Weekly Update 12/3

 Dear Wines Families, 

Winter has arrived, Thanksgiving is behind us, and believe it or not, we have less than three weeks left of school before our winter break. I’ve always loved this time between Thanksgiving and winter break as there is just a different feel around the building each day. There is hard work being done while kids and staff are also enjoying the season together. 

Book Fair Next Week

The Wines Scholastic Book Fair is going to be December 9th - 12th.  Every purchase from the book fair provides fabulous resources for students, teachers, and our school library.  It’s also a great way to get some holiday shopping checked off your list! 

We will be having a Family Night on Tuesday, December 9th from 6:30-8:00.  If you cannot make it to Family Night, you are welcome to come and shop at the fair during school hours Wednesday and Thursday.  

Here is a link to the fair's website for information on eWallet, online shopping and more: Wines Scholastic Book Fair Website 

If you are interested in volunteering at the book fair, please sign up below.

Book Fair Volunteers.

Floor Hockey Begins Friday! 

Our weekly before school floor hockey game begins this Friday at 8:00 AM. Students from all grades are welcome to join. Students can be dropped off at 8:00 and all they need are dry shoes. Parents can also join the game as well. Thanks to Ms. Knoll for supporting this Wines tradition. You can read more about floor hockey and other happenings in the gym in Ms. Knolls’ Newsletter. 

2026-27 Young 5’s Enrollment Open Now!

AAPS is currently accepting applications for Young 5’s (both for neighborhood families and In-District-Transfers). Unlike other grades, spots in Young 5’s are not guaranteed—even if you live in the Wines neighborhood. If you have a child who will be eligible for Young 5’s next year or if you have friends or neighbors who do, please visit the Young 5’s Enrollment Page. Scroll down to the GREEN button to apply for 2026-2027. 

Reminder: School Begins at 8:48

As I wrote on Monday, the Miller Road construction project has been delayed and the current estimate is that Miller will re-open next week. To be honest, that seems like a very optimistic timeline. However long the project takes, it will impact our arrival and departure process. While the procedures have caused our morning drop off lineup to be longer than normal, I’m seeing large numbers of cars arriving at or after 9:00 AM—well after the lineup has shortened causing many students to arrive more than just a few minutes late to school. While we certainly understand that there will be some delays due to the construction and our corresponding revised procedures, we do ask that families do everything they can to start your mornings with enough time to get to Wines on time. As a reminder, we begin allowing students who eat breakfast to enter at 8:42 and all other students at 8:45. Instructional time for students begins at 8:48. When students are late, they miss some of the most crucial moments of the day and often cause disruptions to classroom procedures. 

David

Weekly Update 11/19

Dear Wines Families, 

As we approach the Thanksgiving recess, I just want to take a quick moment to express my thanks to this entire community. Being the leader of this school continues to bring me daily joy and this is because of this incredible community of kids, families, and staff. Thank you to everyone and I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. We won’t have a Wednesday email next week. 

Young 5’s at Wines: Apply Now!

The first window to apply for Young 5’s at Wines is open now! If you have a child who you would like to attend Young 5’s next year, you can apply now. Please go to https://www.a2schools.org/about-aaps/new-enrollment and scroll down to the application button (green) for the 2026-27 school year. Please note, if you live in the Wines neighborhood, placement in Young 5’s is not automatic as it is in other grades. Space is limited so it is crucial that families apply now to secure a spot. Please share this information with friends and neighbors. 

As you may already know, Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO) 2026 will take place on May 9th next year, at Pioneer High School. This tournament provides an opportunity for students and other participants to meet and interact with peers and adults of similar interests and talents. Last year 37 schools participated in different events. As usual there will be open events with hands-on activities for all attendees. 

More information on WESO can be found here: https://wesoscience.org/

We need your support in becoming a coach so that more Wines kids have the chance to participate. No experience is necessary.  More information on events can be found : https://wesoscience.org/events/. Please sign up for coaching : Volunteer sign up for coaching

Contact us scienceowines@gmail.com.

Science Olympiad FAQ’s can be found HERE 

Easy Ways to Support Wines  

Did you know you, friends, and family members can earn money to support Wines with everyday purchases?

• Minted.com - Use Wines’ code ‘FUNDRAISEWINES’ at minted.com and enjoy 20% off at checkout ALL YEAR , Wines PTO receives 10% of all purchases! Share the code!

• Grocery Store rewards programs - Link your Busch’s, Kroger, and Ann Arbor Farms account to Wines for community rewards. Instructions here. 

