Weekly Update 10/25

Dear Wines Families,

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of October. The fall is really flying by, but that means things are humming right along here at school and, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun! Here is the news for the week. As always, I appreciate your time in reading through the information. 

Great Movie Night!

Our first Movie Night in a very long time was a smashing success last Friday! While I didn’t count, I estimate that around 250 kids were in attendance–perhaps more. I want to thank Amy Miles for encouraging us to host the event and for all of her work organizing a really special night for the kids. I hope parents enjoyed a couple of hours doing something fun or just relaxing while the kids were here at Wines. We will most certainly continue this tradition.

Walk to School Friday

Our final “Walktober” walk to school day is this Friday. We’ve had great participation this month and we encourage everyone to walk to school on Friday. Bus riders will again be dropped off at Forsythe where I will meet them along with our students who participate in morning childcare. Thanks to everyone for participating in this year’s Walktober. 

Halloween Oct. 31st

Next Tuesday is Halloween and we will again celebrate this date at our school. Tuesday is also an Early Release Day with dismissal at 1:00 so the day will be slightly different from previous years with a compact schedule. Below is some information to help families plan: 

Costumes: If students choose to wear a costume on Halloween, they should plan on arriving at school dressed in costume as we will not be changing into costumes at school. Costumes should be friendly in nature meaning no fake blood of fake weapons. My general rule of thumb is that if you aren’t sure if the costume or prop is appropriate for school, then it probably isn’t. 

Parade: We will take our annual parade through the neighborhood beginning at 9:15 AM. Our route has us exit school onto Cooley Ave. We turn left onto Saunders Crescent, then left onto Hillridge. We will then enter the Forsythe property via cut through off of Hillridge and take the long sidewalk through the Forsythe athletic fields back to Wines. 

Parents are more than welcome to watch the parade. The best place to view the parade is anywhere along the path from Hillridge to the Wines. If you are planning on being part of the parade, please be sure that your morning drop off routine stays the same–meaning our student drop off line is moving as normal for the beginning of school. 

Classroom Celebrations: Look for information from your classroom teacher regarding if and how the students will celebrate in class. As a reminder with the Early Release this year, celebrations will be smaller than in years past. 

Science + Builders Fair: Thursday, November 9 

Put your thinking caps on! Our annual Science + Builders Fair is right around the corner. The Science + Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and innovate! This event is designed to foster a love of learning and provide an exciting environment for the kids to proudly display their work. Nothing is too simple! It is not a "judged" event–all participants receive a certificate. 

While the event is not "judged", you do need to register on our website. It's fine to not have a topic yet, just let us know you're coming! 

https://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/

Do You Love our School Libraries?

Our district librarians are looking for parents/caregivers to form a "Friends of the AAPS School Libraries" group to support and advocate for our district school libraries. Our main goal is to strive for equity across all AAPS school libraries.

Please submit this Google form if you are interested in meeting on a monthly basis at Huron Library in the evening (dates TBD to start in November) during the school year to:

• Learn more about our school library programs and how to support them

• Develop fundraising opportunities to support buying print books for all of our school libraries

• Learn about the AAPS book challenge process and how to advocate for the freedom to read

• Learn about volunteer opportunities in the school libraries

• Share your support for school libraries on social media

• Share ideas with the group on how to support and advocate for our school libraries

David

Weekly Update 10/18

 Dear Wines Families,

I hope this message finds you well on this beautiful Autumn day. There are some exciting things coming up this week and beyond, so please take a moment to read through today’s message. 

Run-a-Thon Update

Again, I want to thank our community for another successful Run-a-Thon. We have exceeded our schoolwide fundraising goal and so I will spend an evening on the roof in the spring when it warms up! We currently have two classrooms—Mrs. Middleton and Mr. Toohey—who have met the 100% participation goal and have earned the right to throw a pie in my face. I’m still hoping that all of our classes meet this goal and many are very close! We have extended the deadline for one week. Donations can be made in the cash/check or online at https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon. Below is the current tally of classroom participation: 

 

PTO Meeting Tomorrow

Our PTO will be meeting tomorrow evening in the Wines Library at 7:00 PM. If you are unable to attend in person, Zoom information was sent in today's email. below is the Zoom information.

Walk to School Friday

After a week off due to Fall Break, we will again celebrate “Walktober” this Friday and encourage everyone to walk to school. Bus riders will again be dropped off at Forsythe where I will meet them along with our students who participate in morning childcare. 

