Tuesday Bulletin
Lafayette Elementary Home and School Association 
Miriam Van Dyck, Editor March 3, 2015
In This Issue
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March 5 (Thursday)
HSA General Meeting and 5th Grade Meeting

March 6 (Friday)
         Coffee Talk, 8:50 am
  
March 6 (Friday)

Winter Dance:  3rd and 4th graders from 3:20 - 4:20 and 5th graders from 4:30 - 5:30


March 28 (Saturday)
          Rock Me Lafayette School Auction

From the HSA 

Hope Scheller and Laura Lindsley, co-presidents 

 

This past week, I had the pleasure of substitute teaching in the second grade.  Not only did I get to know many wonderful second graders on a more personal level, but the dates coincided with the presentations for their Heroes project.   The enthusiasm for the hero each student selected was obvious, and it was clear that they (probably with help from many of you) spent significant time researching their subject and constructing their costumes.  It was amazing to see how well these children can memorize and recite the key facts for these great Americans.   Theodore Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman and others all did a terrific job, and I was grateful for the reminder on what made Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. famous.  Thanks for the fun lessons in American History, great job second graders!

 

Congratulations and thank you to Ms. McClure and all the volunteers that came out Friday to make Jump Rope For Heart a success.  We are well on our way to achieving Lafayette's fundraising goal.  Rumor has it that if we do, Dr. Broquard has to kiss a pig.  If anyone has a pig handy, or knows where we can get borrow one, please contact Ms. McClure. 

 

This Thursday, March 5 is our next HSA general meeting.  We will be discussing "all things renovations".  Dinner will be provided at 6:30 pm - pizza for sale @ $1 per slice with your choice of salad, dessert and a beverage. The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm.  Please find more details in  the article below.

 

Our auction is only 4 weeks away!  Don't forget to book your babysitters, purchase tickets and our "Rock Me Lafayette" T-shirts.  This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and we count on your support to make this event a success.  For all auction information, click on the link below. 
 

One last BIG thank you to our "Build the Wine Cellar" party hosts - Eileen Dombo & Lou Blick, Pete & Janine Boyle and Mike & Kendall McManus.  We appreciate your enthusiasm and efforts to make this evening a success and look forward to bidding on the wine cellar come auction night. 

 

Have a great week!

Hope  and Laurie

See HSA board members  


Two Important Meetings on Thursday, 3/5

calendar5th Grade Class meeting @ 6 pm All 5th grade students and Parents are invited to come discuss the Class Trip to Gettysburg, as well as the transition curriculum to Middle School.

 

HSA General Meeting @ 7 pm - Please join us for a Modernization update!  Don't forget that pizza is served at 6:30 and babysitting is offered!  More information below......

HSA General Meeting

 

hsa logoThis month's HSA General Meeting is this Thursday, March 5, and will feature "all things renovation". Come and learn the status of renovation plans for our school, and details of our educational swing space next year. We will start at 6:30 pm, and have both dinner and free childcare available.

 

6:30 pm: Pizza for sale @ $1 per slice. Your choice of pizza comes with salad, dessert and beverage.

7:00 pm: General meeting commences

 

Whether you are coming from LAP, home or other after-school activities, we hope you will join us and bring your families. Chi Omega, an American University sorority, is volunteering their time to help us with childcare. Childcare will be split into two categories. A quiet/homework room and a fun room with games and crafts. Whatever your needs, we hope to have you covered.

 

**Please note that children participating in childcare must be at least 3 years old and potty trained**

 

See you Thursday!

Coffee Talk - All Things PARCC, 3/6 @ 8:50 am

Please join us for coffee, pastries, and PARCC. The Partnership forcoffee_beans_cup.jpg Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is the test that will replace the DC CAS this year. Come learn more about how this computer based assessment is structured, look at sample test items, and discuss how the assessment is linked to the Common Core Standards. Our 3rd-5th grade students will be taking PARCC beginning March 12.

Coffee Talks are an opportunity for parents to talk with Lafayette Principal Broquard in an informal setting. They are scheduled on Friday mornings from 8:50-9:30 am.  Future coffee talks will take place on 4/24, 5/8, and 6/5.

Jump Rope for Heart News

Jump Rope for Heart

 

What a great way for our kids to get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity.  Our students pumped their hearts on Friday during and after school.  We jumped, danced and hula hooped in our 16th annual JRFH community service project.  It was an awesome day!  Thank you to everyone who volunteered.  There were staff, teachers and community members who donated materials, worked behind the scene, or assisted during the event. Thank you to all of you!  We couldn't have done it without you.

 

For the families that have decided to raise funds for the American Heart Association your pledges are due this Thursday, March 5th.  Please put all envelopes in the box in the Great Hall. Make sure it is marked with donation amount, child's name and class code.  Please turn all cash to checks.  Checks should be made out to the American Heart Association. 

 

It's not too late to sign up online to request donations.  Please go to www.heart.org/jump and  find our school and join our team.  All donations go directly into our account and no paper work for us. If you are running behind schedule don't worry, these donations can be entered a little late.  The sooner we have all donations the sooner we can finish tallying everything and send in our teams totals.  Once totals are in it will take about 3 weeks to receive the "Thank you" gifts.

 

If you have any questions please direct them to the JRFH team- Ms. Perll, Mr. Jackson or Ms. McClure.  You may email Ms. McClure as well.  

 

Again, thank you to everyone who helped to make this JRFH one of the best ever.

