Thursday, December 20, 2018

Weekly Blog 12/20

Dear Wines Families,
It’s hard to believe this is the last message in 2018. It’s been a great calendar year and a great school year thus far. I look forward to 2019 together (after a little break…). We have lots of important news as we end the first part of the school year. Please take a minute to read below.

PTO Guest Presenter Dr. Anthony DeBenedet: January 22nd
Wines PTO presents Dr. Anthony DeBenedet (Wines parent and Author) as the speaker at the January 22, General Meeting from 7-8pm.  Childcare provided. 

Title: Playful Intelligence: Unpacking Your Childhood Wisdom. 

Bio:
Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D. is a practicing physician and behavioral-science enthusiast. His interviews and writings have run in various media outlets, including the New York Times, the Today show, the Washington Post, and TIME Ideas. He is the author of Playful Intelligence: The Power of Living Lightly in a Serious World (Santa Monica Press, 2018) and also co-authored The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It (Quirk Books, 2011). DeBenedet holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, a Master of Science Degree in Health and Healthcare Research from the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, and a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Michigan Health System. DeBenedet lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he enjoys spending time with his family, connecting with friends, and playing a little basketball.

International Night - Wednesday, January 30th 6:30-8:00
International Night is right around the corner! If you would like to volunteer to help plan or assist during the event, please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a4fa8af2da1ff2-international

If your family would like to represent a country and/or if your child(ren) would like to march in the Parade of Nations, sign up athttps://goo.gl/forms/3Cf0DZHHyPmW0SuP2. Feel free to host a country that your family is from, has spent time in, or simply one that is interesting to you and your child(ren). 

Science Olympiad
WESO, Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad, is open to all 2nd through 5th graders in the Washtenaw county.  The date for competition, May 11th, 2019.  If WESO is new to you and you possibly have an interested child, please come to the information session on Jan 10th @ 7pm in the MPR.   Coordinator Anastasia Yocum and several experienced coaches will be on hand to answer questions.  
At Wines, we are an all volunteer coaching team.  At this meeting we will assign coaches to events.  It is a tradition at Wines that children of our coaching volunteers get first choice for event placement. So, please consider coaching and attending the information meeting ThursdayJan 10 @ 7pm.  Once we know the events we're able to field to the competition, based solely on the number of coaches, a first-come; first-serve sign up genius will be release to the rest of the Wines student body on Jan 31st.  Any questions; please direct to scienceowines@gmail.com.

Box Tops
Don’t forget!  Gather your Boxtops!  The first half of our Boxtops competition ends in January!  The teacher with the most Boxtops turned in will get $50 Scholastic Dollars to spend on books for the class!

Welcome Back to After School! 
Once again, AAPS Rec & Ed is offering several after school classes focused on fun, learning, movement, and discovery.  Registration is now open, and spots are filling fast! Please see class options below, and visit Rec & Ed after school classes for details. For scholarship information, click here.
Have a wonderful winter break. We’ll see you in 2019!
David

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Weekly Blog 12/12


Dear Wines Families, 
I almost forgot to send out today's message because, quite frankly, there isn't a whole lot to report today! Just a couple of reminders as we approach Winter Break. 

Please make sure your child brings their boots, etc. home at the end of next week. We will certainly remind the kids, but the school will be locked during the entire break. We will also be cleaning out the Lost and Found again at the end of next week. 

Finally, since unlike today, last week's message was quite long and our Wines Times newsletter may have gotten lost among the multiple messages. Below is the link again if you have not had time to read the newsletter. 

David

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Weekly Blog 12/5


Dear Wines Families,
Just a couple of items to share this week.

Wines Times
Our Wines Times Newsletter is now available. Please take some time to read through all of the important information contained. Linked below.

Book Fair
Our Book Fair is going great! Big thanks to our volunteers—particularly Stacy Gudal and Stacey Noel—for all of their time and effort. We are a little short on volunteers for tomorrow morning if anyone is available. Below is a link to sign up to help out. No experience necessary!

That’s all for this week, but I hope you find some time to read through the Wines Times.

David

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Weekly Blog 11/28


Dear Wines Families,
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We had a very relaxing few days and other than that horrible football game Saturday, we enjoyed every minute of the long weekend. Today’s message is fairly lengthy which means we have a lot of great things happening at Wines. Please take a couple minutes to read this week’s news.

Lunchtime “Extra Specials” Needs You!
One of our students’ favorite activities of the year, Lunchtime Extra Specials, urgently needs a coordinator! Extra Specials are scheduled to begin the week after we return from winter break and we still need a volunteer to oversee this activity.  In Extra Specials, students are offered the opportunity to take one lunch recess period per week (for each of two, three-week sessions) to stay indoors and engage in an activity that is facilitated by a parent volunteer.  Responsibilities of the coordinator include the following:
• Establish a list of activities offered during extra specials, based on parent volunteer preferences (we have a long history of offering extra specials so most coordinators simply repeat what was done in prior years)
• Assign students to one extra special activity of his/her choice for each of the two sessions
• Ensure available space and materials are available for participants

The parent volunteer who coordinated Extra Specials last year is still at Wines but has taken on additional responsibilities and needs someone to manage the Extra Specials process.  She is happy to help show a new volunteer the ropes and get kids assigned to activities.  We have plenty of parent volunteers who have offered to run various Extra Special sessions and now just need someone to manage the details.  We must have a volunteer in place by December 12 in order for Extra Specials to proceed
Any questions, please contact Jill Coultas or Stacy Guldal at jcress18@hotmail.com or stacyguldal@gmail.com.

