Weekly Family Email
November 8th, 2019
Week 12
From everyone at PWA: We thank and honor those of you who have served.
We had an exciting week at PWA, with students, parents, teachers, and staff participating in our re-accreditation visit from the Virginia Independent Schools Association. The visit went very well–more details are below. VISA provides accreditation at the state level, and this accreditation is one of the many ways we hold ourselves accountable for maintaining high standards for our school. The visiting team found that we do indeed meet those standards of oversight, and we’re very proud of this accomplishment. We hope you are, too!
Parent/teacher conferences were held this week, and progress reports are now available on Chalkable, and from the office. If you still need your Chalkable login, please email the office and we’ll send it along.
November is a busy month, with picture retakes coming up, fundraisers underway, and our Thanksgiving Luncheon and musical performance on the 21st. More information can be found below.
Monday is Veterans’ Day, and we will be closed for school and childcare as we observe this holiday in honor of all who have served. Thank you, veterans, for your service to our country.
Enjoy the long weekend, PWA families!
Thanks to everyone who came out for our Chuck E. Cheese Fundraiser this evening! We had a great time!
The Virginia Independent Schools Association
This week, PWA went through the rigorous process of re-accreditation from the Virginia Independent Schools Association. A team of educators from VISA-accredited schools visited PWA over three days, and held meetings with the Board, parents, students, and teachers. They also observed all classrooms, from our infant and toddler center through 8th grade.
The team evaluated all aspects of the school–from the physical plant to the curriculum to administration–to determine whether we’ve met VISA standards, as well as the benchmarks we set for ourselves at our first accreditation 5 years ago.
We’re very pleased to report that we met those standards and benchmarks, and received re-accreditation. The visitors had great things to say about the school, and were especially complimentary of our teachers and staff, the individualized attention we provide to each child, and the sense of community among our students.
Thank you, families, for making PWA such a special place. We should all be proud of this accomplishment!
If you haven’t yet, now is a good time to sign up for PWA’s Text Message Alert system. We use this system for important announcements regarding weather or other need-to-know information. It is not used for advertising or promotions.
To opt in, please text PWAED to 33222.
Picture retakes and makeups will be held on Tuesday, November 19th (this is a change from the original date).
Our catalog sales have ended, but the online sale goes on! PWA will receive 40% of the proceeds from your order, so please consider doing some holiday shopping at our online Yankee Candle Store. Just visit https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm and enter our group id number, 999987485. Thank you for your support!
We hope you’ll join us for our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday, November 21st. Tickets are $10.00, and will include a delicious lunch prepared by Chef Veronica, as well as a musical performance by our elementary and middle school students. We’ll have two seatings for Jr K and up; preschool luncheon will be served in classrooms. We hope to see you there!
Pure Beings Corner
by Samar Omeish
Sugar Part 2 – Carbohydrates
Carbs are an essential energy source and vital for good health. Our body converts them into glycogen (sugar) supplying the energy we require for proper body function. When we avoid carb intake, we risk nutrient deficiencies, reduced energy, and impaired exercise performance.
In last week’s Sugar Part 1, we talked about added vs. natural sugars. These can also be considered SIMPLE CARBS, and they are a quick source of energy.
The other kinds of carbs are COMPLEX CARBS and are known to slowly release energy for the body. They are found in foods high in fiber and starch and take longer to digest and are great to have if you want to maintain energy throughout the day. They contain important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Examples include whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes, quinoa, legumes, oats, and brown rice.
By focusing on our child’s carb intake, we can support their nutritional well-being, allowing them to have a greater focus and stamina for their learning as well as physical strength for their daily activities.
Eating an ear of corn from the husk versus corn flakes, a peeled orange over processed juice, a baked potato instead of a bag of chips are great examples of choosing a good carb over a bad carb. Using brown rice over white, whole grain or wheat flour over white is another way to select good carbs.
Those are just simple examples of micro steps that can be taken to support our child’s nutrition along with expanding their taste palette.
Next week we will round out our Sugar conversation with Part 3 – Negative Affects of Sugar
For any questions or comments about Pure Beings posts as well as suggestions on what you would like to hear more about, please feel free to email me at purebeingsllc@gmail.com (mailto:purebeingsllc@gmail.com)
Thank you for taking the time to read.
Sincerely,
Samar Omeish
The November menu is here (https://gallery.mailchimp.com/5cce73ca32dfe2648ffe00182/files/bf5bcb48-490d-4ffb-9a72-fd84c77b82af/Nov._2019_Menu.01.pdf) , and can also be found in the buttons at the end of this email, along with school lunch packet forms.
Parents are encouraged to purchase lunch packets rather than single lunches–the price per lunch drops when you buy more at a time. If you want to purchase daily lunch for your child, the total cost is $80 per month.
Spotted at school this week…
Teamwork, logic, and engineering in the preschool…lovely fall days…computer and science lab time
Below you’ll find a link to the school calendar for the 2019-2020 school year. This calendar is subject to change on occasion as we add dates in for events. So be sure to check it regularly!
2019-2020 School Calendar (https://gallery.mailchimp.com/5cce73ca32dfe2648ffe00182/files/feb22292-f7d4-48c3-b286-98657f57ff73/PWA_2019_2020_School_Calendar.pdf)
Important dates:
Monday, November 11: Veterans’ Day Observed. No School or Childcare.
Tuesday, November 19: Make-up Picture Day
Thursday, November 21: Thanksgiving Luncheon
Wednesday, November 27: Principal’s Scholar Awards, “Citizenship.” 9 am
Thursday Nov. 28 – Friday, Nov.29: Thanksgiving Break. No School or Childcare.