 

--Ms. McClure, Ms. Perll, and Mr. Jackson

Spelling Bee News

 

Spelling Bee

 

Unfortunately, only the top SIX spellers get to spell in the city-wide bee on Saturday, March 14 at the NBC-4 studios where it is being taped for viewing at a later date (TBA). So, while only Chris and Sammy will be moving on, both Maddie and alternate, Annelise Jacobson were awesome, too. Maddie spelled words like marsupial, premises, and Machiavellian, and Annelise practiced with the others twice a week at lunch and attended the regional bee as our alternate. Be sure to congratulate these super students who cast such a positive light on Lafayette. 

 

The whole school wishes good luck to Chris and Sammy as they go on to the next round in their quest to reach the national spelling bee!

 

Lafayette spellers rocked their regional bee on Wednesday, February 25. Christopher O'Brien came in second; Sammy Taubman came in third, and Maddie Feldman came in seventh in a field of approximately 40 spellers from schools like Key, Mann, and Oyster.  All Lafayette spellers are fifth graders who were extremely poised and well-prepared. 

From the Math Center

 

This year's Pi Day will be the most epic Pi Day of the century because it is on March 14, 2015 (3/14/15). We will not be in school on that day so we will celebrate Pi Day on Friday, March 13.

 

Every year, we have a contest in which students in grades 1-5 try to recite as many digits of Pi as they can. There is a separate contest for each grade and anyone who enters gets a little prize. Students can pick up a paper with the first several hundred digits of pi from the Math Center. The contest will be at 1pm in the Upper Library.

 

We are offering a special Pi Day opportunity for 3rd-5th graders in Math Club or Math Team. These students can get a limited-edition Pi Day shirt printed by our resident screen printing artist, Mr. Gregal.

 

Students should bring in (not wear!) a light-colored shirt labeled with their first and last names by Tuesday, March 10. We will be accepting shirts in the Math Center starting Monday, March 2.

 

--Edith Stanton, Erin Betz, and David Gregal

From the School Nurse

 

Chris CockrellMarch is National Nutrition Month, and to celebrate, our Lafayette second graders have planned a gastronomic extravaganza of color and taste for us!  We will do a Colors of the Rainbow challenge.

 

First they will learn how to eat all the colors of the rainbow every day (and why), and then they will pass their knowledge on at morning announcements.  Every Friday in March at lunchtime they will treat us to a delicious nutritious surprise! 

 

Mr. King's class kicks off this week with the color GREEN.  How many green fruits and vegetables can you name?  Extra credit assignment: take your children to the grocery store and look at the green produce with them.  Pick something your family has never tried, or try a new recipe.  Get back to Nurse Cockrell with the results!

 

--Christine Cockrell

Peace Class News:  What is an Amygdala Anyway?

 

The students at Lafayette have been spending time in Peace Class learning about their brains. Do you know what your amygdala does? Your hippocampus?
  
If you are like most people you probably don't, but your child does!  Ask your child to tell you about the different parts of your brain.  If your child is in 2nd - 5th grade ask them what it means to "flip your lid".  We've been learning about what happens in our brains when we get angry and how our mindful breathing can help us to regulate those strong feelings.  We even listened to a rap song about it.  Check it out
here.
 
If you'd like to learn more about what happens in Peace Class check out our blog
or contact [email protected].                                        

Battle of Bands and Bidders 

March 28, 7:00 pm

   

 

Auction 2015 is going to be historic.

Make sure you're a part of it.

 

www.lafayettehsa.org/auction-2015� 

 

NEW!           

Stay in sync with the Auction with the School me Lafayette Bulletin!

Watch for the highly-anticipated fourth edition in your e-mail inbox tomorrow night.    

 

 

"Rocks" Steady Party:  Saturday, March 14 at 8:00 pm


Whether you prefer your sauce straight up or on the rocks, just keep it steady at this popular annual after-dinner drinks soiree. This year, our fabulous hosts are Gary and Nadia Gold-Moritz. 

 

We promise a delightful evening of scintillating conversation lubricated by whiskey, wine, and beer (plus non-alcoholic drinks if you must). Don't worry, savory bites and desserts will be provided to help you soak up the alcohol─just don't skip dinner!
 

The price of admission is simple: each couple or individual attendee must bring one bottle of an after-dinner drink of their choice. The goal is to stockpile bourbon, scotch and whiskey for the Auction Lounge.

 

Admission is limited to the first 50 people, and the spots are disappearing fast.


 
 

RSVP today by e-mailing Hope Scheller.

New Sports X-Treme is Here!

 

For Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson and teammates, practices included yoga and mindfulness training.  Read all about it on page 3, along with much, much more!  Click here to read the latest edition, as always, written by Lafayette students. 

Community 
Community Notices

 

Celebrate Spring with the Inaugural Tenley Tiger Run!

Let's get moving together in the spirit of community and good health and in support of Wilson High School's Cross Country and Track & Field Teams! Pick from three distances: 3K, 5K, or fun run!

Date:  Saturday, March 28th

Individual race start times (tentative): 5K and 3K: 9:00 am; Fun Run: 10:00 am

Location:  Woodrow Wilson High School

For more details and to registerhttp://www.tenleytigerrun.com/

 

 

Walking for a Cure
For the sixth year in a row my daughter and I are participating in the Avon 39 Walk to End Breast Cancer here in DC, May 2 & 3.  We will be walking 40 miles over 2 days to help fund breast cancer research and treatment here in the DC area.  In order to walk, I need to raise $1800 and we'd love to raise even more for the cause!  If you would like to donate, you can do so online:
http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/MargaretQuinn 

or by dropping off a check made out to "Avon Walk for Breast Cancer" with Kia Ghamarian in Pre-K.  Thank you to all the parents and teachers who have already donated - the support of the Lafayette community means so much to me.  -- Margaret Quinn

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! 

 

 

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.