Book Fair Next Week!
 The Wines Scholastic Book Fair is coming next week!  This is a great fundraiser for the school and provides fabulous books for the school and for your Holiday shopping needs!  We always need volunteers for a successful fair. Please sign up to volunteer for a shift or two at the link below.

Email sknmd17@gmail.com with any questions.  Thanks!

Spirit Wear
Wines Spirit Wear is still on sale. Please go to the link below to make an order. There are samples of the items in the front hallway at Wines. Sales end Monday, Dec. 3rd.


Girls on the Run Needs Coaches
Girls on the Run is looking for additional coaches. Girls On The Run is a program for 3rd-5th grade girls to encourage physical and emotional wellbeing. Practices run from 4:00pm-5:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from March 4-May 17. Practices entail a lesson, games, and running laps. If you are interested, please contact Naomi Veidlinger at naomiveidlinger@gmail.com.

STEAM Expo
The AAPS District STEAM Expo is tomorrow, Thursday, November 29th from 6:00-8:00 pm at Skyline High School. It is a great opportunity to see various ways STEAM curriculum is implemented Young 5s through 12th grade, including the middle and high school robotics teams. A few Wines 5th Graders will be showing off their robots at the STEAM Expo. Hope to see you there! 

That’s all for this week. As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

David

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Weekly Blog 11/20

Dear Wines Families,

I want to first wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. It's hard to believe we are already nearing December as this school year flies by. I continue to be thankful for our students, families, and staff. This is truly a remarkable community and I'm so thankful to be part of it!

Report Cards
Report cards will be going home with students today. Please take some time to read through them. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher. Please return the report card envelope so we can use them again in March.


Wines Spirit Wear Sale
It's time for Wines' annual Wines Spirit Wear sale! Please follow the link below to place your order for t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, or sweatshirts in both youth and adult sizes.  Please note that in addition to the standard, basic t-shirts, there are also softer tri-blend shirts available as well as athletic wicking shirts (called " cooling performance crew").  Online orders will be accepted through Monday, December 3.  Spirit Wear orders will be delivered to students prior to winter break. 

Wines Wildcat Apparel Fall 18

Your Form will be open until Monday, 12/03/2018 at Midnight EST

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

David

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Weekly Blog 11/14


Dear Wines Families,
As usual, lots to report today. I’ll send out an abbreviated Wednesday message next Tuesday before we leave for Thanksgiving break. Please note that report cards will go home with students on next Tuesday. There is no school Wed.-Fri. next week.

Wines Auction Date Change: April 27
I want to alert everyone to a date change for the Wines Auction. The date has changed from April 13th to April 27th. Our fantastic partners Null/Jolly Pumpkin had a conflict on the 13th and we gladly moved our date! The change announcement gives us a perfect opportunity to remind everyone to save the date on your calendars and arrange childcare for our best (and only!) adults only Wines event.

Science and Builders Fair Thanks!
Thank you so much to all of the young scientists and builders that were at this years' fair. The parent and teacher support and enthusiasm was incredible! This year we were fortunate to have exhibits from PLTW at Wines and Forsythe, and robotics teams and displays from Forsythe and Skyline. We appreciate all of the adults and students affiliated with these groups for making it possible. It added another layer of inspiration for our Wines students. This all school event would not be possible without the many families that volunteered!  Thank you! A BIG thank you goes out to Bryan and Ruthie Kowalk for organizing the event again this year. Check out some photos from the event on the website!

Wines Science Olympiad
The Science and Builders Fair is a great way to start the conversation around Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO).  We're so lucky to have WESO, the largest elementary Science Olympiad competition in the country right in our backyard.  WESO is open to all 2nd through 5th graders in the Washtenaw County.  The date for competition, May 11th, 2019.  

What does this mean to Wines students? Every 2nd-5th grade Wines student is given the opportunity to participate in this program.  Hour long practices are held once per week, usually before or after school, for approximately 10 weeks prior to competition. This year, practices can start right after Winter Break.  

There are 21 event categories from biology to electronics to physics. I included a description of the events with today's email. Please show your children the events and start the conversation.  

At Wines, we are an all volunteer coaching team.  There are plenty of opportunities and benefits to coaching.  We will host an introductory coaches meeting on Jan. 10th for all parents possibly interested in coaching and our veteran coaches who know they will coach again this year.  It is a tradition at Wines that the children of our coaching volunteers get first choice for event placement. SO: please consider coaching and attending the information meeting on Jan 10 @ 7pm.  Event sign ups will release on Jan. 31st via sign up genius. Placements (other than coaches’ children) will be made on a first come, first serve basis. Any questions, please direct to scienceowines@gmail.com.

That’s all for this week.

David