Dicken Family Newsletter
2.10.23
Principal's Corner
Upcoming Dates
Monday, February 13 - National African-American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID)
Tuesday, February 14 - Valentine's Day (Individual Class Parties)
Monday, February 20 - No School, Mid-Winter Break
Thursday, February 23 - Y5/Kindergarten Round-Up, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Friday, March 3 - Half Day of School for Elementary Students, 12:20 PM Dismissal
Appreciation - Annual Winter Walk
Huge thanks to Mrs.Erickson for another amazing Winter Walk! Many thanks to the PTO and parents for the hot chocolate, cookies, set up and clean up help. It was so wonderful to see everyone bundled up to enjoy the magical luminaries!
Jo Mathis from AAPS News joined us, and captured this sweet little video: 19th Annual Winter Walk. Enjoy!
February Pods
Our cross-grade February Pods were all about Responsibility! We listened to two read alouds together. Each Pod chose one of the stories below to listen to. In case your child was absent, or your child would like to listen to the second story, the links will take you to the recordings.
NAAPID
NAAPID (National African-American Parent Involvement Day) will take place on Monday, February 13! In addition to time you may visit your classroom, you are also welcome to visit with your students at lunch/recess.
We will also have refreshments available for parents in the Staff Lounge thanks to the generosity of our PTO and coordination of our PTO Hospitality Co-chairs, Libby Crawforth and Monique Hart.
We ask families to check into the office upon arrival to sign in. We will not be using the Raptor visitor management system that day, however you will still need to check into the office to sign in and get a visitor sticker. Thank you!
As part of our NAAPID day celebration, we invite families to join us in the MPR for either of our afternoon assemblies, put on by Common Chords, who will be performing "Music that Matters". Times are as follows:
1:45 - 2:30 4th, 5th Grade + Hubbard 3rd Grade
2:45 - 3:30 Y5, K, 1st, 2nd Grade + Concannon 3rd Grade
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Kindergarten Round Up
Dicken is hosting our annual Kindergarten Round Up on Thursday, February 23 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. If you have an incoming Young 5s or Kindergarten student, we hope you’ll join us. If you know of any potential neighborhood families or friends who are considering Dicken, please invite them to join us as well! The event will take place in person here at Dicken. Our 3rd - 5th grade Student Lighthouse Team members are invited to join us that evening as student leaders to assist our teachers in welcoming our future Dolphins! Ms. Concannon and Ms. Brogno have shared this with the upper elementary SLT members. We ask that the SLT students joining us wear their Dicken spirit wear (let us know if you need to borrow some!) and report to the main office at 5:45 pm. Thank you!
My Stop Bus App
To better serve our families, the Ann Arbor Public Schools has implemented "My Stop" on our buses. My Stop is a free desktop and mobile app that provides parents access to bus information such as a child’s assigned bus, bus stop location and updates on the estimated time of arrival at the bus stop. My Stop allows parents and students to plan for late or on-time arrival and prevent missed pick-ups. Last week, parents of bus riders received an email with step by step directions for setting up the app. Please let us know if you did not receive an email.
Enrollment for the 2023-2024 School Year Now Open
We are excited to announce that Pre-Enrollments for the 2023-24 school year are now open. Enrollment for neighborhood zoned schools are open for new students to the district for grades Young 5 through 12 and remain open through the 2023-2024 school year.
***Please note that the Ann Arbor Public Schools Young 5s program is an optional opportunity for those students who meet the age criteria for entrance. The Young 5s program is a district-wide program and enrollment is limited to space availability. As such, enrollment is not guaranteed at neighborhood schools. If you’re interested in our Young 5s program for your student, I highly encourage families to enroll now. Space is limited in this program.
AAPS currently has dates for our first two In-District Transfer windows. In-District transfers are required for students who wish to attend a school that is not their neighborhood zoned school. All currently approved School of Choice and Non Resident Child of Employee AAPS students rising into grades 6 and 9 for the 23-24 school year are required to apply for in-district transfer.
