Welcome to Wines 2019-2020!!

Dear Wines Families,

I hope this message finds you well and ready for the 2019-20 school year! I’ve had an extremely relaxing summer. We spent most of the summer up north with my dad. As many of you know, we lost my mom last February so we decided to simply “move in” with my dad and fill the house with friends and family this summer. Of course, being on Lake Michigan is a pretty easy place to spend a summer! Trish was able to get away for a lot of time as well and while she had to work remotely quite a bit, working remotely from Northport is not a bad option! Our boys are still up there with Grandpa and we’ll have to drag them back to reality eventually. Simply put, it was a great summer for my dad and our entire family.

Staff Changes

This will be an exciting year for many reasons. Not least of which is the fact that we have lots of new faces on our staff.

Lexi Fata joins our Kindergarten team this fall. Many of us know Lexi well as she student taught in Kindergarten last year with Samantha Shanteau and took over during Samantha’s maternity leave. We are so thrilled that she is with us!

We welcome Jennifer Puente who is joining our 4^th grade team. Jennifer is an Ann Arbor “lifer” and has spent 20 years in AAPS at Bryant Elementary mainly in 2^nd grade. I’ve known Jennifer for many years having first crossed paths in 1995 while I was student teaching at Northside Elementary and she was beginning her career as a Teaching Assistant there.

We welcome Paige Wittman to our growing Kindergarten team. Paige has spent the last four years at Bryant teaching Kindergarten. From the small world department, Lexi spent some of her pre-student teaching time in Paige’s room.

We welcome Alicia Maans who is taking over our K-2 self-contained special education classroom. Alicia previously taught in a similar classroom in our district. Her classroom was closed at the end of last year and with Beth Hospadaruk’s retirement, we were able to find a perfect fit to replace her!

We also welcome Kate Leite to our school half time joining Ms. Brock as special education teacher. Some of our students currently on Ms. Brock’s caseload will transition to having Kate as their case manager. We will be working together in the days to come to make these changes and we will contact families as soon as we have it set up. Kate has served as a Title I teacher in our district for the past few years.

I’m also excited that our strong partnership with U of M continues as we welcome seven student teaching interns. Please welcome Torie Harmon with Samantha Shanteau, Jackie Segel with Derek Toohey, Jennifer Pruss with Shanna Middleton, Carina Huang with Paige Wittman, Lily DiLorenzo with Marcia Gibbs, Lexy Verhil with Anna Milanowski, Gabrielle Amato with Nick Mosher, and Anabell Waterford with Janet Heaton. 

Meet the Teacher Events!

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

• 1^st-5^th Grades: Tuesday, August 27^th at 4:30 PM.

• Kindergarten/Young 5’s: Wednesday, August 28^th at 6:30 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 29^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 August 27^th. At the conclusion of this letter, I have some annual reminders about traffic. One of the best ways to help with traffic—and thus keep our kids safe—is for students who are assigned to a bus to utilize the bus as often as possible. The first few days on the bus often find delays and schedule snafus. We ask that you are patient as things get sorted out and continue to use the bus.

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 those classrooms. There may be some minor variations 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: Thursday, August 29^th (6:00 PM)

• First Day of School: Tuesday, Sept. 3^rd. Full Day.

• Opening Day PTO Coffee: Tuesday, Sept. 3^rd (9:15 AM)

• Back to School Family Picnic: Thursday, Sept. 5^th (6:30 PM)

• Curriculum Night: Tuesday, Sept. 17^th (6:30-8:00 PM)

Keep Up To Date with Wines!

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 @wineselementary (please note @winesprincipal is no longer our Twitter address). 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, although our 5^th grade classrooms are in the modular building, your students will still enter school from the front door so please do not use the Cooley lot for pick up and 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.

We’re Hiring!

