Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Weekly Update 5/25

 Dear Wines Families, 


Please refer to my email from earlier today regarding the events in Uvalde, TX and our approach to supporting our students following this tragedy. Here are the regular announcements for the week. 

Time to Re-Enroll
Last week, everyone should have received an email from the AAPS Enrollment Office asking that you re-enroll for next fall. You should have received a “snap code” in the email. The process is quite easy as most of the form is pre-filled from the previous school year. It is a requirement for everyone to do this each year. This information is crucial as we confirm our enrollment projections for next year and make related staffing decisions. Thank you for taking the time to complete this. 

Field Day Volunteers
Field Day is Monday, June 6. 3rd-5th grade will be in the morning and Y5-2nd will be in the afternoon. We are looking for volunteers. If you are interested, please click on the link below.

Library Books
Please return all library books by Tuesday, May 31. Students are welcome to return books to the return bin in the library any time. If your student lost a library book, please email Rachel Goldberg about replacement options (goldbergr@aaps.k12.mi.us). 

For summer reading and summer adventures, check out the Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game, which opens on June 10. Anyone can play. To get a summer reading card to start the game, visit any one of the five library branches. If you have questions about how to obtain a library card or how to play the summer game, email askus@aadl.org

A2VE Summer Success Program for K-4 Students - Register by May 31st
Interested in a flexible summer learning opportunity for your child? The A2 Virtual Elementary Summer Success Program is flexible and self-paced. This program will focus on maintaining and extending literacy and math skills by providing targeted lessons to meet individual interests and needs of students. Students will independently access lesson materials in order to complete 4 to 5 lessons in math and literacy each week. The lessons are self-guided and interactive.

The program will run from July 5, 2022 through July 29, 2022. 


Check out the A2VE Summer Success webpage for additional details.  You are also welcome to email us at a2velementary@a2schools.org with any questions.


David


Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Weekly Update 5/18

 Dear Wines Families, 

Early Release Today

Just a reminder that dismissal is at 1:18 today. 

Wines PTO Meeting and Officer Election: TONIGHT

Wednesday, May 18, 7-8:30pm

IN-PERSON @ Homes Campus

112 Jackson Plaza (Behind the Suburban Chevy Dealership)

Please join us for our last PTO meeting of the year, when we will vote on PTO officers for the 2022-23 school year. Want to know how to get involved in PTO leadership? Reach out to winesptopresident@gmail.com with your interest and questions!

Wines ROAR Friday 5PM-8PM

We are looking forward to a great community event Friday evening! Ticket sales are open now. Order your tickets here:  https://wines-elementary-school-pto.square.site/s/order?location=11e94c02b823790497f50cc47a2b63cc&customer_seat_id=11ecd54268d03e78a42b5ed75275ea8d. You can pick up your order before or after school outside the main entrance. They will also be for sale at the event this Friday May 20th from 5-8pm

We still need a few more volunteers on Friday. If you can spare some time, please click below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4aadaa28a64-wines

Updated Raffle Book

There have been a few additions to the Raffle for Friday night. I sent the updated book with today's email. 

Library Books

As we prepare for summer construction, we are working to get all books back in the library and packed away safely. Please return all library books by Tuesday, May 31. Students are welcome to drop off library books to the book return bin any time, even if it’s not on their scheduled library day. If your child has lost a book, you are welcome to purchase a replacement copy to send in with your child or reach out to Rachel Goldberg for replacement cost details. Please email goldbergr@aaps.k12.mi.us with any questions. 

TRAFFIC on Saunders/Hatcher Crescent

Families, please be mindful of your speed in the “Crescents” as you are dropping off and picking up in the Cooley lot. We have had a number of reports of Wines cars traveling at excessive speeds. Neighbors have contacted the Ann Arbor Police who may begin patrolling. I don’t want to see anyone get a ticket and most importantly, I want to make sure our kids are safe in the neighborhoods. Thank you! 

5th Grade Families

Look for a second message from me today with information on tomorrow’s Instrumental Music Concert and sign ups for the 5th Grade Flush Tank on Friday. 

