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New Faces
Mary Iannone joins us as a part-time art teacher, joining Connie Fleres and Annie Rocha. Mary has been an Extended Day educator at Burgundy for two years, and will continue to work with Extended Day in addition to joining the art department. She has a degree in education from Indiana University, with a major in visual arts education, where she also was a Division I rower. She has worked in various camps, including serving as head of our Burgundy Summer Day Camp Outdoors Camp in 2015.
Michael Shields will take on a new role as interim music teacher this year, continuing to work with Cathy Manley. Michael has worked at Burgundy in various capacities over the last nine years, including as a Burgundy Farm Summer Day Camp counselor, Extended Day educator, and substitute teacher. He worked this past spring as Emily East's long-term maternity sub. Michael attended James Madison University where he majored in vocal performance and minored in composition and piano. He plans to continue coursework this year toward his degree while teaching with us. Michael is currently a member of several choirs where he shines as a baritone. He is active in his church where he participates as a singer, director, pianist and drummer.
Megan Stack will be our 5th grade Redtails teacher, teaming with Scout Osborne who has moved to the 4th grade Redtails. Megan has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Marywood University and a master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of Scranton. She taught 5th grade for five years at Blessed Virgin Mary School in Darby, Pennsylvania, where she has been a leader among the faculty and on several committees. Megan has a strong background in American history and educational technology. Megan also has been a summer camp director and historical tour guide in Philadelphia. She is eager to join a progressive school that matches her teaching style.
As previously announced, Kimberly Mott and Elena Velasco are also joining the Burgundy faculty. Kimberly will teach the 4th grade Coopers, teaming with Mary Akeley in 5th grade. Most recently Kimberly taught at Alexandria's John Adams Elementary School. She has a strong family connection to Burgundy; her nephews are alumni, and her sister and brother-in-law were active as parent leaders. She is a graduate of UC-Santa Barbara and the University of Phoenix. Elena will be a drama teacher alongside Roberta Masters-Cullen. She has previously worked with Burgundy's Middle School productions and has taught children at several area theaters. She holds degrees from Catholic University.
New Roles Several familiar faculty and staff are taking on adjusted roles this year. They include:
Lower School - Kamilah Mitchell will teach a smaller JK class this year without a teaching partner. - Andrea Brown moves to teach the 1st Grade Sheep with assistant teacher Tricia Schulze. - Efrem Solomon, following a long-term substitute role, will be the assistant teacher in the 1st Grade Goats with teacher Ann Douglas. Efrem will be an on-site substitute in the afternoons. - Scout Osborne will continue teaching 4th grade but moves to the Redtails team.
Middle School - Cindy Woodruff and Matthew Reames will work as co-advisors in the 6th grade. - Joseph Edwards will teach 6th and 7th grade humanities. - Chiquita McCoy will be a 7th grade advisor. - Doug Fishman will teach 7th and 8th grade math as well as 7th grade science.
Specials - Carrie Ustun will teach French and Spanish for JK, as well as French for K and 1st grade. - Laura Motaweh will teach Spanish for K classes. - Erynn Spencer is our substitute teacher in violin while Cheng-Yin Lin is on maternity leave.
Staff - Austin Fodrie will serve as an on-site substitute in the mornings and continue as technology support and integration specialist in the afternoons. - Counselor Pat Harden will also serve as diversity coordinator. - De Shan Lett remains the director of academic and student support and adds a role as Middle School coordinator. - Middle School math teacher Matthew Reames takes on an additional part-time role as specialist in mathematics education, working with teachers at all grade levels.
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And New Spaces! As a result of upcoming construction on the new Arts & Community Center, several special/elective classes have been moved to new spaces. Each of the spaces has been chosen for its appropriateness for the subject area and age of children as well as location on campus.
Art classes will be held in West Barn (Early Childhood building). The upper level, above the Kindergarten classrooms, has two classroom spaces for Lower School and some Middle School art classes. On the lower level of the building, the newly renovated "Dragon Room" will host additional Middle School art classes.
For Lower School students, music will be held in Extended Day's space (the two rooms beneath the First Grade classrooms) and in the Dragon Room. For Middle School students, music and dance electives will be taught in the Middle School atrium and classrooms not in use, as well as the Ex Day space.
