Weekly Update 4/26

 Dear Wines Families, 

As I indicated last week, this is the time of year when my weekly messages get a little longer. Hopefully you can find a few minutes to read through all that is happening at Wines!

Parent Input: Class Placement

In the coming days and weeks, our staff and I will be working together to form class lists for the 2023-2024 school year. As we have done for many years, we accept parent input that you feel would help inform us as we put classes together. Below is a link to this optional input form. Please be reminded that we do not accept requests to be in a certain teacher’s classroom or to not have your child placed in a specific teacher’s classroom. Such requests will be deleted. Below is a link to the form. 

https://forms.gle/UGMB9mATPesGwnja9

Art Night May 11

Mark your calendars Art Night will be happening at Wines

Thursday May 11, 6:30 - 8:00 PM. Come see the amazing work of all of the artists of Wines Elementary!

We are also looking for a few volunteers to help hang the art work. Anyone interested can sign up here. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054CAEAF22A64-artnight

More ROAR Information

The Wines ROAR is almost here – happening Friday, May 19, 5-8pm!  There was a lengthy email sent on Monday with everything you need to know for the end of year event.  HERE is a copy of that email with detailed information. This is a great way to celebrate the year, meet other families, and just have some fun. To make this an exceptional event for everyone we do need your help! Three easy ways to do so are:

• Donate to Classroom baskets or contribute items for the raffle

• Have your child decorate a cake for the decoration contest (to be used for Musical Cakes)

• Volunteer for short (30 min) shifts at the event. 

Seeking Lunch Volunteers

As the weather gets warmer (I promise, it will get warmer!), perhaps we have more parent interest in volunteering during our lunch time. We’ve had some turnover in our paid staff and we always welcome more adults to support our kids at lunch and at lunch recess. If you are interested in volunteering, please email me and we can talk details. We are also always hiring folks who want to be paid for the position. It pays well ($16/hr) and the schedule is very flexible. If you or someone you know is interested in the paid position, please let me know. 

Sign & Go Events Still Available!

There are still a number of spots available in some of our Sign & Go Auction Events.  Please consider purchasing a spot to support the school, take part in something new, and hopefully have fun!

Sunday, April 30th: 4pm-5pm (followed by a pizza party)

Soccer Clinic with Mr. Toohey - Only 2 spots left! $35

Saturday, May 13th: 1:30pm

VIP Art Museum Tour $20

Saturday, June 10th: 10:30am-12:30pm

Art Class at Matthei Botanical Gardens (all supplies included) $55

Reserve your spots here today!

Field Day May 30th 

Field Day is Tuesday, May 30th.  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.    If you have any questions, please email thorpekn@aaps.k12.mi.us.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D48A4A629A57-field1

AAPS Listen and Learn

We value the input of our students, families, staff and community members, and we are currently engaging our Ann Arbor community in a conversation as we plan for the future of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Through May 26th, you can join the conversation via the online ThoughtExchange here and learn more about Listen and Learn 2023 here.

Celebrate National Drinking Water Week with us!

Come join us for a tour of the Ann Arbor Drinking Water Treatment Plant (919 Sunset Rd) and enjoy water themed activities at our open house event on May 6, 2023 from 10 AM to 2 PM.  Event will be outdoors rain or shine.  

Tours will be capped at 15 participants. We recommended you sign up in advance to reserve your tour time slot and reduce wait time. Visit https://www.a2gov.org/pages/calendar.aspx to select your May 6 tour time and register. Activities at the event will be hosted by the following organizations. For questions about the event you can reach us at water@a2gov.org or 734.794.6426.

• Ann Arbor Water

• City of Ann Arbor Urban Forestry & Natural Resources and Office of Sustainability and Innovations (with 100 trees for participants!)

• Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum

• Leslie Science and Nature Center

• Huron River Watershed Council

• University of Michigan researchers from Civil & Environmental Engineering Department

• City of Ann Arbor Public Works (with a vactor truck)

• City of Ann Arbor Fire Department (with a fire truck!)

