Weekly Blog 11/16

Dear Wines Families,

Here is the news of the week!

Directory

We are just about ready to send out our annual Wines Directory. Our digital directory (I will send it out in PDF, Excel, and in Google Sheets formats) will be sent next Tuesday before we leave for our Thanksgiving recess. We will use the information in our database including Student Name, Parent/Guardian Name(s), Parent/Guardian email(s), and Parent/Guardian cell phone numbers. If you do not want your information included, please contact Robin Moore at moorero@aaps.k12.mi.us by Monday of next week.

2016 SCIENCE & BUILDERS FAIR RECAP

The 2016 Science & Builders Fair was a GREAT SUCCESS, thanks to our student exhibitors, our volunteer evaluators, and all of those who came to experience the Fair! We are so impressed by your interest to participate, your curiosity, your creativity, and your preparation!  

Photos from the Fair can be downloaded from http://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/gallery.html

To 2017, and beyond! 

The Wines S & B Team

Parking Lot Reminders

For those of you who have spent time in the parking lot this year, you have likely noticed that it is fairly busy. It is important with all of the traffic that we follow the established system. This not only keeps things efficient, it keeps it safe for our kids. Please pull ahead as far as you can before your child enters or exits your car and stay in your car. This should only be done at the front of the building. If you are stopped and not at the front of school yet, please wait until you have arrived at the front. If you “stop short” it impacts everyone behind you. Students have been told to remain at the front of the building and not walk up the sidewalk at the end of the day. Please remind your children of this. In the Cooley lot, the area from the end of the gate to between the portables is a similar pick up/drop off zone. There are signs marking these areas. We ask that the Cooley lot continue to be used by Kindergarten families (and siblings) only.

That’s all for this week.

David

Weekly Blog 11/9

Dear Wines Families,

After yesterday’s election, it is understandable that many in our community are looking to me for help working with our children moving forward now that the votes are cast and the election is over. I must admit that I am searching for the right answers and also paying close attention to our kids today (and over the days to come) to read their needs, answer their questions, and—if necessary—ease their fears.

While the analogy is not perfect, in some ways we will react as a school similarly to when traumatic events happen in our world. While I am not trying to paint the election as a traumatic event, our response at school when such events happen can guide us at times like these when kids are uncertain, have misunderstandings, or even are scared. Our goal is simple: to keep school as normal as possible for our kids. We certainly do not want to discourage conversations and questions. However, we also seek to keep the day to day as normal as possible. As it relates to the election, normal at school is that students always know that they are safe and their families are safe. Normal at school is that we are respectful of all people. Normal is that we always use kind words when we speak to others or speak about others. This is the message I gave to our staff as they are on the “front lines” with our kids.

Speaking of normal, on to the news of the week here at school:

Wines Times

Our PTO newsletter is hot off the presses. Below is a link to the Wines Times for November. Please have a look!

http://winespto.org/docs/WTNov2016.pdf

Science and Builders Fair

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night for our annual Science and Builders Fair at 7:00 PM. Even if your child is not participating, this is a great family event for all!

That’s all for this week.

David

Weekly Blog 11/2

Dear Wines Families,
Wow, how did it get to be November already!! We are entering a busy time of year for our kids and staff. Right now, our staff is engaged in parent teacher conferences. At the conference, your teacher will share your child's Personalized Learning Plan that outlines current progress and goals created by both the teacher and the student. If you haven't been able to schedule a conference with your child's teacher, please do so ASAP. We want to make sure we conference with every parent before report cards go home. Report cards go home right before our Thanksgiving recess.

Thank you!!!
Our Run-a-Thon was a success in every way. As of today we are very close to 100% participation from our students. Thank you so much for your participation. We will be closing the books on Run-a-Thon at the end of the week. We will still accept pledges through Friday. Online pledges can be made at https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto/item/run-a-thon-donation-1. Thank you again as this is, perhaps, our most successful Run-a-Thon ever!

No School Tuesday, Nov. 8
I want to remind you that there is no school next Tuesday, Nov. 8th for Election Day. Our building will be closed. If you are looking for things to do with your kids next Tuesday, our neighbors at Forsythe have partnered with Skyzone for the day and a portion of admission fees go to Forsythe. I included a flyer with today's email.

Picture Re-Take Day: Nov. 9th
Next Wednesday is Picture Re-Take Day. If your child's smile was just not quite right or if you missed the first picture day, next Wednesday is the day. Please bring your original pictures with your child as they will be collected at that time.

That's all for this week. Thank you!
David

Weekly Blog 10/25

Dear Wines Families,

Since tomorrow is a half day of school, I wanted to get this week’s message out a bit early. Speaking of the half day, our bell will ring at 11:53. There is no after school childcare at Wines and no after school Rec and Ed classes. Our staff will be engaged in important professional development during the afternoon.

Run-a-Thon

Our Run-a-Thon was another great event. Now is the time to collect all of our pledges. You can still send in your pledges all week. Online pledges can be made at https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto/item/run-a-thon-donation-1.

While there is no minimum donation—and every penny helps—to reach our goal we want to average about $50 per child. Again, ANY amount helps and most importantly, we want every child to participate.

Science and Builders Fair: Nov. 10
All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the "Science and Builders Fair" on Thursday November 10th from 7pm to 8 PM at the school.  Registration is simple and is required. 20 projects registered in this last week!

