Welcome back from our long holiday weekend and hope you all enjoyed a festive Passover and Easter. Now that spring has finally sprung we can enjoy the beauty that is Washington. It is exciting to see the changes that are going on all around us. Not only are the cherry blossoms, tulips and daffodils popping out but our children are showing signs of change as well. The pre-kindergarteners don't seem to be as little as they were on their first day of school and the fifth graders are sprouting their confidence as they prepare to graduate from Lafayette. Spring is definitely a dynamic season and the signs are everywhere.

Spring is also the time when the HSA Board needs to elect new members. Almost every position on the Board is open.This is a great opportunity to build relationships with other parents while participating in a meaningful way at the school.

Enrollment packets for school year 2015-2016 have been mailed and our goal is to have 100% enrollment by May 15th. Completed enrollment packets should be returned to the main office, along with residency verification information, by the person who signed the packet. Health forms do not need to be turned in at this time.

Have an amazing week!

Laurie & Hope

See HSA board members

Join the HSA

Lafayette Enrichment (LEP) Update

The Spring Session of LEP will begin the week of April 20, 2015! Registration began yesterday, April 6th. Visit our registration site to enroll.

LEP can be found on the school website in two navigation areas: "student life" and "For Parents." Read about session dates, browse the class brochureclass brochure. Please note that this brochure contains one late entry-Next Gen Minipreneurs! Be sure to check out this amazing new class on the front page of the brochure.

Questions? Email Hope Scheller at [email protected] .

Want to be More Involved?

The Lafayette Home and School Association is looking for candidates for next school year's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of the Lafayette HSA is a group of Lafayette parents, staff and neighbors who help foster a positive and productive experience for Lafayette students, teachers and parents. Serving on the Board is a great way to meet and connect with other parents and contribute to meaningful projects that advance the interests of our school, and therefore, our children. By serving on the Board, you will be able to lend your voice to important discussions that will impact the Lafayette community in the years to come.

HSA Board members commit to attending monthly board meetings, five general meetings over the school year, and advancing the work of the association through specific volunteer activities. Click here for more details on each position.

If you are interested in serving on Lafayette's HSA Board please sign up HERE. If you have questions, please contact any of the Nominating Committee members: Dennis Smyth, Angela Anderson or Nadia Gold-Moritz.

From the Art Room

Congratulations to fifth grader Isabella Radifera who was selected to represent Washington DC in the National Jr. Duck Stamp Contest!!! Lafayette has other runners up as well, but we were given a sneak preview of the regional winner and we are very proud!

In other contest news, The Kennedy Center Arts Around the Center submissions have gone in and we are awaiting their selections! In addition, students in many grades have been working hard on their Images cover designs. Judges will be voting this week!

Speaking of IMAGES, class photos will be taken Wednesday and Thursday of this week-- don't be absent!--- and our 2015 anthology goes to press this Friday! IMAGES will be sold at all 3 Arts Nights: April 30 at the 5th grade Informance, May 7 at the Grades 2-4 Arts Night, and May 21st at the Pre-K-Grade 1 Arts Night!!! Don't miss your chance to purchase the most read book at Lafayette!!!

A huge thank you to some of our Lafayette architects, Lam Vuong and Eleanor Choi, for coming in to talk to our 3rd graders about architecture and the architecture profession! We are now in the thick of our recycled constructions! Art based on our DC architecture photos is up next.

Another HUGE thanks to all of you who contributed to Raise the Paddle for the ARTS at the Lafayette auction this year! What a vote for enriching our curriculum as we continue to explore ways to reach all our students in increasingly meaningful ways... Lafayette students who benefit from teaching through and with the arts are happier, more creative, more successful, more invested, and retain information made more meaningful and memorable through the arts... THANK YOU from all of us!!!

Bridging the Library Gap
books

At Lafayette, our kids are lucky to enjoy a 28,000 book library-41 books per Lafayette student. As described in this Washington Post article, many children in our city aren't nearly as fortunate.

Please help us bridge this gap by contributing to our Building Libraries Book Drive, which will benefit Raymond Education Campus in Petworth, Randle Highlands Elementary School in Southeast, and Barnard Elementary School in Shaw. There are two ways to help:

Bring NEW (or very gently used) HARDBACK children's books to the collection bin in the Great Hall before Spring Break. Or, click here to access Raymond's Amazon wish list. The books you buy will be shipped directly to the school!

If you have other books to donate that don't meet our guidelines, you can drop them in the Great Hall collection box for the Spring Fair Book Sale. (But no textbooks, please.) Thanks in advance for helping to build better libraries across DCPS! Questions? Email Stacy Beck at [email protected].

Community Notices

The Children's Art Studio will hold Spring Break Camp

April 7-10 and April 13 -17. Small class size, thoughtful instruction and inventive use of high quality materials is what it is about.

Camp will take place at Capital Memorial Church on Chesapeake Street. We will meet from 9-2 with breaks in the park for lunch and play. The cost for the April 7-10 week is $260. The cost for the April 13 -17 week is $325. Please email with questions and to enroll: [email protected]

We hope your child will join us!

Potomac Pizza Night Tuesday, April 28th

Chevy Chase Collection Location

Dine in or Carry Out 4pm - 9pm

Mention Lafayette when you go to Potomac Pizza and they will give 10% of the proceeds back to Lafayette. So - pack up the kids, eat dinner out and support Lafayette all in one night! Don't forget - free parking validation for Potomac Pizza!

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.