• City of Ann Arbor Systems Planning

Picture Request: Mrs. Gibbs

As some of you may already know, Mrs. Gibbs will be retiring at the end of the school year. We are planning to send her out with a well deserved celebration. If anyone has pictures of Ms. Gibbs from years past (or even this year) please send them to Sarah Schemanske at schemanskes@aaps.k12.mi.us.

 

David

Weekly Update 4/19

 Dear Wines Families, 

As we inch closer to May, things get increasingly busy here at Wines. As a result, my weekly messages tend to get a little longer (and occasionally I’ll be sending out additional messages). This week’s message is a bit long, but hopefully you can take a few minutes to read through it. 

Early Release Tomorrow

Dismissal is at 1:18. There is no aftercare. 

Auction Thank You!!!

If you were able to attend the Wines Auction last Friday night, I’m sure you will agree with me that it was an OUTSTANDING event. We raised money for our school, but most importantly, it was an incredibly fun evening to spend time with friends new and old and to make new connections with other parents in our community. 

I want to send a special thank you to everyone who helped plan and make the Auction so special. BIG thanks to Jane Lardo and Lauren Cunnane for Co-Chairing the event. The amount of work they put in during the past few weeks and months was amazing—not to mention their efforts last Friday! 

Thanks also to Courtney Nathan, Liz Martin, Kate Galvin, Dan Papajcik , Al Tokatlian , Michael Newberry, Erin Petro, Jaimie Sussman, Jen Holland, Alison Murphy, Anu Agrawal, Lori Shirilla , Alison Loy, Alyson Tokatlian and Carly Campbell for all of their support to the Auction! 

If you weren’t able to attend, please put a mental note on your calendar to attend next year. We will again likely hold the event in April and we’ll have a firm date next fall. 

Speaking of the Auction, there are still a few “sign and go’s” available. They are now available on our website  https://wines-elementary-school-pto.square.site/wines-auction. There are two soccer clinics with Mr. Toohey, a Pilates class at Core Collective, a VIP art tour of the U of M Art Museum, and an art class for all ages and abilities. Full descriptions are on the site. 

Art Night: Volunteer Needed

In anticipation of the return of Art Night to Wines, Mr. Wyse is looking for a parent to help organize this year’s event on May 11. Responsibilities would include coordinating parent volunteers for hanging art, set up/clean up, and publicity.

Anyone interested please email Joel Wyse at wyse@aaps.k12.mi.us

Wines ROAR, May 19

The end of the school year may still seem far away, but planning for this year's ROAR has begun! For families who are new to Wines, the Roar is the end of the school year party with carnival games, prizes, food trucks, a huge raffle, a flush tank for the 5th graders, a dunk tank with Dr. DeYoung and more! This year's Roar will be Friday May 19th from 5-8pm. If you'd like to join the planning committee for this year's event, please contact Lizzy Hurwitz (lizzy@lizzyhurwitz.com)

Disability Awareness Workshop May 24

We are thrilled that the Disability Awareness Workshop is returning to Wines in May. Traditionally, this has been a 4th grade experience but this year we are adding the 5th graders as they were not able to participate last year. We do need approximately 20 volunteers to make the day a success. If you are interested in volunteering contact Amy Thudium, athudium@gmail.com, or sign up with the SignUp Genius link below.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4DAFA62AA5FF2-disability

Picture Request: Mrs. Gibbs

As some of you may already know, Mrs. Gibbs will be retiring at the end of the school year. We are planning to send her out with a well deserved celebration. If anyone has pictures of Ms. Gibbs from years past (or even this year) please send them to Sarah Schemanske at schemanskes@aaps.k12.mi.us.

Library Update

In the library, we are continuing our digital citizenship conversations about internet safety. Our Young 5s-2nd grade students are learning that just as we have rules to keep us safe in our physical neighborhoods, we have similar rules to keep us safe online. We are practicing to pause and think by using an internet traffic light to help determine whether a site is just right for us, to spot tricky ads, and to tell a trusted adult when something doesn’t seem right. Our 3rd-5th grade students are learning to evaluate real vs fake websites and clickbait schemes, as well as how to be an upstander against cyberbullying.  