David



Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Weekly Update 5/11

 Dear Wines Families, 

With the Wines Wildcat ROAR (formerly the Country Fair) fast approaching, I have a number of announcements related to that great event. Prior to that, I have a few new items to share but please read through this whole message so you can get information about the ROAR including raffle information, volunteer opportunities, International Night, and “Musical Cakes”!

COVID Cases Increasing

As you likely know, we are experiencing another “surge” in COVID cases in our community. We are doing everything we can to continue to remain in person for learning and we just need a little help! Please monitor your children for symptoms and please do not send them to school with any COVID symptoms. Click HERE for a pre-screener to help identify symptoms. We encourage at home testing and if needed, we can supply you with at home tests. Also, we are finding that once this variant is in the home, it is highly likely to transmit to other family members so if anyone in your home has tested positive, please be extra vigilant about monitoring and testing all family members and consider keeping exposed children home. Finally, if anyone in your household has been diagnosed with COVID, please alert both me and our nurse, Mary Delis (delism@aaps.k12.mi.us). 

Lunches with Love

Lunches with Love takes place next week and is a terrific opportunity for the students to give back to their community. We will prepare bagged lunches for Food Gatherers who will distribute them to local shelters. There will also be boxes in the front of the school where students can drop non-perishable items to be donated. If you’d like to volunteer to help, please use this link:  Lunches with Love.

Parent Input for Class Placement

On Monday I sent our annual survey for parent input regarding class placement for next year. Below is the link again. Please complete by no later than Friday, May 20. Again, we do not accept requests for specific teachers. 

https://forms.gle/t9nPXWLeFyr77A7o9

Gracie Update

Our trainer Greg brought Gracie home with him this past weekend and her training has begun! First order of business—potty training!! He has been sharing pictures and she is doing great. Soon Ms. Fata and I will begin visiting Gracie to begin our own training and rapport building with her. Here is a picture of her from Saturday. 

  


Wines Wildcat ROAR May 20

Mark your calendars, the Wines Wildcat ROAR! (formerly known as the Country Fair) will be on Friday, May 20 from 5-8pm! Enjoy a fun-filled evening with games, prizes, live music, and more! Win a cake at Musical Cakes! Enjoy dinner from one of the food trucks! Come try and dunk Dr. DeYoung in the dunk tank! Learn more about other cultures at the International Fair tables! Win one of the many fun items at the raffle! At the raffle, there will be prizes to bid on from local businesses and fun teacher/school experiences, but in addition to that we're looking for more items and we need your help! This is the last week to donate to the classroom baskets! 

(1) Donate to the CLASSROOM BASKETS. Each grade puts together raffle baskets according to a theme. The themes are

Y5/K: Arts & Crafts

1st: Legos, Games & Puzzles

2nd: Wonderful World of Science

3rd: Camping, Swimming & Outdoor Fun

4th: Sports & Outdoor Fun

5th: It's A High Tech World ($ donations towards an iPad + other tech)

Each classroom will have a collection bin. Deadline is May 13.

Wines ROAR Volunteer Sign Up

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer at the Wines ROAR. We are still in need of volunteers. Volunteering is easy and you can still enjoy the evening. Below is the link. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4aadaa28a64-wines

Calling all Student Bakers! 

The ROAR is Calling All Student Bakers Young 5 to Grade 5. Bake a cake or cupcakes based on the theme "Animals". Bring your creation in on Friday, May 20th by 9 a.m. to be eligible for the cake contest where teachers will judge cakes and award ribbons to the top three best-themed cakes in each grade. Entries will be used as prizes for Musical Cakes that evening and will be on display at the Roar! (Please note, we are not able to refrigerate items.)

We also appreciate any donations of cakes and cupcakes from Wines families for Musical Cake prizes.

International Night @ the ROAR

If you are interested in bringing food or representing your culture at the International Night portion of the ROAR, you can sign up at the link below. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUyYAo8fB1e5w-wFXzx6xDthVuBcenk2eCRelMJebssPzkHA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

David


Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Weekly Update 5/4

 Dear Wines Families, 


Wines ROAR Volunteer Sign Up
Thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer at the Wines ROAR. We are still in need of volunteers. Volunteering is easy and you can still enjoy the evening. Below is the link. 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4aadaa28a64-wines. See the end of today’s message with more information about the ROAR. 

