Weekly Blog 1/31

Dear Wines Families,

Lots of information to share today, sorry for the long message!

Reminder, Early Release Today: Dismissal this afternoon at 1:29

There are two remaining Early Release days this year. Feb. 28 and May 23. Please mark your calendars.

International Night: TONIGHT!

Come join us and learn about countries and cultures from around the globe, all presented by Wines students and families! There will be delicious food, interesting facts and fun activities. The evening begins at 6:30 and ends at 8pm. The Parade of Nations starts at 7:45pm and serves as our grand finale!

Parent Involvement Day 2018

Our annual Parent Involvement Day takes place on Monday, Feb. 12. Look for a paper invitation in your child’s Wednesday Folder today. I will be following up tomorrow with an electronic RSVP. We hope to see you there!

Kindergarten and Young 5’s Round Up: Feb. 6

Our Kindergarten and Young 5’s Round Up will take place next Tuesday, Feb. 6^th at 6:30 PM. This event is for parents AND incoming students. We are excited to introduce our new Young 5’s program and discuss “traditional” kindergarten at Wines. Please help spread the word to your friends and neighbors.

Wines Auction and Raffle: Looking for New Leadership

The Wines Auction are looking for one or two people to help run the Wine Pull.  This includes collecting the wine, and gift wrapping the wine.  Shannon Stewart is in her last year as a Wines parent and has offered to run it this year but needs some help and it's the perfect time for people to shadow her and learn how to do it.  It is fun and easy!

Also next year will be Tracie Clark’s last year as organizer of the Auction. This is another opportunity for someone to shadow her to learn the ropes and take over. This is a well-oiled machine and just needs someone step in and take over the oiling!  If you are interested in either of these roles then please email Tracie at: traciemcginty@hotmail.com

With this in mind, the head of the Raffle committee, Kerianne Tupac, is also approaching her last year next year and is looking for a person to step into her role.  Again perfect time to start shadowing her to learn the ropes! Please email kmtupac@umich.edu.

Wines A2 Allergy Parents Group

Does your Wines student have food allergies? If you are an allergy parent, please consider joining the Wines A2 Allergy Parents Group on Facebook:

https://tinyurl.com/wines-allergy-parents. We look forward to connecting with you! Contact winesa2allergyparents@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Screenagers: Growing up in the Digital Age

You are all invited to a screening of the award-winning documentary, "Screenagers: Growing up in the Digital Age" on Thursday, Feb 1 at 6:30pm in the Forsythe Auditorium. The film will be followed by a discussion led by school counselors. Parents are HIGHLY encouraged to bring their middle school and high school children.

Through poignant and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, Screenagers reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance. To see a 2-minute movie trailer go to the movie website at: www.screenagersmovie.com

If you are unable to attend Forsythe's viewing date, an additional screening is available at Skyline High School, March 6 at 6:30pm.

That’s all for this week!

David

Weekly Blog 1/24

Dear Wines Families,

Thank you to everyone who was able to come out to our special PTO meeting last evening with Dr. Thomas Atkins regarding childhood depression. In today’s email, I shared Dr. Atkins’ slide presentation.

International Night January 31st, 6:30-8pm

Next week is our annual International Night. We hope to see you there! If you're still interested in hosting a country, please sign up at https://goo.gl/forms/onRamOiO7RzwQ6633 by this Friday, Jan. 26, so we know how many tables we need.  There are still a few volunteer spots we need to fill. If you can help out during the night next week, please go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c49aaa629a5f58-volunteers

Science Olympiad

Science Olympiad registration opens February 1st with competition on May 12th, but we still need coaches.  Practices will run from March 1st through competition on May 12th.  Please, PLEASE consider coaching:

• Get your garden growing with "In Bloom" (2nd and 3rd graders)
• Paper airplanes are not just for fun in "Aerodynamics" (2nd and 3rd graders)
• Never being bugged out again by Bugs in "Back to Nature" (4th and 5th graders)
• Learn about heredity and genetic diseases in "GENE-ius" (4th and 5th graders)
• Never getting lost again with "Map Reading" (2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders)
• Protect precious shipping containers from the high seas with "Barge Building" (2nd graders)
• And finally.. "Zip-A-Dee-Doh-Da"  Cable car and zip line physics.  (4th and 5th graders)

Coaches children get first priority for event placement and dictate the practice times.  Otherwise, first registered, first placed. Any questions, please contact Anastasia Yocum at scienceowines@gmail.com

Kindergarten/Young 5’s Round Up: Feb. 6

We are excited about our Kindergarten Round Up taking place on Feb. 6 from 6:30-7:30. The event is for incoming students and families. We are VERY excited that Wines will have a Young 5’s program next year as well! Young 5’s is for students with birthdays between May and Dec. 1 (students must be 5 by Dec. 1, 2018). If you have a child who will be eligible for Kindergarten or Young 5’s next year, please come to Round Up. In the meantime, please contact the office and give us your child’s information so we can add him/her to our list. It is understandable if parents are not sure if Kindergarten or Young 5’s is the right choice for next year. I will be discussing both programs on Feb. 6 and I’m happy to discuss your child with you individually at your convenience.

