Westover Village Civic Association

Thanks to everyone in the community who made the opening day (May 6) of the Westover Farmers Market so successful. The market will again be open for business this Sunday from 8:00am until 12:00pm. Without exception, each of the vendors was extremely impressed with the large number of customers and amount of business conducted on the first day of market operation and promised sufficient fresh and local food to serve those late arrivers this Sunday.

We especially would like to thank those who decided to walk to the market rather than driving. Not only are you reducing the market's carbon footprint, but you are preserving the available parking spots in and around Westover Village for the local merchants.

Lastly, due to health code restrictions in operating an open air market, we are not permitted to have our canine friends visiting the vendors stands. If you choose to bring FIDO down to Westover Village during market operations, please keep them outside the perimeter of the market itself. We would hate to lose our use permit as a result of something that can be easily controlled. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration on this matter.

We hope to see everyone there this Sunday. Please take the time and visit the local merchants at Westover Village as well.

Regards,

Field of Table, Inc. Board of Directors

Annual Westover Village Easter Egg Hunt April 7. more photos

There was an information meeting about the Westover Farmers Market Monday April 9 Westover Library Meeting Room, 8-9pm. The Westover Farmers Market is planning to begin operations on Sunday May 6 9am to 1pm on McKinley Road between the library and post office.

There was a public meeting at Washington-Lee High School at 7-8:30 p.m. on March 28 to discuss school construction plans. Please see the letter from Superintendent Patrick Murphy with more information below.
Dear Arlington Civic Association,

During the past several months, the APS staff has developed a series of options for capacity-generating construction projects at 18 sites throughout the county. At its February work session, the School Board trimmed the list from 60 to 39 options. On March 21, the Board held a work session as the latest step in the capacity planning process. At that session, staff members presented four "option sets" that were developed from the Board's prioritized criteria for creating new seats. All of the sets were developed to create approximately 1,800 or more new elementary school seats over the next five or six years. The four options sets each included between five and eight construction projects at different sites: one option set included only additions to existing school buildings, two sets showed one new school and several additions, and the fourth set showed two new schools and three additions.

Staff presented the four option sets in relation to (1) the number of seats created in each of APS's four geographic quadrants, (2) the cost of each set, and (3) the timing of bringing new seats online. Board members discussed each option and gave staff guidance to continue refining data and to modify Option Set D to create a revised set of options achieving the target of 1,800 added elementary seats. Staff was also asked to develop a projected timeline for the proposed projects.

Option Set D currently shows constructing new elementary schools adjacent to Williamsburg Middle School and on the Carlin Springs Elementary/Kenmore Middle School site, as well as additions to existing buildings at three elementary schools – Arlington Traditional, Ashlawn, and McKinley. The Board asked for further consideration to develop a project at the Madison site as part of a revision of Option Set D. In addition, the Board established $125M as a maximum for the combined projects in the revised Option Set.

As our deliberations continue, the Board has asked staff to reach out to the PTAs and civic associations that would be directly impacted by this set of projects to encourage their engagement in the ongoing process.

A community update will be held in the theater at Washington-Lee High School at 7-8:30 p.m. on March 28. At that session, staff will present a summary of the March 21 work session and will allow time to answer questions from attendees. We strongly urge members of your association to attend this meeting and to engage in the important uprocess of planning for growth in school enrollment throughout Arlington County.

As a reminder: information about and all documents related to the capacity planning process are available on the APS website at www.apsva.us/capacity. If you need to speak to a staff member, please don’t hesitate to contact our Facilities and Operations Department at 703-228-6600 to speak with John Chadwick, our Director of Design and Construction, or Alison Denton, our Facilities Planner and GIS Specialist.

We look forward to your participation as we work towards permanent solutions to provide instructional space to serve Arlington students and families in the future.

Sincerely,

Patrick K. Murphy, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Arlington Public Schools

1426 N. Quincy Street

Arlington, Virginia 22207

Arlington Public Schools is a diverse and inclusive school community, committed to academic excellence and integrity. We provide instruction in a caring, safe and healthy learning environment, responsive to each student, in collaboration with families and the community.

Hello! Levine School of Music welcomes our Westover Village neighbors to the 2011-12 school year, and announces with great enthusiasm that registration is going on NOW for private music lessons and group class instruction. Our talented faculty of 50 teacher-artists hopes to share their love of music with you and your children, whether your passion is piano, guitar, string or brass/wind instrument, or you are someone who loves to sing! We are especially excited by our new Beginning Concert Band for elementary school students, and new class for beginning guitarists; we will also again be offering favorites like Vocal Basics for Young Singers, Group Piano (for First and Second graders), Drums Around the World and a great selection of Early Childhood Music classes for the students aged 6 and under.

We are also hosting several special events this year, starting with a Community Sing Evening, led by Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell, on Wednesday, November 30. Singers of all ages and vocal ability are invited to join this joyful event, in which, within minutes (really!) Dr. Barnwell will have everyone singing 4-part harmonies. In Spring, 2012, we'll have an afternoon Blues Jam for Guitarists, as well as an evening performance featuring soprano Marilyn Moore and pianist Dasha Gabay tracing African American Music from African chant and Spirituals to Art Songs, Opera, and Broadway. Further information about these evenings will follow, so please stay tuned!

More information about what we do is always available at www.levineschool.org, or feel free to drop by the School, located at Westover Baptist Church. We are also happy to answer questions on the phone or in email, so call us at 703-237-5655, or email levinevirginia@levineschool.org.