Wines Weekly Update: January 2023

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Snow Day Weekly Update 1/26

Dear Wines Families,

Well, this has turned out to be a strange week with back to back snow days. In all honesty, yesterday was a welcome “day off” for our family. Today, however, I think we are a bit bored around the house! Looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday!

International Night Thank You!

Before we get into the news for the week, I want to express my sincere thank you for a GREAT International Night last week. I’m so appreciative of the many families who represented their cultures. It was so nice to highlight the amazing international community we have at Wines. I want to extend a sincere thank you to Celeste Kanpurwala for organizing this amazing event. Celeste has been such an important part of International Night for many years. She organized the event prior to COVID and stuck with it through these past years. She organized a “drive through” International Night in 2021 and then linked the event with the ROAR last spring. It was so nice to have the traditional stand alone event last week and it could not have been done without Celeste’s tireless work!

Early Release Next Tuesday, Jan. 31st

Next Tuesday, January 31st is an Early Release. Dismissal is at 1:18. There is no PM childcare.

Floor Hockey Continues Every Friday

Friday floor hockey has been quite a success! We will continue each Friday through the winter. Speaking of winter, now that we have snow on the ground, it is important to remind players that they must have dry shoes in the gym.

Science Olympiad: Meeting Tonight!

Calling all parents interested in Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO). WESO is a county-wide competition for students in grades 2-5. Students learn an event of their choosing over about 10 weeks, then compete against their peers from other schools. It's great fun, and a really positive experience for everyone involved. We also need coaches for many events; you don't need to be a specialist to coach events (!).

Please join us to discuss the Wines team for WESO 2023. This year, the competition returns in-person at Huron High School on Saturday, May 13th. There are a few important changes to discuss. So, if your child is interested in participating, or you are interested in volunteering with the event or being a WESO coach; please come to the following virtual meeting:

Wines WESO Meeting

Thursday, Jan 26 • 6:00 – 7:00 PM

Google Meet joining link: https://meet.google.com/fqw-vnum-oqr

Or dial: +1 314-325-0438 PIN: 994 842 122#

Girls On the Run is Back this Spring!

We are still working on the final plans (practice schedule, etc.), but are excited to be able to offer this activity for kids in grades 3-5 at Wines. We have two coaches currently, but last year we had so much interest that we needed more coaches! Parents, if you're interested in supporting this activity, it will allow more students to participate. Please reach out to Sara Platte or Maureen Schafer-Klerkx if you're interested in helping out. Unless we get extra coaches, we will be limited to 18 students in the program.

Girls on the Run Registration information:

Program Registration fee: $215 per participant (financial support from GOTR is often available if needed)

Monday, February 6th - Friday, March 24th

Season starts: the week of 3/12

Season ends: the week of May 22.

Regional 5K event (yes it's back!): the weekend of May 20/21

We're so excited for GOTR to start again and to have a fabulous time this spring with your girls!

Sara Platte (sara.platte@gmail.com)

Maureen Schafer-Klerkx (m.schafer.klerkx@gmail.com)

Wines Wahoo is Back!

The Wines Wahoo is back! Join us Friday, February 10 at Forsythe Middle School from 6-8pm. This is a Wines favorite and we are so excited it's back! Join your friends for music, pizza, open gym, crafts and more. Younger siblings and parents are welcome. This event will need lots of volunteers so we need your help! Suggested $5 donation per family at the door with pizza, drink, and snack tickets available for purchase. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C44AEAA22A2F8CE9-wines

David

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Weekly Update 1/18

Dear Wines Families,

Yesterday we honored and celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with an all-school assembly. The theme of the assembly was about how students can change the world and be leaders in our world. Prior to winter break, I hosted a school wide read aloud of the book Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, which was written by Vice President Kamala Harris’s niece Meena Harris. The story follows Kamala and her sister Maya’s work to have a playground installed in their apartment complex when they were children. The important messages from the book were that everyone can be a leader and have big ideas and while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. Over the past two weeks, each student at Wines has completed one of two sentence starters, “I be a leader by...” or “I change the world by...” The student sentences are displayed in our hallways and at our assembly yesterday, we highlighted the answers from a number of students across all grade levels. We concluded the assembly with everyone at school (adults included) singing "We Shall Overcome." It was a wonderful assembly and the student answers will remain displayed in our hallways so please have a look if you are at school!

International Night Tomorrow!

We are looking forward to bringing back our in-person International Night tomorrow, January 19 from 6-7:30 PM! Thanks to all who signed up to table and/or participate in our Parade of Nations, we will have countries represented from around the world! Please stop by the event and try tasty foods and check out displays that our students worked hard on to showcase their represented countries.

While the event registration is closed, we STILL are in need of more volunteers to help, mostly with event set-up. We only have two hours to decorate and set up tables on Thursday after school, so please consider volunteering even if it's for a short time! You can sign up to help here, and let Celeste Kanpurwala know if you have any questions at celesteLsmith@gmail.com.

Looking For Volunteers for Lunchtime Extra Specials

We're still looking for additional volunteers for our Winter Extra Specials. Starting February 6, students can sign up for one day a week to stay inside during recess for enrichment activities like Paper Airplanes, Magic Tricks, Legos, Puzzles, and more. We're looking for volunteers to spend about 90 minutes once per week at lunch to lead activities. You can lead a project that you develop, or we have ready-to-go activities that require no prep on your part. Email Michael Newberry at mnewberry88@gmail.com to learn more.

Wines Wahoo is Back!

David