Dicken Family Newsletter
11.3.23
Principal's Corner
Upcoming Dates
Monday, November 6 - Friday, November 10 - Scholastic Book Fair
Tuesday, November 7 - No School
Monday, November 13 - Picture Retake Day
Wednesday, November 22 - Friday November 24 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
Appreciation
Huge thanks to Ruth Facer and Sarah Stanton for co-chairing our Pumpkin Patch this year, which was a huge success! A big thank you to the many parent volunteers as well!
Many thanks to Lynette Gerido and Jeanetta Arhin for organizing our second all school assembly, the Toledo Opera on Wheel's performance of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" We had a great time!
The Character Effect
This week classrooms learned about "Friendship". See below for language and prompts on this strength of the week.
Noon Hour Supervisors
We are still looking to hire Noon Hour Supervisors! This is a great way to support our school and be part of the community. This position is an hourly pay from 11:00 - 1:30 daily. If you are interested, please apply here. Look for Job #15299.
If you are not interested in working lunch daily, we can always use more parent volunteers. Please fill out the Parent Volunteer Form and email our noon hour coordinator, Jean Kim, if you are interested: kimhy@aaps.k12.mi.us
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All the Best,
Heather
PTO News
Message from the PTO President
Happy Friday Dolphins,
What a week it's been! We had absolutely perfect weather last Friday for the Pumpkin Patch and it was so great to bring back the Haunted Library and add the Haunted Garden to the Pumpkin Patch festivities! A huge thank you goes to Ruth Facer, Sarah Stanton and Liz Kelly-Sell for their hard work in making it such a special night for our Dophins!
It was also so wonderful to see all the incredible Halloween costumes on display during the parade on Tuesday morning. Thank you so much to all the families who helped organized and contributed to the class Halloween parties this week- it sounds like they were all huge successes!
On Wednesday, November 1, we hosted an assembly featuring the Toledo Opera. They performed "Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" using Mozart's glorious music from Don Giovanni. Their take on the classic fairytale included the Pigs, the Boy Who Cried Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad himself having conflict in the forest. Take a moment this weekend to ask your Dolphin what they thought of the assembly this week!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Hallie
—Hallie Jewell, Dicken PTO President
Want to connect with other parents and caregivers outside of school?
Click here for the Dicken Elementary Parents Facebook group.
Find information about events, meeting minutes, and more on the PTO website at www.dickenpto.com
Upcoming PTO Meeting Dates
All PTO Meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month from 7 - 8:30 pm via Zoom.
All Dicken community members are welcome to attend PTO meetings - please email dickenptopresident@gmail.com for the Zoom link!
Thursday, November 16
Thursday, December 21
Thursday, January 18
Thursday, February 15
Thursday, March 21
Thursday, April 18
Thursday, May 16
Thursday, June 20
To see all Dicken school & PTO events in one place, click here for our PTO Google Calendar.
Another helpful link: the AAPS School Calendar.
The Dicken Directory is Here! Still Time to Add Your Info!
The 2023 - 2024 Dicken Directory is here!
Thank Your for a Wonderful Evening at the Pumpkin Patch!
Both being new to Dicken this year, we could not have possibly executed the Pumpkin Patch event without a lot of support. We'd like to thank our fellow PTO board members, the lovely school staff and of course all the enthusiastic volunteers. Extra special thanks to Liz Kelly-Sell, Jenifer Miller, Abby Rosenbaum, Anne Erickson and the Garden Club, Erin Register, Kristen Kolka, Kate Davis, Eric Hanula, former Dicken parent Brian Cressman, and the Pioneer National Honor Society students. Finally, a big shout out University Flower Shop and Ann Arbor Distilling Company for donating raffle items and to Duo for donating decorations.
If you'd like to share feedback for next year's events, we'd love it if you would fill out our quick form here.