In-District Transfer Windows
January 9, 2023 - February 13, 2023
Young 5s
9th & 10th grade at Pioneer and Skyline
9th, 10th, & IB-11th grade at Huron
February 27, 2023 - March 31, 2023
Young 5s
Elementary School
Middle School
K-8 STEAM
9th & 10th grade at Pioneer and Skyline
9th, 10th, & IB-11th grade at Huron
School of Choice along with a potential third In-District transfer window will tentatively open in late Spring 2023. Please watch the AAPS website for more updates to come.
Washtenaw County CDC Covid Level
As of today, Washtenaw County is in the CDC LOW/GREEN Community Level.
Guidance on masking in AAPS schools:
- Masks are strongly recommended indoors when CDC Community Level is ‘HIGH’- RED
- Masks are encouraged indoors when CDC Community Level is ‘MEDIUM’ - Yellow
- Masks are welcomed indoors when CDC Community Level is ‘LOW’ - Green
Also see below for some beautiful artwork created by our students to commemorate Black History Month (this a close up of part of the gym doors you saw on last week's email!).
All the best,
Heather
PTO News
Message from the PTO President
Loved seeing everyone at the Winter Walk this week! Please make sure to take a look at the Spending Committee proposal below, and take a minute to provide feedback as well! Huge thanks to the committee for all their work in this area, especially all their efforts to get feedback from students, teachers, staff, and Dicken families.
—Jenifer Miller, Dicken PTO President
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
*Updated* Dicken Directory is Here!
Please click here to access the Dicken Directory for class lists and family contact info.
Upcoming PTO Meeting Dates
Thursday, February 16 - PTO Board Meeting, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (virtual via Zoom)
Thursday, March 16 - PTO Board Meeting, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (virtual via Zoom)
Thursday, April 20 - PTO Board Meeting, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (virtual via Zoom)
Thursday, May 18 - PTO Board Meeting, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (virtual via Zoom)
Thursday, June 15 - PTO Board Meeting, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (virtual via Zoom)
To see all Dicken school & PTO events in one place, click here for our PTO Google Calendar.
Another helpful link: the AAPS School Calendar.
Still Seeking Feedback on PTO Spending Proposal
The PTO Spending Committee has been working alongside the Dicken staff to create a proposal for the allocation of the $25,000 surplus. This proposal has not been voted on/approved by the PTO Board yet, so please take a minute to read this information and provide your feedback.
We are asking that all feedback is provided by 11:59 pm on Friday, February 17.
March is Reading Month!
The Dicken PTO is seeking a few members of our Dicken community to help with March is Reading Month. This is a great way to learn about the PTO and fundraising efforts. The time commitment would be a few meetings during February to brainstorm logistics. The leaders of this committee are looking forward to brainstorming fun reading challenges for the Read-a-thon (an annual PTO fundraiser) , prizes, ways to track minutes, etc. They are looking forward to getting more people involved and collaborating to make "March is Reading Month" a huge success!
Sign up here!
REGISTER YOUR STUDENT FOR WESO!!
We’ve got coaches, we’ve got practice spaces, now all we need is STUDENTS! To register your student for WESO, please see the attached registration packet.
Thank you!
Colleen Diedrich and Alex Harman, Dicken’s WESO Head Coaches
Next PTOC Meeting
Monday, Feb 13: Community Organizing; Equity follow-up discussion
- via Zoom
1. Community Organizing in Black Communities;
2. Follow-up Discussion on January Equity presentation
Celebrating what makes us UNIQUE!
Giving flowers is a way to express love, compassion, and thoughtfulness. Historically, humans have been giving flowers as an act of kindness since ancient Egypt through European middle ages and for hundreds of years here in the U.S. In the 1800s, flower farmers (like the ones depicted in the image) would grow flowers on their rural land and then bring them into cities to sell.
Today we are making tissue paper flowers during recess to share kind messages.
Want to make more paper flowers at home? Find instructions here.