Weekly Update 10/25

Dear Wines Families,

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of October. The fall is really flying by, but that means things are humming right along here at school and, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun! Here is the news for the week. As always, I appreciate your time in reading through the information. 

Great Movie Night!

Our first Movie Night in a very long time was a smashing success last Friday! While I didn’t count, I estimate that around 250 kids were in attendance–perhaps more. I want to thank Amy Miles for encouraging us to host the event and for all of her work organizing a really special night for the kids. I hope parents enjoyed a couple of hours doing something fun or just relaxing while the kids were here at Wines. We will most certainly continue this tradition.

Walk to School Friday

Our final “Walktober” walk to school day is this Friday. We’ve had great participation this month and we encourage everyone to walk to school on Friday. Bus riders will again be dropped off at Forsythe where I will meet them along with our students who participate in morning childcare. Thanks to everyone for participating in this year’s Walktober. 

Halloween Oct. 31st

Next Tuesday is Halloween and we will again celebrate this date at our school. Tuesday is also an Early Release Day with dismissal at 1:00 so the day will be slightly different from previous years with a compact schedule. Below is some information to help families plan: 

Costumes: If students choose to wear a costume on Halloween, they should plan on arriving at school dressed in costume as we will not be changing into costumes at school. Costumes should be friendly in nature meaning no fake blood of fake weapons. My general rule of thumb is that if you aren’t sure if the costume or prop is appropriate for school, then it probably isn’t. 

Parade: We will take our annual parade through the neighborhood beginning at 9:15 AM. Our route has us exit school onto Cooley Ave. We turn left onto Saunders Crescent, then left onto Hillridge. We will then enter the Forsythe property via cut through off of Hillridge and take the long sidewalk through the Forsythe athletic fields back to Wines. 

Parents are more than welcome to watch the parade. The best place to view the parade is anywhere along the path from Hillridge to the Wines. If you are planning on being part of the parade, please be sure that your morning drop off routine stays the same–meaning our student drop off line is moving as normal for the beginning of school. 

Classroom Celebrations: Look for information from your classroom teacher regarding if and how the students will celebrate in class. As a reminder with the Early Release this year, celebrations will be smaller than in years past. 

Science + Builders Fair: Thursday, November 9 

Put your thinking caps on! Our annual Science + Builders Fair is right around the corner. The Science + Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and innovate! This event is designed to foster a love of learning and provide an exciting environment for the kids to proudly display their work. Nothing is too simple! It is not a "judged" event–all participants receive a certificate. 

While the event is not "judged", you do need to register on our website. It's fine to not have a topic yet, just let us know you're coming! 

https://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/

Do You Love our School Libraries?

Our district librarians are looking for parents/caregivers to form a "Friends of the AAPS School Libraries" group to support and advocate for our district school libraries. Our main goal is to strive for equity across all AAPS school libraries.

Please submit this Google form if you are interested in meeting on a monthly basis at Huron Library in the evening (dates TBD to start in November) during the school year to:

• Learn more about our school library programs and how to support them

• Develop fundraising opportunities to support buying print books for all of our school libraries

• Learn about the AAPS book challenge process and how to advocate for the freedom to read

• Learn about volunteer opportunities in the school libraries

• Share your support for school libraries on social media

• Share ideas with the group on how to support and advocate for our school libraries

David

Weekly Update 10/18

 Dear Wines Families,

I hope this message finds you well on this beautiful Autumn day. There are some exciting things coming up this week and beyond, so please take a moment to read through today’s message. 

Run-a-Thon Update

Again, I want to thank our community for another successful Run-a-Thon. We have exceeded our schoolwide fundraising goal and so I will spend an evening on the roof in the spring when it warms up! We currently have two classrooms—Mrs. Middleton and Mr. Toohey—who have met the 100% participation goal and have earned the right to throw a pie in my face. I’m still hoping that all of our classes meet this goal and many are very close! We have extended the deadline for one week. Donations can be made in the cash/check or online at https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon. Below is the current tally of classroom participation: 

 

PTO Meeting Tomorrow

Our PTO will be meeting tomorrow evening in the Wines Library at 7:00 PM. If you are unable to attend in person, Zoom information was sent in today's email. below is the Zoom information.

Walk to School Friday

After a week off due to Fall Break, we will again celebrate “Walktober” this Friday and encourage everyone to walk to school. Bus riders will again be dropped off at Forsythe where I will meet them along with our students who participate in morning childcare. 

Movie Night Friday!

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ first Movie Night this Friday from 6-8PM. We will have chaperones, snacks, and a fun, free movie watching experience set up in the cafeteria. Kids can wear PJs and bring sleeping bags to sit on to watch Disney’s Elementals. This event is for current Wines students only. Parents, please be sure to return to Wines no later than 8:00 to pick your child(ren) up. 

We are still looking for volunteers for set up and clean up! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-44657729-movie 

Science + Builders Fair: Thursday, November 9 

Put your thinking caps on! Our annual Science + Builders Fair is right around the corner. The Science + Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and innovate! Nothing is too simple. This is not a "judged" event -- all participants receive a certificate. Sign up information will be forthcoming. 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 10/11

 Dear Wines Families,

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the real fall temperatures that arrived this week. As the weather begins to change and we enter fall and winter, just a reminder that we will go outside for recess daily as long as the wind chill is above 0 degrees. We will also go outside in light rain as well so please make sure kids are sent to school prepared to be outside daily. 