• Boxtops - Boxtops educational savings is now digital! Use the iOS or Android app to scan your receipt to earn savings for Wines PTO. 

• Corporate Matches - Double your donations with your company. Reach out to winesptotreasurer@gmail.com if you don’t see an eligible match.  

Curious what the PTO spends money on? Check out our ‘About us’ page at ptowines.org or drop by for our next PTO meeting! 

It's Time to Submit your GREAT IDEA for Wines!

Do you have a great idea to support and benefit the Wines Community? The Great Ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program. Examples of past funded grants include birdfeeders, grade-level sensory items, four square court, technology for listening centers, playground balls, upgraded sandbox, ukuleles, and more! Submit your Great Idea Grants Application Form by Dec 5th! Recipients will be announced before the holiday break. 

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

Food and Coat Drives

Our simultaneous Food Drive and Coat Drive are going great! Thank you to everyone who has donated. If you haven’t donated yet and would like to, we will continue into next week!

David

 

Weekly Update 11/12

 Dear Wines Families, 

We got our first taste of winter this week, though it looks like we’ll be back into the 60’s over the weekend. This is a great time to remind everyone that we go outside as long as the windchill is 0 degrees or above. This means we will go outside nearly every day this winter and so kids need to come to school ready to go outside daily. It is a great idea to label hats and gloves as those tend to fill our Lost and Found. When my mom was a principal, she recommended that instead of sending expensive gloves to school, families should consider buying multiple pairs of cheap gloves at the discount store that can go on either hand. If you buy multiple pairs of the same color, then when one goes missing, you don’t have to replace the whole pair. They aren’t quite as warm as ski gloves, but for recess they work great. When my boys were at Wines, that is what we did and it was a great decision for our family. 

Miller Construction Continues

The Miler construction project will continue at least until Nov. 22. Thank you to everyone for your patience as we are limited to one entrance/exit. Things are going about as well as we can hope for considering the amount of traffic. Please be sure to pull up as far as possible so more traffic can drop off/pick up and by this time of the school year we are hopeful that kids can exit and enter the car without adults needing to get out to support. 

Easy Ways to Support Wines  

Did you know you, friends, and family members can earn money to support Wines with everyday purchases?

• Minted.com - Use Wines’ code ‘FUNDRAISEWINES’ at minted.com and enjoy 20% off at checkout ALL YEAR , Wines PTO receives 10% of all purchases! Share the code!

• Grocery Store rewards programs - Link your Busch’s, Kroger, and Ann Arbor Farms account to Wines for community rewards. Instructions here. 

• Boxtops - Boxtops educational savings is now digital! Use the iOS or Android app to scan your receipt to earn savings for Wines PTO. 

• Corporate Matches - Double your donations with your company.Reach out to winesptotreasurer@gmail.com if you don’t see an eligible match.  

Curious what the PTO spends money on? Check out our ‘About us’ page at ptowines.org or drop by for our next PTO meeting! 

It's Time to Submit your GREAT IDEA for Wines!

Do you have a great idea to support and benefit the Wines Community? The Great Ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program. Examples of past funded grants include birdfeeders, grade-level sensory items, four square court, technology for listening centers, playground balls, upgraded sandbox, ukuleles, and more! Submit your Great Idea Grants Application Form by Dec 5th! Recipients will be announced before the holiday break. 

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

Wines Equity Committee Meet & Greet 11/14

Are you interested in learning more about the Wines Equity Committee? This group of staff and community caregivers are committed to building an inclusive school environment. As a staff, we meet monthly to discuss ways to incorporate student belonging and identity into the everyday at Wines. Last year, we opened the committee to parents and caregivers who are interested in participating in this work. We welcome more interested caregivers to join us this Friday morning at 8:00 AM in the Wines Library for an informal meet and greet. Come meet the committee, hear what we're all about, and find out how you can get involved!

A large group of kids across all grade levels at Wines have been participating in an after school drama club. They are now ready to perform! See the flyer above for show times right here at Wines next weekend.

Need Family Support? 

With changes/delays in SNAP benefits and the holiday season coming up, we know that there are families in our community who could benefit from some financial support. I’m thrilled to announce that incredible PTO has made funds available to support our community. This support is completely confidential. If your family can benefit from this support, please contact me directly at deyoung@aaps.k12.mi.us. 

