Dear Wines Families,
I want to welcome everyone to the 2014-2015 school year. I hope you have had a wonderful summer and are enjoying the last few days we have left. Robin and I have been back at Wines for a couple of weeks now and we both are at the point where we are ready to see our school full of kids again. I want to remind everyone of a few things as we move into our last week before school starts.
Kindergarten Meet the Teachers: Tuesday, August 26th from 6-7 PM.
1st-5th Grade Meet the Teachers: Wednesday, August 27th from 3-4 PM.
Both of these events will take place on the back playground of the school. If you cannot make the Meet the Teacher event, you will receive class placement information via email later that same day and we will also mail the packet of information students receive that day. Parents, please make sure your child picks up his/her envelope at the Meet the Teacher event. The envelope contains my welcome letter and some first day of school information.
Tuesday, September 2nd: First day of school! Our first bell rings at 8:45. Many parents will want to accompany your child into school that morning. We welcome you to do that. If you are coming in that morning, please plan ahead so you have time to find parking, etc. Once the school day starts, please join us for coffee and goodies in the cafeteria.
Thursday, September 4th: Welcome Back Family Picnic 6:30-8:00 PM.
Tuesday, September 9th: Curriculum Night 6:30-8:00 PM.
Much more information will be included in my welcome letter that you will receive next week as well as in your child's school folder that will be sent home during the first week of school. I look forward to seeing everyone. Also, attached to this email is some information about the Future Eagle event happening next week at Skyline.
Finally, below is a video that might describe how you are all feeling as we approach the school year. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s56-Ta35JRk
David
Friday, August 22, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Weekly Blog 6/4
Dear Wines Families,
I will be sending out a Friday email this week containing the final Wines Times newsletter of the year. That will contain lots of end of the year information. I have just a couple of other announcements for today.
• Field Day is this Friday. Grades K-2 begin at 9:15 and grades 3-5 begin at 1:00. Please make sure your children wear appropriate shoes and clothing for outdoor athletic activities. The kids will be outside for approximately two hours so please make sure they are dressed appropriately.
• If your child has medication here at school, please make sure you pick it up by the last day of school. District policy requires us to dispose of any medication left at school over the summer.
That's all for now. Look for the Wines Times on Friday.
David
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Weekly Blog 5/14
Dear Wines Families,
As I indicated last week, please expect additional emails
over the next couple of weeks as we head into the Country Fair and Raffle on
May 30th. In addition, my weekly emails and blog posts will likely be longer as I
will have general messages as well as Country Fair information. At the end of today’s
post, you will find lots of Country Fair information and beginning tomorrow
you will be receiving grade level specific emails about volunteer
opportunities. As we say each year, in order to have a successful Country Fair,
we need help from every family!
Severe Weather
Well, the Monday afternoon tornado warning was certainly an
“experience”. I want to commend our students and our staff for doing such a
great job that day. I also want to express my appreciation to parents for your
understanding of my decision not to allow students to leave the building with
family during the warning. This is a fairly straightforward safety issue and I
appreciate the many parents who waited it out with us and helped facilitate
dismissal when it finally ended.
Volunteer Breakfast
You are cordially invited to a breakfast in honor of our
incredible parent volunteers next Wednesday, May 21st at 8:00 AM in
the Media Center. Our teachers and staff are anxious to express our sincere
appreciation for all that you do for us. Please join us next Wednesday morning!
No Floor Hockey this
Week
We will not have Floor Hockey this Friday. Our final floor
hockey session for this school year will be next Friday, May 23rd.
We will certainly pick up again with weekly floor hockey next fall!
Photo Permission
As I wrote about last week, our 2nd-5th
graders recently took part in an exciting series of workshops brought to us by
the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. During their stay, the
folks from the museum took pictures of kids that they may use in promotional
materials. No children’s names will be used in the materials. There are many
pictures to choose from so if you wish for the museum NOT to include your child
in the materials, please let me know and I will be sure any pictures including your
child will not be included.
Student Council Book
Drive
Beginning this week, Student Council members are asking the
Wines Community to donate used books to help a school in Ghana get their new
school up and running. In a partnership with The Philippines Project, Barbara and Godwin Okonkwo are
working with Council members to collect and box books for a new school in
Ghana. Last year, students collected school supplies for a school in the
Philippines coordinated with Virginia Rezmierski and her Philippines Project. This year, Virginia has connected us with the
Okonokwo’s. Won't you join us in bringing in any books that will go help to
help kids in need?
FRIDAY MAY 30th WINES COUNTRY FAIR, RAFFLE
AND AUCTION
Country Fair
This year, families have the opportunity to buy food
tickets, wristbands, and raffle tickets in three ways:
*Pre-Order Online with your credit card
from May 14-25 at http://winespto.org/raffle/tickets.php .
Tickets can be picked up at the Will Call table during advance ticket
sales or the night of the fair. We are no longer using Google for online sales,
we are using SquareUp. For online sales we would like to request a
minimum purchase of $10. Please note: tickets will NOT be
shipped.
