Friday, April 26, 2013

Weekly Blog 4/26


Dear Wines Families,

As I mentioned in Wednesday’s email, we have a number of additional announcements that were not in the Wines Times. So here goes:

Art Night
Just a reminder that tonight is Art Night. Janice Hendrick and her excellent group of volunteers have been very busy and the school looks like an art museum. We hope to see you tonight! Art Night is from 6:30-8:00. Thanks to everyone for all of your help and willingness to volunteer. Special thanks to Sonnet Meek and her son Teddy Curtner who brought in over 35 cans that are much needed to display some of our work tonight.

Girls on the Run 5K Event at Wines
Parents we need your help in making this event a success for our Girls!Our Wines "Girls on the Run" team is holding a practice 5k event after school on Tuesday, April 30 and would like to invite you to run with us, cheer for us, or quench our thirst! We will be starting at the front of school at 4pm.  Our route takes us through the Creal Park neighborhood. Come to school at 4pm and run with us or help us out with a water stop in the neighborhood.  Sign up here if you can help: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409054DA5AE2B0-girls/1605923. We are practicing for the end of the season run with all the Girls on the Run teams in southeastern Michigan which will take place on May 19 at Eastern Michigan University. We'd love to see you there too. For more information about the event or how to sign up to run with your daughter or support your Wines team, go to http://girlsontherunsemi.org/events/GOTR-events.php.  If you would like to help with our practice 5k or for more information, contact coach Jennifer Hall at a2halls@gmail.com.

Help and Materials Needed for 2nd Grade Instrument-Making Project
The instrument-making unit is about to begin for 2nd graders, and we need families (any Wines families!) to donate these items:

Large empty oatmeal containers
Duct tape
PVC pipe, ½ inch and larger
A few clean 2 liter soda bottles
A few yards of clean garden hose
Sturdy cardboard shoe boxes with lids
Please send supplies in to the music room by May 1st. We also need parent volunteers for the project. It’s a fun project and the kids really appreciate your help. Contact Ms. McNally at mcnally@aaps.k12.mi.us if you can help during your 2nd grader’s music class. Thank you very much!

Great Ideas Grants
Turn a great idea into a program that benefits the Wines community. So far this school year, the program has funded 13 grants, including:

Portable digital storage for the library
Digital cameras for school use
Student “Be Green” club
Automatic pencil sharpeners for classrooms
 Applications due May 1st. Applications can be found in the office or on the Wines PTO Website.  If you have any questions or want help filling out an application, please email Annemarie Dolan atakilburndolan@comcast.net.

More Miller Construction Information
One thing that I did not mention related to the Miller Road construction is the fact that due to the construction, there has been an increase in traffic in the neighborhoods around our school. Please be sure to keep your speeds down and look for children walking. We have lots of walkers and we want to continue to encourage walking to school and we want to make sure they are safe!

Yearbook
Last call for pictures for the yearbook!  We are in need of photos of Halloween and group photos from the classrooms.   Please email (in high resolution format) to debbietirico@me.com and indicate which classroom teacher.  Deadline is Thursday!!

Wines Auction
It's hard to believe, but the Wines Country Fair is about 6 weeks away!  That means the auction and raffle committees are busy rounding up donations from local businesses and you, the families at Wines.  Please consider donating or sponsoring an item for the auction.  Last year we had 30 items and raised over $9000.  If you would like to donate an item or sponsor an item with a monetary donation, please contact Anna Morgan at annamorganforest@yahoo.com or Debbie Tirico at debbietirico@me.com.

Can't think of an item…. here are some from the Auction that we've seen in prior years. We would love to see these and new ideas for this year!  Can you help?

Tickets to sporting events
Wine tasting
Vacation homes
Golf Outings
Classroom Pizza Party
Local restaurants and entertainment

Have a great (and sunny!) weekend.

David



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Weekly Blog 4/17


Dear Wines Families,
As we inch closer to the end of the school year, we will have lots of information to send out as we have lost of activities! So again this week, we have a long email. Please see below.

Spring Pictures
Spring pictures are being taken on Friday. You should have received a packet earlier this week or one will be coming home today. Pictures are optional and only students who have a packet or signed up online will have their picture taken.

