Wow, what a busy time of year! I always feel like we sprint through May at Lafayette, and this year is no exception! We had our first Arts Night last Thursday, and the second one, featuring the artwork and talent of grades 2-5, is coming up next week.

 

Because they are always so much fun, we are having a second Scholastic Book Fair all week long in the Library. Open before and after school, the book fair is an easy way to support the Lafayette library.

 

Tuesday, plan to come to the "Meet and Greet" for HSA

Board and LSAT candidates at 6:30pm in the Great Hall.

 

Do you have a 3rd grader? Then you know that this week is all about the DC Theatre Caf�. Third grade students have been busy preparing for this event, and it is sure to be amazing!

 

This Thursday, May 15th, is a very important HSA General Meeting. We hope ALL parents will attend this meeting and join us for dinner ($1/pizza slice + salad, desert & drink) from 6:00pm until 6:30pm. Child care and the meeting will begin at 6:30pm.

 

The first order of business is to vote for next year's HSA Board members and LSAT parent representatives. If you cannot be there in person, you can vote by proxy. By now you should have received proxy ballots in your child's folder. Please fill them out and either place them in the ballot box in the Great Hall, or return them to school in your child's folder. If you did not receive them in your child's folder, you can print the HSA proxy ballot and LSAT proxy ballot here. Remember . . . one vote per family. All families can vote for LSAT parent representatives, and only current HSA members can vote for HSA Board members.

 

Also at this meeting the HSA will discuss its DRAFT budget for next school year. Please come to the meeting and give us your thoughts about where your money is spent. We rely heavily on you to raise these funds, so it is only fair that your thoughts are included during this very important meeting. A large portion of our budget goes to paying for our unique indfulness/peace program taught by Linda Ryden. We would like to know how valuable this program is to you and your family, and whether

you are in favor of the HSA continuing to support the program.

 

Based on comments received during and after Thursday's meeting, the draft budget may be revised, with the final budget presented for approval at our final General Meeting of the year on June 5th the 2014-2015 school year.

 

We hope to see you on Thursday!

 

Hope & Gayle

 

See HSA board members  

 

 

This yearʼs field day is just around the corner. On Friday May 30th all children in 1st through 5th grade will be participating in our annual field day. This yearʼs theme is "iFit".

 

The kids will be working on fitness, cooperation and many of the skills they have been learning through out the year in physical education.

 

In order to have this day we need many, many volunteers. This year Iʼm asking that you visit our "Sign up Genius" to volunteer. Iʼve also given you the choice of your activity to run. Just go to the link and sign up for a station. Volunteers are needed all morning

from 8:30- 12:00. If you are able, please sign up as soon as you know you can clear your schedule. It is the most awesome day and is not possible without the support of the entire Lafayette community.

 

If you have any questions or canʼt figure out how to use the "Sign up Genius" please contact Ms. McClure.

 

Ms. McClure

Physical Education Teacher

 

We need your help at the 3rd annual Parent-Sponsored End of the Year Reception for Teachers & Staff Wednesday, May 21, 2013 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Please help us thank our great staff at Lafayette

Here are the three ways you can help:
1) Donate a dish or beverage via Broad Branch Market  - Make a donation towards a dish or a bottle of wine the next time you are at Broad Branch Market.

Our reception will feature heavy appetizers and desserts.  We have teamed up with Tracy and John at the Market to design a delicious menu of platters. If you want to donate via the Market ­just tell the cashier the next time you are checking out that you want to make a donation towards the Lafayette Teachers reception. They will hand you a sheet with all the different things we need. It is just like shopping off a wedding registry. You will just check off what you want to donate and the cost of the item or items will be added to your bill. It's easy and a great way to support the event.

2) Make a delicious treat at home and bring it to school Wednesday, May 21 by 3:30 PM.

If you are bringing something from home or somewhere else ­ just email [email protected] and let us know what you plan on bringing.  We are also looking for donations of flowers for decorations.

3) Donate your time  sign up to work at the event

We have slots available starting from 3:30 to 6:30 as bartenders, servers, and set-up and clean-up crew.  Check out our Sign-up Genius called Lafayette  Teacher and Staff Thank You Reception. 

 

Lafayette teachers & staff!

 

Kevin Jackson, Performance Enhancement Specialist

 

Fit, Healthy and Ready to Learn is an exciting new initiative for students at DC Public Schools! As a part of Physical Education class, your child will be tracking the number of steps taken each day using a pedometer.