David

Weekly Update 11/5

 Dear Wines Families, 

It’s hard to believe we are into November already and it’s a busy time around Wines. Thank you again for your patience and understanding with the changes to our pick up and drop off procedures during the Miller Rd. closure. We will continue to begin Driveline at 3:35 daily. Our goal is for the period between 3:35 and 3:45 to be Young 5’s and Kindergarten pick ups (and siblings). If you have students in grades 1-5, please try to avoid the parking lot until 3:45 if at all possible. 

PTO Meeting Tomorrow at 9:00 AM

Our PTO will be hosting a morning PTO meeting tomorrow in the Wines conference room. 

SCIENCE AND BUILDERS FAIR Tomorrow! 

Last chance to sign up. Deadline is today at 5:00 PM. 

Here is the link to the registration page!

Picture Re-Takes Nov. 11

If your child missed picture day or if you would like their pictures re-taken, next Tuesday is Picture Re-Take Day. If you were not satisfied with your pictures, please have your child bring their original picture package back to school on Tuesday. If you missed Picture Day and would like to order prints, please go to www.inter-state.com/order. Our school’s code is 0116JXD. 

In collaboration with Food Gatherers, Wines will be participating in a food drive starting next week. You can see the needs in the flyer above. In addition, if you would prefer to make a financial donation to support our drive, please go to: https://give.foodgatherers.org/campaigns/41973-wines-elementary-pto-food-pantry.

We are once again holding a coat drive here at Wines. Last year we collected over 200 coats for those in our community in need. If you have a coat to donate, there is a collection box in the front lobby. 

It's Time to Submit that GREAT IDEA You Have Been Thinking About All Summer!

Do you have a great idea to support and benefit the Wines Community? The Great Ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program. Examples of past funded grants include birdfeeders, grade-level sensory items, grade-level curriculum materials, technology for listening centers, playground balls, yoga calm supplies, ukuleles, and more!

Grant submissions are accepted using the Google Form linked here:

Great Idea Grants Application Form

It's the same application whether you are submitting an idea as a student or teacher/parent. You will see that you will have the option to select who you are in the form. Grants will be selected by a Wines committee of parents and the number of grants awarded will depend on the cost of projects submitted. The deadline for applications is December 5, 2025 with grant recipients announced before the winter break. Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now! Submit several! We look forward to hearing from you. Student submissions are highly encouraged! Teachers, kindly share this with your classrooms! We know there are a lot of creative ideas out there. For questions or more information contact: Anu Huntley at anu.agrawal.huntley@gmail.com.

Wines Equity Committee Meet & Greet 11/14

Are you interested in learning more about the Wines Equity Committee? This group of staff and community caregivers are committed to building an inclusive school environment. As a staff, we meet monthly to discuss ways to incorporate student belonging and identity into the everyday at Wines. Last year, we opened the committee to parents and caregivers who are interested in participating in this work. We welcome more interested caregivers to join us on Friday morning, November 14, at 8:00 AM in the Wines Library for an informal meet and greet. Come meet the committee, hear what we're all about, and find out how you can get involved!

Is Your Child Interested in Learning the Hindustani Language?

A group of Wines parents are interested in starting an after-school class in Hindustani. They are partnering with the University of Michigan’s Language Learning Department and would like to gauge interest among our community. If you have interest, please fill out the form below: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7lkxVqWKqyhvTFiBJViDVNaoW0rE52oN9uMJnpJIu6bfw2g/viewform.

Need Family Support? 

With changes/delays in SNAP benefits and the holiday season coming up, we know that there are families in our community who could benefit from some financial support. I’m thrilled to announce that incredible PTO has made funds available to support our community. This support is completely confidential. If your family can benefit from this support, please contact me directly at deyoung@aaps.k12.mi.us. 

David

Weekly Update 10/29

 Dear Wines Families, 

As we enter our first full day of the Miller Rd. closure, just a reminder that our pick up and drop off procedures have changed temporarily due to the closure. All pick up and drop offs will take place at our front entrance and all traffic should enter and exit from Newport. If you are new to that side of the building, upon exiting the parking lot, please veer right towards Forsythe rather than heading back to the Newport entrance. There are small signs indicating this traffic pattern. We are asking that Young 5’s and Kindergarten families attempt to arrive in line in the afternoon by 3:35 as we would like to dismiss those students first. If you do not have a Young 5 or Kindergarten student, we ask that you please NOT arrive until 3:45. Things worked fairly well yesterday afternoon and your patience and understanding are appreciated during these next couple of weeks until the project is complete on Miller. We do anticipate things being fairly busy on Friday with a half day and no after school childcare taking place at Wines. 

