Happy Holidays! It is unbelievable that we find ourselves at the week before the Winter Break. I hope this Tuesday Bulletin finds you taking a moment (at least!) to enjoy the joy of the season.

The last three weeks have had many moments of joy throughout the building. Our Kindergarten students celebrated a great Thanksgiving feast, 2nd Grade honored the culture and traditions of Native Americans, and 4th and 5th grade enjoyed the holiday classic, The Nutcracker. The boys and girls basketball teams are off to a tremendous start! And this week, we will enjoy our Winter concert. LEP wrapped up an incredible fall session of enrichment activities thanks to the hard work and dedication of Hope Scheller and Beth Taubman. LAP celebrated the season with an amazing potluck and student talent show.

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From the HSA

Hope Scheller and Laura Lindsley, co-presidents

The Holiday Concert is this Wednesday, holiday parties are this Thursday, and winter break is right around the corner. We get a couple of weeks to relax and take a nice break from daily routines like carpools, packing lunches and homework.

As we wind down the year, if you've been meaning to donate to the HSA and haven't gotten around to it, you might want to consider joining before year-end so that you can take advantage of the tax deduction. All HSA donations go a long way in helping our children have the programs and tools that make Lafayette the wonderful school that we all know and love.

We've changed the date of the Spring Auction, moving it one week later to March 28th (see the article below). Stayed tuned for more information on this a fun event in the New Year.

We hope you have wonderful week. If you are traveling for the break, be safe. We will see you all in the New Year.

Laurie and Hope

See HSA board members

Join the HSA

Auction Update

Date Change - We have a new date for the Spring Auction. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, March 28th!

We Need You!

We are putting together an army of volunteers, hoping to make this year's auction the best one yet! Want to join in and lend a hand? Contact Shannon Behm.

From the Health Room

To celebrate the season, special party foods will be in your children's classrooms this week. But things can get hectic, routines get disrupted, and mindfulness can save the day.

1. When preparing those goodies, please check with the teacher or room parent about specific dietary restrictions in your child's classroom.

2. Please provide a list of ingredients for anything homemade.

3. Clean work surfaces of any nut products before making classroom treats.

4. Remind your child who has special dietary needs to check with the teacher before eating anything.

5. Remind all kids not to share foods outside of the classroom.

Have a safe and happy rest of the week and winter break!

Chris Cockrell, RN, BSN

HoopEd All Sports & Games Winter Break Camps @Lafayette!

Full and Partial Week Registrants are Welcome!

December 22 - 26: Four Days of Fun (No Camp 12/25)

December 29 - Jan. 2: Four Days of Excitement (No Camp 1/1)

Take a break from the kids this winter break and send them to camp!

Games Galore Monday - Wednesday w/ Olympics on Friday :)

To Register: www.hoopeducation.com / Have questions? [email protected]

Mindfulness on 60 Minutes

You might be hearing your children talking about mindfulness - they might mention Daily Mindful Moments in their classrooms or they might tell you about learning mindfulness in Peace Class - and you might be wondering what it is all about.

I would be happy to share books, articles, and videos that describe mindfulness or even to point you to ways to begin practicing mindfulness yourself or with your child. This is a great piece from Sunday's 60 Minutes that gives a nice overview of mindfulness. If you would like to know more, please let me know!

You can also look at our blog to find more information.

Linda Ryden
Peace of Mind

Community Notices

Support the Wilson Crew - The Broad Branch Market has generously offered to share the proceeds of their Christmas tree and holiday green sales this year with Wilson Crew.

Rowers will be on hand Fridays from 4-8, Saturdays from 10-8, and Sundays from 10-7 until Christmas to help with sales and will even deliver your tree to your home!

Lafayette graduates have a long standing tradition of involvement with Wilson crew. Please consider supporting them and the team by buying a tree or wreath at the Broad Branch Market. Our fundraisers are vitally important to the team because we are a club sport that does not receive any funding from DCPS.

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.