Is there anything else quite as spectacular as all of the children of Lafayette, dressed to scare, marching around the school and track? Halloween is one of my favorites, and I especially love the parade at Lafayette. Fostering the feeling of community, it is a great way to kick off such a fun holiday! Who knew that our school was home to so many super heroes, witches, vampires, and other ghouls.

There is quite a bit on tap for Lafayette over the next couple of weeks. Principal Albright will be here this Thursday evening to share with 5th graders and their families what to expect next year at Alice Deal. This visit is followed up by Deal Buddy Day on Friday. 5th graders will join 6th graders for half a middle school day-their first glimpse into the life of a middle school student. More information on all of these events is available on the Lafayette website.

Friday is also the 1st grade Patriotic Informance. Always around Veteran's Day, this performance is sure to amaze and inspire pride.

Last, but certainly not least, next Wednesday November 12th, is the Lafayette Modernization Community Meeting. This is your chance to learn more about our school's renovations, as well as provide input and feedback.

Have a great week!

Laurie and Hope

See HSA board members

Join the HSA

School Renovation Update

Community Meeting - November 12th at 7:30pm

As you may know, DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS) are currently in the preliminary design stages for the upcoming modernization of Lafayette Elementary School.

Please join us for a Community Meeting on Wednesday, November 12th at 7:30pm in the cafeteria of the school for an update on the project. In this meeting DGS will share the latest design images for community feedback and input.

Attached is a flyer with information about the meeting. Please share the flyer with your family, neighbors and anyone whom you feel would be interested in receiving an update on the project.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting on November 12th and working together in the coming months towards a successful modernization of the Lafayette Elementary School building!

For those unable to attend the meeting, the presentation will be posted to the DGS Lafayette Project Page on the website after the meeting.

A School Improvement Team (SIT), comprised of teachers, parents, and community members, has been meeting regularly and advising the D.C. government and its contractors about the needs of our school. Though no final decisions have been made, a tentative set of plans are available here. Questions or feedback about the project can be sent to Lafayette parent and SIT member Gayle Moseley.

Save the Date! Friday, November 14 @ 7PM

The Drama Club has been hard at work perfecting their performance of Chaos, an original musical by our very own Steven King. This year, we are pleased to announce an evening performance of the play on Friday, November 14 at 7:00 PM, the Lafayette Cafetorium.

In the spirit of this season of giving and thanks, this performance is also a canned food drive. As your price of admission, please bring non perishable canned goods. All collected canned goods will be donated to Shepard's Table (shepherdstable.org).

Bear Facts Halloween Edition

The Halloween edition of the Bear Facts is here! It represents a month's worth of effort by over 50 students and they are hoping you will enjoy their 20-page edition.

Bear Facts

It's Time for Coats & Cocktails! Friday, December 5, 7:30pm

Please join your fellow Lafayette parents at our wonderful annual benefit for Bruce Monroe and Neval Thomas Elementary Schools.

Kindly bring new or gently worn children's coats, mittens, hats, scarves and boots-and books.

More information

Congratulations!

Lafayette's cross country team won the city championship that took place at Colmar Manor Community Park on Oct. 25th. Both boys and girls earned 1st place in team standings. Individual results are as follows:

GIRLS

Tusani Jackson - 1st

Aisha Sanogo - 4th

Regan Waterman - 5th

Arianna Lowengrub - 14th

BOYS

Robin Handley - 1st

Matias Hernandez - 4th

Luca Ciagne - 5th

John Moody - 13th

Jack Coan - 14th

Here are the season's results as well:

Lafayette Invite 9/23: 1st Place Boys & Girls

Ron Jenkins Invite 9/30: 1st Place Boys & Girls

DCIAA Developmental Meet #1 10/4: 1st Pl Girls, 2nd Pl Boys

DCIAA Developmental Meet #2 10/11: 3rd Pl Boys (Girls did not place).

Big thanks to Ms. Murray and Mr. Jackson for doing such a great job coaching the team this year!

What's Better Then 1 Day of Camp... 2 Days of Camp, Of Course!!

Join HoopEd for All Sports & Games Camp on Nov.10th and Nov.11th!

HoopEd coaches will be in the Lafayette gym running amazing activities, great Gatorade challenges, marvelous Money Shot and sharing fun times with the HoopEd Nation!

Calling all campers ages 5 to 13 years old with camp running from 9-3! Early Drop-Off and AfterCare available!

To register visit www.hoopeducation.com

Community Notices

Experienced and Versatile Tutor/Coach Available
Does your child need a boost with course content and study skills ... or engaging enrichment? Recently, I've tutored arithmetic and pre-algebra, English, social studies, science, and standardized test preparation to younger students from the third grade up-at Lafayette, Murch, Deal, Latin, and private schools. I'm a lifelong resident with training in writing studies, an advanced degree in linguistics from Georgetown University, and extensive teaching and consulting experience. I'd be pleased to provide references and to work closely with Lafayette families to provide exceptional after-school instruction at your homes or mine. Please contact Maggie Ronkin at 202.316.2263.

WINTER INDOOR SOCCER: 2014-2015

First Touch Soccer, in conjunction with the DC Youth Futbol Club (DCYFC), will conduct twelve (12) winter indoor clinics for one hour and twenty minutes on Sundays at the St. Albans School gym located on Mount St. Alban next to the National Cathedral starting Sunday, December 7 and concluding on March 15, 2015. See more info.

Winter Indoor Soccer Skills Clinic - Futsal

Sidwell Friends School starting November 22nd - February 28th. Saturdays between 10 am to 2 pm for grades Kindergarten to 6th (in separate age groups).

The clinic provides professional skills training and futsal scrimmages. Futsal (Brazilian indoor soccer) is very beneficial due to the high number of touches each player gets on the ball. Players learn technical topics such as shooting, dribbling, passing, first touch on the ball, and age appropriate strategic concepts. 50% of the clinic is skills training and 50% is a friendly 4 v 4 futsal tournament.

More details and registration are on www.winterfutsal.com

Limited space. Contact Coach Aron 240-271-3842.

Thank You Lafayette Sponsors!

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our very generous Annual Sponsors for 2014-2015, your continued support is amazing!

Learn more about becoming a Lafayette sponsor.

Make a Submission

Submissions for next week's issue should be emailed to [email protected]. Submissions are due by 3:15 p.m. on Friday. Submissions received after this time will be included in the following issue, unless instructed otherwise. Please keep submissions brief. Longer articles may be truncated at the editor's discretion, with a link to the full text.