Weekly Family Newsletter
Burns Park Elementary
Monday, September 4, 2023
From the Principals
What a wonderful first week it was! School is back into full swing and we hope everyone enjoyed the four day weekend. A great, big shoutout to our staff for creating a wonderful first week experience for our students, both new and returning. As you might have noticed, there are a few new faces at Burns Park. You can learn about about Who's Who at Burns Park in this slideshow put together by our amazing Specials team.
We are excited to officially invite the Burns Park community to our annual Fall Picnic. This year's Fall Picnic will take place Thursday, September 14th from 5:30-7:00PM. Please see more information below in the "From the PTO" section.
Please mark your calendars for Picture Day, which will take place on Friday, September 29th.
In our newsletter for the week, you will find below information regarding free lunch, arrival/dismissal and more.
Here's to a wonderful week two!
Principals Bullock & Miller
Snacks & Lunch
Snacks: Please pack fruits or vegetables for snack time. Classroom teachers will share details about snack time in their classroom. Snacks should be sent to school in a container separate from your student's lunchbox.
School Lunches: All families are eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch this year (see information below), however, a la carte items, such as milk, are not free. Students must take a complete meal for the lunch fee to be waived.
Student Belongings
School Hours
Normal School Day
8:45 AM: Arrival Bell
8:48 AM: Instruction Begins
3:48 PM: Dismissal
Early Release Days
1:00 PM: Dismissal
Last Day of School
11:30 PM: Dismissal
Arrival & Dismissal
Please be patient, kind and use these tips:
The arrival window is between 8:40am and 8:45am. Any student who arrives earlier than 8:45 am must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Parents are encouraged to park on one of the streets that are perpendicular to Wells and walk from there. Many park on Olivia, Lincoln, or Martin Place, and walk (or send children to walk) onto the playground.
All walkers are asked to cross Wells street at the Lincoln intersection. For children in Young 5’s or Kindergarten, parents escort them to their line-up zone and pick them up there at the end of the day.
Children enter and exit vehicles on the curbside/passenger side door ONLY. This is an essential safety consideration. Exiting on the traffic/driver side puts our children at risk.
Families are encouraged to have children ready to exit when entering the drop-off and pick up zone. If students need to finish breakfast, find belongings, or otherwise prepare to exit the car, it slows the line down.
- There is absolutely no parking in the staff parking lot for drop off and pick up.
- Buses drop off and pick up on Wells Street.
- Principals and/or lead teachers greet students each morning. Principals, and/or lead teacher oversee departure each day.
- Young 5, Kindergarten, First grade, and Second grade students are walked to the bus each day by 5th grade bus buddies or teaching assistants
REMINDER: The parking lot is ONLY for pick up/drop off. FAMILIES SHOULD NOT PARK IN THE PARKING LOT. We need ALL of these spaces for our wonderful staff - when they don't have a place to park, it creates a critical issue. If you would like to walk with your student to their line up zone or wait for them on the playground after school, you must park on one of the neighborhood streets that allow parking and walk to Burns Park. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Michigan School Meal Program
Free Breakfast & Lunch, 2023-2024 School Year
Dear AAPS Parents and Guardians,
Please take a moment to complete the Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) application (also known as the Summer EBT application), either online through Meal Magic or download the application from the website and return it to your student’s school. You can also pick up an application at the school. This application is needed from all AAPS families because without this information, AAPS could lose important state funding for educational programs thatour students are entitled to. These supplemental grants and programs have the potential to offer supports and
services for our students including, but not limited to:
✓ Instructional staff (ex. Reading Interventionists, Math, Academic and Behavior Aids)
✓ Counselors, Social Workers and School Nurses
✓ Professional Learning for staff
✓ Parent and Community engagement supplies and activities
✓ Technology
Here is the link to the Free & Reduced Lunch/Summer EBT Application
Why is AAPS requesting financial information?
The FRL/Summer EBT application determines eligibility of a student or household. The total count of eligible students is used to determine funding amounts that will be made to a school. The more forms returned the better for the school district.
What do I need to do?
Please complete the FRL/Summer EBT form and return it either through the Meal Magic site, or via a hard copy to your school. Your assistance in helping us maintain our current funding levels is greatly appreciated. No matter your financial status we need every family to fill out the application.
How will this information be protected?
All financial and student information is protected in the Meal Magic online submission and in locked files, as required by the state and federal government.
What else might my student or household be eligible for?
Based on the information you give on the FRL/Summer EBT application your student may qualify for these programs:
✓ Summer Food/EBT
✓ Pay to Play or Pay to Participate for athletics
✓ Programs that provide food support
✓ Rec & Ed scholarships
✓ Potential household support for cable and internet
If you have any questions, please contact bollingere@aaps.k12.mi.us or call 734-994-2265.
