Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Weekly Blog 12/18


Dear Wines Families,

Here it is, the last weekly email for 2019. The year was yet another year of joy as the leader of this school. Thank you all for being part of this community. Here is the news for this final week of school.

Notes From the Book Fair from Stacy Guldal
I have so many thanks to give to the Wines community after this year’s book fair. Thank you to the teachers for their efforts, Mrs. Evaldson for her space, the students for their enthusiasm, the volunteers for their time, and the families for their support. My sincere thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this year’s book fair a HUGE success! In addition to all the great books that were taken home by students, we were able to add a total of 155 new books to the school and classroom libraries through All for Books and directed donations! It takes a village for the fair to run smoothly and we’ve got a great village here at Wines.

And of course, a GIGANTIC thank you to Stacy for her efforts making the fair such a success.

International Night - Thursday, January 23 from 6:30-8:00
International Night is right around the corner! If you would like to volunteer to help plan or assist during the event, please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a4fa8af2da1ff2-international. We are looking for donations for the International Night display that will go up in the front hallway after break.  If your family would like to represent a country and/or if your child(ren) would like to march in the Parade of Nations, sign up at https://goo.gl/forms/3Cf0DZHHyPmW0SuP2 . Feel free to host a country that you and your child are from, spent time in, or are simply interested in learning about and sharing with others.

Auction Projects: We Still Need a Few More Helpers!
Thanks to everyone who has stepped up to take the lead on the classroom auction projects. Every year each classroom creates a special art project for the Wines live auction (being held at Stonebridge Golf Course on Saturday March 21, 2020). We are in need of volunteers to make these wonderful pieces with the kids. Please contact Michelle Chien at mknezek@hotmail.com as soon as possible if you're interested in helping. We are currently still in need of volunteers from Mr. Toohey, Ms. Puente, and Mr. Mosher’s classrooms.

Reminder re: Holiday Gifts
As we approach the holidays, I want to remind families that AAPS employees cannot accept gifts beyond those of token value. Our teachers and staff do very much appreciate these token gifts, however. If you are looking to show your appreciation and support in a larger way, a great way is to make a direct donation to our PTO. A card to a staff member indicating you have done this is in their honor is an idea that parents have done in the past. Direct donations can be made at https://wines-elementary-school-pto.square.site/.

Have a wonderful winter break. While I’m looking forward to some time away, I’m also excited for 2020 at Wines!

David

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Weekly Blog 12/11


Dear Wines Families,
It’s hard to believe we are approaching winter break and the end of 2019. Time has certainly flown by this year. Here is the important Wines news of the week.

Visitor Entry System
By now, many of you have utilized the new visitor management system. While this new system has caused some changes for visitors and for our office staff, so far we are very pleased with how things are going. The system requires visitors to supply a driver’s license. The first part is self-service. You place your ID in the slot. Do not push down. When Robin initiates the system, it will pull your ID down to be scanned. Upon completion of your visit, simply come back to the office and leave your badge and we will sign you out of the system.

As we all know, Robin is usually alone in the office and her responsibilities are seemingly endless. We ask that everyone be patient as checking in visitors is usually not the most pressing task Robin has at the moment.

Auction Projects: We Need You!
Every year each classroom creates a special art project for the Wines live auction (being held at Stonebridge Golf Course on Saturday March 21, 2020). We are in need of volunteers to make these wonderful pieces with the kids. We are currently in need of volunteers for projects from the following classrooms: Toohey, Wittmann, Eckel, Milanowski, Puente, Mosher, and Duggins. Please contact Michelle Chien at mknezek@hotmail.com as soon as possible if you're interested in helping.

Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found will be cleaned out during the winter break and remaining items will be donated to charity. If your child is missing items, please remind them to check the Lost and Found.

Holiday Gifts
As we approach the holidays, I want to remind families that AAPS employees cannot accept gifts beyond those of token value. Our teachers and staff do very much appreciate these token gifts, however. If you are looking to show your appreciation and support in a larger way, a great way is to make a direct donation to our PTO. A card to a staff member indicating you have done this is in their honor is an idea that parents have done in the past. Direct donations can be made at https://wines-elementary-school-pto.square.site/.

That’s all for this week!

David

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Weekly Blog 12/4


Dear Wines Families,
It’s a busy week with lots going on now and in the coming weeks.

Book Fair
The Book Fair is off to a great start! It was nice to see so many families last evening. HUGE thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer for the Book Fair so far this year! I want to extend a sincere thanks to Stacy Guldal who is not only organizing the event, but is also putting in LOTS of hours on site daily all week.

There are a couple more volunteer opportunities for the Book Fair this year, including packing up on Friday afternoon! The process is quite simple: put books in boxes and close the cases. Scholastic makes things really easy and doesn’t require any sorting or counting of books! 

Please consider signing up to help out: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FAAA62EA4F49-2019 

Also, please don’t forget to send in your All For Books donation baggies if you haven’t already donated! This particular program gives 100% of the benefits directly to the school and classroom libraries! Thank you to all who have donated so far! Questions, please contact Stacy Guldal (stacyguldal@gmail.com)

Spirit Wear
Spirit Wear sales end tonight at midnight. If you are still interested in ordering, please go to https://pogo.undergroundshirts.com/collections/wines-wildcat-apparel-fall-19

Unique Wines Auction Item?
The Wines Auction will be here soon! The event is a success every year due to the support of the school's fantastic family community! Do you or someone you know have a vacation home that you might consider donating use of as an auction item? If this is something you might consider, please contact Meera Meerkov at mmeerkov@gmail.com or 734.846.7519.

Lunchtime Extra Specials
Lunchtime Extra Specials are volunteer-led, indoor activities for kids to choose from as an alternative to outdoor recess in February and March. This is one of Wines students' favorite activities of the year, and we need volunteers to make it happen.
The commitment is one lunch period per week, for a total of 6 weeks, from Feb.4th- March 17th. If you have younger siblings at home with you during this time, feel free to bring them in with you!

Past activities have included yoga, knitting, paper airplane-making, arts and crafts, logic games, and board games. Have something else in mind? We're open to your creativity and ideas! Would you rather team up with someone else or take on an activity that's been done in the past? We can do that, too.
Please contact Michael Newberry (mnewberry88@gmail.com) to volunteer and share your ideas. We will schedule an orientation meeting in January to walk through the details and answer any questions. Thank you for considering!

Report Card Envelopes
Please return your child’s report card envelope that came home last week so we can use them again for the March report card. Thank you.

That’s all for this busy week!

David