Student Water Bottles

As you may or may not know, all of our traditional drinking fountains have been replaced with bottle filling stations. We’ve encouraged students to bring bottles to fill but we’ve also supplied cups for kids who do not have a bottle. Recently, the bottle filling stations have been re-fitted to include a traditional drinking fountain bubbler so the stations are now both bottle fillers and traditional drinking fountains. Therefore, we are phasing out the use of cups to be more environmentally conscious. If your child has a water bottle, please have them bring that to school, or they can use the traditional drinking fountain bubbler. 

David

Weekly Update 4/12

 Dear Wines Families, 

Can we all hope that Spring has arrived and will stick around?? I certainly hope so. Here is the news for the week: 

Wines Auction THIS FRIDAY

Yesterday I sent a lengthy email with everything you need to know for Friday night’s auction. HERE is a copy of that email. This is a great event that, yes, raises money for our school but is also a great way to meet other parents and just have some fun. I really hope you can join us. Here are links to the Silent Auction Items. A PDF of the Live Auction items was attached to yesterday's email. Please let me know if you want me to send a copy of the booklet to you directly. 

Floor Hockey is Over until Next Year

Our weekly Friday Floor Hockey games have been a great success this year. Big thanks to Anastasia and Todd Yocum for volunteering their time each Friday to organize the games. Thanks also to Mr. Mosher who was a regular participant and of course to Ms. Knoll for making sure the gym was ready and all the equipment was available. We’ll see you back next winter! 

Art Night: Volunteer Needed

In anticipation of the return of Art Night to Wines, Mr. Wyse is looking for a parent to help organize this year’s event on May 11. Responsibilities would include coordinating parent volunteers for hanging art, set up/clean up, and publicity.

Anyone interested please email Joel Wyse at wyse@aaps.k12.mi.us

Wines ROAR, May 19

The end of the school year may still seem far away, but planning for this year's ROAR has begun! For families who are new to Wines, the Roar is the end of the school year party with carnival games, prizes, food trucks, a huge raffle, a flush tank for the 5th graders, a dunk tank with Dr. DeYoung and more! This year's Roar will be Friday May 19th from 5-8pm. If you'd like to join the planning committee for this year's event, please contact Lizzy Hurwitz (lizzy@lizzyhurwitz.com)

David

Weekly Update 4/5

 

Dear Wines Families, 

I hope everyone had a restful spring break. The kids and staff got right back to work this week and we are excited for this last part of the school year. As I said previously, this is a very busy time at school for everyone, but also an exciting time! 

Here is the news for the week. Please note the Wines Auction is next Friday night. I hope to see everyone there! 

No School Friday

Just a reminder there is no school this Friday. 

Wines Auction Tickets on Sale

Join us at Homes Campus next Friday night for an ADULTS ONLY evening raising money for our awesome school.  This event is super casual, low pressure and always a ton of fun.  Tickets cost $40/person and include food & entertainment. Tickets must be purchased in advance here:

https://wines-elementary-school-pto.square.site/wines-auction

Cash bar. 

Wines Auction Volunteer Opportunities 

Help support the auction through 

*signing up for a volunteer shift the night of the event 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4DADAA2AA7FD0-wines1

*donating a bottle or two of wine valued above $20 for the wine toss (contact Jane.lardo@gmail.com to arrange drop off)

*purchasing a corporate or individual sponsorship

 https://wines-elementary-school-pto.square.site/wines-auction

Pajama Day Next Tuesday

To support our 1st graders and their music concert next week, Tuesday will be Pajama Day here at Wines! 

Wines ROAR, May 19

The end of the school year may still seem far away, but planning for this year's ROAR has begun! For families who are new to Wines, the Roar is the end of the school year party with carnival games, prizes, food trucks, a huge raffle, a flush tank for the 5th graders, a dunk tank with Dr. DeYoung and more! This year's Roar will be Friday May 19th from 5-8pm. If you'd like to join the planning committee for this year's event, please contact Lizzy Hurwitz (lizzy@lizzyhurwitz.com)

David