Weekly Family Newsletter

Burns Park Elementary

From the Principals

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Hello Families,

What a wonderful weekend for fall activities, football and relaxing! We hope that you were able to do something this weekend you truly enjoyed.

This week we don't have many updates on our end, but want to make you aware of a few things:

1. AAPD will be visiting our building on Tuesday 10/3. They will be coming to visit our Y5 classrooms to teach them about safety.

2. There will be no school Friday, October 13 - Monday, October 16 for our Fall Break.

3. Mark your calendars for our Burns Park Run which will take place Sunday, May 5th, 2024!

Please make sure students are in lots of layers this week, as the weather will be all over the place!

Peace and Love,

Principals Bullock & Miller

New News from Burns Park

zoom_out_map

From the PTO

Hello BPE PTO Families,

We hope everyone had a wonderful 5th week of school. Our next PTO meeting will be in two weeks, on Wednesday, October 11 at 7 pm via zoom.

Open Volunteer Opportunities – School Wide

Inclusion Chair/Co-Chairs (URGENT NEED in OCTOBER!): The PTO is still look for someone to volunteer as this year’s Inclusion Chair or Co-Chair. Now that we are in October, the need for a volunteer is urgent as this volunteer organizes the Halloween costume collection and distribution for those Penguins who may need help. If you are interested in this role, there is plenty of training and support from other volunteers at the PTO, please email with any interest/questions to info@bpepto.org

Burns Park Run Committee (Critical Long Term Need): We are looking for a passionate, motivated volunteer(s) who enjoys events planning to train to be the next chair of the Burns Park Run in May 2025, being a runner is optional for this role. Planning for our biggest event starts now but revs up in the winter. The current co-chairs (May 5, 2024 event) would love to have 1 or 2 people shadow them now so they can take over for the 2024-2025 school year. Those interested should contact run@bpepto.org for more information.

PTO-C: The Ann Arbor PTO Council is an umbrella group of AAPS PTOs which meets monthly to share best practices and improve communication among the different schools in the district. The next meeting of this group is two weeks and BPE still needs a representative, interest/questions to info@bpepto.org

AAPAC/Special Education: BPE does not currently have an AAPAC (Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education) representative. In the past the PTO had its own Special Education Coordinator role but this was in practice replaced by the AAPAC member. Currently both these positions are empty and so we are seeking a parent advocate in this area, questions/more info please write info@bpepto.org

Walk & Talk: Sign up here to help with Walk and Talk this week! Remind your Penguins to join us out in the field during lunch recess on M/W/F! You can help them record the miles they run or walk by signing up above. Questions to walktalk@burnsparkpto.org

Open Volunteer Opportunities – Class Wide

Room Parents: Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered as room parents for this year, for those who missed last week’s training, slides and recorded video are available, please email with any questions to volunteering@bpepto.org

Art Angels: Volunteer to meet your child’s class during Art class and help Ms. Conner. Brochure, and Signup Genius link.

Library Helper: Volunteer to meet your child’s class during Media class and help Ms. Erdstein. Brochure, and Signup Genius link

PTO Directory

We would like to thank everyone that made edits to the PTO website’s Directory as there were many updates since last week. The good news is that directory counts are more accurate now that some old information has been updated, the bad news is that overall participation number is only half of last week’s estimate.

Grade BPE Count Directory (%)

Young 5 19 74%

2nd Grade 88 43%

Kindergarten 82 37%

5th Grade 105 31.4%

3rd Grade 74 31.1%

1st Grade 67 30%

4th Grade 66 29%

Total 501 35%

Thank you to everyone that updated their PTO directory and to the 4 new families that have joined in the last 7 days.

Your Burns Park PTO

Al Masias, President

Kory Zhao, President-Elect

info@bpepto.org

Information from Previous Newsletters

zoom_out_map

Lost & Found

Please check out this digital inventory of our Lost and Found items. See one that is yours? Let us know by emailing meghankbarrett@gmail.com and including the item, your student's name and your student's teacher.

zoom_out_map

Family-Teacher Conferences

Family-Teacher Conferences are a very important part of building partnerships and support between families and the staff at Burns Park Elementary. Teachers will begin to send out conference sign ups after Curriculum Night.

zoom_out_map

Devices

Last week, technology distribution for students began and will continue into this week. All students are expected to care for their school-issued devices. These devices will be transported to and from school daily. Students should charge devices at home so they do not need to bring their charger to school with them.

Students are to leave their cellphone in their lockers and should not use their smart watch to communicate with others. The office phone is the required method for communication between students and their families. Please call the office phone (734-994-1919) if you need to get ahold of your student. If your student needs to get ahold of you, they will call from the office phone.

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.

zoom_out_map

Family Involvement Opportunities - Noon Hour

At Burns Park, we offer many opportunities for families to become active within our community. We invite all families to find ways to be a part of their student's school experience that works best for their needs.

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.

If you are interested in being a Noon Hour Supervisor, please:

1. Email Mrs. Bullock, jonesl@aaps.k12.mi.us and

2. C omplete 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!