Lafayette Tuesday Bulletin

It's a short, quiet week this week, with Monday off and a half day for students coming up on Friday (12:15 p.m. dismissal). We will quickly draw your attention to a few things, and then let you go...

If you missed the recent auction email, you can see it here, and the donation deadline is approaching. Please get your donation in and do you part to help the auction!
Check out the article on after-school clubs below. There is a new procedure in place for picking up your child after their club.
PLEASE don't park in the illegal zones on Northampton and Broad Branch. See the article below entitled "No Parking!"
Please consider being on the Nominating Committee to help secure and inform candidates for next year's HSA board. It's a short-term volunteer job that makes a big contribution. Please contact Jenny or Gayle if you'd like to know more.

Have a great week!

Jenny & Gayle

See HSA board members

Join the HSA

Auction Tickets on Sale Now

Get Them Early

Tickets for the event on March 9 are $60 pre-sale and $75 at the door. Each ticket includes your auction reservation, as well as a $50 voucher to gamble in the casino. To purchase your tickets sign in to Maestro (it's easy to create a new account if you haven't signed in before), and click on the "Buy Tickets" tab. From there make a selection from the drop down menu and follow the prompts.

While buying your tickets, we hope you'll consider the option to "Sponsor a Teacher" for $25, or "Sponsor a Teacher and Guest" for $50. We love our teachers and staff, and since they do so much for our kids, we give them complimentary tickets to the event. So, we hope you'll help us cover the cost of these tickets.

Calling All Volunteers

Would you like to help transform the school for the night of the auction party? Is hanging twinkling lights one of your favorite tasks? Then we need you! Right now we are looking for volunteers to help with decorations for the event. We are also looking for a couple of volunteers interested in helping out at the beginning of the party and during the silent auction. Please email Hope and Julie at [email protected] if you are interested.

Donations

Our auction's success is dependent on the generous donations of Lafayette parents and their friends and family. Please consider donating an item to the auction --- we need air miles, hotel reward points, Amtrak reward points, sports tickets, or anything else you can think of. Other big sellers include unique experiences such as behind-the-scenes tours or lunch with a VIP. Think about what skills you have, who you know, and go here to make your donation today. Feel free to contact Julie or Hope at [email protected] with any questions, or just to discuss any donation ideas.

Thank you!

Buy a WLES Shout Out Today!

Have a custom message read to your child during the morning announcements. It's a great way to say "Happy Birthday," "Good Luck," or just send a fun message to your child at the beginning of the school day. Print and fill out this form, and place it and a payment of $15 (checks made out to Lafayette HSA) in the WLES Shout Out box in the Great Hall. Announcements and payment must be received at least seven days prior to the announcement date. All proceeds go towards the Spring Auction. Please contact Eden Burgess for more information.

No Parking!

Over the past few weeks we've been noticing some cars parking on Northampton at pick-up time in the afternoon. We realize it's very convenient to park there, particularly when you're picking up at the pre-K doors. However, parking here is not only illegal, it endangers children and parents trying to cross the street and clogs up traffic. If you (or your babysitter) are one of the people parking there, even for "a minute," please stop (we'd like to avoid having the police start ticketing again). Lafayette is partnering with the Dept. of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program, and it takes the cooperation of every parent and caregiver at the school to make it work. Please click here to see Lafayette's parking and drop-off plan. So far we've had wonderful success - parents have stopped parking illegally, and are taking advantage of the quick drop-off lane on Northampton in the mornings. Many parents have noted that there is less car congestion and crossing at crosswalks has been safer and easier. Please keep up the good work. Thank you!

Morning Drop-Off at Northampton

The quick drop-off lane on Northampton has become a popular service that helps you drop your child off safely and be on your way. The success of the drop-off lane depends on the cooperation of all the drivers using the service. Please be sure to do the following:

Pull all the way up past the blue doors so that other cars can pull in behind you.
Have your student sit on the sidewalk side of the car. It is difficult for young kids to climb over their siblings' car seat.
Please have backpacks and any other gear in the front seat next to you, or else next to your students so they can quickly grab it and go. Backpacks in the trunk do not make for a smooth and speedy drop-off.
Please remain in your car and allow Lafayette staff to help your child out of the car. For a drop-off line to run smoothly, all drivers must stay in the car and pull slowly away as soon as your child exits. If you wait to watch your child walk up to the doors, other cars end up swerving around you and this creates a dangerous traffic situation.
On rainy days, please know that children will be allowed to wait inside the vestibule on the steps where it is warm and dry.

