Weekly Update 10/26

Dear Wines Families, 

I hope this finds you well as we approach the end of October! That is certainly hard to believe. Time flies when you are having fun! 

PTO Meeting Tonight

Reminder that there is a PTO meeting tonight in the Wines Library. We’d love to see some new parents join us to learn more about the PTO! If you are unable to attend in person, there will be a Zoom set up. Zoom information was sent in today's email. 

UM/MSU Spirit Day Friday

In honor of the big game Saturday, we are encouraging all of our Michigan and MSU fans to wear their team’s colors on Friday. If you are not a fan of either school, might I suggest wearing maize and blue??!! 

Halloween

We are happy to be able to celebrate Halloween again next Monday here at school. Like many things this year, we are returning to our pre-pandemic approach to the day. Students who wish to wear costumes can bring their costumes to school in a bag. Students should not come to school in costume. Our celebrations will take place in the afternoon. We will hold our annual parade through the neighborhood beginning at 2:00 PM. The best place for parents to stand to view the parade is along the sidewalk connecting Wines to Hillridge Street. This sidewalk extends from the Forsythe fields to our front entrance and is the final leg of our parade route. The parade route has us exiting at Cooley, going left on Saunders Crescent, left on Hillridge, and then entering the Forsythe property on the path from Hillridge back to the front of school. 

Each classroom will have celebrations during the afternoon. Please refer to communications from your child’s teacher regarding specifics. 

We ask that if students choose to wear costumes that the costumes be friendly. This means no fake blood and no fake weapons. No exceptions. My general rule of thumb is that if you are wondering if part of your costume is appropriate for school or not, it probably isn’t…

If you would prefer your child not participate in Halloween related activities, please contact me directly and we will have an alternate activity for them. 

Science and Builders Fair: November 10

Our annual Science and Builders Fair is back!! This event is designed to foster a love of learning and provide an exciting environment for the kids to proudly display their work. The Science and Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and innovate! Nothing is too simple! It is not a "judged" event -- all participants receive a certificate. Please visit the website below for more information and registration. 

https://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/about.html

Great Ideas Grants

Do you have a great idea to support Wines Elementary?  

The Great Idea Grants program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program to benefit the Wines community! The grant approval committee will meet only one time this year to approve grants that can be used anytime during the remainder of the school year. Submissions are now being accepted using the Google Form linked here:

Great Idea Grants

Grant limits are: $200 for students, and $750 for adults. It's the same application whether you are submitting an idea as a student, teacher, or parent. You will see that you will have the option to select who you are in the form. The deadline for the first round of applications is November 11th. Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now for your chance to make Wines GREATER than it already is. We look forward to hearing from you.

For questions or more information contact: Anu Huntley at anu.agrawal.huntley@gmail.com

Wines Volunteers

It has been so wonderful to see so many volunteers in our classrooms and other spaces lately. Thank you!! Just a reminder, if you are planning on volunteering in any way this year, please fill out the brief form below. This is a critical safety measure. Thank you to everyone who has filled out the form already as we have over 100 volunteers registered!

https://forms.gle/rLKQ9qYJLW3vcjUu6

Run-a-Thon Update

We did it!! Thanks to our incredible community, we have surpassed our school fundraising goal which means first and foremost that our PTO will be able to continue to support our school in myriad ways! Second, it means I’ll be spending a night on the roof—likely in the spring…

In addition, I’m pleased to announce that 10 of our 19 classrooms have met the 100% participation goal meaning very soon I’ll have at least 10 pies thrown in my face! We still have a large number of pledges that are going to be processed tonight so hopefully that number of pies will grow! Thank you Wines community, and thank you to Andrea Burkhart for all your efforts to make this event a fun and successful event for everyone!

Thanks for reading! 

David

 

Weekly Update 10/19

 Dear Wines Families, 

I hope everyone is having a great week. It does appear that traditional wet and cold October weather has arrived. Please be sure your child comes to school daily prepared to go outside for recess. We do go outside in light/moderate rain. There are a lot of important messages this week. Thanks in advance for taking a few minutes to read through today’s message. 

Early Release Thursday

Our next Early Release Day is tomorrow, Oct. 20. School will dismiss at 1:18. 

Robin is Back!!

I’m thrilled to announce that Robin Moore has returned to her post in our office this week! Robin is still building up her strength and stamina and she still has many medical appointments so for the time being, she is here for half days in the morning. J’Ne has taken a new full time substitute office position at another school so Kathy Kyle, a retired long serving AAPS Office Professional is here in the afternoons. 

Directory

In today's email you received a link to the Wines Student Directory. We use each family’s enrollment information and wishes regarding Directory inclusion to put the document together. If you need information added/deleted, please contact Robin Moore at moorero@aaps.k12.mi.us. The document is live and will be updated in real time. 