Foreign language classrooms will now all be in the same building -- East Barn (Library). French and Spanish will be upstairs, while Maria's Spanish classes will be in the classroom that was formerly used as the computer lab. The number of computers in that room have been reduced to allow more space for teaching but also maintain a "computer lab" for small groups during the day. Computer and tech classes will mostly be taught in homeroom classrooms using portable devices including iPads and Chromebooks.
Drama will be in various campus spaces depending on the needs of the age group and curriculum. Drama classes will be in new West Barn classrooms, the Ex Day space, homerooms, and the Library.
We are excited about the summer work that helped prepare these classrooms and feel they provide and teachers students with excellent spaces to learn and grow during our construction.
BPA Volunteer Survey  To help the Burgundy Parent Association (BPA) get set for a terrific 2016-2017 school year, parents, grandparents, and friends of Burgundy are invited to indicate their interests and preferences for volunteering through an online survey. (If you have already completed the survey, you do not need to do so again.)
Burgundy and the BPA are pleased to offer a wide variety of volunteer opportunities, both large and small, including many projects that can be done off campus and/or outside of school hours to better accommodate challenging schedules. Any way you can participate is welcome! Please indicate what role(s) you would consider taking on via the survey.
Family Handbook and Student Directory Burgundy's Family Handbook and Student Directory, distributed early in the school year, is going digital this year! In an effort to be more sustainable and better manage updates, we will be creating an electronic handbook and directory only this year. It will be available to all families on the Family Resources page of Haiku. The format will allow individuals to print out the handbook or directory if they choose to do so.
If your family gets a new address, phone number, or email address and you need to update the information in the directory, make these changes by logging into the family portal of PCR Educator and notifying Kathleen Hennessey.
Cove Chaperone Requests Due Sept. 1 Parents of 2nd through 8th grade students, if you would like to be considered as a Cove chaperone this year, please remember to complete the Cove Chaperone Request Form. Your request must be submitted by Thursday, Sept. 1 for priority consideration. Requests will be reviewed based on criteria in the Cove Chaperone Policy (PDF) and parents will be notified of their status shortly after the start of school.
Please note that the 2/3 classes will only be going to the Cove in the fall this school year. This spring they will take extended field trips related to their Chesapeake Bay unit.
Picture Day Sept. 9 Picture day at Burgundy is Friday, Sept. 9. Remind your student to bring a smile!
Professional school photographers visit campus that day. Weather and light permitting, both individual and class photos will be taken outdoors. If your child wears Transitions lenses, bear in mind that he or she may want to remove them for photos, as the glasses are likely to appear with dark lenses in outdoor photographs. Swimming in PE will start the second week of school, weather permitting, to accommodate picture day. There is a make-up day scheduled for Oct. 24.
Work Smarter Sessions Work Smarter sessions are back this year with an additional day! Beginning Monday, Sept. 12, Work Smarter sessions will meet in the Library Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 3:15-4:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for students in 2nd through 8th grades to complete homework, study, or read in a quiet, supervised space. Individual snacks are welcome.
Parents who would like a child to attend should email the child's homeroom teacher. Dismissal is at 4:30 p.m.; parents should come to the Library to pick up and sign students out unless they are going to Extended Day.
Burgundy Back-to-School BBQ  Please plan to join us for the annual Burgundy BBQ on Friday, Sept. 16, 6:00-7:30 p.m.! This year's will be a special event as it takes place 70 years to the day when classes began at Burgundy. Reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.
This family-friendly evening provides great dinner options for both meat-lovers and vegetarians. To ensure we have enough food for all, please register by Wednesday, Sept. 14 if you plan to attend.
After-School Enrichment ClassesDoes your child want to keep learning and playing after the school day ends? Burgundy's enrichment classes offer fun and educational opportunities right here on campus!
Fall enrichments will begin Monday, Sept. 26. Get all the details in the Fall Enrichment Packet (PDF) and plan your child's classes now. Registration is online, and is scheduled to begin Friday, Sept. 2. Watch for a reminder and the registration link that day.
Questions? Contact Hugh Squire.
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