Wines 2012-2013!!

Dear Wines Families,

Believe it or not, the new school year is right around the corner. Robin and I are back and the office is open. It's a bit too quiet around here, but soon we will have more than 400 kids here to keep us busy! In the coming days and weeks you will receive much more information, so today I just want to send out some important dates for your calendars.

Wednesday, August 29th 3:00-4:00PM: Welcome Back Popsicle Party. At this party students and parents will receive their welcome back letter and information including the name of their teacher. Our teachers will be on the playground ready to meet their students and kids will have a chance to spend some time with their classmates and friends. If you are unable to attend the party, we will mail home your packet.

Tuesday, Sept. 4th: First Day of School (Full Day). As always, our PTO will host a welcome back coffee at 9:00 after the kids are in their classrooms.

Thursday, Sept. 6th 6:30 PM. Welcome Back Family Picnic. This annual event is an informal opportunity for families to come to school and reconnect or connect for the first time. Bring your family and a dish to pass. An informational flyer will be in the welcome back packet.

Tuesday, September 11th 6:30-8:00 PM: Curriculum Night. From 6:30-7:00 teachers will be presenting in their classrooms about the upcoming school year. From 7:00-7:30 I will make a brief presentation for all parents. From 7:30-8:00 teachers will again present in their classrooms so families with multiple children can see the other teacher (for those of you with 3 or more kids at Wines, you are already used to being in three places at once so hopefully you can figure it out!! ).

Tuesday, September 18th: First PTO meeting. From 6:00-7:00, our PTO will hold a meeting designed for new families so you can learn about who our PTO leaders are and what our PTO does (and they do a lot!!). From 7:00-8:00 we will hold our general meeting for everyone. As always, childcare will be available.

I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

David

Weekly Blog 5/23

Dear Wines Families,

With the many end of the year activities fast approaching, there is a lot of information to share today. I hope you find a few minutes to read through this week’s post.

Community Survey

As we come to the end of this school year, we’d like to know from our community how we are doing. Below is a link to a fairly short survey that we would really like you to fill out. We will use this information to help identify and celebrate what we are doing well at Wines, and also to inform us as to how we can improve on the service we provide to your children and our parent community. The survey is open until June 5^th. I encourage all of our families to fill it out before the 5^th. Below is the link.

Wines Community Survey

Country Fair Volunteers!
Country Fair - Friday, June 1^st. Everyone is invited...Everyone is needed !!

Over 150 volunteer opportunities are available and need to be filled to make the Wines Country Fair a success. We hope that every attending family helps in some fashion. Tomorrow, Thursday, May 24th, everyone will be receiving an email that includes a link to sign-up electronically via Volunteer spot (Deadline for sign-up is Tuesday, May 29th!)
All questions can be directed to Erin Telemaco 5telemaco@comcast.net
or call/text at 734-368-5826.

Speaking of Volunteers…Volunteer Recognition

We would like to recognize all of our parents who have volunteered your time at Wines this year. If you have volunteered our classrooms, our lunchroom, at PTO events, concerts, after school activities, in our special area classrooms, or anywhere else! You are invited to a Volunteer Coffee and Donuts recognition on Friday, June 1^st from 8:15-9:00 AM in the Media Center.

Volunteers for Next Year

In today’s Wednesday Folder you will find a form for volunteers at events for the 2012-2013 school year. Please look for it.

More Country Fair

In today’s “paper” Wednesday Folder, your child will be coming home with a final Country Fair informational flyer. If you would like to take advantage of our online pre-order opportunity for Country Fair wristbands, food, and cakewalk tickets, the final day to order online is Sunday, May 25th. Please visit www.winespto.org/raffle/tickets.php. There will also be a table at the front entrance of school during pick up and drop off next week. As a reminder, please contact me directly if you would like a Country Fair Family Scholarship packet.

Student Council Update

The Wines Elementary Student Council is planning a fundraiser for the Vada Murray Fund for Cancer Research at this year’s Country Fair.  We will be selling two different types of t-shirts, bumper stickers, and static decals. The t-shirts will be sold for $20.00.  The bumper stickers, in the shape of a policeman’s badge, will be sold for $5.00. The static decals will be given to anyone who makes a donation under $5.00.  The fundraiser will run from 6:00-8:00. We will also be accepting donations without obligation to purchase.   Please consider helping this worthy cause!

PTO Meeting

Our final PTO meeting of the year is next Wednesday, May 30^th at 7:00 PM. We will be finishing up with this year’s items and looking ahead to next year. As always, childcare is provided.

Art and Music News

Attached to the weekly email sent home today were newsletters from Mrs. Hendrick and Ms. McNally.

Thanks!