PTO Meeting

Our next PTO meeting will take place next Wednesday, Oct. 26th at 7:00 PM in the Wines Library. We’d love to see some new parents join us to learn more about the PTO! If you are unable to attend in person, there will be a Zoom set up. Zoom information was sent in today's email. 

Science and Builders Fair: November 10

Our annual Science and Builders Fair is back!! This event is designed to foster a love of learning and provide an exciting environment for the kids to proudly display their work. The Science and Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and innovate! Nothing is too simple! It is not a "judged" event -- all participants receive a certificate. Please visit the website below for more information and registration. 

https://winesscienceandbuilders.weebly.com/about.html

Great Ideas Grants

Do you have a great idea to support Wines Elementary?  

The Great Idea Grants program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program to benefit the Wines community! The grant approval committee will meet only one time this year to approve grants that can be used anytime during the remainder of the school year. Submissions are now being accepted using the Google Form linked here:

Great Idea Grants

Grant limits are: $200 for students, and $750 for adults. It's the same application whether you are submitting an idea as a student, teacher, or parent. You will see that you will have the option to select who you are in the form. The deadline for the first round of applications is November 11th. Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now for your chance to make Wines GREATER than it already is. We look forward to hearing from you.

For questions or more information contact: Anu Huntley at anu.agrawal.huntley@gmail.com

Library and Computer Use Update

For the past few weeks, we’ve been settling into library routines with book checkouts and computer use (for grades 1-5 so far). Students have been taught how to properly care for our library books as well as the rules for using our school technology, following the AAPS Acceptable Use Policy. The following slides are used to teach the acceptable use policy to Young 5s-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade, emphasizing that our devices are not personal devices, but school devices that are being loaned out (much like a library book) for school work and to learn. Just like we would not put stickers, add pictures, or alter library books in any way, we should not be doing those things to our school devices. This includes using devices to access websites that are not school sanctioned in Clever, Schoology, or otherwise provided by a teacher for additional learning. Thank you for your support in helping our students follow these same rules and procedures at home. 

Run-a-Thon Pledges

We are getting VERY close to meeting our Run-a-Thon pledge goal (and subsequently, me sleeping on the roof!). 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!). 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 through this week.  Online pledges can be made at: https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon.

Thanks for reading! 

David

Weekly Update 10/12

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! 

Early Release Oct. 20

Our next Early Release Day is next Thursday, Oct. 20. School will dismiss at 1:18. 

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—any amount helps! Last week I announced two participation incentives for kids. For every class that has 100% of their students participate in collecting pledges, that class will be able to throw a pie in my face. I’m hoping to be pelted by 19 pies! In addition, if we meet our schoolwide fundraising goal of $20,000, I will spend a night camped out on the Wines roof! 

$20,000 is a lofty goal and is 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! 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 contact out of town friends and families. Online pledges 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 is supporting the training and care for our Therapy Dog, Gracie, who we hope will be joining our school very soon! Below is a recent photo of Gracie. She is making great progress and we couldn’t welcome her without the financial support of our PTO and contributions made by our Wines community. 

Run-a-Thon Schedule

If you want to come and join us to cheer on the kids, the schedule for the morning can be found HERE.

Upcoming Author Visit!

We are beyond excited to share that award-winning illustrator and author, Supriya Kelkar, is visiting our school to celebrate the release of her newest picture book, Brown is Beautiful!  She will read the book and answer student questions in person at Wines on Wednesday, November 2nd. Supriya will also sign copies of the book for families who have pre-ordered them. If you would like to pre-order a book to have it signed by the author, please complete the form sent in today's email and send in your check (made out to Schuler Books) and drop it off to Mrs. Goldberg by October 14. If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Goldberg (goldbergr@aaps.k12.mi.us). 

Thanks for reading! 

David

Weekly Update 10/5

Dear Wines Families, 

I can’t tell you how nice it is to be back at Wines this week after my week away last week for COVID. While I was thankful to have minimal symptoms, it was a loooonng week away! The kids have been great this week—it feels good to hear from so many kids that they missed me! I’m feeling good, just a little tired. 

Next week is a big week here at Wines as we host our largest fundraiser and, in my opinion, the most fun day of the year here at school with our annual Run-a-Thon. While most of this week’s message is related to Run-a-Thon, there are a couple of other important items so please read through the whole message. 

