Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Weekly Blog 12/17

Dear Wines Families,

As we head into the winter break, I want to thank everyone for a wonderful first part of the school year. It really does seem like yesterday when we were meeting each other on the playground under the sun eating popsicles. I look forward to 2015 with you and with your children. As we leave for two weeks, please remind your children to take all of their belongings home. We have many students who leave boots and other winter clothes at school (which is a great idea, by the way). Please make sure these items get home on Friday. We will also remind students of this as well. Below are three VERY important messages from our PTO. Please note the special PTO meeting on Jan. 20th.

David

In the new reality of iChildhood...
Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, You Tube, Minecraft. 9 out of 10 kids have their own or have access to a smartphone, tablet, or computer. 81% of kids use social media. Over 55% of youth have been a victim of or witnessed bullying on social media. And age restrictions don’t matter - the use of social media by children as young as 5 is growing. We're the first generation of parents in the world of iEverything - grappling with these statistics and the simple inability to keep up with the ever-changing online landscape.

Please join us at the PTO meeting on Tuesday, January 20 at 6:30PM for an in-depth look at CyberSafety. Featuring experts from the Washtenaw Area Council for Children, the evening will explore issues of cyberbullying, sexting, online predators and privacy, and navigating social networks. Come learn some strategies for finding the balance between the cyber and real worlds for our children.

International Night
The International Night committee needs your help!  International Night is scheduled forThursday, January 29, 2015.  It is a wonderful evening during which students and their families create displays representing countries that are connected to their heritage or simply of interest to them.  Displays may consist of projects, clothing, souvenirs and often delicious food for all to taste as well.  The evening culminates in an international fashion show put on by Wines students.  We are hoping to begin planning for this event but are short of committee members!  If you would like to help us make this unique night happen, please contact Annemarie Dolan at akilburndolan@comcast.net.

The Wines Country Fair Raffle/Silent Auction
There soon may be snow on the ground, but plans are already afoot for the big day. This wonderful event is great fun for the entire family and Wines’ largest PTO fundraiser. 

It’s never too early to consider grabbing items to donate to the Raffle/Auction - especially in this time of great sales before and after the holidays. One parent picked up boxes of Legos when they were on sale just for the raffle - now that’s thinking ahead. So when you’re out and about fulfilling your holiday to dos - add the raffle to your list!

Here are this year’s classroom themes:
Kindergarten - Arts & Crafts
1st Grade - Lego’s
2nd Grade - The Wonderful World of Science
3rd Grade - Camping, Swimming & Outdoor Fun
4th Grade - Sports & Outdoor Fun
5th Grade - It’s A High Tech World

Books, board games, other ‘cool’ toys, and team regalia are always favorites as well. Stash your donation away till May (don’t forget where you put them!), and we’ll let you know when to drop them off at the school. If you don’t have room in your house, send me an email and I'd be happy to make arrangements. The Raffle/Auction wouldn’t be as successful as it is without the generous donations of the Wines community. Thank you for your support!
Contact: Kerianne Tupac: kmtupac@umich.edu




Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Weekly Blog 12/10

Dear Wines Families,
A few announcements this week.

Science Olympiad
Please note that our sign ups for Science Olympiad ends this Friday. There are still lots of spaces for kids to join (grades 2-5).  You can register online (link below).
Link to on-line registration: http://www.winespto.org/weso/registration.html

Holiday Collections
Our two holiday collections are going great! As a reminder, our Brownie Troop has a collection in the front hall in partnership with Safe House. They are collecting new pajamas, sizes newborn to adult XXL, new pillows of various sizes, and boxed tissues. There is a purple bin near the front doors. In addition, our annual coat drive with our partners from Reinhart is going on as well. If possible, please wash your used coats, but if you can’t, we’ll wash them for you. Right now we are told the greatest need is for children’s and men’s coats. Please help support both of these wonderful causes.

Gifts to Staff
As we gear up for the holiday season, I want to remind everyone that AAPS employees can only accept gifts of token value. Please help us and follow this policy. One great way to show your appreciation during this holiday season and support our teachers and our school is to donate directly to our PTO. Our PTO does so much for our community. All of their resources go directly to our school. Our PTO helps teachers purchase items for their classrooms, they support various projects in the school include technology and playground purchases, they bring in assemblies, and many other things. Perhaps most importantly, our PTO uses their resources to provide financial assistance to any Wines family to ensure that every child has access to everything Wines has to offer. I know our staff would feel honored to have a donation made to the PTO in their honor as a gift this holiday season. You can donate directly online at https://squareup.com/market/wines-elementary-school-pto. Donations are tax deductible. Any amount will help our school!

Best,
David



Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Weekly Blog 12/3

Dear Wines Families,

Below is a link to the Wines Times for December so I don’t have many other announcements. I do want to remind everyone that our Brownie Troop has a collection in the front hall in partnership with Safe House. They are collecting new pajamas, sizes newborn to adult XXL, new pillows of various sizes, and boxed tissues. There is a purple bin near the front doors. In addition, our annual coat drive with our partners from Reinhart has begun as well. If possible, please wash your used coats, but if you can’t, we’ll wash them for you. Please help support both of these wonderful causes.

That’s all for this week. Below is a link to the December Wines Times Newsletter. Please take some time to read it.



David