Weekly Blog 10/29

Dear Wines Families,

There is lots of important information in today’s email, so please take a few moments to read through it.

Halloween

One final reminder that we will be celebrating Halloween Friday afternoon. Our parade through the neighborhood will take place at 2:00 and most classroom activities begin after the parade. We will parade unless it is raining too hard—the cold weather won’t stop us! All costumes must be friendly—no fake blood or weapons. As always, if you have any questions about the appropriateness of a costume or prop, then it probably isn’t appropriate.

No School next Tuesday

There is no school next Tuesday, November 4^th.

Science and Builders Fair

Our Science and Builders Fair is next Thursday evening. We are still looking for more submissions. Attached to today's email is the registration form as well as a document with some great ideas for projects. You can also find these forms on our PTO website www.winespto.org.

Wines Spirit Wear!

Spirit Wear is here!  We are trying a new online ordering system this year and believe it is going to work out better than ever.  Follow the link below to order t-shirts, sweatshirts and caps all with our Wines Elementary school logos.  This year, for the first time, we are offering ladies cut t-shirts as well as dry wick "performance" t-shirts for kids and adults!  Look through the cart at the link below and place your order directly online.  If you prefer to pay by check, print out your cart with your choices and bring it in to the office with a check for the amount due.  Orders are due by the end of the day, Friday, November 7, and will be delivered to students' classrooms the week of Thanksgiving.  Any questions please contact Cindy Warren (cindywarren8@yahoo.com) or Gail Epstein (epsteing@comcast.net).

https://ugpogo.undergroundshirts.com/groupIndex.php?cart_id=3972

Great Ideas Grant Submission Deadline Nov. 1 (that’s Saturday!)

Our PTO loves to say “yes” to Great Ideas. If you or your child has a Great Ideas grant idea, please fill out the very quick online submission. The link for adult form can be found at https://docs.google.com/a/aaps.k12.mi.us/forms/d/1vjBwmeRb307zzSeDnjUD_tZhC3whtzl1dc6hLAxEQhI/viewform

The student grant form can be found at https://docs.google.com/a/aaps.k12.mi.us/forms/d/1WYks_hRdIlj4lw980LFlB1wfW4jveq1f9p_z7th0uZw/viewform.

Walk to School Friday

 Our final Walk to School opportunity will be this Friday. It has again been a great October tradition. I hope some folks have gotten into a new walking habit and we have more walkers on a daily basis! Big thanks to Anita Fontana for organizing our Walktober celebration.

That’s all for this week!

David

Weekly Blog 10/22

Dear Wines Families,

Well it certainly seems as if the cooler fall weather has arrived a bit early this year. Let’s just hope this doesn’t mean we have another “polar vortex” heading our way this winter! I have a number of important announcements this week.

Run-a-Thon Pledges: Two Days Left!

Our Run-a-Thon pledges have been coming in daily and I want to thank everyone who has helped your child participate. We are very close to meeting our school-wide goal and nearly every class has met their own goal. But we aren’t there yet! We will collect pledges through Friday. Remember, you can make a pledge online at https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto. If you need a new pledge form or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Science and Builders Fair

Last week I sent out the first set of information regarding our annual Science and Builders Fair. With all of the many things going on at Wines right now, I fear that some of us missed the message. We certainly want to continue to have a successful event! The Fair is Thursday, Nov. 6^th and registrations are due on Nov. 3^rd. Attached to today’s email you'll find a registration form and Fair information. Please consider signing up!

Halloween Reminders

We will celebrate Halloween next Friday afternoon. We will parade through our neighborhood beginning at 2:00 and classrooms will have activities during the afternoon as well. Please refer to your child’s teacher’s communication regarding the classroom plans. Students may bring their costumes to school and change into them during the afternoon at the time designated by the teacher. Please remember that costumes must be “friendly.” No fake blood or weapons. A good rule of thumb is that if you have a question about the appropriateness of a costume or prop, then it probably is not appropriate. We understand that not every family chooses to participate in Halloween activities. If you do not want your child to participate, please let me know and we will have an alternative activity planned.

“Mix it Up at Lunch”

I’m pleased to announce that next Wednesday, October 29^th, Wines will be participating in “Mix it Up at Lunch.” Mix it Up at Lunch is a national campaign launched by Teaching Tolerance over a decade ago. Mix It Up at Lunch encourages students to identify, question and cross social boundaries. In our surveys, students have identified the cafeteria as the place where divisions are most clearly drawn. So on one day—October 29 this school year—we ask students to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch. It’s a simple act with profound implications. Studies have shown that interactions across group lines can help reduce prejudice. When students interact with those who are different from them, biases and misperceptions can fall away.

Our students will be assigned to different tables next Wednesday where they will eat lunch and engage in some facilitated conversations. We have a number of teachers who are going to help with the tables, but we could use parent help as well. If you have about an hour to give next week at lunch (lunch runs from 11:45-12:30), please consider signing up to help. We will provide you with everything you need. Here is a link to the volunteer sign up document. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054aadaa2aaa8-parent/. If you want any more information on this event, please visit http://www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up/what-is-mix.

Wines “Dining Out” Event.

