Lafayette Elementary School
Tuesday Bulletin
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March 22, 2016   Sophie Hanrahan, Editor
Mark Your Calendar

March 22
HSA Board Meeting

March 23 & 24
Kindergarten Living Museums

March 28-April 1
Spring Break

April 7
HSA General Meeting

April 8  Early Dismissal - 12:15

April 13
Potomac Pizza Night

April 14
4th Grade 
Battle of the Books

April 15
Emancipation Day
No School

May 2-6
Staff Appreciation Week

May 6
No School for Students - 
PD Day for Staff

May 7
Spring Fair
 

From the HSA
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Happy Spring Lafayette Families!

As the 2016 Auction season comes to a close, we wanted to share final dollars raised from all of your generous donations, bidding and contributions. On Sunday evening, our gross number is just shy of $110,000! The money raised is significant and we cannot thank all of you enough for the support. The HSA will help to continue to fund programs, sports, academics, technology and the Lafayette teachers and staff. Thank you again.

If you were unable to donate at the Auction, you still have a chance for Raise the Paddle. This year Raise the Paddle donations will support a Library Loft/Reading Nook in our brand new school library. The Auction site is still live where you can donate any amount from $25.00 and higher. Raise the Paddle will close Friday, March 25th at 5:00pm. Our goal is $20,000 and to date we have raised $11,500. Let's keep it going!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Spring Break. Be safe if you are traveling. Remember Spring at Lafayette will be in FULL SWING when we return in April - Spring Fair, Yard Sale, Book Sale, Teacher Appreciation Week and Field Day. Here is your chance to complete your Volunteer for 3 Campaign that we launched at the beginning of school. Remember events need parent volunteers to be successfully and we need you!

Happy Spring Break,
Shannon and Janine
S-p-l-e-n-d-i-d S-p-e-l-l-e-rs 
Can you spell braggadocio, zeitgeber, glockenspiel, or tokamak? How about mukhtar, hemerocallis or bhalu? If not, you probably wouldn't have fared well at the 34th city-wide spelling bee that was taped at NBC-4 on Saturday, March 19.

Lafayette's first place winner, fifth grader
Claire Thorn, represented us well. Claire spelled h-u-n-d-r-e-d-t-h correctly but missed on her next word n-e-c-e-s-s-a-r-y. 
Clare Thorn
Two former Lafayette students were also in the city-wide bee:
Sammy Taubman, now a Deal sixth grader, and
Margaret Hankins, now a 7th grader at Basis charter school. Both middle schoolers went out in the fourth round. Sammy's miss was p-o-g-r-o-m and Margaret's was a-d-a-g-i-o.

Sammy Taubman
It took 26 rounds before William Cho, a St. Alban's eighth grader was declared the winner. After spelling f-e-l-o-n-i-o-u-s-l-y correctly in the 25th round, his win-clenching word was r-e-v-e-n-d-i-c-a-t-e . William will go on to represent Washington, DC in the National Spelling Bee this May 25 and 26, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

In all, 35 public, charter an private school students in grades 3-8 made it to the city-wide finals, a big accomplishment for all! You can watch the
City-wide bee on Sunday, April 17 on NBC-4.
Lafayette Scrabble Results 
On Saturday, March  12th, Lafayette crushed it at the Deal Scrabble Tournament.

Fourth Graders Jack Pagano & Eddy Hoover came in 1st Place in their division. 5th Grader Quentin Folds and 4th Grader Will Haray came in 3rd place in their division, and fourth graders Arthur Duval and Gavin Kennelly also placed third in their division. All six Lafayette boys were amazing in their first tournament!

noteBusters starts this Thursday!
This session noteBusters will feature the music of ABBA and Mamma Mia. Classes begin this Thursday, March 24, at 3:15 PM. Students participating in noteBusters should report directly to the music room (D100) at 3:15 PM. 