Finally, due to the growth of our school, we have expanded our lunch times this year in order to have fewer students on the playground and lunchroom at the same time. As a result, there are more lunch supervisor employment opportunities. The job is flexible (applicants can work one day a week or every day) and we can guarantee two and a half hours or more in some cases. It is a great job for anyone who loves kids, has energy, and has time between approximately 11AM and 1PM. If you are interested or know anyone who might be, please contact me directly. I know many of you have connections with UM students. This is a great job for college students (I worked lunch at Angell Elementary as an undergrad at Michigan). Lunch is also a great volunteer opportunity and I’ll share information on volunteering at lunch as we get closer to school.

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

Sincerely,

David DeYoung

Principal

Weekly Blog 6/12: Last One!

Dear Wines Families.

Well, here we are at the last weekly message of the year.

End of Year Items
Friday is a half day of school. Dismissal is at 11:39. Students will be sent home with their report cards on Friday.

Please pick up any medication in the office by the end of the day Friday. We will need to dispose of any medication left after then.

Our school will "clap out" the 5th graders starting at approximately 11:30 on Friday.

Thank You!
I want to thank our community for another fantastic year. Thank for supporting your kids and our school all year--and every year. Not only could we not have so many successful and fun events without our community's support, we literally couldn't have our day to day successes without you! It continues to be a joy to be the principal of this school and I know well how lucky I am to be part of this wonderfully supportive community. I wish you all a wonderful summer and while I'm looking forward to a bit of downtime, I also look forward to next fall.

Warmly,

David

Weekly Blog 6/5

Dear Wines Families,

I hope this finds you well as we enter the final few days for the school year. Kids are a bit restless, but hard work is still happening!

Country Fair Thank You!

Our Country Fair was another smashing success last Friday evening. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. For those new to the Fair, I’m sure you now know what a large event it is and I can’t thank everyone enough who was able to help out in some way. I want to give special thanks to a few folks who worked countless hours throughout the year to make the event so special.

• Denise Cope who chaired the organizing committee this year.

• Melissa Rilko who organized the Raffle.

• Stacy Guldal organized our volunteers

• Lori Shirilla who put the cakewalk together

• Jaimie Sussman for organizing the food. 

• Sara Meyer as our games coordinator.

• Lisa Hutton and Amy Cannon for help with the classroom baskets

• Jen Hinesman, Tracie Clarke, and Michelle Chien for all the help with the raffle. 

• Laurie McClatchey for the accounting work.

• Our entire PTO executive board—particularly president Kelly Collins—for all the support for the Fair and all our events this year.

I sincerely apologize if I have missed someone who should be on this list.

Saying Goodbye

As we all know, we will be saying goodbye to Mrs. Hospadaruk at the end of next week. In addition, it is with bittersweet emotions that Mrs. Caruso will also be retiring at the end of the year. After 34 years as a teacher (33 of them at Wines), Paula is ready, as she said, some time in warm weather during the cold Michigan winters. We wish both Paula and Beth the best and thank them for their service to children.

Be Sure to Re-Enroll

Every family should have received an email recently from backtoschool@a2schools.org with instructions on re-enrolling for the 2019-20 school year. Thank you to everyone who has done this. It only takes a minute and is required for every student. If you haven't yet, please do so right away. If you need assistance, please contact the office. 

Lost and Found

Our Lost and Found will be emptied one week from today, Wednesday June 12.

You May Have Heard…

As I promised the kids for their efforts for March is Reading Month and their hard work all year, I will be spending an evening on the roof of Wines tomorrow evening. Look for my tent!

Half Day on the Last Day of School

Next Friday, June 14^th is the last day of school. It is a half day which is different from our Early Release days. School ends at 11:39. There is no PM childcare. Students will receive their final report cards that day.

Medication

If your child has medication at school, please pick up your child’s medication by the last day of school. By law, we cannot keep the medication stored over the summer.

Thank you!

David

Weekly Blog 5/22

Dear Wines Families,

As usual at this time of year, there is lots of information below about the Country Fair and Raffle. The event is just over a week away! I want to reiterate that this is our largest (and most fun) event of the year and we literally need everyone to help out to make it great. Volunteer opportunities are plentiful and easy so please help out and please help fill those classroom baskets and other raffle baskets. Ok, here is the news for the week.

