Constant Comment will be on break for most of the summer, but we anticipate publishing 2-3 issues over the break. Please keep an eye out for
valuable information following up on this school year and preparing for the next!

Constant Comment

Thursday evening our Class of 2016 was graduated in the Gym. Burgundy's graduations are designed largely by the graduating 8th graders themselves and consist of speeches and performances by the students themselves, along with a video.

Last night, in each song performed, talk given, and even in the class video, we bore witness to the creativity, intelligence, and thoughtfulness of this class. They took time to thank teachers, parents, and classmates and to express their affection for one another and for Burgundy. It was quite moving, to be honest.

As I conclude my tenth year as head of school, I reflect gratefully that I have gotten to share the full JK-8 journey with a number of these students. For all of us who are part of the Burgundy mission, it is a privilege and fun and an honor to be part of our students' journeys. They will go on to do amazing things, we know. But more important, we know they're going to be amazing people!

This morning, with graduated 8th graders on a class outing, we gathered the remaining students and faculty in the Gym to celebrate the close of another school year. We 'installed' the rising 8th graders as the new student leaders of the school, and honored each class's 'graduation' to the next class. We also offered heartfelt farewells to departing teachers and staff -- Kira Cotter (1st Sheep), Zoë Bailey (4/5 Redtails), Emily "EJ" Jonas '03 (drama), Emily East (music, currently on maternity leave) and Monica Campbell (art) -- before Assistant Head of School Elizabeth Lener led us in song.

It has been a great last week of school, capping off a great year. Next week, while teachers and administrators wrap up with faculty work week, there will be an exciting Gap Camp. The following week, Elizabeth, Director of Academic and Student Support De Shan Lett, Counselor Pat Harden and many teachers continue work on curriculum.

We hope to see many familiar faces at Gap Camp, Summer Day Camp, or BCWS Camp--more information below! Regardless of your summer plans, have a wonderful summer. Thank you to teachers and staff for the incredible amount of work put in and the love afforded our students. Thank you to parents for your support, always!

Note: We will issue 2-3 summer issues of Constant Comment to keep you up to speed on Burgundy news. Happy Summer!

Jeff_Signature

Jeff Sindler
Head of School

Coming Up at Burgundy ...

Summer Camp Reminders

While registration for next week's Gap Camp: Secret Agent Adventure has closed, it's not too late to register for a session of Summer Day Camp here in Alexandria or BCWS Camp at Cooper's Cove! Please note that some sessions of BCWS Camp are already full; some specific day camp programs may be at capacity as well.

Smile for Summer Shopping

If you're shopping on Amazon for Father's Day June 19, summer birthdays, or any other time, don't forget to use Smile.Amazon.com to make your purchases. When you shop through Amazon Smile and choose Burgundy as your beneficiary, a portion of the sales is donated to our Annual Giving Fund. Thanks for your participation and support!

June Report Cards

June report cards will be ready for parents by the end of June. You will receive an email once they've been uploaded to PCR.

Staffing Updates

As our students move up to their next class year, teacher Andrea Brown will also be moving up: next year she will be teaching the First Grade Sheep. Andrea has been teaching at Burgundy in the Junior Kindergarten Chicks classroom since fall 2011. In addition to her experience here, Andrea holds a bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr and a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Columbia Teacher's College. As part of her studies, she gained teaching experience in first grade and kindergarten. Tricia Schulze will continue to work with the Sheep as assistant teacher. Kamilah Mitchell will continue teaching in JK; at this time we anticipate a smaller JK class next year, and one teacher, but we will fill in with staffing support as needed.

Laura Motaweh, who has been busy in her role as Auxiliary Services assistant, will add to her Burgundy duties next year as Spanish teacher for kindergarten. Laura is a native speaker and has experience working in elementary classrooms. She joined Burgundy in summer 2014 as camp health coordinator and receptionist and quickly transitioned to supporting Auxiliary Services; previously she worked at nearby Rose Hill Elementary School. She holds a bachelor's degree from American Intercontinental University. Carrie Ustun, who has served as world languages teacher this year, will continue to teach French to JK and Kindergarten, and will also teach first grade French.

