Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Weekly Blog 10/28

Dear Wines Families,

I hope this message finds you well on this rainy day. Interestingly, today was our first indoor lunch recess of the year. That speaks to the wonderful weather we’ve had this fall. I have just a few announcements today:

Halloween
Our Halloween parade will begin at 2:30 on Friday. We will exit the building and head out Cooley. We will go left on Saunders Crescent and then left on Hillridge. We will then enter the Forsythe property near their soccer fields from the entranc on Hillridge. Parents, you are more than welcome to walk with us! You can also station yourself along the sidewalk from Forsythe to see the entire parade.

Classrooms will be celebrating either before or immediately after the parade. Please refer to communications from your child’s teacher regarding celebration plans. Please keep costumes fun and positive. Absolutely no fake weapons or fake blood will be allowed. Students should bring their costumes in a bag, as they will not change until the afternoon. If you would prefer not to have your child participate in Halloween activities, please let me know and we will have an alternative activity available.

Science and Builders Fair
 All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the “Science and Builders Fair” on November 5th from 7pm to 8 pm.  Registration only requires Name, Grade and a commitment to Science or Builders Fair- you do not have to have your idea finalized!  Registration closes on November 3rd- but it's certainly not too late to come up with an idea and make it happen! Remember, students have no school on Monday and Tuesday of next week providing the perfect opportunity to start and finish projects! There are lots of resources on the website to help inspire!  We are looking for more adults to help! If you have a love for Science or Building please sign up on the volunteer page to be an evaluator. (As a friendly reminder, it works from most mobile phones but access is blocked at any umich computer.) 

Do You Have Old Wines T-Shirts?
We are working on a project for our Blue Ribbon Ceremony and we are looking for old Wines T-shirts or sweatshirts. If you have older children who have come through Wines or perhaps if you are a former Wines student with “classic” shirts sitting around, we can use them! Please note that if you donate your shirt, you will not get it back. However, it will become part of something very special!

Walk to School
Friday is our final Walk to School Day as Walktober comes to a close. Big thanks to Anita Fontana and our PTO for another fantastic month!

No School Next Monday and Tuesday
There is no school Monday, Nov. 2 and Tuesday, Nov. 3. Teachers will be working on report cards on Monday and engaged in professional development on Tuesday.

That’s all for this week!


David

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Weekly Blog 10/21

Dear Wines Families,

I begin this week’s message with some sad news. On Monday evening, Susan Seely’s father, John Joseph Vandenberg, passed away after a brief illness. Please join our staff in sending your thoughts and prayers to Susan and her family at this time. Funeral services will be at Wasik Funeral Home in Shelby Township on Friday at 10:00 AM.

Below are the rest of the messages for the week:

Run-a-Thon Pledges
Pledges have been coming in daily after our fantastic Run-a-Thon last Friday. Our goal is for every student to participate in some way. Our school wide pledge goal equals an average of $50 raised per student—but any amount helps! 100% of 5th grade pledges go to Camp Tanuga and the other pledges will support our PTO who will in turn use the money to support our students and our school. We are collecting pledges through Friday. A great way to have friends and family make a pledge is via the Wines PTO website (www.winespto.org). There is a link right on the main page. Click on your child’s teacher and in the notes section, please type your child’s name (this helps with our record keeping). We are asking that students turn in a pledge form even if all donations are online. Just indicate on the form that there are online donations—you do not need to know the amount.

Halloween
We will hold our annual Halloween parade next Friday, October 30th beginning at 2:30. We will again parade out the Cooley entrance to Saunders Crescent. We will go left on Hillridge and then enter through the Forsythe path off of Hillridge. Parents are welcome to join us for the parade or to watch us as we walk by. A great place to watch is along the path near the Forsythe soccer/baseball fields as we head back into the building. Each classroom will celebrate the day in their own way, so please refer to communication coming from your child’s teacher regarding plans.

Students may bring costumes to school in a bag. Costumes are not to be put on until the afternoon. We ask that costumes be friendly. No fake blood or fake weapons of any kind.  If you would prefer that your child not participate in Halloween activities, please contact me. We will have an alternative activity.

Science and Builders Fair
All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the “Science and Builders Fair” on November 5th from 7pm to 8 pm.  Registration on the website only requires Name, Grade and a commitment to Science or Builders Fair. No project title or idea is required in advance of the fair. Need some inspiration? Use the navigation menu to browse the site for project ideas and other fun stuff. We are also seeking more adult volunteers to provide feedback to participants at the fair. If you have a love for Science or Building please sign up to be an "Evaluator" on the volunteer page. (As a friendly reminder, it works from most mobile phones but access is blocked at any umich computer.) 

