Modular Building Update and Plan

Dear Wines Families,

As I wrote in my opening letter earlier this week, we are beyond thrilled with the new modular building and the opportunities it opens up for our kids and staff. At the same time, I indicated that there is a chance that the building will not be ready in time for school to start.

Unfortunately, the reality is that we do not think we will be able to move our 5th grade classrooms into the building until after our school year begins. Our Certificate of Occupancy appointment is scheduled for August 30th, which means we will be very close. However, he final touches will need to be done after that date and we have to start school!

Fortunately, as you would expect, the Wines staff has come together to solve this temporary situation. For the beginning of the school year, Mr. Duggins will be in Room 108. That is Ms. Caruso’s former classroom that will eventually become our new Special Education Resource Room when Neil moves to the modular. Ms. Spiroff’s class will start the year in the music room. Ms. Heaton’s class will start the year in the art room.

The furniture, etc. from both the art room and music room have been put into storage pods and the 5th grade classroom furniture has been placed in those classrooms. The resource room furniture is still in its former location so Mr. Duggins’s classroom furniture is now in room 108. Therefore, each of the 5th grade classes will start the year in fully functional and comfortable classroom spaces.

Mr. Wyse and Ms. Glaser will teach their classes “on a cart” and will bring their talents into the classroom teachers’ classes each day. Ms. Steuer will do the same with her 4th and 5th grade Spanish classes. This approach is not new as we already have our Project Lead the Way teacher, Sarah Schemanske, conduct her classes in the students’ homerooms so students and staff are used to this model.

We are extraordinarily thankful to our 5th grade team, Mr. Wyse, Ms. Glaser, and Ms. Steuer for their understanding and flexibility. I also want to point out that Ms. Evaldson quickly offered the Library as a possible classroom location as well. Even Ms. Wahl offered the gym! Each of these great teachers expressed a “can do,” student first attitude and we couldn’t be more thankful.

I know this will be somewhat disappointing to our 5th grade students. There are two fifth graders living in my house who are extremely excited to be in the new building and this news will be a disappointment. However, I can say unequivocally that the new building will be worth the wait and our year will get off to a great start for our 5th graders and for our entire school.

Please note that on Wednesday, August 29th, the new building will be "powered up" by DTE which requires that Wines be without power for the entire day. Wines will be closed next Wednesday. The Kindergarten/Young 5's meet the teacher will go on as planned! 

Reminders about our Back to School Events:

Monday, August 27th: New Family Orientation. 6:30 PM

Tuesday, August 28th: 1st-5th Grade Popsicles and Meet the Teacher. 4:30 PM

Wednesday, August 29th: Kindergarten/Young 5’s Meet the Teacher. 5:30 PM

Tuesday, Sept. 4th. First day of school.

Thursday, Sept. 6th: Wines Family Welcome Back Picnic. 6:30 PM.

The 1st-5th grade meet the teacher will take place on the back playground. The Kindergarten/Young 5’s event will meet on the back playground as well and we will then move into the classrooms.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

David

WELCOME TO THE 2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR!

Dear Wines Families,

Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year! While Sept. 4^th is right around the corner, I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer. My family had an amazing summer. The highlight was a two-week trip to Spain in July where we were able to visit Trish’s large extended Spanish family and enjoy one of our favorite places in the world. We were also able to spend a good deal of time up north (though not as much as most summers). The highlight of our time up north was a big party we held in Northport to celebrate my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary and 75^th birthdays.

Staff Changes

We have just a couple of new faces to our staff this year. We welcome Bryan Parsons as our new 3^rd grade teacher. Bryan hails from a small town in central Iowa and studied English and Music at Drake University in, as he calls it, the “sprawling metropolis” of Des Moines, Iowa. Bryan then left Iowa for a great adventure in South Korea where he taught English for six years. He then returned to the U.S. where he entered the University of Michigan’s Elementary Masters and Certification program. Upon completion, Bryan was hired at Pittsfield where he served as a Title I tutor last year. Byan’s partner Chelle is currently in Korea finishing up her doctoral research. We welcome Bryan to our team!

Making room for Bryan in 3^rd Grade, Samantha Shanteau has moved to Kindergarten and Shanna Middleton will be taking on the role of our Young 5’s teacher as we launch this exciting new program at Wines!

We also welcome Rosana Lubara-Steuer as our new Spanish teacher for both 4^th and 5^th grades. Welcome Senora Steuer!

Modular Building Update

As you may know, this year marks an exciting new beginning to the physical space at Wines. Our new modular building has recently been installed and they are working day and night to try to have it ready for school to start. I can’t wait for everyone to see inside of the new building. In a word, it is extraordinary. The interior design and layout is far superior to what I imagined. Our entire 5^th grade will be moving to the modular building this year along with various staff members who have been creatively sharing space for many years. We are extremely excited for this move!