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run is a running and self-esteem program for girls in grades 3-5 that meets twice a week after school and ends with a fun 5K for girls and their families. Online registration (here is the link https://www.girlsontherunsemi.org/program-registration) is now open and closes February 21. The cost is indicated on the registration site and financial assistance is available. GOTR will be meeting in Mr. Mosher’s room on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00-5:30. The season is from March-May. Anyone with questions about anything including financial aid can contact coach Naomi Veidlinger at (734)-474-9647 or naomiveidlinger@gmail.com. 

NAAPID

Our annual Parent Involvement Day in honor of National African American Parent Involvement Day is Monday, Feb. 12. Look for a paper invitation and digital RSVP next week! We hope to see you for some or all of the day on Feb. 12.

That’s all for this week!

David

Weekly Blog 1/17

Dear Wines Families,

I have lots of important news to share today.

MLK Assembly this Friday at 2:00

Due to last Friday’s snow day, our MLK assembly will take place this Friday at 2:00. As I indicated last week, parents are more than welcome to join us for this special event. Please note that parent seating will be extremely limited.

Special PTO Meeting Jan. 23

Our PTO is hosting a special meeting next Tuesday, Jan. 23^rd at 7:00 PM. Child Psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Atkins will be our guest. Dr. Atkins along with representatives from Washtenaw County Community Mental Health’s Youth and Family program will be discussing childhood depression and anxiety. Come learn about the challenges facing our kids today as well as resources to support them. If you are planning on attending, we ask that you RSVP so we can plan for our use of space and for handouts, etc. Below is a link to the RSVP. I hope you can join us for this unique and important discussion.

https://goo.gl/forms/sRluBC9CP46FUtad2

International Night Jan. 31^st

Thanks to everyone who already submitted a form to host a country for International Night! We still have plenty of space for more countries, below is a link to the form once again.

https://goo.gl/forms/onRamOiO7RzwQ6633

In addition to participants, we are also looking for volunteers to help during the event. There are many different roles to help out. Below is a link to a volunteer Sign Up.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c49aaa629a5f58-volunteers

Generosity Project

I hope your children shared with you information about our assembly yesterday and our school wide participation in the Generosity Project. We have teamed up with the Generosity Project for this unique service project. We are collecting cleaning supplies to support Humble Design, a group that helps homeless families with housing. Each classroom is collecting a single product and we will be filling bags with the supplies next month. In today's email I included a letter explaining the project as well as a link to a list of what each class is supplying. We are extremely excited and honored to be participating in this service project.

Obituary/Memorial Information

Below is a link to the obituary and memorial information for former Wines student Marissa Edumnds.

http://www.niefuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Marissa-Edmunds/#!/Obituary

David

Weekly Blog 1/10

Dear Wines Families,

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had some time to relax during the break. We have a lot happening here at Wines this month and throughout 2018. Here is the news for the week:

January Wines Times

Below is a link to the January Wines Times newsletter from our PTO. Please have a look!

http://winespto.org/docs/wtJan2018.pdf

Kindergarten Round Up Feb. 6—Young 5’s Included!!

Our annual Kindergarten Round Up takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 6^th at 6:30 PM. In addition to discussing and introducing kids to Kindergarten, we will also be discussing an exciting possibility at Wines next year: the addition of a Young 5’s classroom! If you have a child who will be a candidate for Kindergarten or Young 5’s next year (or if you have friends and neighbors who do), please bring your child to Round Up on Feb. 6^th. To help us be as prepared as possible, please also contact Robin in the office before Round Up so we can have your child on our list.

International Night: Jan 31^st 6:30-8:00

Sign up online to host a country for International Night at:

https://goo.gl/forms/onRamOiO7RzwQ6633

Feel free to choose a country you are from, have spent time in, or are simply interested in learning about and sharing with others. Teach others about the country with food, information, an activity, game, craft, or anything else that's representative. Students are also invited to march in the Parade of Nations wearing a traditional outfit from their chosen country, whether or not your family is hosting a table.

Help Wanted: Science Olympiad Coaches!!

Please be an event coach for WESO 2018.  We have 140 preliminarily interested students, the biggest yet!  We need your help to allow participation from every interested student.  Want to hear from past / present Wines coaches and hear exactly, **all** details on what is involved? Then join us on Thursday, January 11th @ 7pm  in the Wines Multi-Purpose Room.

Want to learn about the how’s to coaching a WESO event from WESO?

January 24th @ Forsythe 7pm.

Want specifics on a particular event and competition expectations? 

January 31st @ Pioneer HS at 7 PM and repeat sessions at 8 PM.  

If you coach; you pick the practice times and your child receives first preference for participation.  **First come --> first promised.  

Email Wines WESO <scienceowines@gmail.com> as soon as possible to express interest.  

Auction/Raffle Planning Meeting: Tomorrow

If you are interested in helping in any way with the Wines Auction and Raffle then please come to our planning meeting on Thursday, January 11^th at 3:15pm in the teachers lounge to find out more.

If you can't make the meeting but would still like to help then please email:

traciemcginty@hotmail.com

Friday Floor Hockey is Back!

After a brief hiatus in December, our weekly Friday before school floor hockey sessions are back! With snow on the ground, PLEASE have your child wear boots or a second pair of shoes into the building and change into dry shoes for the gym.

MLK Day

We will host our annual MLK assembly on Friday at 2:00 PM. Parents are more than welcome to attend! As always, please note that parent seating will be extremely limited, but there will certainly be “standing room” for adults. There is no school on Monday in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday.

It’s great to be back!!

David