Weekly Blog 6/10 (final post for this school year!)

Dear Wines Families, 

Well we have come to the last few days of school and my last weekly message. I just want to thank our entire community for another wonderful year. I continue to be honored to serve this school and this community and I cannot thank our everyone enough for all of your support. After a few weeks away, I know I'll soon be back in the office tinkering around getting ready for next fall. Again, thank you for a great year! Below are a few end of the year messages.

Friday Dismissal

Friday is a half day of school with dismissal at 11:51. Our busses will leave the lot at approximately 12:00 and follow their usual routes. If you would like to join us as we "clap out" our 5th graders, we will begin at about 11:45. 

Summer Learning Packets

Your child will be coming home today with their Summer Learning packets. This year, our teachers created their own packages for students and we are really pleased with how they came out. Please look for messages later this summer regarding our weekly playground gatherings. 

Medications

If we have medications for your child here at school, please pick them up this week. After next week we will dispose of any medications that are left at school. 

Save the Dates

We are tentatively scheduling our annual back to school "Meet the Teacher" event on Wednesday, September 2nd at 3:00 PM. The first day of school is Tuesday, September 8th next year. 

Art and Media Center News

The final newsletters from Janice Hendrick and Sally Evaldson were attached to today's. Sadly, this is the final newsletter from Janice. 

Follow Wines on Twitter!!

As of today, I am up to 34 followers on my new Twitter account. I've received a few good natured comments from folks telling me how few that is!! While Twitter will not replace our other communications, I am finding it a great way to get information out to families. If you are on Twitter, follow me @winesprincipal. 

Thanks again for a great school year! 

David

Weekly Blog 6/3

Dear Wines Families,

It is hard to believe that we are heading into the last few days of our school year. Next week will be the final weekly message!

Country Fair Thank You!!

I want to thank our entire community for such a fantastic Country Fair and Raffle last Friday evening. It was simply a perfect night. I want to thank the countless volunteers that made the night so wonderful. I want to give special thanks to our Country Fair organizing committee including Christy Hale, Kerianne Tupac, and Mary Nickson. I also want to thank Stephanie Gensheimer for organizing the classroom baskets and Tracy Alam who organized the creation of the WONDERFUL classroom projects that were included in the silent auction—certainly a new tradition at Wines! Finally, I want to thank Cristina Rojas who may have had the hardest job—organizing all of our volunteers!! I’m sure I have missed someone and if so, I sincerely apologize.

Field Day

Our annual Field Day is coming up this Friday. Kindergarten, 1^st, and 2^nd grades begin at 9:15 AM. 3rd, 4th, and 5^th grades begin at 1:00 pm. Please remind your child to wear their TENNIS SHOES (no flip flops, crocs, sandals etc.), and dress to be outside for a half day. Wear sunblock and bring a water bottle.

All School Picnic

As you know, we have changed our class/grade level picnic approach this year and we will host our first annual All School Picnic next Tuesday, June 9^th beginning at 1:00. At that time, all of our kids will be outside. Students will have their yearbooks to sign and our PTO will be supplying popsicles for everyone. Parents are welcome to join us for this low-key event. At 2:00, our staff will take on Mrs. Heaton’s 5^th grade in our annual kick ball game and at the conclusion of the game (around 2:45) I will transform into a human ice cream sundae to honor my commitment to celebrating our success during March is Reading Month.

Follow Wines on Twitter!

I’ve finally decided to join Twitter. You can follow me at @winesprincipal. I figure we should have as many ways for folks to keep up to date on all things Wines as possible!

Last Day of School

Next Friday is the last day of school. As always, it is a half-day. Dismissal will be at 11:51. We will “clap out” the 5^th grade at approximately 11:45.

Next Year’s Teaching Assignments

As we move into next year, there is some unknown regarding our class configurations and teaching assignments. Thus, I am reluctant to “announce” where our teachers will be as we will be making many decisions this summer as enrollment numbers and projections become more solid. I apologize for not having more information at this time. My goal is to make as few changes as possible for the next year, but I know that some staffing changes will certainly take place. As soon as I have finalized plans, I will certainly be in touch with our community. Maybe you will learn via Twitter!!!

