Weekly Blog 12/5

Dear Wines Families.

I have a number of important announcements this week.

Giving Season
Wines is currently participating in four different giving opportunities.

Preschool Family Center Giving Tree. Every December the Wines community looks for ways to support those in Ann Arbor who may need a little something extra during the holiday season. This year we have partnered with the Ann Arbor Preschool and Family Center who have many basic classroom needs. We now have a Giving Tree outside of the office filled with mittens labeled with items to donate. If you would like to help the Preschool, please take a mitten and return the purchased gift to the office before December 21st. This is a wonderful project to involve your child in! For more info, check out:  http://www.a2schools.org/preschool.home/about_our_program.

Winter Coat Drive. The Reinhart Company is currently collecting winter coats for those in need. A box is set up in our lobby near the display case. We welcome all coats in good condition. We have dry cleaners donating their services for wool coats that need to be cleaned. If the coat is washable, it would be great to have them washed before they are dropped off. However, we will clean them if that is not possible. Children’s coats are always in high demand!  Please go through your closets and see if anyone has an extra coat to donate to those less fortunate!

Student Council/Food Gatherers Canned Food Drive. Our Canned Food Drive continues until Dec. 19th. Bins are situated around the building.

Peer to Peer Puzzle Donations. Cleaning out old toys to make way for new? Do you have puzzles your children no longer enjoy? Do you have puzzles with missing pieces? Don't throw them out! Donate them to Wines Peer to Peer program. We will be making projects that use puzzle pieces and would love to put them to good use! Donations will be accepted until Dec. 21. A box will be placed right next to the coat drive box in the lobby.

ThinkStretch Winter Learning
We have again teamed up with ThinkStretch to offer learning opportunities when school is not in session during Winter Break. A downloadable packet is available to every Wines student. Each packet contains:
·       A BrainFreez! reading log
·       Math facts quick review
·       Winter writing activity
·       Winter science and art fun

Here's the link: http://www.thinkstretch.com/brainfreeze/
Enter promo code: Winter12

Extra Specials
A reminder that Lunchtime “Extra Specials” begin in January for grades 1-5. We are still in need of volunteers. Attached to today's email was an informational flyer.

Extra Kids Magazines?
If you have any extra kids magazines (Ranger Rick, etc.) lying around, we have a couple of classroom projects that could use them. You can drop them off in the office or directly to Kathy Perry or Janeen Eckel.

Thanks!

David