Run-a-Thon Pledges

As I indicated, Run-a-Thon is our largest fundraiser of the year. We are encouraging all students to collect pledges—any amount helps! We will have special incentives to classes that have 100% participation and a schoolwide incentive if we reach our fundraising goal. I will be announcing these fun incentives at our Pep Rally on Friday this week. We need everyone to help to meet our goals! Pledge packets are going home in today’s Wednesday Take Home Folder. In addition, online pledges can be made now. Online pledges are a great way to contact out of town friends and families. Online pledges can be made at: https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon.

Run-a-Thon Volunteers

We are still in need of volunteers on Friday. This is a very easy and very fun opportunity to volunteer at Wines. No experience necessary! Please go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050f48a9a823a3f49-wines1 to volunteer. 

Run-a-Thon Schedule

If you want to come and join us to cheer on the kids, the schedule for the morning can be found HERE.

Run-a-Thon Spirit Week 10/10-10/14

On Friday we will be announcing our annual Spirit Week days next week as we prepare for Run-a-Thon. I want to give families a heads up on what the days are next week, but try to keep this a secret as we will be announcing this at the Pep Rally on Friday as well. 

Monday: Pajama Day

Tuesday: Wacky Hair or Hat Day

Wednesday: Mismatch with a Moustache Day

Thursday: Favorite Team Day

Friday: Run-a-Thon Spirit Day (all students receive a Run-a-Thon t-shirt that morning). 

Walk to School for Walktober

My apologies to our bus riders this morning as I was a week ahead of myself and our bus service was anticipating us participating in International Walk to School Day next Wednesday, not today! At any rate, we will still celebrate Walktober and will be walking to school each Friday this month starting this week. Busses will drop off at Forsythe on Friday. 

Upcoming Author Visit!

We are beyond excited to share that award-winning illustrator and author, Supriya Kelkar, is visiting our school to celebrate the release of her newest picture book, Brown is Beautiful!  She will read the book and answer student questions in person at Wines on Wednesday, November 2nd. Supriya will also sign copies of the book for families who have pre-ordered them. If you would like to pre-order a book to have it signed by the author, please complete the order form I sent in today's email and send in your check (made out to Schuler Books) and drop it off to Mrs. Goldberg by October 14.  If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Goldberg (goldbergr@aaps.k12.mi.us). 

Thanks for reading! 

David

Weekly Update 9/28

 

Dear Wines Families, 

Greetings from quarantine! 

I continue to have mild COVID symptoms and so I feel quite fortunate as I know many of you and your families have had more challenging cases. I also feel very fortunate that we have such an amazing team at Wines and I know our kids and families are in great shape during my absence. Special thanks to Sarah Schemanske who I hope has a good data package on her cell phone as I have been texting her seemingly every five minutes!! I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday. In the meantime, here is the news for the week: 

Picture Day Tuesday Oct. 4

Picture Day at Wines is next Tuesday. All orders are done online this year. Please go to https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/70941DF to make your order. All students will have their picture taken regardless of whether you purchase a package or not. All students at Wines will also receive a yearbook regardless of package purchases.  

Walktober

As the calendar turns to October, we will again participate in our annual “Walktober” tradition at Wines and encourage walking to school. We will begin next Wednesday, Oct. 5th, when we will participate in International Walk to School Day. We will then celebrate walking to school every Friday in October. Next Wednesday and every Friday in October our buses will drop the students off in Forsythe’s south parking lot so our bus students can walk as well. It’s always great to see groups of kids and families walking to Wines! 

Run-a-Thon is Coming Up!

Our annual Run-a-Thon is right around the corner on Friday, Oct. 14. The event takes place during the school day and is a great community event! In addition to just being a great day to spend at Wines, Run-a-Thon is also a fun and easy volunteer opportunity. If you are interested in helping out that day, please go to: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050f48a9a823a3f49-wines1 and sign up. 

The Run-a-Thon is our largest fundraiser and pledge packets will be coming home next week. We will also host our annual “Pep Rally” featuring the Skyline Drumline next Friday, Oct. 7. While we are still a couple weeks away, friends and family can start supporting our students now! Online pledges can be made at https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon. This is a great way to reach friends and family from out of town. There is a link for corporate sponsorships at that link as well. Corporate sponsorships are due no later than this Friday. 

Cub Scouts Returns to Wines

Cub Scout Pack 3078 is returning to Wines! Cub Scouting is open to all genders, grades K-5. We will be having a kick-off meeting at 7:30pm tomorrow (9/28) in the Cafeteria. If you can't join us and would like more information contact Cubmaster Seth Guikema at seth.guikema@gmail.com

Volunteers

Thank you to the many parents who have registered to volunteer at our school. If you have registered already, we have processed your background check and you are all set to begin. If you have not registered, please fill out the form below. I realize many of you did this last year. Please note that this is a yearly requirement to register and provides an important layer of safety for our students.

https://forms.gle/AQqQnH7SFcN28xdE8

That’s all for this week. I’m looking forward to being back with the kids next Monday! 

