Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Weekly Update 4/29

 Dear Wines Families, 

As we enter the month of May on the calendar, we have just under six weeks left in our school year together. Including today, we have just 28 days of school but who’s counting? There is A LOT to pack in over these next few weeks and this is always a busy and exciting time. While I know everyone reads my weekly emails each week, it is more important than ever now as there is lots of information and exciting things to share! The messages may get a little longer and there may be a few extra messages from time to time, but I’ll try to keep all communication as brief as possible and to the point! To that end, here is the news for the week.

Reminder: No School Tuesday, May 5

Also, for your calendars please note we have a half day of school on May 14 and no school May 25 for Memorial Day. 

Wines Art Night May 7th

Mark your calendars Art Night will be happening at Wines

Thursday May 7

6:30 - 7:30 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/904054CAEAF22A64-63543690-artnight

Before and After Care 2026-27

Attention, Attention! Rec and Ed is happy to announce that registration will be open for AM and PM care for Fall 2026. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 13 at 10am to register your student(s) for the AM and PM program! 

Scholarship opportunities are available to qualified families and applications will open on May 1. Please call 734-994-2300 ext. 53253 or email aapschildcare@aaps.k12.mi.us for questions! We look forward to seeing your students in the Fall!

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week Next Week!

Next week is Teacher and Staff appreciation week! The PTO would love your help to make this a special week for our amazing staff at Wines! On Sunday, May 3 we will gather to CHALK THE WALK and decorate the sidewalks at Wines to say thank you to our staff! Please join us at 4pm on Sunday! This will be a fair-weather event and will be canceled if it rains. 

On Monday, May 4, you can help us kick off the week by sending in a thank you note to teachers and staff. This would be a great day to bring them a card or a drawing or a flower - any token of gratitude! Thanks for helping us kick off a great week at Wines!

Disability Awareness Week 2026: Celebrating differences and creating an empathetic and inclusive community. May 11 - 15

We are excited to announce that all Wines students will have the opportunity to participate in Disability Awareness Week this year. In addition to an all school assembly on May 15th, each class will read and discuss books centering empathy and a variety of disabilities during Library the week of May 11th. Ms. Goldberg would love to welcome one volunteer parent or caregiver from each class to read a book during their child's Library time. You will be provided with the book upon arrival, so you only need to bring yourself. Sign up here. (Please note that not all classes are on the sign up due to conflicts with their Library time that week).

Parent Input: Class Placement

I intended to include this message next week, but since I’m sending out a second email today, I’ll add it here. With the school year quickly coming to a close, we are actively preparing for next year and placing students in classrooms. As part of this process, we do elicit parent input. Below is a link to a form where you can provide information to help us make final placement decisions. Please note that we do not accept request to be (or not to be) in a specific teacher’s classroom. Thank you for respecting this. Form below. 

https://forms.gle/Bcn7AzPMBfbgp5J6A

Save the Date (May 29th) for a ROARing good time! 

Join the ROAR, a Wines Community End of Year Celebration — May 29th, 5–8 PM! Featuring live bands, games, raffle, food, a 5th grade flush tank, and a DUNK tank for Dr. DeYoung! Interested in planning, day-of coordination, or have questions? Email Marti at Smartimarti@gmail.com. More details coming soon!

Bike Bus Coffee Meet and Greets - Wednesdays, May 6 and June 3.

We'll have coffee and bagels or donuts for our first bike bus of each month.

What's a Bike Bus?

A bike bus is a group of kids and caretakers who meet up and ride bikes (or skate or scoot, etc) together to school. It’s fun and festive and encourages kids and adults to stay active and use more sustainable transportation whenever possible.

Bike Buses are now weekly on Wednesdays!

Every wonder if a bike bus will be happening? Wonder no more! Bike buses will be taking part weekly, on Wednesday mornings, starting from our three locations. Bike buses may be canceled due to inclement weather.

Meet-ups: Garden Homes Park (8:15 a.m.), Creal Park (8:25 a.m.), Hunt Park (8:25 a.m.)


David





Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Weekly Update 4/22

 Dear Wines Families, 

I want to start this week by extending gratitude for the incredible Wines Auction last Friday evening. Most importantly, I want to thank Robbie Weeks for spearheading the entire effort to stage the event. Robbie—who has been a tireless workhorse for nearly every Wines event this year—was not originally slated to be the leader of the Auction but ultimately took on the effort and put on an incredible event. I want to thank Lauren Cunanne for organizing the student artwork and the many parent volunteers who helped make the projects happen. Thanks to Dan Papajcik and Alex Tokatlian for being our live auction hosts, Anne Pynch for all of her efforts to solicit items for the silent auction, and of course all of the parents who came to the event, those who couldn’t attend but still participated in the silent auction, and to the many families and Wines businesses who donated items to the silent auction. THANK YOU!