Great Ideas Grants
Do you have a great idea? The Great ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program to benefit the Wines community!  The deadline is November 1st. The links for the Adult and Child applications can be found on the Wines PTO website: www.winespto.org. Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now! Submit several! Contact: Sarah Ball - sjcball@yahoo.com

Attention Parents of First Grade Boys:
Cub Scout Pack 78 is kicking off a new year with a new Tiger Den for first grade boys. There will be a fun, informational hot dog roast/outdoor gathering this Saturday 4-6pm at 4826 Hidden Brook Lane for interested boys and their families. Come and check out what Cub Scouts has to offer for you and your son. For details email the Tiger Den Leader, Seth Guikema, at seth.guikema@gmail.com or call him at (734)369-2469.

That’s all for this week. Friday is another Walk to School Day.


David

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Weekly Blog 10/14

Dear Wines Families,

Spirit Week is in full gear this week and the kids are having a great time! As you know, our Spirit Week is designed to help get kids enthused about our Run-a-Thon that takes place this Friday. Below are some Run-a-Thon updates as well as information about the Science and Builders Fair.

Run-a-Thon Update

On Monday, your child should have come home with a Run-a-Thon packet with all the information regarding how to collect pledges, and information about the event. If you need me to send you an electronic copy of the information, please let me know. The easiest way to collect pledges is to have friends and families pay online. On the front page of our PTO website (www.winespto.org) there is a link to the Run-a-Thon pledge forms. Those who make pledges will need to know your child’s teacher so please pass that information on to your friends and family. We are also asking that kids turn in a pledge envelope even if all of their pledges are done online (you do not need to know exactly who or how much $ was raised online just a note that there are online pledges—this helps with our record keeping). To reach our school wide pledge goal, the total average pledge amount raised will be $50 per student. However, ANY amount raised will help our school and any student who brings in a pledge will receive a great gift.

We are still looking for volunteers for Friday’s event. Please click on the link below to sign up. If when you go to the link and you see an email address for someone else, simply erase that address and add your own.

Science and Builders Fair
All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the “Science and Builders Fair” on November 5th from 7pm to 8 pm.  Registration is required but you need not have your project idea finalized in order to register. Need some inspiration? Use the navigation menu to browse the site for project ideas and other cool stuff.The website is getting lots of hits and registrations are rolling in.  (As a friendly reminder, it works from most mobile phones but access is blocked at any umich computer.) 

I hope to see you out cheering the kids Friday morning. Friday is also a Walk to School Day.

David



Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Weekly Blog 10/7

Dear Wines Families,

This week’s message contains the October Wines Times Newsletter. There is a lot happening here at Wines this month so it is a fairly large document. It will load a bit slow on your computers, but it will load eventually! Below is the link.


In addition to the Wines Times, I have a number of other important announcements as well.

Run-a-Thon is Next Week
Our annual Run-a-Thon is next Friday, October 16th. We are kicking off our Run-a-Thon activities today when kids will be voting on the charity where we will donate a portion of our proceeds. Kids will choose between the Huron Valley Humane Society, Ozone House, or Peace Neighborhood Center. On Friday we will hold our annual Run-a-Thon Pep Rally at 3:00. Players from the Skyline Basketball team and the Skyline Drum Line will join us. Next week we will hold a special Spirit Week as well. The Spirit Days are:

Monday: Pajama Day
Tuesday: Favorite Team Day
Wednesday: Silly Sock Day
Thursday: Wacky Hair or Hat Day
Friday: Run-a-Thon Team Spirit Day.

We Need Volunteers for Run-a-Thon!
If you are willing to help out the day of the Run-a-Thon, please go to the link below. We need many volunteers that day and it is one of the easiest and most enjoyable volunteering opportunities we have at Wines! 


BYOT
As we discussed at length last year and this year at Curriculum Night, Wines is again participating in Bring Your Own Technology this year. Your child’s teacher will be in contact regarding specifics of device use in his/her classroom. If you filled out a BYOT permission form last year, that is valid for this year. In today's email, I included an attachment with the permission form for new families or for anyone who did not participate last year and wishes to do so this year. Again, look for information from your child’s teacher regarding when/how devices will be used in class.

Science and Builders Fair
All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the “Science and Builders Fair” on November 5th from 7pm to 8 pm.  Registration is simple and is required.  Fill out the form on the event website by November 3rd. Parents, please note that you may not be able to access this site from your work computer. (For example, testing revealed that the University of Michigan has a firewall that will prohibit entry.) It should work from a mobile device and there is a nifty navigation menu at the top left. Below is a link to the website.


I actually have a few other minor announcements today but I’m realizing that this is a long enough message and I also want everyone to read the Wines Times. So, that’s all for now!

David