Movie Night Friday!

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ first Movie Night this Friday from 6-8PM. We will have chaperones, snacks, and a fun, free movie watching experience set up in the cafeteria. Kids can wear PJs and bring sleeping bags to sit on to watch Disney’s Elementals. This event is for current Wines students only. Parents, please be sure to return to Wines no later than 8:00 to pick your child(ren) up. 

We are still looking for volunteers for set up and clean up! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-44657729-movie 

Science + Builders Fair: Thursday, November 9 

Put your thinking caps on! Our annual Science + Builders Fair is right around the corner. The Science + Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and innovate! Nothing is too simple. This is not a "judged" event -- all participants receive a certificate. Sign up information will be forthcoming. 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 10/11

 Dear Wines Families,

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the real fall temperatures that arrived this week. As the weather begins to change and we enter fall and winter, just a reminder that we will go outside for recess daily as long as the wind chill is above 0 degrees. We will also go outside in light rain as well so please make sure kids are sent to school prepared to be outside daily. 

Run-a-Thon Pledges

Congratulations families, we have reached our overall fundraising goal for the Run-a-Thon so I will be sleeping on the roof in the Spring! While that is wonderful, we currently do not have any classrooms with 100% participation (and subsequently, the opportunity to throw a pie at my face!). Please see below where each classroom’s participation stands.  Every little amount helps and I can honestly say that I really want all 19 classrooms to hit me with a pie! We are still accepting pledges and they can be made online via: https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon.

For the donation to count towards your classroom, simply put the teacher’s same in the “Child’s Name” field in the online donation form. We are also still taking cash and checks in the packets sent home as well. 

Rodriguez 83%

Kim 81%

Middleton 79%

Puente 78%

Fata 77%

Milanowski 77%

Harris     75%

Mosher 74%

Toohey 73%

Duggins 72%

Shanteau 71%

Carlin 70%

Kingkiner 70%

Suiecki 68%

Fisher 67%

Parsons 65%

Spiroff 63%

Lynch 60%

Day          52%

PTO Meeting 10/19

Our next PTO meeting is next Thursday, October 19 at 7:00 in the Library. For those wishing to join via Zoom, the meeting information came in today's email. 

Pick Up and Drop off Reminders

Now that we are fully into our seventh week of school, I want to take a moment to remind everyone of our pick up and drop off procedures. First, please be sure you are using the correct lot. Our Young 5’s, Kindergarten, and 5th grade families should be using the Cooley Lot, not the main entrance from Wines. 1st-4th grades should enter from Newport and use the main entrance to Wines. Please use the lot that corresponds to your youngest child (so 5th grade families, if you have siblings in 1st-4th grades, please use the main entry). While our system is not perfect, it is safe and efficient when everyone uses the correct entrances. 

I’ve also noticed that more and more students are being dropped off to school without supervision as early as 8:30 or earlier. Students should not be at school unsupervised until an adult staff member comes outside to greet students. This is usually about 8:35. Thank you for your attention to this. 

Movie Night October 20th

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ first Movie Night on Friday, October 20, from 6-8PM. We will have chaperones, snacks, and a fun, free movie watching experience set up in the cafeteria. Kids can wear PJs and bring sleeping bags to sit on to watch Disney’s Elementals.

Still looking for volunteers! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-44657729-movie 

EduStaff Substitute Teacher Positions

As we are headed into the Winter season, which also may be known as cold/flu/COVID season, the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) is looking for substitute teachers and paraeducators to support our classrooms. If you are a passionate person who enjoys connection with students EduStaff is looking for you. Substitute positions are necessary and meaningful work that enriches the lives of students in our community. If you, your family or friends are interested in making an impact, we encourage you to support the AAPS team as a substitute teacher or paraeducator.  Start your application at https://www.edustaff.org/

Fall Break

Reminder: no school this Friday or next Monday for Fall Break. 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 10/4

 Dear Wines Families,

It has been a great Spirit Week so far as we inch closer to Friday’s Run-a-Thon. The kids have shown great spirit!

Run-a-Thon Pledges

As I’ve indicated, Run-a-Thon is our largest fundraiser of the year. We are encouraging all students to collect pledges and any amount helps. 

Last year the kids reached 100% participation and each class got to throw a pie in my face.  The kids were really thrilled to smush all those pies in my face, so we’re bringing it back this year. I also spent an evening on the roof last spring to honor the kids reaching our fundraising goal. We’ll be bringing that incentive back again this year as well. 