David

Weekly Blog 5/27

Dear Wines Families, 

By the time most of you read this, our 5th graders along with Julie Spiroff, Janet Heaton, and I will be well on our way to Camp Tanuga! But we will be home just in time to enjoy the Country Fair and Raffle on Friday. Below is the final message regarding the Country Fair. We'll see you Friday! 

David

Get Ready for the Wines’ Country Fair, Raffle & Auction!
Friday May 29^th 6-8:30 p.m. on the Playground

Join Us for Family Fun and One of Wines’ Biggest Fundraisers!
Food, Games, Inflatables, Cake Walk, Raffle, Auction & More!

Volunteer Sign Up - Sign up via volunteerspot.com or please contact Cristina Rojas at cristina_rojas@yahoo.com

Wristband, Food & Raffle Ticket Sales
Advance Ticket Sales at Wines (May 26-29) - purchase tickets at the sales table outside the main school doors before and after school. (cash, check, or credit card.) Ticket Sales at the Fair (May 29) - purchase tickets onsite at ticket tables outside the school. (cash, check, or credit card). Tickets are NOT available at the school office.

Cake Walk Donations - Calling all Bakers Kindergarten through 5^th Grade!  
Jiffy Mix is helping out with a donation of cake and frosting mixes for our student bakers. Mixes can be picked up the week of the Country fair. Cakes, cupcakes, and other baked good can be dropped off Friday, May 29. Ribbons will be awarded for student baked donations showing the most Wines spirit. Please include the child’s name and grade on a note taped to the baked good.

We look forward to seeing you Friday, May 29^th! The Wines Country Fair, Raffle and Auction Team: Christy Hale (Chale1084@yahoo.com), Kerianne Tupac (kmtupac@umich.edu), Mary Nickson (mnickson@umich.edu)

Look for the Country Fair flyer in today's folders. 

Weekly Blog 5/20

Dear Wines Families,

It’s hard to believe that the Country Fair and Auction is just over a week away. Included in today’s email was information from our organizing committee. In addition, there were two important attachments. The first is information all about the fair including Cake Walk information, ticket sales, and information about the raffle. The second attachment has pictures of the amazing classroom projects that were created by students that will be available at this year’s auction. In addition, we have some information from Girls on the Run in today’s email.

The Raffle/Silent Auction is Around the Corner!

Silent Auction News

NEW THIS YEAR! The Silent Auction is moving - look for the big tent outside on the playground. In addition to the regular wonderful auction items, each classroom worked on a personalized project for the Silent Auction. The kids made simply amazing projects - check them out in the attached file! 

Raffle Donations Needed

The raffle/silent auction committee is hard at work collecting prizes for the upcoming raffle and silent auction at the Country Fair on May
29.  We hope families will consider making a prize donation. 

Some popular Raffle items to donate:  $1 scratch-off lottery tickets, cotton-candy and ice-cream makers, movie candy & gum, board games, iTunes cards, Quality 16 movie passes, and U-M sports regalia. We welcome ALL prizes and really hope you may surprise us with a great prize idea.  To see our complete wish list click on the link: http://bit.ly/WinesRaffleWishes   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 labeled "raffle” located under the counter in the work room off the office. 

Classroom Basket Items Needed

Don’t forget to bring in items for the classroom baskets. Collection boxes are in each classroom. The classroom themes this year 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

Stay tuned for a sneak peak at all the Raffle and Silent Auction items for this year. Thank you for your continued support!!
Kerianne Tupac, Raffle/Silent Auction Committee Chair

kmtupac@umich.edu

The Wines Girls on the Run team loves the Humane Society of Huron Valley!

The GOTR team is celebrating a successful season by collecting donations for the Humane Society (wish list at http://www.hshv.org/site/PageNavigator/help/wishlist.html). Donation boxes are located near the entrance to the school office. Please help us give back to the community by bringing in pet food, pet toys, and pet supplies byThursday, May 28. Contact Coach Suzanne (admiraal@umich.edu) if you have questions about our project. Thank you!

That’s all (for now…) Please look at your email and take a look at the important Country Fair attachment as well.

David

Weekly Blog 5/5

Hello Wines Families, 

I have a number of important announcements today and a few are important to get out today, so this week's blog post is a day early. 