If we can all follow these guidelines, Lafayette's quick drop-off lane can run smoothly and start the day off right for everyone. Thanks for your help!

After-School Clubs and Security

If you are a parent with a child in an after-school club, please read on. As you may know, Lafayette is trying to maintain a more secure building, and school doors are locked during the school day, as well as after school. Because the school office is closed at 4:30, we are asking those who operate after-school clubs to bring all children to a particular door when the club is over. Parents should wait outside that door and the club instructor will dismiss the children to you as you arrive. Club instructors should be communicating with the families of all participants to let you know which door to use and what time you should arrive. Thank you for your patience as we get this new system in place.

From the Art Room

Laurie McLaughlin, Art Teacher, Grades 1-5

Broad Branch Market is sporting a new display of Lafayette artwork in the candy room! Check out the intricate Underground Railroad code "quilts" that were created using a jpeg of each student's drawing which were repeated and manipulated in mathematical translations, reflections and rotations in the Mac Pages program by our talented 5th-graders. Thank you to parent Sharapat Kessler and au pairs Dulce Moreno and Junivo Cheng for helping me mount the show. Thanks also to our Lafayette technology guru Nate Weiand for his assistance in the Mac lab! These works of art will also be on view in the Lafayette Great Hall beginning in late January.

5th-graders showing off their Underground Railroad quilt design

This week, 5th-graders will be treated to a guest artist --- none other than our own versatile quilt maker Principal Main. Next week we begin hand-stitching the traditional Lafayette 5th-grade quilt. This treasure and keepsake will be sold to the highest bidder at the Lafayette Auction in March.

From the Math Center

Erin Betz for David Gregal, Robert Thurston, & Blake Yedwab

Math Club is a place to investigate a variety of math ideas and challenges. After the winter break, we began exploring Number Chains. If the number is even, you divide it by 2. If the number is odd, you multiply by 3 and add 1. We have been working out our mental math muscles and coming up with some pretty long chains! We meet on Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. in the upper library, and we welcome any student in 3rd, 4th or 5th grade. Bring a pencil, a folder and a hunger for learning!

Math Team continues to explore different topics and share problem solving-strategies. We recently joined the Continental Math League, a nationwide program that features four short problem sets given throughout the year. Students get the opportunity to discuss different approaches to the problems and learn about a variety of math concepts. Math Team meets Friday mornings at 8 a.m. in the upper library and is open to any student in 4th or 5th grade. Can you solve this problem from our most recent 4th-grade competition?

A restaurant has 23 round tables. Some tables seat 5 people and some tables seat 8 people. Each table at the restaurant is full and there are 133 people in the restaurant. How many tables are for 8 people?

Happy thinking!

Community Notices

Babysitter available. Our son's wonderful nanny of almost nine years is now seeking employment for the first half of the day. She is available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for babysitting and also to run errands. Lyn is very responsible and also drives. She can be reached at: 301-605-4339. For references, please feel free to call me/Stephanie at 202-203-8733

Building Emotional Intelligence group forming. In a joint effort between the school counselors and Peace Program, Lafayette will begin a new before-school group for students in grades 3-5 on Building Emotional Intelligence (see flyer attached). This group will meet from 8-8:40 a.m. on Mondays, starting January 28, and we will practice mindfulness, calm breathing, and various other emotion-building skills. We are excited to be able to start off the week in such a positive and calming way with the students! Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you'd like more information or are interested in signing up.

Circle Liquor purchases to benefit Lafayette. Circle Liquor, our local merchant on Connecticut Avenue, has agreed to help support Lafayette with a donation. For every $100 the Lafayette community spends at Circle Liquor, the store will donate $4 toward the auction and its beneficiary, the HSA. The deal is good from now through the end of May, which means as a group we could generate a decent donation toward the school in our normal shopping. To qualify for the credit, families visiting Circle simply tell the cashier BEFORE they start ringing up your purchase that you are a Lafayette family, and the store automatically logs your purchase toward a larger donation at the end of May. This is true for families shopping for the Lafayette Wine Party Feb. 9, but also everyone in the Lafayette community.

Thank You Lafayette Sponsors!

These organizations support Lafayette through a generous annual donation- please support them!

Learn more about becoming a Lafayette sponsor.