonzalez
We added three new activities this year that were very well received: Cake Walk - Thank you Joanne Harris for bringing a delicious new take to the Fair. Joanne, joined by Andrea McNicholas and dancing Middle School volunteers, made a colorful course and had 33 cake donations! Henna Hand Prints - Thank you Bailey Williams, sister of Communications Manager Meghan Williams, for adding a touch of India to our offerings. Participants got a choice of different designs that should last about a week. Zombie Run - Thank you Preston and Amy for organizing this new spin on the Haunted House behind the Loft! Middle School student volunteers, sporting zombie make-up courtesy of parents Meghan Semaio and Jill Reuter, performed their duties enthusiastically!
Laura Davis, the Fall Fair Volunteer Coordinator, worked tirelessly in tandem with the Fall Fair Coordinators who recruited parent volunteers needed from each class: -
Junior Kindergarten: Missy Murrell
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Kindergarten: Alla Shaw and Jane Hyatt Thorpe
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1st Grade: Kyla Flanagan and Nicole Thorpe
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2/3 Classes: Nicole Pagett and Jens Krieger
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4/5 Classes: Moley Evans and Bloodine Bobb-Semple
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6th Grade: Jennie Lane
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7th Grade: Laura Davis
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8th Grade: Andrea McNicholas
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| | Jeff with young alumni at the Fair. |
Faculty and staff took on a number of roles on the day of the Fall Fair. One crucial area I want to highlight are the group of faculty members known as runners. Runners collect money from the activities like Food and Used Books that take money, and also provide change to those who need it. It is fast-paced and involves lots of counting! Our hats are off to Ann Douglas, Vicki Hayes, Pat Harden and Elizabeth Abramson who volunteered, and in particular I want to thank Erin Kelly for staying throughout the Fair.
Beyond volunteering, the following members of our community secured support from their businesses, helping us to raise even more money for financial aid: -
Dave Evans, alumni parent and owner of La Prima Catering, who along with his wife Teresa, brought his signature chili to the Food Tent for the 25th year
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Alumni Parent Tara Lloyd, who again secured advertisements for the Fair in four of the Connection Newspapers
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Parent Stephanie Babin, who donated cupcakes from Buzz Bakery to the Bake Sale
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Parent Chad Breckinridge, who donated bagels from Bagel Uprising to the Bake Sale
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Alumni Margaret Evans Brown '02 and Kevin Brown '01, owners of Groundworks Farm, for donating a produce bag of fall vegetables for the alumni raffle. The bag, which also contained a $50 MasterCard gift card (provided by the Advancement Office), was won by Baker Casagrande '13.
Also deserving of very special thanks are the members of our Maintenance Team: Larry Inguagiato, Russell Boone, Gene Douglas, and Jerry Vaughan; our Advancement Team: Jen Pusatere, Michele McCabe, and Meghan Williams; our Business Office Team: Kathy Miller, Kim Britton, and Jamie Dorrier; and our Technology Team, Joe Peacock and Austin Fodrie. These teams put in many hours in the weeks leading up to and following the event, working in tandem to attend to some of the most important and behind-the-scenes details. I am leaving out literally hundreds of names of people to whom I am incredibly grateful for their support. To everyone who was involved in the Fall Fair, please know that I personally appreciate your help and dedication! You, all who volunteered, embody the spirit of Burgundy, and I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did! We have made a major community event and made a major contribution to financial aid! 
Jeff Sindler
Head of School
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Coming Up at Burgundy ...
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Make-Up Picture Day
Make-up picture day is scheduled for Monday, October 26 at 9 a.m. Photos will be taken outside, weather permitting. (If your child wears transition lenses, they may want to remove them for the photograph.) Please email Cathy Guertin if your student is having a retake photo taken. Also, please bring the first photo proof page, if possible, to return to Splendid.
Halloween Parade Burgundy's annual Halloween Parade is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27 at 1 p.m. Parents are welcome to observe as we parade around the Blacktop. The date was chosen to allow everyone to participate; the Redtails will be at the Cove October 28-30. Students should not come to school in their costumes. We will have a regular academic morning and allow time for the children to change in the classroom after lunch. If weapons (swords, light sabers, etc.) are part of children's costumes, we request that you keep them at home.
More Work Smarter Sessions Next week, Burgundy invites 4th through 8th grade students to get some assistance with organizing their backpacks and folders at "backpack purges" Wednesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 29, 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 Tuesday, October 27 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 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on those days. Again, students who attend Ex-Day should check in with Ex-Day first.
Mark your calendar for more Work Smarter sessions: Monday, November 2; Thursday, November 5; Wednesday, November 11; Thursday, November 12; Monday, November 16; and Wednesday, November 18. Some days may have specific topics (to be announced).
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| | Send in your Box Tops next week! |
Send in Your Box Tops! Friendly reminder! Box Tops will be collected and tallied on Friday, October 30 so don't forget to bring them in and get your class's numbers up! Collection boxes can be found in every lower school classroom as well as the Middle School atrium, the Main Office, and Ex Day.
We are also collecting Labels for Education (include the bar code when you cut them out!), and you can turn them in with the Box Tops! Labels for Education can be found on Campbell's products as well as Pepperidge Farm (Goldfish!), V-8, and others. |
Don't Forget!