David

Weekly Update 9/21

 Dear Wines Families, 

Another great week is halfway complete and we near completing our first month of school together. I could not be more pleased with how this year has started out! Here is the information for the week: 

Reminder: Important Office Information

As I indicated a couple of weeks ago, Robin Moore was involved in a car accident over the Labor Day weekend. She and her family are recovering from their injuries but Robin will be out of the office until at least the middle of October. Please be sure that all messages for absences, etc. are called in to the office at (734) 994-1973 as Robin is not responding to email. J’Ne Powell is filling in for Robin and she has been awesome! But as I said earlier, Robin has been at Wines for 13 years and her knowledge is hard to replace in such a short time. J’Ne’s email is powellj@aaps.k12.mi.us. 

PTO Meeting Tonight

Our first PTO meeting of the year is tonight at 7:00 PM in the library. We'll review and vote on the budget for the school year and start talking about our first major event, the annual Run a Thon, scheduled for October 14. All are welcome, and free childcare will be provided at the school if you need it.

Run a Thon Sponsorship

Do you have a business and would like to be a corporate sponsor for our Run-a-Thon? Your logo will go on our t-shirts (that all students receive) and on our other promotional materials. If you are interested, please go to https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon and scroll to the “Become a Corporate Sponsor” link. The deadline is Sept. 26. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Burkhart at dredvm18@gmail.com. 

Volunteers

Thank you to the many parents who have registered to volunteer at our school. If you have registered already, we have processed your background check and you are all set to begin. If you have not registered, please fill out the form below. I realize many of you did this last year. Please note that this is a yearly requirement to register and provides an important layer of safety for our students. 

https://forms.gle/AQqQnH7SFcN28xdE8

Picture Day Oct. 4

Picture Day is coming up on Oct. 4th. All orders are done online this year. Please go to https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/70941DF to make your order. All students will have their picture taken this year regardless of whether you purchase a package or not. All students at Wines will also receive a yearbook regardless of package purchases.  

Security Guard

I’ve received a few inquiries regarding a security guard that has been on campus for the past number of days. We learned two weeks ago that our fire alarms are not fully functional due to something that happened during construction over the summer. The Fire Marshall has ordered that a security guard be present until the alarm is repaired. The fire alarm repair was completed yesterday and so our security guard is no longer on site.  

Thanks! 

David

Weekly Update 9/14

 Dear Wines Families, 

It was wonderful to see so many families at Curriculum Night last evening! 

I have a number of important messages today, so please take some time to read through this message. 

Volunteer Registration and Current Volunteer Needs

We are thrilled that our school is fully open to volunteers! In order to volunteer, we need volunteers to complete a registration. In addition to classroom and special area volunteers, we are looking for volunteers in our lunch program. This is a flexible volunteer opportunity and is a great way to interact with lots of kids in a fun environment. If you are interested in any volunteer opportunity, please fill out the form linked below. If you are interested in lunch, please indicate that on the form and our coordinator, Epiphani Raabe, will be in touch with you. 

https://forms.gle/9Ro7n9Gnjs8awqch8. 

The lunch position can also be a paid position if you are interested in employment. If you are interested in being paid to be a noon hour supervisor or know someone who would, please contact me directly (deyoung@aaps.k12.mi.us) and I will help you begin the application process. 

Back to School Picnic Tomorrow!  

The Wines PTO invites families to a picnic tomorrow from 5:30-7:30 PM on the Upper El playground. Bring some food and drink and catch up with other Wines families at this low-key, casual event. 

Early Release: Tuesday, Sept. 20th

Our first Early Release Day is next Tuesday, Sept. 20th. School will dismiss at 1:18. Lunch will take place at school as usual and busses will run as usual (bus drop off time will be 2.5 hours earlier than normal). 

PTO Meeting Sept. 21

The first PTO Meeting of the school year will be next Wednesday, September 21, from 7-8pm in the Library at Wines Elementary. We'll review and vote on the budget for the school year and start talking about our first major event, the annual Runathon, scheduled for October 14. All are welcome, and free childcare will be provided at the school if you need it.

Picture Day Oct. 4th

Our annual Picture Day is Oct. 4th. Ordering is done all online. To order pictures, go to www.inter-state.com/order and use the code: 70941DF. If your child will be absent on Oct. 4th, don’t worry! Re-Takes are on Nov. 22nd. 

Spirit Wear

Wines Spirit Wear is on sale now! Sale ends on Sept. 18th. Please visit https://pogo.undergroundshirts.com/collections/wines-elementary-apparel-1 to browse and purchase. 

That’s all for this week! 

David