Art Night Update
We need your 18 oz - 28 oz metal cans. We've gotten about 8 and we need a total of 65. We will use them to display some of the artwork so they need to be clean and label free. Leave them in the Art Room or contact Linda Peppin Qpep@comcast.net to make other arrangements if needed.
Thanks to all of the people who have helped out so far this week. If you can help prepare and hang the artwork for an hour or two during school hours this week, email Linda Peppin at Qpep@comcast.net to let us know. We also have time scheduled this Saturday (Science Olympiad) from 9 am – 1 pm to finish all of the hanging.

The online Art Night sign up is now posted, so you can sign up to help on the night of the event.
To sign up to volunteer:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/AyuxBh
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

We are still looking for a few more volunteers to send in snacks for Art Night as well. Below is a link to that sign up.
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409044CADA92F4-artnight/1151961

Disability Awareness Workshop

Our annual 4th grade Disability Awareness Workshop is taking place on Monday. We are still in need of a couple volunteers for set up/pick up duty. If you are able, please click on the link below. A Workshop flyer is attached to today’s email.
http://tinyurl.com/bd882er

Girls on the Run 5K Event at Wines: Parents we need your help in making this event a success for our Girls!

Our Wines "Girls on the Run" team is holding a practice 5k event after school on Tuesday, April 30 and would like to invite you to run with us, cheer for us, or quench our thirst!  We will be starting at the front of school at 4pm.  Our route takes us through the Creal Park neighborhood.  It would be awesome if some families in the neighborhood could set up water tables for our runners or be in your front yards to cheer us as we run by.  Or, come to school at 4pm and run with us!  We are practicing for the end of the season run with all the Girls on the Run teams in southeastern Michigan which will take place on May 19 at Eastern Michigan University.  We'd love to see you there too.  For more information about the event or how to sign up to run with your daughter or support your Wines team, go to http://girlsontherunsemi.org/events/GOTR-events.php.  If you would like to help with our practice 5k or for more information, contact coach Jennifer Hall at a2halls@gmail.com.

Thanks,

David



Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Weekly Blog 4/10


Dear Wines Families,
There are lots of important announcements this week.

Science Fun Night Tomorrow
In preparation for the upcoming Science Olympiad, we are hosting Science Fun Night tomorrow (Thursday) from 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM. Our young Science Olympians will showcase their events in advance of the competition on April 20th. Join us for hands on activities and demonstrations, raffle prizes, snacks, and a live water rocket launch (weather permitting). If you have ever wondered what the country’s largest Olympiad is all about, come join us to find out.

Art Night is Coming Up!
Art Night is Friday, April 26th from 6:30-8:00. This all school event will include artwork from all Wines students. To put on this event, we have of course our wonderful Art teacher Janice Hendrick as well as a dedicated parent committee. All the plans are in place and the artwork is nearly complete. Now we just need some more volunteers to help out. The Art Night Committee needs your 18 oz - 28 oz metal cans! We need about 65 of them. Mrs. Hendrick will be using the cans to display some of the artwork so they need to be clean and the labels need to be removed. You can leave them with her at the Art Room or contact Linda Peppin to make other arrangements if needed.

The online Art Night sign up is now posted. You can sign up there to help prepare for Art Night and to help out on the night of the event. Thank you all in advance for all of your help. It is very much appreciated. 
To sign up to volunteer: 

1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/AyuxBh
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot) 
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

If you can help during the preparation next week on April 15, 18 or 20, but not for a whole time slot, please email Linda Peppin with your availability. We will still welcome your help. Email Linda Peppin at Qpep@comcast.net.
Another great way to help out with Art Night is to sign up to bring in treats for the event. Below is another quick sign up link to volunteer to bring in food for the evening.

AAPS Budget
As I hope our community knows, our school district is again facing substantial budget reductions for the 2013-2014 school year. We are anticipating between $17-20 million in reductions. This means hard choices will need to be made that will impact Wines and our entire district. There are three more Community Dialogue sessions scheduled that I encourage parents to attend so that you are informed and providing input. The dates are as follows:

April 9, Tuesday, 7-9 pm
Slauson Middle School, Media Center
1019 West Washington, Ann Arbor
Board members expected to attend:  Christine Stead, Glenn Nelson, Deb Mexicotte

April 16, Tuesday, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Downtown Ann Arbor Public Library – 4th Floor Conference Room (A)
343 South Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor
Board members expected to attend:  Irene Patalan, Glenn Nelson, Deb Mexicotte

April 20, Saturday, 9-11 am
Scarlett Middle School, Media Center
3300 Lorraine Street, Ann Arbor
Board members expected to attend:  Susan Baskett, Glenn Nelson, Deb Mexicotte

Thanks,

David