Haven't had a chance to register? Go here to register today (open to grades 1-5). The Spring Session of LEP begins next week on April 11th! Class openings are still available in Scrabble Club, Next Generation Minipreneurs, Minecraft Programming, Audubon Nature Club, and others. Visit our registration site to enroll. LEP information can be found on the school website in two navigation areas: "For Parents" and Questions? Email Hope Scheller at [email protected].

From the Math Center

On Monday, March 16th, we celebrated Pi Day with our annual recitation contest. Students in grades 1-5 worked hard to memorize Pi digits over the last few weeks and the results were impressive. The following students won the contest in each grade:
1st: Will Hewitt (39 digits)
2nd: Lucia Ridgway (50 digits)
3rd: Jaya Thacker (60 digits)
4th: Eddy Hoover - Overall Winner (530 digits)
5th: Aaron Gorman (61 digits)

We weren't sure if Eddy beat the standing Lafayette Pi recitation record so we contacted Mr. Thurston (long-time math specialist) for more information. 

It turns out the previous record was around 260 digits, so not only is Eddy the new record-holder, he more than doubled the previous record! Congratulations to Eddy and all of our other mathmagicians!

-Erin Duchinsky and Edie Stanton
March Madness Hits Lafayette
basketball

Lafayette Boys in Finals of Annual Hoops Tournament on Tuesday, March 22 at 5PM at Deal

Lafayette Parent versus Staff Game on Thursday, March 24 at 5 PM at Deal

It's March Madness season at Lafayette and the Basketball Coaches, Coach Hover and Coach Johnson are once again hosting the Annual Lafayette March Madness Tournament thanks to our friends at Deal Middle School who graciously have allowed us to use to their gym. For the past week girls and boys DCPS Elementary School Basketball teams from across DC have been battling it out in the Lafayette tournament and we are proud to announce that the Lafayette Boys Team will be playing in the Finals this Tuesday, March 24 in Deal's gym from 5:00 to 6:00 PM against Hyde-Addison Elementary School. Come on out and cheer on the team!

As part of the March Madness, the annual Lafayette Parents versus Staff Game will happen on Thursday March 24 at 5:00 PM. Parents Team Manager Jonathan Chait has recruited the big man Ed Pagano to coach this year as he recovers from an injury earlier this year. The parents are playing to win and regain their title after a heartbreaking loss last year to the staff. Please contact Jon at [email protected] or Ed at [email protected] at if you are interested in playing or just come out on Thursday night. Parents wanting to play should wear WHITE shirts. We would love to see lots of Lafayette students there to watch the show.

Last but not least, if you really love basketball, stay tuned for more details this spring when the 4th Grade Lafayette Boys Basketball team members take on Coach Hover and 4 of his friends as part of Coach Hover's Teacher Treat for the 2016 Auction. You won't want to miss this epic battle.

News from the Greening and Wellness Committee 
 
Save the date! Lafayette's Greening and Wellness Committee (GWC) is planning a
Family Earth Day Event from 5:00-7:30 p.m. on Thursday 4/21/16. There will be a park clean-up as well as activities and demonstrations focused on environmental stewardship, as well as food and music! More details to follow in coming weeks.

Lafayette has recently been awarded a School Garden Grant from DC's Office of the State Superintendent to support programming for the new garden next year! The grant will fund a School Garden Coordinator and materials for the garden to help implement FoodPrints curriculum and other garden-based activities with selected grades. It was a competitive process and big thanks go out to HSA for their support and to Laura Nelms (who will serve at the Coordinator), and other GWC members, for all their work on the grant. If you've got questions about the garden or grant, please contact Laura at [email protected]. You can learn more about FoodPrints here: FoodPrints

Spring Track Meeting  
cartoon-sneakers.jpg
There will be a brief meeting for Spring Track this
Thursday, March 24th after school from 3:15-3:30 in Ms. DeMaria's room H100. Student who have not handed in their forms yet may do so at this meeting. Also, students will be given an Information Sheet to bring with them on the first day of practice which will be on Tuesday, April 5th from 3:30-4:30.
Save The Date (And Your Stuff!) -- Lafayette Family Yard Sale to benefit the HSA!