Attendance
Teachers take attendance each morning and afternoon. If your child will be absent or tardy after 8:45am from school, email bur_attendance@aaps.k12.mi.us or call 734-994-1919. While alerting the teacher of absences is nice, official attendance verification is done at the office so it is critical that you communicate with the office. If your child arrives after 8:45 am, they must get a tardy slip from the office before going to class.
Parents who wish to pick up their child during school hours should notify the school in advance by 2pm via phone or email. When you arrive at the building, please ring the buzzer to let the office staff know you’ve arrived. We will buzz you into the building where you should report directly to the office. Students will only be released to those listed in a student’s emergency contacts and you may be asked to show your ID. Please note that we will not release students to minors. This includes older siblings.
Family Involvement Opportunities - Noon Hour
We are in great need of additional support during lunch and recess time. If you are able to volunteer a few times a week, please let us know.
If you are able to commit to 5 days a week for the entire school year, you might consider applying for a noon hour supervisor position at our school. A typical work day will run from 11:00 AM -1:00 PM.
1. Email Mrs. Bullock, jonesl@aaps.k12.mi.us and
2. Complete the AAPS Noon Hour Application as soon as possible. The job ID # is 15352– Noon/Lunch Hour Supervisor
Please be on the look out for more volunteer opportunities in future communications. We appreciate your support!
Teacher Communication
Student ID information will be sent home this week in your child's backpack. This is used for technology login and breakfast/lunch. Please be on the lookout for that information.
Attendance communication MUST go through the main office, not your student's teacher. Of course, you can include your student's teacher on any communication regarding attendance, but they are not responsible for making sure the message gets to the main office or to your student. If your child will be absent or tardy from school, email bur_attendance@aaps.k12.mi.us or call 734-994-1919.
As a friendly reminder, teachers are an important component to the arrival/dismissal procedure. This time is not ideal for trying to "catch a teacher" for a conversation/meeting. Please be respectful to our teachers' schedules and time. If you need to meet with a teacher, please reach out to them via communication methods listed in their welcome letter to schedule a time.
Specials
Your child’s classroom teacher will communicate the weekly plan for your child’s “specials” classes. Every day your child will have at least one special class, e.g. physical education, art, music, and library. (Students in grades 4-5 have Spanish instruction twice/week.)
Please be sure your child has gym shoes for PE/Gym days!
School Safety + Visitors
We welcome families and hope you can be a part of school activities!
We will continue to put safety as our top priority. All visitors must proceed to the office upon arrival and share a valid driver’s license or state ID. The ID will be scanned into our Raptor Visitor System. Name tags (badges) must be worn at all times while on school grounds.
Once your visit is over, please come back to the office to check out.
As we return to normal practices, your classroom teachers will reach out with opportunities for parents to support in the classroom as necessary. Teachers will work with parents to schedule these opportunities prior to visits during the school day.
Health Plans & Medications
We need current information on health conditions for your child such as food allergies, seizure management, diabetes, asthma, or any other condition that requires school intervention for care. This must be in place in order for us to provide care for your child’s needs.
If your child requires medications at school, reach out to your child’s health care provider to obtain the necessary medication forms or use the AAPS Medication Form. When medication is dropped off at school by a parent (ONLY), medications must be in the original packaging. Click HERE for the AAPS Nurses’ Corner.
From the PTO
Hello BPE PTO Families,
We hope everyone had a wonderful first week of school and has enjoyed the long weekend. Thanks to everyone that was able to join us for First Day of School Coffee & Donuts. In two weeks, we will hold our first PTO meeting (Wednesday, September 13 at 7 pm via Zoom) and our next PTO event, the 2nd Annual Fall Picnic.
PTO Meetings
Our monthly PTO meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 7 pm via Zoom. Please join us for our first meeting on Wednesday, September 13! The meetings provide an opportunity to ask questions and learn about our efforts to fund all the school field trips, classroom subsidies, and student engagement opportunities, such as Walk & Talk and March is Reading Month. You’ll also learn about exciting volunteer opportunities inside and outside the school.
Back to School Fall Picnic
Come join us for the 2nd Annual Back to School Fall Picnic on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m.! Craig the Juggler will return for another epic roaming show. This year we'll be joined by the following food trucks: PizzaPazza Woodfired Pizzas, Heaven on a Roll, and the Street Scoops Ice Cream Truck. The Fall Picnic is sponsored by your Burns Park Elementary PTO.