So....for every class that has 100% of their students participate in collecting pledges (of any amount), that class will be able to throw a pie in my face. I’m hoping to be pelted by 19 pies! And if we meet our overall fundraising goal, I’ll spend a night on the roof. 

We aim to raise $20,000 for Wines through the Run-a-thon. It is a lofty goal and works out to approximately $50/student. To reach this goal, we really need everyone to chip in! If you are not able to contribute $50, any amount will help and if you are able to solicit pledges over $50, this will be a great help to our school! Online pledges are a great way to allow out of town friends and families support our school and can be made at: https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon.

One of the highlights of our Run-a-Thon pep-rally was a discussion of all the wonderful things that our PTO supports via proceeds from the Run-a-Thon. We talked about field trips, our 5th grade Camp Tanuga trip, playground upgrades, our art and music programs, and others. The kids were most excited that this year, our PTO has just built new soccer goals for the playgrounds!

We still have some Run-a-Thon volunteer slots open.  Sign up here if you’re interested & we’ll see you Friday.

Here is the Run-a-Thon grade-by-grade running schedule.

Well Deserved Recognition for Mr. Mosher! 

If you haven’t read the recent A2 School News article on our own 5th grade teacher, Mr. Mosher, take a moment and click on the link below. 

https://news.a2schools.org/nick-mosher-wines-elementary-5th-grade-teacher/

Movie Night October 20th

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ first Movie Night on Friday, October 20, from 6-8PM. We will have chaperones, snacks, and a fun, free movie watching experience set up in the cafeteria. Kids can wear PJs and bring sleeping bags to sit on to watch Disney’s Elementals.

Still looking for volunteers! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-44657729-movie 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 9/20

Dear Wines Families, 

As we find ourselves in our fourth week of school and our second full week, things are running smoothly and our day to day routines are firmly in place. I want to thank our entire community for all your support to help make the beginning of the year such a success. Here is the news for the week. The message is a bit long, but we have a lot going on! 

PTO Meeting Tomorrow

Our first PTO meeting is tomorrow evening at 7:00 in the Wines Library. Everyone is welcome! If you would prefer to join via Zoom, information was sent in today's email. 

Early Release Wednesday, Sept. 27th

Our first Early Release of the year is next Wednesday, Sept. 27th. Dismissal is at 1:00 PM. A few classroom teachers mistakenly alerted parents that dismissal was at 1:18 which was the the early release dismissal time last year. Please note that this is slightly earlier release time this year. Busses will run as normal—just arriving home approximately two hours and 48 minutes earlier than usual. There is no PM childcare. Lunch will be served as normal with kids eating slightly earlier than on regular school days. 

Picture Day Oct. 3rd 

Picture Day is coming up on Oct. 3rd. Online orders can be made at https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/80258CF. Ordering online in advance allows for free shipping to school. 

The Wines Run-a-Thon is Friday, October 6th!

Our annual Run-a-Thon is right around the corner on Friday, Oct. 6th. The event takes place during the school day and is a great community event. All grades will run in flights between 9AM – 11:30 AM.

Run-a-thon Pledges

The Run-a-Thon is our largest fundraiser of the year with the opportunity to pledge for runners. While we are still a couple weeks away, friends and family can start supporting our students now! This is a great way for friends and family from out of town to support and pledge for kids. Information on the event and how to make a pledge for your child can be found here.

Run-a-thon Corporate Sponsorships

Corporate sponsorships are tax deductible and welcome as well.  If interested – please click here send your commitment by this Friday 9/22.

To include your company logo on the Run-a-Thon T-Shirt, please send logo by Friday 9/22 to: Jourdan.ludwig@gmail.com

Run-a-thon Volunteers

The Run-a-Thon is also a fun and easy volunteer opportunity. If you are interested in helping out that day, please go to Wines Run-A-Thon Volunteers and sign up.

Online pledges can be made at the link below and this a great way to contact out of town friends and families to help contribute to the Wines community.

https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon

Spirit Wear

Our Spirit Wear sale is still live. The sale is live through Monday, September 25 at midnight. Items will ship directly to you starting October 10. There are a few new items this year including sweatpants! Support our school and rock your Wines gear around town! And a Wines hoodie makes a great gift! 

https://pogo.undergroundshirts.com/collections/wines-elementary-apparel-2

Wines Attendance Email 

We are moving to an email-only system to report absences. This is happening across all schools in AAPS. If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please email wines@aaps.k12.mi.us. 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 9/13

 Dear Wines Families, 

It was very nice to see everyone at Curriculum Night last evening. We hope you received helpful information from your child’s teacher and got to know the how the classroom is organized. 