Vote Today!

I hope our entire Wines community gets out and votes today. There is an important School Bond proposal on the ballot. If you need some more information regarding the bond before you hit the polls, below is the link I sent out last week. 

http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps/bond_video

Bike To School Day Tomorrow/ACES

Another time sensitive item. Tomorrow we will be participating in the annual Bike to School Day as well as ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously). We encourage kids to ride to school. In addition, during the morning, Ms. Wahl will lead our entire school on a walk to take part in ACES. Please note, in the event of inclement weather (it should be fine based on tomorrow's forecast) please make a family decision regarding if your child will ride to school. There will not be a formal "cancellation" announcement in the event of bad weather. 

Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast

Our staff would like to invite every volunteer to our school to our annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on May 22. We will meet at 8:00 in the Media Center. Individual teachers will be contacting volunteers, but we know that every Wines parent volunteers in one way or another so everyone is invited! 

Class/Grade Leve Picnics

As a building in conjunction with PTO leadership, we have made a decision that instead of individual classroom/grade level end of year picnics at various locations around town, we will instead have one large school-wide celebration. This will take place the afternoon of June 9th. This will be a culminating celebration for many things. In addition to celebrating the end of the school year, we will celebrate our success during March is Reading Month and I will become a human ice cream sundae. We will also hold the staff/student kickball game for the winning class from the raffle and each student will receive ice cream. In the coming days, teachers will reach out as to how classroom parents can help out that day. There are many reasons why we are making this change. If you have specific questions, please contact me directly. 

Parking Lot

I want to remind parents that students are not allowed to use the cross walk in front of school without an adult accompanying them during the busy pick up and drop off times. If you choose not to use the lineup and park instead, please walk with your child to or from school. This is a critical safety issue. I've stopped a small few recently when I am out there, but I've received reports of students crossing before I come out in the morning. Also, I generally come outside around 8:40 each morning. Students should not be lining up before that time as they are not sufficiently supervised. 

That's all for this week! 

David

Weekly Blog 4/29

Dear Wines Families,
Spring seems to finally be here! With spring comes nice weather and it also brings busy times to Wines as we inch closer to the end of the school year. Over the coming weeks, my weekly emails may begin to be a bit longer and additional emails will begin to come from me as we prepare for end of the year activities--the Country Fair and Raffle in particular. So please spend a few minutes making sure you are up to date with everything. Thanks!

Parent Input for Class Placement 
We will soon begin making initial determinations of student placement for next fall. We do not yet know our classroom configurations or our staffing assignments yet, but we will begin making those decisions soon. Below is a link to a survey for parents to provide input to us as we make these placements. The survey is optional. As always, we do not accept requests for individual teachers, but the survey does allow you to highlight things about your child for us to consider. Below is the link.
PARENT INPUT SURVEY FOR CLASS PLACEMENT

Please Vote May 5
Next Tuesday there is a School Bond Proposal on the ballot. I encourage our families to educate yourselves about the bond and be sure you get to the polls next Tuesday. Below is a link to an informational video about the proposal.
http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps/bond_video

Great Ideas Grant Deadline
The final Great Ideas Grant applications are due this Friday. Our PTO would love to support parent and student great ideas. Below are links to the adult and student proposals.
Adult Grant Application
Student Grant Application

Girls on the Run Practice 5K at Wines on Tuesday, May 5

The Wines Girls on the Run team will be holding a practice 5K after school on Tuesday, May 5, and you are invited to run with us, cheer for us, or volunteer at our water station! The practice 5K will begin at approximately 4 PM near the Wines main entrance. Our route loops through the Creal Park neighborhood twice before ending at the Wines main entrance. This event is part of our preparation for the season finale: the Girls on the Run 5K on UM's North Campus on May 17. Please e-mail Coach Suzanne Admiraal (admiraal@umich.edu) for more information or to volunteer to help out on May 5. Thank you for your support!

That's all for this week! 

David

Weekly Blog 4/2

Dear Wines Families,

Just a short post this week. Below is a link to the April Wines Times newsletter. Please take some time to read it as there is a lot of important information. Have a wonderful spring break. If you are traveling, please travel safely.

WINES TIMES NEWSLETTER

David