On Wednesday, November 12^th, local restaurant Lena is sponsoring a Wines “Dining Out” event. During this evening, 15% of your bill at the restaurant will go directly to Wines. It would be great to fill the restaurant with Wines families! So start calling those babysitters now (although kids are certainly welcome) and join us for this great way to spend an evening and support our school. An informational flyer was attached to today’s email.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Our teachers have been busy in the evenings over the past couple of weeks meeting with parents for conferences. If you were not able to attend your conference, please contact your child’s teacher to reschedule. As always, we want to make sure we meet with every parent.

Walk to School this Friday

Don’t forget, we’ll be walking to school again this Friday!

That’s all for this week!

David

Weekly Blog 10/15

Dear Wines Families,

I have a few important announcements today.

Run-a-Thon Pledges

As of today, we are approximately half way to our pledge goal. Thank you everyone who has helped your child collect and turn in pledges. Being half way there is great news! Of course, it also means we are only half way there!! If your pledge envelope is still on the kitchen counter, please send it in with your child. Just a reminder, pledges can be made online at https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto. 5th grade parents, 100% of 5^th grade pledges go to help pay for Camp Tanuga. All other pledge money will go to upgrading our playground, supporting technology at Wines, financing field trips, and other PTO supported opportunities. In other words, everything we raise will go directly back to our students.

Science and Builders Fair Nov. 6^th

Our Science and Builders Fair takes place during the evening of Nov. 6^th. This annual event is open to all students at Wines. The Science and Builders Fair is a non-competitive/non-judged opportunity for students to share science inquiry, collections, demonstrations, and building creations. Attached to today's email was a registration packet and FAQ’s. This is a wonderful all school event and I hope you and your child consider entering and/or attending.

Halloween

I’ve had a few parents inquire about our plans for Halloween. We do celebrate Halloween here at Wines. Students may not come to school in costume. Instead, they may bring their costumes in a bag and change in the afternoon at a time designated by his or her teacher. We will have our annual Halloween parade beginning at 2:00. We are planning to re-start an old Wines tradition and have our parade go through the neighborhood behind the school (we attempted to do this last year but the rain kept our parade indoors). I will send a map of our route as we get closer to the day. Classrooms will have different activities that afternoon so please look for information from teachers about plans and times.

A couple of Halloween reminders:

• Again, no costumes can be worn to school in the morning

• Costumes must be “friendly”—no weapons, no fake blood. A good rule of thumb is that if you are not sure if the costume/prop is appropriate, then it isn’t.

• If your family does not wish to have your child participate in Halloween activities, we will have an alternate activity at school. Please let me know and I will make arrangements.

Fairy Garden Work Day: Thursday Oct. 16 (that’s tomorrow!!!)

Fluttering fairy wings, busy bees, whistling dwarves ... Thursday, 16 October, 3:45-5:00 pm. Please join our next effort to move Mount Mulch. No experience with fairies or mulch necessary! It would be useful to have a shovel, metal rake, wheelbarrow, gardening gloves, and drinking water.

For more information, please contact Jill Anthony Stephenson, Patricia Ferrer Beals, or Janice Hendrick.

That’s all for this week.

David

Weekly Blog 10/8

Dear Wines Families,

We are having an exciting Spirit Week at Wines this week as we prepare for the Run-a-Thon on Friday morning. While the Run-a-Thon isn’t the only thing happening at Wines this week, it certainly is a focal point and I want to make sure everyone has all the information you need.

Pledges

On Monday your child came home with a Run-a-Thon informational packet and pledge form along with an envelope. Students can collect pledges now and we will collect envelopes starting Monday for two weeks until Oct. 24. We hope that every Wines student can collect something and any amount will help our school! We have school and classroom goals that equate to an average of $50 raised per child. Again, any amount will help. Pledges can be made by check made out to Wines PTO or online. Online pledges can be made at https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto. Please indicate your child’s name in the Comments section of the online purchase. Also, even if pledges are made online, please have your child turn in a pledge form indicating that pledges have been made (even if you don’t know the amount that was pledged online).

Volunteers

There is still room for volunteers to help out Friday morning. If you can volunteer, please go to http://vols.pt/U9JLLU.

Day of the Event Information

If you pre-registered as an adult participant, a parent volunteer will be stationed outside Friday morning with your t-shirt. If you did not pre-register, you can still run with your child! Unfortunately, we will not have extra t-shirts. If you want to join the fun but not run, please join us to cheer the runners on!  Below is a schedule of when each grade level is running to help you plan your day.

Grade	Warm-up & Picture	Run
Kindergarten	9:15	9:30-9:40
1st Grade	9:35	9:50-10:00
2nd Grade	9:55	10:10-10:20
3rd Grade	10:15	10:30-10:45
4th Grade	10:35	10:50-11:05
5th Grade	10:55	11:10-11:25

In Other Wines News

Today was a great morning as we celebrated International Walk to School Day. The weather was much better than last Friday and we had lots of walkers. Big thanks to Anita Fontana for organizing Walktober. We will be walking again this Friday morning and each Friday morning for the rest of the month.

Fairy Garden is Taking Shape!

You may have noticed that our Fairy Garden committee has been hard at work preparing our Fairy Garden. The garden will be located near the Kindergarten entrance behind the Butterfly Garden. This is a very exciting project that ultimately will not only be fun, but will have broad cross-curricular connections for all grades. I want thank Jill Anthony, Patricia Beals, and of course, Janice Hendrick for all their work on this project. I also know that many more parents have participated and will continue to participate to complete this wonderful project. I also want to thank Downtown Home and Garden who donated 100 Daffodils to the project!

That’s all for this week. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

David