Run-a-Thon Pledges

Congratulations families, we have reached our overall fundraising goal for the Run-a-Thon so I will be sleeping on the roof in the Spring! While that is wonderful, we currently do not have any classrooms with 100% participation (and subsequently, the opportunity to throw a pie at my face!). Please see below where each classroom’s participation stands.  Every little amount helps and I can honestly say that I really want all 19 classrooms to hit me with a pie! We are still accepting pledges and they can be made online via: https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon.

For the donation to count towards your classroom, simply put the teacher’s same in the “Child’s Name” field in the online donation form. We are also still taking cash and checks in the packets sent home as well. 

Rodriguez 83%

Kim 81%

Middleton 79%

Puente 78%

Fata 77%

Milanowski 77%

Harris     75%

Mosher 74%

Toohey 73%

Duggins 72%

Shanteau 71%

Carlin 70%

Kingkiner 70%

Suiecki 68%

Fisher 67%

Parsons 65%

Spiroff 63%

Lynch 60%

Day          52%

PTO Meeting 10/19

Our next PTO meeting is next Thursday, October 19 at 7:00 in the Library. For those wishing to join via Zoom, the meeting information came in today's email. 

Pick Up and Drop off Reminders

Now that we are fully into our seventh week of school, I want to take a moment to remind everyone of our pick up and drop off procedures. First, please be sure you are using the correct lot. Our Young 5’s, Kindergarten, and 5th grade families should be using the Cooley Lot, not the main entrance from Wines. 1st-4th grades should enter from Newport and use the main entrance to Wines. Please use the lot that corresponds to your youngest child (so 5th grade families, if you have siblings in 1st-4th grades, please use the main entry). While our system is not perfect, it is safe and efficient when everyone uses the correct entrances. 

I’ve also noticed that more and more students are being dropped off to school without supervision as early as 8:30 or earlier. Students should not be at school unsupervised until an adult staff member comes outside to greet students. This is usually about 8:35. Thank you for your attention to this. 

Movie Night October 20th

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ first Movie Night on Friday, October 20, from 6-8PM. We will have chaperones, snacks, and a fun, free movie watching experience set up in the cafeteria. Kids can wear PJs and bring sleeping bags to sit on to watch Disney’s Elementals.

Still looking for volunteers! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-44657729-movie 

EduStaff Substitute Teacher Positions

As we are headed into the Winter season, which also may be known as cold/flu/COVID season, the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) is looking for substitute teachers and paraeducators to support our classrooms. If you are a passionate person who enjoys connection with students EduStaff is looking for you. Substitute positions are necessary and meaningful work that enriches the lives of students in our community. If you, your family or friends are interested in making an impact, we encourage you to support the AAPS team as a substitute teacher or paraeducator.  Start your application at https://www.edustaff.org/

Fall Break

Reminder: no school this Friday or next Monday for Fall Break. 

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 10/4

 Dear Wines Families,

It has been a great Spirit Week so far as we inch closer to Friday’s Run-a-Thon. The kids have shown great spirit!

Run-a-Thon Pledges

As I’ve indicated, Run-a-Thon is our largest fundraiser of the year. We are encouraging all students to collect pledges and any amount helps. 

Last year the kids reached 100% participation and each class got to throw a pie in my face.  The kids were really thrilled to smush all those pies in my face, so we’re bringing it back this year. I also spent an evening on the roof last spring to honor the kids reaching our fundraising goal. We’ll be bringing that incentive back again this year as well. 

So....for every class that has 100% of their students participate in collecting pledges (of any amount), that class will be able to throw a pie in my face. I’m hoping to be pelted by 19 pies! And if we meet our overall fundraising goal, I’ll spend a night on the roof. 

We aim to raise $20,000 for Wines through the Run-a-thon. It is a lofty goal and works out to approximately $50/student. To reach this goal, we really need everyone to chip in! If you are not able to contribute $50, any amount will help and if you are able to solicit pledges over $50, this will be a great help to our school! Online pledges are a great way to allow out of town friends and families support our school and can be made at: https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon.

One of the highlights of our Run-a-Thon pep-rally was a discussion of all the wonderful things that our PTO supports via proceeds from the Run-a-Thon. We talked about field trips, our 5th grade Camp Tanuga trip, playground upgrades, our art and music programs, and others. The kids were most excited that this year, our PTO has just built new soccer goals for the playgrounds!

We still have some Run-a-Thon volunteer slots open.  Sign up here if you’re interested & we’ll see you Friday.

Here is the Run-a-Thon grade-by-grade running schedule.

Well Deserved Recognition for Mr. Mosher! 

If you haven’t read the recent A2 School News article on our own 5th grade teacher, Mr. Mosher, take a moment and click on the link below. 

https://news.a2schools.org/nick-mosher-wines-elementary-5th-grade-teacher/

Movie Night October 20th

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ first Movie Night on Friday, October 20, from 6-8PM. We will have chaperones, snacks, and a fun, free movie watching experience set up in the cafeteria. Kids can wear PJs and bring sleeping bags to sit on to watch Disney’s Elementals.

Still looking for volunteers! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-44657729-movie 

Thanks! 

David