David 

Weekly Blog 5/16

Dear Wines Families,

Believe it or not, I don’t have multiple messages today. But since I have your attention, I will take this opportunity to tell everyone that our Lost and Found is full AGAIN. We will be donating items to charity at the end of next week so if your child is missing something, please come have a look.

Below is an important message about ticket sales for the Country Fair and Raffle. I’m pleased to announce that you can order online this year! I also want to remind families that I have family scholarship packets for any family who would like some assistance for the Country Fair. You can contact me directly if you would like a packet. There was an informational flyer attached to today's email about the Country Fair. If this is your first year at Wines, this flyer has lots of good info for you.

David

 The Wines Country Fair and Raffle/Auction is June 1st!!

6:00-8:30pm

 This year we are offering families the opportunity to buy food tickets, wristbands, and raffle tickets three ways:

*Online with your credit card from May 16th - May 25th and pick them up at the Will Call Table during advanced ticket sales or the night of the fair. 

Please note, tickets will NOT be shipped. (Unfortunately, Google check-out is not compatible with iPads or smartphones.)  

                          **buy online tickets at winespto.org/raffle/tickets.php 

*Advanced Ticket Sales the week of the fair (May 29th - June 1st). A table will be located outside the main doors before and after school. 

(Cash or check only.) 

* Ticket Sales Tables will be set up the night of the fair outside of school. 

(Cash or check only.)

Tickets are NOT available at the school office 

Questions about ticket sales? Contact Nicole Brittis at nicolebrittis@hotmail.com. 

Please contact Dr. DeYoung directly if you are interested in a family scholarship packet for the Country Fair and Raffle.

Weekly Blog 5/9

Dear Wines Families, 
Attached to today's email was the May Wines Times. There is plenty of good information to read there, so I'll keep this posting brief. I do want to thank those of you who voted in yesterday's Technology Bond election. I'm pleased to say that the initiative passed and we will begin to see the impact of the new technology next fall. In the weeks to come I will write about what we can expect at Wines in the year(s) to come as it relates to technology. 


I also want to thank everyone who rode their bike to school today. It was quite a showing!! 
Thanks,
David

Weekly Blog 5/2

Dear Wines Families,

As seems customary at this time of year, I have a number of important announcements in today’s posting.

 

Tech Bond

By now I hope everyone knows that next Tuesday, May 8^th there is a Technology Bond election in Ann Arbor. I want to encourage everyone to participate in this important vote. If you would like more information about the bond, please visit http://www.a2schools.org/aaps/tech_bond. Please be sure to vote next Tuesday!

 

NWEA Testing

Our final round of NWEA testing begins next week. Over the next two weeks, every student at Wines will take the MAP assessment in Reading and Math. This is one of many indicators of student success we use in our school. This final round of testing is important because the NWEA assessment is a growth model and with this final round of testing, we can now measure every student’s growth over the course of the year. We will be stressing to students not to become stressed about the test, but at the same time, we want our students to do their best. We hope you can do your part by making sure your child comes to school each day ready to learn! We also hope you can reiterate to your child to do his or her best on the assessment.

 

Girls on the Run

Please mark for your calendars for Tuesday, May 8th! Girls on the Run will be hosting a 5K running event at WINES immediately after school (3:45-5:15).  Please consider supporting the girls by coming out to CHEER THEM ON!! - friends, students, siblings, parents, teachers, ...  We need a crowd to line our route in support as we encourage their efforts to conquer a 5K.  It will be a fun time for all with music, snacks and smiling runners!!  If you can volunteer your support to help set-up prior (3-3:30) and/or host a water table, please emailholly.a.murphy@gmail.com.  Our route is through the Creal Park neighborhood - so if your home lies in the neighborhood please let us know if you can host a water table!  We appreciate your support.

 

Bike to School

On May 9^th, we are encouraging students to participate in National Bike to School Day. Wines has been selected to host an expert from Mott Hospital who will professionally fit your child’s bike helmet. There will also be stickers for students. In addition, we will be raffling off 4 new bike helmets donated by Mott. If you would like to help organize the event (not much work needs to be done and you get a t-shirt!), please email me directly.

 

Raffle/Auction Information

Please look for another email from me on Friday with important information about the upcoming Raffle and Silent Auction taking place during the Country Fair. Our group of volunteers is busy putting this information together and so I will send that out on Friday.

 

David

Weekly Blog 4/25

Dear Wines Families,
I have a number of important announcements this week. Please take a few minutes to read through this (long) blog posting.

Art Night

One final reminder that our K-5 Art Night is Friday evening beginning at 6:30. While everything is nearly ready for the evening, we could always use a few more volunteers. Here are links to sign up to bring food: www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084BAAAE283-artnight and/or volunteer to supervise a fun craft like Paper Hats, Face Painting, Beading with Wire, Fish Printing or Puppets:www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084BAAAE283-artnight1.