PTO Directory
Our PTO website has a Directory that allows families to create an account and share contact details and class information, enabling parents to reach out to each other within class, grade level, etc. to setup playdates and otherwise foster a sense of community. Our current PTO directory is opt-in, meaning that families have to proactively create an account on our site to join. Returning families need to update their class assignments and new families should definitely sign up!
BPE Spirit Store
Are you bursting with BPE pride? Is one BPE t-shirt not enough? Do you need year-round gear? We have exciting news: we’ve partnered with Midwest Graphics to relaunching the Burns Park Spirit Store! You can log on from now through Sept. 30 to order pants, fleeces, hats and MORE.
Note: The PTO does provide a school t-shirt to all new students for free and returning students can opt-in for a new shirt if needed. This year’s timing and process will be shared at a later date.
Your Burns Park PTO
Al Masias, President
Kory Zhao, President-Elect
info@bpepto.org
Save The Dates
Thursday, September 14
Fall Picnic, 5:30PM - 7:00PM
Tuesday, September 19
Curriculum Night, 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Wednesday, September 27
Early Release Day
Friday, September 29
Picture Day
Friday, October 13/Monday, October 16
Fall Break
Tuesday, October 31
Halloween/Early Release Day
From the Community
- DTE Efficiency Assistance Program – Do you need a hot water tank, AC, furnace, refrigerator replacement, doors, roofs, insulation, etc? Call 313-351-5320 ext #8. You are eligible for DTE's EEA program if your household income is at or below 200% percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Your active enrollment in the Low-Income Self Sufficiency Plan or other state low-income public assistance programs (SNAP, WIC, etc.) also qualifies you for the program. Attached is a list of participating organizations. First visit this link to find out more!
- Have you lost power? FYI - Unopened, full freezers will keep food safe for 48 hours during a power outage; 24 hours if half-full. Throw out perishable food (meat, fish, cut fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, and leftovers) in your refrigerator after 4 hours. When in doubt, throw it out. Learn more: go.usa.gov/xpukv Need food? See https://www.foodgatherers.org/foodresources/ Need a cooling center? See https://bit.ly/Wash-Cooling (consider calling ahead to make sure there is power) Using a generator? Make sure it's outside and 20+ feet away from your home, doors, and windows: https://www.cdc.gov/co/generatorsafetyfactsheet.html
- ESL Community Tutoring fall schedule is attached for September 11 – December 15. This is a place to practice English language skills. Free to the community. All levels of English welcome. Please arrive 5 minutes before start time for each group. See the flyer attached for dates, times and locations.
- Ann Arbor Thrift is having their annual Super Summer Sale just in time for back to school! Get ready for one of their biggest events of the year! EVERYTHING in the store is on sale! SEP 1 (FRI) 50% OFF SEP 2 (SAT) 50% OFF. Extended hours from 10 am - 4 pm. SEP 4 (MON) CLOSED for Labor Day. SEP 5 (TUE) $10 Bag Sale. SEP 7 (THU) $7 Bag Sale. SEP 8 (FRI) $5 Bag Sale. SEP 9 (SAT) CLOSED for sales and donations. SEP 11 (MON) FALL REVEAL and 100% New Inventory.
- Join us for a day celebrating books at the A2 Community Bookfest! Formerly the Kerrytown Bookfest, the A2 Community Bookfest is thrilled to return to downtown Ann Arbor for 2023! Booksellers, publishers, authors, and more will be on the vendor floor from 10am-5pm and various activities for all ages, such as hands-on crafts for kids and adults, story times, and discussion groups, will take place throughout the day. Additionally, the Fifth Avenue Press annual Author Reception will celebrate books published by the library in the prior year. For more details click this link: https://aadl.org/node/620460
- The 3rd Annual Asian and African American Unity Picnic is Saturday, September 9th at Montibeller Park – 4305 Ellsworth Rd – Ypsilanti, MI from 1pm-5pm. Food, music, fun and friends new and old. The focus is on Asian and African American communities, but all are welcome! See flyer attached for further details.
- The LEAD Program is a Leadership Development Program for parents of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) children with disabilities. LEAD is now accepting applications for parents to join the fall 2023 cohort. The parent cohort begins with a 3-day retreat at Zehnder’s Splash Village in Frankenmuth. Meals and lodging will be provided. Please see the flyer attached for training topics, and how to apply.
General Information
Leslee Bullock, Principal, jonesl@aaps.k12.mi.us
Heather Miller, Assistant Principal, hooppaw@aaps.k12.mi.us
Meghan Nollen, Office Professional, nollenm@aaps.k12.mi.usEmail: burnspark@aaps.k12.mi.us
Website: a2schools.org/burnspark
Location: 1414 Wells Street, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Phone: 734-994-1919