Wines PTO

Our PTO is busy putting together another fantastic year at Wines. In order for our PTO to be successful, we need your help! There is no shortage of opportunities to get involved and no experience is necessary! For new families to Wines, there is often a sense of “I’m going to wait to learn more about everything before I get involved.” This is understandable! But please know that we need new people, fresh ideas, and our activities are really fun and easy to be a part of. So don’t be shy!! In your weekly email today were two links to information from our PTO. The first is a list of Wines events along with a QR code to sign up to volunteer. Please note, signing up does not obligate you but it gives us a list of people who are possibly interested. The second is a link to a letter from the PTO about our Direct Donation program. Please check your email and look for these items.

Miles Jeffrey Roberts Foundation Champion Program

The Miles Jeffrey Roberts Foundation mission is to empower the youth athletic community in mental well-being and suicide prevention.  MJRF was established in August 2019 in memory of Miles Roberts, a Freshman at Skyline and former Wines student, who died by suicide at the age of 15. Miles was a youth working to balance the demands of school, family, athletics, friends, social media and more. His feeling of elation during sports was contagious and these connections with coaches and teammates helped to nourish his mental well-being. We look to help others like Miles thrive and build a safety net of trusted support through their athletic interactions

This Fall marks our fourth anniversary and we are celebrating with a gathering at German Park on Friday, September 22nd from 6 -11 pm.  The evening will include dinner, beverages, silent auction, music by the Four Roses and dancing.  Our goal is to raise funds to grow the MJRF Champions Program. 

The MJRF Champion program is a pilot program intended to be transformative in approach for engaging youth athletes through trusted adults. The Skyline pilot is a 3 year program which began in September 2022, with a goal to demonstrate evidence based outcomes and to be sustainable by Skyline/AAPS at year 4 as part of the school curriculum.  Our 10 year plan is to grow this program across all high schools in Washtenaw County. 

Please join us in person at German Park or support us through donations to MJRF on our website mjrfoundation.org

• You can learn more about MJRF Champs at https://mjrfoundation.org/mjrf-champions/ and also on social @mjrfoundation

• You can purchase tickets at https://cbo.io/tickets/mjrf/tix.  Please purchase by 9/15 to support planning.  

• You can become a sponsor for German Park event including tickets at https://cbo.io/tickets/mjrf/tix_1.  

• You can become a sponsor only for German Park event at https://cbo.io/tickets/mjrf/tix_2.  

Spirit Wear

It's that time of year for the Wines Spirit Wear Sale! This will be your only time to order spirit wear this year. The sale is live now and will be open through Monday, September 25 at midnight. Items will ship directly to you starting October 10. There are a few new items this year including sweatpants! Support our school and rock your Wines gear around town! And a Wines hoodie makes a great gift! 

https://pogo.undergroundshirts.com/collections/wines-elementary-apparel-2

Wines Attendance Email 

We are moving to an email-only system to report absences. This is happening across all schools in AAPS. If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please email wines@aaps.k12.mi.us. 

Join us in Walktober!

Students and families are encouraged to walk, bike, and scoot their way to school every Friday in October and on International Walk to School Day - Wednesday, October 4th.

Walktober Dates:

Wednesday, October 4 (International Walk to School Day)

Friday, October 6

Friday, October 20

Friday, October 27

Walktober is a great way to learn about pedestrian safety and healthy habits. Collect a sticker or stamp on the way to school at the corners of Sunset & Newport, Saunders Crescent & Cooley Street, Riverwood & Newport, or at the Wines' Baseball Field (near Upper El playground) and path from Forsythe Field.

Volunteers are needed to hand out stamps. Please SIGN UP HERE.

What if my student takes the bus?

On each of the Walktober Dates, our busses will drop students off a the Forsythe main parking lot. Dr. DeYoung will meet busses there and accompany students on a walk to Wines. 

What if my student is in AM childcare?

Dr. DeYoung will pick childcare students up and walk with them to Forsythe to meet the busses. Students will then join the walk to school. 

What if we live too far away to walk?

One way to participate is to park close to the school and walk, bike, or scoot the remainder of the way.