Grab and Go Lunch Survey for Friday

On Friday, students will be offered a “grab and go” lunch on their way out of the building for our half day dismissal at 11:50. Lunches are meant to be eaten at home, not at school. In order to avoid preparing too much food, we are asking that families who wish to have their child receive a lunch to please fill out the brief survey below: 

https://forms.gle/RPZGR4kRFBx5x9Wt8

Halloween Oct. 31st

On Friday we will again have a costume parade through our neighborhood and most classrooms will have some kind of celebration as well. Friday is a half day of school with dismissal at 11:50. Because of the shortened day, we will have our parade first thing in the morning and we will exit school into the neighborhood at approximately 9:15. Therefore, if students are choosing to wear a costume, they should arrive to school in their costume. Costumes must be friendly. We have a firm rule of no fake blood and no fake weapons. Our rule of thumb is if you are not sure if a costume or a prop is appropriate, then it probably isn’t. 

PTO Meeting Nov. 6th 9:00 AM

Our PTO will be hosting a morning PTO meeting next Thursday in the Wines conference room. 

The Science & Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and to innovate! This event is intended to provide an exciting environment for students to proudly display their work. No project is too simple! It is not a "judged" event -- all participants will receive a certificate. Even if your child is not participating, we encourage you to come and check out the amazing projects the students create! 

Here is the link to the registration page!

Science and Builders Fair Volunteers Needed!

Do you love science? Do you think building is rad? We need 8 - 10 curious volunteers to help make the Science + Builders Fair a success. If you can volunteer, please contact Jen Hinesman at jlhinesman@gmail.com. 

It's Time to Submit that GREAT IDEA You Have Been Thinking About All Summer!

Do you have a great idea to support and benefit the Wines Community? The Great Ideas Grant program is an opportunity for Wines students, parents, and staff to turn a great idea into a funded program. Examples of past funded grants include bird feeders, grade-level sensory items, grade-level curriculum materials, technology for listening centers, playground balls, yoga calm supplies, ukuleles, and more!

Grant submissions are accepted using the Google Form linked here:

Great Idea Grants Application Form

It's the same application whether you are submitting an idea as a student or teacher/parent. You will see that you will have the option to select who you are in the form. Grants will be selected by a Wines committee of parents and the number of grants awarded will depend on the cost of projects submitted. The deadline for applications is December 5, 2025 with grant recipients announced before the winter break. Don’t let a great idea go to waste! Submit now! Submit several! We look forward to hearing from you. Student submissions are highly encouraged! Teachers, kindly share this with your classrooms! We know there are a lot of creative ideas out there. For questions or more information contact: Anu Huntley at anu.agrawal.huntley@gmail.com.

In collaboration with Food Gatherers, Wines will be participating in a food drive starting next week. You can see the needs in the flyer above. In addition, if you would prefer to make a financial donation to support our drive, please go to: https://give.foodgatherers.org/campaigns/41973-wines-elementary-pto-food-pantry.

David

Weekly Update 10/22

 Dear Wines Families, 

As we were working Driveline yesterday with a cold rain coming down, it just felt like fall had officially arrived. We’ve enjoyed a very warm start to fall, but it feels like the warm weather has left us until the spring! There is a lot to cover today with some “old” and new news. As always, please find some time to read through today’s message. 

Run-a-Thon Update

This will be our final Run-a-Thon update. We will still be collecting pledges for one more week. We are hoping that all students/families participate and each classroom with 100% participation will throw a pie in my face! So far, we have Mr. Toohey’s class with full participation and a few more almost there. Pledges can be any amount to hit our participation goal. Donations can be made in cash or check made out to “Wines PTO” or online HERE. In the link where it says Children's name, you can write your teacher’s name to help make a general pledge for the class.  Below are the totals. 

Buehler    82.61%

Carlin    73.91%

Day        77.27%

Detering    87.50%

Duggins    69.23%

Eikey        65.22%

Kim         57.89%

Mable      73.91%

Martinez 95.65%

Middleton 95.24%

Milanowski 73.91%

Mosher 84.00%

Parsons 62.50%

Popkey 83.33%

Robins 60.00%

Rodriguez 82.61%

Shanteau    94.74%

Toohey 100.00%

Varga 80.00%

Williamson 75.00%

Movie Night This Friday: Monsters Inc.!!

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ Movie Night on Friday, October 24, 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 along with their own water bottles to watch Disney’s Monsters Inc. We will open the front doors to students at approximately 5:45 and hope to start the movie just after 6:00. The movie runs about an hour and a half so parents can return a little after 7:30 to begin picking students up. 

