Weekly Family Newsletter

October 23, 2022

Happy Diwali!

This five day celebration symbolizes light over darkness. Some ways this holiday is celebrated is by decorating homes with diyas (small oil lamps), families spending time together and making rangoli artwork. For our families and staff that celebrate, we wish you a festive and happy Diwali!

As a reminder, the arrival bell rings at 8:45AM with school starting at 8:48AM. It is critical for your student to arrive on time to ensure they do not miss important things such a breakfast, announcements or morning meeting.

Don't forget - this Friday, October 28th, we invite all families to join us for an outdoor movie night! Bring popcorn, snacks, blankets, and whatever else makes you feel cozy. During this event, we will also be hosting an exhibit called "The Lost and Found of Burns Park". This exhibit of items discovered throughout the school showcases a variety shapes, sizes and colors. If you find an item in our exhibit that belongs to you, don't forget to take it home. Our goal is for all items to be claimed by the end of our movie night.

We look forward to seeing you this week!

Heather & Leslee

Family Outdoor Movie Night

Please join us for another exciting community event. Our family movie night will be hosted on the Burns Park Playground from 6:30-8:00PM on Friday, October 28th. Bring snacks, blankets, pillows, comfy clothes and enjoy an evening of watching "Coco"! In the event of inclement weather, we will move our outdoor movie inside to the auditorium.

Transportation to and from Glencoe Hills will be provided. Bus transportation will begin at 6pm and go to the following locations:

Glencoe Clubhouse

Glencoe Tennis Court

Arbor Circle

Ainsley Road

The return bus will depart from Burns Park at 8pm.

Halloween at Burns Park

We know Halloween is one of the best times at Burns Park! We are excited to announce the plans for this special day. The Halloween Parade will start at 2:45 on Monday, October 31st. Students should not come to school in their costumes. They should bring them to school with them, but wear their normal school clothes until a time determined by their classroom teacher. Teachers will communicate with families about class parties. Do not forget, if you are volunteering in any classrooms, you must fill out a volunteer background check form.

Safe Routes to School

Burns Park is re-starting its Safe Routes to School Committee and we need your help! The SRS Committee's purpose is to engage with local stakeholders to improve the safety around our school for walkers, bikers and drivers. All students, staff and families of Penguins are welcome to participate. There is no minimum time commitment, any involvement is appreciated. If you would like to attend the first meeting, please email Kate Flewelling at keraws@gmail.com. A doodle poll will be taken with interested participants to choose a day and time.

Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are a very important part of building partnerships and support between families and the staff at Burns Park Elementary. Information about conferences can be found in their weekly communication. Teachers are offering in person, zoom and phone conferences. If you have any questions, please reach out to your student's teacher.

AAPS Masking Policy

As of today, October 23rd Washtenaw County is in the CDC MEDIUM/YELLOW Community Level. Masks are encouraged indoors. Link to CDC Community Level page here.

For more detailed information about the AAPS Fall 2022 COVID and Health Guidance, please click here.

Breakfast/Lunch

School meals will no longer be provided free of charge for all as they were in the 2021-2022 school year. Families will need to fill out free & reduced lunch forms to qualify: 2022-2023 Free & Reduced Lunch Application. Please note that families are responsible for the cost until the application is approved. If you need help, please refer to this document. Paper copies will be available in the main office once the school year begins.

For more information about this change and to learn how to load funds onto your child's account, please click here. Student ID information was sent home the first week of school. You may set up your meal magic account with that information.

Please have a conversation with your child if you would like them getting food from school or not. Families are responsible for the cost of food. We will ALWAYS feed children if they say they don’t have food. We will not question it. Make sure they know the plan.

Also, please make sure your child knows which item is their snack. This is helpful for the classroom teacher.

Items from Home

Personal belongings (i.e. toys, trading cards, etc.) need to remain at home. Burns Park staff will not be responsible for managing the care and safety of personal belongings. Students who bring sports items for recess have an understanding that they are agreeing to share with others. If this agreement is not the understanding, students should not bring personal sports items. Please check backpacks before your student comes to school.

Dear Fantastic BPE Families,

I hope that everyone had an excellent eighth week of school. Thank you to those who were able to join the room parent introduction/training meeting last week. Please consider the following additional volunteer support/donation opportunities below.

Halloween Costume Drive:

We'd love every child who wants to dress up for Halloween to have a fun costume! Please consider donating new or gently used costumes to the PTO so that all of our penguins have a chance to participate. Donations can be dropped off at school or at 2008 Morton Ave (Tijunelis house). We are also looking for volunteers to help with costume distribution at school on Friday, Oct 28. Contact our Inclusion Coordinator Viki Tijunelis if you have questions: vsusinskas@gmail.com

Calling all Art Angels!: SIGN UP HERE to help with Art

This is a one hour or less commitment (depending on the grade). You don't have to be good at art! You just need to bring helping hands and a positive attitude. Being an Art Angel is a wonderful way to get to know our BPE students and classrooms. Please check out this flier for more details on being an Art Angel and SIGN UP HERE to choose a day and time.

Calling all Library Lovers!: SIGN UP HERE to help with Library.

This is a one hour or less commitment (depending on the grade). You will help check in books, shelve returned books and help students find and check out new books. It's a great way to get to know our BPE students and classrooms. Please check out this flier for more details on being a Library volunteer and SIGN UP HERE to choose a day and time.

Walk & Talk: Signup Genius Link

Thank you to all the amazing parents who have supported the return of Walk & Talk this fall. This is a great activity to interact with our BPE students and promote physical activity during their lunch break. There are still many parent openings (MWF, 11:15-12:30) in November before this activity takes a winter break. SIGN UP HERE to choose a day and time.

Your Burns Park PTO

Al Masias, President

info@bpepto.org