Modular Building Update and Plan

Dear Wines Families,

As I wrote in my opening letter earlier this week, we are beyond thrilled with the new modular building and the opportunities it opens up for our kids and staff. At the same time, I indicated that there is a chance that the building will not be ready in time for school to start.

Unfortunately, the reality is that we do not think we will be able to move our 5th grade classrooms into the building until after our school year begins. Our Certificate of Occupancy appointment is scheduled for August 30th, which means we will be very close. However, he final touches will need to be done after that date and we have to start school!

Fortunately, as you would expect, the Wines staff has come together to solve this temporary situation. For the beginning of the school year, Mr. Duggins will be in Room 108. That is Ms. Caruso’s former classroom that will eventually become our new Special Education Resource Room when Neil moves to the modular. Ms. Spiroff’s class will start the year in the music room. Ms. Heaton’s class will start the year in the art room.

The furniture, etc. from both the art room and music room have been put into storage pods and the 5th grade classroom furniture has been placed in those classrooms. The resource room furniture is still in its former location so Mr. Duggins’s classroom furniture is now in room 108. Therefore, each of the 5th grade classes will start the year in fully functional and comfortable classroom spaces.

Mr. Wyse and Ms. Glaser will teach their classes “on a cart” and will bring their talents into the classroom teachers’ classes each day. Ms. Steuer will do the same with her 4th and 5th grade Spanish classes. This approach is not new as we already have our Project Lead the Way teacher, Sarah Schemanske, conduct her classes in the students’ homerooms so students and staff are used to this model.

We are extraordinarily thankful to our 5th grade team, Mr. Wyse, Ms. Glaser, and Ms. Steuer for their understanding and flexibility. I also want to point out that Ms. Evaldson quickly offered the Library as a possible classroom location as well. Even Ms. Wahl offered the gym! Each of these great teachers expressed a “can do,” student first attitude and we couldn’t be more thankful.

I know this will be somewhat disappointing to our 5th grade students. There are two fifth graders living in my house who are extremely excited to be in the new building and this news will be a disappointment. However, I can say unequivocally that the new building will be worth the wait and our year will get off to a great start for our 5th graders and for our entire school.

Please note that on Wednesday, August 29th, the new building will be "powered up" by DTE which requires that Wines be without power for the entire day. Wines will be closed next Wednesday. The Kindergarten/Young 5's meet the teacher will go on as planned! 

Reminders about our Back to School Events:

Monday, August 27th: New Family Orientation. 6:30 PM

Tuesday, August 28th: 1st-5th Grade Popsicles and Meet the Teacher. 4:30 PM

Wednesday, August 29th: Kindergarten/Young 5’s Meet the Teacher. 5:30 PM

Tuesday, Sept. 4th. First day of school.

Thursday, Sept. 6th: Wines Family Welcome Back Picnic. 6:30 PM.

The 1st-5th grade meet the teacher will take place on the back playground. The Kindergarten/Young 5’s event will meet on the back playground as well and we will then move into the classrooms.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

David

WELCOME TO THE 2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR!

Dear Wines Families,

Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year! While Sept. 4^th is right around the corner, I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer. My family had an amazing summer. The highlight was a two-week trip to Spain in July where we were able to visit Trish’s large extended Spanish family and enjoy one of our favorite places in the world. We were also able to spend a good deal of time up north (though not as much as most summers). The highlight of our time up north was a big party we held in Northport to celebrate my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary and 75^th birthdays.

Staff Changes

We have just a couple of new faces to our staff this year. We welcome Bryan Parsons as our new 3^rd grade teacher. Bryan hails from a small town in central Iowa and studied English and Music at Drake University in, as he calls it, the “sprawling metropolis” of Des Moines, Iowa. Bryan then left Iowa for a great adventure in South Korea where he taught English for six years. He then returned to the U.S. where he entered the University of Michigan’s Elementary Masters and Certification program. Upon completion, Bryan was hired at Pittsfield where he served as a Title I tutor last year. Byan’s partner Chelle is currently in Korea finishing up her doctoral research. We welcome Bryan to our team!

Making room for Bryan in 3^rd Grade, Samantha Shanteau has moved to Kindergarten and Shanna Middleton will be taking on the role of our Young 5’s teacher as we launch this exciting new program at Wines!

We also welcome Rosana Lubara-Steuer as our new Spanish teacher for both 4^th and 5^th grades. Welcome Senora Steuer!

Modular Building Update

As you may know, this year marks an exciting new beginning to the physical space at Wines. Our new modular building has recently been installed and they are working day and night to try to have it ready for school to start. I can’t wait for everyone to see inside of the new building. In a word, it is extraordinary. The interior design and layout is far superior to what I imagined. Our entire 5^th grade will be moving to the modular building this year along with various staff members who have been creatively sharing space for many years. We are extremely excited for this move!

While the project is going well, I have shared with our staff that there is a possibility that the building will not be ready for the start of the school year. While this is disappointing, it is a mere bump in the road and we will have a contingency plan finalized soon in the event that there is a delay. Please look for updates over the next few days.  

Meet the Teacher Events!

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

• 1^st-5^th Grades: Tuesday, August 28^th at 4:30 PM.

• Kindergarten/Young 5’s: Wednesday, August 29^th at 5:30 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 30^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 Sept. 27^th.

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 Kindergarten. There may be some minor variation 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: Monday, August 27^th 6:30 PM at Forsythe MS Auditorium.

• First Day of School: Tuesday, Sept. 4^th Full Day.

• Opening Day PTO Coffee: Tuesday, Sept. 4^th (9:15 AM)

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

• Curriculum Night: Thursday, Sept. 20^th (6:30-8:00 PM)

Keep Up To Date with Wines!

As always, 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 @winesprincipal. 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, when the Modular building is ready, you will continue to use the front of the school and NOT the Cooley lot for pick up/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.

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

Sincerely,

David DeYoung

Principal