Wear it Blue for Autism Awareness!

In honor of April being Autism Awareness Month, Wines will be participating in our first annual Wines Wear it Blue Day on Monday, April 30th. All students and staff will be encouraged to wear blue that day. In addition, we will be hosting a breakfast to recognize our teachers and staff who work in the Communications classrooms. If you would like to make a food or refreshment donation for the breakfast, please sign up online at the link below or contact: kellyvansingel@yahoo.com
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E49A8A628A57-breakfast.

Final “Great Ideas” Grants

Our final Great Ideas grant deadline of the school year is quickly approaching. We are accepting applications until May 1st.  There are adult and student grant forms available on the Wines website (www.wines.a2schools.org) and hard copies are available in the office.  Don’t let a great idea go to waste!!

Science Olympiad

Last Saturday our Science Olympiad team competed against 24 other schools in Washtenaw County. The kids had fun, learned a lot, and did a great job! There were officially 1621 student participants representing 25 schools. They competed in 20 different events in what is the largest Elementary Science Olympiad in the country. Every school earned at least one medal. Both our 2nd/3rd teams and our 4th/5th grade teams finished 3rd overall and earned a trophy. While there was so much more to Olympiad than winning, it is nice to see the fruits of all of our fine work!

I’d like to thank all of our volunteers who helped make Science Olympiad such a success at Wines. A special thank you to Kelly Michaels Soluk who coordinated the entire event and coached a team. I’d also like to thank Erin Telemaco for serving as volunteer coordinator. Finally, a thank you to our coaches and assistant coaches: Thank you to Chris Patel, Shireen Syed, Phil Rodgers, Marcie Austerberry, Maha Ali, Amy Cohn, Anke Eichstaedt, Nasreen Islam, Robin Hescheles, Nicole Brittis, Sue Smith, Michael Smith, Debbie Tirico, Patty Kersch, Michael Austerberry, Ann Scott, Sam Patel, Michael Dempsey, Michael Gaies, Joanne Keeling, Marc Bradshaw, Rick Witten, John Whitney, Donna Whitney, Mori Richner, Jaspreet Sawney, Carol Davis, Marc Bradshaw     Kelly Michaels Soluk, John Younger, Carol Lively, and Russ Derry.

Classroom Basket Collections for the Country Fair & Raffle!

The classroom baskets based on themes for each grade are a huge addition to the Wines Country Fair & Raffle each year.  Kids enjoy having an active role in selecting and bringing in a donation.  They see the end result when their donation is part of a nice collection of items in that category – with a basket full of tickets in front of it!

Baskets will be available in your child’s classroom for any donations between
May 3 – May 18.

Please donate what you can!
This year’s themes are:
Kindergarten: Arts & Crafts
1st Grade: Legos
2nd Grade: Legos
3rd Grade: Camping & Outdoor Adventures
4th Grade: Sports & Backyard Fun
5th Grade: It’s a High Tech World
Any questions? Contact Margaret Compton at bagladycompton@yahoo.com
Or Sheila Nicholas at Sheila_nicholas@yahoo.com

Landscape Coordinator Needed

Our current landscape coordinator is stepping down, and we need a volunteer to help take care of the Wines grounds over the summer. The coordinator will organize an 'adopt-a-garden' program and make sure the volunteer families weed and water their gardens over the summer. Please contact Carol Lively (carol.lively@sbcglobal.net), Elissa Gaies (egaies@umich.edu), or Becky Maley (rhmaley@aol.com) if you are interested.

Bike to School Day

Looking ahead, Wines will be participating in National Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 9th. More information to come, but it might be time to get the bikes out and grease the chains, check the brakes, etc.!!

Sorry for the long posting, but it is a busy time of year!!

David

Weekly Blog 4/18

Dear Wines Families,

I have just a few announcements today. First, I want to remind all of our Science Olympiad participants that this Saturday is the annual competition at Pioneer. Wines will bring another outstanding team of 100 students to Pioneer. We will be competing against nearly 1600 students from across Washtenaw County. Kelly Michaels Soluk, who coordinates Science Olympiad at Wines (no small task!!!) recently shared with me that more students in Ann Arbor participate in Science Olympiad than do Rec & Ed soccer!!

I also want to remind everyone that next Friday evening, April 27^th is Art Night. Mrs. Hendrick is busy preparing a show that will feature art from ALL Wines students!! The evening begins at 6:30 PM. We are still looking for volunteers for the event to help hang art, help with art activities that evening, set up and clean up, and my personal favorite, help at the dessert table!! Please contact Patricia Beals at pferrer@umich.edu if you can volunteer.

That’s all for now!! 

David