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Burgundy's Sevareid Forum on Tuesday, November 3 is open to the public. Please share a flyer (PDF) with anyone who may be interested in attending. Advanced registration is required; tickets are $10. |
Monday, October 26: Make Up Picture Day, 9 a.m. 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.
Wednesday, October 28: Backpack purge, 3:15 p.m., Library. Varsity soccer home game against Edlin, 3:30 p.m., Field.
October 28-30: 4/5 Redtails at the Cove.
Thursday, October 29: Backpack purge, 3:15 p.m., Library. JV soccer home game against Gesher, 3:30 p.m. Field.
Monday, November 2: Work Smarter session, 3:15 p.m., Library.
Tuesday, November 3: Varsity soccer home game against Congressional, 3:30 p.m., Field. 7 p.m., Sevareid Forum with bestselling author Brigid Schulte, 7 p.m., Gym. Registration required.
Wednesday, November 4: Cross country home meet, 3:30 p.m., Field.
Thursday, November 5: Work Smarter session, 3:15 p.m., Library.
November 5-6: Parent-teacher conferences. School closed, Ex-Day open.
Continuing: Dori Gonzalez-Acevedo offers a weekly "Morning Mindfulness" with meditation and yoga, 7:30-8 a.m. Wednesdays, Loft.
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Head for a Day
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| Renny DeCourcey takes Jeff's calls on
Wednesday morning. Photo by Cathy Guertin. |
Renny DeCourcey (3rd grade Viceroy) shadowed Jeff and took over some of his responsibilities as Head for a Day on Wednesday. The experience was offered to the highest bidder in last spring's auction. Renny took calls and had several meetings, and instituted a few rules for the day: extra recess time for JK and Kindergarten classes, crazy hair for grades 1-5, and students bowing to teachers in Middle School. Mark your calendar to attend this year's auction, scheduled for
March 5, 2016, if you're interested in the chance for your child to be Head for a Day!
World Languages Curriculum Burgundy teachers are continually evaluating our curriculum and making adjustments to better fit students' needs. But we also have regularly scheduled reviews to step back from day-to-day teaching and reflect on our programs. Last year, we had such a review of our foreign language curriculum, specifically looking at content topics, key skills, enduring understandings, essential questions, assessments, and standards reference. Read our language team's reflections (PDF) on the review.
The World Language team also offered a curriculum presentation to parents in April 2015 with specific examples of cross-curricular content and activities in the classroom. Review the presentation (PDF).
Directory Updates Please make note of these changes to the Parent Handbook & School Directory distributed last month. The handbook and updated directory are also available as separate documents on the Family Resources page of Haiku.
Henry Daggett recently enrolled at Burgundy! He is in the K Polar Bears class. Contact information for his family is: Cara and Matt Daggett 2703 Central Ave Alexandria, VA 22302 202.731.5231
Morgan Fox (K Polar Bears) has moved and withdrawn from Burgundy.
Joe Mouer, stepfather of Clara (6th grade) and Anna Brooks (8th grade), has a new email address: joseph.mouer@icloud.com.
Burgundy Bulletin
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| Corbin Bernsen and Riley Casagrande
in On the Wing. |
Riley Casagrande, Tae Casagrande, Nicholas Foster, Carrie Rawls, and Majlis Walker all appear in On The Wing, a new family comedy-adventure film from Burgundy parent Jerry Casagrande. The film centers around four teens who uncover a plot by the corrupt Senator Sally Atkinson and her oilman sidekick Dirk Diaper to slaughter bald eagles to get at the oil that lies beneath their nesting grounds. The film stars Corbin Bernsen (LA Law and Psych) and Oscar-winner Shirley Jones (Elmer Gantry, Partridge Family) and features cameos by Burgundy parents Tara and Jerry Casagrande, Charlie Rawls, and Brian Walker, in addition to the students. Tickets are sold out for the first area screening of On The Wing as part of the Washington West Film Festival on October 25. But the film will also be shown as part of the Alexandria Film Festival on Saturday, November 7, at 10 a.m. at the Hoffman Theatre in Alexandria. Visit www.alexandriafilm.org for event information and tickets, or learn more about the film and see a trailer at www.OnTheWingMovie.com.
Eliza Engle (parent of Thomas McKnight, 1st grade Goat) recommends the Parent Leadership Training Institute of Alexandria to interested parents. Eliza graduated with Class 7 of the program. The program accepts applications from parents in the area but preference is given to residents of the City of Alexandria, and topics sometimes focus on city issues. Classes are free and are held one evening a week for 20 weeks. The current year's sessions begin in November.
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Parting Photos
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| Mariana and Felipe Garcia-Acosta turn in
prize tickets at the Fall Fair. Check out
more photos of all the fun and games on Burgundy's Facebook page. |
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| The 4th grade Redtails practice archery in PE, shooting arrows from
the top of the hill onto the field. |
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| On Wednesday Burgundy again held a Walk to End Homelessness
in cooperation with New Hope Housing. In addition to walking, there were
a few hops, skips, and jumps. Along with the walk, 6th grader Anya Traub
collected small toiletries for New Hope Housing. |
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