Reminder: Early Release Today

Just a reminder that school dismisses at 1:29 today. There is no PM childcare.

Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast this Friday!

Calling all of our volunteers (which, in essence, is every Wines family member!). Please join us as we celebrate you Friday morning at 8:15 in the Library.

Country Fair and Raffle

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, May 31, or donate an item for the raffle.

Sign up to volunteer now! *Please note: If you are viewing the sign up on a mobile device there are multiple pages of volunteer slots, please click “More” at the bottom of the list!*

There is a long list 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! These opportunities are a great and fun way to get aunts/uncles or grandparents involved too! Volunteer questions? Email Stacy Guldal.

We need Raffle donations! View the wishlist now.

K-5 Classroom Raffle Basket donations are being accepted through Friday, May 24. 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.

• Young Fives and 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 and Melissa Rilko.

Get your wristbands and tickets at Wines starting Tuesday, May 28.

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 for online orders.

Purchase Online (Now – May 29): (Credit Card Only — An online minimum purchase of $10 is requested.)

Country Fair questions? Email Denise Cope.

That’s all for this week!

David

Weekly Blog 5/15

Dear Wines Families,

Dare I say it, spring is here…

Here is the news for the week. As I said last week, this is a busy time of year so the messages are longer, but also very important. I hope you take some time to read through everything. We’ll begin with the Country Fair information for the week.

Country Fair and Raffle Information

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

This event takes place on May 31, from 6:00–8:30 p.m. at Wines Elementary (both inside and behind the school) and features:

• 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
• Pizza
• Michigan Creamery Ice Cream
• Cotton Candy
• Illusionist Tyler Scott
• Flush Tank
• And more!

THREE WAYS TO PURCHASE:

• Online (May 8 – May 29): (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 24.

• 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 and Melissa Rilko.

VOLUNTEERS: *Please note: If you are viewing the sign up on a mobile device there are multiple pages of volunteer slots, please click “More” at the bottom of the list!*

Like most events at Wines, we rely heavily on parent volunteers to make this a wonderful celebration for our students. Signing up to help with a game is a great opportunity to volunteer if there are younger siblings that need to be kept close! 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 Stacy Guldal.

CAKE WALK:

Calling All Student Bakers K-5 For The Country Fair Cake Walk! Bake a cake or cupcakes based on the theme "Music". 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! (Please note, we are not able to refrigerate items.)

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

Cake Walk questions? Email Lori Shirilla.

Now on to other news.

Art Night Tomorrow!

Join us beginning at 6:30 tomorrow evening for Art Night. In addition to great individual student projects, please also check out our newly completed murals around the building. Every Wines student participated in painting the murals and they are outstanding. Please note, the weather is looking nice tomorrow evening—that’s great! Over the past couple years, however, we’ve had great weather and somehow the event turned into an outdoor “recess” for kids and families. We ask that if your family is attending, that you come for the Art and not for outdoor activities. Mr. Wyse and the kids worked very hard!

Save the Date: Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast

Our staff cordially invites all of our volunteers to our annual breakfast on Friday, May 24^th at 8:15 in the Library. Every member of our community volunteers in our school in some way, so please stop by and let us show you our appreciation!

Final PTO Meeting: May 21^st

Our final PTO meeting takes place next Tuesday, May 21^st. The Executive Board meets at 6:00 (all are welcome) and the full meeting begins at 7:00.

Want to Volunteer at Lunch Recess?

Now that the weather has turned, perhaps we may have more interest in helping at lunch recess. We always welcome folks to come out. There are some parents who have set up a sign up sheet. Below is a link. If you sign up, please sign in at the front office and then go to the cafeteria. Gail Epstein, our coordinator, will tell you where to go.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084cadaa2daafc1-lunch 

As we look ahead to next year, we are always looking for folks who want to be paid to be a supervisor. It’s great for folks with flexible schedules, retirees, etc. If you or someone you know would be a good candidate, please let me know.

David