BPA Election Results and Reorganizing

The BPA will undergo some structural changes over the summer and into next fall to better align the organization's goals of fostering community and facilitating parent volunteerism with the community's natural major events and the school's needs. This process will expand the BPA in a meaningful and purposeful way. Discussions about the changes are ongoing. Taking part in these discussions is a swath of the Burgundy community, including Fair and Auction leadership, ambassador leadership, PAAS leadership, past BPA leadership, trustees and administrators. To find out more, please don't hesitate to contact Mary Quillian Helms, current president-elect. Meanwhile, filling positions of the current structure going into the 2016-2017 school year, are the following people, who were elected in May:

President: Mary Quillian Helms

President-Elect: Amy Heist

Secretary: Ann Blakey

Volunteer Coordinators: Chad Breckinridge and Audrey Dreibelbis

Communications: Tara Carter

Summer Reading Suggestions

We hope our students will keep reading during the summertime, and Head of School Jeff Sindler has some suggestions in case parents are looking for reading material too!

A new title, Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life by Richard Louv, will resonate with many families and may provide some new activities for summertime! The same author's earlier book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, is also of interest to Burgundy families. Richard Louv was recently on The Diane Rehm Show discussing outdoor time for children.

Jeff also recommends NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman (Burgundy's Sevareid Forum speaker in 2010). Published in 2009, the book provides a perspective on parenting from the child development and behavioral approach.

Additional suggestions from the Virginia Association of Independent Schools:

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Lisa Damour
Four-Dimensional Education: The Competencies Learners Need to Succeed by Charles Fadel, Maya Bialik and Bernie Trilling
Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims

Don't Forget!

Friday, June 10: Last day of school.

Saturday, June 11: Loft Farewell Party, 1-4 p.m., Loft and Blacktop. RSVPs requested even if you cannot attend.

June 13-17: Burgundy Gap Camp: Secret Agent Adventure.

Recently at Burgundy ...

Thank You: Box Tops

Thank you, Burgundy families and friends! This year's Box Top goal was $400 and we absolutely blew it out of the water. This year we raised $730 for Burgundy, just with those tiny little Box Tops! We sent them trash, and they sent us cash--win win! Please note that because of the Box Tops disbursement schedule, this money is split between the current and upcoming fiscal years for Burgundy.

Thank you so very much for your support and participation--we all benefit from this simple act of snipping and saving. Please keep clipping and saving Box Tops over the summer; the containers will be back in classrooms in September and we're upping our goal to a whopping $800 so let's start next year strong!

Here are the total numbers of Box Tops each class collected this year:

JK: 460

K: 756

1st: 519

2/3 Buckeyes: 421

2/3 Viceroys: 1017

4/5 Coopers: 1243

4/5 Redtails: 421

Middle School: 357

Main Office/Ex Day: 373

Unfortunately, this time we also collected more than 60 expired Box Tops. Every Box Top has an expiration date on the bottom, and once that date passes, the Box Top cannot be turned in and becomes plain old trash (or recycling). Keep clipping this summer but also please check the date before you save them. Many will be expiring at the end of this month (especially those Kleenex boxes for some reason), so by September they won't be any good.

In addition, we collected a total of 3,061 Labels for Education points this year! These points can be used to purchase items from the Labels for Education online catalog, and we have ordered sets of balls for everyone to enjoy at P.E. Thank you, everyone! Unfortunately, the Labels for Education program is being discontinued this summer, so even if you spot a few remaining on those Goldfish bags or Campbell's soup cans, there is no need to clip them. Next year we'll be focusing our efforts on Box Tops and other affinity programs.

MANY THANKS, EVERYONE!

--Jenny Friedl

Burgundy Bulletin

Siblings Isaac Ahdoot '16 and Ruby Ahdoot, a rising 7th grader, will both be heading to Michigan this summer to learn and play music at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Ruby plays the flute and Isaac plays clarinet and saxophone. Isaac has attended Interlochen previously, but this will be Ruby's first trip in what has become a family tradition--their mother Samantha also spent a summer there as a young musician.

Parting Photos and Video!

Led by Assistant Head of School Elizabeth Lener, the school sings
a verse of Burgundy favorite The Garden Song to close this morning's "moving up" assembly.