Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Weekly Blog 2/27


Dear Wines Families. 
Today’s update is a fairly lengthy one. Please find some time to read through this important information.

Early Release Today
We dismiss at 1:29 today. There is no PM Childcare.

International Night Tonight
The third time will be the charm! Join us for International Night tonight! 6:30-8:00 PM.

Wines Times
Below is al ink to the latest edition of the Wines Times newsletter. Please have a look. Of note in the Wines Times, please see the information from Mrs. Evaldson about March is Reading Month. The first reading logs go home today.

Wines Wahoo March 8
The annual Wines Wahoo is scheduled for March 8th at Forsythe Middle School. This Wines tradition needs volunteers to make it another fantastic event. Please click on the link below to volunteer.


Spirit Week Next Week
As part of our lead up to the Wahoo, our Student Council has scheduled a spirit week for next week. Below are the days:
Monday - Pajama Day
Tuesday - Wacky Hair/Hat Day
Wednesday - Crazy Mustache Day 
Thursday - Crazy Sock/Mismatch Shoes Day
Friday - Hawaiian Shirt Day

Science Olympiad
WESO registration is open.  Teams will be formed this week for practices starting the week of March 4th, eek that's next week!  Please register your children, if interested:  https://goo.gl/forms/1eZhqMg9eGF0sfUf1

Great Ideas Grant Deadline Friday
Do you have a great idea? The Great ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program to benefit the Wines community! The grant approval committee meets twice a year to vote on applications. Submissions are now accepted online only.  The next deadline is March 1, 2019.
The links for the Adult and Child application can be found on the Wines PTO website: www.winespto.org 
Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now! Submit several! We look forward to hearing from you. Contact: Sumi Sood – sumi.sood1@gmail.com

Welcoming Schools
As you know, we have worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools program this year. This has included staff training, parent workshops at Parent Involvement Day, and ongoing classroom lessons and corresponding materials. Our school has now embarked on a school wide inclusion project with more lessons and materials from Welcoming Schools. In addition, we will soon be starting a take home Family Book Bag program for families. In the coming days, I will be sharing more specific information about what we are doing and how you can support our work at home.

Sorry for the long message this week, but as you can see, we have a lot happening here at Wines!

David



Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Weekly Blog 2/20


Dear Wines Families,
Sorry for the late message today, I’ve been busy getting my head above water today. With some success… Here is the news for the week.

Let’s Try Again! International Night Wednesday, February 27th
International Night has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, February 27. The planning team could still use a couple of volunteers, mostly with event set-up and clean-up. Please sign up to help here: here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a4fa8af2da1ff2-international

Science Olympiad
Due to the snow days, there has been a delay in getting the sign up out for Science Olympiad. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything. Please look for a sign up and information either tomorrow or Friday. I will send via email. Practices will begin the week of March 4th.

Great Ideas Grants
Do you have a great idea? The Great ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program to benefit the Wines community! The grant approval committee meets twice a year to vote on applications. Submissions are now accepted online only.  The next deadline is March 1, 2019. The links for the Adult and Child application can be found on the Wines PTO website: www.winespto.org 

Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now! Submit several! We look forward to hearing from you. Contact: Sumi Sood – sumi.sood1@gmail.com

 The WINES TIMES is Accepting Student Art!
We need to spruce up the masthead of the WINES TIMES and are asking students to consider submitting original art incorporating the words WINES TIMES into their piece to use as the front page header of the PTO newsletter.

It would be best to keep the design 4-5 inches wide and 3 inches in height. The chosen piece will be randomly selected from all submissions. One submission per student, please. Art can be placed in the PTO mailbox in the office or emailed to newsletter@winespto.org.

Wines Open Gym
We had great success at the first Friday Open Gym. The next open gym dates are: Friday, February 22, March 1, March 15.  6-7pm.

News from the PTOC
All are welcome!
The Ann Arbor PTO Council is Unifying Our Community Through Engagement!
Please join us for our PTO Council Member Meeting.
DATE:   Monday, February 25. TIME:   7:00-8:30 PM
LOCATION:  Westerman Preschool & Family Center, 2775 Boardwalk, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 

TOPIC:  Special Education: Ins & Outs of Process and Services across the AAPS
Concetta Lewis, Interim Executive Director of Special Education will provide an overview of special education within the district and how the process works for accessing services. 
Information will be useful for any parent to understand the context of how specialized instruction and supports are delivered.

Open Mic Question & Answer Session  
Thanks for all your support over the past week. I really appreciate it.

David 

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Weekly Blog 2/6

Dear Wines Families,
Well, for the third week in a row, I find myself at my kitchen table typing my weekly message! The crazy thing is that all in all, this has been a fairly mild winter. Our biggest problem at school right now is mud on the playground—which is usually a spring problem. It does look like we will have four days of school this week, which is a step in the right direction. Lots of information today, so please read below:

Parent Involvement Day/Welcoming Schools RSVP’s: LAST CALL!
Thank you to everyone who has RSVP’s for Parent Involvement Day on Monday and also signed up for the Welcoming Schools sessions during the day. Below are the links once again. It is critical that we have a good count for adult lunches so please RSVP if you plan on coming on Monday.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT DAY RSVP
WELCOMING SCHOOLS PARENT WORKSHOP RSVP

Wines Open Gym: This Friday Evening
Burn off some energy.  Play games.  Meet your friends.  Wines Open Gym is an opportunity for Wines students, their younger siblings, and caregivers to utilize the gym space on Friday evenings.  All are welcome.  Bring a basketball, soccer ball, jump rope or just a dry pair of gym shoes.
The first open gym time is THIS FRIDAY, February 8, 6pm-7pm.  A responsible adult must sign students in and out and must remain in the building.  This is not a drop-off event.  Thank you to the Great Ideas Grant program for bringing this opportunity to our community.  We hope to see you there!   Future dates will be announced.

It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up for Lunchtime Extra Specials!
Please contact Michael Newberry at mnewberry88@gmail.com with your child's name, teacher, and their requested activities for each session. We still have availability in the following Extra Specials for Session 1 and Session 2:
TUESDAY:
Paper Airplanes (1st-5th grades, both Sessions)
Recycled Art (1st-5th grades, both Sessions)
STEAM in the Computer Lab (limited availability, 1st-5th grades, both Sessions)

WEDNESDAY:
Logic Games & Puzzles (3rd-5th grades, Session 1; 1st - 5th grades Session 2)
K-Science (K only, both Sessions)

THURSDAY:
K-Art (K only, both Sessions)
Legos (1st-5th grades, both Sessions)
Quiet Reading (1st-5th grades, both Sessions)

FRIDAY:
Arts & Crafts (limited availability, 1st-5th grades, both Sessions)

Save the Date: Wines Auction “off site” Auction April 27
Our annual adults “off site” auction takes place on April 27th at the Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter (formerly Null—same location as past years). Below is a flyer about this fantastic event.

Great Ideas Grants
Do you have a great idea? The Great ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program to benefit the Wines community! The grant approval committee meets twice a year to vote on applications. Submissions are now accepted online only.  The next deadline is March 1, 2019.
The links for the Adult and Child application can be found on the Wines PTO website: www.winespto.org
Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now! Submit several! We look forward to hearing from you.
Contact: Sumi Sood – sumi.sood1@gmail.com

International Night: Wednesday Feb. 13
Just a reminder that International Night that was cancelled due to last week’s snow days has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 13. See you there!

Thanks, and we’ll see you tomorrow!
David