While the project is going well, I have shared with our staff that there is a possibility that the building will not be ready for the start of the school year. While this is disappointing, it is a mere bump in the road and we will have a contingency plan finalized soon in the event that there is a delay. Please look for updates over the next few days.  

Meet the Teacher Events!

Mark your calendars for our annual Popsicles and Meet the Teacher Events.

• 1^st-5^th Grades: Tuesday, August 28^th at 4:30 PM.

• Kindergarten/Young 5’s: Wednesday, August 29^th at 5:30 PM.

Each event will take place on the back playground. Kindergarten/Young 5’s students will also spend time in their classrooms. The 1^st-5^th grade event is outdoors only. If you are not able to attend the gathering, we will be emailing class assignments on those same days. You can also call school beginning on Thursday, August 30^th to inquire about placement.

Bell Schedule

First Bell: 8:53

Second Bell 8:56 (classroom instruction begins)

End of day: 3:59

School Bus Schedules

Please monitor the AAPS website (www.a2schools.org) as bus schedules will be posted likely the week of Sept. 27^th.

Snack Policy

The Wines snack policy is that only fruits and vegetables can be brought to school as a snack. This policy aligns our school with state guidelines for healthy foods and also addresses many allergy concerns in our classrooms. So again this year we ask that your child’s snack be only fruit or vegetables. This policy is consistent with numerous other AAPS elementary schools.

Kindergarten/Young 5’s families, please look for communication from your child’s teacher regarding the “Community Snack” that takes place in Kindergarten. There may be some minor variation in the policy due to the unique snack system in Kindergarten/Young 5’s.

We realize that some students have special dietary considerations and we will certainly allow for flexibility with this policy to ensure the health and safety for each student. Please note that this policy does not apply to student lunches.

Other Important Dates

In the first day packet, you will receive a calendar with our various events for the school year. However, I do want to point out a few early in the year events so you can have them on your calendars.

• New Family Orientation: Monday, August 27^th 6:30 PM at Forsythe MS Auditorium.

• First Day of School: Tuesday, Sept. 4^th Full Day.

• Opening Day PTO Coffee: Tuesday, Sept. 4^th (9:15 AM)

• Back to School Family Picnic: Thursday, Sept. 6^th (6:30 PM)

• Curriculum Night: Thursday, Sept. 20^th (6:30-8:00 PM)

Keep Up To Date with Wines!

As always, we strive to always keep everyone in the loop about what is happening at our school. There are multiple ways to keep up! I will continue to send my weekly “Wednesday Email” and the same information from my emails can be found on my blog at www.winesprincipal.blogspot.com. I will also continue to use Twitter. Twitter users, please follow me @winesprincipal. Please also follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wineselementary.

Annual Traffic Reminder

I want to repeat my yearly reminder about our parking lot. These reminders are more important than ever as our school reaches capacity with students and cars! The area along the main entrance of the building from the beginning of the sidewalk until the gate is an active drop-off/pick up zone. Please pull as far ahead as possible and stay in your car. Do not park in front of the gate. In the Cooley lot, the area from the end of the gate to the end of the modular building 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/Young 5’s families (and siblings) only. 5^th grade parents, when the Modular building is ready, you will continue to use the front of the school and NOT the Cooley lot for pick up/drop off.

At the end of the day, our pick up line often extends along our entry driveway all the way to the soccer fields. Please note that you may not park your car along this driveway for any reason. Please stay in your car and continue to pull ahead (it seems like a long line but if everyone follows the system, it moves pretty fast!).

As a reminder, our school was never designed to accommodate lots of car traffic so please utilize the bus if your child is on a bus route and we always encourage a healthy walk or bike ride to school too! If you are driving to school and wish to park and come in, please make sure you are parked in a designated area. As always, a great option for parking is the Forsythe overflow lot near our Newport entrance where there are always open spots.

Enjoy the final days of summer and we’ll see you soon!

Sincerely,

David DeYoung

Principal

Final Weekly Blog 6/13

Dear Wines Families.

I'm writing you today from beautiful northern Michigan where we are spending our final day at Camp Tanuga with our 5th graders. This yearly trip is a highlight of the year for our 5th graders--and for me!!!

Wines Times 
Below is a link to the final PTO Wines Times Newsletter.
http://winespto.org/docs/wtJune2018.pdf

I want to thank our community for a fantastic year at Wines. Our school continues to be a place where I am proud to be the leader and I couldn't ask for a better group of parents, teachers and staff, and most importantly, our tremendous group of children. We have far more to reflect on than I have time to put into words today, but I thank you for a wonderful year. I'm already looking forward to next year and new adventures with a Young 5's classroom and a new modular building housing our 5th grade. It will be a quick summer and we'll be back before we know it. For now, however, I wish everyone a wonderful summer!