Asian Pacific Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and there is a lot happening in our school district and community. Please check out this slideshow with information about Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, including a book drive for specific Asian Pacific American titles for the library, a virtual author visit, and an evening poetry workshop. 

Book Fair is Back!! 
Or book fair is back next week! Students can purchase books via cash, or an eWallet.  To find out more about eWallets you can visit our fair website - Wines Scholastic Book Fair.  Parents will be able to shop the fair May 9th-22nd via the Wines fair website. Every purchase from the Book Fair earns money for our school, so please support the fair!  

There is still room for a few volunteers. If you would like to volunteer at the book fair, please see link below: 

School/Classroom Parent Volunteers
Speaking of volunteers, thank you to the over 100 parents who have filled out the form and provided proof of vaccination in order to volunteer at school. It is so nice to see parents in the building each day! If you are interested in volunteering and haven’t yet filled out the form, please go to the link below.

Sora  
Beginning in the fall of 2020, the AAPS has provided all students with access to a carefully curated digital library called Sora.  We recently became aware of an error that resulted in elementary and middle school students having access to materials that should have been exclusively available to high school students. We deeply apologize for this error.  Please know that we take the safety of our students very seriously and we acted immediately to remove titles from any borrowers and have put additional layers of safety controls in place to prevent this from ever happening again. 
 
While a relatively low number of students actually checked out these materials, we are sharing this information with all of our AAPS elementary and middle school families.  We strongly encourage each family to take full advantage of parent/guardian access to SORA.  Click HERE for step-by-step instructions to using SORA as well as an FAQ about Sora HERE.  If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me or Ms. Goldberg. 

Wines Wildcat ROAR: Friday May 20th from 5-8pm!
Mark your calendars, the Wines Wildcat ROAR! (Formerly known as the Country Fair) will be on Friday, May 20 from 5-8pm! 
Carnival style games -- win a game, get a token. Collect tokens, exchange them for prizes at the prize table! Prizes range from stickers and bookmarks to pop-its and stuffed animals to larger grand prizes!
Come hungry for dinner! Pizza from Marco's, Cotton candy, Popcorn, Kona Ice Truck, CC's Soul Food Truck (burgers, hotdogs, mac and cheese, chicken tenders), and Tacos El Mariachi Loco! 
The ever-popular Cake Walk! Join in the fun in the days prior when kids decorate their cakes at home and bring them in to try and win first prize (more details to follow...)! Then try to win one of the cakes at the Roar!
5th graders take turns getting soaked in the Flush Tank (more info to follow for 5th graders to sign up for a time slot!)
Try and dunk Dr DeYoung in the Dunk Tank!
Learn about other cultures and sample their cuisine at the International Fair tables! If you're interested in participating, make sure to sign up here by May 6th INTERNATIONAL NIGHT RSVP or contact Celeste Kanpurwala (celesteLsmith@gmail.com) for more information!
Live music by a local band Ain't Dead Yet!
Bid on items at the Raffle!
And more!
For the raffle, we still need your help with donations! There are two ways you can help:
(1) Donate to the CLASSROOM BASKETS. 
Every classroom has a basket in it for donations from families! We will create a raffle basket (or more if we get lots of donations!) from each grade with the items donated by families. 
The themes for each grade are:
Y5/K: Arts & Crafts
1st: Legos, Games & Puzzles
2nd: Wonderful World of Science
3rd: Camping, Swimming & Outdoor Fun
4th: Sports & Outdoor Fun
5th: It's A High Tech World ($ donations that will go towards the purchase of an iPad + other tech)
Deadline for donations is May 13.

(2) WISH LIST. Sign up to donate other popular items for the raffle here:
Please sign up no later than May 9 and drop off the item no later than May 13.

Thank you to those of you who have already donated! If you have raffle specific questions, please contact Janice Guikema (jwguikema@gmail.com).

And last and probably most importantly, we will need A LOT of volunteers to help out on the night of the Roar to make it a success! Be on the lookout for a signup genius with volunteer spots next week!

If you have any questions about the ROAR! please contact Lizzy Hurwitz (lizzy@lizzyhurwitz.com or 734-545-6880).

David