 

DCPS students will be wearing the clip-on pedometer for seven days, writing down the number of steps taken during the day each night, and then completing a student survey about eating habits and level of physical activity. This is a very important survey that will help the Health and Physical Education Department better understand the eating and physical activity habits of 5th through 12th grade students. The completion of the log and survey should take no longer than 35 minutes and will be complete at school during class time.

 

This survey will not collect any identifying information about your child and no such information will be included in the resulting reports. All of the students' responses will be combined together, no one's individual responses will be reported, and your child's name will never be used in reports.

 

If you have any questions regarding this survey or would like to see a copy of the questions, please contact Monica Parran in the Office of Teaching and Learning at 202-645-4643.

 

We will be giving out the pedometer within the next week. Please assist your 5th grader with filling out the activity log, logging their steps, and keeping up with the pedometer.

 

Our Spring Scholastic book fair will run May 12-16, Monday through Friday from 8:30 A.M. - 4 P.M. all week.

 

Parents are welcome to accompany their PK or K student. EVERYONE is welcome before and after school. Another good time to visit for parents is from 1-1:30 during the school day. The book fair will be open just for parents at that time. 

 

The suggested amount of money for your child is $10-20, in a sealed baggie or envelope with student's first and last name on it. I will insist that students purchase a book or two before a cute eraser, etc. There is sales tax on all purchases.

Last year book fair sales were just over $12000. The library received over $7,400 in books, many of the books were chosen by our students.

Volunteering. If you have twenty minutes before or after school to help at the book fair, please let me know. I need someone on Thursday morning and afternoon.

 

Lafayette Library
Judith Perlin
202-282-0460

 

> Flyer 

> Book Fair Schedule 

   

The third grade's big end of the year project, the D.C. Theater Cafe, is this Wednesday and Thursday.  All students will attend to learn about the three branches of government.  Please have your child bring $3 on the following day:

Wednesday, May 14 Baldwin Paul Phillips Breslin Shapiro (4) Catapano Harn Cobb Culver Fratto Hill Martinez Ritchie Yedwab Ghamarian Jensen

Thursday, May 15 Nickel King Hebert Howard Gregal Jewett Jean Campbell Johnson Hallock Shapiro (K) DeJonckheere Haigler Hallstrom Rogall Powell

 

Andrea Perll, Pre-K/K Art, Music, and P.E. Teacher

 

Arts Night is always an exciting time at Lafayette. There is so much more to it than meets the eye! For Pre-K and Kindergarten students it's especially

exciting since it is either their first or second time participating. The children did a fabulous job on Thursday night, which is not surprising given all that they have put into preparing for it.

 

We began in Music class by reviewing all of the songs we have learned during this school year. There are usually clear favorites, from which we choose what we will sing on stage on Arts Night. We then talk about what goes into being a performer on a stage: how we stand, how we project our voices without screaming, how we wait in between songs, etc. We practice first in individual classes; then each grade level comes together and practices on the stage.

 

The Art part of Arts Night requires a bit more preparation. I hold onto all of the students' artwork during the year and choose something from their portfolio to display for Arts Night. After I make the choices, I show the chosen project to each student and ask him/her to give a title to the piece. (If a child is not entirely happy with the piece chosen, he/she will choose something else from his/her portfolio). Artwork is then matted onto construction paper, labels are typed up and attached, and artwork is hung.

 

Once all of the artwork is hung, art classes take place in our Lafayette Museum (instead of my trailer). Classes gather in the glass hallway leading up to Early Childhood so that they can be close to their art. We read a book exploring the thoughts of various famous artists and then talk about how we behave in a museum. The children are then paired up and asked to walk through our museum. They are encouraged to use a "museum voice" (quieter than an indoor voice) to tell each other what they notice or like about specific pieces of art. Each child will also locate his/her piece of art during this time. After this, children are asked to stand near their own piece of artwork and a photograph is taken of them with their art. (Classroom teachers receive copies of these pictures).

 

Once we have toured our museum and taken the pictures, we gather again together as a group and talk about what we noticed during our gallery walk. Children will comment on what they liked and what colors or lines or textures they noticed. They learn how to critique art in a constructive and positive manner. By the time Arts Night happens, the children are ready!

 

As you can see, Arts Night is more than just a piece of art on the wall and a short singing performance. Learning takes place throughout every step of the process.

 

Way to go Pre-K and Kindergarten students!

   

   

  

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

Learn more about becoming a Lafayette sponsor.

 

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