A couple of logistics for the final days of school. Friday is a half day with dismissal at 11:39. There is no childcare. If you have medication at school, please plan on picking up your child's medication before the end of the day Friday if at all possible. By law, any medication left after next Tuesday, June 19 will be discarded. On Friday we will have our final school assembly at 10:15 and we will "clap out" our 5th graders at approximately 11:30.

Thank you again for a great year. Have a wonderful summer.

David

Weekly Blog 6/6

Dear Wines Families,

It’s hard to believe we just over a week left of school. I do have a couple of important announcements.

Homework Survey

Our school community is embarking on a journey to review our approach to homework at the elementary level and as we begin this process, we'd like some information from our parent community regarding your family's experience with homework. Below is a link to a brief questionnaire. This initial questionnaire is intended to simply compile some quantitative response data to help us frame our initial work. Over time we will seek out more comprehensive qualitative data and ideas. Please consider taking a few minutes to provide feedback. Your responses are ANONYMOUS.

https://goo.gl/forms/qNZ2irXYLQvRejJz1

Country Fair Thanks!

Our annual Country Fair and Raffle was another FANTASTIC event last Friday. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend! The Fair is a huge undertaking to put together and I want to give a big, well deserved thank you to Denise Cope who worked all year planning the Fair and worked incredibly hard over the last couple of months to make sure everything was just right. Thanks you Denise!! Denise was not alone and I want to also thank Mary Nickson, Cristina Rojas, Stacy Gudal, Sara Meyer, Kerianne Tupac, Tracie Clarke, and Kelly Collins for their hard work and leadership as well! There were also numerous other volunteers at the event. On behalf of the entire Wines community, thank you!

HELP FILL A.C.C.E.’S FOOD PANTRY BEFORE SUMMER BREAK

Thank you to everyone who has already donated to the A.C.C.E’s Food Pantry. The collection will continue through Friday this week and items can be dropped off outside of the front office. 

That’s all for this week.

David

Weekly Blog 5/23

Dear Wines Families,

The Country Fair is just over a week away. Please read through the information about the fair (and how to support it!) as well as the other information for the week.

The Wines Country Fair and Raffle needs your help to make this an awesome end-of-the-year celebration for our students! Please sign up to volunteer at the fair on Friday, June 1, or donate an item for the raffle.

Sign up to volunteer now!

There is a long list (mobile users please note there are multiple pages) of volunteer opportunities so you can find something that will be fun for you. Also, if you have a high school age student that needs volunteer hours or a middle school student who would like to get involved, we would love their help too! Volunteer questions? Email Cristina Rojas.

We need Raffle donations! View the wishlist now.

K-5 Classroom Raffle Basket donations are being accepted through Friday, May 25. Each year the classrooms from each grade create an amazing raffle basket. Below are classroom themes for your donations. Collection baskets are located in each classroom.

• Kindergarten - Arts & Crafts
• 1st Grade - Legos
• 2nd Grade - The Wonderful World of Science
• 3rd Grade - Camping, Swimming & Outdoor Fun
• 4th Grade - Sports & Outdoor Fun (Team regalia is great too!)
• 5th Grade - It’s A High Tech World

Raffle questions? Email Tracie Clarke.

Get your wristbands and tickets at Wines starting Tuesday, May 29.

Purchase wristbands and tickets at the sales table outside the main school doors before and after school. If you purchase them online you can also pick up your order during this same time. Please allow for a 24-hour turnaround.

Purchase Online (Now – May 30): (Credit Card Only — An online minimum purchase of $10 is requested.)

Country Fair questions? Email Denise Cope.

Volunteer Breakfast Friday

Please join us on Friday as our staff invites all of our volunteers to a special breakfast at 8:15 in the Library. We look forward to celebrating with you.

Box Tops

The Boxtops contest is drawing to a close!  Turn in your boxtops marked with your teacher's name by June 1!  The winning classes will have the choice of a pizza or cupcake party for their class during the last week of school!

That’s all for this week.

David

Weekly Blog 5/16

Dear Wines Families,

As I said last week, these end of year messages are longer than normal—and more important! Please take a moment to read through all of this week’s announcements.

Country Fair

ONLINE WRISTBAND, FOOD, AND RAFFLE TICKET SALES ARE OPEN FOR THE WINES COUNTRY FAIR & RAFFLE!

This event takes place on June 1, from 6:00–8:30 p.m. at Wines Elementary and features:

• The Raffle where students can enter to win themed prize baskets, fun events with Wines teachers, and items from the community
• Cake Walk (student entries due by 9:00 a.m. on June 1)
• Carnival-style games and prizes
• Farmer John’s petting zoo with two fun-filled shows
• Photo booth
• Lemonade
• NYPD Pizza
• Michigan Creamery ice cream
• Performances from the aerial artists of the Aviary
• Fifth Grade Flush Tank
• And more!

