Hello Friends Families,
Happy Friday!
It’s hard to believe that Boo-fest is upon us. Apologies for our weather switch from Saturday evening to Sunday late afternoon. Looking at the shifting weather, Sunday continues to look perfect while the chances of rain continue to rise for Saturday late evening.
You will see as part of this communication, all your essential Boo-Fest “need-to-knows.” We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the VBFS community and the spirit of fall. REGISTRATION FOR BOO-FEST closes tonight! RSVP & DONATE to Boo-Fest! We are only $4,410 away from reaching our $30,000 fundraising goal! Thank you to everyone who continually supports our efforts to raise money for the Annual Fund!
For many parents, this weekend’s Boo-Fest will be the first time some families will have been on campus in some time. When you arrive and walk down the breezeway, community members will see a Friends School in the midst of dramatic and exciting change.
While the old art building has been gone for some time, the foundation still remains. The school’s contracted demolition company is waiting on backlogged permits to finish the overall project. Regardless of this delay, VBFS continues to march forward to an early spring construction start of our new 18k square foot building project.
Currently, VBFS has applied to the City of Virginia Beach for a modification to its Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The school’s old CUP recognized the property before the sale of the back land. Due to the sale of the land and with our goal of creating a new academic building, the school had to apply for a “modification” to its CUP. This is a lengthy process that has required the school to create conceptual Master Plan documents with WPL Site Design and along with building renderings by HBA Architecture and Interior Design (see attached images).
When Friends families drive on campus, you may notice bright orange signs in strategic locations addressing the school’s CUP application to the City. These are meant to inform the school’s neighbors of our intention to build a new building. The current timeline for the school’s CUP application process sees the school’s application going before the Planning Commission Hearing on November 10. At this meeting, the Planning Commission will vote on the modification to the CUP the school is requesting. This vote is only a recommendation to City Council. Next, the CUP application goes to the City Council for a final decision in mid-December. If all this goes well, the goal is to have a groundbreaking for our new S.B. Ballard constructed building in March.
It is safe to say, the 2021-22 and 22-23 academic years will be the most exciting school years Virginia Beach Friends School will have had in some time. To all our community members, we are thrilled you will be experiencing this exciting journey with us! The school will continue to keep families informed of the building timeline and other important updates as they present themselves. In the meantime, never hesitate to reach out or email if you have any questions.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mike
Head of School
Below are other important Need-to-Knows.
Need-to-Knows
– BOO-FEST: THIS SUNDAY Oct. 17th starting at 4PM. Today is the last day to register! Help us reach our fundraising goal! Shout out to our event sponsors: The Dragas Group, Wave of Life Chiropractic Center, Poole, Brooke & Plumlee, Davey Landscaping, Bay Local, All Coast Appraisal, Cicada House Interiors, a VBFS Family, and HBA Architecture.
– PTO Meeting this Monday, October 18 at 6:00 pm
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/
– No School – Monday, October 25 for a Faculty Professional Development Day
– No School – Monday, November 1 for Parent/Teacher Conferences. All Parent/Teacher Conferences will be 20 minutes each. Classroom teachers will be sending out sign-up links in the coming days.
– Spirit Week will be from Tuesday, October 25 to Friday, October 29
- Tuesday 10/26 – Pajama Day
- Wednesday 10/27 – Pop Culture Day
- Thursday 10/28 – Decades Day
- Friday 10/29 – Halloween Dress-up!
– New Hire – The school welcomes Christian Miller to our staff. Christian is the school’s new Early Childhood and Elementary Floater Assistant. Christian comes to Friends School from the Williams School where she has been a long-time substitute and fixture in the Williams School’s After-Care program. Along with Christian’s Floater Assistant duties, she will also be working in the VBFS After School Program. Christian comes to VBFS with a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree in Child Development and Social Interactions from Mary Washington College, and a Master of Education in Special Education for K-12 from Mary Washington as well. The school is thrilled to welcome Christian!