If you’ve been to Movie Night before, you know that dismissing the students is a bit of a challenge. We will begin with parents lining up and I will call students out by name who are being picked up. Please be patient! As things slow down a bit, I will allow parents to enter the cafeteria to find your child. 

We are still looking for volunteers to help make this event a success! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-59208052-2025

Final Walktober Friday!

We’ve had a fabulous Walktober this month. Our final walk to school day is this Friday. 

Halloween Oct. 31st

Next Friday, Oct. 31st, is a special day here at Wines. We will again have a costume parade through our neighborhood and most classrooms will have some kind of celebration as well. Next Friday is a half day of school with dismissal at 11:50. Because of the shortened day, we will have our parade first thing in the morning and we will exit school into the neighborhood at approximately 9:15. Therefore, if students are choosing to wear a costume, they should arrive to school in their costume. 

Costumes must be friendly. As a parent, I remember how difficult it was to find real “friendly” costumes. With that in mind, however, we have a firm rule of no fake blood and no fake weapons. Our rule of thumb is if you are not sure if a costume or a prop is appropriate, then it probably isn’t. 

Our parade route has us exit on Cooley Ave. and head left onto Saunders Crescent. We then turn left onto Hillridge where we will eventually turn into the connecting sidewalk that goes from Hillridge through the Forsythe athletic fields and right to Wines. A great place for parents to be to watch the parade is along that sidewalk from Hillridge to Wines. 

The Science & Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and to innovate! This event is intended to provide an exciting environment for students to proudly display their work. No project is too simple! It is not a "judged" event -- all participants will receive a certificate.

Thursday, November 6th

7:00pm- 8:00pm

Please arrive at 6:45pm to set up so that we can begin at 7:00pm.

Here is the link to the registration page!

David

Weekly Update 10/8

 Dear Wines Families, 

As we move into October, it is starting to feel much more like fall and things continue to go extremely well at Wines. Our teachers are working extraordinarily hard as we implement a completely new reading curriculum and our students are working equally as hard as the curriculum has really increased the rigor in our classrooms. Today was a great morning for a Walk to School Day!

Congratulations Sarah Schemanske!

Sarah Schemanske has been named a 2025-26 Outstanding PLTW Teacher. This award recognizes outstanding educational leaders across the U.S. for their commitment to providing students with meaningful learning experiences through Project Lead The Way (PLTW) programs. Sarah was one of 16 PLTW Launch teachers nationwide to receive this recognition. Way to go, Sarah!!

Run-a-Thon Update

Again, I want to thank our community for another successful Run-a-Thon. We are close to hitting our school wide fundraising goal and we are close to classroom 100% participation goals where classes will earn 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!  Donations can be made in the cash/check made out to “Wines PTO” or online at https://www.ptowines.org/wines-runathon. Below is the current tally of classroom participation:

Buehler 57%

Carlin 61%

Day 64%

Detering 75%

Duggins 58%

Eikey 57%

Kim 42%

Mable 52%

Martinez 74%

Middleton 52%

Milanowski 52%

Mosher 68%

Parsons 42%

Popkey 54%

Robins 52%

Rodriguez 70%

Shanteau 63%

Toohey 74%

Varga 72%

Williamson 55%

Wines Spirit Sale

The Wines Spirit Wear Sale is live! Now is your chance to get some swag and show off your Wildcat spirit! Order soon - the store closes on October 15!

https://pogo.undergroundshirts.com/collections/wines-elementary-apparel-4

Movie Night Oct. 24: Monsters Inc.!!

Plan on dropping off your students for Wines’ Movie Night on Friday, October 24, 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 along with their own water bottles to watch Disney’s Monsters Inc.

Also- we are looking for volunteers to help make this event a success! Click here to sign up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AADA72DA2FA7-59208052-2025

The Science & Builders Fair is meant to inspire young minds to learn and to innovate! This event is intended to provide an exciting environment for students to proudly display their work. No project is too simple! It is not a "judged" event -- all participants will receive a certificate.

Thursday, November 6th

7:00pm- 8:00pm

Please arrive at 6:45pm to set up so that we can begin at 7:00pm.

Here is the link to the registration page!

Dogs on Campus

We have recently received some messages from families expressing concern about dogs on campus during our busy morning and afternoon pick up and drop off times. We do have a number of students with allergies and/or fear of dogs and while we have historically not strongly enforced district policy, our schools are dog free zones from 8:00AM until 4:00 PM. I love dogs and all the dogs that have come on our property have been leashed and well behaved. However, I must ask that we abide by the policy for the well-being of our students. 

David