December 18, 2015 Constant Comment Constant Comment will not publish during winter break. The next issue is scheduled for Friday, January 8. This year more than ever the Festival of Lights felt meaningful and important. As we close one year and begin another, we of all faiths and backgrounds can share a moment of gratitude and a hope for peace everywhere . Wednesday I enjoyed reading to the First Grade Sheep the classic The Polar Express, which offers a poignant reminder that the joys of Christmas (and perhaps of life) depend on our belief -- belief in the magic of the rituals to which we and our families and communities subscribe. Regardless of our diverse family traditions, I hope that our time with our children over the winter and New Year's holidays is full of that magic. Jeff Sindler Head of School  Coming Up at Burgundy ... Reminder: New Carpool Placards Please be reminded that we will transition to new afternoon carpool placards when school resumes after winter break on January 4, 2016 to make pick-up more efficient and secure. Two copies of the preprinted placards are in the mail to each Burgundy household. These official Burgundy placards are not intended to be recreated at home. Instead, they should be kept in each of the two cars that are most regularly used to pick up your child or children. In addition to the names of your child or children, the placards include a number in the upper right corner. Please encourage your children to learn this family number. During afternoon carpool, names and numbers may be used together. Numbers will also be used to verify the authority of other drivers to pick up your children. We recognize that some families routinely share afternoon carpool responsibilities, and after school resumes we will work to create combined signs for these regular carpools. Please notify Kathleen Hennessey if your family may need a combined placard. More details will be included in a letter enclosed with the placards. Reminder: PIN Sign-Out for Extended Day Beginning January 4, 2016 when school resumes, parents and others picking up students from Extended Day will need to use a unique identification number. These PINs were emailed to Burgundy parents earlier this week with numbers for parents/guardians and emergency contacts. Parents need to share the PINs with the listed emergency contacts. Support Burgundy While You Shop As you prepare to do holiday shopping--both groceries and gifts--please be aware of the affinity programs Burgundy has with local and national retailers. Register your grocery loyalty card to benefit Burgundy and look for Box Tops or Campbell's Labels on the products you buy. If you shop at Target, Pottery Barn, or Amazon.com you can give to Burgundy through their affinity programs. And of course, you can always give directly to Burgundy online! Directory Updates Azeb Idris, parent of Nia Ashenafi (4th grade Cooper) and Sam Ashenafi (7th grade) has a new email address: azebidris@gmail.com. Manja Krieger (2nd grade Viceroy) and her family have a new address: 711 Fontaine Street, Alexandria, VA 22302. Two new students will be enrolling at Burgundy when school resumes in January. Maggie Westhoven will be in Viceroys (2nd grade) and Lizzie Westhoven will join the Coopers (4th grade). Their parents are Kate and Brent Westhoven. Additional contact information for the family: 4109 Komes Court, Alexandria, VA, 22306 202.550.7153 westhoven@verizon.net bwesthoven@verizon.net This information has been added to the December update of the Student/Parent Directory, available on the Family Resources page of Haiku. Don't Forget! Friday, December 18: Festival of Lights, 9:30 a.m., Gym. Early release, 12:30 p.m. December 19-January 3: Winter Break Sunday, December 27: Community Kwanzaa Celebration, hosted by PAAS. 4-6 p.m., Loft. RSVP to Kristen Noble. Monday, January 4: School Resumes. MS Math Club, 3:15 p.m., Matthew's classroom. New sign-out system for Extended Day begins. Saturday, January 9: Yearbook Meeting, 1-4 p.m., 8th grade homeroom. Sunday, January 10: Open House, 2-4 p.m. Continuing: Through December 18: Registration for Winter 2016 enrichment classes. Ongoing: The Board of Trustees is accepting nominations for new Trustees ahead of elections in February. If you are interested, contact Joanne Petty, Chair of the Committee on Trustees at joanne_petty@hotmail.com or 312-560-9796, or visit Burgundy's website for more details. Recently at Burgundy ... Thank You: Toys for Tots Hi Burgundy. I would like to thank everyone for making this year's Toys for Tots drive a success which I dedicated to my dad, Lt. Col. Gregory Hendricks. We had five boxes filled this year. I would also like to thank Gari Puckrein '16, Charlene Pritzker, and the Sansone family for helping with the toy drive. Happy Holidays, Micah Hendricks '16 Campus Renewal Construction Update Work resumed this week on the Outdoor World Learning Laboratory. The contractor has taken the extra time and effort to test fit the wood beams to the custom hidden structural steel brackets before they are factory galvanized. This extra level of craftsmanship by the builder was taken to fulfill the architect's design for our students' Learning Lab with fun building angles. The contractor will make the final assembly of the Lab's structure once the brackets are returned during the winter break. Families may recall similar test fitting process last year with construction of the Worm pipe on the playground. Burgundy Bulletin Several members of our Burgundy community have been working behind the scenes for The Little Theatre of Alexandria's production of A Christmas Carol, which concludes its run tomorrow. Staffer Austin Fodrie has served as stage manager for the show, with help from assistant stage managers including Jack Barbour '15, Hannah Miller '15, 8th grader David Weissman, 8th grader Hans Wirkkala Burkholder, and Lucas Wirkkala Burkholder '12. Parting Photos  Headed back to class after Wednesday's all school meeting. The beginnings of a winter sunset in the Burgundy woods. A scene from this morning's Festival of Lights. More photos will be posted soon on Burgundy's Facebook page! Stay Connected |  Constant Comment Archives  | Affinity Programs |  Give Online  |