The auction is important is many ways. Yes, it is a crucial fundraiser for our school. But, perhaps more importantly, it is an opportunity to build our community and we were successful on both fronts Friday. If you weren’t able to attend, we hope you consider it for next year. If you are interested in helping coordinate the event next year, please reach out to winesptopresident@gmail.com or winesptovicepresident@gmail.com

PTO Meeting Tomorrow

We will hold our next PTO meeting tomorrow at 9:00 AM in the Wines office conference room. If you are unable to attend in person, you can join via Zoom. Zoom link was sent in today's email.

Wines Art Night May 7th

Mark your calendars Art Night will be happening at Wines

Thursday May 7

6:30 - 7:30 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/904054CAEAF22A64-63543690-artnight

Before and After Care 2026-27

Attention, Attention! Rec and Ed is happy to announce that registration will be open for AM and PM care for Fall 2026. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 13 at 10am to register your student(s) for the AM and PM program! 

Scholarship opportunities are available to qualified families and applications will open on May 1. Please call 734-994-2300 ext. 53253 or email aapschildcare@aaps.k12.mi.us for questions! We look forward to seeing your students in the Fall!

Staff Appreciation May 4-7

Would you like to help plan Staff Appreciation Week May 4-May 8 for our amazing teachers and staff? The PTO is looking for committee members to help make the week special. Just small tasks - not a huge time commitment! Please reach out to Jaimie Sussman if you are able to help at jaimiesussman@gmail.com.

David





Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Weekly Update 4/8

Dear Wines Families, 

I hope everyone had a nice spring break whether you traveled or just had a little time away from the day to day! After returning from chaperoning 15 high school seniors on spring break, Trish and I had the opportunity to attend the national championship game Monday evening which—as we had hoped—turned into one of the most memorable events of our lives (sporting events anyway). We bumped into a few Wines families in Indianapolis and while I think I was far too nervous to truly “enjoy” the game, it was an amazing evening and it was worth the very little sleep we had Monday! 

Please take a moment to read through today’s message. Note that the Wines Auction is next Friday evening and ticket sales are low. This is a fantastic community event that you don’t want to miss!! 

Wines Parents — we need your help!

Ticket sales for our April 17th Parent Night Out + Auction are currently low, and we’re at risk of not having the strong event our school is counting on. This is one of our biggest and most fun fundraisers — and we’d love to see Wines families there.

Join us at Venue by 4M for a relaxed, fun night just for parents:

• Outdoor space with heat lamps & fire pits

• Cornhole + lawn games

• Appetizers, a taco bar, and dessert included with a ticket

• Free and easy parking

• Fun auction items to support Wines

Grab a friend, plan a date night, or make it a spontaneous night out — but please don’t wait. We truly need more families to purchase tickets this week to make this event a success. Let’s show up for Wines and make it a great night together. Get your tickets today!

We'll also be printing the sponsorship banner this weekend so if you or your business wants to add a sponsorship, please do so before Friday. 

For tickets or sponsorship visit our site https://www.ptowines.org/wines-night-out 

If you're already planning to attend and are able to help at the event, please see the sign up genius. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C44AEAA22A2F8CE9-63390504-parents

Wines Bike Bus is Back!

First Bike Bus + Meet and Greet - Wednesday, April 15 

We'll have coffee and donuts for our first bike bus of the spring, April 15th, after drop off. 

What's a Bike Bus?

A bike bus is a group of kids and caretakers who meet up and ride bikes (or skate or scoot, etc) together to school. It’s fun and festive and encourages kids and adults to stay active and use more sustainable transportation whenever possible.

Bike Buses are now weekly on Wednesdays!

Every wonder if a bike bus will be happening? Wonder no more! Bike buses will

be taking part weekly, on Wednesday mornings, starting from our three locations.

Bike buses may be canceled due to inclement weather.

Meet-ups: Garden Homes Park (8:15 a.m.), Creal Park (8:25 a.m.), Hunt Park (8:25 a.m.)

Mat Heagerty Author Visit and Books for Sale

On Tuesday, graphic novelist Mat Heagerty spent the day with students at Wines. Mat talked with students about creating art, telling stories, collaborating with others, being open to others' ideas, being kind, and celebrating neurodiversity. If your student is interested in purchasing Mat's books, you can buy them from Booksweet and they will be delivered to school next week. Here are the links to purchase online: Lumberjackula (all grades) and Indoor Kid (upper elementary). 

Reminder: Miller Construction Returns…

Just a reminder that starting today, Miller Rd. will be closed to westbound traffic from Seventh St. to Maple. Newport Rd. and side streets to access Cooley will remain open to eastbound traffic. We currently do not have plans to change our arrival/dismissal procedures or timing unless we find the need. 

David