*Advance Ticket Sales the week of the fair (May
27-30). A table will be located outside the main doors before and
after school. (Cash, check, or NEW THIS YEAR credit card.)
*At the Fair - ticket sales tables will be set
up the night of the fair outside of school. (Cash or check only.)
Note: Tickets are NOT available at the school office.
Questions about ticket sales? Contact Christine Hale
at chale1084@yahoo.com.
Raffle/Silent Auction
The raffle/silent auction committee is hard at work
collecting prizes for the upcoming raffle and silent auction. We hope families
will consider making a prize donation. To see our complete wish list click on
the link: http://www.winespto.org/
raffle.php.
Some popular items to donate: $1 scratch-off lottery
tickets, cotton-candy machine, sno cone machine, books, board games,
pillow pets, official minecraft handbooks, Quality 16 movie passes
and team regalia. We welcome ALL prizes and really hope you may surprise us
with a great prize idea!!
Don't have time to shop? Consider making a monetary donation
and we'll do the shopping for you. Just contact us to make arrangements.
Donations may be placed in the bin in the office workspace
room now through May 23. Thank you for your support!!
Any questions please contact:
Margaret Compton - bagladycompton@yahoo.com
Kerianne Tupac - kmtupac@umich.edu
Classroom Basket donations are also being collected now
through May 23. If you would like to contribute to the classroom baskets
you may send in your donation to your child's classroom. The classroom themes
are:
K - Arts & Crafts
1 - Legos
2 - The Wonderful World of Science
3 - Camping, Swimming & Outdoor Fun
4 - Sports & Outdoor Fun
5 - It's A High Tech World
Any questions please contact
Stephanie Gensheimer at tsgensheimer@att.net.
Friday, May 2, 2014
More Info for this Week!
Dear Wines Families,
I have a few end-of-the-week announcements for today.
First, after my email Wednesday, I’ve had a number of
parents requesting the link to the parent input survey for class placement
again. Below is the link one more time. Please try to put in your information
ASAP.
Bike to School Day
Next Wednesday, May 7th we will again
participate in Bike to School Day. We are encouraging everyone that lives
within biking distance to Wines to bike that day. Again this year, representatives
from Mott Children’s Hospital will be here to fit your child’s helmet
appropriately and they will also be raffling off new bike helmets. We need a
few volunteers who would be willing to pass out stickers and welcome our bikers
as they arrive to school. If you can help, please email me directly. Volunteers
should be at Wines by 8:15.
“River Residency” at
Wines
I’m hoping that many of our 2nd, 3rd,
4th, and 5th graders came home this week talking about an
exciting opportunity they experienced with a water table. This week,
representatives from the University of Michigan Natural History Museum
(including Wines parent Alicia Comer) spent the week here at Wines with their
new water table presenting a hands-on River
Residency. 2nd-5th graders took part in workshops
including “Water Weather, and a River Community” (2nd grade), “How
Water Shapes the Land” (3rd Grade), and “Protecting our Watersheds”
(4th and 5th grades). The workshops aligned nearly
seamlessly with our science curriculum and reinforced and enhanced our
students’ understanding. The residency was a tremendous success. I want to
thank Alicia and the staff from the museum as well as our PTO for supporting
the project. We are already anticipating another residency next year and we are
hoping to expand the workshops to include all students K-5.
Brownies Community Service Project
Just a reminder that the Wines Brownie Troop 40551 is
excited to make a difference in their community by sponsoring a Personal Needs
Drive for the families served by SOS Community Services. Donation boxes will be
placed outside the office throughout the month of May. Wines Troop 40551 asks
that you please bring your donations of personal needs items such as shampoo,
conditioner, soap, diapers (larger sizes), brushes, combs, laundry detergent,
deodorant, and other items related to personal care to be placed in the boxes.
The girls will be touring the food pantry at SOS as they learn about ways to
help the less fortunate in their community. Thank you for your donations!
Have a nice weekend.
David
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Weekly Blog 4/30
Dear Wines Families,
Below is a link to this month’s Wines Times, please take some time to read through this month’s
newsletter. I have a few other announcements that didn’t make the newsletter.
Science Olympiad Fun
Night Tomorrow!
Tomorrow evening is the
Wines Science Olympiad Fun Night from 6-8pm here at Wines.
Our 2nd-5th grade teams have all been working hard
over the winter and are looking forward to showcasing what they have learned as
our competition day approaches. The evening will include a prize drawing, cool
cars, displays of agility, flying objects, amazing feats of estimation, map
readers, skilled builders, experts in potions, tests of memory and writing, and
some good old physics in action. In addition to the ‘fun’ part, Fun Night is an
opportunity for friends and families to observe the teams engaged in their
events (at the actual competition on May 10, most events will not be
open to observers). First grade families and others who may be interested in
participating in Science Olympiad next year are most welcome and
are encouraged to come learn about our teams and the event. We would love
to see you there!!