Please save Saturday, May 7th, for the annual Lafayette Community yard sale! This date should already be saved on your calendars for the Spring Fair -- the yard sale happens the same morning. Like the Spring Fair, it will be held on the grounds of the Episcopal School at the corner of Nebraska and Utah. There are three ways to support the Lafayette HSA through the yard sale:

1. Buy a table. Funds raised through the sale of tables go to the HSA, while you keep all the money you make selling your stuff. A full table costs $30, $15 for a half and $10 for a kid's table. Purchase your table here.

2. Donate your things to the HSA table. All proceeds for things sold at the HSA table to directly to the HSA. For those of you with spring cleaning fever, start stockpiling your stuff now!

3. Come and shop May 7th!

More to come but if you have any questions, please contact Lydia Weiss.
 
Community
Fight the "Boring" Break Blues...
Start Planning An Exciting Spring Break with HoopEd!
HoopEd Presents Spring Break All Sports & Games Camp
@Lafayette ES

We've got something for every camper! Keep the Kids Moving This Spring Break! Space is VERY Limited
March 28 - April 1, 2016
Full and partial week registrations are available,
Camp runs from 9-3 w/AfterCare available until 5:30pm
Campers Ages 5 to 13 years old are Welcome!

Visit www.hoopeducation.com to Register Today
For more information, see this flyer.


Lafayette Afterschool Tennis Starts April 4th!
Spring tennis will be starting right after the break. The 3:30, 4:30 and 5:30 classes are filling up but there are still lots of spots open for PreK through 5th grade tennis players. Check LafayetteTennis.org for availability. Or you can call Coach Paul at 202 441-0925 or send him an email at [email protected].

Adult Tennis - clinics in the mornings start as well. Moms and Dads should check the website for a session at 9:15 or 10:30 during the week. You can also play at 6:30 in the evening.

Lafayette Tennis Summer Camp - starts right after school ends and goes through the summer. Send your 5-14 year old tennis player up to the Lafayette tennis courts for a fun time learning a sport they can play for a lifetime with you and their friends. This is an electronics-free camp. We have fun hitting tennis balls, socializing and getting wet. Check www.LafayetteTennis.org for space availability.


Come Join the 2016 Tenley Tiger Run, Saturday, April 9th
It's the 2nd Annual Tenley Tiger Run - it was such fun the first time - come participate again on Saturday April 9th! Bring your family - bring your friends - and join your community for a 2nd time moving together into spring. 
5K, 2.5K and a Fun Run for the Kids! 

Click here for more info and to register. Pre-registered runners are guaranteed a T-shirt and race packet.


GIRLSUP
GirlsUP offers extraordinary summer programs for girls age 10-13 years focused on developing character, confidence and critical thinking through an innovative journey toward self-discovery. GirlsUP is a proud partner of the United Nations Foundation Campaign for Girls. For more details, click here.

SUMMER 2016 SESSION DETAILS 
Session 1: June 27-July 1 9am-1pm Georgetown Visitation School 
Session 2: July 11-15 9am-1pm Stone Ridge School 
Session 3: July 18-22 9am-1pm Chevy Chase Elementary School


Babysitter available August 8-12 and August 22-26
Parents, here is a solution to those gap weeks in August when there are fewer camps!
Claire Parker, Lafayette, Deal and Wilson graduate now a freshman at Harvard, is available to babysit full-time for the weeks of August 8-12 and 22-26.   Lots of experience, great with kids of all ages, excellent driving record, is happy to take the kids to the pool, etc.   Please contact Claire at [email protected]; or text 202-680-0366.

Thank You Lafayette Sponsors!
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our very generous Annual Sponsors for 2015-2016, your continued support is amazing!  
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.