Dicken Family Newsletter
10.27.23
Principal's Corner
Upcoming Dates
Friday, October 27 - 5:00 - 7:00 Pumpkin Patch
Tuesday, October 31 - 9:30 All School Halloween Parade
Tuesday, October 31 - 1:00 Early Release Day
The Character Effect
This week classrooms learned about "Gratitude". See below for language and prompts on this strength of the week.
Halloween Parade
All are welcome to join us at our all school Halloween Parade on Tuesday at 9:30 am. The route is as follows:
Exit out back door between Gargaro / Brogno
Take sidewalk to Dicken Drive
Left on Dicken Drive
Left on Kent
Left on Waltham
Left on Covington
Left on Runnymede
Left into school parking lot
EduStaff Substitute Teacher Positions
As we are headed into the Winter season, which also may be known as cold/flu/COVID season, the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) is looking for substitute teachers and paraeducators to support our classrooms. If you are a passionate person who enjoys connection with students EduStaff is looking for you. Substitute positions are necessary and meaningful work that enriches the lives of students in our community. If you, your family or friends are interested in making an impact, we encourage you to support the AAPS team as a substitute teacher or paraeducator. Start your application at https://www.edustaff.org/
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 Pumpkin Patch Day! I look forward to seeing many Dicken families this evening for fun and festivities. Thank you so much to our hospitality committee (Ruth Facer, Sarah Stanton and Liz Kelly-Sell) who have dedicated lots of time and effort to make this a wonderful event for our entire community. Remember to bring you tickets that came home with your students last week - additional tickets will be available for purchase at the ticket booth.
Also, thank you for all of those who signed up to help at the Pumpkin Patch this evening! Since we have more activities this year, the haunted library *and* the spooky garden, please consider staying behind to help with clean up if you are able (kiddos are welcome too!).
October has flown by and the PTO has more great events coming up in the next few weeks, including an Opera on Wheels assembly, a Scholastic book fair, a community night out with Panera and more! Keep an eye out for more exciting things happening in November!
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.
Please Add Your Contact Info to the Dicken Directory!
See you tonight at the Dicken Pumpkin Patch - Friday, October 27
You can expect a variety of favorite activities from years past as well as some fun new surprises. To participate in the pumpkin carving contest, bring your homemade creation to the front steps of the school between 3:45pm and 5:00pm on Friday, October 27th. Please place it on a piece of paper with your contact information or use another method to ensure we can identify your pumpkin’s owner.
The Runnymede loop and lot will be closed directly after school is dismissed on Friday, October 27th. During the event, everyone will have access to indoor bathrooms and water fountains. The El Mariachi Loco will be on site if you want to purchase dinner but feel free to bring a picnic from home.
Scholastic Book Fair is Coming!
Scholastic Book Fair is coming back to Dicken after a several year hiatus! Scholastic Book Fair will be open during your child(ren)'s library time as well as open to the Community on Monday, Nov. 6th from 1:15-3:15 and a Community Evening on Friday, Nov. 10th from 4-7.
Please visit the Scholastic Book Fair Booth at the Pumpkin Patch to learn more details and try the bookmark pull for a chance to win a book fair gift certificate!
More information will be sent out closer to the event, but if you have any questions, please email kolkakristen@gmail.com.
Dicken Needs WESO Coaches!
Its time to start thinking about Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympics (WESO) 2024! Last year almost 100 Dicken students in grades 2-5 competed under the Dolphin banner in 36 different events and more than half of our students brought home medals. We’re exited to see what all our new and returning students can accomplish this year, but first… WE NEED EVENT 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.
This year there are 15 different events offered. While we are delighted to welcome back 8 returning coaches, we are still looking for coaches for the following events:
Read it/Build it (grades 2-3)
- Students attempt to construct an object based on written descriptions of the pieces and placement of those pieces.
Aerodynamics (grades 2-5)
- Students build and fly paper airplanes competing for longest distance and airtime.
Feathered Friends (Grades 2-5)
- Students study and are tested on their knowledge and identification of birds, habitat, diet, and sounds.
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.
The Human Machine (Grades 2-5)
- Students are tested on their knowledge of human anatomy and physiology for a specific organ system.
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)
U of M MindSET STEM Event for 3rd-5th Graders
Third through fifth grade students are invited to participate in a MindSET event taking place at the University of Michigan on Sunday, November 5 from 3:00-5:00pm! MindSET is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education initiative started by Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society. It is an outreach program put on by a number of TBP chapters around the country, including ours since 2010, and it is aimed at engaging K-12 students in science and mathematics through design-based learning activities and mentoring from current engineering undergraduate and graduate students.
This program is designed around learn-design-build-test modules aimed at 3rd-5th grade students. Each semester, we run four modules covering topics in physics, chemistry, and mathematics, along with their engineering applications such as bridges, circuits, and rockets. The design-build activities involve groups of students working together with college students on an engineering-focused lesson and hands-on activity. This structure provides a fun-filled and creative learning experience for students while creating opportunities for college students to share their experience with learning engineering.
For this MindSET event, we'll learn how to write code to make a robot perform a set of tasks. We'll give a presentation on programming, an overview of how robots work, and a demonstration of how engineers can write code to automate processes and tell equipment what to do. Students will then have an opportunity to create their own program on a personal device to control a small robot. Please allow your student to bring any personal technology (such as a smartphone or iPad) for use in creating and running the program we'll be making together. If you cannot provide a device, we will have a few available for students to borrow during the event.
If you are interested in attending, please fill out the brief sign up form by the evening before the event. The University of Michigan also requires that you complete the forms at this link. We look forward to seeing you on the 5th!
Event Name:
MindSET: Programming
Time:
3:00 - 5:00pm
Location:
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building
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!