Walktober is sponsored by the Wines PTO. 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 9/6

 Dear Wines Families, 

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day weekend. We were able to spend one final weekend up north (I skipped a Michigan football game for the first time in many years). It was an excellent way to officially end our summer and we were able to spend lots of time with family and friends. We spent a lot of time on the beach and on the water listening to Jimmy Buffett music following his passing. While I’m not a true “Parrot Head”—I only saw him in concert once—his music has been part of my summer playlist since I was a teenager and despite his loss, he filled the weekend with sing a longs and memories. On to this week’s news (sorry, this week’s message is a bit longer than usual).  

M14 Town Hall Meeting Tonight!

This evening at 6:30 PM, we will be hosting a town hall meeting with State Senator Sue Shink and representatives from the Michigan Department of Transportation. The Town Hall will focus on M14 updates. I know M14 noise and other items related to the highway have been raised for many years by members of our community so please consider attending this important event. 

Back to School Picnic Tomorrow

Join us on the front (upper el) playground tomorrow night from 5:30-7:00. This is an informal gathering where you and your family can bring your own picnic dinner and spend some time socializing with friends new and old. Please note, there will not be access to inside the school building during the picnic. 

Curriculum Night: Tuesday, Sept. 12th

Our annual Curriculum Night takes place next Tuesday, Sept. 12th. Teachers will be hosting two identical sessions. The first session is from 6:00-6:30 and the second session will take place from 6:40-7:10. This is an event for parents only. 

Wines Attendance Email 

We are moving to an email-only system to report absences. This is happening across all schools in AAPS. If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please email wines@aaps.k12.mi.us. 

End of Day Changes

If your end of day arrangements change, please alert our office in advance. This will allow us time to alert teachers so students can be ready to leave early or we have had time to alert students of any other type of change (i.e. parent pick up instead of the bus). Please contact us before 2:30 PM. Also, please note that we are unable to retrieve students after 3:15 PM. Please call the school office at (734) 994-1973. Do not use the attendance email described above. 

Volunteering at Wines

Thank you to everyone who has registered to volunteer at Wines. As part of our school safety measures, we ask that all volunteers please fill out a quick form that registers you as a Wines volunteer and allows us to complete a background check. The form is linked below.

Volunteer Registration

Once you fill out the form you are all set as the background check is a very quick process on our end and we will contact you in the event that there is a problem or question. If you do not hear anything back, you can assume that you are cleared to volunteer. Teachers will alert you about the various volunteer opportunities we have.

Note: This is a yearly requirement so volunteers from last year must fill out the form again this year.

Library volunteers

Speaking of volunteers, we’re excited to welcome volunteers into the library starting in the next few weeks. If you would like to volunteer in the library, please complete this Library Volunteer form. If you have additional questions, please reach out to Rachel Goldberg, Wines librarian (goldbergr@aaps.k12.mi.us).

Join us in Walktober!

Students and families are encouraged to walk, bike, and scoot their way to school every Friday in October and on International Walk to School Day - Wednesday, October 4th.

Walktober Dates:

Wednesday, October 4 (International Walk to School Day)

Friday, October 6

Friday, October 20

Friday, October 27

Walktober is a great way to learn about pedestrian safety and healthy habits. Collect a sticker or stamp on the way to school at the corners of Sunset & Newport, Saunders Crescent & Cooley Street, Riverwood & Newport, or at the Wines' Baseball Field (near Upper El playground) and path from Forsythe Field.

Volunteers are needed to hand out stamps. Please SIGN UP HERE.

What if my student takes the bus?

On each of the Walktober Dates, our busses will drop students off a the Forsythe main parking lot. Dr. DeYoung will meet busses there and accompany students on a walk to Wines. 

What if my student is in AM childcare?

Dr. DeYoung will pick childcare students up and walk with them to Forsythe to meet the busses. Students will then join the walk to school. 

What if we live too far away to walk?

One way to participate is to park close to the school and walk, bike, or scoot the remainder of the way.

Walktober is sponsored by the Wines PTO. 

Lunch and Breakfast

As I’ve announced previously, lunch and breakfast are free for all students this year. A-la-carte milk is charged. With this new law, AAPS is asking that ALL families fill out a Free and Reduced Lunch application. Even if your family will not financially qualify for free or reduced lunch and even if your child(ren) will not participate in the breakfast or lunch program, this information is used for state and federal reimbursement for school meals. Below is a link to information about the application. Thank you for completing this.

Breakfast/Lunch Application. 

Thanks! 

David