Brownies Community
Service Project
The Wines Brownie Troop 40551 is excited to make a
difference in their community by sponsoring a Personal Needs Drive for the
families served by SOS Community Services. Donation boxes will be placed
outside the office throughout the month of May. Wines Troop 40551 asks that you
please bring your donations of personal needs items such as shampoo,
conditioner, soap, diapers (larger sizes), brushes, combs, laundry detergent,
deodorant, and other items related to personal care to be placed in the boxes. The
girls will be touring the food pantry at SOS as they learn about ways to help the
less fortunate in their community. Thank you for your donations!
5k Event at Wines - Parents we need your help in making
this event a success for our Girls!
Our Wines Girls on the Run team is holding a practice 5k
event after school on Tuesday, May 6th and would like to invite you
to run with us, cheer for us, or quench our thirst! Please email Coach Cecilia
Spencer, cecilialspencer@gmail.com,
if you can help out. We especially need a couple volunteers for the water
station.
Meet us at the starting line, in front of Wines main
entrance. We will start at 4pm. Our route takes us through the Creal Park
neighborhood and finishes back in front of Wines.
We are practicing for the end of the season run with all the
Girls on the Run teams in southeastern Michigan which will take place
on May 18 at Eastern Michigan University. We'd love to see you there too. For
more information about the event or how to sign up to run with your daughter or
support your Wines team, go to http://www.girlsontherunsemi.org/race/77-girls-on-the-run-5k/register
David
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Weekly Blog 4/23
Dear Wines Families,
Well, I guess the good news about school being closed today
is at least it wasn’t because of snow or cold!! I’m at Wines now and the crew
is working on the water main break. We anticipate the problem being fixed today
and school will resume tomorrow. Please look for a message from Liz Margolis or
me later today or tonight. Today’s email starts with a couple of school closing
updates and then the remainder of the messages for the week. There is a lot of
important information below including our annual Parent Input form for class
placement so please read on.
School Closing
Updates:
• 5th Grade concert tonight: Tonight’s concert has been cancelled. We have rescheduled the all
school assembly to next Tuesday, April 29th at 1:45 PM and the
evening performance for Wednesday, April
30th at 7:00 PM.
• Lunch: Tomorrow, Thursday, we will serve pizza originally
scheduled for today (don’t worry, it hasn’t been cooked yet!). The popcorn
chicken will not be served this week.
• NWEA: Mrs. Middleton, Mrs. Gibbs, and Mrs. Day’s classes
were scheduled to take the Reading portion of NWEA today. These classes will
take the assessment tomorrow.
O.K. on to other school business…
Parent Input:
Below is a link to a survey soliciting your input as we make
class placement decisions for next year. This is your opportunity to tell us
about your child from a parent perspective. We will include your information in
our discussions about placement. As always, we do not accept requests for
specific teachers or to not be placed in a specific teacher’s classroom. As
of today, we have not made final grade configurations or staffing assignments.
I hopeful I can share all this information before we leave for summer break.
Below is the link to the survey. Please try to have your input submitted by
Friday, May 9th.
Art Night:
Art Night is this Friday from 6:30-8:30. Thank you to our
many volunteers. We have about 60% of the volunteers we need. We are looking
for craft supervisors, face painters, and set-up, clean up help. If you can
volunteer, please go to the following link
We are also looking for more goodies for Art Night. If you
can help, please go to the following link:
Science Olympiad Fun
Night:
Next Thursday, May 1 is the Wines Science Olympiad
Fun Night from 6-8pm here Wines. Our 2nd-5th grade
teams have all been working hard over the winter and are looking forward to
showcasing what they have learned as our competition day approaches. The
evening will include a prize drawing, cool cars, displays of agility, flying
objects, amazing feats of estimation, map readers, skilled builders, experts in
potions, tests of memory and writing, and some good old physics in action. In
addition to the ‘fun’ part, Fun Night is an opportunity for friends and
families to observe the teams engaged in their events (at the actual
competition on May 10, most events will not be
open to observers). First grade families and others who may be interested in
participating in Science Olympiad next year are most welcome and are encouraged
to come learn about our teams and the event. We would love to see you
there!!
Great Ideas Grants
Do you or your child have a GREAT IDEA? The deadline for the
Wines Great Idea Grants program is fast approaching! Please submit your GREAT
IDEA to Sarah Ball (sjcball@yahoo.com)
by May 1. Blank applications are located in the office or you can download
one from the PTO website (www.winespto.org).
That’s it for this week.
David
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Weekly Blog 4/2
Dear Wines Families.
I have just a couple of quick announcements this week's blog.
First, a reminder that we are off for Spring Break next week. I hope you enjoy the week and if you are staying here in Ann Arbor, hopefully spring will arrive and stay!
Second, we are looking for pictures from the Builders and Science Fair for our yearbook. If you took pictures that night and are willing to share, please let me know and I'll put you in touch with our yearbook coordinator.
That's all for this week!
David
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