Dicken Family Newsletter
2.3.23
Principal's Corner
Dear Families,
February marks the beginning of Black History Month, which we proudly honor and celebrate at Dicken. We look forward to NAAPID on February 13 and our amazing PTO Enrichment Chairs Lynette Gerido and Jeanetta Arhin have an interactive UMS Jazz workshop planned for the students towards the end of the month. We look forward to the 5th Grade Wax Museum day which all the grade levels will have the option to visit toward the end of the month. Individual classrooms may also celebrate in their own ways, through stories and various projects. Also in February we have the magical Winter Walk, Valentine's Day and Kindergarten Round-Up! Although our shortest month, it's certainly one of the busiest!!
Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, February 7 - Dicken Winter Walk, 6:30 - 7:30
Wednesday, February 8 - Student Count Day
Monday, February 13 - National African-American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID)
Tuesday, February 14 - Valentine's Day (Individual Class Parties)
Thursday, February 23 - Y5/Kindergarten Round-Up, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Monday, February 20 - No School, Mid-Winter Break
Friday, March 3 - Half Day of School for Elementary Students, 12:20 PM Dismissal
Annual Winter Walk is Tuesday!
You are invited to the 19th Annual Winter Walk on Tuesday, February 7th from 6:30-7:30 (Thursday Feb. 9th is the bad-weather-backup date).
Our 1st -5th grade artists have created luminaries that will be placed around the school and through part of the Dicken Woods by volunteers. Please come with family and friends to walk the wintry
night path lit by the glowing artwork. The hundreds of glowing lanterns change the environment of the school grounds and woods making the entire experience a communal work of art!
As in previous years, the trail will be lit from 6:30 until 7:30. It takes time to set up the luminaries so please wait until then. At 6:30 you may begin to follow the lighted path.
The Winter Walk is a beautiful and simple night to enjoy the combination of art and nature with family and friends…plus…enjoy a treat after the walk, compliments of our PTO!!!
Please dress warmly and remember to walk the paths so that no artwork or people get injured! Hope to see you then!
–Ms. Erickson
NAAPID
NAAPID (National African-American Parent Involvement Day) will take place on Monday, February 13! This tradition was originally started in an effort to involve African-American families in the classroom, however it is open to all parents. Families are welcome throughout the day, however teachers will be sharing specific times that may be ideal for you to visit classrooms. We will also have refreshments available for parents in the Staff Lounge thanks to our PTO Hospitality Chairs, Libby Crawforth and Monique Hart. You are also welcome to visit with your students at lunch/recess. We ask families to check into the office upon arrival to sign in.
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 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Performance
2:45 - 3:30 Y5, K, 1st, 2nd Grade Performance
For those new to the community, here is some information on the origins of NAAPID in AAPS, founded by local legend, Joe Dulin, who passed in 2014:
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2014/10/ann_arbor_educator_joe_dulin_p.html
I would like to also acknowledge that as a school and district at large, we have received varying feedback concerning NAAPID, its relevance to our efforts in Equity work today and how the tradition may evolve moving forward. I welcome your feedback on this topic. With that said, please know that there is no obligation for anyone to attend. We understand the day to day family and work demands and that all of our parents and caregivers lead very busy lives. We treat this day as an Open House, and we look forward to seeing you if you can pop by!
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. This 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
All the best,
Heather
PTO News
Message from the PTO President
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Winter Walk next week, and some of you with future Kindergartner or Young 5s students at the Kindergarten Round Up later this month! March is Reading Month is another big event around here as we move forward to spring (though hard to believe it with the temperatures this week!).
Also we have an updated Dicken Directory below.
—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.
See you at the Winter Walk! Still seeking volunteers.
The Winter Walk will take place on February 7th 6:30-7:30pm. The 1st - 5th grade students have been decorating glass jars and vases to create luminaries. Their beautiful artwork will be on display in a path around the school and through part of the Dicken Woods! Cookies and hot chocolate will be provided. We look forward to seeing friends and family as we enjoy this communal work of art!
We are still in need of volunteers for concessions and clean up. Sign up here.
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!
Is WESO coaching for me? You bet it is!!
1.) FINAL CALL FOR WESO COACHES!
We are still looking for two coaches for this year's WESO season. Coach training (via zoom) starts next week. If your child has an interest in Barge Building, please consider coaching. We will not be able to offer these teams if we cannot find coaches. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Colleen Diedrich (clmaloney3@gmail.com) or Alex Harmon (esotericthinks@gmail.com).
Barge Building (grades 2-3):
Are you awesome at guessing the number of marbles in the jar? Then I bet you’d love to help students: learn to construct a barge, predict the amount of cargo the barge will hold before it sinks and load the barge. Scoring is based on the amount of cargo held by the barge and the team’s ability to predict the maximum amount the barge can hold.
2.) Signing up for WESO
Next week we will be sending home backpack mail which will include the schedule (day of the week, time, and location) that each WESO team will be practicing. It will also include information on how to sign a student up for WESO. Students will be allowed to participate in multiple WESO teams this year, however, we will be capping teams at the number of students eligible to compete per grade plus one alternate. Team preference will be first come first serve, and we will try to put each student on a team before filling requests for second team placements.
This year looks to be a fun and exciting year in Dicken WESO, and we’d love to have your second, third, fourth, and fifth graders join us!
Celebrating what makes us UNIQUE!
February is Black History Month!
Did you know that quilt making is an American tradition that has deep significance to generations of African Americans? We are learning about the world-famous Gee’s Bend Quilts and decorating our gym doors with paper quilts students make during recess (see photo below!).
Want to make your own paper quilts at home?
Check out this YouTube video to learn how.
Michigan Quilt Making Resources