Meriwether Lewis - National Blue Ribbon School

Congratulations to our school for being awarded a 2013 National Blue Ribbon School.  This is an extreme honor for Meriwether Lewis.  We are very proud of our teachers, staff, students, parents, and school community for achieving this recognition.  We are one of 236 schools in the United States to be awarded.  On Tuesday, September 24th the announcement was made to our students during an assembly and they were so excited to be a part of everything.  

Below you can find out more information about our award.

Blue Ribbon Schools Program

We were even honored on the news.  Click link below to watch the news clip from Channel 29.

Channel 29 Newscast featuring MLS

School Assembly to announce the award

Congratulations to everyone!  What an accomplishment!!  

Don't forget that Monday is a professional development day for teachers so there is no school for students!  

Warmest regards,

Mrs. Robertson

Week of September 16th

What a great week here at MLS! This week, the United Way Day of Caring occurred and we had volunteers on Wednesday and Friday completing 2 projects for us.  You will notice some newly designed poles in our front entrance way outside of the building.  They are lovely and we would like to thank the UVA School of Architecture for working on those and also Mr. Sherogan for coming up with the design.  On our back bus lot, the UVA MICU volunteers, with help from MLS parents Kristina Parker, James Younger, and Laura Steenburg, painted a human sundial on the blacktop for the students to use.  It is very cool!  Thanks again to those volunteers (see pics below.)

So as we end another week, please reflect with your children on the many things they are doing and learning in school.  You will be amazed how much goes on during just one day at MLS.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Warmest regards,
Mrs. Robertson

Great week at MLS!

It has been a great week here at Meriwether Lewis!  Back to School night went off without a hitch.  It was so great to see all of the parents and for them to be able to hear about the great things that go on in their child's life each day.

The weather is starting to cool down a little which definitely makes it more bearable for recess time.  I know that the students really enjoy that part of the day.  A third grade class this week skyped with Travis Koshko, our local weatherman, and they were able to ask him a variety of questions about his job.  It was very interesting and the students really enjoyed the experience (see below.)

It is important to try to ask your child each night what their best part of the day was and open up these daily conversations with them.

We hope that you and your child (ren) are enjoying the school year.  Hard to believe September is half way over.  Before you know it we will be on fall break and then winter break.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead of us, get out there and have some fun!!!

Mrs. Robertson

September already!

The passion that students show during the school day is amazing.  Today was my birthday and the love that I got from the students definitely kept a huge smile on my face all day.  The children were so excited to extend birthday wishes.  Makes me love being a part of this school community.  

We are now getting ready to complete 2 and 1/2 weeks of school and I can't believe it is already September.  The children are starting to get used to the school routines and the teachers are definitely teaching and learning with the children.  

So many new things going on in the classrooms, but most of all watching students engaged in their learning is amazing.  

Don't forget that Tuesday is Back to School Night at Meriwether.  The is an adult only event and we look forward to seeing you there.  Your child's teacher will present valuable information to you about the school day and year.  

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  

Warmest regards, 

Mrs. Robertson

First Week of School 13-14

This week has been very exciting.  The students came back to school on Wednesday.  It was great to see their smiling faces, old and new.  Things have gone very smoothly this week.  One of the many highlights has been the new cafeteria set up.  The students love the round tables with chairs (see picture below.)  Teachers have been getting to know their students and the students are starting to learn the routines of their class.  New friends are being met and old have been reacquainted.  I know that there will be tired little ones this weekend.  Oh yeah, there will be tired adults, too!!  New parents if I haven't had a chance to meet you yet, please stop by and introduce yourself next time you are at the school.  Enjoy the weekend and Happy School Year 2013-14!

Warmest Regards,
Mrs. Robertson

Our New MLES Cafe Set-Up

Welcome Back!!

Welcome to the 2013-14 school year.  We are excited to have all of our students returning, new as well as old.  The teachers are in the midst of preparing their classrooms and lessons to be ready to go.  There are so many great ideas flowing and the energy is exciting.
We welcome the following new staff members to our school:
Kim Nash - new Office Associate
Andrea Atkinson - Library/Media Specialist
Lindsay Ford - 1st grade teacher
It is so exciting to bring on new folks.

Few Reminders:
Open House is on Monday, August 19 from 3:30-5:00.
Students' first day is Wednesday, August 21. We can't wait to see all the smiling faces and get our year started off right.

Supply lists can be found on the front page of the Meriwether Lewis webpage.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you and we are looking forward to a spectacular school year!

Warmest regards,
Brandi Piccirilli Robertson

Summer Happenings

Wow, where is the summer going?  Summer school ended 2 weeks ago and the Meriwether and Murray students put on a wonderful performance of "101 Dalmatians."  It was awesome.  There are definitely some future drama stars out there. 

I just got an email today about the fact that there are only 32 days until... UVA football!!   Then I realized that there are less days than that until students return for the 2013-14 school year.  This is the time of year that I start to get really excited for the new year.  I am refreshed and have also spent some time delving into more educational professional reading that I may have not have time for during the school year.  I can't wait to share some of my new knowledge with my staff when they return.  

I can't tell you how many times people have asked me this summer, "What do you do during the summer when students and staff are off?"  They immediately assume administrators do absolutely nothing and have the entire summer to relax.  Well unfortunately that is not the case.  This week alone I will have attended 2 and 1/2 days of leadership meetings, as well as try to manage to find time to work on (and hopefully finalize) the schedule, student handbook, and teacher handbook.  After my 1 week off last week (yes, only one week off, what was I thinking), I am also trying to catch up on emails, phone calls, and the many other items that need to be checked off the list.  Most of this needs to be complete before we meet with our team leaders in a week and definitely before August 12th when the teachers return.   So the answer to the unending question is, I spend a lot of time wrapping up things to do from last school year and preparing all that is needed to be ready to serve all of our students come August 21st.

I hope that everyone is having a nice summer and I look forward to the return of the staff in 2 weeks and then the children in mid-August.

Warmest regards,
Mrs. Robertson

"101 Dalmatians" performed by MLS and Murray Summer Enrichment Students