- PTO Hospitality Co-Chairs Sarah Stanton and Ruth Facer
PS. The outcome from the pumpkin contest is below. Can the winners please contact Ruth Facer at ruthfacer@gmail.com to arrange their prize pick up?
Colorful Cat
In third place, we have the Colorful Cat Pumpkin!
Chicken
In second place, we have the Chicken Pumpkin!
Mini Pumpkin Attack
In first place, we have the Mini Pumpkin Attack!
Scholastic Book Fair is Coming!
You may have heard the Book Fair is coming back to Dicken next week. All purchases through the book fair will directly benefit our school by enabling our library and classrooms to refresh and expand!
Book Fair Dates:
November 6, 8-10 (closed on Nov 7 for election day)
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday during class library time: students will have the opportunity to shop. They may bring cash or use an eWallet families have set up ahead of time. Click here to create an eWallet.
- Monday afternoon 1:30-3:15: the Book Fair is open to the community. Do some gift shopping while the kids are in school! Browse the fair in person to get an idea for your child to shop!
- Friday 4-7pm: Community Night. The Book Fair is open for shopping after school into the evening!
We would love your help! Please consider signing up to volunteer during the book fair. We have included teacher names of which classes will be shopping so you can schedule accordingly. Volunteers will be able to assist children shopping, help keep shelves stocked and in order, and use the register. Sign up today.
Dolphin Dollars Equity Fund was created with the intention of ensuring every child has the opportunity to receive a book during Book Fair. Many of you visited our Fortune Telling booth during Pumpkin Patch and six students won gift cards to use at the Fair with the bookmark pull. With your help, we have raised $230.75 for the Dolphin Dollars fund! This is a fantastic start! Dolphin Dollars donations can be made directly to the eWallet which has been set up for use during the fair.Thank you for your contributions!
Please visit The Book Fair Homepage to learn more, explore the digital book flyer, and shop online. Your children will bring flyers home in backpack mail this week.
See you at the Book Fair!
Dicken Needs A Few More WESO Coaches!
If you or someone you know has an interest in spending one hour a week with a small group of amazing Dicken students from late January - mid April, digging deep into a specific scientific discipline, then please consider coaching. No prior subject matter knowledge is required. Event coaches receive Zoom training in January and a curriculum to guide their practice sessions. Children of event coaches are also guaranteed a spot on a WESO competition team of their choice.
We are still looking for coaches for the following events:
Aerodynamics (grades 2-5)
- Students build and fly paper airplanes competing for longest distance and airtime.
iCompute (Grades 4-5)
- Students are asked to create a simple program and are tested on their knowledge of basic computing concepts.
Potions (Grades 4-5)
- Students will complete basic chemistry experiments and answer questions about basic chemistry concepts.
Pentathlon (Grades 2-5)
- Five athletes per team will compete in a relay race wherein each student completes a physical task and solves math problems.
The Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympics (WESO) will take place on Saturday April 20, 2024 at Pioneer High School. If you are interested in coaching or have questions about WESO, please reach out to Colleen Diedrich (clmaloney3@gmail.com) or Alex Harman (esotericthinks@gmail.com). Dicken has a long history of success at WESO, due in large part to our wonderful event coaches. Please, please consider joining our team!
Colleen Diedrich and Alex Harman (Dicken Head Coaches)
Next CNO: Tuesday 11/14 at Panera!
Help support Dicken Elementary PTO!
November 14, 2023
4:00 pm to 8:00 pm EDT
903 West Eisenhower Parkway.
Enter promo code FUND4U at online checkout.
25% of sales will be donated toward Dicken.
Mabel's Labels Fundraiser!
Support our Fundraiser - Dicken Elementary PTO
Buy Mabel's Labels waterproof, durable labels to help reduce classroom mix-ups and keep your items coming home!
Use code: BTS10 for 10% off your purchase
Search Dicken Elementary PTO (Ann Arbor) on the Mabel's Labels website for a portion of your purchase to go directly toward our school!