THREE WAYS TO PURCHASE:

• Online (May 9 – May 30): (Credit Card Only — An online minimum purchase of $10 is requested.)

Pick up wristbands and tickets at the sales table outside the main school doors during advance sales or the night of the Fair. If ordering the week of the Fair, please allow for a 24-hour turnaround.

• In Advance at Wines (May 29 – June 1): (Cash, Check, or Credit Card)

Purchase tickets at the sales table outside the main school doors before and after school.

• At the Fair (June 1): (Cash, Check, or Credit Card)

Purchase tickets onsite at ticket tables outside the school.

Country Fair questions? Email Denise Cope.

 THREE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:

• RAFFLE:

We need donations! View the wishlist now.

K-5 Classroom Raffle Baskets: Each year the classrooms from each grade create an amazing raffle basket. Below are classroom themes for your donations. Collection baskets are located in each classroom. Classroom basket donations are being accepted through Friday, May 25.

• Kindergarten - Arts & Crafts
• 1st Grade - Legos
• 2nd Grade - The Wonderful World of Science
• 3rd Grade - Camping, Swimming & Outdoor Fun
• 4th Grade - Sports & Outdoor Fun (Team regalia is great too!)
• 5th Grade - It’s A High Tech World

Raffle questions? Email Tracie Clarke.

• VOLUNTEERS:

Like most events at Wines, we rely heavily on parent volunteers to make this a wonderful celebration for our students. Please sign up to help! Also, if you have a high school age student that needs volunteer hours or a middle school student who would like to get involved, we would love their help too!

Volunteer questions? Email Cristina Rojas.

• CAKE WALK:

Calling All Student Bakers K-5 For The Country Fair Cake Walk! Bake a cake or cupcakes based on the theme "Favorite Movie/Movie Character". Bring it in on Friday, June 1 by 9 a.m. to be eligible for the cake contest where teachers will judge cakes and award ribbons to the top three best-themed cakes in each grade. Entries will be used as prizes for the Cake Walk that evening and will be on display at the Country Fair!

We also appreciate any donations of cakes and cupcakes from Wines families for Cake Walk prizes.

Cake Walk questions? Email Mary Nickson.

Science Olympiad

We had a remarkable Science Olympiad last Saturday. The final numbers from the event were:

• 98 registered participants
• 31 Coaches
• 1 Event Supervisor
• 28 Event Volunteers
• 87 students went to compete
• 47 medals earned (54% of competitors)

I am so proud of our entire Science Olympiad team and thankful for our volunteer coaches and event volunteers. I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Anastasia Yocum who organized the entire Olympiad season and in her “spare” time, even coached a team. Thank You, Anastasia!

For Science Olympiad participants, we will host a Popsicle celebration at lunch on Friday. Please have kids wear their Olympiad t-shirts and medals on Friday.

Art Night Tomorrow

Please join us for our annual Art Night tomorrow, May 17, from 6:30-8:00. Come at any time to browse the wonderful artwork from all Wines students.

Volunteer Breakfast: May 25

Please join us as our staff in appreciating all of our volunteers next Friday at 8:15 in the Media Center. We can’t have a successful school without you!!

Staffing News for 2018/19

I’m pleased to announce two staff changes for the 2018/2019 school year. First, I’m incredibly excited to announce that Shanna Middleton will be our first ever Young 5’s teacher at Wines! As most of you know, Shanna is the architect of our Kindergarten program at Wines, which has become a model and leader in early childhood education. We are so excited as Shanna becomes the architect of our Young 5’s program.

With Shanna moving to Young 5’s, we have an opening at Kindergarten. I’m pleased to announce that Samantha Shanteau will be our new Kindergarten teacher. Samantha has taught 3^rd grade here for the past three years. As you may know, Samantha did her student teaching in Shanna Middleton’s classroom so Shanna’s “hands” will continue to be on our entire early childhood program!!

With Samantha moving to Kindergarten, we will have an opening at 3^rd grade. In the coming weeks, the interview process will begin. I will be participating in the first round of interviews at the district level on May 29. After that initial round, we will then bring candidates back for school-based interviews. We will need an interview team for that round that includes parents. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please let me know. You do not need to be a parent of a current 2^nd grader.

Reminder: Early Release Wednesday, May 23

We have our final Early Release next Wednesday. End of day is 1:29. There is no PM childcare.

Thank you!

On behalf of the Wines staff, I want to extend a sincere thank you to all of our families for a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week last week. Each day brought a new surprise for our staff and we deeply appreciate your appreciation! Special thanks to the Hutton family for donating the coffee for one of the special days!

Thanks for taking the time to read through this long message! Hope to see you tomorrow night at Art Night.

David