The website can be accessed from a mobile device and there is a navigation menu at the top left allowing you to view a resource page filled with links to idea sites! The website contains all of the details about the fair, registration, and volunteering sign up too. Please register by November 4th! 

The website contains all of the details about the fair, registration, volunteer sign up and resources.  http://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/ 

Hope to see you there!

PTO 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 grant approval committee meets twice a year to vote on applications. Submissions are now accepted online only.  The first deadline is fast approaching, November 1st. The links for the Adult and Child application 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

That’s all for this week.

David

Weekly Blog 10/19

Dear Wines Families,

I just have a few announcements today, but they are important!

Run-a-Thon Friday

Our annual Run-a-Thon is this Friday. We’ve had a fantastic Spirit Week this week in anticipation of the event. While this is certainly an incredibly fun event, it is also one of our major fundraisers of the year. We are hopeful that EVERY Wines student participates and earns pledges.  The kids received their pledge envelopes last week. Online pledges are also available. Go to: https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto/item/run-a-thon-donation-1 to make a pledge online. You can share this link with friends and family. Please alert your friends and family of your child’s teacher and in the notes section, please have them type in your child’s name.

Run-a-Thon running times:

2^nd grade: 9:30

1^st grade: 9:50

3^rd grade: 10:10

4^th grade: 10:30

Kindergarten: 10:50

5^th grade: 11:10

Halloween Information

We will be celebrating Halloween at Wines on Monday, Oct. 31^st. Students may bring costumes to school to be worn in the afternoon (students may not come to school in costume). We will have an all school parade through the neighborhood beginning at 2:00. Most classroom activities will follow the parade though a few classes will have their activities before the parade. Please refer to information from your child’s teacher regarding plans in the classroom.

We understand and appreciate that not all Wines families celebrate Halloween. If you would like your child not to participate, please let me know as there will be an alternate activity.

Costume Questions??

We would like costumes to be as friendly as possible. Our basic rule is that we do not allow any fake blood or fake weapons. My rule of thumb for parents is this: if you have a question as to whether or not a costume or a prop is appropriate for school, it probably isn’t appropriate!!

Half Day of School Wednesday, Oct. 26

We have a half-day of school on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Our end of day bell will ring at 11:53 AM. Teachers will spend the afternoon engaged in professional development.

Science and Builders Fair: Nov. 10

All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the “Science and Builders Fair” on Thursday November 10^th from 7pm to 8 pm at the school.  Registration is simple and is required.  Fill out the registration form on the event website by November 4th. 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 works from a mobile device and there is a navigation menu at the top left. 

The website contains all of the details about the fair, registration, volunteer sign up and resources.   http://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/ 

Hope to see you there!

That’s all for this week. I hope to see you at the Run-a-Thon on Friday.

David

Weekly Blog 10/12

Dear Wines Families,

We have lots of important things happening at Wines right now so I have a few announcements plus the October Wines Times Newsletter from our PTO is hot off the presses. Please take a moment to read through today’s messages.

Wines Times

Below is a link to the Wines Times Newsletter for October. Please have a look!

http://winespto.org/docs/WTOct2016.pdf

Run-a-Thon: Next Friday!!!!

Our annual Run-a-Thon is next Friday morning. We are getting excited here and we will kick everything off on Friday with a Pep Rally featuring Skyline basketball players, the Skyline Drum Line, and a special appearance from Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton!

We still need volunteers for the Run-a-Thon. Below is a link to volunteer

 http://signup.com/go/BLyYMG

Students will receive their pledge envelopes in on Friday. Also, online pledging is already active. You can go to https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto/item/run-a-thon-donation-1 to make an online donation. This is the perfect way to reach out of town friends and family. I just made my online pledge and it only take a couple of seconds!! If you are sending this link to friends and family, be sure to let them know your child’s classroom teacher.  Also, please put the student’s name in the notes section at checkout.

Run-a-Thon Spirit Week

As we get ready for next week’s event, we will hold our annual Run-a-Thon Spirit Week next week.

Monday: Wacky Hair Day

Tuesday: Favorite Team Day

Wednesday: Pajama Day

Thursday: Crazy Sock Day

Friday: Run-a-Thon Spirit Day

Run-a-Thon running times:

2^nd grade: 9:30

1^st grade: 9:50

3^rd grade: 10:10

4^th grade: 10:30

Kindergarten: 10:50

5^th grade: 11:10

Science and Builders Fair Nov. 10th

All students at Wines are welcome to participate in the “Science and Builders Fair” on Thursday November 10^th from 7pm to 8 pm at the school.  Registration is simple and is required.  Fill out the registration form on the event website by November 4th. 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 works from a mobile device and there is a navigation menu at the top left. 

The website contains all of the details about the fair, registration, volunteer sign up and resources.  http://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/ 

Hope to see you there!

PTO 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 grant approval committee meets twice a year to vote on applications. Submissions are now accepted online only.  The first deadline is fast approaching, November 1st. The links for the Adult and Child application 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

 Lost and Found: Leaving soon…

In an effort to keep on top of our Lost and Found, we are going to donate items every six weeks. We will be cleaning out the Lost and Found next Thursday, Oct. 20^th. Please remind your child to have a look for lost items. Also, please label your child’s belongings. Lunchboxes are a particularly “un-labeled” item. Thanks!

That’s all for this week!

David